Why did Tang Priest go to learn from the scriptures?

The Tang Priest in history, surnamed Chen, was born in 604 AD. He was born in the Tang Dynasty and became a monk at the age of thirteen. His legal name is Xuanzang. Xuanzang has been eager to learn since he was a child. In order to study Buddhist scriptures, he traveled all over Sichuan, Hubei, Henan, Shaanxi and other places to visit famous Buddhist scholars. However, there are many Buddhist sects, and there are many mistakes in the translation of Buddhist scriptures, and the meanings of explanations are often contradictory. The deeper you drill, the more problems you find. He decided to go to Tianzhu, the birthplace of Buddhism (now the Indian Peninsula) to find out.

During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, the government prohibited private individuals from going abroad casually. All entry and exit must be approved by the state. In August 627, Xuanzang applied to the imperial court to leave the country, but was rejected. Xuanzang, who was determined to travel westward, was caught among businessmen, walked out of Yumen Pass and embarked on the road of traveling westward alone. That year, Xuanzang was twenty-eight years old.

After Yumen Pass, you enter the endless Mohe Rock. Mohe moraine is a big desert between Anxi and Hami, which is more than 800 miles long and is also called 800-mile quicksand. "Hot air is like fire" during the day and "cold air is like a knife" at night, so the climate is changeable. In the vast yellow sand, there are no birds, no animals and even grass on the ground. Xuanzang was alone, only piles of bones and camel dung as signposts to guide him forward. Xuanzang walked and accidentally spilled a leather bag of water. What shall we do? Go back to drink water. I can't. Xuanzang vowed: I would rather die in the Western Heaven than in Tianzhu, and I will never look back. He walked for four nights and five days, his mouth was thirsty and his lips were burnt, and finally he fainted in the desert. Fortunately, it's not far from the aquatic plants. In the middle of the night, a cool breeze blew gently and woke up the mysterious class in a coma. Xuanzang's old horse, who knew the way, carried him to the water source and was out of danger.

Xuanzang traveled westward to Gaochang (about 20 kilometers east of Turpan today) and received enthusiastic support from King Gaochang, a Buddhist. King Gaochang gave him many gold and silver clothes, equipped with more than 50 guides and attendants, and wrote 24 letters to the monarchs along the way, asking them to take care of Xuanzang. However, the road is still difficult. Xuanzang and his party came to Lingshan (today's Shanmushuer Mountain), which is covered with snow all year round. The mountain is 7000 meters high and has glaciers that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. When storms and snowstorms hit, sand and stones fly, often burying people, killing people or freezing people to death. Xuanzang and his party fought hard for seven days in the snowy mountain closure, and his entourage froze to death at 34/ 10.

After a year's travel, Xuanzang entered Tianzhu in the following summer. At that time, there were more than 70 countries on the Indian Peninsula. From 628 to 63 1 year, Xuanzang traveled to more than 20 countries in North India, visited many Buddhist shrines and learned Sanskrit. By the end of 63 1, Xuanzang had arrived at Nalanduo Temple in Mohist Tuozhou.

Nalanduo Temple is the highest institution of Buddhism in Tianzhu, with more than 10,000 monks, many of whom have various knowledge of medicine and astronomy. Master Jie Xian, who presided over the ceremony, is the authority of Tianzhu Buddhism and the master of the first generation. On the day when Xuanzang came to the temple, the temple heard that the eminent monks from the eastern zhina country (namely China) had come, so it organized a welcoming team of more than 1000 people, each of whom was lined up on both sides of the street with lit incense and flowers. Xuanzang bowed to everyone with his hands folded, respectfully met Zhixian, and worshipped him as a teacher. It is said that Master Jie Xian is over 100 years old and no longer gives lectures. But in order to show his friendship with Master China, he made an exception and gave lectures for Xuanzang for fifteen months. The temple also treats Xuanzang's life with the highest standards. Supply Cambrogo 120 tablets, betel nut 20 tablets, bean paste 20 tablets, borneol one or two tablets and one liter of "adult rice" every day. "Adult rice" is bigger than black beans, and the cooked rice is sweet and delicious. It is a local specialty, only for kings and exorcists, so it is called "adult meal". In addition, three barrels of oil are supplied every month. Shortening milk and the like can be taken at will every day, and you can have a picture when you go out. There are more than 10,000 monks and nuns in Nalanda, and only ten people such as Xuanzang enjoy such treatment. After studying here for five years, Xuanzang not only listened carefully, but also greedily read all kinds of scriptures hidden in the temple, and achieved excellent results, becoming a famous first-class Buddhist in Tianzhu.

Xuanzang is not complacent. Later, he roamed the east, south and west of India, visiting holy places and visiting famous teachers. After more than two years, I returned to Nalanduo Temple. Master Jie Xian asked him to give a lecture in the temple.

