From Buddhism: Fa-hsien

The information furnished by Fa-hsien in his travel account occupies a unique place as a source for the study of Buddhist history in the countries he visited during his arduous journey to India and back home to China. It also gives as valuable information on social, economic, cultural, administrative, geographical and climatic conditions of the countries which he visited. In all he had visited thirty countries, Fa-hsien approached the task of writing his travel accounts without making value judgments; his main purpose was to report what he saw and heard.

Fa-hsien was not the first traveler to visit India in search of Buddhist teachings. Buddhism was introduced into China, according to Chinese historical tradition, during the reign of Emperor Ming (A.C.58-75) of the later Han dynasty. Trade routes which connected East Asia with the west helped promote Buddhist missionary activities from very early times. The evangelizing zeal with which dedicated Indian monks propagated Buddhism in the east caused ripples in Chinese religious life. One reason was undoubtedly, the missionary activities of King Kanishka. The movements of pilgrims from the second century A.C. between India and China resulted in the introduction of the canonical works in China. In the earliest phase, most of the canonical works reached China through the Central Asian kingdoms and not directly from India. In fact, the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia took place during the reign of Emperor Asoka.

The Chinese monks who were intent on studying Buddhism thoroughly were not content with the number of works available at the time. This made them go to India in search of more books. The Chinese monks also felt the need for additional monastic rules for the reason that the disciplinary conduct among them was not satisfactory. Monastic discipline deteriorated as the Buddhist monks in China kept on increasing in number thereby posing fresh issues.

Fa-hsien whose secular name was Kung entered the Order at the age of three. He was a native of Wu-yang country in the prefecture of P’ing Yang. It is said that he was ailing badly whenever he was at home and kept good health whenever he was at the monastery. Thus he seldom went back home. After the death of his parents, when he reached maturity at the age of twenty, he received the Higher Ordination.

Fa-hsien was extremely mindful of the disciplinary conduct of Buddhist monks in China. Incompleteness of the Chinese translation of the Vinaya Pitaka, however, stood in the way of preparing a complete code of disciplinary rules and it was to fill this gap that he resolved to risk the journey full of adventure to India. The main purpose of his journey was to search for the complete collection of the Vinaya Pitaka.

Incredible though it may appear Fa-hsien was sixty-five years of age when he launched upon his project. He was seventy-nine years at the completion of his mission. He set out from Ch’ang-an in Central China in A.C.399 during the reign of Emperor An of the Tsin dynasty accompanied by four colleagues Hui-ching, Tao-cheng, Hui-ying and Hui-Wei. As will appear in the sequel, another group of five pilgrims joined the first group later.

Fa-hsien carried through for the faith’s sake, a supremely dangerous expedition, in the glow of which the journeys of St. Paul melt into insignificance. He practically walked from Central China across the Gobi desert, Khotan, Pamir plateau and over Hindu Kash to India and also to Sri Lanka. On his voyage back he met with even worse experiences and reached his destination after many hair breath escapes.

Having set out Chang-an in Central China Fa-hsien and his party traversed a long route before they reached the garrison town of Changyeh. Due to political unrest in Changyeh the roads were impassable. The pilgrims could not have gone ahead but for the kind intervention of the king of that city. Here they met the second group of pilgrims comprising Chih-yen, Hui-chien, Seng Shao, Pao-yun and Seng-Ching who, it is said, shared with the first group one common purpose. The party of ten pilgrims went together up to Tun-huang at the end of the Great Wall and Fa-hsien with four others went ahead leaving the rest behind.

