by Wu Cheng-En
By the Law of the West there are no distinctions between ruler and subject or between father and son; the Three Paths and the Six Roads are used to deceive the foolish; past sins are chased away to filch future blessings; and Sanskrit prayers are recited in attempts to avoid retribution. Now birth, death and the length of life are in fact decided by nature; and punishments, virtue, power and blessings come from the lord of men. But these days vulgar believers distort the truth and say that they all come from Buddha. In the time of the Five Emperors and Three Kings of antiquity this Buddha did not exist, yet rulers were enlightened, subjects were loyal, and prosperity lasted for many a long year. When foreign gods were first established in the time of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, sramanas from the West began to propagate their religion. This is in reality a foreign encroachment on China, and it does not merit belief.
When he had heard this read to him Taizong tossed it to his other officials for debate. The minister Xiao Yu stepped forward from the ranks, kowtowed and said, “The Buddha's law has flourished for several dynasties, and by spreading good and preventing evil it gives unseen help to the state; there is no reason why it would be abolished. Buddha was a sage. Those who deny sages are lawless. I request that he be severely punished.” Fu Yi argued with Xiao Yu, pointing out that correct behavior was derived from serving one's parents and one's sovereign, whereas the Buddha turned his back on his parents, resisting the Son of Heaven although he was but a commoner, and rebelling against his mother and father with the body that they gave him. Xiao Yu had not been born in an empty mulberry tree, but he honoured a religion that denied fathers; this indeed proved that he who had no sense of filial piety denied his father.
All Xiao Yu did was to put his hands together and say, “Hell must have been made for men such as him.” Taizong sent for the High Chamberlain Zhang Daoyuan and the Head of the Secretariat Zhang Shiheng to ask them how effectively Buddhist ritual obtained blessings.
“The Buddha dwells in purity, benevolence and mercy,” the two officers replied, “and the True Result is Buddha-emptiness. Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty placed the Three Teachings in an order. The Chan Master Dahui wrote a poem in praise of the distant and mysterious. If the masses support monks, anything can happen. The Five Patriarchs came down to their mothers' wombs, and Bodhidharma appeared. From remotest antiquity everyone has said that the Three Teachings are highly venerable and cannot be destroyed or abolished. We humbly beg Your Majesty to give us his perceptive ruling.”
“Your submission makes sense,” said the delighted Taizong. “If anyone else makes further comments, he will be punished.” He then ordered Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan to invite all the monks and select one of great virtue to be Master of Ceremonies. They all bowed to thank him and withdrew. From then on there was a new law: anyone who injured a monk or slandered the Buddha would lose his arm.
The next day the three court officials assembled all the monks at the altar among rivers and hills, and they went through them all one by one. From among them they chose a venerable and virtuous monk. Do you know who he was?
Fully versed in the basic mystery, his title was Golden Cicada;
But because he did not want to hear the Buddha preach
He transferred to the mortal world to suffer torment,
Was born among the common mortals to fall into the net.
From the moment he entered the womb he met with evil,
Before he left it he encountered a gang of villains.
His father was Top Graduate Chen from Haizhou,
His grandfather a senior imperial commander.
His birth offended the meteor that dropped into the water,
He drifted with the current and followed the waves.
Jinshan Island had a great destiny:
The abbot Qian'an brought him up.
Only at seventeen did he meet his mother,
And go to the capital to find his grandfather.
Commander Yin Kaishan, raising a great army,
Wiped out and punished the bandits at Hongzhou.
Graduate Chen Guangrui escaped from the heavenly net,
And father and son were happily reunited.
Accepting the invitation he receives once more the monarch's grace,
And his fame is spread as he climbs the lofty tower.
Refusing to take office he wants to be a monk,
So as sramana of the Hongfu Temple he learns about the Way,
The child of an ancient Buddha who used to be called Jiangliu,
And took the dharma-name of Chen Xuanzang.
