On the surface, the stated goal of the westward journey to retrieve Buddhist scriptures is to fulfill Emperor Taizong of Tang’s desire for Mahayana teachings to “save lost souls” and redeem his own karmic debts.
Hosting the Grand Mass of Land and Water
Emperor Taizong of Tang was first manipulated into descending to the Underworld, where he was coerced into hosting the Grand Mass of Land and Water to redeem the souls of the wronged dead.
The Tang emperor thanked him, saying, “I’m sorry, sir, that you have had to travel such great distance on my account.” “When Your Majesty returns to the World of Light,” said the judge, “be very certain that you celebrate the Grand Mass of Land and Water so that those wretched, homeless souls may be delivered. Please do not forget! Only if there is no murmuring for vengeance in the Region of Darkness will there be the prosperity of peace in your World of Light. If there are any wicked ways in your life, you must change them one by one, and you must teach your subjects far and wide to do good. You may be assured then that your empire will be firmly established, and that your fame will go down to posterity.” The Tang emperor promised to grant each one of the judge’s requests.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 11
Retrieve the true scriptures
Later, guided by Bodhisattva Guanyin, he was instructed to send a pilgrim to Thunderclap Monastery in the West to retrieve the true scriptures—the only means to fully liberate the tormented spirits.
“What that Master of yours was lecturing on,” said the Bodhisattva, “happens to be the teachings of the Little Vehicle, which cannot lead the lost up to Heaven. In my possession is the Tripitaka, the Great Vehicle Law of Buddha, which is able to save the damned, deliver the afflicted, and fashion the indestructible body.” Delighted, Taizong asked eagerly, “Where is your Great Vehicle Law of Buddha?” “At the place of our lord, Tathāgata,” said the Bodhisattva, “in the Great Temple of Thunderclap, located in India of the Great Western Heaven. It can untie the knot of a hundred enmities; it can dispel unexpected misfortunes.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 12
However, this quest is, in truth, a meticulously orchestrated strategy by Buddhist powers, led by Tathagata Buddha, to expand Buddhism’s influence into the Tang Empire in the East.
Buddha’s Grand Design
The pilgrimage originates from a celestial assembly in the Spirit Mountain, where Tathagata Buddha criticizes the Eastern lands (the Tang Dynasty) as morally deficient, claiming its people are mired in greed, ignorance, and false teachings. He declares his intent to “spread Dharma to the East.”
“Those who reside in the South Jambūdvīpa, however, are prone to practice lechery and delight in evildoing, indulging in much slaughter and strife. Indeed, they are all caught in the treacherous field of tongue and mouth, in the wicked sea of slander and malice. However, I have three baskets of true scriptures which can persuade man to do good.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 8
The Buddha Tathagata believed it was better to have people seek the scriptures through pilgrimage than to deliver the scriptures directly to them.
They are the scriptures for the cultivation of immortality; they are the gate to ultimate virtue. I myself would like to send these to the Land of the East; but the creatures in that region are so stupid and so scornful of the truth that they ignore the weighty elements of our Law and mock the true sect of Yoga. Somehow we need a person with power to go to the Land of the East and find a virtuous believer. He will be asked to experience the bitter travail of passing through a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters to come here in quest of the authentic scriptures, so that they may be forever implanted in the east to enlighten the people.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 8
By requiring mortals like Xuanzang to undertake the perilous journey to Thunderclap Monastery (Leiyin Temple), the Buddha wants people to know that the teachings are earned through perseverance, humility, and faith. This approach elevates the scriptures’ sacredness, reinforces Buddhism’s authority.
Was the Tang Dynasty truly in crisis?
Although Tathagata Buddha criticizes the Eastern lands (the Tang Dynasty) as morally deficient.
To express the compassion of his heart, Tathagata opened his mouth of mercy and said to Tripitaka, “Your Land of the East belongs to the South Jambudvipa Continent. Because of your size and your fertile land, your prosperity and population, there is a great deal of greed and killing, lust and lying, oppression and deceit. People neither honor the teachings of Buddha nor cultivate virtuous karma; they neither revere the three lights nor respect the five grains. They are disloyal and unfilial, unrighteous and unkind, unscrupulous and self-deceiving. Through all manners of injustice and taking oflives, they have committed boundless transgressions. The fullness of their iniquities therefore has brought on them the ordeal of hell and sent them into eternal darkness and perdition to suffer the pains of pounding and grinding and of being transformed into beasts. Many of them will assume the forms of creatures with fur and horns; in this manner they will repay their debts by having their flesh made for food for mankind. These are the reasons for their eternal perdition in Avici without deliverance. Though Confucius had promoted his teachings of benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and wisdom, and though a succession of kings and emperors had established such penalties as transportation, banishment, hanging, and beheading, these institutions had little effect on the foolish and the blind, the reckless and the antinomian. “
— Journey to the West, Chapter 98
The novel subtly questions this point of view. When the pilgrim team reaches the Mercy Cloud Temple(or Temple of Merciful Cloud) in India, they encounter a revealing dialogue:
As the four of them looked at the place, they caught sight of a priest walking out from one of the corridors. “Master, where did you come from?” he saluted the Tang Monk.
“This disciple happens to be someone who came from the Tang court of China.” replied the Tang Monk. At once the monk fell on his knees to make a bow, so startling the Tang Monk that he hurriedly tried to raise him with his hands. “Abbot,” he asked, “why do you honor me with such a grand ceremony?”
Pressing his palms together in front of him, the monk said, “When those people inclined to virtue at our region study the sutras and chant the name of Buddha, their ardent hope invariably is to find incarnation at your land of China. Just now when I beheld the bearing and clothing of the venerable master, I realized at once that only the cultivation of a previous life could provide you with such noble endowment. It is fitting, therefore, for me to kneel and bow to you.”— Journey to the West, Chapter 91
This exchange exposes the paradox: The West’s perception of the East as “unenlightened” contrasts sharply with reality. The transmission of scriptures is less about salvation and more about cultural imperialism, driven by Buddhism’s ambition to secure patronage, resources, and authority in the wealthy Tang Empire.
Political and Economic Underpinnings
The pilgrimage’s hidden agenda mirrors historical tensions between Buddhist institutions and imperial power.
By aligning with the Tang court, Buddhism aimed to legitimize its status and gain economic privileges (e.g., tax-exempt temples, land grants).
“Stop shouting!” said the Buddhist Patriarch with a chuckle. “I knew already that the two of them would ask you for a little present. After all, the holy scriptures are not to be given lightly, nor are they to be received gratis. Some time ago, in fact, a few of our sage priests went down the mountain and recited these scriptures in the house of one Elder Zhao in the Kingdom of Sravasti, so that the living in his family would all be protected from harm and the deceased redeemed from perdition. For all that service they managed to charge him only three pecks and three pints of rice. I told them that they had made far too cheap a sale and that their posterity would have no money to spend. Since you people came with empty hands to acquire scriptures, blank texts were handed over to you. But these blank texts are actually true, wordless scriptures, and they are just as good as those with words. However, those creatures in your Land of the East are so foolish and unenlightened that I have no choice but to impart to you now the texts with words.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 98
By delivering the scriptures, Buddhism seeks to supplant Daoist and Confucian traditions, establishing spiritual—and by extension, political—dominance.
The novel critiques this symbiosis—while monks like Xuanzang appear pious, the journey itself is entangled in celestial politics and institutional greed.
In essence, the pilgrimage is a divine propaganda campaign masked as a holy mission. Journey to the West masterfully layers adventure with satire, questioning who truly benefits from the spread of faith—the people, the rulers, or the gods themselves.
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