Fa-hsien describe the difficulties encountered in the journey, particularly, in crossing the desert of Gobi thus; “In this desert there are a great many evil spirits and also hot winds, those who encounter them perish to a man. There are neither birds above nor beasts below. Gazing on all sides, as far as the eye can reach in order to mark the track, no guidance is to be obtained save from the rotting bones of dead men which point the way.” After traveling seventeen days covering a distance of one thousand and five hundred li they reached Shan Shan (Shen-shen) to the south of Lop Nor and then Kara Shahr (Agni). Monks in both places belonged to the Lesser Vehicle and there were four thousand of them in each. Both laity and the clergy practiced religion in somewhat modified form. In Kara Shahr monks followed religious observations so strictly that the monks from China were either nor disposed to accept such rites or were not permitted to take part in these rites. Fa-hsien was entertained there for over two months by a Chinese monk until he was rejoined by Pan-yun and the others. Pilgrims got the impression that the people of Kara Shahr were lacking in courtesy and were mean to their treatment of strangers. Here some members of the party went back towards Turfan in search of funds. Fa-hsien and the rest being provided with the necessary means were able to proceed on their journey towards the southwest.

Again after a month’s tedious journey they reached Khotan, a rich and prosperous country in Central Asia. All the inhabitants there were Buddhists and most of the monks belonged to the Greater Vehicle. The monks who were several tens of thousands in numbers were friendly and provided lodgings and other facilities for the guest monks. Fa-hsien was highly impressed by the demeanor of the monks who assembled to partake of their meals. They are described in the following manner: “When they enter the refectory their demeanor is grave and ceremonious; they sit down in regular order; they all keep silence; they make no clatter with their bowls.”

Hui-ching, Tao-chen and Hui-ta went ahead to Kashgar (Khalcha) as Fa-hsien and others remained behind for three months to see a procession called the image procession. Fourteen large monasteries each in its turn celebrated the procession for fourteen days, one after the other, the opening ceremony being celebrated by the Gomati vihara. The most striking feature of the image procession was a four wheeled car in the shape of a movable palace as found in the procession of Hindu temples in India even upto present times. The procession began on the first of the fourth month and ended on the fourteenth.

After the processions were over Seng-shao set out with a Tartar Buddhist towards Kashmir. Fa-hsien accompanied by some of his colleagues went on to Karghalik (Chakula) where there were more than one thousand monks mostly belonging to the Greater Vehicle. They spent the summer retreat at a place called Tash Karghan and then reached Kashgar (Khaicha) in the middle of the Pamirs, where they met Hui-ching and others who had set out in advance. There were more than one thousand monks belonging to Hinayana in Kashgar. The king of that country held an assembly called the Great Five year Assembly (Pancavarsha) to which monks were invited from all quarters.

In the seventh century, Ywang Chwang saw such assemblies being held in North India under the patronage of King Harshawardhana. An important item of the ceremony was the offering of cloth and of all kinds of jewels and such things as needed by monks; some of these offerings were later redeemed from them. Giving annual tithes to monks was another custom which prevailed in Kashgar. In much the same way offerings were made to monks in the Middle Kingdom as well as in Sri Lanka. Fa-hsien refers to various relics of the Buddha in and outside India. One of these was the Buddha’s stone spittoon which the Kashgar Buddhists had come to posses. This country also has stupa built enshrining one of Buddha’s teeth.

As a pilgrim dedicated to the promotion of Buddhism one could expect Fa-hsien to record only religious conditions in the countries he visited. It is interesting to note that his attention was drawn also to secular aspects of diverse nature. With regard to the vegetation in Kashgar he says that except for bamboo, pomegranate and sugar cane, the other plants differ from those of China. No grain other than wheat would ripen there. People living east of the hills in Kashgar dressed like those in China except that they were felt and serge.

Dangers that could befall the people traversing the Pamir range from Kashgar towards India are described by Fa-hsien thus; “There are also venomous dragons which, when incensed, breaths out pestilential wind, rain and snow or cause most fearful sand storms. Not one man in two thousand can escape from these with his life.” This description appears to be the personifications of nature’s cruelties.

Amidst dangers, the pilgrims managed to reach Darada on the borders of India. Monks there studied Hinayana Buddhism. Fa-hsien saw an image of the Maitreya Bodhisattva eight feet high and eighty feet broad at the base. According to Fa-hsien Buddhism spread east after the setting up of that image which took place 300 or 350 years after the parinirvana of the Buddha. From that point again the journey was a difficult one. The party journeyed on for fifteen days over a precipitous and dangerous road. “The side of the mountain being like a stone wall ten thousand feet in height. On nearing the edge, the eye becomes confused and wishing to advance the foot finds no resting place.” The next barrier was the river Indus which they crossed with a suspension bridge of ropes.

