Chapter 64: At Bramble Ridge Wuneng exerted great effort; At Shrine of Sylvan Immortals Tripitaka discusses poetry
In which some trees try to seduce Tang Sanzang
Hello everyone, let’s continue our journey.
“And desolate grounds, mist-wrapped, met one's eye. / For clumps of sala trees long years had passed”: The sāla tree (Shorea robusta) is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions. Queen Maya of Sakya gave birth to Buddha grasping a branch of this type of tree. In Buddhism, the brief flowering of the sal tree is used as a symbol of impermanence
“I have brought you here especially to meet a few friends and to talk about poetry”: That is a nice reason to be kidnapped.
“Your bones must have been pumped full of wild foxes' saliva!” Foxes usually have a good reception in ancient China but maybe since it symbolises transformation, it means that Tripitaka turned his back to his country.
We get distracted for a bit and they’re trying to bed Tripitaka again! His Chan spirit too strong, his face too fair…
See you in 3 days!