[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [大唐故三藏玄奘法師行狀](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052) › 1.3 # 大唐故三藏玄奘法師行狀 1.3 大唐故三藏玄奘法師行狀 1.3 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052.1.3) 至麟德元年正月一日。玉花寺眾及僧等。請翻大寶積經。法師辭曰。知此經於漢土未有緣。縱翻亦不了。固請不免。法師曰。翻必不滿五行。遂譯四行止。謂弟子及翻經僧等。有為之法。必歸磨滅。泡幻之質。何得久停。今麟德元年。吾行年六十有三。必卒於玉花。若於經論有疑。宜即速問。勿為後悔。徒眾聞者。無不驚泣。皆曰。和上尊體康和。計年未至耆耄。何為忽作此言。報曰。此事自知。非徒眾所悉。是時法師。未有疾患。徒眾相顧。咸生疑怪。至正月三日。法師又告門人。吾恐無常。欲往辭佛。遂與弟子等往。先造俱胝像所。禮懺辭別。其有翻經僧及子等。辭向京覲省者。法師皆報云。汝宜好去。所有衣鉢經書。並皆將去。吾與汝別。汝亦不須更來。設來亦不相見。去者報云。和上康休。必無此事。法師報曰。非汝所知。去者果不重見。至正月八日。有弟子僧玄覺。夜見夢一大木浮圖。高顯嚴麗。意欲瞻仰。忽然摧倒崩振。心驚。遂即睡寤。平旦參禮。具說此事。法師報曰。此事屬我。不關於汝。勿為憂怖。至月九日申時。又告玉花寺寺主慧德等曰。某必當死。經云。此身可惡。猶如死狗。某捨命已。勿延宮寺。宜於山原靜處安置。作一容身棺。造一周棺。蘧蒢輿送至彼。可依教火焚。最為第一。慧德等怪歎。不疑即有此事。至其日將暮。因向後房。度一小博渠損足。初經四日。仍如常行止。至十三日。遂即疾臥。至十六日。閉目開目。頻見有白蓮花。大於食盤。光淨鮮潔。至十七日。又見無量百千人眾。其形偉大。皆服錦衣。又齎錦綺種種花寶。莊嚴法師所住房宇。以次漸莊。遍翻經院內外堂殿。乃至山林。並為寶飾花幡幢蓋。又奏音樂。後見門外。無數寶輿。有百味飯食及諸香果藥。並非人間之物。皆將來獻上法師。法師辭云。此供具六通者所受。某未具此德。不敢當之。雖確辭讓。而進獻不止。侍者驚觸。遂開目。向寺眾等。具說前事。寺主慧德。其夜月甚明朗。見告坎山上樹。並變為白幢蓋。兼見二人。舉一寶輿。種種肴饍。被山遍谷。似有奉獻。尋即參具陳其事。正相快會。又云。某一生已來。所明福慧。准斯所見。功不虛捐。信諸所言無有謬也。因命翻經僧嘉尚。錄出比來所翻大般若經瑜伽等大小乘經論。總翻七十五部。合一千三百三十一卷。令其諷讀。深自忻慶。又云。某無常期至。宜告門徒。並來取別。至二十一日。寺主慧德。夢見無量金像。云是千佛。東方當翻經院上空中。現已還沒。至二十二日。門徒總集。令作捨墮。願久所有衣及非衣。並皆罄捨。造十俱胝像。又請僧轉讀行道。燒燈供養。洗浴眾僧。至二十三日。設齊訖。正午令工人。於嘉壽殿。以香塗香木樹菩薩像骨。對寺眾及門徒。各乞歡喜。辭訣取別。又造遺表。弟子窺基奉進。遂默正念。後人說偈教傍人誦云。南謨彌勒如來應正等覺。取與含識。速奉慈顏。南謨彌勒如來所居內眾。取捨命已。必生其中。至二月四日。看病僧明藏見二人。各長丈餘。著白衣冠。各以一手。共擎一大白蓮花。花臺三重。非常可愛。如小車輪許大。至法師前立。口云。無量劫來。惱亂眾生。諸定業報因。令小疾小許輕受。並得除滅。宜當慶喜。莫生憂惱。法師見已。合掌良久。遂自迴轉。以右脇著床。舒足重疊。右手支頭。左手申安髀上。迄至命終。更不轉動。明藏更問。見何等相。報云。勿問。妨吾正念。至五日中夜。弟子光等又問。和上定生彌勒前不。報云。決定得生。言訖捨命。時經六十日。頭髮漸生。顏色如常。赤白不異。又有香。了無餘氣。得病之時。翻經使人許玄。備聞奏。蒙　勅遣醫人。將藥往看。比至。法師已亡。醫不及。終後。坊州刺史竇師備聞奏。　恩勅葬事所須。並令官給。次奉　勅旨。玉花寺僧玄奘既亡。其翻經事且停。已翻成者。宜准舊例。官為抄寫。自餘未翻本。付慈恩寺。好掌勿令損失。其玄奘弟子及翻經僧。先非玉花寺僧者。宜各放還寺。又奉勅旨。故僧玄奘。葬日宜遣京城僧尼造幢。送至墓所。冥祥預表其事。寔繁不備列。法師蒙二帝珍敬。儭施綿帛綾綵萬餘匹。上納袈裟時服等數百年事。法師得之。皆為國造塔。書俱胝絹像一千幀。賢劫千佛一千幀。彌勒佛一千幀。像十俱胝。洗浴眾僧。給施貧人。一無貯蓄。隨得隨散。唯以翻譯傳法為務。每翻一經。急急然恐不終訖。一部了已。歡喜稱慶云。用此以答四恩。 > On the first day of the first month of the first year of Linde, the assembly and monks of Yuhua Monastery requested the translation of the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra. The Dharma Master declined, saying: "I know that conditions for this scripture are not yet ripe in the Han land; even if translated, it would not be completed." As they firmly insisted and he could not refuse, the Dharma Master said: "The translation will certainly not fill five lines." Thereupon he translated four lines and stopped. He addressed his disciples and the translation monks, saying: "Conditioned dharmas must inevitably end in annihilation; how could a physical form of foam and illusion linger long? Now in the first year of Linde, my age is sixty-three. I will certainly pass away at Yuhua. If you have doubts concerning the scriptures and treatises, you should ask quickly; do not regret it later." When his disciples heard this, none did not weep in shock. All said: "The preceptor's venerable body is healthy and sound, and in counting the years, you have not reached advanced old age. Why do you suddenly utter such words?" He answered, saying: "I know this of myself; it is not something the assembly can understand." At that time, the Dharma Master had no illness yet, and his disciples looked at one another, all harboring doubt and wonder. On the third day of the first month, the Dharma Master again told his disciples: "I fear impermanence is near; I wish to go and bid farewell to the Buddha." Thereupon he went with his disciples to the site where he had previously made the koṭi statues, where he paid homage, repented, and bade farewell. When there were translation monks and disciples who took their leave to go to the capital to visit their elders, the Dharma Master answered them all, saying: "Go well. Take away all your robes, bowls, scriptures, and books. I part from you now; you need not come again, and even if you come, we will not see each other." Those departing replied, saying: "The preceptor is healthy and at ease; surely this will not happen." The Dharma Master answered, saying: "It is not something you know." Those who left indeed never saw him again. On the eighth day of the first month, a disciple monk, Xuanjue, saw in a night dream a great wooden stupa, lofty, manifest, ornate, and magnificent; as he wished to look up at it in reverence, it suddenly collapsed and shook with a crash. His mind was alarmed, and he woke up. At dawn