Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2018 | Page 24

subcontinent. Kyrgyzstan has been enduring ethnic conflicts, revolts, economic troubles, transitional
governments and political conflicts; Islam is the main religion of Uzbekistan and previously war-torn
Afghanistan and Pakistan was even created in the name of Islam! What’s more, the official religion of India,
the birthplace of Buddhism, is Hinduism! You know, the one where people worship some god with an
elephant head (I’m just being honest). I can imagine Tripitaka jaw-dropping at the sight of the world he
would be in.
Thirdly, Buddhism just isn’t that popular anymore. Despite the fact that Buddhism originated from
India, only 0.7% of the current Indian population is Buddhist. On the global level, only 7% of people are
Buddhist. Even though it is the fourth most popular religion, its popularity declined during the Middle Ages
(much like a human being). Just ask yourself, how many Buddhists do you know? Not many. If the five
were here now, they might even throw away their cassocks!
The Journey to the West in the modern days really isn’t much more than a pipe dream. No one
even knows if the Tripitaka has ever existed! Really, the only thing we humble mortals can do is just sit
down in a quiet corner to read all 100 chapters of the novel or watch one of the countless remakes of it.