There are only two high-ranking monks born in the true sense of China, one is the Zen Six Ancestors Huineng who completely sinicized Buddhism, and the other is the well-known westbound monk Xuanzang.
However, although the deeds of these two senior monks spread to more far-reaching places through the power of literary works, their faces were gradually blurred and distorted, especially Xuanzang Sanzang, who was praised by Mr. Liang Qichao as the "backbone of China". The popularity of "Journey to the West" has made the image of "Tang Monk" a household name, but the excessive dramatization and facial treatment have made Tang Monk almost synonymous with pedantic, timid and stubborn, which is a very regrettable thing.
Xuanzang Sanzang is a real figure in history, who traveled west in his youth to seek the Fa, wandered for more than ten years and then returned to his homeland, but his final destination was not as depicted in literature, on the contrary, he struggled in the political whirlpool for the rest of his life.
The most cattle monk in history, not the Great Tang Dynasty Great Ci'en Temple's Wisdom Dharma Xiang Ancestor Daquan Jue Sanzang Master Xuanzang, but his miserable situation in his later years was really lamentable.
In fact, from the two times when his request to go to Shaolin was rejected, it can be predicted that his future misfortunes will be predicted. Of course, this is not a matter that anyone's subjective will can influence, this is a suspenseful struggle between religion and secularism in the dual context of the torrent of the times and Chinese civilization.
Tang Taizong Li Shimin, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and later empress Wu Zetian, from a personal emotional point of view, for Xuanzang are quite reverent, but their identity is destined to make them unable to be emotional. And the enthusiastic scene of Xuanzang's return also indicates that his arrival will cause some people to fall into fear, even thousands of years of literary scholars, willing to cover up with a lively carnival.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > the most bullish monk in history</h1>
It is not too much to call Xuanzang "the most cattle monk in history", which can be seen from the warm scene after his return to China, and almost no one has ever had such treatment in the history of the Tang Dynasty and even the entire Chinese Dynasty.
"From Suzaku to Hongfu for more than ten miles, the goddess of the pouring stones, the scales of the road. The monks of Jingyi competed for the tents and helped transport solemnity. Four parts of the noise, and the beginning of the double. ...... As a result, kyoto was abolished for five days, four people were abolished, and seven people were returned. When this period, the admiration is high, and the final ancient han class is also. ”
Before Xuanzang had even arrived at Chang'an City, the people in the city were already in a sensation, and they began to prepare to meet the holy monk. The crowd stretched from the Suzaku Bridge to Hongfu Temple, and the procession was more than ten miles long and crowded and noisy, whether it was a monk or a family member, they all took flowers, flags, prayer buildings, and incense, and waited on the side of the road for Master Xuanzang's return.
We should pay attention to the fact that Xuanzang is not a hero, in fact, his identity is more embarrassing, because he had to leave the country privately, according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, it should be a felony.
But even so, Master Xuanzang still caused a huge sensation, and Fang Xuanling, who was in charge of reception affairs at that time, was stunned. "Five days in Kyoto, four people abolished their businesses, and seven people returned to the city", the people of Chang'an City went on strike for five consecutive days, and they specially waited for the arrival of Master Xuanzang, which was the first time in history.
In fact, you can imagine that a monk who has never met the public has caused such a sensation when he has not yet returned to China, so how good is he?
In fact, before Xuanzang Sanzang arrived in Chang'an, his achievements were enough to stand in the annals of history, whether it was the history of Buddhism or the secular history, Xuanzang had to write a strong stroke.
Xuanzang's highlight was in Qunu City, where the King of the Jieri Dynasty gave him extremely high courtesy, and at the "Unshaked Assembly" not long after, the Great Tang monk completely conquered the Five Seals of the Great and Great Multiplication Monks and the Outer Path Brahmins.
At that time, the 18 kings of the Five Seals presided over the "unshaked assembly", and more than 3,000 monks and monks participated in the debate, more than 2,000 brahmins and other foreign scholars, and master Xuanzang sat on the dharma platform and asked questions. During the 75-day debate, no one was able to refute Xuanzang's arguments, and Xuanzang heard the Five Seals in an instant.
