玄奘法师生于隋文帝仁寿二年（公元六○一年），河南陈留人，俗姓陈，幼年即有过人的智慧，七岁时便开始读五经。在十三岁那年，随其二兄长捷法师到洛阳净土寺出家，诵习经典。隋朝制度，凡是出家修道之人，必须经过考试合格，颁发证书（度牒），才有资格做沙弥。当时正逢洛阳度僧，玄奘法师年幼，不能参加考试。他在考场门前徘徊，望之兴叹！而被主考官郑善果发现，认为是佛门龙象，故特别破例度之。
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.
二十岁受具足戒之后，他就到处参访善知识，发现众师所说，与经典颇有歧异，令人无所适从。尤其《十七地论》，见解不同。乃发愿到天竺（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，要经过崇山峻岭、崎岖不平的山道，所以玄奘法师在未启程之前，先练习爬山越岭的技术，先用桌子、凳子之类物品，堆成假山，从这边爬到那边，再从那边爬到这边。这样一天练习多次，后来自己感觉爬山的技术不错，又到山上去实地练习，约有一年经验，技术方臻熟练。
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，申请到天竺取经。当时（唐朝）的法令，禁止人民出境，所以未获唐太宗批准。但是玄奘法师已拿定主意，无论批准与否，他决定赴天竺一行，所以最后不得不私自出境。
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.
从长安出发，只身向西行，经过一个山洞，见洞口有蝙蝠粪，当时玄奘法师想：“这洞中一定无人住，否则不会有这么多的蝙蝠粪。”好奇的心理使他向洞中走去，在不远的地方，他发现一个怪物，头发都结在一起，小鸟在上面做窝，窝中小鸟吱吱哇哇在叫，这怪物脸上的尘土很厚，好像石头人一般。玄奘法师走近仔细一看，原来是位老修行，已经入定。玄奘法师用引磬给他开静，令他出定，一会儿，这位老修行开始动弹。
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 ventured into the cave to explore, and not far from the entrance, he discovered a monster. Its hair had been woven together atop its head, and birds had made a nest there. The baby birds were chirping and squeaking from the next. A thick layer of dirt on the creature's face gave it the look of a stone statue. Master Hsuan Tsang drew nearer for a closer look, only to discover that it was an old cultivator who had long since entered samadhi. Ringing a handbell, he brought the old cultivator out of samadhi. A moment passed, then the old cultivator began to stir a bit.
玄奘法师便问他：“老同参！你坐在这里做什么啊？”
The Great Master said, "Fellow cultivator! What are you doing, sitting here like this?"
老修行的嘴巴，动了几次，才发出声音来：“我等红阳佛（释迦牟尼佛）出世，我好帮他弘扬佛法。”
The old cultivator had to wiggle his jaw a few times before he could make any sound. He answered, "I'm waiting here for the Red Yang Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha) to come into the world, so I can help him propagate the Buddhadharma."
玄奘法师说：“老同参！释迦牟尼佛已经入涅盘了。”
Master Hsuan Tsang replied, "Fellow cultivator! Shakyamuni Buddha has already entered Nirvana!"
老修行一听，很惊讶地问：“释迦牟尼佛在什么时候出世？”
The old cultivator was amazed by this news, and asked, "When did Shakyamuni Buddha appear in the world?"
玄奘法师说：“在一千多年前，出现于世。佛灭度已经很久了！”
Master Hsuan Tsang replied, "He was born over a thousand years ago, and he has already entered Nirvana for quite a long time."
老修行又说：“释迦牟尼佛入涅盘，那么我还是入定，等白阳佛（弥勒佛）出世，我再帮他弘扬佛法吧！”
The old cultivator said, "In that case, I'll go back into samadhi, and wait for the White Yang Buddha (Maitreya Buddha) to appear in the world, and then help him to propagate the Buddhadharma."
玄奘大师说：“老同参！你不要再入定了，等弥勒佛出世时，你又要错过机会，不如现在跟我到震旦，将来我取经回来，你好帮我弘扬佛法。”
"Fellow cultivator! There's no need for you to go back into samadhi and wait for Maitreya Buddha to appear in the world," said the Master. "You'll surely miss him, too. It'd be better for you to go with me to China, and when I return from my pilgrimage for Sutras, you'll be able help me propagate the Buddhadharma."
