Wordless Texts, Empty Hands: The Metaphysics and Materiality of Scriptures in Journey to the West

Abstract

Why are the pilgrims given empty scriptures in the final chapters of Journey to the West ? Prevailing interpretations read it as a transparent joke. This article instead proposes that the final chapters of the novel should be read as an extended allegorical commentary on the Heart Sūtra . The metaphysics of the empty scriptures and the materiality of the fragmented scriptures deliberately correspond to the Heart Sūtra ’s duality of emptiness and form, a duality that is ultimately dissolved in the Buddhist paradox of expressing nonduality through linguistic means. Xiyou ji , and in fact Buddhism at large, suggests that all texts—whether they be scriptures or literary fiction—are necessary yet insufficient vehicles in the pursuit of ultimate truth. Texts are only instrumental; the proverbial raft that must be discarded once the river to enlightenment has been crossed. 摘要: 本文將《西遊記》的結局作為《般若心經》的託寓來解讀，分析小說如何 以無字天書的的形而上學的內涵來闡述心經中色與空之間虛妄的雙對性。《西遊 記》指出，在追尋絕對真義的過程中，文本只不過是一個工具而已。这一道理无 异于佛法的基本教義。

Writing and Worship in Deng Zhimo’s Saints Trilogy

“…In Chapter 3, as Sa decides to withdraw from society to devote himself to ascetic cultivation, he chants the apocryphal "Leather Bag Song" (Tan pinang di yu 歎皮囊諦語) and the Heart Sutra, both quoted in full. 23 The incorporation of the Heart Sutra here brings to mind Chapter 19 of Journey to the West (Bantly 1989;Hui 2015). Whether or not Deng Zhimo attempted to tap the success of this masterpiece, unlike the allegorical significance of the Heart Sutra in Journey to the West, the sutra seems to be used in The Enchanted Date simply to stress Sa's complete withdrawal from human society.…”

The Three Dimensions of Belief Differentiating Religions

“…Similar as Taoist, Marcus Aurelius (121-180) regarded nature to be accorded with in living in reference of [8] for more discussion. Further, the inclination to relate human and god is remarked in Buddhists, saying that "色卽是空", translated as "people in society could arrive at the state of god as Buddha" in reference of [9] for more discussion. This thought is moved to the Existentialists doctrine, as instanced by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905Sartre ( -1980 as that people are to live with "Nothingness" in [10], translated to " 空 ".…”