唐僧身陷虎穴金星解厄，双叉岭刘伯钦帮助玄奘经受了初出长安第一场苦难。刘伯钦送唐僧到半山之中，回身立于路下道：“长老，你自前进，我却告回。”三藏闻言，滚鞍下马道：“千万敢劳再送一程！”伯钦道：“长老不知，此山唤做两界山，东半边属我大唐所管，西半边乃是鞑靼的地界。那厢狼虎，不伏我降，我却也不能过界，你自去罢。”三藏心惊，轮开手，牵衣执袂，滴泪难分。正在那叮咛拜别之际，只听得山脚下叫喊如雷道：“我师父来也！我师父来也！”唬得个三藏痴呆，伯钦打挣，并解释道：“这山旧名五行山，因我大唐征西定国，改名两界山。先年间曾闻得老人家说：‘王莽篡汉之时，天降此山，下压着一个神猴，这叫必定是他。长老莫怕，我们下山去看来。”三藏只得依从，牵马下山。行不数里，只见那石匣之间，果有一猴，露着头，伸着手，乱招手道：“师父，你怎么此时才来？来得好！来得好！救我出来，我保你上西天去也！”伯钦胆大，走上前来，与他拔去了鬓边草，颌下莎，问道：“你有甚么说话？”那猴道：“我没话说，教那个师父上来，我问他一问。”三藏道：“你问我甚么？”那猴道：“你可是东土大王差往西天取经去的么？”
三藏道：“我正是，你问怎么？”那猴道：“我是五百年前大闹天宫的齐天大圣，只因犯了诳上之罪，被佛祖压于此处。前者有个观音菩萨，领佛旨意，上东土寻取经人，往西方拜佛，功成后自有好处。故此昼夜提心，晨昏吊胆，只等师父来救我脱身，我愿保你取经，与你做个徒弟。”三藏闻言，满心欢喜道：“你虽有此善心，又蒙菩萨教诲，愿入沙门，只是我又没斧凿，如何救得你出？”那猴道：“这山顶上有我佛如来的金字压帖。你只上山将帖儿揭起，我就出来了。”三藏依言，回头央浼刘伯钦道：“我与你上山走一遭？”伯钦只得呼唤家僮，牵了马匹，他却扶着三藏，复上高山。他们果见有块四方大石，石上帖着一封皮，却是“罥、嘛、呢、叭、咪、罥”六个金字。三藏上前将六个金字轻轻揭下。径下高山，又至石匣边，对那猴道，“揭了压帖矣，你出来么。”那猴欢喜，叫道：“师父，你请走开些，我好出来，莫惊了你。”伯钦听说，领着三藏，一行人回东即走。走了五七里远近，又听得那猴高叫道：“再走！再走！”三藏又行了许远，下了山，只闻得一声响亮，真个是地裂山崩。众人尽皆悚惧，只见那猴早到了三臧的马前，赤淋淋跪下，道声“师父，我出来也！”对三藏拜了四拜，急起身，与伯钦唱个大喏道：“有劳大哥送我师父，又承大哥替我脸上薅草。”谢毕，就去收拾行李，扣背马匹。三藏见他意思，实有好心，真个象沙门中的人物，便叫：“徒弟啊，你姓甚么？”猴王道：“我姓孙。”三藏道：“我与你起个法名，却好呼唤。”猴王道：“不劳师父盛意，我原有个法名，叫做孙悟空。”三藏欢喜道：
“也正合我们的宗派。你这个模样，就象那小头陀一般，我再与你起个混名，称为行者，好么？”悟空道：“好！好！好！”自此时又称为孙行者。那伯钦见孙行者一心收拾要行，却转身对三藏唱个喏道：“长老，你幸此间收得个好徒，甚喜甚喜，此人果然去得。我却告回。”三藏躬身作礼相谢。从此，唐僧和他的徒弟会顺利走完取经路程，因为孙悟空已发誓保护唐僧取经，后来又有猪八戒和沙僧的帮助，他们能合力打败任何妖魔鬼怪。尽管唐僧会有九九八十一难，不过他只会有惊无险，各种妖魔鬼怪都想通过吃唐僧肉或女妖想与他交配得到长生不死，但他们注定要失败。在孙悟空变成唐僧徒弟之后，每个故事情节的关注点不是唐僧是否被任何沿途抓住他的妖魔鬼怪吃掉，而是孙悟空这一次该如何营救唐僧。孙悟空是小说中的头号主人公而唐僧却是取经团队的头领。
The Tang Priest fell into the tiger’s den and was saved by the Planet Venus. On the Double ForkedMountain Liu Boqin helped Sanzang stand up to his first ordeal after leaving Chang’an. When Liu Boqinescorted Sanzang a long way， half-way over the mountain he turned round， stood beside the path andsaid，“Venerable monk， I must ask you to take yourself on from here. I have to go back.”On hearing thisSanzang tumbled out of his saddle to say，“Please， please， take me another stage！”“You don’t seem toknow that this is called Double Boundary Mountain，”said Boqin.“The eastern part belongs to our GreatTang， but the western part is Tatar territory. The tigers and wolves on that side are not subject to my control，which is why I can’t cross the boundary. You must go on by yourself.”The monk was so alarmed to hear thisthat he waved his arms around and grabbed hold of the hunter’s clothes and sleeves， weeping and refusing tolet him go. When at last Sanzang was bowing repeatedly to the hunter to take his leave， a shout like thundercame from under the mountain：“My master’s come， my master’s come.”Sanzang stood frozen with fearat the sound of it， and Boqin had to hold him up and explained，“This mountain used to be called FiveElements Mountain， and its name was only changed to Double Boundary Mountain when our Great TangEmperor fought his western campaign to pacify the country. I once heard an old man say that in the dayswhen Wang Mang usurped the Han throne， Heaven sent down this mountain and crushed a monkey underit. It must have been him shouting； there’s nothing for you to be afraid of， venerable sir. Let’s go down andhave a look.”Sanzang had to follow him， leading his horse down the mountain. A mile or two later they sawthat there really was a monkey poking out his head out of a stone cell， and making desperate gestures with hisoutstretched hands as he shouted，“Master， why didn’t you come before？ Thank goodness you’re here， thankgoodness. If you get me out of here I guarantee that you’ll reach the Western Heaven.”Boqin showed greatcourage in going up to him， pulling away the grass that was growing beside his temples and the sedge underhis chin， and asking，“What have you got to say？”“I’ve got nothing to say，”the monkey replied.“Youjust tell that monk to come over here while I ask him a question.”“What question do you want to askme？”said Sanzang.“Are you the fellow sent to the Western Heaven by the Emperor of the East to fetch theures？’asked the monkey.“Yes， I am，”Sanzang replied.“Why do you ask？”“I am the Great SageEqualling Heaven who wrecked the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. The Lord Buddha put me underthis mountain for my criminal insubordination. Some time ago the Bodhisattva Guanyin went to the East onthe Buddha’s orders to find someone who could fetch the ures. When I asked her to save me she told methat I was to give up evil-doing， return to the Buddha’s Law， and do all I could to protect the traveler when hewent to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and fetch the ures； she said that there’ll be somethingin it for me when that’s done. Ever since then I’ve been waiting day and night with eager anticipation foryou to come and save me， Master. I swear to protect you on your way to fetch the ures and to be yourdisciple.”Sanzang， delighted to hear this， said，“Although you now have these splendid intentions and wishto become a monk thanks to the teaching of the Bodhisattva， I’ve no axe or chisel， so how am I to get youout？”“There’s no need for axes or chisels. As long as you’re willing to save me， I can get myself out，”themonkey replied.“I’m willing to save you，”Sanzang said，“but how are you going to get out？”“On thetop of this mountain there is a detention order by the Tathagata Buddha written in letters of gold. If you climbthe mountain and tear it off， I’ll be straight out.”Accepting his suggestion， Sanzang turned round to ask LiuBoqin if he would go up the mountain with him. So Liu Boqin told his servants to lead the horse while hehelped Sanzang up the mountain. They saw a large， square rock on which was pasted a paper seal bearingthe golden words Om mani padme hum. Sanzang went up and gently tore the paper seal off. Then they wentdown the mountain to the stone cell， where they said to the monkey，“The restriction order has been tornoff， so you can come out.”The delighted monkey said，“Master， please stand well clear so that I don’t giveyou a fright when I come out.’On hearing this Liu Boqin took Sanzang and the rest of them to the east，and when they had covered some two or three miles they heard the monkey shout，“Further， further！”SoSanzang went much further until he was off the mountain. Then there was a great noise as the mountain splitopen. As they were all shaking with terror， the monkey appeared kneeling stark naked in front of Sanzang’shorse and saying，“Master， I’m out.”He bowed four times to Sanzang， then jumped up， addressed LiuBoqin with a respectful noise， and said，“Thank you， elder brother， for escorting my master， and thank youtoo for weeding the grass off my face.”He then picked up the luggage and put it on the horse’s back. Seeingthat his intentions were indeed good and that he really was now a Buddhist， Sanzang asked him what washis surname.