The Journey to the West: Volume I

“Nothing in the world is difficult; only the mind makes it so.”

Patriarch is trying to teach Wukong that mind over matter can allow one to accomplish previously presumed impossible feats, such as cloud-soaring. 

“In an orderly fashion, they made the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain as strong as an iron bucket or a city of metal.”

One of the important elements of Daoism is alchemy, so any transformation of one substance to another—such as the transformation of earth (the mountain) into metal (iron)—is a reference to the Daoist arts. Whenever characters fight using the Way, they usually use transformation to gain the competitive edge.

“I now proclaim you to the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, a position of the highest rank. But you must indulge no more in your preposterous behavior.”

The Jade Emperor is giving in to Wukong’s demand for a new title. He knows Wukong cares about appearances, so he also gives him a mansion and servants to feel more important than he is. In truth, every gift from the Jade Emperor to Wukong is meaningless. Not only does desire lead to suffering, but material desires, even when met, are without value.

“Bad! Bad! I have brought on myself calamity greater than Heaven! If the Jade Emperor has knowledge of this, it’ll be difficult to preserve my life! Go! Go! Go! I’ll go back to the Region Below to be a king.”

Wukong realizes he’ll get in trouble for stealing from Heaven, but he doesn’t feel bad about the theft—he just doesn’t want to get caught. Wukong is foolish for thinking he can escape the Jade Emperor and all of Heaven. In doing so, he presumes he is better than Heaven.

“Fraud and impudence, now punished by the Law;/Heroics grand will fade in the briefest time!”

Wukong is brave, and none in Heaven deny this. However, he’s also a liar and a thief, and he wants to be an immortal hero. There can be nothing more disappointing than for his heroic qualities to be quickly forgotten. 

“Of what power may I boast, really? I owe my success entirely to the excellent fortune of Your Majesty and the various deities. How can I be worthy of your thanks?”

Tathāgata displays humility instead of pride. Unlike Wukong, who claims the right to honors before he earns them, Tathāgata has earned the honor of a banquet and rewards from the Emperor but remains humble. 

“If you have such a purpose, wait until I reach the Great Tang Nation in the Land of the East and find the scripture pilgrim. He will be told to come and rescue you, and you can follow him as a disciple. You shall keep the teachings and hold the rosary to enter our gate of Buddha, so that you may again cultivate the fruits of righteousness. Will you do that?”

Guanyin is giving Wukong the chance to redeem himself as she did with the other monsters she encountered, but she’s also ensuring he’ll be placed in a position that demands humility: serving a pilgrim. Pilgrims are already humble, so Wukong must learn that trait in the pilgrim’s service.

“This court has sent a yellow summons, declaring in these southern provinces that there will be examinations for the selection of the worthy and the talented. Your child wishes to try out at such an examination, for if I manage to acquire an appointment, or even half a post, I would become more of a credit to my parents, magnify our name, give my wife a title, benefit my son, and bring glory to this house of ours. Such is the aspiration of your son: I wish to tell my mother plainly before I leave.”

Chen E tells his mother that he wants to take the test for a government post. It is important for him to bring honor to his parents and family name and to look after those in his charge. 

“Tang Taizong! Give me back my life! Give me back my life! Last night you were full of promises to save me. Why did you order a human judge in the daytime to have me executed? Come out, come out! I am going to ague this case with you before the King of the Underworld.”

The Dragon King wanted revenge against the fortune teller and so ruined him; now he wants revenge of a sort—to argue with Taizong before Yama, the King of the Underworld—for his life. Even in death, his spirit has not changed.

“Those who perform good works will ascend to the way of the immortals; those who remain patriotic to the end will advance to the way of nobility; those who practice filial piety will be born again into the way of blessing; those who are just and honest will enter once more into the way of humans; those who cherish virtue will proceed to the way of riches; those are vicious and violent will fall back into the way of demons.”

Known as the Six-Fold Path, this quote explains how a soul is reincarnated once its karma has been noted and measured. It is also through good and right actions, according to Judge Cui, that Taizong’s empire will flourish. For someone in Taizong’s position, he must be a model of goodness in order to inspire goodness within his people.

“I shall seek these true scriptures on behalf of Your Majesty, that the simple act of our king may be firm and everlasting.”

Xuanzang knows that he faces a treacherous journey, and it would be easy for him to say he seeks the scriptures for his own sake; but here, he demonstrates patriotism. Already he has shown to be filial; Xuanzang’s soul will be prepared to follow more than one of the positive Six-Fold Paths.

“What has this poor monk accomplished that merits such gratitude?”

Here, Tripitaka is showing his humility. While he says this to Boqin and his family, it mirrors Tathāgata’s humility before the Jade Emperor after trapping Wukong. The message is clear: Those who are enlightened are also humble.

