In the Fifth Century AD, a Chinese Buddhist priest named Hsuan Tsang made a journey to India. After his journey, he wrote about his travels, the people he had met and the differences he observed from kingdom to kingdom. His book was called 'Hsi Yu Chi' (The Record of a Journey To The West). Little did the Tang Dynasty Monk realize that his book would father one of the most well known

works of Chinese literature. Eleven centuries later, another edition of 'His Yu Chi' was written. When it was released, the new 'Hsi Yu Chi' was considered as a disgrace to the community of writers. This ludicrous work which lacked philosophical depth and profundity was not only a satire of the Chinese Imperial System and Chin

The three disciples of Hsuan Tsang have a lot in common despite their ugliness. All three once held office in Heaven, but for some crime, they were all punished. Sun Wu K'ung had waged war on Heaven and attempted to force the Emperor of Heaven to abdicate, Chi Wu Neng had 'dallied' with the Goddess of the Moon when he was drunk one night and Sha Wu Ching was punished for being

As I get into about the twelfth chapter, I get the impression that The Journey To The West represents more the human struggle for enlightenment than the journey for scriptures. The concept of bringing the people scriptures is almost lost completely In the story and instead, we have four pilgrims who together represent the Human Vehicle, where Hsuan Tsang represents the rational human

Heaven before, were now quite obsolete and powerless compared to the new magic. Compare this with a person who buys the most powerful computer available and locks himself in a room for ten years to write a novel. When he comes out, the computer which was once the most powerful, is outdated by models which are much faster. I am surprised that Yu did not mention this in his comprehensive introduction because I thought it to be so obvious.

The book next tells of exploits of the overly ambitious monkey who is named Wu K'ung, his attempts to subdue the emperor of Heaven and his ignorance. Eventually, Wu K'ung becomes too big headed for his own good and is subdued by Tathagata Buddha who traps him under a mountain.

careless with one of the Emperor's crystal bowls and smashing it to atoms. The three disciples all appealed to The Lady Boddhisatva Kuan Yin (the savior of the Chinese pantheon, equivalent to Jesus) to save them from their punishments. Kuan Yin tells them that they can obtain merit by obtaining the 'right fruit' (i.e. Buddhism) and assist the Tang Monk Hsuan Tsang on his Journey to India. The final most obvious similarity between the three disciples is the similarity in their names. (In Chinese, the surname comes first.) Sun Wu K'ung means Monkey Aware of Vacuity, Chu Wu Neng means Pig Awakened to Power and Sha Wu Ching

mind, the one who remembers the origin and the Dharma. Wu K'ung represents the human ego, which is willing to follow trends and be easily tempted, but loathes self pity. Wu Neng represents the greed for material objects such as money and food, and the attachment to lives 'coarse' passions. Wu Ching can be ca

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wu K'ung, Hsuan Tsang, Buddhist Scriptures, Journey West, Yu Chi', Wu Ching, Wu Neng, Chinese Pantheon, Kuan Yin, Western Readers, wu k'ung, hsuan tsang, sun wu, yu chi', wu ching, wu neng, journey west, sun wu k'ung, 'hsi yu, 'hsi yu chi', sha wu ching, tang monk, sha wu, tang monk hsuan, chu wu neng,
Approximate Word count = 1628
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)