“My surname is Sun，”replied the Monkey King.“I’ll give you a Buddhist name that I cancall you by，”said Sanzang.“There is no need to trouble yourself，”said the Monkey King，“I’ve alreadygot one： Sun Wukong—Monkey Awakened to Emptiness.”“That’s just right for our sect，”exclaimed themonk.“As you look so much like a young novice， I’ll give you another name and call you Brother Monkey. Isthat all right？”“Yes， yes， yes，”said Sun Wukong， and from then on he was also called Brother Monkey， orSun the Novice. When Boqin saw that Brother Monkey was determined to go， he returned to Sanzang， chanteda noise of respect and said，“It’s splendid that you have got so good a disciple， venerable sir. He’ll certainlymake the journey. I must now take my leave.”Sanzang bowed to him in thanks. From then on the TangPriest and his disciples Monkey， later on Pig and Friar Sand， were going to complete their journey safely， forMonkey had sworn to protect the Tang Priest on his way to fetch the ures， and with the help of Pig andFriar Sand， they could jointly beat any of monsters or demons. Although the Tang Priest would have the ninetimes nine ordeals， he would only be more scared than hurt； all kinds of monsters and demons would like toattain immortality by eating some of the flesh of the Tang Priest or by the female’s mating with him， but theywere doomed to failure. Since Monkey has become Sanzang’s disciple， the interest of plot of each episodeis not whether Sanzang is going to be eaten by any of the monsters who capture him along the way but howMonkey will rescue him this time. Monkey is the No. 1 hero in the novel while Sanzang is the Master of thecompanions on the journey to fetch the ures.
行者伏侍唐僧西进。一天他们来到蛇盘山鹰愁涧。唐僧的马遭到从涧里水浪中跳上崖山的龙吞吃了。“这万水千山，怎生走得？”唐僧对行者说着，“泪如雨落。”“行者见他哭将起来，他那里忍得住暴燥，发声喊道：‘师父莫要这等脓包形么！’”作为读者，我们能理解凡人唐僧没有神人悟空的神性。但真正的唐僧绝不像故事中离开了徒弟就寸步难行！真正的唐僧是个勇敢、能干、独自无助地经历了西行的艰难险阻，然后成了在印度公开辩论大乘佛法纯观念理论无对手的着名专家。玄奘，也以三藏法师着称，在我国历史上又是着名的翻译家。但此唐僧非彼唐僧也，因为一个是历史上的真人，用作了人物原型，一个是《西游记》作者根据他主题的需要，借用了人物原型，创造的《西游记》第二号主人公。
Monkey looked after the Tang Priest as they headed west. One day they came to the Eagle’s SorrowGorge in the Coiled Snake Mountain. Sanzang’s horse was swallowed by the dragon that leapt up the cliff fromthe waves in the gorge.‘We’ll never get across those thousands of mountains and rivers.”said Sanzang，while“his tears fell like rain.”“The sight of him crying was too much for Brother Monkey， who flared upand shouted，‘Stop being such an imbecile， Master’.”As readers， we can understand a mortal man， theTang Priest， does not have the nature of immortals as the immortal Monkey has. But the real Xuanzang wasnothing like the helpless idiot in the story who can scarcely take a single pace without his disciples. The realXuanzang was brave and able， coping unaided with the difficulties and dangers of his journey， then becomingso expert in Mahayana Buddhist Pure Ideation theory that he could defeat rivals in public disputations inIndia. Xuanzang， also known as the Dharma Master Sanzang， was a famous translator， too， in the history ofour country. But this Sanzang was different from that Sanzang， for this was a historical real man， who was usedas a prototype of a character while that Sanzang was the No.2 hero created by the writer who made use of theprototype of the character according to his need for the main theme of the novel Journey to the West.
