1

Buddhist History
1. Emperor Asoka and Buddhism in India & the Mission to Sri Lanka
(page no. 10-14)
2. Arrival of the sacred Bo-Tree, The Firm Establishment of the Sasana
& The Progress of Buddhism in Sri Lanka (page no. 18-20)
3. The First Schism & Writing of the Sacred Books (page no. 31-33)
4. Buddhaghosa Thera and the Compilation of Pali Commentaries
(page no. 44-48)

6. Emperor Asoka and Buddhism in India

1. Buddhism as a form of religious expression gained ascendency in
India during this period. Emperor Asoka was crowned, according to
the chronicles, in the year 218 of the Buddhist era (i.e., 268 BCE).
Like his father Bindusaara and grandfather Candragupta, Asoka was
a follower of the brahmanical faith at the beginning of his reign. In
the early years of his reign he followed an expansionist policy and in
the eighth year of his coronation he conquered Kaalinga, in the
course of which 100,000 were slain and 150,000 taken prisoners.
But the carnage of the Kaalinga war caused him much grief and the
king was attracted towards the humanistic teachings of Buddhism.
According to the Sri Lanka chronicles, it was a young novice named
Nigrodha who converted Asoka.
2. After the conversion of this great emperor Buddhism flourished
under his patronage. He inculcated the teachings of the Buddha and
set up edicts of morality at numerous places of his vast empire so
that his subjects would adhere to them and his successors might
follow him. He himself followed those morals and set an example to
the others. The king is reputed to have built 84,000 stupas. The
monks were lavishly provided with their requisites.
3. The king even permitted his son Mahinda and daughter
Sanghamittaa to join the Order when they were twenty and
 2

eighteen years of age respectively. These two illustrious disciples

became noted for their piety, attainments, learning and profound
knowledge of the Dhamma.
4. Vast numbers joined the Order in the reign of Asoka solely to share
the benefits showered on it by the king, and such people were not
only lax in their conduct, but also held doctrines counter to the
teachings of the Buddha.
5. It was this dissenting element that led to the holding of the Third
Buddhist Council under the patronage of King Asoka in order to
purify the Buddhist religion (Saasana). It was at this Council held by
a thousand theras (elders) under the leadership of Moggaliputta
Tissa, at Paataliputta, that the Pali Canon of the Theravaada, as it
exists today, was finally redacted.
6. At this Council was also taken the important, decision of sending
missionaries to different regions to preach Buddhism and establish
the Saasana there. Thus the thera Moggaliputta Tissa deputed
Majjhantika Thera to Kaasmira-Gandhaara, Mahaadeva Thera to
Mahisamandala, Rakkhita Thera to Vanavaasi, Yona-
Dhammarakkhita Thera to Aparaantaka, Dhammarakkhita Thera to
Mahaarattha, Mahaarakkhita Thera to Yonaloka, Majjhima Thera to
Himavanta, theras So.na and Uttara to Suvannabhuumi, and
Mahinda Thera with theras Itthiya, Uttiya, Sambala and
Bhaddasaala to Lanka, saying unto the five theras: "Establish ye in
the delightful land of Lanka the delightful religion of the
Vanquisher."

7. The Mission to Sri Lanka

1. Mahinda was thirty-two years old when he undertook the mission to Sri
Lanka. He had adopted the religious life at the age of twenty,
mastered the doctrines and attained the highest spiritual life, i.e.,
arahantship. Pondering on the fitting time to come to Lanka, he
 3