老修行一想，言之有理，于是答应大师的要求。
The old cultivator thought it over and decided that Master Hsuan Tsang's suggestion was quite reasonable, so he agreed to it.
玄奘法师对他说：“你的身体太旧了，你要换一个新的房子。你到长安去，看到黄色琉璃瓦的屋子，你就到那里去投胎，等我从天竺（印度）取经回来，我再来找你。”于是老修行辞别玄奘法师，二人便分手，一向东走，一向西行，各自奔前程。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang told him, "Your body is too old and decrepit; you should change it for a new one. Why don't you go to Changan, to the house with yellow roof-tiles, and be reborn there. When I return from my trip to India to obtain Sutras, I'll go to find you." The two of them said goodbye, one heading east and one going west, each of them on his mission.
玄奘法师经过跋山涉水，迭遭灾难而不灰心。曾经誓言： 宁向西天一步死， 不愿东土一步生。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang scaled peaks and forded rivers, encountering numerous calamities and trials without losing his nerve. At one point he made a vow, saying, I would rather die while making one last step towards the West, than live by retreating one step towards the East.
这种为法忘躯的精神，实在伟大！所以他能完成伟大的事业，对中国佛教有所贡献，并且创立了“唯识宗”。所谓“见贤思齐”，我们希望成就道业，应该以玄奘法师为宝鉴，做为模范，向他看齐，把本有的智慧现出来，为佛教贡献一分力量。
His selfless courage in quest of the Dharma was truly noble. As a result of his momentous work, he made a magnificent contribution to Chinese Buddhism, and he established the Consciousness Only (Weishi) School. A maxim tells us to "Imitate worthy models." In our hope to accomplish our work of cultivation, we can take Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang as our worthy model and guide. We can measure ourselves by his example, uncover our inherent wisdom, and give our share of strength to Buddhism as he did.
一日复一日，玄奘法师餐风宿露，披星戴月，向西前进。他抱着坚忍不拔的意志，不到目的地（天竺），决不休息。所谓“有志者事竟成”，经过千辛万苦，在路上行走三年，终于到达天竺的佛教大学（那烂陀寺），拜戒贤论师为师（当时天竺唯识学权威），专学《十七地论》及《瑜珈论》等经典。学成归国，路经曲女城，为戒日王所请，在该城成立辩论大会，参加者有十八国的国王，以及大乘、小乘、婆罗门和外道等，约有六千人，盛况空前。大师为论主，称扬大乘，序作论义，悬于会场门外，并言：“如改一字，愿拜他为师。”经过十八天，无人能改，最后胜利，名扬五天竺，无人不知，无人不晓这位大名鼎鼎的玄奘法师。
From one day to the next, Master Hsuan Tsang endured the hardships of travel, eating and sleeping outdoors. He was constantly exposed to the elements on his journey to the West. His resolve was unshakable: until he reached his goal--India--he would never rest. As the motto goes: "Perseverance brings success." He underwent a myriad bitter hardships; and his pilgrimage took over three years, bringing him finally to India's Buddhist University, Nalanda Monastery, where he became a disciple of India's authority in Consciousness Only, Shastra Master Shilabhadra (Moral and Worthy). He specialized in the study of the two treatises, the Shastra on the Seventeen Stages and the Yogacharyabhumi Shastra, and other Sutras. After he finished his studies, on his way back to China, he passed through the city of Kanyakudja. At the invitation of King Shiladitya, he organized a great debate, the participants of which numbered over six thousand people. Among them were the kings of eighteen countries, monks of both Great and Small Vehicles, Brahmans, and externalists, all coming together in an unprecedented gathering. As the host of the debate, the Great Master praised and propagated the Great Vehicle, posting his treatise out by the main entrance. He challenged all comers, claiming that if anyone could improve his treatise by even a single word, he would bow to that person and become his disciple. Eighteen days passed, and no one could change even one word of the text. He won the great debate, and his name spread throughout India's five kingdoms. There was not a person who did not hear of his accomplishment. Such was the peerless reputation of the Great Master Hsuan Tsang.