当唐僧脱了凡胎，即“脱却胎胞骨肉身”时，他才“方可成佛”。作为佛，“长老亦将经卷丢下，也从台上起于九霄，相随腾空而去”，有“神性”了。既然唐僧的“死尸”漂浮着顺流而下了，那么是唐僧的什么“成佛”了？是唐僧的“元神”“成佛”了！由此可见，人的生命是由物质（肉体）生命和精神（“元神”）生命组成的。唐僧的精神（“元神”）生命“成佛”了，即长生不死了，那么，他活在哪里？我们如何知道或怎样证明？
Only when the Tang Priest has cast off his mortal body， i.e. only“when the womb-born flesh and bodyof blood is cast aside，”can he“become a Buddha.”As a Buddha，“Sanzang put the ures down andalso rose up to the ninth level of clouds， then went away with them through the air.”He has now possessedthe nature of immortals. Since the Tang Priest’s corpse came floating downstream， what of the Tang Priest’shas become a Buddha？ It is the Tang Priest’s primal spirit that has become a Buddha！ From here we can seethat one’s life is made up of physical (body) life and moral (primal spirit) life. The Tang Priest’s moral (primalspirit) life has become a Buddha， i.e. immortal—living forever. In that case， where does he live？ How can weknow or how to prove？
唐僧的精神生命永远活在全世界《西游记》读者的心里！我们读了《西游记》还记得唐僧值得读者记住的东西就证明那是唐僧精神生命的组成精髓。简而言之，那就是：A）“玄奘亦回洪福寺里。那本寺多僧与几个徒弟，早闻取经之事，都来相见，因问：
‘发誓愿上西天，实否？’玄奘道：‘是实。’他徒弟道：‘师父呵，尝闻人言，西天路远，更多虎豹妖魔。只怕有去无回，难保身命。’玄奘道：‘我已发了弘誓大愿，不取真经，永堕沉沦地狱。大抵是受王恩宠，不得不尽忠以报国耳。我此去真是渺渺茫茫，吉凶难定。’”唐僧真是有情有义，知恩报德。
The Tang Priest’s moral (primal spirit) life is living for ever in the hearts of the readers who read Journeyto the West all over the world. Having read Journey to the West， that we can still remember what is worthremembering about the Tang Priest can prove what are made up of the essentials of his moral life. To put itbriefly， they are as follows：
A）“Xuanzang went back to the Hongfu Monastery， where the many monks and his few personaldisciplines had already heard that he was going to fetch the ures. They came to ask if it was truethat he had vowed to go to the Western Heaven. On being told by Xuanzang that it was indeed true， hispupils said，‘Teacher， we have heard that the journey to the Western Heaven is a long one， and that thereare many tigers， leopards， fiends， and demons on the way. We are afraid that you may lose your life andnever come back.’‘I have sworn a great vow that I shall fall into Hell for eternity if I do not get the trueures，’replied Xuanzang.‘Besides， as I have been so favoured by His Majesty， I shall have to showmy loyalty to the utmost if I am to repay the country for his honour. But it will be a journey into the unknown，and there is no saying what my fate will be’.”The Tang Priest really has affection and faith， and returns thehospitality that he has received.
B）唐僧有他人生崇高的目标和宏伟的事业。他一心一意西天取经，以济众生，造福生灵，造福社稷。他冒着生命危险，经历了九九八十一难，九死一生，终成正果。
B）The Tang Priest has a noble goal and a grand cause in his life. He goes to the Western Heaven tofetch the ures with his whole heart and soul so as to save all living beings and bring benefit to the peopleand the country. He has risked his life， undergone the nine times nine ordeals， escaped the danger of death bya hair’s breadth and his reward has been a golden body.
