We know that in Journey to the West, Chen Xuanzang (Tang Sanzagn or Tripitaka) is the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada (Gold Cicada or Jin Chanzi). So, did Guanyin Bodhisattva choose Chen Xuanzang or the Golden Cicada as the scripture seeker? And who ultimately achieves Buddhahood?
Golden Cicada in Journey to the West
In Journey to the West, it is explicitly stated that Chen Xuanzang is the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada.
When Guanyin Bodhisattva went to Chang’an to find the scripture seeker, she clearly stated that she chose Chen Xuanzang, the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada.
At the same time, the Bodhisattva said to Moksa, “Today is the formal celebration of the Grand Mass, the first seventh of seven such occasions. It’s about time for you and me to join the crowd. First, we want to see how the mass is going; second, we want to find out whether Gold Cicada is worthy of my treasures; and third, we can discover what division of Buddhism he is preaching about.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 12
The Great Immortal Zhenyuan of Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain also directly stated that Tang Sanzang is the Golden Cicada. And that’s why Zhenyuan offered two ginseng fruits to Tang Monk.
“You should know,” said the Great Immortal, “that that monk happens to be the incarnate Gold Cicada, the second disciple of Tathāgata, the Aged Sage of the West. Five hundred years ago, I became acquainted with him during the Feast of the Ullambana Bowl.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 25
Sun Wukong likewise explicitly pointed out that Tang Sanzang is the Golden Cicada.
“You’re babbling again, Idiot!” said Pilgrim. “You don’t realize that Master was the second disciple of our Buddha Tathagata, and originally he was called Elder Gold Cicada. Because he slighted the Law, he was fated to experience this great ordeal.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 81
Furthermore, among the 81 Tribulations experienced by the scripture-seeking monk, the first tribulation was the “demotion of the Golden Cicada.”
Therefore, the true scripture seeker has always been the Golden Cicada, who was merely cultivating through Chen Xuanzang’s physical body.
As the scripture quest neared completion, the Golden Cicada discarded Chen Xuanzang’s mortal body, exchanging it for a purified the Golden Cicada essence or spirit. Thunderclap Temple required and recognized the scripture seeker as the Golden Cicada’s primordial spirit. Chen Xuanzang’s mortal, flesh-and-blood body could not ascend Ling Mountain (the Spirit Mountain / Vulture Peak) directly; hence, it was discarded at Cloud-Transcending Ford (Cloud-Transcending Ferry or Lingyun Du). Not only was it not the Tang dynasty monk Chen Xuanzang who ultimately achieved Buddhahood, but even the entity that walked onto the Spirit Mountain was not that Tang monk’s physical body.
Thus, in the novel, when the Tang dynasty monk who sought the Great Vehicle Scriptures (Mahayana Sutras) finally delivered the scriptures to Chang’an and prepared to expound them, he was summoned by Vajrapanis. At their call, he immediately set down the scriptures and ascended to the cloud and left.
Tang Sanzang in the Chinese history
Fortunately, in actual history, the Tang dynasty monk Chen Xuanzang (Sanzang) journeyed west to seek the Dharma. He traveled for 17 years round trip, covering 50,000 li, passing through 138 countries. He brought back 520 bundles containing 657 volumes of Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhist sutras, vinaya (monastic rules), and shastras (commentaries). After returning, Chen Xuanzang devoted himself entirely to scholarship, spending another 20 years translating scriptures. He became one of China’s Four Great Buddhist Translators and founded the East Asian Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only) School. This is the true Tang Sanzang who sought the genuine scriptures.
Golden Cicada and its connotations
The Golden Cicada was once banished to the mortal world for inattentiveness during the Buddha’s sermon and reincarnated as Tang Sanzang. The name “Jin Chan” is deeply symbolic: “Jin” (gold) represents the radiance of the Buddha, while “Chan” refers to Buddhist meditation – homophonous with “chan” (cicada) in Chinese. Beyond its Buddhist connotations, the cicada also symbolizes rebirth and immortality in Daoism, as it sheds its exoskeleton to emerge anew. Hence, the Golden Cicada’s reincarnation as the eminent monk of the Great Tang dynasty subtly echoes the image of the cicada molting – symbolizing spiritual transformation and renewal. This symbolism underlies the popular belief in Journey to the West that eating Tang Sanzang’s flesh grants eternal life.
Tang Sanzang’s origin as The Golden Cicada (Jin Chanzi) destined him to be the one and only candidate in Guanyin Bodhisattva’s eyes for the sacred scripture-retrieval mission. His dual identity – past and present – embodies a clear karmic continuity. Indeed, the Golden Cicada’s former status powerfully propels the narrative of the pilgrimage. As both a reincarnated Buddhist disciple and a virtuous monk recognized by Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist traditions alike, Tang Sanzang becomes a unique bridge connecting the human world, the Western Paradise (Buddhist heaven), and the Celestial Court (Daoist heaven). This tripartite role ensures the success of the scripture-fetching quest. Throughout Journey to the West, his enigmatic yet persistent backstory weaves through the narrative like a golden thread, giving the novel a cohesive, string-of-pearls structural quality.
Why did Golden Cicada have to undergo ten reincarnations?
Now, we all know that Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of Golden Cicada, Tathagata’s disciple. But do you know why Golden Cicada had to descend to the mortal world and go through ten lifetimes of torment? Actually, this story begins with a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree in Western Ox-Heaven Continent.
