Xuanzang is undoubtedly one of the two most famous saints in the Buddhist world, and in addition to him, the one who can become a household name is Liuzu Huineng. Of course, these two people have been talked about for thousands of years, and they have to be grateful for the power of Chinese literature, Xuanzang is well known for a "Journey to the West", and Liuzu Huineng is famous for his various stories of "passing on the mantle and printing the heart". However, the drawbacks brought about by the spread of literature are also obvious, liuzu Huineng has been interpreted into various false legends, and the image of Xuanzang himself has also been solidified as a Tang monk who learns from the scriptures.
What is xuanzang's true face? What exactly did he do? What was his situation in his later years? This is what people don't know, and the only thing we can be sure of is that he once went to the Western Heavens to learn the scriptures and experienced ninety-nine eighty-one difficulties. But what classics Xuanzang took, this is not a matter of concern to people, and even Wu Cheng'en has to make plots such as "Jiaye Ananda asks for personnel affairs" and "The Wordless Scriptures are flooded" to add drama and interest to his novels. Peeling back the surface of these bizarre legends, the author would like to work with you to travel through the vast thousand years of history and restore a Tang Xuanzang who walked in the world.
Only by reducing Xuanzang to a person, and only by placing him in the historical situation of his life, can a real Xuanzang be presented in front of his eyes, which is the main purpose of the author's article on Buddhist historical figures. Most people in the world can't escape the four words--the intersection of sorrow and joy, which is the saying left by Master Hongyi when he died. These four words have always been talked about by people, and the author thinks it is reasonable, whether it is red dust or red dust when entering the world, or cutting off the dust edge in the world, although it is "like a fish drinking water, cold and warm self-knowledge", but if you think about it carefully, it is just a sad and a joy.
The image of the Tang monk in Journey to the West
The Tang Dynasty Sanzang master Xuanzang ,commonly known as Chen (陈) and his maiden name was a native of today's Yanshi (偃師缑镇) in Henan. Xuanzang became a monk at the age of 13 and received full ordination at the age of 21, during which he traveled the world to visit famous teachers, and the main texts he studied were the "Great Nirvana Sutra", "Mahayana Theory", "The Theory of The Clubhouse", and the "Miscellaneous Abhidharma Mind". However, in the process of studying the Dharma, he found that each teacher's interpretation of the sutras was different, and it happened that at this time he met a foreign monk from Tianzhu and told him that the Tianzhu state had the "Yogi Earth Theory" left by Maitreya Bodhisattva, and Xuanzang longed for it.
The above is the approximate opportunity for Xuanzang to learn the scriptures, not as Wu Cheng'en said, "the reincarnation of the golden cicada", and then there are dramatic stories of Liu Hong in Jiangzhou killing his father, plundering his mother, and so on. The real drama of Xuanzang himself is that he once tried to ask the imperial court to get out of the customs, but was categorically refused, and his westward journey was actually tinged with illegal smuggling. Of course, this is related to the background of the times at that time, in the third year of Zhenguan (629 AD), there was a very serious famine in the Tang Dynasty, and the government began to relax the control of the movement of people, allowing them to go out to make a living on their own.
After being rejected by the imperial court in the first year of Zhenguan (627 AD), Xuanzang had actually set out to "cross the charter and go privately to Tianzhu", which was a very rebellious thing at that time. Xuanzang had a very rich travel experience before he traveled west, he bid farewell to his brother in Chang'an when he was 17 years old, first to the Wuhan area, and then to the Chengdu area, until he was 21 years old, he still did not change the habit of traveling in all directions. It was also because of his wandering around that Xuanzang discovered the contradiction between the earth theorist and the regent, which was a major cause of his westward journey to seek the Fa.
Xuanzang set out from Chang'an and arrived in the Guzang area, and then traveled all the way, in order to ensure his own safety (mainly for fear of being discovered by the government), he chose the extremely cautious "day and night walk". Then he arrived at Yumen Pass from Guazhou, and after leaving the customs, he set foot on today's Hami in Xinjiang, and then arrived at the first stop of his westward journey, Gao Changguo. Xuanzang arrived in Gaochangguo in the first month of the second year of Zhenguan (628 AD), and he received extremely high courtesy in this country with a strong Buddhist atmosphere.
