On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c20.111

v2.c20.111

In his description of the high tone and austere lives of the Nālanda Brethren Yuan-chuang writes — "If there were any who did not talk of the mysteries of the Tripiṭaka such persons, being ashamed, kept aloof". The Chinese is — 其有不談三藏幽旨者則形影自愧矣. Julien's rendering is — "S'il y avait des hommes incapables de traiter les matières abstraites des trois recueils, ils étaient comptés pour rien et se voyaient couverts de honte". This is not fair to the devout students, as there is nothing in the text to show that they despised their idle brethren. The latter felt they were without companions, alone and miserable. Our pilgrim's expression about them was apparently suggested by the saying of an old statesman who described his lonely sorrow to the emperor by the words hsing-yinghsiang-tiao (形影相弔), "he and his shadow having to exchange condolences". Finding their indolence isolated them the idle Brethren "felt ashamed of themselves". Further in the translation here given of Yuan-chuang's account the words—"Of those from other lands who wished to enter the schools for discussion the majority, beaten by the difficult problems, withdrew", are in Julien's rendering—"Si un homme d'un autre pays voulait entrer et prendre part aux conférences, le gardien de la porte lui adressait des questions difficiles. Le plus grand nombre était réduit au silence et s'en retournait". The text is—殊方異域欲入談議門者詰難多屈而遂學淹今古乃得入焉. In Julien's rendering of this passage the words *mên-che*, it will be seen, are severed from the preceding words to which they belong and are taken in the sense of janitor or porter. Julien's text, however, may have had *shou-mên-che* (守門者), meaning "gate-keeper", which is the reading in the Fang-chih. But in the A, B, and D texts the reading is simply *mên-che*, and C has 閣 which is evidently a misprint. The continuation of the sentence in the original has been given above, and it will be seen that context and construction require the interpretation here given which is also that of native scholars. The phrase *ju-mên* is a very common one in popular and literary use, and means to join a school or enter a trade or profession. Here the pilgrim tells his reader that of those who came from other countries to Nālandā in the desire of becoming disputants—religious controversialists—the majority went back beaten by the difficult problems, while those who were profound in ancient and modern lore "obtained entrance", that is joined the schools of debate. But it is true that *mên-che* means a janitor and a disciple who acts as such.