“Master, this is her [Guanyin’s] method of controlling me, allowing me no alternative but to follow you to the West. I’ll not go to bother her, but you must not regard this spell as a plaything for frequent recitation either! I’m willing to accompany you without ever entertaining the thought of leaving again.”

Tripitaka must use a painful spell to break Wukong from the habit of disobedience and evil. The lesson here is that sometimes pain is necessary for growth and redemption.

“But why did you take that condemned dragon and send him here so that he could become a spirit and swallow my master’s horse? It’s your fault, you know, if you allow an evildoer to perpetrate his villainies some more!”

Pilgrim is admonishing Guanyin here, which shows that he is still not as humble as he might be. This quote drives home an important lesson of the text: All have a responsibility to not only avoid committing evil, but to stop others from doing so as well. 

“As the ancients declared, ‘The rare object of art should not be exposed to the covetous and deceitful person.’ For once he sees it, he will be tempted; and once he is tempted, he will plot and scheme. If you are timid, you may end up yielding to his every demand; otherwise, injury and loss of life may result, and that’s no small matter.”

Tripitaka’s warning to Pilgrim about showing off the heavenly cassock points out the danger of pride and vanity. Here, Tripitaka warns that such traits can lead to injury or death, and the ethical and moral consequences for such events could be dire. 

“Wukong, the Bodhisattva and the monster—they both exist in a single thought. Considered in terms of their origin, they are all nothing.”

Guanyin explains that because the Bodhisattva and the monster come from thought, they are equal in their nothingness. This enlightens Pilgrim.

“Where are you running to? If you ascend to Heaven, I’ll chase you to the Palace of the Polestar, and if you go down into the Earth, I’ll follow you into the heart of Hell!”

Pilgrim shows his determination to defeat the monster who kidnapped and imprisoned Gao’s daughter. This shows how desperate he is to do something good—to fight to help someone who was wronged. 

“It’s old Monkey who turned from wrong to right, who left the Daoist to follow the Buddhist. I am now accompanying the royal brother of the Great Tang Emperor in the Land of the East, whose name is Tripitaka, master of the Law. He is on his way to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures from Buddha. We passed through Gao Village and asked for lodging; old man Gao then brought up the subject of his daughter and asked me to rescue her and to apprehend you, you overstuffed coolie!”

Pilgrim reveals his identity to Eight Rules and explains how he came to pursue him and fight him. In doing so, Pilgrim reveals that he’s turned from the path of wrongdoing. Pilgrim needs the Buddhist teachings to keep him from misusing the powers he gained when he learned the Daoist teachings.

“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! The moment you cry, you already feel defeated.”

Pilgrim’s point here is that it’s easy to wallow in negative emotions, but this only generates more negativity. 

“I did receive the command of Tathāgata to keep the Yellow Wind Monster here in submission. Tathāgata also gave me a Wind-Stopping Pearl and a Flying-Dragon Precious Staff. At the time when I captured him, I spared the monster his life only on condition that he would retire in the mountain and abstain from the sin of taking life.”

This is another example of a bodhisattva’s willingness to show clemency toward a creature, even one who has committed grave sins, such as taking lives. Like Wukong earlier in the story, the Yellow Wind Monster cannot mend his ways on his own—Wukong became Pilgrim only through agreeing to serve Tripitaka, yet the Yellow Wind Monster was left to his own devices, though observed by Lingji.

“Master, your disciple has eyes but no pupils, and he failed to recognize your noble features. I have greatly offended you, and I beg you to pardon me.”

When Wujing states that the “disciple had eyes but no pupils,” he means that the disciple saw but did not comprehend. In this quote, “pupils” refers to the eye. However, this is also a play on words: Wujing has no pupils—no disciples—but Tripitaka does, so Tripitaka is of greater consequence.

“Though Idiot is stupid and mischievous, he is at least fairly honest, and he has arms strong enough to carry the luggage. Let’s have some regard for the Bodhisattva’s earlier intention, let’s rescue him so that he may continue to follow us. I doubt that he’ll ever dare do this again.”

Tripitaka is merciful and reminds the reader that redemption is still possible, even after Eight Rules’ grave error. Tripitaka is kind to Eight Rules in that he doesn’t subject him to further ridicule.

“It is extremely embarrassing! This is just a matter of food and drink. But if we say so, that means we are stealing for our mouths! Let’s not admit it.”

Pilgrim’s actions in stealing the fruit from the temple of Long Life Mountain aren’t as grievous as when he ate all the immortal peaches, but he’s still planning to lie about stealing the ginsengs. This is not a redemptive action because he’s doing something wrong in order to save his pride.