Xuanzang in the film and television image
It can be said that Xuanzang's 17-year-long journey to the west has passed through hundreds of countries, large and small, and nine deaths have been arduous. But during this period, Xuanzang's state of mind and living environment were relatively pure and simple, and his identity at this time belonged to the "liberal scholar". Although he smuggled himself out of the Tang Empire, most of the leaders of the countries and regions still gave him enough respect and courtesy, because Xuanzang was only a pure seeker of the law. In other words, although Xuanzang's 17 years outside were full of dangers, he did not have any pressure, and from the perspective of mental state, he was extremely comfortable and relaxed.
After coming out of the first stop, Gaochangguo, Xuanzang can be said to have traveled all the way to the west, covering Kucha, Tashkent, Samarkand, Onion Ridge, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other places, until the Kashmir Kingdom did not rest for a while. Here, he followed the local monk Shengsheng to study the "Theory of Clubhouse", "Shunzheng Theory", as well as courses such as Inming (Buddhist Logic) and Statement (Buddhist Rhetoric), which laid a solid foundation for him to inherit and carry forward the school of Wisdom in the future. At the same time, Xuanzang was a person who had no difference in sects, whether it was a monk or a Brahmin scholar, as long as he felt that he was a learned person, he humbly asked them for advice.
The place of Xuanzang's path is extremely complicated, especially the language is quite complicated, and the author has always wondered a question, how did Xuanzang communicate with these people? According to historical records, Xuanzang mastered dozens of foreign languages and was proficient in Sanskrit and Pali, which may only be explained by bodhisattvas. All in all, before arriving at Nalanda Monastery in India, Xuanzang studied with dozens of teachers in several regions, covering the Five Wisdoms of Buddhism and brahmanism. After five years in Zhenguan, Xuanzang finally arrived at Nalanda Temple, the highest school of Buddhism, and studied with the high monk Ordained Sage.
At Nalanda Monastery, Xuanzang systematically studied the Yogi Earth Theory, shunzheng theory, the theory of the manifestation of the holy teachings, the theory of the Law, the theory of set quantity, the theory of the middle, the hundred theories of enlightenment, and the brahmanical scriptures. At Nalanda Monastery, Xuanzang spent a total of 5 years, and after experiencing the large and small states of India, he stayed in the Kingdom of Pova (present-day Kashmir) for two years, studied the Abhidharma, the Theory of Enlightenment, and the Treatise on the Dharma, and then returned to Nalanda Monastery. Of course, Xuanzang arrived in many places after that, and continued to study various Buddhist scriptures.
Xuanzang and The Master of The Rings
Xuanzang's highlight moment was that after being treated by the King of the Jieri, he participated in the five-year "No Shade Conference" of Qunu City, which lasted 75 days, and Xuanzang served as the main sonic shock five seals. At that time, the meeting was presided over by 18 kings from the five Indians, more than 3,000 top scholars and monks of the great and small sects, and more than 2,000 foreign elites. The end result was that no one overthrew Xuanzang for 75 days, so he was called "Mahayana Heaven" by the Mahayana monks and "Liberation Heaven" by the Hinayana monks. Soon after, Xuanzang got up and returned to China, and since then his life trajectory has changed a lot.
Xuanzang was not yet 30 years old when he went out, and he was already more than 40 years old after returning to China, and the news of his return to China reached Chang'an, and "the Taoist customs rushed to greet him, and the city was closed to the city", and millions of people poured into the streets in an attempt to see the honor of this holy monk. Li Shimin, the King of Tang, gave Xuanzang extremely high courtesy, but Xuanzang embarked on a road of no return from then on, and his miserable old age laid the foundation here. Although Xuanzang himself had no interest in politics, his lofty status forced him to get involved in the vortex of politics, and his situation changed drastically since then.