he went to pay his respects and recounted this matter in detail. The Dharma Master answered, saying: "This matter pertains to me; it does not concern you. Do not be grieved or terrified." At the hour of the monkey on the ninth day of the month, he again told the abbot of Yuhua Monastery, Huide, and others: "I will certainly die. A sūtra says: 'This body is loathsome, like a dead dog.' When I have relinquished my life, do not keep me in the palace monastery. You should place me in a quiet spot on the mountain hills. Make a coffin just fitting the body, craft a simple inner casket, and transport it thither on a reed mat. You may incinerate it according to the teachings; this is foremost." Huide and the others sighed in wonder, not believing that this would actually happen. Toward evening on that day, as he went toward the rear room, he stepped across a small drainage ditch and injured his foot. For the first four days, his walking and resting were still as usual. On the thirteenth day, he took to his bed with illness. On the sixteenth day, closing his eyes and opening his eyes, he repeatedly saw white lotus flowers, larger than a serving platter, radiant, pure, fresh, and spotless. On the seventeenth day, he also saw an immeasurable assembly of hundreds of thousands of people, their forms magnificent and great, all wearing brocade garments. They also carried brocades, damasks, and various kinds of flowers and gems, adorning the room where the Dharma Master resided; gradually adorning in turn, it spread throughout the inner and outer halls of the Translation Hall, and even to the mountain forests, all adorned with jewel decorations, flower banners, flags, and canopies; music was also played. Later he saw outside the gate countless jeweled carriages, with food of a hundred flavors and various fragrant fruits and medicines, none of which were things of the human world, all brought to be offered to the Dharma Master. The Dharma Master declined, saying: "These offerings are to be received by those with the six abhijñās; I do not yet possess this virtue and dare not accept them." Although he firmly declined, they did not cease offering them. His attendant was startled and touched him, whereupon he opened his eyes and recounted the preceding events in full to the monastic assembly. As for the abbot Huide, on that night the moon was very bright and clear, and he saw all the trees on the northern mountain turn into white canopies, and also saw two people holding up a jeweled carriage with various delicacies covering the mountains and valleys, as if making an offering. Soon afterward he went to inquire and recounted the matter in full, which precisely coincided \[with what the Master saw\]. \[The Master\] also said: "Regarding the merit and wisdom I have cultivated throughout my life, judging from what has been seen, my efforts have not been spent in vain; I believe that all that has been spoken is without error." He then instructed the translation monk Jiashang to compile a catalogue of the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna scriptures and treatises translated recently, such as the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra and the Yogācāra\[bhūmiśāstra\], totaling seventy-five works in 1,331 fascicles, and had him chant it aloud, deeply rejoicing in himself. He also said: "The time of my impermanence has arrived. You should inform my disciples so that they may all come to take their leave." On the twenty-first day, the abbot Huide dreamed of immeasurable golden statues, said to be the Thousand Buddhas, appearing in the sky above the Translation Hall to the east and then disappearing again. On the twenty-second day, the disciples assembled together, and he had them perform naiḥsargika-prāyaścittika, resolving to completely give up all his personal robes and non-robe requisites to fashion ten koṭi statues, and also requested the monks to recite scriptures and circumambulate, light lamps for offerings, and bathe the sangha. On the twenty-third day, after the vegetarian feast was finished, at exact noon, he ordered artisans in the Jiashou Hall to apply incense to the fragrant-wood frame of a Bodhisattva statue. Facing the monastic assembly and disciples, he asked joy from each, bidding them farewell. He also composed a posthumous memorial, which his disciple Kuiji presented \[to the