At that time, King Nirvana was in its heyday, and King Nirvana was the most prestigious king in Tianzhu. King Jerzy held an unprecedented academic debate in Gunnvcheng, the capital (now Kaliji, Uttar Pradesh, India). In 6421February, the debate conference began. There are 18 kings of Tianzhu, 3,000 monks who deeply understand the teachings, 1,000 monks in Nalanduo Temple, more than 2,000 people from all walks of life such as Brahmanism, and more than 10,000 people together with their entourage. When I went to the meeting, some people led an elephant, some people rode by car, some people walked, and it was vast and stretched for dozens of miles. This is really unprecedented. Xuanzang is the keynote speaker. Call God. Xuanzang read out his paper written in Sanskrit at the meeting. Xuanzang's incisive exposition amazed everyone. During the 18 day meeting, no one refuted his argument. On the day of the end of the conference, King Jerzy gave him 10,000 yuan, 30,000 yuan of silver and 100 collars of robes. According to local customs, Jierijun invited Xuanzang to sit on a beautifully decorated elephant and walk around the field. The nobles on both sides escorted and the crowd cheered. Xuanzang learned well and enjoyed the praise and respect of the Indian people! Xuanzang enjoyed a high reputation in India because of the group women's city conference.

Xuanzang has been away for a long time, and his yearning for the motherland is becoming more and more urgent. The Lord of abstinence from the sun, kings of various countries and the broad masses of monks and nuns repeatedly retained him. King Kumoro even said that if he wanted to stay, he would build a hundred colleges for him. But Xuanzang longed to return to China. Now that the purpose of studying abroad and seeking classics has been achieved, he will return to China anyway. In the spring of 643, Xuanzang, who traveled westward 17, bid farewell to the friends of King of Japan and Tianzhu, and set off for home loaded with the friendship and honor of the Indian people and 657 volumes of Buddhist scriptures.

"Xuanzang is back!" "Xuanzang is back!" Two years later, Xuanzang returned to Chang 'an. People heard that this master, who was not far from Wan Li, took pains to explore the true meaning of Buddhism in the Buddhist country, retrieved the true scriptures and excitedly conveyed the news. The whole Chang 'an city was a sensation. Xuanzang showed the Buddhist scriptures and statues he brought back at the southern end of Zhuque Street in Chang 'an. Please visit. From Suzaku Street to Hongfu Temple, where Xuanzang lived, there was a sea of people, vying to see the scenery, queuing for dozens of miles, burning incense and spreading flowers. Very lively. Xuanzang's return from his westward journey became a sensational event in Chang 'an.

Emperor Taizong was also very happy to hear that Xuanzang had returned from Tianzhu. I personally summoned him in Luoyang. Xuanzang described what he saw and heard along the way. Emperor Taizong listened with relish and asked him to write down his travels. The book "The Western Regions of Datang" is a masterpiece dictated by Xuanzang and recorded by his disciples. The book describes the 1 10 countries he visited personally and the mountains, rivers, cities, products and customs of 28 countries he heard. Later, it was translated and widely circulated by various countries, and became the main material for studying the ancient history and geography of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia today.

After Xuanzang returned to Chang 'an from Luoyang, he immediately organized more than 0/00 monks from all over the country to start translating Buddhist scriptures. Chang 'an Dajiju's Zhuan Jing Yuan is the place where they translate Buddhist scriptures. The scrolls are collected in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda designed and built by Xuanzang himself. The Wild Goose Pagoda still stands in the south of Xi 'an, becoming the most prominent symbol of the ancient capital Chang 'an.

In order to translate Buddhist scriptures, Xuanzang often "sleeps in the third watch and gets up at the fifth watch". He worked day and night for 19 years, translating 74 Buddhist scriptures and 1300 volumes. In February 664, Xuanzang died in Yuhua Palace in Chang 'an. Later, the original Buddhist scriptures translated by Xuanzang were lost in Tianzhu. Xuanzang's translation has become a precious historical material for the study of ancient Indian culture.

Xuanzang was a monk in the Tang Dynasty. Monks were called "monks" at that time. Therefore, later generations called Xuanzang "Tang Priest". The story of Xuanzang's trip to the West to learn from the scriptures is widely circulated among the people, and the more he talks about it, the more "God" becomes a myth. Wu Cheng'en, a novelist in Ming Dynasty, wrote the novel The Journey to the West according to folklore. Although the fairy tale of Tang Priest's Buddhist scriptures in The Journey to the West and the true story of Xuanzang's Buddhist scriptures in Tianzhu are called "Tang Priest's Buddhist scriptures" for short, the contents of these two books are far from each other.