Tang Monk's Journey to the West
The prototype of the story of "Journey to the West" in the four classic Chinese classics "Journey to the West" is actually based on Master Xuanzang's journey to the west in the Tang Dynasty. In the novel, Tang Sanzang went to the West on the order of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, because at that time the Chinese people in the East did not know the Mahayana Buddhism and enjoyed themselves all day long. The Tathagata Buddha sent Guanyin Bodhisattva to instruct Tang Sanzang to go to Tianzhu (now India) to bring the Supreme Being to the West. The scriptures were taken back to the Eastern Land. So in history, what scriptures did Master Xuanzang obtain when he went to India?
The scriptures brought back
Master Xuanzang, whose common name is Chen Yi, was born in the second year of Renshou in the Sui Dynasty. In his early years, he studied Buddhist scriptures with Master Changjie at the Pure Land Temple in Luoyang for five years. During this period he also studied the Shravakayana and Pratyekabuddha vehicles, but he preferred the latter. At the age of eleven, he was familiar with the Lotus Sutra and the Vimalakīrti Sutra. When he was a monk in Luoyang when he was thirteen years old, Xuanzang expressed to Zheng Shanguo, a minister of Dali who was sent to examine him, that his intention to become a monk was "to teach the Tathagata far away and to leave the Dharma to the near light", so he was selected by Zheng Shanguo as an exception. Then Xuanzang resolutely left Chang'an privately and ventured to Tianzhu. After an arduous journey, he finally reached Tianzhu. During his more than ten years in Tianzhu, Xuanzang followed and consulted many famous eminent monks. The temples he stayed at included Nalanda Temple, a famous Buddhist center that was at its peak at the time. In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, he taught "Mahayana Theory" and "Consciousness-Only Choice Theory" on behalf of Master Jiexian in Nalanda Temple. His academic level is extremely high. After completing his studies in the 19th year of Zhenguan, he established the theory of truth-only knowledge and quantity. He waited for 18 days at the Uncovered Debate Meeting in Qunu City, but no one came forward. Therefore, he became famous for a while. Megatron Tianzhu.
Translating scriptures
Xuan Zang translated 74 Buddhist scriptures and treatises in 1,335 volumes in his lifetime, with each volume containing about 10,000 words, totaling 13.35 million words, occupying the entire Tang Dynasty translation More than half of the total number of translators is equivalent to the other three major translators in Chinese history. Therefore, the scriptures that Xuanzang brought back from Tianzhu were actually abstract. What is more valuable are the Buddhist classics that he translated.