As far as Li Shimin was concerned, he greatly respected Xuanzang or built a translation field for Xuanzang, out of less religious considerations and more political considerations. At that time, Li Shimin successively conquered the Western States of Gaochang and Yanqi, and his next plan was to conquer Guizi and go to Goguryeo at the same time. More than a thousand years ago, the phrase "knowledge is power" had more weight, and Xuanzang had exactly what Li Shimin needed—his understanding of the countries of the Western Regions. At the same time, Buddhism had become a prominent religion at that time, and in the era of Wu Zetian, it was "the family midas Buddha, the household Guanyin", and Xuanzang's identity was undoubtedly Li Shimin's signature.
On the other hand, Xuanzang returned in February 645, while Emperor Taizong of Tang died in 649, already feeling his physical weakness. The "change of Xuanwumen" has always been a shadow for Li Shimin, and coupled with the deterioration of his health in his later years, the Buddhist theory of "karma" is very good for his taste. Readers do not have to laugh at the author, the emperor is actually no different from ordinary people in the face of death, otherwise how can the emperors such as Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wudi of Han all demand immortality? People are afraid of death.
Statue of Xuanzang under the Big Wild Goose Pagoda
For various reasons, Xuanzang became Li Shimin's guest of honor and was often invited to the palace to give lectures on Buddhism. Of course, it is one thing for Li Shimin to listen to or not to listen to, and the role of psychological comfort is another. At that time, Li Shimin's red people, Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, and others also openly admired Xuanzang, and the famous "Tang Sanzang Sacred Order" was written by Chu Suiliang after the completion of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It can be said that Xuanzang was treated with great respect in the first few years of his return to China, but with the death of Li Shimin and the death of Emperor Gaozong and Li Zhi, he fell into the evil consequences brought about by political factors.
Before his death, Li Shimin left behind three "ministers"—Chu Suiliang, Changsun Wuji, and Xu Maogong (the prototype of Xu Maogong in the rendition), all of whom were supporters of Li Zhi's involvement in the imperial struggle. However, as the crown prince Li Zhi became Emperor Gaozong, the struggle between imperial power and Xiang power became more and more serious, especially the old minister of the eldest son Wuji, who was not only the simple identity of the orphan minister, he was also Li Zhi's maternal uncle, a man who combined foreign relatives and xiang power, and soon became a thorn in Li Zhi's eyes.
As early as when Li Zhi participated in the battle of the crown princes, the eldest son Wujie had opened his mouth: "Whoever dares not to let Li Zhi become the crown prince will be rude to him!" Such words came out of the mouth of a minister, more or less tasted wrong, and Li Zhi was jealous of him at that time. However, what happened afterwards made Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi more and more angry—the matter of Li Wu Zetian's posthumous behavior was strongly opposed by the eldest son Wuji and Chu Suiliang. Li Zhi wanted to take Chu Suiliang's knife at that time, but he was reprimanded by the eldest grandson Wujie's words: "This is a minister left by the former emperor, can His Majesty dare to kill the killer?" ”
Xu Maogong was a man who was more good at taking sides, and after the Zhongshu Sheren openly stood up in support of "Liwu Zhaoyi", he pointed out the direction for Li Zhi and Wu Zetian in one sentence: "Why should you ask outsiders about this family affair of Your Majesty?" A year earlier (654), Wu Zetian had thoroughly strengthened Li Zhi's resolve—she strangled her daughter and married Empress Wang. Of course, behind Li Zhi's "abolition of Wang Liwu", it was actually out of the blow to Xiang Quan and the old ministers, and Wu Zetian's political ability was here.
Tang Taizong and the eldest grandson in the film and television are unscrupulous
On October 13, 655, Li Zhi deposed Empress Wang and exiled her entire family to Lingnan, and seven days later, Wu Zhaoyi was made Empress of the Tang Dynasty. Chu Suiliang was subsequently demoted, and the prestige and strength of the eldest son Wuji in the dynasty were greatly reduced, and Wu Zetian and Li Zhi won the final victory. From a historical and political point of view, Li Zhi's series of measures were definitely the work of Ming Jun, who solved the situation of imperial power decline since the Wei and Jin dynasties. However, this caused Xuanzang, who did not understand politics, and he suffered a disaster in his later years.