throne\]. He then maintained silent right mindfulness. Later, someone uttered a verse teaching those beside him to recite: "Namo Maitreya Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha! May I, together with all sentient beings, swiftly behold your compassionate countenance! Namo to the inner assembly where Maitreya Tathāgata resides! May I, having relinquished life, be born without fail in their midst!" On the fourth day of the second month, the monk Mingzang, who was caring for the sick, saw two persons, each over a zhang tall, wearing white robes and caps, each using one hand to together hold up a large white lotus flower with three tiers of petal-bases, extraordinarily lovely, about the size of a small cartwheel. Standing before the Dharma Master, they said: "The causes of karmic retribution from various fixed karmas of vexing sentient beings for immeasurable kalpas are being experienced lightly in a minor illness, and all are extinguished; you should rejoice and not harbor sorrow or distress." Having seen them, the Dharma Master joined his palms for a long while, then turned himself over, laying his right side on the bed, stretching out his feet one over the other, supporting his head with his right hand, and stretching his left hand upon his thigh, and until his life ended, he did not move again. Mingzang asked further: "What marks did you see?" He replied: "Do not ask; it hinders my right mindfulness." In the middle of the night on the fifth day, his disciple Guang and others asked again: "Will the preceptor definitely be born before Maitreya?" He answered, saying: "I will definitely attain rebirth." Having spoken, he relinquished his life. When sixty days had passed, his hair gradually grew, and his complexion was as usual, white and red without change; there was also fragrance, with entirely no foul odor. At the time he fell ill, the translation commissioner Xu Xuan reported the matter to the throne in detail, and receiving an imperial order, a physician was dispatched with medicine to examine him. By the time he arrived, the Dharma Master had already passed away, and the physician was too late. After his passing, Dou Shibei, the prefect of Fangzhou, reported the matter to the throne in detail. An imperial decree ordered that all necessities for the funeral be provided by the state. Next, an imperial decree was received: "Since the monk Xuanzang of Yuhua Monastery has passed away, the translation work shall temporarily halt. For those works already translated, let the government copy them according to the old precedent. The remaining untranslated manuscripts shall be entrusted to Cien Monastery, to be kept safely without loss. Xuanzang's disciples and translation monks who were not originally monks of Yuhua Monastery shall each be dismissed back to their own monasteries." Another imperial decree was received: "On the day of the late monk Xuanzang's funeral, let the monks and nuns of the capital be dispatched to make banners and escort him to the tomb." Mingxiang has previously written an account of this matter; it is so extensive that it is not fully listed here. The Dharma Master was treasured and revered by the two emperors, receiving offerings of more than ten thousand bolts of floss silk, tabby, and damask, and several hundred items of fine patchwork robes and seasonal clothing. Whenever the Dharma Master received them, he had stupas built for the state, painted one thousand silk scrolls of koṭi statues, one thousand scrolls of the Thousand Buddhas of the Fortunate Kalpa, and one thousand scrolls of Maitreya Buddha, fashioned ten koṭi statues, bathed the sangha, and gave alms to the poor, storing nothing. Whatever he received, he immediately dispersed, taking only translation and transmission of the Dharma as his duty. Whenever he translated a sūtra, he was anxious, fearing he would not finish it; when a work was completed, he rejoiced and celebrated, saying: "With this, I repay the four obligations." > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.2.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052.1.2.6) - [Next: 1.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052.1.4) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052~en-mt.1.3) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052.1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2052.1.3) · Pramāṇa