Righteousness and Strength: Why Does Tang Sanzang Need Sun Wukong?

There is a question that weighs on many minds: Why has a gentle religion like Buddhism, praised throughout the world, at times vanished from vast regions of the earth? The answer lies not in righteousness itself, but in how we use strength to practice and protect it.

Righteousness Has Its Own Power to Transform the Soul

When we receive a teaching or a principle, what matters most is not its mystery or loftiness, but its impact on our soul. Thầy Thích Chân Quang emphasizes:

"Righteousness consists of those principles that make our soul better and better over time."

Think back to your own experience: when you hear a teaching on compassion and selflessness, do you feel your mind grow calmer and more at ease? That is the inner power of righteousness. Conversely, if a doctrine makes you irritable, arrogant, or anxious, that is a sign of error. It is by this measure that we can review what we have learned and the teachers we have met: if the mind grows peaceful and virtue increases, that is the right path. If not, we should reconsider.

Righteousness Needs Strength to Be Realized

Holding a principle in the heart is not enough. As the Thầy once taught:

"Even the Buddha himself had to teach the Dharma. After his enlightenment, if he had remained silent and said nothing, would this world have light, would it have truth? It would not."

Therefore, righteousness must be put into action. When you hear a good teaching, do not keep it to yourself. Share it with friends, and work together on good deeds. To help the poor, we must contribute effort, strength, and money. To spread the true Dharma, we must know how to speak and how to guide. One person alone is not enough; we must work together. That is the power of community and solidarity, turning righteousness into action that benefits the world.

Righteousness Needs Strength to Be Protected

In reality, goodness is always undermined by the envious and the selfish. That is why temples have statues of the Dharma Protectors, and nations have police and security forces. The Thầy explains:

"A temple is a gentle place, but when gentle people speak the truth, there must be others to protect them."

Likewise, when we see a good work being criticized or obstructed, Buddhists must know how to explain and defend it. That is protecting the Buddha's teachings (Dharma). Within a practice group, each person has a role: some uphold the moral foundation, some work energetically to carry things out, and others use their strength to protect the group. It is just like the story of Journey to the West: Tang Sanzang is righteousness, Sun Wukong is transformative strength, and Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie are worldly abilities that have been transformed. Only when all four travel together can they reach the Western Land. Tang Sanzang alone, however virtuous, could never arrive.

A Lesson from History: When Righteousness Lacks Strength

The Thầy recalls a painful chapter of history: when Islam spread its faith by the sword, Buddhism gradually disappeared from the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. Why? Because the gentle monks and gentle Buddhists could only accept their fate, with no way to defend the Dharma. The Thầy says:

"Our Buddhist path clearly lost its effectiveness. The gentle monks and gentle Buddhists either had to accept it, or had to follow Islam in order to survive."

This is not advice to use violence, but a lesson in wakefulness: if we remain silent and lack the strength to protect righteousness, righteousness will gradually be swallowed up. Strength is not for causing destruction, but for sheltering, so that righteousness may blossom and bear fruit in the world.

Living the Dharma Fully: Seek, Practice, Protect

The Thầy teaches four tasks for Buddhists: first, seek righteousness and true principles for yourself, guided by the signs of a peaceful mind and growing virtue. Second, apply them through long and steady practice. Third, help and organize others to practice together. Fourth, protect those principles when they come under attack.

Remember that righteousness has its own power to transform, but for righteousness to become reality and endure, we need strength — a right kind of strength, one that serves goodness. Do not be passive. Go forth, as the Buddha sent his disciples out in all directions. Live the Dharma fully, with both a compassionate heart and clear wisdom.