Quotes by Cheng'en Wu

“The earth is black in front of the cliff, and no orchids grow.Creepers crawl in the brown mud by the path.Where did the birds of yesterday fly?To what other mountain did the animals go?Leopards and pythons dislike this ruined spot;Cranes and snakes avoid the desolation.My criminal thoughts of those days pastBrought on the disaster of today.””

“Hero is he alone who vies with powers supreme!””

“What you must do," said Monkey, "is lure the monster from its hiding place, but be certain it is a fight you can survive.””

“If a man has been your teacher for a day, you should treat him as your father for the rest of his life.””

“With passions stilled and one's nature firm, all destinies are in harmony; When the full moon of contemplation is reached you will be pure.””

“I was very fond of strange stories when I was a child. In my village-school days, I used to buy stealthily popular novels and historical recitals. Fearing that my father and my teacher might punish me for this and rob me of these treasures, I carefully hid them in secret places where I could enjoy them unmolested. As I grew older, my love for strange stories became even stronger, and I learned of things stranger than what I had read in my childhood. When I was in my thirties, my memory was full of these stories accumulated through years of eager seeking. l have always admired such writers of the T'ang Dynasty as Tuan Ch'eng-shih [author of the Yu-yang tsa-tsu] and Niu Sheng [author of the Hsuan-kuai lu]. Who wrote short stories so excellent in portrayal of men and description of things. I often had the ambition to write a book (of stories) which might be compared with theirs. But I was too lazy to write, and as my laziness persisted, I gradually forgot most of the stories which I had learned. Now only these few stories, less than a score, have survived and have so successfully battled against my laziness that they are at last written down. Hence this Book of Monsters. I have sometimes laughingly said to myself that it is not I who have found these ghosts and monsters, but they, the monstrosities themselves, which have found me! ... Although my book is called a book or monsters, it is not confined to them: it also records the strange things of the human world and sometimes conveys a little bit of moral lesson.””

“Wife indeed!" laughed Monkey. "You haven't got a wife now. There are some sorts of Taoists that are family men; but who ever heard of a Buddhist priest calmly talking about his 'wife'?””

“The adept does not show himself;     He who shows himself’s no adept.””

“Never pour the Elixir of Life as if it were an ordinary liquid. He who entrusts the secret of the dark forces to unworthy ears is making his jaws do unnecessary work and talks his tongue dry to no purpose.””

“There is no water like the water out of your own well.””

“When man has a virtuous thought,     Heaven will grant him support.””

“The wide earth may harbor vicious affairs,     But high Heaven will a good man vindicate.     Footloose they’re safe on Tathāgata’s way,     Certain to reach Mount Spirit’s paradise gate.””

“Wherever you go," said the Patriarch, "I'm convinced you'll come to no good. So remember, when you get into trouble, I absolutely forbid you to say that you are my disciple.””

“Monkey now produced his staff and the two of them did their best to kill each other, like the affectionate in-laws they were.””