I do agree - I think she is helping them, in her own way. I suppose being enlightened means she can see things far more clearly than others, and is able to judge outcomes more accurately. She takes the long view, as someone above commented (sry, can't remember who that was now), which is an idea I love.

Thanks for your thoughts, it's great to think about this, and Saiyuki (and Buddhist thought) is always so good for stretching the grey matter.