Requesting the True Sutra
'Requesting the True Sutra
(Journey to the West)'
Fengxiang, Shaanxi
51 x 35 cm
modern reprint of early 20th century image
After travelling many thousands of miles and enduring countless hardships, the monk Xuanzang and his fellow travellers reach the Western Paradise where Buddha grants them copies of the sutras that they have come so far to find. Xuanzang, however, failed to offer a bribe to Buddha’s assistants and so they gave him a set of blank scrolls. When they complained to Buddha they were a last granted the true sutras, but at the cost of Xuanzang’s precious gold begging bowl.