That day the Reverend Xuanzang was chosen from among all the monks. He had been a monk from infancy, and ever since birth he had eaten vegetarian food and observed the prohibitions. His maternal grandfather was an imperial commander, Yin Kaishan. His father Chen Guangrui had come top in the Palace Examination and had been appointed a grand secretary in the Imperial Library. Xuanzang, however, had no interest in honour and glory, and his only joy was to cultivate Nirvana. Investigation revealed that his origins were good and his virtue great; of the thousand sutras and ten thousand holy books there was not a single one that he did not know; he could sing every Buddhist chant and knew all the religious music. The three officials took him to the imperial presence, where they danced and stirred up the dust. When they had bowed they reported, “Your subject Xiao Yu and the rest of us have chosen a venerable monk called Chen Xuanzang in obedience to the imperial decree.”
On hearing his name Taizong thought deeply for a long time and then asked, “Is that the Xuanzang who is the son of Grand Secretary Chen Guangrui?”
“Your subject is he,” replied Xuanzang with a kowtow.
“Then you were indeed well chosen,” said the Emperor with satisfaction. “You are indeed a monk of virtuous conduct of a mind devoted to meditation. I give you the offices of Left Controller of the Clergy, Right Controller of the Clergy, and Hierarch of the Empire.” Xuanzang kowtowed to express his thanks and accepted the appointments. The Emperor then gave him a multicolored golden cassock and a Vairocana miter, telling him to be sure he conscientiously continued to visit enlightened monks, and giving him the position at the top of the hierarchy. He gave him a decree in writing ordering him to go to the Huasheng Temple to pick a propitious day and hour on which to begin the recitations of the scriptures.
Xuanzang bowed, took the decree, and went to the Huasheng Temple where he assembled many monks, had meditation benches made, prepared for the mass, and chose the music. He selected a total of twelve hundred high and humble monks of enlightenment, who he divided into an upper, a middle and a lower hall. All the holy objects were neatly arranged before all the Buddhas. The third day of the ninth month of that year was chosen an auspicious day on which to start the seven times seven days of the Great Land and Water Mass. This was all reported to the throne, and at the appointed time Taizong, the high civil and military officials, and the royal family went to the service to burn incense and listen to the preaching. There is a poem to prove it that goes:
At the dragon assembly in the thirteenth year of Zhen Guan
The Emperor called a great meeting to talk about the scriptures.
At the assembly they began to expound the unfathomable law,
While clouds glowed above the great shrine.
The Emperor in his grace orders the building of a temple;
The Golden Cicada sheds his skin to edify the West.
He spreads the news that rewards for goodness save from ill,
Preaching the doctrine of the three Buddhas of past and future.
In the year jisi, the thirteenth of Zhen Guan, on the day jiaxu, the third of the ninth month, the Hierarch Chen Xuanzang assembled twelve hundred venerable monks at the Huasheng Temple in the city of Chang'an for a chanting of all the holy scriptures. After morning court was over the Emperor left the throne hall in his dragon and phoenix chariot at the head of a host of civil and military officials and went to the temple to burn
incense. What did the imperial chariot look like? Indeed
Propitious vapours filled the sky
That shone with ten thousand beams of sacred light.
A mellow breeze blew softly,
The sunlight was strangely beautiful.
A thousand officials with jade at their belts walked in due order.
The banners of the five guards are drawn up on either side.
Holding golden gourds,
Wielding battle-axes,
They stand in pairs;
Lamps of purple gauze,
Imperial censers,
Make majestic clouds.
Dragons fly and phoenixes dance,
Ospreys and eagles soar.
True is the enlightened Son of Heaven,
Good are his just and loyal ministers.
This age of prosperity surpasses the time of Shun and Yu;
The eternal peace he has given outdoes that of Yao and Tang.
Under a parasol with curved handle
The dragon robe sweeps in,
Dazzling bright.
Interlocking jade rings,
Coloured phoenix fans,
Shimmer with a magic glow.
