8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 1/16

Song Yun (Chinese:宋雲; pinyin: Sòng Yùn; Wade–Giles: Sung Yün) was a Chinese Buddhistmonk who was sent by the devout Buddhist Empress Hu(胡 !"#$% CE) o& the 'orthern Wei ynasty with some ompanions inludin* the monk Hui +hen* ,a -i and +hen* (or Wan*),ou.e to northwestern /ndia to searh &or Buddhist te0ts1 2hey le&t the Wei apital -uoyan* on&oot in #3% and returned in the winter o& #$$ with 345 6ahayana Buddhist te0ts173

2he 8oya*e7edit9

on* un who was ori*inally &rom unhuan* and one o& his ompanions Hui +hen* both wrote aounts o& their <ourney but they have sine disappeared1 on* un tookthe =in*hai >oute via ?inin* past =in*hai -ake and throu*h the =aidamdepression probably

 <oinin* the main outhern ilk >oute near hanshan@-oulan1 2he route at the time was underthe ontrol o& the 2uyuhun (2ibetan: A.ha) people17$9

,ortunately muh valuable in&ormation about their <ourney has been preserved in the Loyang Jielanji   o& an* ?ian.hi and other te0ts1 2here are some minor disrepanies amon* thesurvivin* soures as to the e0at dates o& the <ourney and the names o& the people who madethe trip to*ether but douard Chavannes believes it is possible to work out the itinerary withsome on&idene17D9

Hui +hen* 7and the others9 were sent in the 33th day o& the seond month o& the seond+hen*ui year (#3%); he and his ompanions arrived in Far*halik on the $th day o& the 4thmonth o& the $nd +hen*ui year (#3); in the seond ten days o& the ninth month they met thekin* o& the Hephthalites; at the be*innin* o& the 33th month they arrived in Bosi or Bo<i(southwest o& Wakhan); in the seond ten days o& this same month they entered Chitral and atthe be*innin* o& the 3$th month they entered dyana1 2hen durin* the seond ten days o& the&ourth month o& the &irst Chen*kuan* year (#$5) they arrived in Gandhara1 2hey stayed twoyears in dyana and Gandhara until returnin* at the be*innin* o& the third Chen*kuan* year(#$$) (and not the seond year as one reads in the ount)1 ordin* to le*end theyreturned throu*h the Con*lin* (or Inion) 6ountains where on* un met the elebratedamo or Bodhidharma who had died reently at -uoyan*17J9

2hey seem to have travelled to /ndia alon* the di&&iult southern branh o& the ilk >outes &romunhuan* to utian(Fhotan) alon* the ed*e o& the 2aklamakan esert to the north o&the Con*lin* 6ountains and then like ,a ?ian had done previously rossed the mountains1&ter passin* throu*h Wakhan they met with the Fin* o& the Hephthalites who had taken overthe lands previously ontrolled by the ue.hi and had reently onKuered Gandhara17#9 He wasapparently on tour at the time near the entrane to the Wakhan Corridor and not at his apitality Badiyan (BLdha*hMs) whih was near modern Herat in western &*hanistan17N9 2he kin* whohad ontrol over more than &orty kin*doms prostrated twie and reeived an /mperial edit &romthe 'orthern Wei ynasty on his knees1749on* un and his ompanions then travelledthrou*h Chitral and met the kin*s o& the wat 8alley or dyana17%9

Yijing (traditional Chinese:義 淨 ; simpli&ied Chinese: O O ; pinyin: Yìjìng;Wade–Giles: I Ching)(ND#–43D CE) was a 2an* ynasty Chinese Buddhistmonk ori*inally named +han* Wenmin*(張文明)1 2he written reords o& his $#"year travels ontributed to the world knowled*e o& theanient kin*dom o&rivi<aya as well as providin* in&ormation about the other kin*doms lyin* onthe route between China and the 'PlandP Buddhist university in /ndia1 He was also responsible&or the translation o& a lar*e number o& Buddhist sriptures &rom anskrit into Chinese1 i<in*As&ull Buddhist title was 2ripi akaṭ  harma 6aster i<in* (三藏法師義淨)1

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 2/16

/n some 3th"entury publiations i<in*As name may appear as I Tsing &ollowin* an antiKuatedmethod o& Chinese romani.ation1

To Srivijaya and Nālandā 7edit9

+han* Wen 6in* beame a monk at a*e 3J and was an admirer o& ,a0ian and ?uan.an* both

&amed monks o& his hildhood1 Qrovided &undin* by an otherwise unknown bene&ator named,on* he deided to visit the renowned Buddhist university o& 'PlandP in  Bihar /ndia to &urtherstudy Buddhism1   2ravelin* by a Qersian boat out o& Guan*.hou he arrived in rivi<aya(todayAs Qalemban* o& umatra) a&ter $$ days where he spent the ne0t si0 monthslearnin* anskrit *rammar and 6alay lan*ua*e1 He went on to reord visits to the nationso& 6alayu and Fiteh (Fedah) and in N4D a&ter ten days additional travel reahed the nakedkin*dom (south west o& hu)1 i<in* reorded his impression o& the Funlun peoples usin* ananient Chinese word &or 6alay peoples1 Funlun people have urly hair dark bodies bare &eetand wear saron*s1 He then arrived at the East oast o& /ndia where he met a senior monk andstayed a year to study anskrit1 Both later &ollowed a *roup o& merhants and visited D5 otherprinipalities1 Hal&way to 'PlandP i<in* &ell sik and was unable to walk; *radually he was le&tbehind by the *roup1 He was looted by bandits and stripped naked1 He heard the natives would

ath white skins to o&&er sari&ie to the *ods so he <umped into mud and used leaves to overhis lower body; he walked slowly to 'PlandP where he stayed &or 33 years1

Returning to Srivijaya 7edit9

/n the year N%4 i<in* stopped in the kin*dom o& rivi<aya on his way bak to ( 2an*) China1 tthat time Qalemban* was a entre o& Buddhism where &orei*n sholars *athered and i<in*stayed there &or two years to translate ori*inal anskrit Buddhist sriptures into Chinese1 /n theyear N% he returned to Guan*.hou to obtain ink and papers (note: rivi<aya then had no paperand ink) and returned a*ain to rivi<aya the same year1

Return to China 7edit9

/n year N# he ompleted all translation works and &inally returned to 2an* China at -uoyan*and reeived a *rand welome bak by Empress Wu +etian1 His total <ourney took $# years1 Hebrou*ht bak some J55 Buddhist translated te0ts1739 7$9  Account of Buddhism sent from the SouthSeas and Buddhist on!"s #ilgrimage of the Tang $ynasty  are two o& i<in*As best travel diariesdesribin* his adventurous <ourney to rivi<aya and /ndia reportin* on the soiety o& /ndia theli&estyles o& various loal peoples and more1

istribution o& Buddhist traditions7edit9

/n the *reat ma<ority o& areas in /ndia i<in* writes that there were &ollowers o& both vehiles(kt1 y%na) with some Buddhists pratiin* aordin* to the HRnayPna and others pratiin*aordin* to the 6ahPyPna17D9 However he desribes 'orthern /ndia and most o& the islands o&the outh eas (i1e1 umatra Sava et1) as prinipally HRnayPna1 /n ontrast the Buddhists in

China and 6alayu are desribed as prinipally &ollowin* the 6ahPyPna17J9

i<in* wrote about relationship between the various vehiles and the early Buddhist shools in/ndia1 He wrote 2here e0ist in the West numerous subdivisions o& the shools whih havedi&&erent ori*ins but there are only &our prinipal shools o& ontinuous tradition1 2hese shoolsare namely the 6ahPsP *hikaṃ  'ikPya thavira 'ikPya 6TlasarvPstivPda'ikPyaand a mitRyaṃ  'ikPya17#9 E0plainin* their dotrinal a&&iliations he then writes Whih o& the &ourshools should be *rouped with the 6ahPyPna or with the HRnayPna is not determined1 2hat is

