原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
含詞賦 With rhapsody
疑是地藏
Mistaken for Kshitigarbha; The Falling Dusk
玄奘直至寺裡，僧人下榻來迎。一見他披此袈裟，執此錫杖，都道是地藏王來了，各各歸依，侍於左右。玄奘上殿，炷香禮佛。又對眾感述聖恩已畢，各歸禪座。又不覺紅輪西墜。正是那：玄奘直至寺里，僧人下榻来迎。一见他披此袈裟，执此锡杖，都道是地藏王来了，各各归依，侍于左右。玄奘上殿，炷香礼佛。又对众感述圣恩已毕，各归禅座。又不觉红轮西坠。正是那：
日落煙迷草樹，帝都鐘鼓初鳴。日落烟迷草树，帝都钟鼓初鸣。
叮叮三響斷人行，前後街前寂靜。叮叮三响断人行，前后街前寂静。
上剎輝煌燈火，孤村冷落無聲。上刹辉煌灯火，孤村冷落无声。
禪僧入定理殘經，正好煉魔養性。禅僧入定理残经，正好炼魔养性。
逐句解 Line by line
玄奘直至寺裡，僧人下榻來迎。
玄奘直至寺里，僧人下榻来迎。
Xuanzang came straight to the temple, and the monks came down from their couches to meet him.
下榻 ('to come down from one's couch') is a gesture of welcome to an honored guest.
一見他披此袈裟，執此錫杖，都道是地藏王來了，各各歸依，侍於左右。
一见他披此袈裟，执此锡杖，都道是地藏王来了，各各归依，侍于左右。
The moment they saw him draped in this cassock and bearing this staff, they all said it was King Kshitigarbha come, and each took refuge and attended to his left and right.
地藏王 (King Kṣitigarbha) is the Bodhisattva who vows to empty the hells before attaining buddhahood — an apt figure for the monk who will deliver the dead. 都 in 都道 ('all said') is dōu; 藏 in 地藏 is zàng; 一見 takes sandhi yí.
玄奘上殿，炷香禮佛。
玄奘上殿，炷香礼佛。
Xuanzang went up into the hall and offered incense in worship of the Buddha.
炷香 ('to offer a stick of incense') is the monk's own act of devotion at his new station.
又對眾感述聖恩已畢，各歸禪座。又不覺紅輪西墜。正是那：
又对众感述圣恩已毕，各归禅座。又不觉红轮西坠。正是那：
And when he had finished recounting his gratitude for the imperial grace to the assembly, each returned to his meditation-seat. Before they knew it, the red wheel of the sun sank in the west. It was just then that:
紅輪 ('the red wheel') is the setting sun. 那 in 正是那 is the demonstrative nà, ushering in the dusk lyric.
日落煙迷草樹，帝都鐘鼓初鳴。
日落烟迷草树，帝都钟鼓初鸣。
The sun sets, mist blurs the grass and trees; in the imperial capital the bells and drums first sound.
都 in 帝都 ('the imperial capital') is dū.
叮叮三響斷人行，前後街前寂靜。
叮叮三响断人行，前后街前寂静。
Ding, ding — three strokes cut off the passers-by; before and behind, the streets fall silent.
行 in 人行 ('people passing') is xíng; the curfew-drum empties the streets.
上剎輝煌燈火，孤村冷落無聲。
上刹辉煌灯火，孤村冷落无声。
In the lofty temple, lamplight blazes bright; in the lonely village, cold and desolate, no sound.
剎 in 上剎 ('the lofty temple') is chà.
禪僧入定理殘經，正好煉魔養性。
禅僧入定理残经，正好炼魔养性。
The Chan monks enter their trance and con the remaining sutras — just the time to refine the demons and nurture the nature.
煉魔養性 ('to refine the demons and nurture the [true] nature') names the inner work of meditation; 正好 ('just the time') reads 正 as zhèng.
總評 Commentary
The cassock's transforming power is confirmed by the monks' reaction: seeing Xuanzang robed and staff in hand, they take him for Kṣitigarbha himself — the very bodhisattva who vows to empty the hells, and so a peculiarly fitting mistake for the monk about to be charged with delivering the dead. The passage then modulates, as the earlier close of the assembly's first day did, into a dusk lyric: the sun sinks, the curfew-drum empties the streets, and the city falls to silence around the single point of light in the temple, where the monks 'enter their trance' to 'refine the demons and nurture the nature.' The contemplative quiet is the stillness before the storm of Guanyin's revelation.