I love how much time Journey To The West spends convincing you it is a metaphor for the Best Possible Conditions. like if you were:
Born in a country so grand that you personally watched the last existing criminals be executed, a country so accepting of Buddhism that anyone who attacks a monk will have their hands cut off.
And are personally
At least as pure of heart as an original disciple of the Buddha, whoās been reincarnated as a monk 10 times
At least quick witted enough to defeat the armies of heaven, and possibly the Jade Emperor himself
At least as determined as a whole ass dragon
And as long as you possess guts stronger than swine and discipline stronger than the celestial armies,
Than, by the skin of your goddamn teeth, and after years of endless torment and suffering, you can definitely for sure achieve enlightenment