The country which they reached after crossing the Indus was Udyana which, according to Fa-hsien, was the northernmost point of India. All the inhabitants there spoke the language of Central India which they called the Middle Kingdom. The laymen’s clothes and food were like those in the Middle Kingdom. There were about five hundred monasteries of the Hinayans school. A guest monk is entertained there only for three days and thereafter he had to find a place for himself. While Hui-ching, Tao-chen and Hui-ta went on ahead to the country of Nagarahara, Fa-hsien and others remained behind for the summer retreat.

Setting out from Udyana the pilgrims reached Suvastu and then Gandhara and Taksasila. Hinayana Buddhism flourished in those countries. All these countries were associated with the former existence of the Gotama Buddha and stupas had been built in honor of his revered qualities.

Upon his arrival in Purushapura (Peshawar) Fa-hsien was highly impressed by the stupa built there by King Kanishka. None of the stupas and temples that he had seen on his way could compare with this stupa in magnificence and stateliness. Fa-hsien relates an episode according to which the King of Sakas (Ephtalites) invaded Purushapura in order to carry off the Buddha’s almbowl which was found there, but he did not succeed. Having stayed in Purushapura as long as they wished Hui-ching, Jui-ta and Tao-cheng went ahead to Nagarahara. Then, Hui-ta joined Pao-yun and Seng-Ching to return home. Hui-ying died in Buddha’s Bowl monastery. Fa-hsien proceed alone to the temple of Buddha’s Skull.

The city of Hilo was unique in as much as it possessed the Buddha’s Skull, a relic not mentioned in any other source. The skull is pale yellow, about four inches across and has lofty cranium. The King of the city had appointed eight men of noble families, each with a seal, to seal the temple in order to safeguard the relic. The king, the lay disciples and also the elders attended to their duties or household affairs after making their offerings to the Skull.

The city of Nagarahara (Jelalabad) and its adjoining areas within one yojana of the city claim to have possessed certain relics, some of which are not much known. They were the pewter topped staff of the Buddha, his robe, hair and nails. Devotees believed that when the robe was taken out and offerings made to it heavy rain fell in times of drought. The Tooth relic in Sri Lanka also is believed by the faithful to possess such powers.

Half a yojana south of the city of Nagarahara is a cave in which the Buddha is said to have left his shadow which looked exactly like the Buddha at a distance of ten paces or so. It is also believed that a stupa near the cave had been built by the Buddha and his disciples as model for future stupa. The historicity of these, however, remains to be established.

Setting forth from Nagarahara Fa-hsien and his two companions went southward across the Little Snowy Mountains (Safed Kob) in bitter cold. Being unable to beat the cold Hui-ching breathed his last. Fa-hsien caressed him lamenting bitterly and cried saying, “You have failed in your purpose, Yet such is fate.” Fa-hsien and Tao-cheng, the only companion of the former group, from that point onward, went ahead visiting the countries, Lakki (Afghanistan), Harana (Falana or Banni), and Uchcha (Bhida in Punjab). Except in Harana where there were three thousand Hinayana monks, the other two countries had monks of both vehicles. The local people were so amazed to see monks from distant China who had come so far in search of Buddhism.

The next important centre visited by Fa-hsien was Mathura. On the way to Mathura he saw a large number of monasteries with some ten thousand monks. In Mathura itself there were about three thousand monks with twenty monasteries situated on either side of the river Jumna.

Fa-hsien’s account on the Middle Kingdom, which according to him lay south of Mathura, shows that of the countries he had visited that country was the most agreeable with regard to climate, living conditions of the inhabitants, their religious upbringing, administration etc,. The climate was temperate without frost or snow. The inhabitants were rich and contented. Kings governed the country without recourse to capital punishment. The people of this country kill no living creatures, drink no wine nor eat onion or garlic. Mention is also made of the use of ‘cowries’ as medium of exchange.