Mahayana monks honored him as "Mahayana Heaven", Hinayana scholars referred to him as "Heaven of Liberation", and Brahman's outer path was subjugated by him, which was one of the most colorful moments in Xuanzang's life trajectory.
But in fact, his exploits are far more than that, and his influence in the secular sense is also quite far-reaching. Xuanzang set out from Chang'an and after a 17-year arduous journey, what he saw and heard was dictated as the Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty after his return to China. As soon as this classic came out, it caused a huge sensation, deeply shocked the Tang Dynasty people at that time, and opened a window for them to understand the world, including Tang Taizong Li Shimin and others.
Xuanzang's journey westward to seek the Dharma was initially to resolve the controversy among the domestic monks over the Yogi's Treatise on the Earth, and he thought of the Tianzhu Kingdom to seek a complete Sanskrit text. But the impact of his visit is extremely far-reaching, and it can be said that he invisibly opened up the connection between the Tang Dynasty and the outside world, and affected the Chinese thousand years.
The first stop in the Western Regions where Xuanzang arrived was Gaochangguo, the king of Gaochang, who was the ruler of Buddhism, and he gave great support and help to Xuanzang's initial travels. Even, the king of Gaochang proposed the condition of "sharing the country" and asked Xuanzang to stay in the Gaochang area to teach the Fa, but Master Xuanzang refused.
After that, Xuanzang traveled all the way west, covering Kuqa, Tashkent, Samarkand, Onion Ridge, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other places, until he stopped in Kashmir, which is the center of Theravada Buddhism in northwestern India. After studying here for a while, Xuanzang began to continue his journey to Nalanda Temple, passing through large and small Indian states.
After studying at Nalanda Monastery for more than 5 years, Xuanzang traveled to present-day Kashmir, where he traveled and studied for 2 years. It can be said that from Chang'an to the narrow Hexi Corridor, to the Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions, and finally to the city-states of the Five Seals, large and small, they have left the footprints of Xuanzang Sanzang.
He recorded, experienced, and examined the geography, cultural terroir, and historical sites of these areas, which not only enriched his knowledge and increased his knowledge, but also had a profound impact on the world outlook of Chinese after returning to China.
At the same time, Xuanzang's academic achievements are also difficult for ordinary people to look back on, and the words "no ancients before, no one after" are not excessively placed on him.
In Buddhism, in addition to bringing back many sutras, including the Yogi's Treatise on the Earth, Xuanzang also systematically studied the Theory of clubhouses, shunzheng theory, and inmingxue (Buddhist logic), which laid the foundation for his later establishment of the Chinese tradition of wisdom and knowledge.
In addition, he studied the main texts of the Mahayana, such as the Treatise on the Earth of Yogis, the Theory of manifest teachings, the Theory of the Dharma, the Theory of Set, the Theory of The Middle, and the Hundred Treatises, along with the Precepts of the Nalanda Monastery. At the same time, Xuanzang systematically studied declarative science (Buddhist rhetoric), which laid a good foundation for his future translation career.
When Xuanzang traveled through various countries, he learned from many other sects with learned Brahmin elders and Jain elders, and also studied the Abhidharma, the Theory of Realization, and the Treatise on the Regents in Kashmir. Therefore, Xuanzang's "Three Treasures" are not vain, and his Knowledge of Buddhism is extremely extensive and profound.
More importantly, according to the historical records, Xuanzang Sanzang examined a large number of historical sites and made his own analysis and judgment. These works did not cause much repercussions at the time, but in India a thousand years later, a large number of historical sites were excavated in the materials left by Xuanzang, and they were quite accurate.
Xuanzang had been on the road for the first half of his life, and at this time he had not yet fallen into the vortex of politics, but after he returned to China, everything changed newly. Xuanzang Sanzang's later years were extremely unfortunate, especially his two requests to go to the Shaolin Temple, both of which were categorically rejected, which was both a signal and a fate.