perceived that Mutasiva, the ruler at that time, was in his old age,
and hence it was advisable to tarry until his son became ruler.
2. In the meantime Mahinda visited his relatives at Dakkhinaagiri and
his mother at Vedisagiri along with his companions. His mother
Devi, whom Asoka had married while he was yet a prince, was living
at Vedisagiri at that time. Having stayed for six months at
Dakkhinaagiri and a month at Vedisagiri, Mahinda perceived that
the right time had come, for the old ruler was dead and his son
Devaanampiya Tissa had become king.
3. Devaanampiya Tissa was the second son of Mutasiva. He was a
friend of Asoka even before he became king but the two had not
seen each other. The first thing that Devaanampiya Tissa did when
he became king was to send envoys to Asoka, bearing costly
presents. The envoys, when they returned, brought among other
things the following message from Asoka:
4. "Aha.m Buddhañ ca Dhammañ ca Sanghañ ca sara.na.mgato upaasakatta.m
vedesi.m Saakyaputtassa saasane tvamp'imaani ratanaani uttamaani
naruttama citta.m pasaadayitvaana saddhaaya sara.na.m bhaja."
5. "I have taken refuge in the Buddha, his Doctrine and his Order, I have
declared myself a lay-disciple in the religion of the Saakya son; seek then, O
best of men, refuge in these best of gems, converting your mind with
believing heart."
6. This message of Asoka was conveyed to King Devaanampiya Tissa
in the month of Vesakha and it was the full-moon day of the
following month Jettha (Sinh. Poson) that Mahinda fixed for his
arrival in Sri Lanka. Among the companions of Mahinda were the
theras Itthiya, Uttiya, Sambala and Bhaddasaala, the saamanera
Sumana who was the son of Sanghamittaa, and the lay-disciple
Bhanduka who was the son of a daughter of Devi's sister and had
become an anaagaami (once-returner) on hearing a sermon of
Mahinda preached to Devi.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4

11. Arrival of the Sacred Bo-Tree

Emperor Asoka decided on sending a token of the Great and

Enlightened One to the land of Lanka and prepared a branch of the
Sacred Bodhi Tree under which the Lord attained enlightenment. He
planted the branch in a golden vessel and, when it had taken root,
conveyed it to the ship, depositing it in the ship. He also sent a large
number of attendants to accompany the tree. The chronicles mention that
these were selected from the brahmans, nobles and householders and
consisted of 64 families. Sanghamittaa Therii and her attendants
embarked on the same ship as well as the ambassadors and messengers
who came from Lanka.

The ship sailed from Taamralipti (Tamluk) and arrived at the port in
Lanka in seven days. The port was known as Jambukola and was situated
in the north of the island. The king of Lanka on hearing of the arrival of
the ship had the road from Jambukola to the capital city of
Anuraadhapura gaily decorated. He arrived in state and himself took
charge of the Sacred Bodhi Tree. This tree was planted in the
Mahaamegha garden of Anuraadhapura with great festivities and tended
with honor and care. Up to this date it flourishes as one of the most
sacred objects of veneration and worship for millions of Buddhists.

12. The Firm Establishment of the Saasana

Arittha, the king's nephew who had obtained the king's permission
to enter the Order of monks on his return from India, did so with five
hundred other men and all became arahants. With the ordination of
Anulaa and the other women both the Bhikkhu-saasana and the
Bhikkhuni-saasana were established in the island. Separate residences for
monks and nuns were built by the king. The Thuupaaraama-cetiya
 5

enshrining the right collar-bone and other bodily relics of the Buddha was
built, and the Sacred Bodhi Tree was planted for the devotion of the laity.
When these acts of religious devotion were accomplished, the king asked
Mahinda Thera whether the Saasana had been firmly established in the
island, to which the latter replied that it had only been planted but would
take firm root when a person born in Sri Lanka, of Sinhalese parents,
studied the Vinaya in Sri Lanka and expounded it in Sri Lanka.

Arittha Thera had by this time become noted for his piety and his
learning and on an appointed day, at a specially constructed preaching
hall, in the presence of numerous theras, the king and the chiefs, Arittha
Thera was invited to give a discourse on the Vinaya in the presence of the
thera Mahaa Mahinda. And his exposition was so correct and pleasing that
there was great rejoicing as the condition required for the firm
establishment of the Saasana was fulfilled by him.

13. Progress of Buddhism in Lanka

Devaanampiya Tissa ruled in Sri Lanka for forty years. It was in the
first year of his reign that Buddhism was introduced and from that time
the king worked for the progress of the new faith with great zeal. Apart
from the Mahaavihaara, the Cetiyapabbatavihaara, the Thuuparaama and
the Sacred Bodhi Tree, he established numerous other monasteries and
several Buddhist monuments. The chronicles mention that he built
monasteries a yojana from one another. Among these monuments the
Isurumuni-vihaara and the Vessagiri-vihaara are important centers of
worship to this day. He is also credited with the construction of the
Pathamaka-cetiya, the Jambukola-vihaara and the Hatthaalhaka-vihaara,
and the refectory.

Thousands of men and women joined the Order during his reign.
The king not only built vihaaras for their residence but also provided them
with their requisites. It was not only in the capital city that Buddhism
 6

spread in his reign but even in distant regions like Jambukola in the north
and Kaajaragaama and Candanagaama in the south.

