The Bodhisattva said to Moksa, “Today is a special day of the Great Mass of Land and Water, which will go on from this first seventh day to the seventh seventh day, as is proper. You and I are going to mingle with the crowds for three reasons: to see the service, to see the Golden Cicada enjoying the blessing of wearing our treasure, and to hear what branch of the scriptures he preaches on.” The pair of them went to the temple. They were fated to meet their old acquaintance, just as the Wisdom returned to its own preaching place. When they went inside the monastery they saw that this great and heavenly dynasty surpassed any other in the world; while the Jetavana Monastery and Sravana were no match for this temple. Sacred music sounded clear above the shouting of Buddha names. When the Bodhisattva approached the preaching dais she saw in Xuanzang the likeness of the wise Golden Cicada. As the poem goes:

Pure in every image, free of every speck of dirt,

The great Xuanzang sat on his lofty dais.

The lonely souls who have been delivered come in secret,

While the well-born arrive to hear the law.

Great is his wisdom in choosing suitable methods;

All his life he has opened the doors of the scriptures.

As they watch him preach the infinite Law,

The ears of young and old alike are filled with joy.

As Guanyin went to the temple preaching hall

She met an old acquaintance who was no common mortal.

He spoke about every current matter,

And mentioned the achievements of many a mortal era.

The clouds of the Dharma settle over every mountain,

The net of the teaching spreads right across the sky.

If one counts the number of pious thoughts among humans

They are as plentiful as raindrops on red blossom.

On his dais the Master of the Law read through the Sutra to Give Life and Deliver the Dead, discussed the Heavenly Charm to Protect the Country and preached on the Exhortation to Cultivate Merit. The Bodhisattva went up to the dais, hit it, and shouted out at the top of her voice, “Why are you only talking about the doctrine of the Little Vehicle, monk? Can you preach about the Great Vehicle?”

On hearing these questions a delighted Xuanzang leapt down from the preaching dais, bowed to the Bodhisattva, and said, “Venerable teacher, your disciple has sinned grievously in failing to recognize you. We monks who stand before you only preach the law of the Little Vehicle, and we know nothing of the doctrine of the Great Vehicle.”

“That doctrine of the Little Vehicle of yours will never bring the dead to rebirth; it's only good enough for a vulgar sort of enlightenment. Now I have the Three Stores of the Buddha's Law of the Great Vehicle that will raise the dead up to Heaven, deliver sufferers from their torments, and free souls from the eternal coming and going.”

As the Bodhisattva was talking, the Master of Incense, an official who patrolled the temple, made an urgent report to the Tang Emperor that just when the Master of the Law was in the middle of preaching the wonderful Law a pair of scabby itinerant monks had dragged him down and were engaging him in wild argument. The Emperor ordered them to be arrested and brought before him, and a crowd of men hustled the two of them into the rear hall of the monastery.

When they saw Taizong they neither raised their hands in greeting nor bowed, but looked him in the eye and said, “What does Your Majesty want to ask us about.”

Recognizing them, the Emperor asked, “Are you not the monk who gave us the cassock?”

“That's right,” replied the Bodhisattva.

“If you came here to listen to the preaching you should be satisfied with getting something to eat,” said Taizong. “Why did you start ranting at the Master of the Law, disturbing the scripture hall and interfering with our service to the Buddha?”

“That master of yours was only teaching the doctrine of the Little Vehicle, which will never send the dead up to Heaven,” replied the Bodhisattva. “I have the Three Stores of the Buddha's Law of the Great Vehicle, which can save the dead, deliver from suffering, and ensure that the body will live for ever without coming to harm.” Showing no signs of anger, Taizong earnestly asked where the Buddha's Law of the Great Vehicle was.

“It is in the Thunder Monastery in the land of India in the West, where our Buddha lives,” the Bodhisattva replied, “and it can untie the knots of all injustice and save the innocent from disaster.”

“Can you remember it?” the Emperor asked, and the Bodhisattva answered “Yes.” Taizong then gave orders that this Master of the Law was to be taken to the dais and invited to preach.

The Bodhisattva and Moksa flew up to the dais, then soared into the sky on magic clouds. She appeared in her own form as the deliverer from suffering, holding a twig of willow in a vase, and Moksa stood beside her as Huian, holding a stick and bristling with energy. The Tang Emperor was so happy that he bowed to Heaven, while his civil and military officials all fell to their knees and burned incense. Everyone in the temple-monks, nuns, clerics, lay people, scholars, workmen and merchants-all bowed down and prayed, “Good Bodhisattva, good Bodhisattva.” There is a description of her appearance:

The sacred radiance shines around her,

The holy light protects her Dharma body.

In the glory of the highest Heaven

Appears a female Immortal.

The Bodhisattva

Wore on her head

Marvellous pearl tassels

With golden clasps,

Set with turquoise,

And gleaming golden.

She wore on her body

A plain blue robe with flying phoenixes,

Pale-coloured,

Patterned with running water,

On which curled golden dragons.

Before her breast hung

A moon-bright,

Wind-dancing,

Pearl-encrusted,

Jade-set circlet full of fragrance.

Around her waist was

A skirt of embroidery and brocade from the Jade Pool

Made from the silk of ice-silkworms,

With golden seams,

That rode on coloured clouds.

Before her went

A white and yellow red-beaked parrot,

To fly across the Eastern Ocean,

And all over the world

In gratitude and duty.

The vase she held gave grace and salvation,

And in the vase was a sprig of

Weeping willow to sweep away the fog,

Scattering water on the heavens,

Cleansing all evil.

Rings of jade looped over brocade buttons

And her golden-lotus feet were concealed.

She was able to visit the three heavens,

For she was Guanyin, the rescuer from suffering.

Taizong was so entranced that he forgot all about his empire; the ministers and generals were so captivated that they forgot all about court etiquette; and the masses all intoned, “Glory be to the Bodhisattva Guanyin.” Taizong ordered that a skilled painter was to make a true likeness of the Bodhisattva, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than the brilliant and enlightened portrayer of gods and Immortals, Wu Daozi, was chosen. He was the man who later did the pictures of distinguished ministers in the Cloud-piercing Pavilion. Wielding his miraculous brush, he painted a true likeness on the spot. The Bodhisattva's magic cloud slowly faded into the distance, and a moment later the golden light could be seen no more. All that was visible was a note drifting down from the sky on which could be read the following brief address in verse:

“Greetings to the lord of the Great Tang.

In the West are miraculous scriptures.

Although the road is sixty thousand miles long,