Dream looking for Master Xuanzang’s journey to the west embedded in history. Dreaming of the footsteps of growth.
In the past, the understanding of Master Xuanzang, or the person and events of Tang Monk, only came from the classic masterpiece "Journey to the West", as well as the oral and heart-taught stories about "Tang Monk's gathering of Buddhist scriptures". The direct one was the later TV series. The strong interest in the master and the eagerness to get to know him and understand him should also be attributed to Professor Qian Wenzhong's lecture on "The Biography of Master Tripitaka of Daci'en Temple" in the "Hundred Schools Forum". Professor Qian Wenzhong's explanation opened a window for me to yearn for the master, dream of seeking the master, and admire the master's perseverance and courage as a saint. Through this window, I saw a real and great Xuanzang in Chinese history and in the Tang Dynasty. I saw him going deep into the dusk and into the night, "vowing not to return eastward" for the sake of truth, and resolutely heading west. The back of the awakened being.
Leaving Chang'an with a Rebellion
Xuan Zang carried the ideal of universal salvation and the pursuit of the Buddha's mottos, and embarked on a world full of hardships, wealth, fame and beauty, and the beauty of the country. The road of temptation of material desires begins another kind of meditation and enlightenment that is 50,000 miles long.
In Chang'an during the early years of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, there were many confusions about Buddhist etiquette. After Xuanzang visited the great virtuous masters in Luo, Shu and Chang'an, he felt that they "prepared their teachings and examined their principles in detail. They were all good at their sects and tested the sacred scriptures, but they also had hidden and obvious differences, and they didn't know what to follow." , but vowed to travel to the West to ask questions." He also said: "In the past, the Dharma was manifest and the wise and wise men were all able to seek the Dharma and guide all living beings. How can it be that the high achievements are not pursued and the breeze is gone? A man will succeed." So he went to Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, but he did not permit. However, the master's determination to go west to seek the Dharma was determined, so how could he give up because of the emperor's order?
When Master Xuanzang was 26 years old, when he had become the "horse of a thousand miles" and was "famous throughout the capital", he was still so calm and far-sighted. In order to obtain He has prepared the dual cultivation of body and mind for the supreme Buddha Dharma.
It was an evening in mid-autumn August of the first year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (627). It was also an evening when the emperor ordered the hungry people to be released due to natural disasters. Monk Xiaoda from Qinzhou (now Tianshui, Gansu Province) teamed up with the hungry people fleeing famine, and secretly walked out of Chang'an, the capital, under the cover of night, and walked into the vast darkness, leaving only a mystery to the still confused capital. long back. But the emperor couldn't care much at this time. He still didn't understand why Master Xuanzang's back was in such a hurry as he went westward, and why the westward journey must take the dark night as the starting point and walk through the long night. Just like the master's doubts about Eastern Buddhism, it requires difficult exploration and verification. But the master's outstanding style always makes future generations admire him forever.
Sneaking across Yumen Pass
Xuan Zang left the west gate of Chang'an City and walked at night, climbed over mountains and ridges, passed Qinzhou, stayed in Lanzhou, and came to Liangzhou (today's Wuwei, Gansu) with a business trip. Liangzhou is an ancient Silk Road town. It is a prosperous city, "a city on the west side of the river, with Tibet in its lap, and all the countries on its side, with endless business and travel exchanges." Buddhism is deeply rooted in people's hearts here and is very prosperous. Xuanzang was invited to give lectures and promote Buddhism in order to obtain the funds for his journey to the west. Xuanzang's lectures won unprecedented praise among Liangzhou officials, monks and laypeople, and businessmen in the Western Regions. People rushed to listen and support him.
If I think about it carefully today, Xuanzang would not have been able to get out of the Tang Dynasty without the help of the destined people on his way westward, even if he was determined and courageous. Master Xuanzang's charisma, wisdom, and belief in pursuing and practicing the truth moved the world. It was only then that capable disciples like Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Monk, and White Dragon Horse in "Journey to the West" were born, and the journey to the West to learn Buddhist scriptures was possible. . These capable disciples are the Buddhist disciples in the Hexi Corridor.
