Xuanzang’s dreams (based on Da ci’ensi sanzang fashi zhuan 大慈恩寺三藏法師傳)
Dan Lusthaus
This begins a study on the role or roles of dreams, types of dreams, and insights (from
narrative construction to psychological insight into persons) in Xuanzang. No attempt at
this stage to sort out “narrative additions” from actual reportage. Some examples of
divination included in the Biography are also included, though neither the dreams nor the
divination examples given here are exhaustive of the material in the Biography. I offer
six dreams by Xuanzang and an equal number by others reported in the Biography.
1. Since political events may be more safely described masked as dreams, they may
have served as a good outlet for contemporary social commentary.
2. They may provide valuable insights into the inner dynamics of people. E.g.,
Xuanzang’s “guilt dream.”
3. No discernible play on the Dream/Awakening interplay.
4. Dreams are taken as legitimate portents, confirmations, warnings, life-savers, and
decision makers - even if publically treated circumspectly.
The Biography of the the Tripiṭaka Dharma-master of Great Compassion Monastery was
primarily written by Hui-li, a contemporary of Xuanzang, a few years after he died. It
was completed by another contemporary, Yen-tsung, shortly after Hui-li died. Though
clearly hagiographical at times, it offers what in many details seems to be an accurate
account of Xuanzang’s life, his travels through Central Asia and India, and his activities
in China until his death. It serves as a valuable supplement to Xuanzang’s own Journey
to the West (Xiyuji), which is rich in detail about the places he visited, but almost silent
on Xuanzang himself.
1. His mother’s dream.
2. Many of the dreams are precipitated by either fervent prayer or a crisis. Before
embarking he asks for an omen (he also seeks similar encouragements before leaving
India), and receives an empowering dream.
3. A foreign monk, Dharma, has a dream confirming that Xuanzang will continue his
westward journey at a time when Xuanzang is having difficulty, viz. finding a guide to
get through some dangerous territory (desert and hostile people). Note Xuanzang's
“official” attitude about dreams!
3a. He remembers He Hungda’s prediction, that he will successively make the journey
and that he will ride a reddish horse. The subsequent horse incident is detailed in the
biography. In brief, a foreigner agrees to guide him, takes him someplace, fixes him up
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Xuanzang’s dreams
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with an old man, who takes Xuanzang’s young horse and exchanges it for an old, red,
skinny horse, claiming it has done the trip 15 times, and Xuanzang’s horse is too
young. Xuanzang goes along, not without some apprehension. Once on the way, the old
man tries several times to dissuade Xuanzang from continuing, and acts suspiciously
(seems he had the intent of killing Xuanzang and stealing his belongings), but finally
leaves him, after Xuanzang promises never to implicate him as an accomplice.
Xuanzang avidly seeks various forms of divination throughout the story.
4. He wanders in the desert, accidentally spills all his water, keeps chanting and forging
ahead (side-story, how earlier he had learned the Heart Sutra dhāraṇī from an ill monk
that he helped; it proved the most efficacious for warding off trouble and evil spirits
during his journey), until he collapses. Slightly revived at midnight by a cool breeze, he
still is unable to go on, and falls asleep, having this exhortation dream, which gets him
going again. After going 10 li, the “horse” refuses to obey him, goes in its own
direction, and several more li brings them both to an oasis.
4a. Skull city, near Nāgarahara (Jalalabad). A large rounded stone (?) on the 2nd story of
a many-storied building; yellowish, with “distinct hair-pores.” Load up a white silk
cloth with powdered incense, and make an impression on the stone (doesn’t say
whether gently press, or pummel). The impression it makes is then interpreted.
Xuanzang gets a bodhi-tree, which the caretaker says is very unusual, and predicts
Xuanzang will attain Bodhi - implies this will happen when he reaches the bodhi-tree.
That doesn’t happen, and he makes a spectacle of himself when he reaches it at
Bodhgaya.
5. A collective dream. When he arrives at Huśkara Monastery in Kashmir, the monks all
have the same dream, announcing that they now have a special monk sleeping amongst
them, who has brought lots of special protective deities with him. Since he respects
them, due to their past karma, they shouldn’t idly waste the night sleeping, but should
chant sutras in his honor. They awaken, hustle about chanting, meditating, etc., and tell
him about their dream in the morning. Dreams also serve to make his hosts more
welcoming - prefigures Śīlabhadra's dream.
6. Śīlabhadra was then the head of Nālandā, the central seat of Buddhist learning in the
world at that time. When Xuanzang arrives in Nālandā, he is asked his business although his reputation preceded him. Śīlabhadra, quite old (he has a 70 year old
nephew companion, Buddhabhadra), on hearing that Xuanzang has come to study the
*Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, he breaks into tears, as does his nephew, whom he asks to
relay events. For 20 years he had suffered a painful rheumatic condition, which had
gotten so bad he wanted to starve to death. In a dream he is visited by three beings who
convince him that his present pain is due to nasty actions in previous lives, and that he
should now do good deeds and await a Chinese monk who will want to study the
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*Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra. He gives up his suicide attempt, and his disease disappears.
That was three years before Xuanzang’s arrival. Again, a dream warms the host and
gives an aura of “destiny” to Xuanzang’s life.
6a. While traveling in India, there is a temple with a statue of Avalokiteśvara that the
locals use for wish-fulfilment. Go to the temple, make a wish, toss a flower, if it lands
on the statue your wish will come true. Xuanzang invents a more elaborate technique.
He makes garlands of flowers and decides that (1) if it lands on the hand, that means
safe return to China after completing his studies; (2) if it lands on the arms, that means
rebirth in Tuṣita Heaven; (3) if it lands on the neck, it confirms that he has buddhanature and will eventually become a Buddha in the future. He tosses his garlands, and
all three land on each of the desired targets, which everyone declares is unusual and
marvelous, etc.
6b. Jains apparently had a reputation for being good fortune tellers. He asks one to tell his
future. The questions: Should he stay in India or return to China? When will he die?
The Jain says it would be good to stay, he will be respected in India, and things will go
well for him. It will also be ok to return to China, he will be respected, but that
wouldn’t be as good as staying in India. To the second question, he says that Xuanzang
has ten years to live, but he can extend that by doing good deeds. That, of course, helps
convince Xuanzang that he will safely return to China. Roughly eleven years later he
starts to suffer from debilitating heart troubles, which are eventually kept under control
by an acupuncturist appointed by the emperor.
7. His apocalyptic dream is interpreted by his companions and associates as a sign that
Buddhism will eventually disappear from India - which they take casually since
"everything’s impermanent" - and therefore he should return to China to make sure that
it is well planted there. Prasenajit, his companion and teacher for the last two years, is a
crucial figure, largely ignored by the East Asian tradition because his importance was
supplanted by Kuiji’s myths of Dharmapāla ...
8. The Prajñāpāramitā dream is very important re: Cheng weishilun, since it shows guilt
pangs. Also favors the Jade Flower Monastery (#9: Hui De and Jia Shang dream special relationship between PPMS and the monastery, the “re-birth” of Prajñā[pāramitā] in China) over the Great Compassion monastery. After his death, Kuiji
presided over the later, while a Korean rival disciple of Xuanzang, Wŏnch’ŭk, was
headquartered in the Jade Flower Monastery. All or nearly all of the translations made
by Xuanzang from 659 onwards (the year of the CWSL) were done in Jade Flower,
which he praised as a place more conducive to translation and study than the busy,
distracting “capitol monastery” (i.e., Great Compassion Monastery, built by the first
Tang emperor for his son, and in which he insisted Xuanzang reside when it opened).
10, 11 & 12: Death dreams - speak for themselves.