The remarkable success of Mahinda's mission and the rapid spread

of the religion in a very short time were mainly due to the efforts of
Mahinda and the unbounded patronage of King Devaanampiya Tissa.
Apart from them the people of Lanka too were eminently ripe at this
period for receiving and adopting the teachings of the Buddha. The people
in the land were prosperous, their wants were few, and these were
supplied by the fertile soil. There was prosperous trade, for merchants
came from all lands to barter goods; their art was well developed, for in
the leisure people enjoyed they were able to build cities and tanks, great
and small, and to perform works both of utility and artistic value.
Contentment reigned supreme. Where such conditions existed the people
were ready to embrace new ideals that had the prospect of helping their
culture and elating their thoughts and activities, and as such the new
doctrine preached by Mahinda Thera fell on a fertile soil, where it soon
rose to its full height. Hundreds of thousands of men and women rose to
high spiritual attainments on hearing the new message and thus the Law
of the Blessed One was firmly established.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18. The First Schism

After Vattagaamani Abhaya regained the throne he demolished the

monastery of a nigantha (Jain ascetic) named Giri for having mocked him
when he was fleeing. He built a Buddhist monastery called the Abhayagiri-
vihaara over it, which he presented to a monk named Kupikkala Mahaa
Tissa who had helped the king in his exile. Later, the monks of the
Mahaavihaara imposed the punishment of expulsion on Tissa on the
charge of improper contact with lay families. Tissa's pupil Bahalamassu
Tissa, who resented the punishment imposed upon his teacher, was
 7

likewise expelled from the Mahaavihaara. He then went away with a

following of five hundred monks and lived at Abhayagiri-vihaara, refusing
to return to the Mahaavihaara. There was thus a group of monks who
broke away from the Mahaavihaara and lived separately in the
Abhayagiri-vihaara, but they did not yet disagree with each other either in
the theory or the practice of the Dhamma.

The actual schism occurred only when monks of the Vajjiputta sect
in India came to Sri Lanka and were received at the Abhayagiri, not long
after Tissa and his followers occupied that monastery. Tissa and his
followers liked the new monks and adopted their doctrines. Thenceforth
they came to be known as the Dhammaruci sect, after the name of the
great Indian monk who was the teacher of the newcomers to Abhayagiri.
There was no official suppression of the new sect, presumably because
the king was in their favor, but the Mahaavihaara monks opposed them as
unorthodox and heretical. From this time the Abhayagiri existed as a
separate sect opposed to the Mahaavihaara.

19. Writing of the Sacred Books

It is stated in the early chronicles that after the acceptance of

Buddhism by the people in Lanka and after the formation of a hierarchy of
disciples who were Sinhalese, a council was held under Mahinda Thera,
where all the leading theras were present and the teachings were recited
and authoritatively laid down, as was done in the third convocation held in
India under the direction of Emperor Asoka. Theravaada was thus
established in Sri Lanka and according to tradition and custom the various
parts of the Tipitaka were learned by the members of the Order,
committed to memory, and preserved as oral traditions. It was seen how,
during the famine that broke out in the time of King Vattagaamani
Abhaya, a great strain was put on the continuance of this form of
preserving the teachings of the Tipitaka. When conditions became normal,
the members of the Order considered that they could lose the teachings if
 8

any similar calamity or calamities were to occur in the future, and they
decided that the time had arrived for committing these teachings to
writing so that they might be preserved for future generations. The
advent of schisms about this time might also have weighed strongly in
favor of this decision.

Thus the members of the Order assembled at the Mahaavihaara at

Anuraadhapura, took counsel together, and with the permission and
encouragement of the king a convocation was held. The teachings were
recited and scribes were engaged to commit to writing, on palm leaves,
the Pali canonical texts (the Tipitaka) consisting of Vinaya, Sutta and
Abhidhamma, and the Sinhalese commentaries. According to the Nikaaya
Sangraha, a Sinhalese work of the fourteenth century dealing with the
history of the Buddhist order, after the convocation at the Mahaavihaara
at Anuraadhapura, the selected number of reciters and scribes, 500 in all,
went to Alulena (Aluvihaara) cave temple close to Matale, in the central
province. There in retirement they completed the work assigned to them
and thus for the first time brought out in book form the teachings of the
Buddha.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23. Buddhaghosa Thera and the Compilation of the