At that time, Master Huiwei, the leader of the Hexi Buddhist sect, was deeply impressed by the great virtue of the master. "Hearing the ambition to seek the Dharma again, he was deeply overjoyed and secretly sent two disciples, one named Huilin and the other named Daozheng, to secretly send them to him. West". The weather in late autumn was already very cool. However, Xuanzang could only walk day and night, stopping and walking, crossing the boundless Gobi, leaving his figure behind. Duguda, a devout Buddhist and the governor of Guazhou (now Anxi, Gansu), received the master with "kind hospitality" and introduced the situation of the west road to the master: "From now on, traveling north for more than fifty miles, there is the Hulu River. It is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. The waves are very sharp and deep and cannot be crossed. The road must go through the Yumen Pass, which is the gateway to the west. Outside the pass, there are five beacons in the northwest. Those who are waiting for it are stationed there. They are hundreds of miles away from each other. Water and grass. Beyond Wufeng is Mohe Yanqi, the border of Yiwu."
The road ahead was bleak, the horse he was traveling with died of illness, and the two young monks who had followed him from Liangzhou left him. And go. Xuanzang looked at the road ahead, and beside Gu Ying, his heart was filled with sorrow. At this time, the ultimatum from Liangzhou to repatriate him arrived again. Fortunately, Li Chang, a state historian who believed in Buddhism, secretly presented the ultimatum to Xuanzang and destroyed it in person, thus saving the master the worry of traveling westward. Since there was no horse for transportation, he could not travel thousands of miles across the desert, so he bought another horse from the market. But because there was no one to guide us, we were delayed for more than a month in Guazhou, and it was already early winter. When Xuanzang was helpless, a foreigner named Shi Tuo sent him out of Yumen Pass, past the Five Beacons, and replaced Xuanzang with an old horse that knew the way.
It was another dark night with stars drifting and wild beasts roaming the desert. Under the guidance of the lamp of truth and faith, Xuanzang walked towards Yumen Pass, the last pass in the Tang Dynasty. What a poetic pass name and what a powerful frontier fortress. But Master Xuanzang did not have the mood of a poet:
The bright moon rises above the Tianshan Mountains, among the vast sea of clouds.
The wind blows tens of thousands of miles across Yumen Pass.
The Han Dynasty went down the Baideng Road, and the Hu Dynasty peeked into the Qinghai Bay.
The origin of the battle was that no one returned.
The guests from Xu looked at the border town, thinking about returning home with many sad faces.
I spent the night in the building, sighing for a long time.
I don’t know if I can sneak across Yumen Pass smoothly. With a feeling of anxiety, how can I be free from the sigh of the master. The flowing silver Hulu River and the strict Yumen Pass look depressing and terrifying in the baggage of the night.
About the third watch, in order not to cause trouble, they went upstream and prepared to cross the river about 10 miles away from Guancheng. There happened to be a forest on the river bank. Shi Tuo cut wood and built a bridge, successfully crossing the Hulu River and bypassing Yumen Pass. However, here the master experienced his first danger since his journey to the west, and almost died under the knife of this barbarian. Maybe it was Buddhism that saved him, maybe it was the master's solemn Dharma that saved him, it's unknown. However, today, when we look at the Yumen Pass where Master Xuanzang drove his horse through, and think of the figure walking behind his back in the morning light of the Tang Dynasty, we are really moved by the spirit of the saint. This kind of " The feat of "a strong man once gone never comes back" has never been done before and will never be done again.
Five beacons at night
When he walked out of Yumen Pass, Xuanzang was already alone, with no one to accompany him except the "old and thin red horse". In his physical and mental exhaustion, he had hallucinations several times. "The Biography of Master Tripitaka of Daci'en Temple" records this: "Suddenly there were hundreds of troops filling the sand and moraine. They were walking and resting, and they all looked like camels and horses, and they were in the shape of flags and banners. Their appearance changed. The material changes suddenly and suddenly. When you look at it from a distance, it becomes smaller and smaller. When you first see it, you think it's a crowd of thieves. When you get closer, you see it disappears, and you know that there are demons and ghosts in the sky. You can feel calm now. "Actually, this is not the sound of the sky, it is the result of young heart and strong willpower.