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 3/16

to say there was no simple orrespondene between a monasti set and whether its memberslearned HRnayPna or 6ahPyPna teahin*s17N9

Buddhism in rivi<aya7edit9

ain article& Sri'ijaya (m)ire

i<in* praised the hi*h level o& Buddhist sholarship in rivi<aya and advised Chinese monks tostudy there prior to makin* the <ourney to 'PlandP in /ndia1

/n the &orti&ied ity o& Bho*a Buddhist priests number more than 3555 whose minds are benton learnin* and *ood pratie1 2hey investi*ate and study all the sub<ets that e0ist <ust as in/ndia; the rules and eremonies are not at all di&&erent1 /& a Chinese priest wishes to *o to theWest in order to hear and read the ori*inal sriptures he had better stay here one or two yearsand pratie the proper rules1111

i<in*As visits to rivi<aya *ave him the opportunity to meet with others who had ome &rom othernei*hborin* islands1 ordin* to him the Savanese kin*dom o& Ho"lin* was due east o& the ityo& Bho*a at a distane that ould be spanned by a &our or &ive daysA <ourney by sea1 He also

 wrote that Buddhism was &lourishin* throu*hout the islands o& outheast sia1 6any o& thekin*s and hie&tains in the islands o& the outhern ea admire and believe in Buddhism andtheir hearts are set on aumulatin* *ood ations1

Faxian (DD4 – 1 J$$ CE) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled by &oot all the way &romChina to /ndia visitin* many sared Buddhist sites in what are now ?in<ian*China Qakistan /ndia 'epal Ban*ladesh and ri -anka and between D and J3$ toaKuire Buddhist sriptures1 His <ourney is desribed in his important travelo*ue A *ecord ofBuddhist +ingdoms, Being an Account -y the .hinese on! /a01ian of his Tra'els in Indiaand  .eylon in Search of the Buddhist Boo!s o/a2ian 'isited India in the early fifth century A$34e is said to ha'e 5al!ed all the 5ay from .hina across icy desert and rugged mountain

 )asses3 4e entered India from the north05est and reached  #atali)utra3 4e too! -ac! 5ith him

Buddhist te2ts and images sacred to Buddhism3

/a2ian"s 'isit to India occurred during the reign of .handragu)ta II3 4e is also reno5ned for his )ilgrimage to Lum-ini , the -irth)lace of  6autama Buddha in modern 7e)al3 /a2ian claimed thatdemons and dragons 5ere the original inha-itants of .eylon 8Sri Lan!a93 :;< 

=n /a2ian"s 5ay -ac! to .hina, after a t5o0year stay in .eylon, a 'iolent storm dro'e his shi)onto an island, )ro-a-ly Ja'a3 After fi'e months there, /a2ian too! another shi) for southern.hina> -ut, again, it 5as -lo5n off course and he ended u) landed at Laoshan, in 5hat is no5the Shandong )eninsula, in northern .hina, ?@ !m east of the city of ingdao3 4e s)ent the restof his life translating and editing the scri)tures he had collected3

/a2ian 5rote a -oo! on his tra'els, filled 5ith accounts of early Buddhism, and the geogra)hy

and history of numerous countries along the Sil! *oads as they 5ere, at the turn of the thcentury .(3

Translation of /a2ian"s 5or!: edit  < 

The follo5ing is from the introduction to a translation of /a2ian"s 5or! -y James Legge&

7othing of great im)ortance is !no5n a-out /a0hien in addition to 5hat may -e gathered fromhis o5n record of his tra'els3 I ha'e read the accounts of him in the emoirs of (minent on!s,

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 4/16

com)iled in A3$3 ;C, and a later 5or!, the emoirs of ar'ellous on!s, -y the third em)erorof the ing dynasty  8A3$3 ;D@?0;DED9, 5hich, ho5e'er, is nearly all -orro5ed from the other>and all in them that has an a))earance of 'erisimilitude can -e -rought 5ithin -rief com)ass

4is surname, they tell us, 5as +ung, and he 5as a nati'e of Fu0yang in #Ging0Yang, 5hich isstill the name of a large de)artment in Shan0hsi 3 4e had three -rothers older than himself> -ut

5hen they all died -efore shedding their first teeth, his father de'oted him to the ser'ice of theBuddhist society, and had him entered as a Sramanera, still !ee)ing him at home in the family3The little fello5 fell dangerously ill, and the father sent him to the monastery , 5here he soon got5ell and refused to return to his )arents3

Fhen he 5as ten years old, his father died> and an uncle, considering the 5ido5ed solitarinessand hel)lessness of the mother, urged him to renounce the monastic life, and return to her, -utthe -oy re)lied, HI did not uit the family in com)liance 5ith my fatherGs 5ishes, -ut -ecause I5ished to -e far from the dust and 'ulgar 5ays of life3 This is 5hy I chose mon!hood3H Theuncle a))ro'ed of his 5ords and ga'e o'er urging him3 Fhen his mother also died, it a))earedho5 great had -een the affection for her of his fine nature> -ut after her -urial he returned to themonastery3

=n one occasion he 5as cutting rice 5ith a score or t5o of his fello50disci)les, 5hen somehungry thie'es came u)on them to ta!e a5ay their grain -y force3 The other Sramaneras allfled, -ut our young hero stood his ground, and said to the thie'es, HIf you must ha'e the grain,ta!e 5hat you )lease3 But, Sirs, it 5as your former neglect of charity 5hich -rought you to your

 )resent state of destitution> and no5, again, you 5ish to ro- others3 I am afraid that in thecoming ages you 5ill ha'e still greater )o'erty and distress>I am sorry for you -eforehand3HFith these 5ords he follo5ed his com)anions into the monastery, 5hile the thie'es left thegrain and 5ent a5ay, all the mon!s, of 5hom there 5ere se'eral hundred, doing homage to hisconduct and courage3

Fhen he had finished his no'iciate and ta!en on him the o-ligations of the full Buddhist orders,his earnest courage, clear intelligence, and strict regulation of his demeanour 5ere

cons)icuous> and soon after, he undertoo! his journey to India in search of com)lete co)ies ofthe :Kinaya0)ita!a<3 Fhat follo5s this is merely an account of his tra'els in India and return to.hina -y sea, condensed from his o5n narrati'e, 5ith the addition of some mar'elous incidentsthat ha))ened to him, on his 'isit to the Kulture #ea!  near  *ajagriha3

It is said in the end that after his return to .hina, he 5ent to the ca)ital 8e'idently 7an!ing 9, andthere, along 5ith the Indian Sramana Buddha0-hadra,  e2ecuted translations of some of the5or!s 5hich he had o-tained in India> and that -efore he had done all that he 5ished to do inthis 5ay, he remo'ed to +ing0cho5  8in the )resent 4oo0)ih 9, and died in the monastery of Sin,at the age of eighty0eight, to the great sorro5 of all 5ho !ne5 him3 It is added that there isanother larger 5or! gi'ing an account of his tra'els in 'arious countries3

Such is all the information gi'en a-out our author, -eyond 5hat he himself has told us3 /a0hien5as his clerical name, and means HIllustrious in the La5,H or HIllustrious master of the La53H TheShih 5hich often )recedes it is an a--re'iation of the name of Buddha as Sa!yamuni ,Hthe Sa!ya, mighty in Lo'e, d5elling in Seclusion and Silence,H and may -e ta!en as eui'alentto Buddhist3 It is sometimes said to ha'e -elonged to Hthe eastern Tsin dynasty H 8A3$3 ?;0D;C9,and sometimes to Hthe Sung,H that is, the Sung dynasty of the 4ouse of Liu 8A3$3 DE@0DM93 If he-ecame a full mon! at the age3333 of t5enty, and 5ent to India 5hen he 5as t5enty0fi'e, his longlife may ha'e -een di'ided )retty eually -et5een the t5o dynasties3