Pali Commentaries

The compilation of the Pali Atthakathaa (commentaries) by

Buddhaghosa Thera is another important event in the annals of Sri Lanka,
which marks the progress of Buddhism. As has already been stated, the
Pitakas or the teachings of the Buddha which were being handed down
orally were committed to writing in 397 b.e. (89 BCE) and the
commentaries on these, composed in Sinhalese, were also committed to
writing at this time. Since this period much by way of exegetical works in
Sinhalese was added from time to time and during the next five hundred
 9

years literary activity progressed considerably. By about 896 b.e. (410

a.c.), when King Mahaanaama reigned at Anuraadhapura, the fame of
Buddhist literature in Sri Lanka was well recognized throughout India and
tradition mentions Sinhalese Buddhist monks visiting India, China and
other countries and introducing the literature produced in Sri Lanka.
Monks from India and China also visited Anuraadhapura during this time
to procure Buddhist books.

It was about this time that Buddhaghosa Thera came to Sri Lanka in
the reign of King Mahaanaama (410-432). Mahaanaama succeeded to the
throne 79 years after the death of King Sirimeghavanna, during whose
reign the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka, and three rulers,
namely Jetthatissa II, Buddhadaasa and Upatissa I, reigned in between.
The story of Buddhaghosa is given in detail both in the Mahaava.msa and
the Sinhalese works composed in later times. According to these sources
Buddhaghosa was a brahman youth who was born in the vicinity of
Buddha Gayaa and became well known as an exponent of Veda and
philosophy. He was such a proficient scholar that in his youth he was able
to assert his knowledge among the great scholars of the time. He traveled
from place to place, from one seat of learning to another, from one set of
teachers to another, triumphantly asserting his knowledge and
scholarship.

At a well-known Buddhist monastery at Tamluk, he met Revata

Mahaathera, one well versed in the doctrines and philosophy of Buddhism.
There he entered into discussions and found not a peer but one superior
to him in knowledge and understanding. This made him join the Order of
Buddhist monks as a pupil of Revata Mahaathera. At this vihaara he
studied Buddhist philosophy diligently and produced a treatise on
Buddhism, �aa.nodaya; he also planned to compose commentaries on
the Abhidhamma and the suttas. His teacher at this stage advised him to
go to Anuraadhapura before undertaking this work, as he said that in
Lanka were preserved not only the Tipitaka, the teachings of the Buddha
 10

himself, but also the Sinhalese commentaries and various expositions of

the teachings which were very valuable and of high repute.

Buddhaghosa Thera proceeded to Sri Lanka and stayed at the

Mahaapadhaanaghara of the Mahaavihaara. He then asked the monks at
Anuraadhapura for access to books for the compilation of commentaries.
The learned theras at Anuraadhapura tested his knowledge and ability by
setting him a thesis on which he compiled the well-known Visuddhimagga.
They were so pleased with this work that he was given facilities for his
projected work and books were placed at his disposal for the preparation
of Pali commmentaries.

The old Sinhalese commentaries from which Buddhaghosa drew

material for the compilation of his Pali commentaries are occasionally
named in his works. The Mahaa (or Muula) Atthakathaa occupied the
foremost position among them while the Mahaa-paccari Atthakathaa and
the Kurundi Atthakathaa were also important. These three major works
probably contained exegetical material on all the three Pitakas. Apart
from these there were other works like the Sankhepatthakathaa,
Vinayatthakathaa, Abhidhammatthakathaa and separate commentaries on
the four AAgamas or Nikaayas, namely, the Diigha Nikaaya Atthakathaa,
Majjhima Nikaaya Atthakathaa, Samyutta Nikaaya Atthakathaa, and the
Anguttara Nikaaya Atthakathaa. References to numerous other sources
like the Andhakatthakathaa, the aacariyaa (or Teachers), and the
Poraanaa (or Ancient Masters) are also found in Buddhaghosa's works.

Utilizing the copious material of these commentaries and other

sources, which sometimes contained conflicting views and contradictory
assertions, Buddhaghosa compiled his Pali commentaries including all
authoritative decisions, sometimes giving his own views but leaving out
unnecessary details and repetitions as well as irrelevant matter. The first
of such commentaries was the Samantapaasaadikaa on the Vinaya Pitaka.
The Kankhaavitaranii on the Paatimokkha of the Vinaya Pitaka was
 11

compiled later. These books were followed by the commentaries on the

four Nikaayas, the Sumangalavilaasinii on the Diigha Nikaaya,
the Papañca-suudanii on the Majjhima Nikaaya, the Saaratthappakaa
sinii on the Samyutta Nikaaya, and the Manorathapuura.nii on the
Anguttara Nikaaya. The Dhammapadaññhakathaa on the Dhammapada,
the Jaatakaññhakathaa on the Jaataka, and the Paramatthajotikaa on the
Khuddaka Nikaaya, are also ascribed to him. On the books of the
Abhidhamma Pitaka, Buddhaghosa compiled the Aññhasaalinii on the
Dhammasanganii, the Sammohavinodanii on the Vibhanga, and the Pañca
ppakara.naññhakathaa on the other five books.

