Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo

The Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain, Part 2 143
We will not talk of the wind and frost while on the road—
From afar he observed the capital city as he drew closer.
His horse was exhausted, he was tired out, and it was late,
So for the time being he took his rest at the post station.
Sitting up, he waited for the fifth watch, went to the palace,
And entered the gate of the court in his court robes and belt.
He promptly presented in person the arm and the eye;
Lifting them up with both hands, he told what had happened:
‘‘The immortal cheerfully donated them and made a prayer,
Made a wish that the emperor’s disease be done away with,
And that he might rule the entire cosmos and never grow old,
Enthroned like the heavenly Indra up in his Dragon Court.’’
When the emperor heard the report of his minister, he laughed
heartily and said: ‘‘That Heaven should produce such a good person!’’
When he also saw the arm and the eye, he lifted his fists and
pressed them together, expressing his thanks to Heaven. He ordered
the Court of Imperial Banquets to take good care of Liu Qin, and
summoned the monk to mix the medicine. The monk placed the
arm and the eye into a box, which he then carried into the inner
palace to show them to the empress and the concubines. Let’s see
what happened!
This unhitches the heavenly moon and stars from their orbits,
The lotus-breeze shakes the brocade of rivers and mountains!
Namo Guanshiyin pusa
He carried them into the palace to the Brilliant Yang Hall,
Where kowtowing, he presented them to the main consort.
The empress scrutinized them in person, with her own eyes,
And saw the immortal’s arm and eye very clearly indeed!
The immortal’s hand showed the thousand-spoke wheel—
That’s one of the thirty-two marks that’s rarely heard of.
Before she had seen the hand and the eye, things were fine,
But now that she had seen this sign, she was filled with pain.
‘‘The hand of my child showed the thousand-spoke wheel,
And now both that hand and that eye look exactly like hers.
I have no idea what became of Marvelous Goodness,
As the only way for me to meet her is in my dreams.’’
The empress wept in the most gut-wrenching way,