C）唐僧有他的信仰，并且是个非常虔诚的佛教徒。他不仅扼守誓言，“路中逢庙烧香，遇佛拜佛，遇塔扫塔”，而且严格遵守佛教戒律，如他不蓄私财，只求温饱。“那皇帝与三宫妃后、太子诸臣，将镇国的宝贝，金银缎帛，献与师父酬恩。那三藏分毫不受，只是倒换关文，催悟空等备马早行。”（第四十回）他们仍靠化斋过日。又如“他目不视恶色，耳不听淫声。他把这锦绣娇容如粪土，金珠美貌若灰尘。一生只爱参禅，半步不离佛地。那里会惜玉怜香，只晓得修真养性。”“那女怪，活泼泼，春意无边；这长老，死丁丁，禅机有在。那个要贴胸交股和鸾凤，这个要画壁归山访达摩。女怪解衣，卖弄她肌香肤腻；唐僧敛衽，紧藏了糙肉粗皮。女怪道：‘我美若西施还袅娜。’唐僧道：‘我越王因此久埋尸。’
女怪道：‘御弟，你记得宁教花下死，做鬼也风流？’唐僧道：‘我的真阳为至宝，怎肯轻与你这粉骷髅。’”（第五十五回）唐僧从不为女色所动。再如，“女王扯住唐僧道：‘御弟哥哥，我愿将一国之富，招你为夫，明日高登宝位，即位称君，我愿为君之后。’”但三藏却说：“恐女王招我进去，要行夫妇之礼，我怎肯丧元阳，败坏了佛家德行；走真精，堕落了本教人身？”由此可见，唐僧既不爱江山，也不爱美人，不被财、色、权所动，只忠于他的信仰，只珍爱他的德行，只痴迷他的事业。
C）The Tang Priest has his belief and he is a very devout Buddhist. He not only keeps his vowthat“whenever I come across a temple on my journey I shall burn incense； whenever I see a Buddha’simage I shall worship it； and whenever I pass a stupa I shall sweep it”， but also strictly observes Buddhistmonastic discipline. For instance， he never stores up private property and always has a life with just enoughfood and clothing.“The king， his queen and consorts， the crown prince and the ministers presented thecountry’s greatest treasures as well as gold， silver， silk and satin to the patriarch as tokens of their thanks.
Sanzang accepted none of these gifts but only the return of his passport and urged Monkey and the other twoto saddle the horse up and be on their way as soon as possible.”(Chapter 40) They are still living by begginga meal. Another instance，“His eyes saw no evil beauty， his ears heard no voluptuous words. To him thebrocade and the lovely face was dung， the gold， the jewels and the beauty so much dirt. The love of his lifewas contemplation； he never took a step from Buddha Land. He did not care for female charms， knowing onlyhow to nourish his true nature.”“The she-devil was full of life and unbounded desire. The venerable monkseemed almost dead， his mind fixed on meditation. One longed to press her breasts against him and entwinetheir limbs in rapturous union； the other wanted only to sit facing the wall like the monk Bodhidharma. Theshe-devil took off her clothes， displaying her smooth skin and fragrant body； the Tang Priest pulled his robestogether， covering the roughness of his hide and flesh. The she-devil said，‘I am more lovely than Xi Shiherself.’‘Long was the king of Yue buried on her account，’the monk replied.‘Do you remember thislines，’the she-devil asked，‘I’m willing to die and be buried under flowers； even as a ghost shall I liveand love？’To this the Tang Priest replied，‘My true masculinity is my great treasure； I could not lightlygive it to a bag of bones like you.’(Chapter 55)”The Tang Priest’s never touched by any temptation of sex.
Another instance again， the queen“grabbed hold of the Tang Priest and said，‘Dear emperor’s brother， Ihave offered you the wealth of my realm to become my husband. Tomorrow you are going to take the throneas monarch， and I am going to be your consort’.”But Sanzang said，“I’m afraid that when the queentakes me into her palace she will want me to perform my conjugal duties. I could not possibly lose my primalmasculinity and ruin my conduct as Buddhist monk， or let my true seed escape and destroy my status in thefaith.”Thus it can be seen that the Tang Priest loves neither the throne nor the beauty. He’s never touchedby any temptation of property， sex or power. He’s only loyal to his faith. He only cherishes his moral conduct.