The Birth of Golden Cicada from a Ginkgo Tree
Five hundred years ago, in the backyard of the Great Thunderclap Monastery on Spirit Mountain, there stood a three-thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. Its roots absorbed the spiritual energy of Spirit Mountain, and the leaves at its crown could catch the golden light that drifted down when Tathagata preached the sutras. One autumn, a golden cicada sliver hung on a branch. Illuminated by the Buddha light, it slowly condensed into a human form. This was the first Golden Cicada. He exuded spiritual energy, and his first words were, “Master, what is meant by ‘all living beings are equal’?” The Arhat sweeping the floor was astonished and quickly reported to Tathagata. Seeing this little creature born from a spiritual object, Tathagata was delighted and said, “You take the form of a cicada, so you shall be called Golden Cicada.”
A Prodigy at Spirit Mountain
From then on, Golden Cicada stayed at Spirit Mountain, lying under the lotus seat to listen to the sutras. While other disciples meditated, he would fly around Tathagata’s golden lotus platform. Listening, he could utter such wonderful words as, “A Bodhisattva walking in the world should be like a cicada sloughing its skin—unstained and undefiled.” Even the great disciple Kasyapa praised him for being born with three parts Buddha-nature. When Tathagata preached the Avatamsaka Sutra, saying that in a single mote of dust there are three thousand great worlds, other Bodhisattvas would frown and ponder for three days. But on that very day, Golden Cicada used a dewdrop to reflect the illusory realm of Spirit Mountain, saying, “All living beings cultivate within their own dewdrop worlds.” Tathagata was overjoyed and formally accepted him as his second disciple. This was an exceptional promotion on Spirit Mountain, equivalent to going from an auditing student directly to a personally transmitted disciple. Not only that, Tathagata also taught him the Dharma of Non-Duality in private lessons.
A Compassionate but Reckless Heart
However, this child had a flaw: he was too soft-hearted. Seeing hunters at the foot of Spirit Mountain hunting, he would secretly release the fawns from their traps. Discovering that a mortal woman was having difficulty in childbirth, he would steal Spirit Mountain’s resurrection herb to save her. Tathagata saw all these things, feeling both gratified and worried. This child had enough compassion, but he didn’t understand karma, that it shouldn’t be lightly altered. He needed to go to the mortal world and taste for himself the flavor of how deliberate goodness can instead become a bitter fruit.
The Famine That Changed Everything
What really made Tathagata decide to send him down to the mortal world was the famine incident. At that time, the Great Tang in the East endured a three-year drought. Through Spirit Mountain’s reflective mirror, Golden Cicada saw an old woman give her last mouthful of rice porridge to her blind mother-in-law, while she herself starved to death in a broken kiln. He immediately knelt before Tathagata, crying, “Master, our Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra can relieve the suffering of living beings. Why not let your disciple take the scriptures to the East directly, instead of waiting for them to comprehend on their own?” Tathagata sighed and replied, “Golden Cicada, the Buddha Dharma is like rainwater; there must be a vessel to catch it. At this moment, the hearts of living beings in the East only seek survival, not the Dharma. Forcibly pouring it on them will only let dust cover the scriptures.” But Golden Cicada became anxious, “Then your disciple will become their vessel. Let them first have enough to eat and wear, and then talk to them about cause and effect.”
Tathagata’s Judgment: Ten Lifetimes of Trial
These words violated a great taboo in the Buddhist world. The Buddha Dharma emphasizes the union of causes and conditions; forced intervention creates adverse karma. Tathagata’s face darkened, and he asked, “Do you know that the woman you saved with the resurrection herb later had her legs broken for stealing food to raise her child? You thought you were doing good, but you actually disrupted cause and effect.” Golden Cicada was stunned. He suddenly understood that what he had seen of the mortal world from Spirit Mountain were only fragments; he had never seen the complexity behind good intentions. Tathagata seized the opportunity to say, “How about this: you go to the mortal world and reincarnate for ten lifetimes. In each life, carry the obsession to transmit the scriptures, but for the first nine lives, I will make sure you seek but do not obtain. You must personally taste what is called the suffering of all beings. Even a Buddha cannot forcibly ferry them across.”
Thus, Golden Cicada’s first life was reincarnated as Mingyuan, a young novice monk in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Just after turning thirty, he set off westward with half a scroll of the Diamond Sutra in his pocket. When he reached the Flowing Sands River, he was swallowed in one gulp by Sha Wujing, who was waiting there to atone for his sins. This was actually a plan long ago agreed upon by Tathagata and Guanyin. After being banished, Sha Wujing ate people every day. Having him eat the nine lifetimes of scripture seekers could both eliminate his karma of killing and make Golden Cicada understand: if you can’t even ferry someone by your side, how can you talk about ferrying all living beings?
In each life, Golden Cicada’s skull was strung into a necklace by Sha Wujing, but Guanyin had secretly planted seeds of memory in them. So when the tenth-life Tang Sanzang passed by the Flowing Sands River, seeing the skull necklace, his heart would inexplicably ache; seeing Sha Wujing, he couldn’t help but say, “You and I were fated in a past life.”
The Tenth Life: Awakening to the True Dharma
Not until the tenth life, when he was rescued from a wooden basin, grew up from “River Drifter” to become the “Great Tang’s Imperial Younger Brother,” carrying the compassionate obsession accumulated over nine lives and the lessons of failure, did he truly understand Tathagata’s original intention. It turned out that transmitting the scriptures is not about giving answers, but about teaching the method to find answers. Just as a cicada must break its own cocoon, the suffering of all beings must be thoroughly comprehended by themselves.
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