Why is Tang Seng called Tang Sanzang ?

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-01

Tang Seng is Master Xuanzang, also known as Tang Sanzang in "Journey to the West".

Journey to the West" is written: Guanyin Bodhisattva told Tang Taizong that there are Mahayana Buddhism Sanzang in the West, so Tang Taizong sent Master Xuanzang to the West to learn scriptures, and when he said goodbye, Tang Taizong asked Master Xuanzang if he had a number, and Master Xuanzang said: "The poor monk is a monk, and he does not dare to be titled." So Taizong said: "At that time, the Bodhisattva said that there are three scriptures in the west of the sky, and the royal brother can refer to the scriptures to take the number, and the number is the three Tibets"Xuanzang thanksgiving, since then called "Sanzang".

Because Xuanzang is a native of the Tang Dynasty, "a monk from the Tang Dynasty", he is called "Tang Seng", and because of his name "Sanzang", he is also called "Tang Sanzang".

This story is just a family saying, in fact, Master Xuanzang went to Tianzhu, India, to learn scriptures, it was secret, and he did not get official permission, he spent 17 years before and after, before and after obtaining 657 Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures to return to Chang'an, the hardships encountered along the way may be more than the eighty-one difficulties in "Journey to the West".

The "Tibet" of Sanzang, not pronounced cang, pronounced as zang, is the meaning of storing a lot of treasures in the library, and the general name of Taoist and Buddhist classics is also called "zang".

The Buddhist classics are very vast, and historically, in order to facilitate the study of Buddhism, the Buddhist classics were divided into three categories: "Sutras", "Vinayas", and "Treatises", and these three parts of the classics are called "Three Tibets".

Among them, the so-called "sutras" are the teachings of Buddhism that the Buddha himself said, or approved by the Buddha himself, and are recorded as "sutras", such as the "Diamond Sutra" records the dialogue between the Buddha and the ** Subodhi.

Many Buddhist scriptures begin with the phrase "as I hear", which means "this is what I have heard".Or it is that after a certain Buddha ** said a paragraph, there is "Buddha said: as it is, as it is", that is, the Buddha recognized the truth of this **.

Of course, the "scriptures" here are all Buddha's sayings, referring to Buddhist classics, not Buddhist classics, such as the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, which are of course not within the scope of this discussion.

In the Buddhist scriptures, the only exception is the "Six Patriarchs Altar Sutra" - the full name is "The Six Patriarchs Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra", this book belongs to the Buddhist classics and is also known as the Sutra, but this book is not the Buddha's teachings, but records the understanding of the Buddha's teachings by the six ancestors of Chinese Zen Buddhism, Master Huineng.

"Law" is also the Buddha's saying, "Sutra" expounds the teachings of Buddhism, and "Law" is the code of conduct and precepts established by the Buddha for future generations.

"Treatises" are not Buddha's teachings, but writings by Buddhist scholars and great practitioners who have studied the Buddha's sutras and Vinayas, and who have recorded their understanding of the Buddhist scriptures and Dharma through the study of the sutras and Vinayas.

Therefore, in the Buddhist scriptures, the status of "sutras" and "laws" is higher than that of "treatises", but this does not mean that "treatises" are not important, because many Buddhist scriptures are very difficult and profound, and they point directly to the teachings, which are more difficult to understand, and "treatises" are to understand, reason, and prove the teachings of the Buddha from the standpoint of ordinary people, so through the writings of these commentators who study the Dharma, they can help students learn the Dharma better.

But in any case, the sutras and the Vinaya are the foundation for all beings who study the Dharma. There are a lot of people who talk about Buddhism in society now, Zhang.

3. Li Si has his own opinions, but if you really want to learn Buddhism, you still can't listen to one mouth in the east and one ear in the west, and you must follow the "scriptures" and "laws" as the foundation.

The three parts of the classics, "Sutra", "Law" and "Treatise" are called "Sanzang" together, and only the Dharma Master who has a very profound grasp and study of the three parts of the Buddhist classics "Sutra", "Law" and "Treatise" can be called "Sanzang Master", which is the reason why Master Xuanzang is called "Sanzang Master", not what Tang Wang gave the title.

Therefore, it is not easy to be called "Master Sanzang". Historically, those who can be called "Sanzang Master" are all teachers who have made great contributions to the dissemination and translation of Buddhist scriptures, such as Master Xuanzang, Kumarosh, Shicha Nanda, Master Yijing, etc. are also known as "Sanzang Master".

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