Deep within the cave abode, lamplight flickered.
The Black Bear Spirit knelt in the dust, staring at the Brocade Kasaya offered to him. His hands hovered in midair, trembling, yet he never dared touch it.
"I am unworthy... I am a demon, a thief... I am unworthy of wearing these Buddhist robes..."
His voice was hoarse, steeped in boundless remorse and self-loathing.
Beside him, Sun Wukong watched quietly, his Golden Cudgel planted on the ground, a thoughtful look on his face.
Little White Dragon frowned deeply, and the water pattern between his brows began rippling again.
Hearing this, Xuanzang did not force the kasaya onto him. Instead, he slowly withdrew his hand.
Draping the kasaya over his arm, he looked at the weeping giant before him and said softly:
"Great King, have you ever heard the story of Niti?"
The Black Bear Spirit raised his head blankly.
Xuanzang's gaze grew distant, his voice flowing gently through the stone chamber:
"Long ago, in the Shravasti Kingdom, there lived a man named Niti. He earned his living in the lowliest occupation of all, as an Excrement Remover. His body reeked, and his clothes were ragged.
"One day, Buddha led his monks into the city. Upon seeing him, Niti felt ashamed of his own filth and fled into the wild grass, terrified that he might sully Buddha's Dharma Eye."
"He believed himself base and filthy, unworthy of seeing Buddha, still less of hearing the Dharma."
Xuanzang lowered his head and looked at the Black Bear Spirit.
The Black Bear Spirit bowed his head, overwhelmed with shame.
"But Buddha walked toward him."
Xuanzang's voice suddenly gained strength:
"Buddha took his filthy hand and told him, 'My Dharma is pure and wondrous, like clear water that can wash away every stain. Whether highborn or lowborn, noble or humble, whatever deeds you have committed, a single thought of repentance can make you like a lotus rising unstained from the mud.'"
"Great King, whether you are 'worthy' or 'unworthy' depends neither on your birth nor on your past."
"If greed fills your heart, even dressed in robes of gold, you are merely a monkey wearing a crown;"
"If you now find courage through shame and repentance rises in your heart, then even covered in fur and bearing horns, you are a true child of Buddha."
Xuanzang reached out and gently rested a hand on the Black Bear Spirit's fur-covered head:
"When the heart is pure, even dung and dirt are gold; when the heart is lost, even a kasaya becomes a shackle."
"Now that you have awakened and laid down your butcher's blade, that dust-covered pearl within you has already been polished halfway clean."
The Black Bear Spirit shuddered violently. The palm atop his head felt warm and strong, and a peace unlike anything he had ever known spread through his whole body.
"Holy Monk..."
Just then, a wondrous fragrance filled the cave abode, and a thousand streams of auspicious light shone.
Phantom golden lotuses bloomed upon the once-dark stone walls.
A compassionate, majestic voice rang out:
"Excellent, excellent."
The radiance gathered, and Guanyin Bodhisattva manifested in the air, holding a pure-water vase and standing upon the Lotus Pedestal.
"Bodhisattva!"
At the sight, the Black Bear Spirit grew still more fearful. He prostrated himself, not daring to raise his head.
Lingxu Zi had long since shrunk into a corner, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Guanyin looked at the Black Bear Spirit with gentle eyes:
"You sinful beast, though your nature is wild, you possess the roots of wisdom. Since Sanzang has enlightened you today and you have learned repentance, I shall give you a place to go."
"Would you follow me back to Mount Luojia in the South Sea and serve as the Mountain Guardian Deity? It is pure and untainted there, an ideal place to wear away your wildness and help you attain enlightenment sooner."
At these words, the Black Bear Spirit was overjoyed.
This was truly ascending to heaven in a single step! From a demon who ruled a mountain, he would become a deity at the Bodhisattva's side-a blessing countless demons could never obtain, however desperately they sought it.
"This disciple is willing! This disciple is willing!"
The Black Bear Spirit kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic, then started to rise and follow the Bodhisattva away.
"Wait."
Xuanzang stepped forward, placing himself between the Black Bear Spirit and Guanyin.
Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip on his cudgel, but said nothing, amusement glinting in his eyes.
Guanyin paused in slight surprise and looked at Xuanzang. "Xuanzang, what objection do you have?"
Xuanzang pressed his palms together. His expression was respectful, but his tone was grave.
"Bodhisattva, your compassionate wish to guide this demon onto the righteous path is a good thing."
"But this poor monk believes it would be improper to let him go to the South Sea now, enjoying a life of serene ease as a great celestial deity."
