Last Updated: 04-12-25
The end of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記; “JTTW” hereafter) chapter 19 contains a strange, seemingly throwaway character called the “Crow’s Nest Chan Master” (Wuchao chanshi, 烏巢禪師) (fig. 1). Having met the Buddhist sage in the past, Zhu Bajie describes him as an accomplished cultivator who lives in a nest atop a juniper tree on Pagoda Mountain (Futu shan, 浮屠山), just beyond the border of Tibet (Wusizang, 烏斯藏). [1] Zhu also claims to have been invited by him to jointly practice austerities, but the pig-spirit passed on the opportunity (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 388).
The pilgrims soon thereafter run into Crow’s Nest on their trek through his mountain, and following a brief chat, he orally passes on the Heart Sutra (Mohe bore boluomiduo xinjing, 摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經) to Tripitaka (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 389-390). This lesson is referenced a few times in later chapters. [2]
Here, I’d like to explore the sage’s powers and real world history, as well as to suggest a possible reason for why the novel associates him with Zhu Bajie.
Fig. 1 – A woodblock print of the Crow’s Nest Chan Master (larger version). From the Newly Annotated Journey to the West With Illustrations (Xinshuo Xiyouji tuxiang, 新說西遊記圖像, 1888).
Table of Contents
- 1. Interesting facts
- 2. Connection to Zhu Bajie (豬八戒)
- 3. Updates
1. Interesting facts
1.1. Powers
The first thing that interests me about the Chan Master is his supernatural abilities. He demonstrates his clairvoyance by reciting a poem [3] in which foretells some of the evils that the pilgrims will face on their quest. For example, one section reads: “Monsters all mountains populate; / Old tigers sit as magistrates; / Graying wolves act as registrars. / Lions, elephants—all called kings!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 391). The last line likely references the lion and elephant demon kings appearing in JTTW chapters 74 to 77.
Another part predicts the coming of Sha Wujing. The section reads: “A wild pig totes a hauling pole; / You’ll meet ahead a water sprite. / An old stone ape of many years / Now nurses over there his spite!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 391). You’ll notice that Crow’s Nest spins his prediction between taking jabs at Zhu and Wukong. Monkey was already upset with him at this point for not recognizing the Great Sage’s fame, so this afront leads the primate immortal to strike out.
This leads to another display of power. In response to the attack, the cultivator uses defensive magic to protect himself:
The Chan Master, changing into a beam of golden light, went straight up to his crow’s nest, while the priest [Tripitaka] bowed toward him to express his gratitude. Enraged, Pilgrim lifted his iron rod and thrust it upward violently, but garlands of blooming lotus flowers were seen together with a thousand-layered shield of auspicious clouds. Though Pilgrim might have the strength to overturn rivers and seas, he could not catch hold of even one strand of the crow’s nest (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 391).
那禪師化作金光，徑上烏巢而去。長老往上拜謝，行者心中大怒，舉鐵棒望上亂搗，只見蓮花生萬朵，祥霧護千層。行者縱有攪海翻江力，莫想挽著烏巢一縷籐。
This reminds me of an event from Acts of the Buddha (Sk: Buddhacarita; Ch: Fo suoxing za, 佛所行讚, 2nd century), an ancient biography of the Tathagata:
The host of Mara hastening, as arranged, each one exerting his utmost force, taking each other’s place in turns, threatening every moment to destroy [the Buddha, but] … Their flying spears, lances, and javelins, stuck fast in space, refusing to descend; the angry thunderdrops and mighty hail, with these, were changed into five-colour’d lotus flowers…” (Beal, 1883, pp. 152 and 153).
[…]
The similarities suggest that Crow’s Nest is also an enlightened being like the Tathagata.
1.2. History
The second thing that interests me is that the Chan Master is based on a historical monk, Niaoke Daolin (鳥窠道林, lit: “Bird’s Nest in the Forest of the Way”; 741–824), who was born nearly 80 years after the death of the historical Xuanzang (on whom Tripitaka is based) (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. 1015-1016). His full biography appears in the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Jingde chuandenglu, 景德傳燈錄, 1004–1007):
Chan master Niaoke Daolin … was from Fuyang in Hangzhou and his family name was Pan. His mother, whose maiden name was Zhu, once dreamt of the rays of the sun entering her mouth, after which she conceived. When the baby was born a strange fragrance pervaded the room, so the name ‘Fragrant Light’ was given to the boy. He left the home life at the age of nine and received the full precepts at the Guoyuan Temple in Jing (Jingling, Hubei) when he was twenty-one years old. Later he went to the Ximing Monastery in Chang’an to study the Huayan Jing (Avataṃsaka Sūtra) and the Śāstra on the Arising of Faith (Śraddhotpada Śāstra, Aśvagosa) under the Dharma Teacher Fuli, who also introduced him to the Song of the Real and Unreal, and had him practise meditation.
