Xuanzang was his legal name after becoming a monk. Xuanzang was born in an official family where the whole family believed in Buddhism. He is sensitive and studious since childhood, gentle in temperament, sincere in treating others and pays attention to etiquette. His second brother, Chen Su, became a monk in Jingtu Temple in Luoyang. Chen Su often takes him to the temple to listen to Buddhist scriptures. Gradually, Xuanzang became interested in Buddhism. /kloc-when he was 0/3 years old, the emperor summoned Buddhists to Luoyang Temple, but he was not admitted because his age did not meet the requirements. Dali Qing Zheng, who is in charge of enrollment, saw that he was different from ordinary people and asked him why he became a monk. Xuanzang replied: In order to inherit and develop Buddhism.
Zheng secretly marveled, making an exception and accepting him as a disciple, taking the legal name Xuanzang.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang went to Sichuan to study Buddhist scriptures. At that time, Sichuan was relatively stable, and many famous monks gathered all over the country. Xuanzang learned from them with an open mind and made rapid progress. He has read all the Buddhist scriptures of China, and there are many explanations. He doesn't know who is right or wrong, and he is very confused. So he studied Sanskrit and decided to go to Tianzhu, the birthplace of Buddhism.
Xuanzang set out from Chang 'an in 692 and embarked on the road to the west. At that time, western China was still under the control of Turks, and the Tang government prohibited people from leaving the country without permission. The government rejected Xuanzang's application, and none of his reserved companions went. Xuanzang did not lose heart. In the autumn of 627 AD, he followed some businessmen to the west of Gansu. At the end of Yumenguan, Xuanzang's horse died of illness and deserted with his two young monks. Government officials came to see him again. Xuanzang hid in the inn and didn't know what to do. Li Chang, the official of Guazhou, came in with a hunting document and asked, Master, if you tell the truth, I can do something for you.
Seeing that Chang Li was also a Buddhist, Xuanzang gave him a name. Chang Li praised: Master's determination to learn Buddhist scriptures in Wan Li is really amazing. I will try my best to help.
After that, he tore up Datong paper and said, Master, get out of the customs before dark, or it will be too late.
Xuanzang was overjoyed. He quickly left the inn and ran to Yumen Pass.
Xuanzang was walking alone in the desert. One day at noon, he came to the first beacon tower. He was drinking water when an arrow shot at him. Xuanzang hurriedly shouted to the beacon tower: I am a monk in the Tang Dynasty, and I want to go to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures. Please do it for me.
The officers and men guarding the beacon tower found out the purpose of Xuanzang's westward journey, and they all admired him and sent him across the beacon tower. At the fourth beacon tower, the beacon tower official kept him overnight, provided him with enough dry food and clean water, gave him an old horse, and told him that the fifth beacon tower official was a murderer. If he is caught, his life will be in danger. Please go around! Xuanzang is on his way again. We can't see any birds and animals in the middle of the desert. The heat wave is rolling during the day and the cold wind is biting at night. Sometimes, because of the sudden change of airflow, you will see a phantom. You can see people and horses clearly, but when you get closer, there is nothing. Sometimes you can see a pool of clear water. When you run over, a pool of clear water is still ahead, but you will never get there. Along the way, there are human remains everywhere. Xuanzang left 100 Li, and he was really tired. He stopped to drink water. Unexpectedly, when taking the skin, I accidentally spilled the water in the whole skin into the desert. Where can I find water in the endless desert? Xuanzang endured extreme thirst and walked for five days without finding a drop of water. His throat was so dry that he almost smoked and finally fainted in the desert. I don't know how long I slept, but one night in the middle of the night, a cool wind blew gently and Xuanzang woke up. Fortunately, because the old horse had walked through the desert before, he remembered that there was a spring in front of him and carried it to the water's edge, which saved Xuanzang's life.
After more than half a month's trek, Xuanzang finally walked out of the 800-mile desert and came to Gao Changguo. Wang Gaochang, originally a Han Chinese, admired Xuanzang's feat and promised him a generous reward and left him in Gao Changguo. Xuanzang said: I came all the way to ask for Buddha, and now I am stopped by the king. The king can only keep my body, but not my heart.
King Gao Chang still refused to let him go. He hasn't eaten for three days in a row, which shows his mentality. On the fourth day, King Gaochang was moved and promised to send him to the Western Heaven, and gave him clothes, dry food, porters and thirty horses. He also wrote to the kings of countries along the way, asking them to protect the monk who came from afar.