贞观十九年（公元六四五年）正月二十四日，玄奘法师回到长安，当时僧俗出迎者有数十万人。唐太宗派相国梁国公、房玄龄等为代表，欢迎玄奘法师。后于弘福寺，从事翻译经典工作。
In the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan reign period (a.d. 645) of the Tang Dynasty, on the twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month, he returned to Changan, and was welcomed by several hundreds of thousands of Sangha members and citizens. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent high-ranking cabinet ministers Liang Guogong, Fang Xuanling, and others as representatives to welcome Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang. Later, he was taken to Hongfu (Vast Blessings) Monastery, where he began translating the Sutras.
玄奘法师在天竺留学十二年（在路上往返耽误五年），成为中国留学生的祖师。他取回的经典有五百二十箧，计有六百多部。他将全部经典贡献给国家，特蒙皇帝召见，嘉奖一番。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang's pilgrimage to study in India took over twelve years, five of which were spent in the journey back and forth. He became the "patriarch" of all overseas students from China. The Sutra texts he brought back numbered five hundred and twenty cases and comprised over six hundred works. He offered all the Sutras as a gift to the nation. The Emperor summoned him for an special audience and conferred praise and favor upon him.
玄奘法师见到唐太宗便向皇帝贺喜：“恭喜陛下。”
Master Hsuan Tsang said to Emperor Taizong, "Congratulations, your Majesty!"
唐太宗觉得莫明其妙，就问：“喜从何来？”
The comment struck the Emperor as quite unusual "What am I being congratulated for?" he asked.
玄奘法师说：“陛下得一位太子。”
"A son has been born to Your Highness."
唐太宗有丈二金刚摸不着头脑的感觉，便说：“ 没有啊！”
The Emperor's face bore an expression of utter bewilderment. "No, that's not so!" he said.
玄奘法师心想：“明明指示老修行来投胎，怎会没有呢？”于是在定中观察。哎呀！老修行搞不清楚，投错胎了，跑到尉迟恭家里去了。玄奘法师将这段因缘，向唐太宗报告。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang thought, "I told that old cultivator clearly to come be reborn here; how could he have gone wrong?" He promptly entered samadhi and perceived that the old cultivator had entered the wrong house and been reborn to the wrong family. He had accidentally been born to the family of Wei Chigong, the War Minister. Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang then reported this turn of events in full to the Emperor.
唐太宗说：“原来如此，那你就去度他吧！”
"Oh, in that case," said Emperor Taizong, "Just go and save him."
玄奘法师便去找尉迟恭，说明来意。他一见尉迟恭的侄子，心生欢喜，因为窥基的身体，非常魁伟，相貌堂堂，一表人才，是载法之器。于是他开门见山便说：“你跟我出家吧！”窥基一听，莫名其妙，不悦地说：“你说什么？叫我出家，岂有此理！”转身就走了。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang called on General Wei Chigong and explained the reason for his visit. When the Master saw Wei Chigong's nephew, he was delighted, because the young man's physique was quite imposing, and his countenance was dignified. He looked thoroughly talented, fit to be a vessel of the Dharma. Master Hsuan Tsang came right to the point and said, "Come and leave the home-life with me!" The nephew was astounded, and answered unhappily, "What did you say? Leave home? Impossible!" And he turned and left.
玄奘法师只好与唐太宗商量，成就这段因缘。于是乎皇帝下旨，要尉迟恭的侄子出家，尉迟恭一接到圣旨，便叫侄子出家。窥基严辞拒绝，说：“岂有此理！皇帝怎么可以叫我出家？我还没玩够哪！我要去和皇帝讲道理。”第二天尉迟恭带着侄子来见皇帝。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang had no alternative but to request Emperor Taizong to lend a hand in order to bring this event to a successful conclusion. Thereupon, the Emperor ordered Minister Wei Chigong's nephew to leave the home-life. When the Minister received this imperial order, he told his nephew to leave home. But his nephew defiantly refused, saying, "Ridiculous! How can the Emperor tell me to leave the home-life? I haven't played around enough yet. I'm going to have a talk with the Emperor." The next day, Wei Chigong took his nephew to see the Emperor.
窥基一来便说：“陛下要我出家，可以！可是我有三个条件。”
As soon as they arrived, the nephew said, "If the Emperor wants me to leave the home-life, I'll do it, but I have three conditions."