He’s only infatuated with his cause.
D）为了达到他的人生目标——从西天取回真经，唐僧有冒生命危险的勇气，有保护自己坚定不移的决心，有经受九九八十一难而百折不回的恒心。但他有时为了达到目的，不择手段。如他用“假亲脱网”之计欺骗西梁女国之国王。又如，比丘国王差他锦衣官来请求唐僧的心作国王的药引子，“唐僧战战兢兢的爬起来，扯着行者哀告道：‘贤徒啊！此事如何是好？’行者道：‘若要全命，师作徒，徒作师，方可保全。’三藏道：‘你若救得我性命，情愿与你做徒子徒孙也。’”真不像话！
D）In order to reach his goal in his life—fetch the true ures from the Western Heaven， the TangPriest has the courage of running the risk of his life， the unswerving determination to preserve himself， theperseverance in pushing forward despite the nine times nine ordeals. But he sometimes uses unscrupulousdivisive tactics to attain his end. For instance， he deceived the Queen of Womanland of Western Liang bymaking a plan“to slip through the net with a false marriage”. Another instance， the King of Bhiksulandsent his aide to ask the Tang Priest for his heart as the king’s adjuvant. The Tang Priest，“trembling andshaking， dragged himself to his feet， seized hold of Monkey and said imploringly，‘Good disciple， how are weto get out of this？’‘If you want to survive，’Monkey replied，‘the disciple will have to become the masterand the master the disciple. Do that and we’ll be safe.’‘Save my life，’said Sanzang，‘and I will gladlybecome your disciple or even your disciple’s disciple.’”What a shame！
E）唐僧是个慈悲好善之人。但他对白骨夫人、红孩儿、蝎子精等妖魔的仁慈则是对孙悟空、寇员外等好人的残忍。即便他是凡人，不能识别妖魔真假，但总该能区分强盗和好人吧！如：“师徒们正走多时，忽见路旁唿哨一声，闯出六个人来，各执长枪短剑，利刃强弓，大咤一声道：‘那和尚！那里走！赶早留下马匹，放下行李，饶你性命过去！’唬得那三藏魂飞魄散，跌下马来，不能言语。”当孙悟空说：“师父请行，那贼已被老孙剿了。”
三藏却道：“出家人扫地恐伤蝼蚁命，爱惜飞蛾纱罩灯。你怎么不分皂白，一顿打死？全无一点慈悲好善之心！早还是山野中无人查考；若到城市，倘有人一时冲撞了你，你也行凶，执着棍子，乱打伤人，我可做得白客，怎能脱身？”悟空道：“师父，我若不打死他，他却要打死你哩。”三藏道：“我这出家人，宁死绝不敢行凶。”（第四十四回）真是虚伪、迂腐！又如第五十六回，“那贼那容分说，举着棒，没头没脸的打来。长老一生不会说谎，遇着这急难处，没奈何，只得打个诳语道：‘二位大王，切莫动手，我有个小徒弟，在后面就到。他身上有几两银子，把与你罢。’那贼道：‘这和尚是也吃不得亏，且捆起来。’众喽罗一齐下手，把一条绳捆了，高高吊在树上。”当悟空冲上来道：“只望放下我师父，我就一并奉承。”“那伙贼闻言，都甚欢喜道：‘这老和尚悭吝，这小和尚倒还慷慨。’教：
‘放下来。’那长老得了性命，跳上马，顾不得行者，操着鞭，一直跑回旧路。”孙悟空不得不打死了两个贼人。唐僧却叫八戒：“快使钉钯，筑个坑埋了，我与他念卷倒头经。”又恨恨地叫悟空：“猴头过去，等我撮土焚香祷告。”他祈祷道：“拜惟好汉，听祷原因：却遭行者，棍下伤身。你到森罗殿下兴词，倒树寻根，他姓孙，我姓陈，各居异姓。冤有头，债有主，切莫告我取经僧人。”“大圣闻言，忍不住笑道：‘师父，你老人家忒没情义。虽是我动手打，却也只是为你。’”真叫人寒心！
E）The Tang Priest is a kind and merciful man. But he is cruel to Monkey， Squire Kou and other goodpeople while he is merciful to Lady White Bone， Red Boy， Scorpion Spirit and other monsters and demons.
