e are gone in a moment, and can no longer dwell
upon earth!" When the apes heard these words, they hid their faces and
sobbed. But an old ape, whose arms were connected in such a way that
he could add the length of one to that of the other, stepped forth
from the ranks. In a loud tone of voice he said: "That you have hit
upon this thought, O King, shows the desire to search for truth has
awakened you! Among all living creatures, there are but three kinds
who are exempt from Death's power: the Buddhas, the blessed spirits
and the gods. Whoever attains one of these three grades escapes the
rod of re-birth, and lives as long as the Heavens themselves."

The King of the Apes said: "Where do these three kinds of beings
live?" And the old ape replied: "They live in caves and on holy
mountains in the great world of mortals." The King was pleased when he
heard this, and told his apes that he was going to seek out gods and
sainted spirits in order to learn the road to immortality from them.
The apes dragged up peaches and other fruits and sweet wine to
celebrate the parting banquet, and all made merry together.

On the following morning the Handsome King of the Apes rose very
early, built him a raft of old pine trees and took a bamboo staff for
a pole. Then he climbed on the raft, quite alone, and poled his way
through the Great Sea. Wind and waves were favorable and he reached
Asia. There he went ashore. On the strand he met a fisherman. He at
once stepped up to him, knocked him down, tore off his clothes and put
them on himself. Then he wandered around and visited all famous spots,
went into the market-places, the densely populated cities, learned how
to conduct himself properly, and how to speak and act like a well-bred
human being. Yet his heart was set on learning the teaching of the
Buddhas, the blessed spirits and the holy gods. But the people of the
country in which he was were only concerned with honors and wealth.
Not one of them seemed to care for life. Thus he went about until nine
years had passed by unnoticed. Then he came to the strand of the
Western Sea and it occurred to him: "No doubt there are gods and
saints on the other side of the sea!" So he built another raft,
floated it over the Western Sea and reached the land of the West.
There he let his raft drift, and went ashore. After he had searched
for many days, he suddenly saw a high mountain with deep, quiet
valleys. As the Ape King went toward it, he heard