After returning to Chang'an, Xuanzang was trapped in this bustling capital city, and he could not get out of this besieged city in his lifetime.
< h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > request to travel to Shaolin twice</h1>
Before Xuanzang returned to China, he was quite accurate about his positioning as a "felony man", because he had illegally smuggled out of the country that year.
Therefore, he did not return to China immediately after arriving in the Western Regions, but stayed in Gaochangguo, the first stop of departure that year. He was waiting for a reply, and the person who replied was Tang Taizong Li Shimin, and Xuanzang needed Li Shimin to rule him not guilty.
After arriving in Gaochangguo, Xuanzang preached for the princes and ministers in Gaochangguo while sending his own disciples to follow the caravan to Chang'an. He personally wrote a note explaining the reasons for his collection of the scriptures and the process of going through them, indicating that he had now returned and whether he could get the emperor's understanding.
Li Shimin was very touched after receiving this note, so he wrote a reply letter and told Xuanzang to let him "return to China quickly and not blame the past." At this time, Li Shimin was busy with the liaodong war, and he did not have time to prepare for the event of welcoming Xuanzang, so he sent the chancellor Fang Xuanling to handle the matter.
After receiving the reply, Xuanzang sorted out the sutras and Buddha statues he had brought back, and rushed to Chang'an day and night with his disciples.
Why was Xuanzang in such a hurry to rush to Chang'an? Because he learned that Li Shimin was going to march in person, he had to meet with him and reach some agreement on some aspects before the emperor went to Liaodong.
Xuanzang knew that his return to China would inevitably cause an uproar, and the truth was the same. When the people of Chang'an City learned of the news that he was going to return to China, they did not hesitate to raise the city to strike and strike to welcome his arrival, which made Fang Xuanling, who was responsible for receiving Xuanzang, unexpected, and also made Tang Taizong Li Shimin feel great surprise in his heart.
They didn't know that a monk who had smuggled out of the country more than a decade ago had such a big influence.
But what they did not expect was that this monk who had footprints all over the Western Regions and even Tianzhu had wisdom and mastery that was difficult for ordinary people to predict.
After arriving at Chang'an City, Xuanzang Sanzang did not accept the welcome of the people in the city, but on the contrary, he was hiding in the room of the pavilion and waiting quietly. Who is he waiting for? He was waiting for The Summons of Emperor Taizong of Tang and Li Shimin, and at this moment he knew very well that he could not go out and accept the worship of the people, because he was only a citizen of the Tang Dynasty.
Moreover, he is also a felony who smuggles out of the country, and many unknown things await him.
In early February of the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, Tang Taizong Li Shimin received Xuanzang in a busy schedule, and after some greetings, the two reached a basic consensus.
"The Shaolin Temple is quiet and quiet, and can be used as a place to translate the scriptures, and I beg Your Majesty to allow me to go to the Shaolin Temple to translate the scriptures."
The Shaolin Temple was not famous for Zen Buddhism at that time, and the legends of Dharma Ancestors were not deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it always existed as an official translation field during the Sui Dynasty, and it was still the same in the early Tang Dynasty. The Shaolin Temple is truly known for its "Zen", and it was not until the Song Dynasty hundreds of years later that Shaolin began to "pay equal attention to Zen law".
Why should I elaborate on this detail? Because when we study historical figures, we must judge his thoughts from the historical background at that time, otherwise there will be great errors.
The reason why Xuanzang Sanzang requested to go to the Shaolin Temple was that he himself called "yajing and quiet", and the other was that the Shaolin Temple was a long-standing Buddhist translation site, which was of great benefit to his translation work. Another point is that the Shaolin Temple is far away from the imperial capital, and Xuanzang can concentrate on translating the scriptures away from the political field.
But it is a great pity that Tang Taizong did not accede to Xuanzang Sanzang's request, and he gave a very clear answer - it was impossible to go to the Shaolin Temple.
