[quote=“Steve Shipway”]In the TV series, Tripitaka is a boy priest.
In the book, Tripitaka is a male priest and exceptionaly young but not a child. He was a foundling I think.
In reality, Tripitaka was 21 when going to get the scriptures and it took him 3 years. He was a prodigy (accepted into noviciate at 5 years old instead of 6) and not a foundling in a basket.
Tri-Pitaka is the Indian translation of San-Zo. Both mean ‘3 baskets’ referring to his complete knowledge of 3 areas of Buddhism. Apparently, this sort of level of knowledge was so rare that only 10 monks in 10,000 could reach it. He was only given the name Tripitaka on his arrival in India - when he left China (sneaking out without a passport against the emperor’s wishes) he was just Sanzo.[/quote]
That’s so damn cool to know. Thank you.