Pearl crowns and belts of jade,
Gold seals on purple cords.
A thousand regiments of soldiers protect the imperial chariot,
Two lines of generals carry the royal chair.
Bathed and reverent, the Emperor comes to worship the Buddha,
Submitting to the True Achievement as he joyfully burns incense.
When the carriage of the Tang Emperor reached the temple, orders were given to stop the music as he descended from the vehicle and went at the head of his officials to bow to the Buddha and burn incense. When he had done this three times he looked up and saw what a magnificent assembly it was:
Dancing banners,
Flying canopies.
When the banners danced
The sky shook with the clouds of silk;
When the canopies flew
The sun gleamed as the red lightning flashed.
Perfect the image of the statue of the Honoured One,
Mighty the grandeur of the Arhats' countenances.
Magic flowers in a vase,
Censers burning sandalwood and laka.
As the fairy flowers stand in vases
Trees like brocade fill the temple with their brightness.
As the censers burn sandalwood and laka
Clouds of incense rise to the azure heaven.
Fresh fruit of the season is piled in vermilion dishes,
Exotic sweets are heaped on the silk-covered tables.
Serried ranks of holy monks intone the surras
To save abandoned souls from suffering.
Taizong and his civil and military officials all burned incense, bowed to the golden body of the Lord Buddha, and paid their respects to the Arhats. The Hierarch Chen Xuanzang then led all the monks to bow to the Emperor, and when this was over they divided into their groups and went to their meditation places while the Hierarch showed the Emperor the notice about the delivery of the lonely ghosts. It read:
“Mysterious is the ultimate virtue, and the Sect of Meditation leads to Nirvana. The purity of the truth is all-knowing; it pervades the Three Regions of the universe. Through its countless changes it controls the Negative and Positive; unbounded are the embodiments of the eternal reality. In considering those forlorn ghosts one should be deeply distressed. At the sacred command of Taizong we have assembled some chosen monks for meditation and preaching. He has opened wide the gates of enlightenment and rowed far the boat of mercy, saving all the beings in the sea of suffering, and delivering those who had long been afflicted by the six ways of existence. They will be led back to the right road and revel in the great chaos; in action and in passivity they will be at one with primal simplicity. For this wonderful cause they are invited to see the purple gates of the pure capital, and through our assembly they will escape from the confines of Hell to climb to the World of Bliss and be free, wandering as they please in the Paradise of the West. As the poem goes:
A burner of incense of longevity,
A few spells to achieve rebirth.
The infinite Law is proclaimed,
The boundless mercy of Heaven is shown.
When sins are all washed away,
The neglected souls leave Hell.
We pray to protect our country;
May it stay at peace and be blessed.”
When he had read this the Tang Emperor's heart was filled with happiness and he said to the monks, “Hold firm to your sincerity and never allow yourselves a moment's slackness in the service of the Buddha. Later on, when the Assembly is over, you will be blessed and we shall richly reward you. You shall certainly not have labored in vain.” The twelve hundred monks all kowtowed to thank him. When the three vegetarian meals for the day were over the Tang Emperor went back to the palace. He was invited to come back to the Grand Assembly to burn incense once more on the seventh day. As evening was now drawing in all the officials went away. It was a fine evening:
A light glow suffused the boundless sky;
A few crows were late in finding their roosts.
Lamps were lit throughout the city as all fell still;
It was just the hour for the monks to enter the trance.
We will omit a description of the night or of how the monks intoned the scriptures when their master took his seat again the next morning.
The Bodhisattva Guanyin from Potaraka Island in the Southern Sea had been long in Chang'an, looking on the Buddha's orders for the man to fetch the scriptures, but she had not yet found anyone really virtuous. Then she heard that Taizong was propagating the True Achievement and selecting venerable monks for a Grand Assembly, and when she saw that the Master of Ceremonies was the monk Jiangliu who was really a Buddha's son came down from the realms of supreme bliss, an elder whom she herself had led into his earthly mother's womb, she was very pleased. She took her disciple Moksa and the treasures that the Buddha had given her out on the street to offer them for sale.
