Memorial Submitted by the Monk Xuanzang of the Temple

Memorial on Presenting Sutras and Commentaries

The monk Xuanzang respectfully addresses Your Majesty.

I, Xuanzang, have heard that since the ancient sages first drew symbols and created writing, literature has flourished, serving to teach morality, record emotions, and shape character. Yet these works remain confined within worldly dust and have not transcended the bounds of the mundane realm. How can they compare to the secret teachings from the Dragon Palace, the subtle words from Vulture Peak, which guide the lost across the sands of existence and shelter all beings through the dust of kalpas?

However, the ultimate truth has no form; only the Dharma King can expound its source. The supreme principle is beyond words; only a Sage Emperor can interpret its path. I humbly consider that Your Majesty, inheriting the divine mandate and ascending to the throne in accordance with destiny, has surpassed the Nine Continents, outshining the courts of antiquity with your solitary stride. Your brilliance reaches across the Eight Extremes, looking down upon the ages of Xuanyuan and Haohao from a lofty height. Wielding command at the Purple Frontier, you have cut down the rebel invaders in the northern wastes. Halting your carriage at the Green Hills, you have swept away the baleful airs from the lands of the east.

With military achievements now laid to rest, the horses have returned to Mount Hua. As civil virtue is proclaimed, you receive the charts at Wanxiu. Thus, you have ordered the compilation of texts in the Extended Pavilion and established rituals at the Rong Terrace. The phoenix seal and turtle script now flourish in the Eastern Library; the silver hooks and jade characters are cleansed anew in the Southern Palace. Yet still, your thoughts dwell upon Suchness, your heart yearns for Emptiness and Stillness, continuing to propagate the wondrous Dharma as the great teaching.

Therefore, the discourses of the Deer Park have been retranslated in response to this sage era. Scholars from the Land of Roosters gaze upon your divine transformation and come to pay homage. A fragrant city is built in the Central Land, guiding the profound ford into the divine province. The spread of the Image Teaching to the east has reached its peak in this age.

My own conduct and practice are without merit, merely an empty accord with indirect fulfillment. Shamefully numbered among the sangha, I feel deep regret before the sages of old. Filled with ardent resolve, I vowed to widely proclaim the Dharma. Relying on the prestige of the state, I journeyed far in search of spiritual traces. While in the Western Regions, I personally studied the Sanskrit language, explored the profound meaning of the Vinaya, and glimpsed the secret treasury of the Pitakas.

The Sanskrit scriptures and treatises I obtained total one thousand bundles, comprising six hundred and fifty-seven texts, along with seven Buddha images, one hundred and fifty grains of Buddha's flesh relics, and a casket containing bone relics, among others. Having then prepared my journey in the Golden Land, I turned my carriage around at the Jade Gate. In reverent obedience to the imperial decree, I undertook the work of translation. I summoned learned masters to jointly verify the meaning of wisdom. After prolonged contemplation and study, the task is not yet fully complete.

The works now brought to conclusion amount to fifty-eight scrolls in total, named as follows: *The Great Bodhisattva Treasury Sutra*, twenty scrolls *The Buddha Ground Sutra*, one scroll *The Six-Gate Dharani Sutra*, one scroll *The Discourse on the Explication of the Sacred Teachings*, twenty scrolls *The Compendium of Mahayana Abhidharma*, sixteen scrolls

These have been compiled into eight bundles and transcribed separately, as presented. Together with the aforementioned relics, Buddha images, and the Sanskrit scriptures and treatises, I now reverently approach the palace to offer them.

Yet the sage discernment of Your Majesty shines brightly, and the profound teachings are vast and deep. My learning is not abstruse, my understanding falls short of comprehensive penetration. How can I presume to correspond to the celestial model and respectfully propagate the supreme teaching? It is like a flickering torchlight attempting to scatter its glow before the blazing sun, or a tiny trickling stream joining the great chasm to become vast. I look back with shame and trepidation, as if treading on ice over a ravine.

Respectfully submitted.

On the thirteenth day of the seventh month in the twentieth year of the Zhenguan era, the monk Xuanzang respectfully presents this.