The voluminous literature which Buddhaghosa produced exists to

this day and is the basis for the explanation of many crucial points of
Buddhist philosophy which without them would have been unintelligible.
His commentaries become all the more important since the old Sinhalese
commentaries gradually went out of vogue and were completely lost after
the tenth century. Buddhaghosa's activities gave an impetus to the
learning of Pali in Sri Lanka which resulted in the production of many
other Pali commentaries and other literary works, and also established the
pre-eminence of Sri Lanka as the home of Theravaada Buddhism.
 12

CHAPTER I
FROM CH’ANG-GAN TO THE SANDY DESERT

Fa-hien had been living in Ch’ang-gan.1 Deploring the mutilated and imperfect
state of the collection of the Books of Discipline, in the second year of the period
Hwang-che, being the Ke-hae year of the cycle,2 he entered into an engagement
with Kwuy-king, Tao-ching, Hwuy-ying, and Hwuy-wei,3 that they should go to
India and seek for the Disciplinary Rules.4

After starting from Ch’ang-gan, they passed through Lung,5 and came to the
kingdom of K’een-kwei,6 where they stopped for the summer retreat.7 When that
was over, they went forward to the kingdom of Now-t’an,8 crossed the mountain of
Yang-low, and reached the emporium of Chang-yih.9 There they found the country
so much disturbed that travelling on the roads was impossible for them. Its king,
however, was very attentive to them, kept them (in his capital), and acted the part
of their danapati.10

Here they met with Che-yen, Hwuy-keen, Sang-shao, Pao-yun, and Sang-
king;11 and in pleasant association with them, as bound on the same journey with
themselves, they passed the summer retreat (of that year)12 together, resuming after
it their travelling, and going on to T’un-hwang,13 (the chief town) in the frontier
territory of defence extending for about 80 le from east to west, and about 40 from
north to south. Their company, increased as it had been, halted there for some days
more than a month, after which Fa-hien and his four friends started first in the suite
of an envoy,14 having separated (for a time) from Pao-yun and his associates.

Le Hao,15 the prefect of T’un-hwang, had supplied them with the means of
crossing the desert (before them), in which there are many evil demons and hot
winds. (Travellers) who encounter them perish all to a man. There is not a bird to
be seen in the air above, nor an animal on the ground below. Though you look all
round most earnestly to find where you can cross, you know not where to make
 13

your choice, the only mark and indication being the dry bones of the dead (left
upon the sand).16

CHAPTER II
ON TO SHEN-SHEN AND THENCE TO KHOTEN

After travelling for seventeen days, a distance we may calculate of about 1500 le,
(the pilgrims) reached the kingdom of Shen-shen,1 a country rugged and hilly, with
a thin and barren soil. The clothes of the common people are coarse, and like those
worn in our land of Han,2 some wearing felt and others coarse serge or cloth of
hair;— this was the only difference seen among them. The king professed (our)
Law, and there might be in the country more than four thousand monks,3 who were
all students of the hinayana.4 The common people of this and other kingdoms (in
that region), as well as the sramans,5 all practise the rules of India,6 only that the
latter do so more exactly, and the former more loosely. So (the travellers) found it
in all the kingdoms through which they went on their way from this to the west,
only that each had its own peculiar barbarous speech.7 (The monks), however, who
had (given up the worldly life) and quitted their families, were all students of
Indian books and the Indian language. Here they stayed for about a month, and
then proceeded on their journey, fifteen days walking to the north-west bringing
them to the country of Woo-e.8 In this also there were more than four thousand
monks, all students of the hinayana. They were very strict in their rules, so that
sramans from the territory of Ts’in9 were all unprepared for their regulations. Fa-
hien, through the management of Foo Kung-sun, /maitre d’hotellerie/,10 was able to
remain (with his company in the monastery where they were received) for more
than two months, and here they were rejoined by Pao-yun and his friends.11 (At the
end of that time) the people of Woo-e neglected the duties of propriety and
righteousness, and treated the strangers in so niggardly a manner that Che-yen,
Hwuy-keen, and Hwuy-wei went back towards Kao-ch’ang,12 hoping to obtain
there the means of continuing their journey. Fa-hien and the rest, however, through
the liberality of Foo Kung-sun, managed to go straight forward in a south-west
 14

direction. They found the country uninhabited as they went along. The difficulties
which they encountered in crossing the streams and on their route, and the
sufferings which they endured, were unparalleled in human experience, but in the
course of a month and five days they succeeded in reaching Yu-teen.13