唐太宗一听就说：“你要多少个条件都可以。”
The Emperor replied, "You can set as many conditions as you want."
窥基就说了：“我最欢喜喝酒，我不能没有酒，无论我到什么地方，都要有一车的酒跟着。”
The nephew said, "I love to drink wine, and I can't live without it. Wherever I go, I must bring along a cart of wine."
唐太宗心想：“出家人是戒酒，可是玄奘法师告诉我，不管什么条件都答应。”于是就说了：“好！我答应你。第二个条件呢？”
Emperor Taizhong thought, "Monks are supposed to abstain from wine, but Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang told me to agree to any condition he set." So he said, "Fine. I grant your request. What is your second condition?"
窥基说：“我知道出家人不可以吃肉，可是我欢喜吃肉，无论我到什么地方，后面都要有一车新鲜的肉跟着。”
The nephew said, "I know that monks are not allowed to eat meat, but I like to eat meat, and I must have a cart of fresh meat to follow me wherever I go."
唐太宗说：“我答应你。第三个条件呢？”
The Emperor said, "I will grant you this. What is your third condition?"
窥基没想到皇帝会答应他的条件，于是他接着又说：“出家人是不可以有太太的，可是我离不开女人，无论我到什么地方，必须有一车的女人跟着。”他心想：“这个条件，皇帝无论如何一定不会答应的。”
The nephew hadn't expected the Emperor to agree to his demands. He continued, "Monks cannot have wives. However, I cannot renounce women. Wherever I go, there must be a cart of beautiful women to accompany me." He thought to himself, "The Emperor will never agree to this."
唐太宗心想：“哎呀！这怎么能答应呢？可是玄奘法师已经嘱咐我，不管什么条件一定都要答应。”所以就说了：“好！我完全答应你，你现在可以出家了吧！”
Emperor Taizhong thought, "Alas! How can I promise him this? Yet Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang instructed me to grant all his requests." Therefore he said, "Fine! I agree to everything! Now you can leave the home-life!"
窥基没办法，就很勉强出家了。所以出家那天，后面有一车的酒、一车新鲜的肉、一车美女，陪着他一起到大兴善寺出家（编按：大兴善寺是玄奘法师的译经场）。庙里知道窥基要来出家，所以敲钟击鼓来迎接他，窥基一听到钟鼓的声音，豁然大悟：“啊！原来我就是那个老修行，来帮助玄奘法师弘扬佛法。”于是乎把后面的三车遣回去，什么都不要了。所以后人称窥基为三车祖师。
The nephew had no choice but to leave home. On the day that he went to Daxingshan Monastery to leave home[Note: This is where Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang translated the Sutras], he was followed by a cart of wine, a cart of fresh meat, and a cart of beautiful women. When the people in the monastery were told that the War Minister's nephew was going there to leave the home-life, they rang the bells and beat the drums. Hearing the sound of the bells and drums, Master Kueiji [the nephew's left-home name] suddenly had a great awakening: "Oh! So I was an old cultivator and now I've come to help Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang propagate the Buddhadharma." Thereupon he ordered the three carts to turn around and go back. He no longer wanted any of those things. Later generations dubbed him "The Three Cart Patriarch."
玄奘法师取回的《唯识三十颂论》有十家，玄奘法师皆译为华文，按照论中的意思，一字不减，一字不添，照原意译出。此时窥基担任整理论文，玄奘法师将十家之论译完之后，窥基要求玄奘法师：“这十家的论，各有其长，各有其异，若不统一，令今后学者，有歧路亡羊之苦恼，不如去其糟粕，留其精华，合成一本，令今后研究唯识的人，获得同一的结论，不用浪费时间，而能得到法要。”玄奘法师同意他的见解是正确的，所以合成一本唯识论，即是现在的《三十颂唯识论》。玄奘法师又传授窥基“因明学”，后来他成为唯识专家，以宣扬唯识思想为宗旨，成为当代大德，为“唯识宗”第二祖。
The Thirty-stanza Consciousness Only Treatise that Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang brought back with him from India contained ten divisions, which he translated in their entirety into Chinese. He faithfully followed the original intent of the treatise, and neither deleted nor added as much as a single word as he translated it. Master Kueiji was in charge of the editing job, and after all ten divisions of the treatise had been fully translated by Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang, he made a request: "These ten divisions of the text all contain their strengths and weaknesses. If they fail to agree, it will certainly bring confusion and consternation to those who investigate Consciousness Only in the present and future. It might be better if we edit out the dross and keep the essentials, making just a single volume, so that future students of Consciousness Only will be able to come to the same conclusion. In this way they will not waste time in getting to the essentials of the Dharma." Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang agreed with his suggestion and produced the present version of the Thirty-stanza ConsciousnessOnly Treatise . He later transmitted the Logic School teachings to Master Kueiji, who became an expert in Consciousness Only and made it his aim to propagate the doctrines of that school. Master Kueiji became an eminently virtuous monk of his time and was the Second Patriarch of the Consciousness Only School.