As for the Buddhist monks Fa-hsien say that from the very days of the Buddha kings and other devotees provided monks with beds and beddings, gardens, fields as well as husbandmen and cattle. Lands were donated by title deeds which none dare to annul.

Guest monks were treated in keeping with the Vinaya rules. When a guest monk came to a monastery resident monks used to welcome him; carry his robes and alms-bowl for him. They also used to bring water to wash his feet and oil to anoint them. Facilities for lodgings were provided in accordance with his seniority.

Stupas built in honor of the two chief disciples, Sariputra (Sariputta) and Maudgaliputra (Moggallana) and also of Ananda are mentioned together with other stupas built in honor of the three-fold division of the Canon, the Abhidhamma, the Vinaya and the Sutras. Another interesting reference is made to the staging of religious drama. One play had as its theme Sariputra’s going to the Buddha to ask for ordination. Similar plays were staged to characterize Maudgaliputra and Kasyapa. By Kasyapa is probably meant Maha Kasyapa.

Even more interesting was a ritual practice performed by nuns and novices. They made offerings respectfully at the stupas built in honor of the elders Ananda and Rahula. Similarly the teachers of each of the three divisions of the Canon made offerings at the stupas built in honor of the Abhidhamma, the Vinaya, and the Sutras each to the stupa pertaining to his speciality. The followers of the Mahayana school made their offerings to the Saints, Prajna Paramita, Manjusri and Avalokitesvara.

As shown above the custom of monks receiving annual tithes prevailed in other countries such as Kashgar. According to Fa-hsien the custom prevailed also in the Middle Kingdom. It is interesting to note that even Brahmins offered robes and other requisites to monks. A special feature of the occasion was that monks made offering to one another.

Fa-hsien locates Samkaya to the south east of the Middle Kingdom the place where the Buddha is said to have descended from the Trayastrimsat (Tavatimsa) heaven after preaching the Law to his mother for three months. This place appears to have been clearly associated with the Buddha, for according to Fa-hsien, several monuments had been built in his honor there. Here about one thousand monks and nuns studied both Hinayana and Mahayana.

Fa-hsien mentions the city of Kanyakubja (Kano), the village Hari (Arijakavana) and the country of Vaisakha (Visakha or Ajudhya) as important centers of Buddhism. Reference to Buddha’s willow chewing stick and its growth to a height of seven feet in the country of Vaisakha has a special significance. What is important here is the Buddha had used a willow chewing stick to clean his teeth just like other ordinary monks.

When Fa-hsien visited the city of Sravasti in the country of Kosala the city had been sparsely populated but its glory was still there. Among the religious monuments such as the Jetavana monastery found at Sravasti two stupas had been built to commemorate Angulimala, (q.v.) one stupa being built at the site of his conversion by the Buddha and the other at the site of his cremation. Among other stupas one was at the site of the murder of courtesan Sundari and another on the spot where the Buddha debated with the teachers of ninety-six heretical sects. Carving of the first Buddha image is attributed to King Prasenajit (Pasenadi). The king in his eagerness to see the likeness of the Buddha when he was away in Trayastrimsat heaven for ninety days carved an image of the Buddha. The authenticity of this is questioned by modern critics. On arriving at the Jetavana Retreat where the Buddha spent twenty-five rainy seasons, the greatest number of rains residence he lived in one single monastery, Fa-shien and his companion were immersed in deep thought. As they gazed at the place in which the Buddha once lived, but where he was no longer to be seen, they were deeply moved.

According to Fa-hsien Devadatta’s followers made offerings to three former Buddhas except the Sakyamuni Buddha. This indicated the continuance of Devadatta’s religious movement even up to the fifth century A.C. That the worship of former Buddhas had been a popular cult in many other places in India is also revealed by Fa-hsien.

At the time of Fa-hsien’s visit Kapilavastu looked completely deserted except for a few monks and a few dozen families of the laity. Among the ruins of the palace of King Suddhodana was an image of the prince’s mother showing the prince riding a white elephant coming to enter his mother’s womb. Several stupas had been erected to mark important events of the Buddha’s life before and after his enlightenment. Fa-hsien also names the four places which are always pre-determined for Buddhas; where the Buddhas shall attain Buddhahood, where they shall begin to preach, where they expound the Law and refute heretics and where they shall descend from the Trayastrimsat heaven.