CHAPTER III
KHOTEN. PROCESSIONS OF IMAGES. THE KING’S NEW MONASTERY.

Yu-teen is a pleasant and prosperous kingdom, with a numerous and flourishing

population. The inhabitants all profess our Law, and join together in its religious
music for their enjoyment.1 The monks amount to several myriads, most of whom
are students of the mahayana.2 They all receive their food from the common
store.3 Throughout the country the houses of the people stand apart like (separate)
stars, and each family has a small tope4 reared in front of its door. The smallest of
these may be twenty cubits high, or rather more.5 They make (in the monasteries)
rooms for monks from all quarters,5 the use of which is given to travelling monks
who may arrive, and who are provided with whatever else they require.

The lord of the country lodged Fa-hien and the others comfortably, and supplied
their wants, in a monastery6 called Gomati,6 of the mahayana school. Attached to it
there are three thousand monks, who are called to their meals by the sound of a
bell. When they enter the refectory, their demeanour is marked by a reverent
gravity, and they take their seats in regular order, all maintaining a perfect silence.
No sound is heard from their alms-bowls and other utensils. When any of these
pure men7 require food, they are not allowed to call out (to the attendants) for it,
but only make signs with their hands.

Hwuy-king, Tao-ching, and Hwuy-tah set out in advance towards the country of
K’eeh-ch’a;8 but Fa-hien and the others, wishing to see the procession of images,
remained behind for three months. There are in this country four9 great
monasteries, not counting the smaller ones. Beginning on the first day of the fourth
month, they sweep and water the streets inside the city, making a grand display in
 15

the lanes and byways. Over the city gate they pitch a large tent, grandly adorned in
all possible ways, in which the king and queen, with their ladies brilliantly
arrayed,10 take up their residence (for the time).

The monks of the Gomati monastery, being mahayana students, and held in great
reverence by the king, took precedence of all others in the procession. At a distance
of three or four le from the city, they made a four-wheeled image car, more than
thirty cubits high, which looked like the great hall (of a monastery) moving along.
The seven precious substances11 were grandly displayed about it, with silken
streamers and canopies hanging all around. The (chief) image12 stood in the middle
of the car, with two Bodhisattvas13 in attendance upon it, while devas14 were made
to follow in waiting, all brilliantly carved in gold and silver, and hanging in the air.
When (the car) was a hundred paces from the gate, the king put off his crown of
state, changed his dress for a fresh suit, and with bare feet, carrying in his hands
flowers and incense, and with two rows of attending followers, went out at the gate
to meet the image; and, with his head and face (bowed to the ground), he did
homage at its feet, and then scattered the flowers and burnt the incense. When the
image was entering the gate, the queen and the brilliant ladies with her in the
gallery above scattered far and wide all kinds of flowers, which floated about and
fell promiscuously to the ground. In this way everything was done to promote the
dignity of the occasion. The carriages of the monasteries were all different, and
each one had its own day for the procession. (The ceremony) began on the first day
of the fourth month, and ended on the fourteenth, after which the king and queen
returned to the palace.

Seven or eight le to the west of the city there is what is called the King’s New
Monastery, the building of which took eighty years, and extended over three
reigns. It may be 250 cubits in height, rich in elegant carving and inlaid work,
covered above with gold and silver, and finished throughout with a combination of
all the precious substances. Behind the tope there has been built a Hall of
Buddha,15 of the utmost magnificence and beauty, the beams, pillars, venetianed
 16

doors, and windows being all overlaid with gold-leaf. Besides this, the apartments
for the monks are imposingly and elegantly decorated, beyond the power of words
to express. Of whatever things of highest value and preciousness the kings in the
six countries on the east of the (Ts’ung) range of mountains16 are possessed, they
contribute the greater portion (to this monastery), using but a small portion of them
themselves.17