"The master, Tang Dynasty, and Fan Are All-in-One, and they are well-versed in their words, and they will be afraid of the disciples, and they will eventually lose the Holy Scriptures."
Li Shimin's reasoning is that "your wisdom is profound, but the Dharma is profound, and you alone may not be able to do it", in fact, Li Shimin has his own political considerations - he is afraid of Xuanzang going to the Shaolin Temple.
The scene of Xuanzang's return to China not only shocked Fang Xuanling, who was in charge of the reception, but also shocked Tang Taizong Li Shimin and the entire Li Tang royal family, who never thought that a monk could have such a lofty reputation. Now that this man has returned, he still has to go to the Shaolin Temple, which is far away from the imperial capital, how can people be reassured?
When Xuanzang went to the Shaolin Temple, it would be tantamount to returning to the mountain, and it would not take many days for him to become a veritable "head of the group of monks", which was a rather terrible thing for the feudal rulers. This is not the author's "thick black study", because Xuanzang Sanzang's subsequent deeds prove this, and he was "trapped" in Chang'an City for the rest of his life.
"The people were ignorant, and when they saw Xuanzang coming from the West, they looked at it in vain, and they became a ruler. A network that is not directly violated by the Constitution is also an obstruction of the law. Look to guard the door, just in case of passing. ”
Xuanzang also knew Li Shimin's concerns, so he explained that the actions of the people when he returned to China were nothing more than onlookers caused by ignorance. As a result, the two men finally reached a unified agreement – Xuanzang translated the scriptures at Hongfu Temple, the official temple in Chang'an.
In addition to equipping Xuanzang's Hongfu Temple with monks who translated the scriptures, Li Shimin also set up a large number of "armed personnel", which were called "guards". Of course, perhaps he had good intentions, but it was inevitable that Xuanzang was placed under house arrest in Hongfu Temple.
Inside hongfu temple, Xuanzang translated the first Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures, and also completed the dictation and writing of the Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin praised the Tang Dynasty, but refused to preface the Buddhist scriptures translated by Xuanzang, and also ordered Xuanzang to translate the Tao Te Ching into Sanskrit.
During this period, Li Shimin asked Xuanzang several times to "return to the world", and it was not until he was ill in his later years that he began to convert to Buddhism. Of course, Li Shimin did not fully believe in Buddhism, he also had hobbies such as alchemy, immortality, etc., perhaps this had a lot to do with his state of mind in his later years, and the change of Xuanwumen was a knot in his heart.
"If you want to put on a wonderful path, you can work hard without violating your will." After today, I should also help the teacher to spread the tao. ”
Li Shimin only began to express his position when he was about to die--I will no longer force you to return to the vulgar, and I will support your translation of the Scriptures. He wrote the preface to Xuanzang Sanzang's translation of the Treatise on the Land of the Yogi and engraved nine copies of them, which were sent to Kyushu for worship, and also wrote the "Order of the Great Tang Dynasty" and placed it at the beginning of the sutra.
A year later, Li Shimin died in the palace of Chang'an, and Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi succeeded to the throne, and Xuanzang Sanzang began his miserable old age.
Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi was a very accomplished emperor in history, although because of Wu Zetian's title of emperor, he was always ridiculed by people who did not understand the matter. But in fact, Li Zhi's political achievements before he fell ill were remarkable, and one of the most important points was that he ended the situation of "imperial power is not prosperous" for hundreds of years.
Li Zhi overthrew the forces of the old ministers headed by his uncle Sun Wuji through his own means, and fully concentrated the imperial power on himself, which was progressive and positive from the perspective of the entire grand historical view.
However, Xuanzang Sanzang was thus involved in the political whirlpool, because he belonged to the same "old ministers" as the eldest son Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and others, and was the faction that was to be overthrown. At the same time, Xuanzang's own prestige at this time had reached its peak, and his disciples were increasing and began to hold the abbot side.
