ExclusiveIs Journey to the West China’s Odyssey? #odyssey #Journeytowest

Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel. I’m Sara. Someone once asked: Is Homer’s Odyssey the Western equivalent of Journey to the West? At first glance, the answer seems to be yes. Both tell the story of an extraordinary journey filled with monsters, gods, temptations, and years of hardship. Both follow travellers who leave the familiar world, endure countless trials, and emerge forever changed. One is the foundational epic of ancient Greece; the other is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. On the surface, they seem almost like reflections of one another. But look a little closer, and the resemblance begins to fade. What these two masterpieces share is the journey itself. What they do not share is the purpose of that journey. One is about becoming—and remaining—fully human. The other is about transcending the human condition through the gradual surrender of every attachment. 26 00:01:10.471 --> 00:01:12.995 The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, the resourceful king of Ithaca. After the ten-year of war at Troy, he spends another ten years wandering the Mediterranean. He blinds the Cyclops, escapes the enchantments of Circe, sails past the Sirens, descends into the underworld, and spends seven years stranded on the island of the goddess Calypso — before finally making his way home to reclaim his wife, his son, and his throne. The poem contains roughly twelve thousand lines of verse, but at its heart lies a single Greek idea: nostos—the longing and struggle to return home. It is a story about survival, identity, and the dignity of mortal life. Journey to the West, written in the sixteenth century and traditionally attributed to Wu Cheng’en, follows the Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang and his three disciples — Sun Wukong, the Monkey King; Zhu Bajie, the pig; and Sha Wujing, the quiet sand monk — on a fourteen-year pilgrimage from China to India in search of Buddhist scriptures. Across one hundred chapters, they endure eighty-one trials. Demons, seductions, divine tests, and comic misadventures fill their journey. Yet beneath the adventure lies something much deeper: an allegory of spiritual cultivation. The journey is not simply about reaching a distant destination. It is about transforming the travellers themselves. The restless mind must be tamed. Desire must be disciplined. Attachments must be released. Through this long process of cultivation, the travellers gradually return to what the novel presents as their original pure nature — and move toward enlightenment. Separated by more than two thousand years and half the world, these two masterpieces nevertheless share the same narrative engine: The long road as the crucible of the self. But what happens to the self at the end of that road is where these two civilizations begin to tell very 79 00:03:16.722 --> 00:03:20.541 supernatural power. Odysseus encounters gods, nymphs, giants, monsters, and enchantresses. The pilgrims encounter demons, immortals, bodhisattvas, and celestial beings. Both stories are filled with temptations to abandon the journey. Calypso offers Odysseus something almost irresistible: comfort, love, and even the possibility of immortality. Journey to the West presents similar temptations in countless forms. In enchanted kingdoms and remote mountain caves, beautiful female demons attempt to lure Tang Sanzang or Sun Wukong into staying—as husbands, prisoners, or willing captives. In both stories, the hero must reject the easy path. And both journeys eventually end with a form of homecoming: Odysseus returns to Ithaca, while the pilgrims ultimately attain the Western Paradise after obtaining the Buddhist scriptures. The structure of the trials is also strikingly similar. Every place Odysseus visits tests his intelligence, courage, and ability to survive in an unpredictable world. Every demon and obstacle faced by the pilgrims tests something within themselves — their pride, desire, fear, or attachment. Suffering is rarely meaningless. It is a mirror. And raw power alone is never enough. Odysseus survives through mētis—the cunning, adaptable intelligence that allows him to outthink enemies stronger than himself. Sun Wukong possesses extraordinary abilities: seventy-two transformations, supernatural powers, and his magical golden staff. Yet even the Monkey King must learn that power without discipline cannot complete the journey. His strength must be controlled. His mind must be mastered. His abilities must serve a greater purpose. These similarities are real. They explain why both stories can be understood within the broad tradition of the hero’s journey. But there is one important question that this framework cannot answer: The hero’s journey tells us how the travellers move through the world. Why they are traveling? And that is where the two stories begin to separate. 132 00:05:40.108 --> 00:05:42.259 a story about remaining human. Odysseus survives not through brute force, but through intelligence. He outwits the Cyclops, deceives his enemies, and repeatedly uses cunning to survive. But his most revealing choice comes when Calypso offers him immortality. He refuses. He chooses to return to Ithaca—to his wife, his son, his kingdom, and the mortal life that awaits him. He would rather grow old as a husband, father, and king than live forever in comfort without the people and responsibilities that give his life meaning. This reflects a powerful Greek idea: Mortality is not simply a limitation to escape. It is part of what makes human life meaningful. Odysseus does not become a god. He chooses to remain a man. Journey to the West, however, points in almost the opposite direction. Its travellers are not simply trying to survive and return home. They are undergoing a process of spiritual cultivation. Sun Wukong must overcome pride and rebellion. Zhu Bajie struggles with appetite and desire. Tang Sanzang must overcome weakness and attachment. The eighty-one trials are therefore not merely battles against demons. Again and again, the external enemies reflect the inner obstacles of the travellers themselves. Even Sun Wukong's golden headband carries a deeper lesson: Extraordinary power means little without self-mastery. The ultimate goal of their journey is not simply returning to ordinary life. It is returning to one’s original nature and moving toward enlightenment. So the difference between the two stories is simple — but profound. The Odyssey asks: How can a mortal live a meaningful life within the limits of humanity? Journey to the West asks: How can a human being transcend the attachments that keep the mind bound? One hero returns home and embraces his mortality. The other travellers move beyond the ordinary self 181 00:07:55.009 --> 00:07:58.069 is the key word in both stories — but it points in very different directions. For Odysseus, home is a real place: Ithaca. It is his wife, his son, his kingdom, and the responsibilities waiting for him. He must return because those duties are what define him. Calypso can offer eternal youth, but she cannot give him the life that makes him who he is. For the pilgrims of Journey to the West, however, true home is not a place on any map. It is the original source from which they came — the place they must return to in order to recover their true nature. They must gradually let go of every attachment to the human world — desire, pride, fear, ambition, and the countless things that bind the heart to ordinary life. Chang’an is only the beginning. Even the Buddhist scriptures are only part of the journey. The deeper destination is the recovery of the pure mind beneath layers of desire, pride, and attachment. That is why Sun Wukong’s transformation matters so much. He begins as a rebellious being who refuses all authority. But he ends as a protector who can serve a greater purpose. The travellers do not simply complete a journey; they become different beings along the way. The two stories therefore offer two different visions of fulfillment. One sees human life — with its limits, loves, and responsibilities — as the home worth defending. The other sees human life as the starting point of a greater journey toward awakening. They are not complete opposites. The Buddhist path does not reject human virtue. It begins with becoming a better human being. But the final destinations remain different. Odysseus finds meaning by returning to the world of humanity. The pilgrims find freedom by moving beyond the limits of the ordinary self. Putting these two masterpieces side by side is not about deciding which one is greater. It is about seeing two different answers to one of humanity’s oldest questions: What kind of life is worth pursuing? After years of chaos and suffering, Odysseus seeks the home, relationships, and responsibilities that define him. His greatness lies not in escaping the human condition, but in accepting it. He chooses a mortal life with love, duty, and limits over an eternity without meaning. The pilgrims of Journey to the West seek to understand the attachments that bind the mind, to overcome inner confusion, and to move toward a greater freedom. Perhaps that is why both stories have endured for thousands of years. If you enjoyed the video, please like, share and comment. See you next time.