Do you know what these treasures were? There was a precious brocade cassock and-a monastic staff with nine rings. She also had those three golden bands, but she put them away safely for future use; she was only selling the cassock and the staff.
There was a monk in Chang'an city too stupid to be chosen for the service but who nonetheless had some ill-gotten banknotes. When he saw the bald, scabby, barefoot figure wearing a tattered robe-the form the Bodhisattva had taken-offering the cassock of dazzling beauty for sale he went up and asked, “How much d'you want for that cassock, Scabby?”
“The price of the cassock is five thousand ounces of silver and the staff two thousand,” replied the Bodhisattva. The stupid monk roared with laughter.
“You must be a nutcase, Scabby, or else a dope. Those two lousy things wouldn't be worth that much unless they gave you immortality and turned you into a Buddha. No deal. Take'em away.”
Not bothering to argue, the Bodhisattva walked on with Moksa. After they had been going for quite a long time they found themselves in front of the Donghua Gate of the palace, where the minister Xiao Yu happened to be returning home from morning court. Ignoring the crowd of lictors who were shouting to everyone to get out of the way, the Bodhisattva calmly went into the middle of the road with the cassock in her hands and headed straight for the minister. When the minister reined in his horse to look he saw the cassock gleaming richly and sent an attendant to ask its price.
“I want five thousand ounces of silver for the cassock and two thousand for the staff,” said the Bodhisattva.
“What's so good about the cassock to make it worth that much?” asked Xiao Yu.
“On the one hand it is good and on the other it isn't,” replied the Bodhisattva. “On the one hand it has a price and on the other it hasn't.”
“What's good about it and what isn't?” asked the minister.
“Wh
oever wears this cassock of mine will not sink into the mire, will not fall into Hell, will not be ensnared by evil and will not meet disaster from tiger or wolf: these are its good points. But as for a stupid monk who is greedy and debauched, who takes delight in the sufferings of others, does not eat vegetarian food, and breaks the monastic bans; or a common layman who harms the scriptures and slanders the Buddha-such people have great difficulty even in seeing this cassock of mine: that is its disadvantage.”
“What did you mean by saying that it both has a price and hasn't got one?” asked the minister, continuing his questions.
“Anyone who doesn't obey the Buddha's Law or honour the Three Treasures but still insists on buying the cassock and the staff will have to pay seven thousand ounces for them: in that case they have a price. But if anyone who honors the Three Treasures, takes pleasure in goodness, and believes in our Buddha, wants to have them, then I'll give him the cassock and staff as a gift. In that case they have no price.” Xiao Yu's cheeks coloured, showing that he was a good man, and he dismounted to greet the Bodhisattva.
“Elder of the Great Law,” he said, “forgive me. Our Great Tang Emperor is a true lover of goodness, and every one of the civil and military officials in his court acts piously. This cassock would be just right for the Hierarch, Master Chen Xuanzang, to wear in the Great Land and Water Mass that is now being conducted. You and I shall go into the palace to see His Majesty.”
The Bodhisattva gladly followed him as he turned around and went straight in through the Donghua Gate. The eunuchs reported their arrival, and they were summoned to the throne hall. Xiao Yu led the two scabby monks in, and they stood beneath the steps of the throne.
“What have you come to report, Xiao Yu?” the Emperor asked. Xiao Yu prostrated himself in front of the steps and replied, “When your subject went out through the Donghua Gate I met two monks who were selling a cassock and a staff. It occurred to me that this cassock would be suitable for Master Xuanzang to wear. So I have brought the monks for an audience with Your Majesty.” The delighted Taizong asked how much the cassock cost. Still standing beneath the steps, and not making any gestures of courtesy, the Bodhisattva and Moksa replied, “The cassock costs five thousand ounces of silver, and the staff two thousand.”