For all these reasons, Li Zhi loved and hated his teacher Xuanzang, and on the one hand he openly expressed his respect for Xuanzang, and on the other hand, he imposed disgraceful means such as "house arrest" on him.
In his later years, Xuanzang did not "raise the heavens", in fact, he lived very hard, not only responsible for the affairs of the Chang'an monastic community, but also tirelessly translating the Buddhist scriptures he retrieved.
"Daily self-reliance courses, if there is something during the day, be sure to complete it at night. Three more sleep, five more resurrection. ”
The high intensity of work made Xuanzang's health worse and worse, and he began to fall ill regularly, and on several occasions he almost died. So he began to ask his student Gaozong Li Zhi to let me go to the Shaolin Temple to retire and recuperate while translating the scriptures.
However, the final result disappointed Xuanzang, and Li Zhi refused his request and was very cold, even a little perfunctory.
"If morality dwells, why should it be too hua stacked?" Empty and lonely, it is not a lonely room. Fortunately, don't repeat the words. ”
Why should a person of high moral standing and respect go to the lofty mountains to recuperate? You are such a moral person, you can also practice very well in Chang'an, please don't mention this matter again.
Soon after, Xuanzang Sanzang was placed under house arrest by Li Zhi and almost punished for an accident.
< the helplessness and desolation behind the > of h1 class="pgc-h-center-line"</h1>
After rejecting Xuanzang's request to go to the Shaolin Temple, Li Zhi still felt that it was not enough, so he vacated the Cuiwei Palace and let Xuanzang San hide in it to retire and translate the scriptures.
This was originally a good thing, but Li Zhi's approach was not very generous, he only allowed Xuanzang to take five disciples to live in Cuiwei Palace, and sent a large number of guards to guard the palace, just like his father Li Shimin, who was known as the "Guardian Monk".
Translating Buddhist scriptures is a very hard task, and the Xuanzang translation field was at its peak with thousands of people, so that the translation work could be carried out in an orderly manner. Of course, many readers may wonder why so many people are needed to translate buddhist scriptures. I can only mention briefly here that it has a very strict set of processes and staffing, not as simple as we think.
Not long after Xuanzang stayed in Cuiwei Palace, he had a serious illness, and Li Zhi did not equip him with an imperial medical team, and Xuanzang's disciples, in desperation, took Xuanzang out of the palace to treat his illness privately.
As a result, this out of the palace did not matter, the news spread from Chang'an City to the palace, and public opinion was in an uproar, accusing Gaozong Li Zhi of not taking good care of Xuanzang, which made Gaozong very angry, and he even wanted to punish Xuanzang.
"The light of the sun and the moon, long forgiveness and foolishness; the zee of the rivers and the sea, every indulgence."
Although, in the end, Xuanzang Sanzang was not punished, Li Zhi's words were very harsh, indicating his extreme dissatisfaction and long-term patience. However, Xuanzang was just going out to see a doctor, and it was as if he had committed a heinous crime.
In fact, Li Zhi was still not satisfied with Xuanzang's proposal to go to the Shaolin Temple for the elderly, and he was as deeply jealous of Xuanzang's reputation as his father, afraid of "letting the tiger return to the mountain".
When Xuanzang returned to China, Li Zhi was still a prince, and he witnessed the madness of the people of Chang'an, who worshipped a monk. At the same time, after Li Zhi became emperor, he once again witnessed Xuanzang's power, which really made him shudder.
Around the first year of Xianqing, Xuanzang Sanzang felt that he might not have much time due to his frequent illness, so he asked to return to his hometown of Yanshi to have a look, and at the same time re-chose a cemetery for his parents to bury, which was originally a matter of filial piety, and Li Zhi gladly promised.
However, the result was unexpected by Li Zhi, and the entire Yanshi to Luoyang area was sensational, and a large number of people surrounded the road in order to see Xuanzang Sanzang's appearance. These people did not work for several days in a row, waiting early on both sides of the road, holding various tributes to Xuanzang's arrival.
Yanshi and Luoyang were not far from Chang'an, where Li Zhi was located, and the news soon reached his ears, and Li Zhi was very unhappy in his heart.