From Li Zhi's point of view, Xuanzang was an old minister with the eldest son Wuji and others, even if he did not have any power, his symbolism was still quite strong. In 654, Li Zhi decided to move the Eastern Palace to get rid of the shackles, and specifically ordered the mage to be taken to his side to "live together", which was actually to put him under house arrest. The reason was very simple, Li Zhi could not kill Xuanzang, because he was a Buddhist leader and could not find a suitable reason. However, he could take this opportunity to suppress Chu Suiliang and Changsun Wujie, which was equivalent to sending a political signal that the relationship between Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang and Xuanzang was not ordinary when Li Shimin was alive.
Xuanzang was a scholar-type figure, he did not have much political desire, otherwise he would not have returned to China at all, and every country on the westward journey treated him with courtesy, and the King of Jiezhi at that time was extremely respectful of him. Xuanzang went abroad to seek the Fa, and returned to China to pass on the Fa, not to return home. But Xuanzang was also human, and an extremely intelligent man, and he knew he was involved in political struggles, even if he existed only as a symbol. Xuanzang had already entered old age at that time, and at this time there were still 10 years before his death, and he inevitably entered aging and illness.
Senior monks are also human beings, and many monks manifest "sickness and suffering" before they die, even the Buddha in the Ahan Sutra. After Xuanzang was placed under house arrest, he originally thought that it was good to translate the sutras in the Eastern Palace, but Li Zhi's edict was "five translators and one accompanying disciple", and it was difficult to complete the translation of the Buddhist scriptures. Xuanzang has thousands of monks in the translation field of Chang'an Ci'en Temple, because the translation of Buddhist scriptures is a very rigorous matter, and many tasks need to be divided and repeatedly polished. Although the translations of Buddhist scriptures throughout the ages are all signed as "translations by so-and-so Sanzang Masters", they are basically completed by the team, and the names written are only soul figures.
Li Zhi and Wu Cao in film and television
Insufficient manpower, inefficiency, and trivial translation work overwhelmed Xuanzang's body—he began to suffer from illness. Xuanzang was not seriously ill, but minor illnesses continued, but unfortunately the Eastern Palace did not equip him with a medical team. Living in the imperial palace is different from living in a temple, and Xuanzang is not familiar with the place and does not have the care of his close disciples, so he has to go out to seek medicine. The evening scene of a generation of Buddhist masters is so desolate, how can it not make people sigh? When Li Zhi learned of this, he was greatly annoyed and immediately sent a doctor to heal Xuanzang. Xuanzang's fame was too great, and it was not good for this matter to go out.
Throughout the Xianqing period, Xuanzang's life was very unsatisfactory, and even so, Li Zhi was still quite jealous of him. Xuanzang once returned to his hometown, and when he found his sister, he found that his parents' graves were too dilapidated, so he asked for a reburial for his parents. As a result, this incident also made Li Zhi very dissatisfied, when the news of Xuanzang returning to his hometown to rebury his parents was leaked, and tens of thousands of people came to Xuanzang's hometown to visit the shrine in order to see the master's style. For such a person with high prestige, an emperor would be jealous, not to mention that Xuanzang belonged to Li Zhi's opposing faction at that time.
In 659, Xu Jingzong accused changsun Wuji of "plotting rebellion", and Li Zhi forced his uncle to hang himself in July, and then sent his family to Lingnan as slaves. Of course, this incident was a tragedy written and directed by the political hierarchy, and Li Zhi's purpose was to completely pull out the power of the old ministers, consolidate the imperial power, and support his own power. Before the death of the eldest grandson, Xuanzang requested to go to the Shaolin Temple for the elderly, which touched Li Zhi's reverse scales. However, Xuanzang's idea was to "avoid disasters", and he requested to go to Yuhua Temple to translate the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra three months after the death of his eldest grandson Wuji.
