An analysis of the characters in Xiyou Ji through the lens of Yogacara Buddhism

Master Xuanzang is a prominent, highly esteemed monk in Chinese Buddhist history. Master Xuanzang's most distinguished achievement was the long and perilous pilgrimage he took to India to obtain a large quantity of Buddhist scriptures, many of which he translated into Chinese. In addition to enriching the collection of Chinese Buddhist scriptures, these Mahayana sutras and treatises are reliable sources attesting to bodhisattvas' awakening. Moreover, with the Yogacara school's all-inclusive cognition of Consciousness-Only, Buddhist practitioners gained significant advancement in both Buddhist insight knowledge and logic. Master Xuanzang also established the True Consciousness-Only Realization and clarified the contents of Buddhsit cultivation regarding the eight forms of consciousness (vijnana). Xiyou ji (Journey to the West) is one of the Four Great Chinese Novels in Chinese literature. This Chinese classic uses the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang's legendary pilgrimage to India as its backdrop and incorporated folklore and social events of the time into its storyline. This paper analyzes the characters of Xiyou ji from the perspective of Yogacara theory of eight consciosunesses.