旃檀功德佛 Buddha of Candana Merit
如來道：「聖僧，汝前世原是我之二徒，名喚金蟬子。因為汝不聽說法，輕慢我之大教，故貶汝之真靈，轉生東土。今喜皈依，秉我迦持，又乘吾教，取去真經，甚有功果，加陞大職正果，汝為旃檀功德佛。如来道：「圣僧，汝前世原是我之二徒，名唤金蝉子。因为汝不听说法，轻慢我之大教，故贬汝之真灵，转生东土。今喜皈依，秉我迦持，又乘吾教，取去真经，甚有功果，加升大职正果，汝为旃檀功德佛。
逐句解 Line by line
The Tathagata said: “Holy monk, in a former life you were my second disciple, and you were called Golden Cicada.”
金蟬子 — Golden Cicada. Its last character is read zǐ here, the full noun-word that ends a name or a title, not the light suffix it becomes in everyday compounds like blockhead. The cicada is well chosen: an insect that lives years underground and comes up once, briefly, to make a great deal of noise. And this is the first ordeal in the ledger of eighty — the Golden Cicada demoted — which the reader met last chapter as line one of a document.
“Because you did not listen to the preaching of the Law and slighted my great teaching, I demoted your true spirit and had you reborn in the eastern land.”
The whole of the Tang monk's existence, explained in one clause: he dozed in a lecture. 輕慢 — to make light of, to be inattentive. It is a mild word for a mild offence, and the punishment was ten lifetimes and a hundred and eight thousand lǐ. 為 here really is wèi, because of — one of three in this scene that mean because, against four coming up that mean shall be.
“Now I am glad you have taken refuge and held to my empowerment, and have availed yourself of my teaching to fetch away the true scriptures. Your merit is great. I promote you to the great office of right fruit: you shall be the Buddha of Candana Merit.”
汝為 — you shall be. The last character is the copula here, read wéi, to be or to become. The bare chain gives wèi, for the sake of, which would turn an investiture into a preposition. 加陞大職 — promoted to a great office. The Buddha grants buddhahood in the language of a civil-service promotion, and the word for the reward, 正果, is a rank as much as an attainment. 旃檀 is candana, sandalwood — the wood burnt in temples, and here the name of a buddha. 迦持 is this edition's spelling of the empowerment a master confers; it writes it that way nine times across the novel and never the standard way.
The Tang monk's whole existence is explained in one clause: in a former life he was the Buddha's second disciple, he did not listen during the preaching, and he was demoted for it. The word for the offence is a mild one — he made light of it, he was inattentive — and the sentence was ten lifetimes and a hundred and eight thousand lǐ.
It is also the first line of the ledger the reader met last chapter. The Golden Cicada demoted: the first ordeal. Here is the same event from the other end, and the cicada is well chosen — an insect that lives years underground and comes up once, briefly, to make a lot of noise.
And the promotion is conducted in the language of a personnel file. Merit great; promoted to the great office of right fruit. The Buddha does not confer enlightenment on him so much as post him to it, and the reward is a rank. He is to be the Buddha of Candana Merit — candana being sandalwood, the wood you burn in a temple.