In the second year of Xianqing, Xuanzang proposed to the Shaolin Temple to "Guan Zen Translation", which can be said to have hit the muzzle of the gun at once. Emperor Gaozong Lizhi not only did not agree, but also put him under house arrest, which eventually led to the incident of Xuanzang going out to seek medical treatment.
However, under the pressure of public opinion, Li Zhi eventually released Xuanzang from the Cuiwei Palace, allowing him to translate the scriptures in the Yuhua Palace, which was far away from the palace, and equipped with some scholars and miscellaneous servants, but also many Janissaries.
Yuhua Palace was the last stop in Xuanzang Sanzang's life, where he translated the 600-volume Da Pan Ruo Sutra, of course, going to Yuhua Palace was more strictly Xuanzang's own request- "enter the Yuhua Palace to translate the scriptures, and beg five guards." ”
At this time, Xuanzang felt that time was running out, so he made a great vow to finish translating the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra, which was very grand in scale. The Great Prajnaparamita Sutra that we see now has a number of more than 6 million words, extremely repetitive and meticulous, and we can imagine how much effort it took Xuanzang Sanzang to translate it at that time.
After a series of events, Xuanzang Sanzang placed his last hope on this classic, and his final request was also approved by the emperor, but the translation process of this classic was not smooth.
First of all, his initial idea was "skimming", that is, omitting some "unimportant" Sanskrit texts according to his own meaning or simply not translating them. The reason is also very real, he does not have the full support of the emperor, and his body is in a state of extreme decay, and it is difficult for him to guarantee that he will be able to translate this classic alive.
But after he made this decision in the Yuhua Palace, he began to have constant nightmares and his physical condition began to deteriorate, so he finally chose to translate them all.
The translation of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra took 3 years, which cost Xuanzang Sanzang his last efforts, so that he could not translate the Great Treasure Sutra. Of course, the historical record is that his disciples asked him to translate the Great Treasure Accumulation Sutra, but Xuanzang Sanzang politely refused.
"The content of this classic is consistent with the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra, and there is no need to spend any more effort translating it." But in fact, Xuanzang Sanzang himself knew that the day of his death was coming, and he began to calmly wait for the arrival of his last time.
"The Meridian Axis, like the Great Prajnaparamita, Xuanzang measures his own strength, does not do this again, the time of death has arrived, and the situation is not far away."
Shortly after the translation of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra, Xuanzang Sanzang fell at the Yuhua Palace (now the "Yuhua Temple"), which caused him to break his calf bone and never get up again.
Xuanzang's physical condition deteriorated in the following days, which was a reality that the world's elderly people had to face- old age fell, and death was coming. The bedridden Xuanzang Sanzang was quite calm, but his disciples began to talk again, because Xuanzang, as a great master, was often ill, and the situation in his later years was so bleak.
The disciples doubted his practice, because Xuanzang Sanzang was committed to the "Pure Land of Maitreya" (note the difference between the "Pure Land of Maitreya" (note the difference between "Pure Land of Midas"), so his disciples tentatively asked him, "Does the great monk have to give birth to Maitreya?" ”
"Get born!" This was Xuanzang Sanzang's final answer.
Of course, before that, Xuanzang's disciples from the Western Regions came to visit him and told him, "Master, Master, I dreamed that the statue of the Buddha was very solemn and abnormal, but the trumpets all fell. ”
"That's when I'm going to die!" Xuanzang told him calmly.
At midnight on the night of February 5 of the first year of emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, a generation of senior monks Xuanzang San was buried in the Yuhua Temple, and none of the official personnel, including Li Zhi, was buried, but the millions of civilians in Chang'an City spontaneously bid farewell to Xuanzang.
The procession stretched from Chang'an City to Yuhua Temple, and the people of Chang'an, such as mourning and mourning, went on strike to bid farewell to this supreme monk who had never been in the world since ancient times, and there was no one who had come since the ancients.