Once Niaoke asked Fuli, ‘Could you say how one meditates and how to exercise the heart?’
Teacher Fuli was silent for a long time, so then the master bowed three times and withdrew.
It happened that at this time Tang Emperor Taizong had called the First Teacher in the Empire [Daoqin] of Jing Mountain to the Imperial Palace and Daolin went to pay him a formal visit, obtaining the True Dharma from him.
Returning south the master first came to the Yongfu Temple on Mount Gu (Zhejiang), where there was a stūpa dedicated to the Pratyekabuddhas. At this time both monks and laymen were gathering there for a Dharma-talk. The master also entered the hall, carrying his walking stick, which emitted a clicking sound. There was a Dharma-teacher present from a temple called Lingying, whose name was Taoguang, and who asked the master, ‘Why make such a sound in this Dharma-meeting?’
‘Without making a sound who would know that it was a Dharma-meeting?’ replied the master.
Later, on Qinwang Mountain, the master saw an old pine tree with lush foliage, its branches shaped like a lid, so he settled himself there, in the tree, which is why the people of that time called him Chan Master Niaoke (Bird’s Nest). Then magpies made their nest by the master’s side and became quite tame through the intimacy with a human – so he was also referred to as the Magpie Nest Monk.
One day the master’s attendant Huitong suddenly wished to take his leave. ‘Where are you off to then?’ asked the master.
‘Huitong left the home life for the sake of the Dharma, but the venerable monk has not let fall one word of instruction, so now it’s a question of going here and there to study the Buddha-dharma,’ replied Huitong.
‘If it could be said that there is Buddha-dharma,’ said the master, ‘I also have a little here,’ whereupon he plucked a hair from the robe he was wearing and blew it away. Suddenly Huitong understood the deep meaning.
During the Yuan reign period (806–820 CE) Bai Juyi was appointed governor of this commandery and so went to the mountain to pay the master a courtesy call. He asked the master, ‘Is not the Chan Master’s residing here very dangerous?’
‘Is not your Excellency’s position even more so?’ countered the master.
‘Your humble student’s place is to keep the peace along the waterways and in the mountains. What danger is there in that?’ asked Bai Juyi.
‘When wood and fire meet there is ignition – the nature of thinking is endless,’ replied the master, ‘so how can there not be danger?’
‘What is the essence of the Buddha-dharma?’ asked Bai.
‘To refrain from all evil and do all that is good,’ answered the master.
‘A three-year-old child already knows these words,’ said Bai.
‘Although a three-year-old can say them, an old man of eighty can’t put them into practice!’ countered the master.
Bai then made obeisance.
In the fourth year, during the tenth day of the second month of the reign period Changqing (824 CE), the master said to his attendant, ‘Now my time is up.’ And having spoken he sat on his cushion and passed away. He was eighty-four years old and had been a monk for sixty-three years.
(Textual note: Some say the master’s name was Yuanxiu, but this is probably his posthumous name.) (Whitfiled, n.d., pp. 56-58).
杭州鳥窠道林禪師。本郡富陽人也。姓潘氏。母朱氏夢日光入口。因而有娠。及誕異香滿室。遂名香光焉。九歲出家。二十一於荊州果願寺受戒。後詣長安西明寺復禮法師。學華嚴經起信論。復禮示以真妄頌俾修禪那。師問曰。初云何觀。云何用心。復禮久而無言。師三禮而退。屬唐代宗詔徑山國一禪師至闕。師乃謁之遂得正法。及南歸先是孤山永福寺有辟支佛塔。時道俗共為法會。師振錫而入。有靈隱寺韜光法師。問曰。此之法會何以作聲。師曰。無聲誰知是會。後見秦望山。有長松枝葉繁茂盤屈如蓋。遂棲止其上。故時人謂之鳥窠禪師。復有鵲巢于其側自然馴狎人。亦目為鵲巢和尚。有侍者會通。忽一日欲辭去。師問曰。汝今何往。對曰。會通為法出家。以和尚不垂慈誨。今往諸方學佛法去。師曰。若是佛法。吾此間亦有少許。曰如何是和尚佛法。師於身上拈起布毛吹之。會通遂領悟玄旨。元和中白居易出守茲郡。因入山禮謁。乃問師曰。禪師住處甚危險。師曰。太守危險尤甚。曰弟子位鎮江山。何險之有。師曰。薪火相交識性不停。得非險乎。又問如何是佛法大意。師曰。諸惡莫作眾善奉行。白曰。三歲孩兒也解恁麼道。師曰。三歲孩兒雖道得。八十老人行不得。白遂作禮。師於長慶四年二月十日。告侍者曰。吾今報盡言訖坐亡。壽八十有四。臘六十三(有云師名圓修者。恐是諡號)。(source)
2. Connection to Zhu Bajie (豬八戒)
The narrative seems to indicate that Crow’s Nest and Zhu first met before the latter converted to Buddhism in the past. This is because when the pilgrims encounter him on his mountain, the sage recognizes the pig-spirit not by his original Dharma name, Wuneng (悟能), but by his secular name: ”Aren’t you the Zhu Ganglie [豬剛鬣, “Stiff-Bristles Hog”] of the Fuling Mountain?” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 389). [4] The association between these two figures in JTTW may be based on homophonous surnames.