At this time, the eldest son Wuji was dead, Chu Suiliang died two years ago, Yu Zhining chose to take sides with Wu Meiniang, and Li Zhi approved Xuanzang's request. However, Xuanzang was already suffering from a stubborn disease, and the translation of the more than 200,000 mantras of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra was quite a considerable project. Originally a summer palace, Yuhua Temple was converted into a temple in the early years of Li Zhi's Yonghui, which was cold and remote and steep, and was actually not suitable for the elderly and sick Xuanzang to live. Considering his physical condition at that time, Xuanzang agreed to his disciple's request and deleted some of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra and translated it.
But then Xuanzang continued to have nightmares, either dreaming of himself fighting with wild beasts, or dreaming of falling from a mountain, or dreaming of all kinds of demons and ghosts. Master Xuanzang was awakened by nightmares every night, sweating and terrified that he could not help himself, and finally decided to translate the full version of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra. Xuanzang dreamed again that night, dreaming that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas emitted a little light between their brows, and compassion shone brightly. The last classic that Xuanzang translated in his later years was this "Great Prajnaparamita Sutra", which lasted more than four years and translated more than 6 million words in 600 volumes.
The Great Prajnaparamita Sutra
Soon after this translation, Xuanzang often felt that he was not in a good state, and he was not as energetic as translating the scriptures. Therefore, he began to explain the aftermath to his disciples: "Now that the events are over, my career is also over, and if there is impermanence, Ru and others should send me to save from thrift." Since Master Xuanzang was often ill in his later years, his disciples asked him, "After the great monk has passed away, can he be reborn in the inner courtyard of Maitreya?" "Xuanzang made a lifelong wish to go to the Pure Land of Maitreya, that is, the inner courtyard of Maitreya in the Heavenly Palace, and to hear Maitreya Bodhisattva's teachings. Xuanzang replied, "Of course! ”
In the first month of the first year of Lin De, one of Xuanzang's disciples from Gao Changguo hurriedly looked for him: "Master Master, I have a nightmare!" ”
"What did you dream about?"
"I saw a floating butcher who was strict and tall, and suddenly collapsed."
"It's none of your business, it's me leaving!"
The next night, Xuanzang fell behind the house and became ill, and five days later, Xuanzang, the Master of the Three Treasures of the Tang Dynasty, lay in bed and died. "More than a million people were sent within five hundred miles of Jingyi and Zhuzhou", and the people of five hundred miles inside and outside the chang'an city all rushed to bid farewell, crying bitterly, like a mourning concubine. "The capital city is customary to weep, hundreds of thousands of days", but Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi still did not reconcile with Xuanzang, and the Great Tang Dynasty did not have an official to bid farewell to the master, and Xuanzang did not receive any posthumous and titles. The edict of the Tang Emperor only reads: "Allow the monks and nuns to mourn, reimburse the funeral expenses, and properly protect the scriptures", in addition, there is no mention of it.
Xuanzang Xuanzang has been involved in the political whirlpool since his return to China, and in the past Li Shimin twice demanded that he be vulgar, and then Li Zhi attacked him in every way. A generation of senior monks were plagued by illness in their later years, and finally died five days after falling, leaving the world with all kinds of inexplicable regrets. But the millions of people in the Tang Dynasty bid him farewell, and perhaps only contemporaries can feel the greatness and compassion of the master's personality! "People have sorrows and joys, and the moon has a full circle", the master does not have to be so perfect, after all, he is just a person walking in the red dust world. The deified masters cannot bring us close to the truth, and only by presenting ourselves to us in a human posture can we feel the greatness and shock of the Dharma!
This figure is not Xuanzang's funeral diagram, but actually a funeral diagram of Yuan Shikai, borrowed from it
There seems to be no fundamental difference between absurdity and solemnity, joy and sorrow, perfection and imperfection, and perhaps master Xuanzang regarded it this way! Koichi once had a last word: the intersection of sorrow and joy. However, the eyes of mortals are intertwined with sorrow and joy; the eyes of the Buddha's son are not phases! With this text, the last scholar paid homage to the Great Tang Sanzang Master Xuanzang, who may have drifted to the inner courtyard of Maitreya and heard that Maitreya Bodhisattva was performing the Fa-rectification. Nam no Amitabha!
--Ikekosetsuan-
Chinese Buddhist Character Series