When he arrived at the first beacon tower, he wanted to get water at night, but he was discovered by the soldiers guarding the beacon. The guard Wang Xiang wanted the master to go to Dunhuang. The master said to Wang Xiang: " Zang Sangzi was born in Luoyang, but he was a scholar of Taoism. He was a craftsman in the two capitals and a monk in Wu and Shu. How could it be that Tan Yue was named after Dunhuang? However, he hated the Buddha's transformation, and the sutras were incomplete and the meaning was lacking. Therefore, he was not greedy for life, and was not afraid of hardships and dangers. He vowed to go to the West to follow the legacy of the Dharma. How could it be that Tan Yue did not encourage him and only urged him to return. Because we are tired of the worldly work, the reason for the death of the tree is that we must be detained and punished at will. Xuanzang will never move eastward to betray his original intention. "Wang Xiang was moved by Xuanzang's sincerity and not only refused to persuade him. He returned, and sent people to pack water and food for the master, and sent him personally for more than ten miles. Let Xuanzang bypass the second and third beacon towers and go straight to the fourth beacon tower. Because the guard of the fourth beacon tower is Wang Xiang's clan prince Wang Boyong. Arriving at the fourth beacon at night, the master stayed overnight and set off at dawn. Leaving aside the fifth beacon, he walked straight to the eight-hundred-mile Moheyan moraine. He left his pious figure in the Tang Dynasty and left it to future generations...
Riding alone into the sand sea
The 800-mile Mohe Yanqi was called Sand River in ancient times. There are no birds above, no animals below, and no water plants. Only white bones guide the way and camel dung shows the way, but there is a wild horse spring more than a hundred miles away, which attracts Xuanzang and his old horse to march endlessly in the sea of sand. The master recited Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Prajna Heart Sutra, and traveled more than 100 miles without seeing the Wild Horse Spring. At this time, the man was tired and the horse was exhausted. He wanted to drink water, but he accidentally dropped the water bag in the sand, and in the blink of an eye, not a drop was left. And I lost my direction again, always circling in a small area when walking around. In desperation, he wanted to return to the fourth beacon tower, but then he thought about his vow to spread the Dharma, "So he turned around and headed northwest. At that time, he looked around at a loss, and there were no people or birds. At night, monsters raised fire, and they died like stars. , During the day, there will be strong winds and sand, scattered like rain. Even if it happens like this, my heart will not be afraid, but the bitter water will be gone, and I will not be able to go forward if I am thirsty. For four nights and five days, not a drop will touch my throat, and my mouth and stomach will be dry. I will almost die. He could no longer go forward, so he lay down in the sand and meditated on Guanyin. Although he was sleepy, he refused to leave. It's hard work, why don't you know it?" When I told him this, my heart was still full. At midnight on the fifth night, a cool breeze suddenly touched my body, and my eyes were clear as if I were bathing in cold water. After getting up, he had rested and had little sleep. In his sleep, he dreamed of a great god who was several feet tall. He held a halberd and said, "Why don't you force yourself and lie down?" After a few miles, he suddenly saw several acres of green grass. He dismounted his horse and started to eat. After ten steps, he came to a pool. The water was sweet and clear. He went down to drink. His body and horse were all restored to rest. It is estimated that this is not an old water plant, but it is a bodhisattva who lives by compassion and sincerity. It is like this, that is, he rests in the grass pond for one day, then fills the water with grass the next day, and then emerges from the quicksand after two days. Yiwu. Such dangers cannot be prepared."
This passage is the most thrilling, life-threatening and most exciting account of Xuanzang's journey to the west. Without this old horse that knew the way, Xuanzang might have perished in the sand, and the white dragon horse that knew the way would be missing from "Journey to the West". I can't help but wonder whether the author Luo Guanzhong deliberately arranged Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Monk, and White Dragon Horse to express Xuanzang's multi-faceted personality characteristics in order to express Master Xuanzang's personality charm more fully and perfectly. This four-in-one concept is to make Xuanzang's image more full, more vivid, and more deeply rooted in people's hearts.
The author's admiration and reverence for Master Xuanzang can be said to be so great that only by deifying him can the author's thoughts be expressed.
Today, when I opened the "Biography of Master Tripitaka of Daci'en Temple" and walked into "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", I followed the footsteps of the master embedded in history more than 1,300 years ago, and followed his majestic and elegant back with all my heart. At that time, the figure walking in history suddenly came alive before my eyes, and I couldn't get rid of it. Lu Xun said: "Xuan Zang is the 'backbone of the Chinese nation.'" His back to the West for the truth was destined to be a bright and dazzling opening in a majestic and magnanimous Tang Dynasty at that time, embracing all rivers and looking at the world. of stars.