As stated in the above biography, the surname of Niaoke’s mother was Zhu (朱), which sounds exactly the same as the pig-spirit’s surname, Zhu (豬). This is important since our porcine hero is likely named after Zhu Shixing (朱士行), a Han-era monk with the Dharma name Bajie (八戒)—i.e. Zhu Bajie (朱八戒).
Can you imagine what Zhu’s story would be like if he had taken the Chan Master up on his offer? An enlightened pig-spirit devoid of lust, gluttony, and sloth would seem so foreign to us. This might be good fodder for a JTTW AU.
3. Updates
Update: 04-12-25
Regarding the JTTW AU, a friend on discord suggested that Zhu’s cultivation would lead to him regaining his human form. This fits with the original novel because Princess Iron Fan had “attained the way of humanity” (i.e. a human form) via spiritual practices (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 162).
Notes:
1) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates “烏斯藏” (Wusizang), the location of Gao village, as the “Kingdom of Qoco” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 369). However, this phrase actually refers to Dbus-gtsang, or Tibet (Zhang, 2023, pp. 32-33; Wilkinson, 2000, p. 728).
2) Although Tripitaka is the intended recipient of the Heart Sutra, Monkey thrice demonstrates (chapters 43, 85, and 93) that he understands its meaning better than his master (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 254; vol. 4, pp. 144-145 and 264-265).
3) Here is the Chan Master’s full poem:
“The way [to India] is not too hard to walk;
Try listening to what I say.
A thousand hills and waters deep;
Places full of goblins and snags;
When you reach those sky-touching cliffs,
Fear not and put your mind at rest.
Crossing the Rub Ear Precipice,
You must walk with steps placed sideways.
Take care in the Black Pine Forest;
Fox-spirits will likely bar your way.
Griffins will fill the capitals;
Monsters all mountains populate;
Old tigers sit as magistrates;
Graying wolves act as registrars.
Lions, elephants—all called kings!
Leopards, tigers are coachmen all!
A wild pig totes a hauling pole;
You’ll meet ahead a water sprite.
An old stone ape of many years
Now nurses over there his spite!
Just ask that acquaintance of yours:
Well he knows the way to the West” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 390-391).道路不難行，試聽我吩咐。
千山千水深，多瘴多魔處。
若遇接天崖，放心休恐怖。
行來摩耳巖，側著腳蹤步。
仔細黑松林，妖狐多截路。
精靈滿國城，魔主盈山住。
老虎坐琴堂，蒼狼為主簿。
獅象盡稱王，虎豹皆作御。
野豬挑擔子，水怪前頭遇。
多年老石猴，那裡懷嗔怒。
你問那相識，他知西去路。(source)
4) Zhu first reveals his secular name in chapter 18 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 376). He was given his original Dharma name, Wuneng (悟能, “Awake to Power”), by Guanyin in chapter eight sometime in the past (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 213).
Sources:
Beal, S. (Trans.). (1883). The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king: A Life of Buddha by Asvaghosha Bodhisattva. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/foshohingtsankin00asva/mode/2up.
Buswell, R. E. , & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Whitfiled, R. S. (Trans.). (n.d.). Records of the Transmission of the Lamp: Volume 2 – The Early Masters. Hokun Trust. Retrieved from https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Lamp2.pdf.
Wilkinson, E. P. (2000). Chinese History: A Manual. United Kingdom: Harvard University Asia Center.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
Zhang, F. (2023). The Eastern Land and the Western Heaven: Qing Cosmopolitanism and Its Translation in Tibet in the Eighteenth Century. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