以宣扬唯识思想为宗旨，成为当代大德，为“唯识宗”第二祖。 玄奘法师回国第二年，奉诏撰《大唐西域记》一十二卷。唐显庆五年（公元六六○年），玄奘法师五十九岁时，开始译《大般若经》。《大般若经》梵本有二十万颂，玄奘法师广译，不敢删略，一如梵本，经过四年的时间，译成六百卷。次年，拟译《大宝积经》，不幸患病而辍笔。
Two years after his return to China, Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang accepted an imperial appointment to compile a twelve-roll work called the Great Tang Dynasty's Record of the Western Lands. At age 59, in the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty's Xianqing reign-period (a.d. 660), he began to translate the Great Prajna Sutra. The original Sanskrit version contained 200,000 stanzas. Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang translated them entirely, not daring to omit any part of the text. He relied faithfully on the Sanskrit version, and finished the translation of 600 rolls in four years. The following year, he planned to translate the Great Collection of Jewels Sutra, but unfortunately had to stop working because of illness.
唐麟德元年（公元六六四年）二月，玄奘法师圆寂，年六十有四，葬于樊川北原。玄奘法师所译的经典有七十五部，一千三百三十五卷，成为中国四大译经家之一。其弟子甚多，以窥基、圆测传承唯识，普光、神泰传承俱舍。
Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang entered Nirvana at age 64, in the second month of the first year of the Tang Dynasty's Lingde reign-period (a.d. 664). He was buried at Beiyuan (Northern Plain) near the Fan River. He had translated 75 Sutras, totalling 1,335 rolls, and thus qualified as one of China's four greatest translators of Sutras. His disciples were numerous, including Masters Kueiji and Yuance, who continued the transmission of the Consciousness Only School, and Masters Puguang and Shentai, who taught the Kosa Sect.
隋唐二朝，是佛教黄金时代，百家争鸣，祖师辈出，各创宗派，当时有十宗，小乘有二宗，大乘有八宗。其中“三论宗”和“唯识宗”，完全保存天竺原有的思想，原封不动，搬到中国来。另外“天台宗”（以《法华经》为宗）和“贤首宗”（以《华严经》为宗）的思想就加入了中国的思想，这四宗是研究佛理的，成为教门。乃至后来中国演变出五大宗派：教、禅、净、律、密，这些宗派其实目的都是同入究竟涅盘，不过修持方法有所不同而已。
During the Tang and Sui dynasties, known as China's Golden Age of Buddhism, many schools flourished. Patriarchs appeared in succession, each establishing different sects. The foremost among those at the time were ten schools, two of which were Small Vehicle (Theravada), and eight of which were Great Vehicle (Mahayana). Two of these schools, the Three Treatise School and the Consciousness Only School, preserved in its original purity the teachings and traditional thought of Indian Buddhism and transplanted them intact into Chinese soil. Of the rest, the Tiantai School, which centered around the Dharma Flower Sutra, and the Xianshou (Worthy Leader) School, which centered around the Flower Adornment Sutra, incorporated elements of traditional Chinese thinking in their teachings. These four schools specifically investigated the principles of Buddhism, and together formed the Teachings School. Buddhism as a whole evolved into the present Five Schools: the Teachings School, the Chan Meditation School, the Pure Land School, the Vinaya School, and the Secret School. Although their actual purpose is to take us to ultimate Nirvana, the methods used are slightly different.
一九八○年禅七 十二月开示
A talk given during a Chan Session in December, 1980
