歷來探討《西遊記》取經之路的寓意，往往只把它當作一條整體單一的路看待，忽略了小說尾聲對這段旅程的自我正名與定義，第九十八回明白揭示了前往西天的兩個路徑——本路與雲路，這兩條路的內涵與晚明佛教界的禪淨論爭與合流有著密切聯繫。前行研究多已指出《西遊記》富有濃厚的禪宗思想，但小說其實同時呈現了淨土思想，晚明李卓吾《西遊記》評點本中的一部分評點，帶有居士佛教融合禪淨的特質，亦可與小說文本相互參證。本文透過李評本在第二回和第九十八回著眼的腳踏實地、家鄉、本路、雲路等關鍵詞彙，析論其經由歷史積累所蘊含的禪淨思想架構了整部小說的首尾結構，本路與雲路呈現禪宗與淨土法門雙修和互補之觀念，亦呈現了晚明叢林致力於以淨土實修法門補救禪林空疏之弊的隱喻，旁及矯治儒道二教末流忽略實修的隱微用意。

Previous studies have tended to regard the implied meaning of the Journey to the West 西遊記 as a one-way single road, an interpretation that overlooks the self-definition of the work revealed at its end which states that there are two ways to the West: the main road (benlu 本路) and the cloud road (yunlu 雲路). The metaphor of two roads was related to the controversy, and confluence, between Chan and Pure Land thought in late Ming Buddhist circles. Critical scholarship has argued that the Journey to the West is permeated with Chan thought; however, Pure Land ideas are also evident in the work. Furthermore, passages in Li Zhuowu 李卓吾’s commentary on the novel, which demonstrate traits of syncretism between Chan and Pure Land in Lay Buddhism, complement the original text and vice versa. Through an analysis of Li’s use of the terms “stepping on solid ground” 腳踏實地, “home territory” 家鄉, “the cloud road”, and “the main road”, in chapters two and ninety-eight, this article explores the accumulated history of Chan and Pure Land syncretic thought revealed in these concepts, and the way this syncretic thought was integrated in the structure of the novel. It is argued here that the two ways to the West signify the dual practice of Chan and Pure Land methods. They also represent a metaphor for getting rid of the corrupt practice of Chan through the correct practice of Pure Land, and advance a subtle critique of the same problem in Confucianism and Daoism.