天竺取經的玄奘大師
The Story of Great Master Hsuan Tsang, Who Went to India in Search of Sutras
甯向西天一步死，不願東土一步生。
I would rather die while making one last step towards the West,
than live by retreating one step towards the East.
玄奘法師生于隋文帝仁壽二年(公元六○一年)，河南陳留人，俗姓陳，幼年即有過人的智慧，七歲時便開始讀五經。在十叁歲那年，隨其二兄長捷法師到洛陽淨土寺出家，誦習經典。隋朝製度，凡是出家修道之人，必須經過考試合格，頒發證書(度牒)，才有資格做沙彌。當時正逢洛陽度僧，玄奘法師年幼，不能參加考試。他在考場門前徘徊，望之興歎！而被主考官鄭善果發現，認爲是佛門龍象，故特別破例度之。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang was born in the second year of the reign period Renshou of the Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (a.d. 601). His home was in Honan Province, Chenliu County, and his lay surname was Chen. Even as a young boy, his wisdom surpassed his peers. At age seven, he began to study the Five Classics, and at age thirteen, he travelled with his second elder brother, the Dharma Master Chang Jie, to Pure Land Monastery in Luoyang to leave the home-life and study and recite Sutras. According to the laws of the Sui Dynasty, people who wished to leave the home-life had to pass an examination and receive certification before they could qualify to become Shramaneras (novice monks). The two of them reached Luoyang just as the clerks were enrolling candidates for Sangha membership. Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang was too young, and was not qualified to take the examination. He anxiously paced back and forth outside the door of the examination hall, sighing in consternation. But then he was discovered by the supervisor of the examinations, Mr. Shanguo Zheng. The man recognized the boy as a potential asset to Buddhism, and made a special exception to the standards, in order to admit him into the Sangha.
二十歲受具足戒之後，他就到處參訪善知識，發現衆師所說，與經典頗有歧異，令人無所適從。尤其《十七地論》，見解不同。乃發願到天竺(即印度)研究，以解其惑。
After receiving full ordination at age twenty, Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang travelled about, learning from Good and Wise Advisors. He discovered that the teachings of the various masters differed in large measure from the Sutra texts in the Canon, and as a result, no one knew where to turn. This was especially the case with the Shastra on the Seventeen Stages, which produced many different opinions. Master Hsuan Tsang thus made a vow to go to India to investigate the Dharma, in order to resolve his doubts.
由于赴天竺路途，要經過崇山峻嶺、崎岖不平的山道，所以玄奘法師在未啓程之前，先練習爬山越嶺的技術，先用桌子、凳子之類物品，堆成假山，從這邊爬到那邊，再從那邊爬到這邊。這樣一天練習多次，後來自己感覺爬山的技術不錯，又到山上去實地練習，約有一年經驗，技術方臻熟練。
After receiving full ordination at age twenty, Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang travelled about, learning from Good and Wise Advisors. He discovered that the teachings of the various masters differed in large measure from the Sutra texts in the Canon, and as a result, no one knew where to turn. This was especially the case with the Shastra on the Seventeen Stages, which produced many different opinions. Master Hsuan Tsang thus made a vow to go to India to investigate the Dharma, in order to resolve his doubts.
于是上表，申請到天竺取經。當時(唐朝)的法令，禁止人民出境，所以未獲唐太宗批准。但是玄奘法師已拿定主意，無論批准與否，他決定赴天竺一行，所以最後不得不私自出境。
At this point, he applied for permission to travel to India to obtain the Sutras. As the laws of the Tang Dynasty forbade civilian travel across the border, the Tang Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) refused his request. However, Master Hsuan Tsang was resolute. With or without permission, he was determined to make the trip to India. Finally he was forced to secretly cross the border.
從長安出發，只身向西行，經過一個山洞，見洞口有蝙蝠糞，當時玄奘法師想：「這洞中一定無人住，否則不會有這麼多的蝙蝠糞。」好奇的心理使他向洞中走去，在不遠的地方，他發現一個怪物，頭發都結在一起，小鳥在上面做窩，窩中小鳥吱吱哇哇在叫，這怪物臉上的塵土很厚，好像石頭人一般。玄奘法師走近仔細一看，原來是位老修行，已經入定。玄奘法師用引磬給他開靜，令他出定，一會兒，這位老修行開始動彈。
While heading west alone from the capital, Changan, Master Hsuan Tsang passed by a mountain cave with piles of bat-droppings by the entrance. It occurred to him that nobody lived in the cave, or else the bat-dung could not have piled up outside the cave entrance. Full of curiosity, he v…
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