He should know how to tell the good people from bandits or robbers even though he is a mortal and can’tdistinguish the true from the false monsters and demons. For instance，“When master and disciple hadbeen travelling for a long time they heard a whistle from beside the path， and six men rushed out with spears，swords， cutlasses， and strong bows.‘Where do you think you’re going， monk？’they roared.‘If you give usyour horse and luggage we’ll spare your life.’Sanzang fell from his horse， scared out of his wits and unableto utter a word.‘Let’s go， master；’Monkey said，‘I’ve wiped those bandits out.’Sanzang replied：‘Aperson who enters the religious life spares the ants when he sweeps the floor， covers the lamps to save themoth. What business did you have to slaughter the lot of them， without caring which of them were the guiltyand which were innocent？ You haven’t a shred of compassion or goodness in you. This time it happened inthe wilds， where nobody will be able to trace the crime. Say someone offended you in a city and you turnedmurderous there. Say you killed and wounded people when you went berserk with that club of yours. I myselfwould be involved even though I’m quite innocent.’‘But if I hadn’t killed them， they’d have killed you，master，’protested Sun Wukong.‘I am a man of religion， and I would rather die than commit murder，”saidSanzang. (in Chapter 44) He’s really hypocritical and pedantic！ Another instance， in Chapter 56，“The banditwas in no mood for argument as he raised his cudgel and started to lay about Sanzang. Sanzang who in all hislife had never told a lie， in this desperate crisis had to make one up now：‘Don’t hit me， Your Majesties. Ihave a young disciple following behind me who’ll be here soon. He has several ounces of silver that he’ll giveto you.’‘Don’t hurt the monk，’said one of the bandit chiefs.‘Tie him up.’The crowd of bandits thenfell upon him， roped him up， and suspended him high from a tree.”When Monkey rushed up and said：“Assoon as you’ve let my master down I’ll give you it all.”“When the bandits heard this， they were delighted，and they all said，‘The old monk is stingy， but this little monk is very generous. Let him down.’Now thathis life had been spared the venerable elder leapt on the horse and galloped back the way he had come，making good use of the whip and not giving Monkey another thought.”Monkey had to kill two of bandits.
The Tang Priest told Pig，“Dig a grave for them with your rake and bury them while I say the Burial Sutrafor them.”He also told Monkey with fury，“Out of my way， ape， I am going to scatter earth on the tomb，burn incense and pray.”He prayed：“I bow to you tough guys and ask you to hear my prayer. Then youencountered Sun the Novice， who killed you with his cudgel. When you reach the Underworld to lodge yourcomplaint and look for the roots of your misfortune， remember that his surname is Sun and mine is Chen： theyare different. Know who it was who wronged you， just as you would know a debtor， and do not bring a caseagainst the monk who is going to fetch the ures.”When Monkey heard this he could not help laughingas he replied，“Monster， you’ve got no finer feelings at all. It’s true that I did kill them， but it was only foryou.”It’s bitterly disappointing！
正如所有凡人一样，唐僧有其人性的各种缺点和错误。 他的人性也有善恶两面。但“僧是愚氓犹可训”，即是说，唐僧是个需要教育的人，而不是无情地被惩罚。就他一生而论，他是个积极向上的人，对取经事业非常执着。他经受住了各种考验。事实上，他不愧为西天取经团队的领队和核心。他的优缺点都如此真实地融进了他永存的精神生命之中，以便世人借鉴。
Just like all mortals， the Tang Priest has his human faults and weaknesses. He also has a human natureof both kind and evil sides. But“the monk though simple-headed is not an uneducated monk”， that is tosay， he needs to be educated instead of being punished mercilessly. As far as his life is concerned， he is anactive and upward man and is very inflexible in his cause of fetching the ures. He has withstood all trialsand tribulations. In fact， he has proved himself to be the master and the core of the companions on the journeyto the Western Heaven to fetch the ures. His strong and weak points are so truly blended into his eternalmoral life that all people in the world may make use of them for reference.