Since then, Xuanzang has gone through difficulties and obstacles, crossed the famous wooden glacier and walked for a whole year, and arrived in Tianzhu in the summer of 628 AD. He saw many tall ostriches here. Look at the 150-foot-high stone statue and the 1000-foot-long stone statue of the reclining Buddha; I also saw herds of elephants. He swam the Ganges several times and visited the historical sites of Buddhism. He visited the city of Kaya, where there is a bodhi tree more than 50 feet high, under which Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, once practiced penance. He went to the Western Heaven Lingshan mentioned in Buddhist scriptures and visited the Dojo of Sakyamuni. These field trips deepened Xuanzang's study of Buddhist scriptures.
Then, Xuanzang began to look for famous monks and masters to study, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries, and finally lived in Nalanduo Temple.
Nalanduo Temple in Mojietuo is the highest institution of Buddhism in Tianzhu, with a history of more than 700 years. More than 10000 monks study Buddhism here all the year round. On the day Xuanzang arrived at the temple, more than 65,438+0,000 monks and many people held flowers to welcome guests from China. The abbot of Nalanduo Temple is a Buddhist monk over 100 years old. He gave up studying long ago, but in order to show his friendship with China, he made an exception and accepted Xuanzang as a disciple to give lectures. He spent 15 months telling Xuanzang the most difficult Buddhist scriptures.
Xuanzang studied Buddhist scriptures day and night and learned the local language with excellent results. In Nalanduo Temple, there are 1 000 people who are familiar with 20 classics, 500 people who are familiar with 30, and only 10 people who are familiar with 50. Xuanzang is one of the 10 people. But he didn't stop learning. 10 years, he consulted everywhere in Tianzhu, became a monk like Xie Xian, and was familiar with all the mysteries of Confucian classics. Xuanzang became the most famous Buddhist in India at that time.
In 6 14 AD, Xuanzang Road welcomed the Festival King. Just then, a man who opposed Nalanduo Sect wrote a paper and presented it to the king of the Anti-Japanese War, claiming that no one could refute a word. King Jerzy, a fanatical Buddhist, decided to hold a grand general meeting in a group of women's cities.
During the debate, the anti-Japanese king asked Xuanzang to be the master. The meeting was attended by the kings of Tianzhu 18 countries and more than 6,000 scholars. The monks and civilians are even more crowded. Xuanzang was talking on a gem bed specially designed for him. He cited many examples and repeatedly demonstrated his views, and everyone who attended the lecture was fascinated. He also hung his theory of breaking evil at the door of the venue for defense. The argument lasted 18 days, and no one could raise any objection. On the day of the meeting, the kings of various countries gave Xuanzang a lot of money. Xuanzang did not leave any money for himself, but gave it all to the local poor.
The king of the Anti-Japanese War sincerely left Xuanzang in India again and again. Another king even said that he was willing to build a hundred temples for Xuanzang as long as he was willing to stay with them. However, after a long separation, Xuanzang missed his motherland and decided to return to China to pass on his knowledge. On the day he left, the Lord of the Rings in Japan and his local Indian friends sent him dozens of miles in tears before they reluctantly left.
In the early 19th year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan, Xuanzang returned to Chang 'an, the capital of China, with more than 650 Buddhist classics, and settled in Baima Temple in Luoyang. It has been 18 years since he set off from Chang 'an.
Xuanzang sneaked out in violation of the ban when he went abroad. After learning everything about Xuanzang, Emperor Taizong admired his indomitable spirit, pardoned his crimes, and specially sent Prime Minister Fang to Chang 'an to meet him as a hero.
On the 24th day of the first month, Chang 'an City was crowded with people, with fragrant flowers on both sides of the road and loud music. Tens of thousands of monks and nuns lined Chang 'an to welcome Xuanzang back and put the scroll Buddha statues brought by Xuanzang in Hongfu Temple.
Xuanzang went to Chang 'an to meet Emperor Taizong, and introduced what he saw and heard during his journey, as well as the customs of the western regions and Tianzhu. Emperor Taizong listened with relish. He suggested that Xuanzang be an official in North Korea and help him manage state affairs. Xuanzang declined.
Soon, Xuanzang began to translate Buddhist scriptures. He gets up at five o'clock and goes to bed at three o'clock every day, tirelessly translating classics. During the period of 19, * * * translated 74 Buddhist scriptures, 1335 volumes,130,000 words. His translation is fluent and beautiful, and he is loyal to the original. Some technical terms, such as India, were translated by him and are still in use today.
The long and arduous translation work exhausted Xuanzang's energy. In February, 664, a great traveler, an outstanding translator and a famous Buddhist sat in Yuhua Temple on the outskirts of Chang 'an.
Before his death, Xuanzang also wrote an important historical and geographical work, The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang, together with the debaters and monks who participated in the translation of Buddhist scriptures. This book records the geographical situation, historical sites and urban scenery of Xinjiang, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries and regions 100. Now, The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang has been translated into many foreign languages and has become a world masterpiece. Scholars all over the world are studying it further.