A monastery situated in Ramagrama five yojanas east of Buddha’s birth place is reminiscent of the forest called Parileyyavana where the Buddha is said to have been attended on by an elephant and a monkey. It is said that a herd of elephants used to water the ground and offer flowers at the monastery there. A monk who visited the place stepped down to the rank of a samanera and performed all the duties connected with the monastery. The position of abbot at that monastery, as a matter of fact, was held by a samanera thereafter.

Fa-hsien locates the spot on which the Buddha entered Parinirvana to the north of the city of Kusinagara (Kusinara). Stupas had been erected at the sites where Subhadda, the last disciple of the Buddha entered the Order and where the Buddha’s coffin received homage for seven days. Even this city had been almost deserted with only a few monks and laymen as its inhabitants.

Fa-hsien refers to a number of important sites in Vaisali. Such for instants are the venue of the Second Council and the site of the Capala cetiya (pagoda of Discarded Arms) at which the Buddha made the pronouncement that he would enter parinirvana three months later. With regard to the cause that led to the Second Council, he agrees with the ten points advanced by the Southern school.

A story not found in Pali literature concerns elder Ananda’s passing away. King Ajatasatru followed Ananda up to the confluence of five rivers, five yojanas east of Vaisali. Licchavis were on the other side of the river expecting his arrival on that side. If Ananda chose to enter parinirvana on this bank or the other bank it would have led to a clash between the two parties. In order to avoid an impeding clash between them Ananda entered parinirvana by bursting himself in the middle of the river by entering the element of fire (tejodhatu). The two kings on either bank apportioned the relics in two halves and built stupas over them.

Fa-hsien saw the rules of the royal palace of Emperor Asoka in the city of Pataliputra. A Brahmin called Radhasvami who belonged to the Mahayana school and who had mastered al the knowledge of his day did much to propagate Buddhism and it was due to his effects that heretics were kept in abeyance. There were about six or seven hundred monks of both vehicles whose behavior was most decorous and orderly.

Pataliputra was, according to Fa-shien, the largest city in the whole of Middle Kingdom. The people there were rich and prosperous. Every year they held an image procession on the eighth day of the second month. A four wheeled car (chariot) decorated like pagoda was taken in the procession. On each of the four sides of the car was a seated Buddha image attended by standing Boddhisattvas. About twenty such cars were paraded, each decked out in a different way. Mention is made also of charitable hospitals and a temple of Buddha’s Foot Print in Pataliputra.

The redemption of gifts made to the sangha prevailed in Nagarahara and also in Sri Lanka. Probably Asoka set the precedent for the practice. Fa-hsien tell us that King Asoka offered Jambudvipa to monks from all parts of the world and then redeemed it again with silver on three occasions.

In a valley surrounded by five hills was Girivraja the old city of King Bimbisara. Important sites are mentioned in the following fashion: “This is where Sariputra and Maudgaliputra first met Asvajit (Assaji), where Nirgrantha made a fiery pit and prepared poisoned rice for Buddha, and where King Ajatasatru gave wine to a black elephant in order to injure Buddha.” Even this city had been without inhabitants when Fa-hsien was there.

There were several hundreds of caves including that of the Buddha in the Girdhrakuta mountain. Fa-hsien claims to have seen the stone which Devadatta rolled down the precipice causing injury to Buddha’s toe. Among the ruins of the old city were the cave of Sataparna (Sattapanniguha) where five hundred monks recited the scriptures after the Buddha’s parinirvana, the cave of Devadatta and the black-cock on which a monk was about to commit suicide.

