三寶感應要略錄 2.84

2.84

Dharma Master Xuanzang was originally named Yi, with the secular surname Chen. In the third year of Zhenguan, he set out with his pilgrim's staff upon the road, reciting the Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya-sūtra twenty-one times daily. He made this vow: "In order to seek the Great Dharma, this poor monk sets forth to the west. If I do not reach the Brahmin Land, I shall never return to the east. Even if I die midway, I shall have no regret." His sincerity was deep and his toil felt light; mounting hardships and treading steep paths, he traveled throughout the Western Realms for seventeen years, personally seeing and hearing of one hundred and thirty-eight kingdoms. Wherever there were difficulties or hindrances, reciting the Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya-sūtra and being mindful of Avalokiteśvara would unfailingly save him from fright and dread. In the first month of the nineteenth year, he finally returned and reached Chang'an. The scriptures and treatises he obtained totaled six hundred and fifty-seven works. The Tripiṭaka master himself said, "All of this was due to the power of the Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya-sūtra and Avalokiteśvara."