Guanyin's brows knitted slightly. "Why do you say that?"
Xuanzang turned, pointed at the Black Bear Spirit, and said solemnly:
"Though yesterday's fire at the Guanyin Monastery arose from Jin Chi's greed, he plundered amid the flames and fanned the fire with wind, reducing that century-old monastery to ruins and leaving its monks homeless."
"This is cause and effect."
Xuanzang looked straight at Guanyin:
"With karmic debts unsettled, how can we speak of enlightenment?"
"He committed evil, yet he is to become a great deity on a heavenly sacred mountain? How could there be such an easy bargain in this world?"
"Would that not tell the world that, so long as you are powerful enough, you need only bow your head and admit your wrongdoing after committing evil to win promotion?"
Cold sweat poured from the Black Bear Spirit. The joy that had just risen within him vanished in an instant.
After hearing this, Guanyin fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"What, then, would you propose?"
Xuanzang said, "Since the monastery has been destroyed, it must be rebuilt."
Xuanzang looked at the Black Bear Spirit. "And there are the lesser demons in your cave, and the demons in the surrounding area."
"They have gained intelligence, tasted flesh and blood, and learned to wield weapons. Without anyone to restrain them, they will scatter into the forests and become roving bands of demonic scourges."
The Black Bear Spirit stared blankly at Xuanzang, then turned to look at the lesser demons who had followed him for so many years. Those pairs of eyes-fearful, helpless, yet filled with wildness-stabbed at his heart.
He drew a deep breath. The confusion faded from his eyes, replaced by a resolve he had never possessed before.
He wheeled around to face the heavens and the Bodhisattva in the air, raising his right hand with three fingers pointed skyward.
"With Heaven above, and the Bodhisattva and Holy Monk as my witnesses!"
The Black Bear Spirit's voice trembled at first, but grew louder as he spoke, rolling like thunder:
"Today, this disciple swears an oath! I shall remain here, rebuild the Guanyin Monastery, and first guard this Black Wind Mountain!"
"I shall bring all the lesser demons on this mountain into the fold, teaching them to read and farm like humans, and chant sutras like monks! I shall make them cast aside their swords and spears, renounce flesh and blood, and cleanse the sinful power within them!"
"So long as a single demon near Black Wind Mountain still eats humans, a single trace of baleful energy remains, or a single brick or tile is missing from the monastery, I shall not go to the South Sea or attain enlightenment!"
"With this oath, I seek to atone for the sins of my past!"
Seeing this, Xuanzang nodded and spoke to Sun Wukong.
"Wukong, find a small knife and fetch a basin of water."
Sun Wukong grinned. "Master, why go to all that trouble?"
With a point of his finger, he conjured an Ordination Razor and a basin of water.
Xuanzang picked up the Ordination Razor and looked at the Black Bear Spirit. "Great King, if you are willing to take refuge, this poor monk shall give you the tonsure today."
"Are you willing?"
The Black Bear Spirit looked at the Ordination Razor, then into Xuanzang's clear eyes.
"This disciple... is willing!"
The Black Bear Spirit straightened his kneeling body and nodded firmly.
Xuanzang inclined his head slightly.
"Excellent, excellent. Then sit properly."
He steadied the Black Bear Spirit's enormous head with one hand and held the razor in the other.
Swish, swish, swish.
Black fur fell to the ground, the strands of worldly cares severed.
He suddenly took on something of a monk's appearance. Coupled with his coal-black face, he truly bore a resemblance to a wrathful vajra guardian.
Xuanzang put away the Ordination Razor and pressed his palms together:
"Now that you have entered the Buddhist order, this poor monk shall give you a Dharma name."
"Your original form is a black bear, and henceforth you shall guard the mountain."
"You shall be called Shouhei."
"Know the white, preserve the black, and be a model for all under heaven."
The monk Shouhei pressed his palms together, tears streaming down his face. "Shouhei... Thank you, Holy Monk, for granting me this name!"
In midair, Guanyin Bodhisattva watched the scene, the Willow Branch in her hand swaying gently. Within the Black Wind Cave, once thick with demonic energy, a pure and upright aura arose from nowhere.
"Amitabha Buddha."
"Xuanzang, you have indeed considered this more thoroughly than I."
"Shouhei, remember the oath you made today. The day you fulfill it shall be the day you attain enlightenment, and you may then go to the South Sea yourself. Until then, diligently study Buddhist teachings and do not grow lax."
Shouhei kowtowed. "I shall obey the Bodhisattva's decree!"
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