The city of Gaya had been virtually deserted during the fifth century. Prince Siddhartha lived as an ascetic in the vicinity of Gaya. Of the seven weeks during which the Buddha enjoyed the bliss of emancipation after his enlightenment referred to in the post canonical literature, five are mentioned by Fa-hsien. They are (1) His fixed gaze at the Bodhi tree, (2) His walking from east to west under the Bodhi tree, (3) The devas making offerings to the Buddha on a terrace adorned with seven precious things, (4) The blind dragon Mudalinda’s coiling around the Buddha and (5) Buddha’s sitting on a square rock facing east under a nyagrodha tree when Sahapati (Sahampati) Brahma came to invite him. At the time of Buddha’s Enlightenment there were three monasteries maintained by devotees. Monks living there adhered to monastic rules with meticulous care.

Asoka’s conversion to the Buddhist Faith is attributed by Fa-hsien to the exposition of the Law by an arahant who was about to be punished by the keeper of Asoka’ hell. A legend had it that Asoka caused a hell to be built for punishing criminals. This may be a veiled allusion to Asoka’s being cruel at the beginning of his reign and his change of policy later on in his reign.

King Asoka used to go to the Bodhi tree under which he repented his sins and observed the eight precepts. Asoka’s observing a strict religious life referred to in his Minor Rock Edict 1 may point to the issue. However, his queen Asandhimotta being jealous that the king visited the Bodhi tree often employed a man to fell the tree. It is said that the king found a device to restore the tree and again it grow to a height of hundred feet.

Traveling westward along the Ganges Fa-hsien and his only companion reached Varanasi in the country of Kasi. Tracing the history of the Deer Park retreat Fa-hsien also narrates how Kaundanya (Kondanna) and his four companions criticized the Buddha as he was approaching them and how they could not abide by their agreement not to receive him in the usual manner as he was approaching nearer and nearer. He also locates the spot on which the Buddha delivered his first sermon.

Fa-hsien, with his companion, came back to Pataliputra once again and with that they had completed their tour in North India. However, Fa-hsien’s main purpose of obtaining a complete code of Vinaya rules could not be achieved from any place in North India as there were no written books. Therefore, he had to go to Central India where in a Mahayana monastry he was able to obtain a copy of the collection of Vinaya rules. Both Li-yung, as well as Giles have translated Fa-hsien’s Chinese original into English to convey the meaning shown above. Nevertheless, the use of the regional name Central India in the above passage gives rise to confusion. Fa-hsien tells us elsewhere that people of Udyana, the northern most country in India, called Central India the “Middle Kingdom”. Thus, it appears that what was known to the people of Udyana as the Middle Kingdom was known to Fa-hsien as Central India.

Fa-hsien’s contention that he had to go to Central India for obtaining a complete code of Vinaya rules appears misleading for he has given us the impression that he had already been to that region. The country he reached after Mathura was the Middle Kingdom. Again the account, just following that dealing with the books obtained, say Tao-ching was reluctant to go back to China as he was so impressed by the disciplinary conduct of the monks in the Middle Kingdom or Central India where they were living at the time of copying the texts. It is appears that the names, Central India and Middle Kingdom used here differ from those referred to earlier by Fa-hsien himself.

Something has gone wrong somewhere, perhaps in the English translations or even in the Chinese original. Fa-hsien had been extremely careful to mention the time, distance, direction etc,. when he went from one place to another. In this context he merely says that he went to a monastery in Central India to obtain a copy of the complete Vinaya collection. Absence of the usual statistical data in this particular instance leaves us in doubt as to whether he actually went to any place in what he earlier called Central India or the Middle Kingdom after his return to Pataliputra.

According to Fa-hsien the copy of the Mahasanghika Vinaya which he obtained had been handed down in the Jetavana retreat. Does it, then, follow that Fa-hsien obtained the relevant text from the Jetavana retreat in Savatthi which he had visited on his way towards east? But he does not claim that he obtained a copy from the Jetavana retreat either. It is possible that although the relevant text had been handed down in the Jetavana retreat its copies were also available in later times in distant parts of India.

Fa-hsien’s journey to Champa could offer some clue to the question under review. He went to two important countries in Eastern India before he completed his tour in India. He went first to Champa and then to Tamluk. Champa was eighteen yojanas to the east of the place from which he had set out after copying the Vinaya texts. The distance and the direction tallies with Pataliputra from where he had not gone to any place prior to his going to Champa. It may, therefore he surmised that he actually obtained copies of the Vinaya and other texts from some monastery in Pataliputra itself.