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 5/16

f $isci)line1 ntiKuated transliterations o& his name inlude Fa-Hien and Fa-hsien1

2he Sourney o& ,a0ian to /ndia

Between D and J3J CE the Chinese monk ,a0ian (,a"Hsien ,a Hien) undertook a trip viaCentral sia to /ndia seekin* better opies o& Buddhist books than were urrently available in

China1 lthou*h rypti to the e0tent that we annot always be sure where he was his aountdoes provide interestin* in&ormation on the onditions o& travel and the Buddhist sites andpraties he witnessed1 ,or e0ample he indiates learly the importane o& the seven preioussubstanes &or Buddhist worship the widespread pratie o& stupa veneration and hisaKuaintane with several o& the jata!a tales about the previous lives o& the Buddha akyamunitales whih are illustrated in the paintin*s at the unhuan* aves1 2he e0trats below overin*the early part o& his <ourney are &rom Sames -e**e tr1 and ed1 A *ecord of Buddhistic+ingdoms Being an Account -y the .hinese on! /a04ien of 4is Tra'els in India and .eylon8A3$3 ?CC0D;D9 in Search of the Buddhist Boo!s of $isci)line (I0&ord 3%%N) pp1 "DN1 / haveinserted oasional e0planations in brakets rather than attempt to &ootnote the te0t1

""""""""""""""""""

,a"hien had been livin* in ChAan*"*an1 eplorin* the mutilated and imper&et state o& theolletion o& the Books o& isipline1111he entered into an en*a*ement with Hwuy"kin* 2ao"hin* Hwuy"yin* and Hwuy"wei that they should *o to /ndia and seek &or the disiplinary >ules1

&ter startin* &rom ChAan*"*an they passed throu*h -un* 7in eastern Gansu9111and reahed theemporium o& Chan*"yih 7north and west o& -an.hou near the Great Wall91 2here they &ound theountry so muh disturbed that travellin* on the roads was impossible &or them1 /ts kin*however was very attentive to them 7and9 kept them (in his apital)111

Here they met with Che"yen Hwuy"keen an*"shao Qao"yun and an*"kin*; and in pleasantassoiation with them as bound on the same <ourney with themselves they passed the summerretreat (o& that year 7i1e1 J55 CE9)to*ether resumin* a&ter it their travelin* and *oin* on to

2Aun"hwan* (the hie& town) in the &rontier territory o& de&ene e0tendin* &or about %o li  &romeast to west and about J5 &rom north to south1 2heir ompany inreased as it had been haltedthere &or some days more than a month a&ter whih ,a"hien and his &our &riends started &irst inthe suite o& an envoy havin* separated (&or a time) &rom QaoUyun and his assoiates1

-e Hao the pre&et o& 2Aun"hwan* had supplied them with the means o& rossin* the desert(be&ore them) in whih there are many evil demons and hot winds1 (2ravellers) who enounterthem perish all to a man1 2here is not a bird to be seen in the air above nor an animal on the*round below1 2hou*h you look all round most earnestly to &ind where you an ross you knownot where to make your hoie the only mark and indiation bein* the dry bones o& the dead(le&t upon the sand)1

&ter travellin* &or seventeen days a distane we may alulate o& about 3#55 li  (the pil*rims)

reahed the kin*dom o& hen"shen 7V!-ou"lan near -op 'or9 a ountry ru**ed and hilly with athin and barren soil1 2he lothes o& the ommon people are oarse and like those worn in ourland o& Han some wearin* &elt and others oarse ser*e or loth o& hair;""this was the onlydi&&erene seen amon* them1 2he kin* pro&essed (our) -aw and there mi*ht be in the ountrymore than &our thousand monks who were all students o& the Hinayana 72hereavada91 2heommon people o& this and other kin*doms (in that re*ion) as well as the sramans 7monks9 allpratise the rules o& /ndia only that the latter do so more e0atly and the &ormer more loosely1o (the travellers) &ound it in all the kin*doms throu*h whih they went on their way &rom this to

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 6/16

the west only that eah had its own peuliar barbarous speeh1 (2he monks) however whohad (*iven up the worldly li&e) and Kuitted their &amilies were all students o& /ndian books andthe /ndian lan*ua*e1 Here they stayed &or about a month and then proeeded on their <ourney&i&teen days walkin* to tho north"west brin*in* them to the ountry o& Woo"e 7near Fuha orFarashahr on the northern ed*e o& the 2arim!91 /n this also there were more than &our thousandmonks all students o& the Hinayana1 2hey were very strit in their rules so that sramans &rom

the territory o& 2s"in 7i1e1 northern China9 were all unprepared &or their re*ulations1 ,a"hienthrou*h the mana*ement o& ,oo Fun*"sun overseer was able to remain (with his ompany inthe monastery where they were reeived) &or more than two months and here they werere<oined by Qao"yun and his &riends1 (t the end o& that time) the people o& Woo"e ne*leted theduties o& propriety and ri*hteousness and treated the stran*ers in so ni**ardly a manner thatChe"yen Hwuy"keen and Hwuy"wei went bak towards Fao"hAan* 7Fhoho near 2ur&an9hopin* to obtain there the means o& ontinuin* their <ourney1 ,a"hien and the rest howeverthrou*h the liberality o& ,oo Fun*"sun mana*ed to *o strai*ht &orward in a south"west diretion12hey &ound the ountry uninhabited as they went alon*1 2he di&&iulties whih they enounteredin rossin* the streams and on their route and the su&&erin*s whih they endured wereunparalleled in human e0periene but in the ourse o& a month and &ive days they sueeded inreahin* u"teen 7Fhotan91

u"teen is a pleasant and prosperous kin*dom with a numerous and &lourishin* population1 2heinhabitants all pro&ess our -aw and <oin to*ether in its reli*ious musi &or their en<oyment1 2hemonks amount to several myriads most o& whom are students o& the 6ahyana1 2hey all reeivetheir &ood &rom the ommon store1 2hrou*hout the ountry the houses o& the people stand apartlike (separate) stars and eah &amily has a small tope 7stupa9reared in &ront o& its door1 2hesmallest o& these may be twenty ubits hi*h or rather more1 2hey make (in the monasteries)rooms &or monks &rom all Kuarters the use o& whih is *iven to travellin* monks who may arriveand who are provided with whatever else they reKuire1

2he lord o& the ountry lod*ed ,a"hien and the others om&ortably and supplied their wants ina monastery alled Gomati o& the 6ahayana shool1 ttahed to it there are three thousand

monks who are alled to their meals by the sound o& a bell1 When they enter the re&etory theirdemeanour is markedby a reverent *ravity and they take their seats in re*ular order allmaintainin* a per&et silene1 'o sound is heard &rom their alms"bowls and other utensils1 Whenany o& these pure men reKuire &ood they are not allowed to all out (to the attendants) &or it butonly make si*ns with their hands1

Hwuy"kin* 2ao"hin* and Hwuy"tah set out in advane towards the ountry o& FAeeh"hAa; but,a"hien and the others wishin* to see the proession o& ima*es remained behind &or threemonths1 2here are in this ountry &our *reat monasteries not ountin* the smaller ones1Be*innin* on the &irst day o& the &ourth month they sweep and water the streets inside the itymakin* a *rand display in the lanes and byways1 Iver the ity *ate they pith a lar*e tent*randly adorned in all possible ways in whih the kin* and Kueen with their ladies brilliantlyarrayed take up their residene (&or the time)1

2he monks o& the Gomati monastery bein* 6ahayana students and held in *reatest revereneby the kin* took preedene o& all the others in the proession1 t a distane o& three or&our li  &rom the ity they made a &our"wheeled ima*e ar more than thirty ubits hi*h whihlooked like the *reat hall (o& a monastery) movin* alon*1 2he seven preious substanes 7i1e1*old silver lapis la.uli rok rystal rubies diamonds or emeralds and a*ate9 were *randlydisplayed about it with silken streamers and anopies har*in* all around1 2he (hie&) ima*e7presumably akyamuni9 stood in the middle o& the ar with two Bodhisattvas in attendane onit while devas were made to &ollow in waitin* all brilliantly arved in *old and silver and

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 7/16

han*in* in the air1 When (the ar) was a hundred paes &rom the *ate the kin* put o&& his rowno& state han*ed his dress &or a &resh suit and with bare &eet arryin* in his hands &lowers andinense and with two rows o& attendin* &ollowers went out at the *ate to meet the ima*e; and

 with his head and &ae (bowed to the *round) he did homa*e at its &eet and then sattered the&lowers and burnt the inense1 When the ima*e was enterin* the *ate the Kueen and thebrilliant ladies with her in the *allery above sattered &ar and wide all kinds o& &lowers whih

&loated about and &ell promisuously to the *round1 /n this way everythin* was done to promotethe di*nity o& the oasion1 2he arria*es o& the monasteries were all di&&erent and eah onehad its own day &or the proession1 (2he eremony) be*an on the &irst day o& the &ourth monthand ended on the &ourteenth a&ter whih the kin* and Kueen returned to the palae1

even or ei*ht li to the west o& the ity there is what is alled the Fin*As 'ew monastery thebuildin* o& whih took ei*hty years and e0tended over three rei*ns1 /t may be $#5 ubits inhei*ht rih in ele*ant arvin* and inlaid work overed above with *old and silver and &inishedthrou*hout with a ombination o& all the preious substanes1 Behind the tope there has beenbuilt a Hall o& Buddha o& the utmost ma*al&iene and beauty the beams pillars venetianeddoors and windows bein* all overlaid with *oldlea&1 Besides this the apartments &or the monksare imposin*ly and ele*antly deorated beyond the power o& words to e0press1 I& whatever

thin*s o& hi*hest value and preiousness the kin*s in the si0 ountries on the east o& the(2sAun*) ran*e o& mountains 7probably this means southwestern ?in<ian*9 are possessed theyontribute the *reater portion (to this monastery) usin* but a small portion o& them themselves1

When the proessions o& ima*es in the &ourth month were over an*"shao by himsel& alone&ollowed a 2artar who was an earnest &ollower o& the -aw and proeeded towards Fophene7Fabul re*ion!9 ,a"hien and the others went &orward to the kin*dom o& 2s.e"hoh 7!2ashkur*an!Baltistan in northern Qakistan9 whih it took them twenty"&ive days to reah1 /ts kin* was astrenuous &ollower o& our -aw and had (around him) more than a thousand monks mostlystudents o& the 6ahayana1 Here (the travellers) abode &i&teen days and then went south &or &ourdays when they &ound themselves amon* the 2sAun*"lin* mountains and reahed the ountryo& u"hwuy where they halted and kept their retreat1 When this was over they went on amon*

the hills &or twenty"&ive days and *ot to FAeeh"hAa 7!kardu or a town to the east in -adak9there re<oinin* Hwuy"kin* and his two ompanions1

/t happened that the kin* o& the ountry was then holdin* the )ancha )arishad  that is inChinese the *reat KuinKuennial assembly1 When this is to be held the kin* reKuests thepresene o& the sramans &rom all Kuarters (o& his kin*dom)1 2hey ome (as i&) in louds; and

 when they are all assembled their plae o& session is *randly deorated1 ilken streamers andanopies are hun* out in it and waterlilies in *old and silver are made and &i0ed up behind theplaes where (the hie& o& them) are to sit1 When lean mats have been spread and they are allseated the kin* and his ministers present their o&&erin*s aordin* to rule and law1 (2heassembly takes plae) in the &irst seond or third month &or the most part in the sprin*1

&ter the kin* has held the assembly he &urther e0horts the ministers to make other and speial

o&&erin*s1 2he doin* o& this e0tends over one two three &ive or even seven days; and when allis &inished he takes his own ridin*"horse saddles bridles and waits on him himsel& while hemakes the noblest and most important minister o& the kin*dom mount him1 2hen takin* &ine

 white woollen loth all sorts o& preious thin*s and artiles whih the sramans reKuire hedistributes them amon* them utterin* vows at the same time alon* with all his ministers; and

 when this distribution has taken plae he a*ain redeems (whatever he wishes) &rom the monks1

2he ountry bein* amon* the hills and old does not produe the other ereals and only the wheat *ets ripe1 &ter the monks have reeived their annual (portion o& this) the mornin*s

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 8/16

suddenly show the hoar"&rost and on this aount the kin* always be*s the monks to make the wheat ripen be&ore they reeive their portion1 2here is in the ountry a spittoon whih belon*edto Buddha made o& stone and in olour like his alms"bowl1 2here is also a tooth o& Buddha &orthe people have reared a tope onneted with whih there are more than a thousand monksand their disiples all students o& the Hinayana1 2o the east o& these hills the dress o& theommon people is o& oarse materials as in our ountry o& 2s"in but here also there were

amon* them the di&&erenes o& &ine woollen loth and o& ser*e or hairloth1 2he rules observedby the sramans are remarkable and too numerous to be mentioned in detail1 2he ountry is inthe midst o& the Inion ran*e1

s you *o &orward &rom these mountains the plants trees and &ruits are all di&&erent &rom thoseo& the land o& Han e0eptin* only the bamboo pome*ranate and su*ar"ane1

,rom this (the travellers) went westwards towards 'orth /ndia and a&ter bein* on the way &or amonth they sueeded in *ettin* aross and throu*h the ran*e o& the Inion mountains1 2hesnow rests on them both winter and summer1 2here are also amon* them venomous dra*ons

 whih when provoked spit &orth poisonous winds and ause showers o& snow and storms o&sand and *ravel1 'ot one in ten thousand o& those who enounter these dan*ers esapes with

his li&e1 2he people o& the ountry all the ran*e by the name o& A2he now mountains1A When(the travellers) had *ot throu*h them they were in 'orth /ndia and immediately on enterin* itsborders &ound themselves in a small kin*dom alled 2Ao"leih where also there were manymonks all students o& the Hinayana1

/n this kin*dom there was &ormerly an rhat 7a disiple o& the Buddha who has attained nirvana9 who by his supernatural power took a lever arti&ier up to the 2ushita heaven 7wherebodhisattvas are reborn be&ore appearin* on earth as buddhas9 to see the hei*ht omple0ionand appearane o& 6aitreya Bodhisattva 7the Buddha o& the ,uture9 and then return andmake an ima*e o& him in wood1 ,irst and last this was done three times and then the ima*e

 was ompleted ei*hty ubits in hei*ht and ei*ht ubits at the base &rom knee to knee o& therossed le*s1 In &ast"days it emits an e&&ul*ent li*ht1 2he kin*s o& the (surroundin*) ountriesvie with one another in presentin* o&&erin*s to it1 Here it is""to be seen now as o& old1

2he travellers went on to the south"west &or &i&teen days (at the &oot o& the mountains and)&ollowin* the ourse o& their ran*e1 2he way was di&&iult and ru**ed (runnin* alon*) a banke0eedin*ly preipitous whih rose up there a hill"like wall o& rok 35555 ubits &rom the base1When one approahed the ed*e o& it his eyes beame unsteady; and i& he wished to *o &orwardin the same diretion there was no plae on whih he ould plae his &oot; and beneath werethe waters o& the river alled the /ndus1 /n &ormer times men had hiselled paths alon* the roksand distributed ladders on the &ae o& them to the number alto*ether o& 455 at the bottom o&

 whih there was a suspension brid*e o& ropes by whih the river was rossed its banks bein*there ei*hty paes apart1 2he (plae and arran*ements) are to be &ound in the >eords o& the'ine /nterpreters but neither Chan* FAeen 7Chan* ChAien the Han emissary to the Western>e*ions9 nor Fan in* 7sent west in %% CE9 had reahed the spot1

2he monks asked ,a"hien i& it ould be known when the -aw o& Buddha &irst went to the east1He replied AWhen / asked the people o& those ountries about it they all said that it had beenhanded down by their &athers &rom o& old that a&ter the settin* up o& the ima*e o& 6aitreyaBodhisattva there were sramans o& /ndia who rossed this river arryin* with them sutras andBooks o& isipline1 'ow the ima*e was set up rather more than D55 years a&ter the nirvana o&Buddha whih may be re&erred to the rei*n o& kin* QAin* o& the Chow dynasty1 ordin* to thisaount we may say that the di&&usion o& our *reat dotrines (in the east) be*an &rom (the settin*up o&) this ima*e1 /& it had not been throu*h that 6aitreya the *reat spiritual master (who is to

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 9/16

be) the suessor o& the akya who ould have aused the 2hree Qreious Ines 7thepreious Buddha the preious -aw and the preious 6onkhood9 to be prolaimed so &ar andthe people o& those border lands to know our -aw! We know o& a truth that the openin* o& (the

 way &or suh) a mystertous propa*ation is not the work o& man; and so the dream o& theemperor 6in* o& Han had its proper ause1 72his re&ers to the belie& that a dream o& this Hanemperor in N3 CE led him to seek out Buddhism and establish it in China19

&ter rossin* the river (the travellers) immediately ame to the kin*dom o& Woo"han*7dyana north o& the Qun<ab""i1e1 wat in northern Qakistan9 whih is indeed (a part) o& 'orth/ndia1 2he people all use the lan*ua*e o& Central /ndia ACentral /ndiaA bein* what we should allthe A6iddle Fin*dom1A 2he &ood and lothes o& the ommon people are the same as in thatCentral Fin*dom1 2he -aw o& Buddha is very (&lourishin* in Woo"han*)1 2hey all the plaes

 where the monks stay (&or a time) or reside permanently san*haramas; and o& these there are inall #55 the monks bein* all students o& the Hinayana1 When stran*er bhikshus 7i1e1 mendiantmonks9 arrive at one o& them their wants are supplied &or three days a&ter whih they are told to&ind a restin*"plae &or themselves1

2here is a tradition that when Buddha ame to 'orth /ndia he ame at one to this ountry and

that here he le&t a print o& his &oot whih is lon* or short aordin* to the ideas o& the beholder(on the sub<et)1 /t e0ists and the same thin* is true about it at the present day1 Here also arestill to be seen the rok on whih he dried his lothes and the plae where he onverted the

 wiked dra*on1 2he rok is &ourteen ubits hi*h and more than twenty broad with one side o& itsmooth1

Hwuy"kin* Hwuy"tah and 2ao"hin* went on ahead towards (the plae o&) BuddhaAs shadow inthe ountry o& 'a*ara; but ,a"hien and the others remained in Woo"han* and kept thesummer retreat1 2hat over they desended south and arrived in the ountry o& oo"ho"to1

/n that ountry also Buddhism is &lourishin*1 2here is in it the plae where akra 7/ndra9 >uler o&evas in a &ormer a*es tried the Bodhisattva by produin* a hawk (in pursuit o& a) dove when(the Bodhisattva) ut o&& a piee o& his own &lesh and (with it) ransomed the dove1 72his is the

 well"known ibi Sataka a <ataka bein* a tale relatin* to an inident involvin* the Buddha in oneo& his previous inarnations1 2he ibi Sataka is depited on one o& the petro*lyphs at hatial inthe Hun.a 8alley and in several o& the aves at unhuan*19 &ter Buddha had attained toper&et wisdom and in travellin* about with his disiples (arrived at this spot) he in&ormed themthat this was the plae where he ransomed the dove with a piee o& his own &lesh1 /n this waythe people o& the ountry beame aware o& the &at and on the spot reared a stupa adorned

 with layers o& *old and silver plates1

2he travellers *oin* downwards &rom this towards the east in &ive days ame to the ountry o&Gandhara the plae where harma"vivardhana the son o& soka 7the 6auryan emperor knownas a *reat patron o& Buddhism in the third entury BCE9 ruled1 When Buddha was aBodhisattva1 he *ave his eyes also &or another man here 7another <ataka tale9; and at the spot

they have also reared a lar*e stupa adorned with layers o& *old and silver plate 2he people o&the ountry were mostly students o& the Hinayana1

even days <ourney &rom this to the east brou*ht the travellers to the kin*dom o& 2a0ila whihmeans Athe severed head A in the lan*ua*e o& China1 Here when Buddha was a Bodhisattva he*ave away his head to a man 7another <ataka tale9 and &rom this irumstane the kin*dom *otits name1

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 10/16

Goin* on &urther &or two days to the east they ame to the plae where the Bodhisattva threwdown his body to &eed a starvin* ti*ress 7the 6ahasattva Sataka91 /n these two plaes also lar*estupas have been built both adorned with layers o& all the preious substanes1 2he kin*sministers and people1 o& the kin*doms around vie with one another in makin* o&&erin*s a them12he trains o& those who ome to satter &lowers and li*ht lamps at them never ease1 2henations o& those Kuarters all those (and the other two mentioned be&ore) Athe &our *reat stupas1A

Goin* southwards &rom Gandhara (the travellers) in &our days arrived at the kin*dom o&Qurushapura 7Qeshawar91 ,ormerly when Buddha was travellin* in this ountry with hisdisiples he said to nanda A&ter my pari"nirvana there will be a kin* named Fanishka 7the&amous Fushan emperor9 who shall on this spot build a stupa1 2his Fanishka was a&terwardsborn into the world; and (one) when he had *one &orth to look about him akra >uler o&evas wishin* to e0ite the idea in his mind assumed the appearane o& a little herd"boy and

 was makin* a stupa ri*ht in the way (o& the kin*) who asked what sort o& a thin* he wasmakin*1 2he boy said A/ am makin* a stupa &or Buddha1 2he kin* said A8ery *ood;A andimmediately ri*ht over the boyAs stupa he (proeeded to) rear another whih was more than&our hundred ubits hi*h and adorned with layers o& all the preious substanes1 I& all thestupas and temples whih (the travellers) saw in their <ourneyin*s there was not one

omparable to this in solemn beauty and ma<esti *randeur1 2here is a urrent sayin* that thisAis the &inest stupa in SambudvipaA1 When the kin*As stupa was ompleted the little stupa (o& theboy) ame out &rom its side on the south rather more than three ubits in hei*ht1

BuddhaAs alms"bowl is in this ountry1 ,ormerly a kin* o& eh"shih raised a lar*e &ore andinvaded this ountry wishin* to arry the bowl away1 Havin* subdued the kin*dom as he andhis aptains were sinere believers in the -aw o& Buddha and wished to arry o&& the bowl theyproeeded to present their o&&erin*s on a *reat sale1 When they had done so to the 2hreeQreious Ines he made a lar*e elephant be *randly aparisoned and plaed the bowl upon it1But the elephant knelt down on the *round and was unable to *o &orward1 *ain he aused a&our"wheeled wa**on to be prepared in whih the bowl was put to be onveyed away1 Ei*htelephantd were then yoked to it and dra**ed it with their united stren*thA but neither were they

able to *o &orward1 2he kin* knew that the time &or an assoiation between himsel& and the bowlhad not yet arrived and was sad and deeply ashamed o& himsel&1 ,orthwith he built a stupa atthe plae and a monastery and le&t a *uard to wath (the bowl) makin* all sorts o&ontributions1

2here may be there more than seven hundred monks1 When it is near midday they brin* outthe bowl and alon* with the ommon people make their various o&&erin*s to it a&ter whih theytake their midday meal1 /n the evenin* at the time o& inense they brin* the bowl out a*ain1 /tmay ontain rather more than two peks and is o& various olours blak predominatin* withthe seams that show its &our&old omposition distintly marked1 /ts thikness is about the &i&th o&an inh and it has a bri*ht and *lossy lustre1 When poor people throw into it a &ew &lowers itbeomes immediately &ull while some very rih people wishin* to make o&&erin* o& many&lowers mi*ht not stop till they had thrown in hundreds thousands and myriads o& bushels and

yet would not be able to &ill it1

Qao"yun and an*"kin* here merely made their o&&erin*s to the alms"bowl and (then resolvedto) *o bak1 Hwuy"kin* Hwuy"Atah and 2ao"hin* had *one on be&ore the rest to 'a*ara tomake their o&&erin*s at (the plaes o&) BuddhaAs shadow tooth and the &lat"bone o& his skull1(2here) Hwuy"kin* &ell ill and 2ao"hin* remained to look a&ter him while Hwuy"tah ame aloneto Qurushapura and saw the others and (then) he with Qao"yun and an*"kin* took their waybak to the land o& 2sAin1 Hwuy"kin* ame to his end in the monastery o& BuddhaAs alms"bowland on this ,a"hien went &orward alone toward the plae o& the &lat"bone o& BuddhaAs skull1

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 11/16

""""""""""

Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang) (1 N5$–NNJ) born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (Chen I) was aChinese Buddhist monk   sholar traveller and translator who desribed the interationbetween China and /ndia in the early 2an* ynasty1 Born in what is now Henan provine in N5$&rom boyhood he took to readin* reli*ious books inludin* the Chinese lassis and the writin*s

o& anient sa*es1

While residin* in the ity o& -uoyan* ?uan.an* entered Buddhist monkhood at the a*e o&thirteen1 ue to the politial and soial unrest aused by the &all o& the  ui ynasty he wentto Chen*du in ihuan   where he was ordained at the a*e o& twenty1 He later travelledthrou*hout China in searh o& sared books o& Buddhism1 t len*th he ame to  Chan*Aan thenunder the peae&ul rule o& Emperor 2ai.on* o& 2an* ?uan.an* developed the desire to visit/ndia1 He knew about ,a0ianAs visit to /ndia and like him was onerned about the inompleteand misinterpreted nature o& the Buddhist sriptures that had reahed China1

He beame &amous &or his seventeen"year overland <ourney to /ndia whih is reorded in detailin the lassi Chinese te0t 6reat Tang *ecords on the Festern *egions whih in turn providedthe inspiration &or the novel Journey to the Fest  written by Wu Chen*Aen durin* the 6in* ynasty around nine enturies a&ter ?uan.an*As death17$9

?uan.an* was born Chen Hui (or Chen i) in N5$ in Chenhe 8illa*e Goushi 2own (緱氏鎮)-uo.hou (near present"day-uoyan* Henan) and died on # ,ebruary NNJ7D9 in uhua Qalae (玉華宮 in present"day 2on*huan haan0i)1 His &amily was noted &or its erudition &or *enerationsand ?uan.an* was the youn*est o& &our hildren1 His anestor was Chen hi (陳寔 35J"3%N) aminister o& the Eastern Han ynasty1 His *reat"*rand&ather Chen =in (陳欽 ) served as thepre&et o& han*dan* (上黨 ; present"day Chan*.hi han0i) durin* the Eastern Wei ynasty;his *rand&ather Chen Fan* (陳康 ) was a pro&essor in the 2ai0ue(/mperial ademy) durin*the 'orthern =i ynasty1 His &ather Chen Hui (陳惠 ) was a onservative Con&uianist whoserved as the ma*istrate o& Sian*lin* County (江陵縣) durin* the ui ynasty but later *ave upo&&ie and withdrew into selusion to esape the politial turmoil that *ripped China towards the

end o& the ui1 ordin* to traditional bio*raphies ?uan.an* displayed a superb intelli*eneand earnestness ama.in* his &ather by his are&ul observane o& the Con&uian rituals at thea*e o& ei*ht1 lon* with his brothers and sister he reeived an early eduation &rom his &ather

 who instruted him in lassial works on &ilial piety and several other anonial treatises o&orthodo0 Con&uianism1

lthou*h his household was essentially Con&uian at a youn* a*e ?uan.an* e0pressedinterest in beomin* a Buddhist monk as one o& his elder brothers had done1 &ter the death o&his &ather in N33 he lived with his older brother Chen u (陳素) (later known as Chan*<ie 長捷)&or &ive years at Sin*tu 6onastery (淨! ) in -uoyan* supported by the ui ynastystate1urin* this time he studied 6ahayana Buddhism and various early Buddhist shools pre&errin*6ahayana1

/n N3% the ui ynasty ollapsed and ?uan.an* and his brother &led to Chan*Aan whih hadbeen prolaimed as the apital o& the 2an* ynasty and thene southwardto Chen*du ihuan1 Here the two brothers spent two or three years in &urther study in themonastery o& Fon* Hui   inludin* the A-hidharma!osa0sastra (bhidharma torehouse2reatise)1 When ?uan.an* reKuested to take Buddhist orders at the a*e o& thirteen theabbot +hen* han*uo made an e0eption in his ase beause o& his preoious knowled*e1

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 12/16

?uan.an* was &ully ordained as a monk in N$$ at the a*e o& twenty1 2he myriad ontraditionsand disrepanies in the te0ts at that time prompted ?uan.an* to deide to *o to /ndia andstudy in the radle o& Buddhism1 He subseKuently le&t his brother and returned to Chan*Aan tostudy &orei*n lan*ua*es and to ontinue his study o& Buddhism1 He be*an his masteryo& anskrit in N$N and probably also studied 2oharian1 urin* this time ?uan.an* alsobeame interested in the metaphysial o*aara shool o& Buddhism1

Qil*rims

/n N$ ?uan.an* reportedly had a dream that onvined him to <ourney to /ndia1 2he 2an* ynasty and Eastern 2rk GXktrks were wa*in* war at the time; there&oreEmperor 2ai.on* o& 2an* prohibited &orei*n travel1 ?uan.an* persuaded some Buddhist *uards at the *ateso& umen and slipped out o& the empire via -ian*.hou(Gansu) and =in*hai provine in N$17J9 He subseKuently travelled aross the Gobi esert to Fumul (Hami) thene &ollowin* the 2ian han westward arrivin* in 2urpanin ND51 Here he met the kin* o& 2urpan a Buddhist whoeKuipped him &urther &or his travels with letters o& introdution and valuables to serve as &unds1

6ovin* &urther westward ?uan.an* esaped robbers to reah anKi then toured the non"6ahayana monasteries o& Fuha1 ,urther west he passed ksu be&ore turnin* northwest toross the 2ian hanAs Bedel Qass into modern Fyr*y.stan1 He skirted/ssyk Ful be&orevisitin* 2okmak on its northwest and met the *reat Fhan o& the Western 2rk whoserelationship to the 2an* emperor was &riendly at the time1 &ter a &east ?uan.an* ontinued

 west then southwest to 2ashkent (Chah@Che"hih) apital o& modern .bekistan1 ,rom herehe rossed the desert &urther west to amarkand1 /n amarkand whih wasunder Qersian in&luene the party ame aross some abandoned Buddhist temples and?uan.an* impressed the loal kin* with his preahin*1 ettin* out a*ain to the south ?uan.an*rossed a spur o& the Qamirs and passed throu*h the &amous /ron Gates1 Continuin* southwardhe reahed themu arya and 2erme. where he enountered a ommunity o& more than athousand Buddhist monks1

,urther east he passed throu*h Fundu. where he stayed &or some time to witness the &uneral

rites o& Qrine 2ardu who had been poisoned1 Here he met the monk harmasimha and on theadvie o& the late 2ardu made the trip westward toBalkh (modern day &*hanistan) to see theBuddhist sites and relis espeially the 'ava 8ihara or 'awbahar whih he desribed as the

 westernmost monasti institution in the world1 Here ?uan.an* also &ound over D555 non"6ahayana monks inludin* Qra<nakara ("#$%   or &' )7#9 a monk with whom ?uan.an*studied early Buddhist sriptures1 He aKuired the important 6ahPvibhP aṣ  (()*+, ) te0there whih he later translated into Chinese1 Qra<nakara then aompanied the party southwardto Bamyan where ?uan.an* met the kin* and saw tens o& non"6ahayana monasteries inaddition to the two lar*e Bamyan Buddhas arved out o& the rok&ae1 2he party then resumedtheir travel eastward rossin* the hibar Qass and desendin* to the re*ional apitalo& Fapisi (about N5 km north o& modern Fabul) whih sported over 355 monasteries and N555monks mostly 6ahayana1 2his was part o& the &abled old land o& Gandhara1 ?uan.an* took part

in a reli*ious debate here and demonstrated his knowled*e o& many Buddhist shools1 Here healso met the &irst Sains and Hindus o& his <ourney1 He pushed on to dinapur7N9 (laternamed Salalabad) and -a*hman where he onsidered himsel& to have reahed /ndia1 2he year

 was ND51

/ndia

?uan.an* le&t dinapur whih had &ew Buddhist monks but many stupas and monasteries1 Histravels inluded passin* throu*h Hun.a and the Fhyber Qass to the east reahin* the &ormer

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 13/16

apital o& Gandhara Qurushapura (Qeshawar) on the other side1 Qeshawar was nothin*ompared to its &ormer *lory and Buddhism was delinin* in the re*ion1 ?uan.an* visited anumber o& stupas around Qeshawar notably theFanishka tupa1 2his stupa was built <ustsoutheast o& Qeshawar by a &ormer kin* o& the ity1 /n 35% it was redisovered by  1B1 pooner with the help o& ?uan.an*As aount1

?uan.an* le&t Qeshawar and travelled northeast to the wat 8alley (the loation o& I iyPna isḍḍ  disputed between wat valley and Idisha)1 >eahin* I iyPnaḍḍ he &ound 3J55 oldmonasteries that had previously supported 3%555 monks1 2he remnant monks were o&the 6ahayana shool1 ?uan.an* ontinued northward and into the Buner 8alley be&oredoublin* bak via haba. Gharni to ross the /ndus river at Hund1   2herea&ter he headedto 2a0ila ( O-.% ) a 6ahayanaBuddhist kin*dom that was a vassal o& Fashmir whih ispreisely where he headed ne0t1 Here he &ound #555 more Buddhist monks in 355monasteries1 He went to Fashmir in ND3 met a talented monk am*hayasas (/012) andstudied there1 Between ND$ and early NDD he studied with various monks inludin* 3J months

 with 8inRtaprabha ( OO O345 6*  or789) J months with Candravarman (:;%<= or>?)and a winter and hal& a sprin* with Saya*upta (@1A5)1 urin* this time ?uan.an* writesabout the ,ourth Buddhist ounil  that took plae nearby a1 355 under the order o&

Fin* Fanishka o& Fushana1 He visited Chiniot and -ahore as well and provided the earliest writin*s available on the anient ities1 /n NDJ ?uan.an* arrived in 6atipura (BCD% )nowadays known as 6andawar17#9

/n NDJ he went east to Salandhar in eastern Qun<ab be&ore limbin* up to visit predominantlynon"6ahayana monasteries in the Fulu valley and turnin* southward a*ain to Bairat andthen 6athura on the amuna river1 6athura had $555 monks o& both ma<or Buddhistbranhes despite bein* Hindu"dominated1 ?uan.an* travelled up the river toru*hna be&orerossin* eastward to 6atipura where he arrived in ND# havin* rossed the river Gan*es1 t6atipura 6onastery ?uan.an* studied under 6itrasena1749 ,rom here he headed southto ankasya (Fapitha) said to be where Buddha desended &rom heaven then onward to thenorthern /ndian emperor HarshaAs *rand apital o& Fanyakub<a(Fannau<)1 /t is believed he also

visited Govishan present day Fashipur in the Harsha era in NDN ?uan.an* enountered355 monasteries o& 35555 monks (both 6ahayana and non"6ahayana) and was impressed bythe kin*As patrona*e o& both sholarship and Buddhism1 ?uan.an* spent time in the itystudyin* early Buddhist sriptures be&ore settin* o&& eastward a*ain &or yodhya (aketa)homeland o& the o*aara shool1 ?uan.an* now moved south to Fausambi (Fosam) wherehe had a opy made &rom an important loal ima*e o& the Buddha1

?uan.an* now returned northward to ravasti travelled throu*h 2erai in the southern part o&modern 'epal (here he &ound deserted Buddhist monasteries) and thene to Fapilavastu hislast stop be&ore -umbini the birthplae o& Buddha1

/n ND4 ?uan.an* set out &rom -umbini to Fusina*ara   the site o& BuddhaAs death be&oreheadin* southwest to the deer park at arnath where Buddha *ave his &irst sermon and where

?uan.an* &ound 3#55 resident monks1 2ravellin* eastward at &irst via 8aranasi ?uan.an*reahed 8aisali Qataliputra (Qatna) and Bodh Gaya1 He was then aompanied by loal monksto 'alanda the *reat Buddhist university o& /ndian state o& Bihar where he spent at least thene0t two years1 He was in the ompany o& several thousand sholar"monks whom he praised1?uan.an* studied lo*i *rammar anskrit and the o*aara shool o& Buddhism durin* histime at 'alanda1 >enY Grousset notes that it was at 'alanda (where an a.ure pool windsaround the monasteries adorned with the &ull"blown ups o& the blue lotus; the da..lin* red&lowers o& the lovely kanaka han* here and there and outside *roves o& man*o trees o&&er theinhabitants their dense and protetive shade) that ?uan.an* met the venerable ilabhadra the

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 14/16

monasteryAs superior17%9 ilabhadra had dreamt o& ?uan.an*As arrival and that it would helpspread &ar and wide the Holy -aw1 79Grousset writes: 2he Chinese pil*rim had &inally &ound theomnisient master the inomparable metaphysiian who was to make known to him theultimate serets o& the idealist systems1112he &ounders o& 6ahayanaidealism san*a and 8asubandhu111i*na*a111harmapala had in turn trained ilabhadra1iladhadra was thus in a position to make available to the ino"Sapanese world the entire

herita*e o& Buddhist idealism and the Siddhi  Hiuan 2san*As *reat philosophial treatise111isnone other than the Summa o& this dotrine the &ruit o& seven enturies o& /ndian 7Buddhist9thou*ht17359

,rom 'alanda ?uan.an* travelled throu*h several ountries inludin* Qundrana*ara to theapital o& Qundravardhana identi&ied with modern 6ahasthan*arh   in Ban*ladesh1   2here?uan.an* &ound $5 monasteries with over D555 monks studyin* both the Hinayana and the6ahayana1 Ine o& them was the 8PZibh[ 6onastery (Qo hi Qo) where he &ound over 4556ahayana monks &rom all over East /ndia1733973$9 He also visited omapura 6ahavihara atQaharpur in the distrit o&'ao*aon Ban*ladesh1

&ter rossin* the Faratoya he went east to the anient ity o& Qra*<yotishpur

(modern Guwahati) in the kin*dom o&Famarupa (modern ssam) at the invitation o& its Buddhistkin* Fumar Bhaskaravarman1 -ater the kin* esorted ?uan.an* bak to the Fannau< at thereKuest o& kin* Harshavardhana who was an ally o& Fumar Bhaskaravarman to attend a *reatBuddhist ounil there whih was attended by both o& the kin*s1

?uan.an* turned southward and travelled to ndhradesa to visit the &amous 8iharasat maravati and 'a*ar<unakonda1 He stayed at maravati and studied AbhidhammapitakamA1He observed that there were many 8iharas at maravati and some o& them were deserted1 Helater proeeded to Fanhi the imperial apital o& Qallavas and a stron* entre o& Buddhism1

2ravelin* throu*h the Fhyber Qass o& the Hindu Fush   ?uan.an* passedthrou*h Fash*ar Fhotan and unhuan* on his way bak to China1 He arrived in the apitalChan*Aan on the seventh day o& the &irst month o& NJ# and a *reat proession elebrated his

return173D9

>eturn to China7edit9

In his return to China in NJ# ?uan.an* was *reeted with muh honor but he re&used allhi*h ivil appointments o&&ered by the still"rei*nin* emperor Emperor 2ai.on* o& 2an*1 /nsteadhe retired to a monastery and devoted his ener*y to translatin* Buddhist te0ts until his death in NNJ1 ordin* to his bio*raphy he returned with over si0 hundred 6ahayana andHinayana te0ts seven statues o& the Buddha and more than a hundred sarira relis173

Chinese Buddhism in&luene

urin* ?uan.an*As travels he studied with many &amous Buddhist masters espeially at the

&amous enter o& Buddhist learnin* at 'Planda niversity1 When he returned he brou*ht withhim some N#4 anskrit te0ts1 With the emperorAs support he set up a lar*e translation bureauin Chan*Aan (present"day ?iAan) drawin* students and ollaborators &rom all over East sia1 Heis redited with the translation o& some 3DD5 &asiles o& sriptures into Chinese1 His stron*estpersonal interest in Buddhism was in the &ield o& o*PPra (E0FG ) or .onsciousness0 only (HI )1

2he &ore o& his own study translation and ommentary o& the te0ts o& these traditions initiatedthe development o& the ,a0ian* shool (法JK) in East sia1 lthou*h the shool itsel& did not

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 15/16

thrive &or a lon* time its theories re*ardin* pereptiononsiousness karma rebirth et1 &oundtheir way into the dotrines o& other more suess&ul shools1 ?uan.an*As losest and mosteminent student was Fui<i (LM) who beame reo*ni.ed as the &irst patriarh o& the ,a0ian*shool1 ?uan.an*As lo*i as desribed by Fui<i was o&ten misunderstood by sholars o&Chinese Buddhism beause they lak the neessary bak*round in /ndian lo*i173#9 notherimportant disiple was the Forean monk Wonheuk1

?uan.an* was known &or his e0tensive but are&ul translations o& /ndian Buddhist te0ts toChinese whih have enabled subseKuent reoveries o& lost /ndian Buddhist te0ts &rom thetranslated Chinese opies1 He is redited with writin* or ompilin* the .heng Feishi Lun as aommentary on these te0ts1 His translation o& the Heart utra beame and remains the standardin all East sian Buddhist sets1 He also &ounded the short"lived but in&luential ,a0ian* shoolo& Buddhism1 dditionally he was known &or reordin* the events o& the rei*n o& the northern/ndian emperor Harsha1

Qer&etion o& wisdom sutra

?uan.an* returned to China with three opies o& the aha)rajna)aramita Sutra173N9?uan.an* with a team o& disiple translators ommened translatin* the voluminous work in NN5 CEusin* all three versions to ensure the inte*rity o& the soure doumentation1 73N9?uan.an* wasbein* enoura*ed by a number o& his disiple translators to render an abrid*ed version1 &ter asuite o& dreams Kuikened his deision ?uan.an* determined to render an unabrid*edomplete volume &aith&ul to the ori*inal o& N55 hapters17349

utobio*raphy and bio*raphy7edit9

/n NJN under the EmperorAs reKuest ?uan.an* ompleted his book 6reat Tang *ecords on the  Festern *egions ((NOPQ ) whih has beome one o& the primary soures &or the studyo& medieval Central sia and /ndia173%9 2his book was &irst translated into ,renh by theinolo*ist tanislas Sulien in 3%#41

2here was also a bio*raphy o& ?uan.an* written by the monk Huili (&R)1 Both books were &irsttranslated into En*lish byamuel Beal in 3%%J and 333 respetively17397$59 n En*lishtranslation with opious notes by 2homas Watters was edited by 21W1 >hys avids and 1W1 Bushell and published posthumously in -ondon in 35#1

-e*ay

?uan.an*As work the 6reat Tang *ecords on the Festern *egions is the lon*est and mostdetailed aount o& the ountries o& Central and outh sia that has been bestowed uponposterity by a Chinese Buddhist pil*rim1 While his main purpose was to obtain Buddhist booksand to reeive instrution on Buddhism while in /ndia he ended up doin* muh more1 He haspreserved the reords o& politial and soial aspets o& the lands he visited1

His reord o& the plaes visited by him in Ben*al \ mainly >aktamrittikanearFarnasuvarna Qundrana*ara and its environs amatata and 2amralipti \ have been veryhelp&ul in the reordin* o& the arhaeolo*ial history o& Ben*al1 His aount has also shed

 welome li*ht on the history o& 4th entury Ben*al espeially the Gauda kin*domunder hashanka althou*h at times he an be Kuite partisan1

?uan.an* obtained and translated N#4 anskrit Buddhist works1 He reeived the best eduationon Buddhism he ould &ind throu*hout /ndia1 6uh o& this ativity is detailed in the ompanionvolume to ?iyu Si the Bio*raphy o& ?uan.an* written by Huili entitled the -i&e o& ?uan.an*1

8/12/2019 Song Yun

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/song-yun 16/16

His version o& the Heart utra is the basis &or all Chinese ommentaries on the sutra andreitations throu*hout China Forea and Sapan17$39 His style was by Chinese standardsumbersome and overly literal and marked by sholarly innovations in terminolo*y; usually

 where another version by the earlier translator FumPra<Rva e0ists FumPra<RvaAs is more popular17$39

?uan.an*As <ourney alon* the so"alled ilk >oad and the le*ends that *rew up around itinspired the 6in* novel  Journey to the Fest  one o& the *reat lassis o& Chinese literature12he ?uan.an* o& the novel is the reinarnation o& the Golden Ciada a disiple o& Gautama Buddha and is proteted on his <ourney by three power&ul disiples1 Ine o& them themonkey

 was a popular &avourite and pro&oundly in&luened Chinese ulture andontemporary Sapanese man*a and anime (inludin* the popular $ragon Ball  and Saiyu!i  series) and beame well known in the West by rthur WaleyAs translation andlater the ult 28 series on!ey 1

/n the uan ynasty   there was also a play by Wu Chan*lin* (   S T吳 ) about ?uan.an*obtainin* sriptures1

>elis7edit9

skull reli purported to be that o& ?uan.an* was held in the 2emple o& Great Compassion 2ian<in until 3#N when it was taken to 'alanda " alle*edly by the alai -ama "and presented to /ndia1 2he reli is now in the Qatna museum1 2heWenshu 6onastery in Chen*du ihuan provine also laims to have part o& ?uan.an*As skull1

Qart o& ?uan.an*As remains were taken &rom 'an<in* by soldiers o& the /mperial Sapanese rmy in 3J$ and are now enshrined at akushi"<i in 'ara Sapan17$$9