CHAPTER IV
THROUGH THE TS’UNG OR “ONION” MOUNTAINS TO K’EEH-CH’A;—
PROBABLY SKARDO, OR SOME CITY MORE TO THE EAST IN LADAK

When the processions of images in the fourth month were over, Sang-shao, by
himself alone, followed a Tartar who was an earnest follower of the Law,1 and
proceeded towards Kophene.2 Fa-hien and the others went forward to the kingdom
of Tsze-hoh, which it took them twenty-five days to reach.3 Its king was a
strenuous follower of our Law,4 and had (around him) more than a thousand
monks, mostly students of the mahayana. Here (the travellers) abode fifteen days,
and then went south for four days, when they found themselves among the Ts’ung-
ling mountains, and reached the country of Yu-hwuy,5 where they halted and kept
their retreat.6 When this was over, they went on among the hills7 for twenty-five
days, and got to K’eeh-ch’a,8 there rejoining Hwuy-king9 and his two companions.

CHAPTER V
GREAT QUINQUENNIAL ASSEMBLY OF MONKS. RELICS OF BUDDHA.
PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

It happened that the king of the country was then holding the pancha parishad, that
is, in Chinese, the great quinquennial assembly.1 When this is to be held, the king
requests the presence of the Sramans from all quarters (of his kingdom). They
come (as if) in clouds; and when they are all assembled, their place of session is
grandly decorated. Silken streamers and canopies are hung out in, and water-lilies
in gold and silver are made and fixed up behind the places where (the chief of
 17

them) are to sit. When clean mats have been spread, and they are all seated, the
king and his ministers present their offerings according to rule and law. (The
assembly takes place), in the first, second, or third month, for the most part in the
spring.

After the king has held the assembly, he further exhorts the ministers to make other
and special offerings. The doing of this extends over one, two, three, five, or even
seven days; and when all is finished, he takes his own riding-horse, saddles,
bridles, and waits on him himself,2 while he makes the noblest and most important
minister of the kingdom mount him. Then, taking fine white woollen cloth, all sorts
of precious things, and articles which the Sramans require, he distributes them
among them, uttering vows at the same time along with all his ministers; and when
this distribution has taken place, he again redeems (whatever he wishes) from the
monks.3

The country, being among the hills and cold, does not produce the other cereals,
and only the wheat gets ripe. After the monks have received their annual (portion
of this), the mornings suddenly show the hoar-frost, and on this account the king
always begs the monks to make the wheat ripen4 before they receive their portion.
There is in the country a spitoon which belonged to Buddha, made of stone, and in
colour like his alms-bowl. There is also a tooth of Buddha, for which the people
have reared a tope, connected with which there are more than a thousand monks
and their disciples,5 all students of the hinayana. To the east of these hills the dress
of the common people is of coarse materials, as in our country of Ts’in, but here
also6 there were among them the differences of fine woollen cloth and of serge or
haircloth. The rules observed by the Sramans are remarkable, and too numerous to
be mentioned in detail. The country is in the midst of the Onion range. As you go
forward from these mountains, the plants, trees, and fruits are all different from
those of the land of Han, excepting only the bamboo, pomegranate,7 and sugar-
cane.
 18

CHAPTER VI
ON TOWARDS NORTH INDIA. DARADA. IMAGE OF MAITREYA
BODHISATTVA.

From this (the travellers) went westwards towards North India, and after being on
the way for a month, they succeeded in getting across and through the range of the
Onion mountains. The snow rests on them both winter and summer. There are also
among them venomous dragons, which, when provoked, spit forth poisonous
winds, and cause showers of snow and storms of sand and gravel. Not one in ten
thousand of those who encounter these dangers escapes with his life. The people of
the country call the range by the name of “The Snow mountains.” When (the
travellers) had got through them, they were in North India, and immediately on
entering its borders, found themselves in a small kingdom called T’o-leih,1 where
also there were many monks, all students of the hinayana.

In this kingdom there was formerly an Arhan,2 who by his supernatural

power3 took a clever artificer up to the Tushita heaven, to see the height,
complexion, and appearance of Maitreya Bodhisattva,4 and then return and make
an image of him in wood. First and last, this was done three times, and then the
image was completed, eighty cubits in height, and eight cubits at the base from
knee to knee of the crossed legs. On fast-days it emits an effulgent light. The kings
of the (surrounding) countries vie with one another in presenting offerings to it.
Here it is,—to be seen now as of old.5

CHAPTER VII
CROSSING OF THE INDUS. WHEN BUDDHISM FIRST CROSSED THE RIVER
FOR THE EAST

The travellers went on to the south-west for fifteen days (at the foot of the
mountains, and) following the course of their range. The way was difficult and
rugged, (running along) a bank exceedingly precipitous, which rose up there, a hill-
like wall of rock, 10,000 cubits from the base. When one approaches the edge of it,
 19

his eyes become unsteady; and if he wished to go forward in the same direction,
there was no place on which he could place his foot; and beneath where the waters
of the river called the Indus.1 In former times men had chiselled paths along the
rocks, and distributed ladders on the face of them, to the number altogether of 700,
at the bottom of which there was a suspension bridge of ropes, by which the river
was crossed, its banks being there eighty paces apart.2 The (place and
arrangements) are to be found in the Records of the Nine Interpreters,3 but neither
Chang K’een4 nor Kan Ying5 had reached the spot.

The monks6 asked Fa-hien if it could be known when the Law of Buddha first went
to the east. He replied, “When I asked the people of those countries about it, they
all said that it had been handed down by their fathers from of old that, after the
setting up of the image of Maitreya Bodhisattva, there were Sramans of India who
crossed this river, carrying with them Sutras and Books of Discipline. Now the
image was set up rather more than 300 years after the nirvana7 of Buddha, which
may be referred to the reign of king P’ing of the Chow dynasty.8 According to this
account we may say that the diffusion of our great doctrines (in the east) began
from (the setting up of) this image. If it had not been through that Maitreya,9 the
great spiritual master10 (who is to be) the successor of the Sakya, who could have
caused the ‘Three Precious Ones’11 to be proclaimed so far, and the people of those
border lands to know our Law? We know of a truth that the opening of (the way
for such) a mysterious propagation is not the work of man; and so the dream of the
emperor Ming of Han12 had its proper cause.”

CHAPTER VIII
WOO-CHANG, OR UDYANA. MONASTERIES, AND THEIR WAYS. TRACES OF
BUDDHA.

After crossing the river, (the travellers) immediately came to the kingdom of Woo-
chang,1 which is indeed (a part) of North India. The people all use the language of
Central India, “Central India” being what we should call the “Middle Kingdom.”
The food and clothes of the common people are the same as in that Central
 20

Kingdom. The Law of Buddha is very (flourishing in Woo-chang). They call the
places where the monks stay (for a time) or reside permanently Sangharamas; and
of these there are in all 500, the monks being all students of the hinayana. When
stranger bhikshus2 arrive at one of them, their wants are supplied for three days,
after which they are told to find a resting-place for themselves.

There is a tradition that when Buddha came to North India, he came at once to this
country, and that here he left a print of his foot, which is long or short according to
the ideas of the beholder (on the subject). It exists, and the same thing is true about
it, at the present day. Here also are still to be seen the rock on which he dried his
clothes, and the place where he converted the wicked dragon.3 The rock is fourteen
cubits high, and more than twenty broad, with one side of it smooth.

Hwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, and Tao-ching went on ahead towards (the place of)
Buddha’s shadow in the country of Nagara;4 but Fa-hien and the others remained
in Woo-chang, and kept the summer retreat.5 That over, they descended south, and
arrived in the country of Soo-ho-to.6

CHAPTER IX
SOO-HO-TO. LEGEND OF BUDDHA.

In that country also Buddhism1 is flourishing. There is in it the place where

Sakra,2 Ruler of Devas, in a former age,3 tried the Bodhisattva, by producing4 a
hawk (in pursuit of a) dove, when (the Bodhisattva) cut off a piece of his own
flesh, and (with it) ransomed the dove. After Buddha had attained to perfect
wisdom,5 and in travelling about with his disciples (arrived at this spot), he
informed them that this was the place where he ransomed the dove with a piece of
his own flesh. In this way the people of the country became aware of the fact, and
on the spot reared a tope, adorned with layers6 of gold and silver plates.
 21

CHAPTER X
GANDHARA. LEGENDS OF BUDDHA.

The travellers, going downwards from this towards the east, in five days came to
the country of Gandhara,1 the place where Dharma-vivardhana,2 the son of
Asoka,3 ruled. When Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he gave his eyes also for another
man here;4 and at the spot they have also reared a large tope, adorned with layers
of gold and silver plates. The people of the country were mostly students of the
hinayana.