Whichever be the place or the monastery from which the books were obtained there were six scriptures in all, (1) Rules of the Mahasanghika, (2) Sarvastivada vinaya in about 7000 verses, (3) Samyuktabhidharma-hrdaya sastra or Abhidharma is about 6000 verses, (4) Nirvana sutra or Yen sutra in 2500 verses, (5) Vaipulya-parinirvana sutra in about 5000 verses and (6) the Commentaries of the Mahasanghika school. Fa-hsien spent three years in studying written and spoken Sanskrit and in copying those books. As mentioned above Tao-cheng remained behind in the Mahayana monastery being reluctant to go back to China. Fa-hsien went ahead with determination until his main objective was achieved.

From Champa, Fa-hsien, went to Tamluk, a renowned center of Buddhism. He stayed two years in Tamluk copying sutras and drawing images of the Buddha and then set sail for Simhala (Sri Lanka)

Fa-hsien describes the size, the climate and the products of the country including pearls and gems. The king’s share in pearls and precious stones was three-tenths. He says that this island became a large kingdom owing to the attraction of merchants from other countries who came in large numbers.

At the time of his visit the Abhayagiri monastery was in its hey-day. There were five thousand monks there. Fa-hsien tells us that the splendor and magnificence of an image of jade, some twenty feet high, defied description. Having seen a white silk fan offered to the image by a Chinese merchant his eyes were filled with tears. Possibly, this reference is to the Samadhi Statue which is within the precincts of the Abhayagiri monastery. Fa-hsien also refers to the Tooth relic temple and the exhibition of the Tooth relic in the middle of the third month at the Abhayagiri monastery. As interesting allusion is made to store-houses of monks which were filled with precious stones and jewels. The description of a monastery on a hill forty li to the east with two thousand resident monks is evidently about the Mihintale. In the Mahavihara monastery there lived three thousand monks. Fa-hsien had seen a funeral ceremony of an arahant who belonged to the Mahavihara. Fa-hsien stayed two years in Sri Lanka and obtained a copy of the Rules of the Mahavihara. He also procured a copy each of the Dirghagama the Samyuktagama and the Sannipata all of which were in Sanskrit and were new to China.

On his voyage back across the unfathomable ocean full of dangers his chances of reaching the home country appear remote. On the way he stayed five months in a country called Yavadvipa (Java) where there were very few Buddhists. The next stage became even worse. In the midst of heavy rains whilst the provisions were exhausted, the pilot charted a wrong course. But, despite everything, Fa-hsien may have heaved a sigh of relief when he knew that he had set foot on the Southern shore of Laoshan in Changkuang prefecture in China and reached his journey’s end.

Conclusion; Fa-hsien’s travel accounts deal with nearly thirty countries. These accounts provide us with valuable information on religious as well as other aspects covering a wide variety of subjects.

We are greatly indebted to Fa-hsien for the knowledge of certain beliefs, customs, cults, ceremonies etc., prevailing in the countries he visited. He provides us with information on the Elder Ananda’s parinirvana through Fire meditation (tejokasina) in the middle of a river, the custom of building stupas in honor of the three chief divisions of the Canon, paying homage to stupas built in honor of Ananda and Rahula respectively by nuns and novices as their favorite objects of homage as is customary in the Middle Kingdom, the participation of Brahmins in Buddhist religious affairs in and outside the Middle Kingdom, certain articles used by the Buddha such as the stone spittoon (at Kashgar) and the pewter-topped staff (at Nagarahara) and the relative strength of the bhikkhu population of the Abhayagiri and the Mahavihara in Sri Lanka. Much of this information is rare, and some are not found in other sources.

Specific reference made to the two vehicles and their numerical strength in the countries visited by him shows that in his days the Lesser Vehicle had spread more widely than the Greater Vehicle.

Fa-hsien also draws our attention to the decline in glory of some renowned centers of Buddhism during the fifth century. He says that at the time of his visit Kapilavastu, