Stairway to Heaven: A Journey to the Summit of Mount Emei

5. The Ascent

89 Chapter 5 The Ascent Every one or two miles of the upward journey brought us to a large temple erected in memory of some saint or deity of the Buddhist faith.1 —L. Newton Hayes On to Emei Town Dinghai, Wuzi, Yichou, Gengyin, and Xinmao days (16–20 July): Leaving my family on the boat moored below the banks of Jia county, I rode alone toward Emei. . . . It is recorded in Buddhist texts that this is the place where the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Puxian dashi) makes his appearance and manifestation. I departed from the west gate of the commandery wall. Then crossed Swallow Ford (Yandu), where the river rushes and gushes and is very dangerous. . . . Crossed the ford and spent the night at Suji Market-town (Suji zhen).2 Following the customary itinerary of travelers heading to Mount Emei from Jia county, Fan Chengda now departs for Emei town, some 33km/20 mi to the west. Those accompanying him include his younger brother Chengji and several friends, along with a staff of porters carrying Fan’s bamboo sedan chair and trunks of personal belongings. The first landmark mentioned after leaving Jia—Swallow Ford (modern Xuhao), is 20 li west of the county. At Swallow Ford Fan Chengda crosses the Ya County River (or Green Robe River) and travels another 5 li to the Suji Market-town, where he spends the night. A “market town” (zhen) is an unwalled commercial gathering place, populated mainly by traders, where commodities are collected and redistributed. While passing through Suji Fan probably saw many local products for sale, such as tea, medicinal herbs, and silk. As we accompany Fan Chengda toward Emei and then up its steep mountain trails, we will consider some of the poems he wrote to com- 90 Stairway to Heaven: A Journey to the Summit of Mount Emei memorate the visit. One of these verses, a quatrain titled “After Passing Swallow Ford, I Gazed at Great Emei, with Its White Mists of Storied Towers, Seemingly Plucked from Amid the Clusters of Clouds,” describes Fan’s first impression of seeing Emei’s “thousand peaks” tower in the distance: Encircled by wastes, a thousand peaks, dimmed by summer sky; Big Emei’s mists and vapors, all scattered and jumbled about. A jade-white peak suddenly rises to a height of three thousand zhang! This must be the tūla world of silvery, cotton clouds.3 This short poem presents a striking word picture of Mount Emei, as first seen after passing Swallow Ford. The “wastes” that encircle the mountain are the flat, fertile fields that stretch between Jia county and Emei town. Of particular interest to us is the reference to the “tūla world of silvery, cotton clouds,” mentioned in the last line of Fan’s poem. The term douluo yun 兜羅雲 (or douluo mianyun 兜羅綿雲) derives from the Sanskrit word tūla, and refers to a soft, white, cottonlike substance produced by a certain type of willow or poplar tree in India. Here, however, the term is used as a metaphor for the cottonlike clouds amassed above Mount Emei, which Fan imagines to form a “jade-white peak.” Why would he choose tūlaclouds to describe his initial, visual impression of the mountain? Note that in the diary entry that opens this chapter, one of the first things Fan Chengda mentions as he observes Emei in the distance is that “Buddhist texts” identify the mountain as the place “where the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra makes his appearance and manifestation.” It is here where we find the tūla-cloud connection: Buddhist tradition says that when Samantabhadra (or “Buddha’s Glory” [Foguang 佛光]; this is the more popular name of the “Precious Light” described in chapter 1) appears on the summit of Emei, the Indian deity’s image is revealed on a bed of tūla-clouds. At the very outset of his journey, then, even before reaching the foothills of the mountain, Fan Chengda reveals that he has more on his mind than just aesthetic appreciation of Emei’s breathtaking scenery: he is preparing himself for a visit the abode of Samantabhadra, the mountain’s resident bodhisattva. Fan surely knew about Buddha’s Glory and, like all pilgrims, hoped to witness an “appearance and manifestation ” on the summit. Renchen day (21 July): In the morning we set out from Suji [Market-town]. At the noon hour passed Fuwen Market-town (Fuwen zhen). Both of these market-towns are flourishing and prosperous, like a thriving town (xian...