玄奘請行 Xuanzang Volunteers
太宗見了頌子，即命眾僧：「且收勝會，待我差人取得大乘經來，再秉丹誠，重修善果。」眾官無不遵依。當時在寺中問曰：「誰肯領朕旨意，上西天拜佛求經？」問不了，傍邊閃過法師，帝前施禮道：「貧僧不才，願效犬馬之勞，與陛下求取真經，祈保我王江山永固。」唐王大喜，上前將御手扶起道：「法師果能盡此忠賢，不怕程途遙遠，跋涉山川，朕情願與你拜為兄弟。」玄奘頓首謝恩。太宗见了颂子，即命众僧：「且收胜会，待我差人取得大乘经来，再秉丹诚，重修善果。」众官无不遵依。当时在寺中问曰：「谁肯领朕旨意，上西天拜佛求经？」问不了，傍边闪过法师，帝前施礼道：「贫僧不才，愿效犬马之劳，与陛下求取真经，祈保我王江山永固。」唐王大喜，上前将御手扶起道：「法师果能尽此忠贤，不怕程途遥远，跋涉山川，朕情愿与你拜为兄弟。」玄奘顿首谢恩。
逐句解 Line by line
When Taizong had read the gatha, he at once commanded the host of monks: 'Let the assembly be closed for now; wait until I dispatch someone to fetch the Greater Vehicle scriptures, and then, with renewed sincerity, we shall cultivate the good work again.'
差 in 差人, to dispatch someone, is chāi; 得 in 取得, to fetch and get, is dé; 乘 in 大乘 is shèng; 重 in 重修, to cultivate over again, is chóng.
Not one of the officers but complied. Then, there in the temple, he asked: 'Who is willing to receive my command, to go up to the Western Heaven, worship the Buddha, and seek the scriptures?'
佛 in 拜佛 takes the global fó. The emperor throws the question open to the room, and it is the summons the whole chapter has been building toward.
Before the asking was done, a Dharma Master stepped forth from the side, made obeisance before the emperor, and said: 'Your poor monk, though of no talent, is willing to render the service of a dog or horse — to seek and fetch the true scriptures for Your Majesty, and to pray that our king's realm may stand forever firm.'
了 in 問不了, before the asking was done, is liǎo, to finish — and those three characters do a great deal of work. He does not wait for the sentence to end. 犬馬之勞, the labour of a dog or a horse, is the set phrase for offering oneself as a servant, and it is still said today.
The Tang king, greatly pleased, came forward and with his imperial hand raised him up, saying: 'If the Master can indeed fulfill this loyal worthiness, undaunted by the long road and the toil of mountain and river, I am willing to become sworn brothers with you.'
將 in 將御手 is the disposal jiāng; 盡 in 盡此忠賢 is jìn; 為 in 拜為兄弟, to bow and become sworn brothers, is wéi. An emperor putting his own hand under a kneeling monk's arm is not a small thing.
Xuanzang knocked his head in thanks for the grace.
He accepts the charge and the astonishing honour together, and says nothing at all.
The mandate now finds its man. Taizong closes the assembly and issues an open call for a pilgrim, and Xuanzang — who has just been publicly corrected and welcomed the correction with joy — steps forward at once, before the question is even finished.
His self-offering fuses the two registers the chapter has held in tension throughout: he pledges the service of a dog or horse to fetch the scriptures, which is the language of Confucian loyalty to the throne, in order to accomplish a Buddhist deliverance. The emperor's response — raising him by the hand and proposing sworn brotherhood — lifts the monk from subject to kin, and prepares the bond that will define Xuanzang for the rest of the novel as the emperor's own brother, the Tang Monk.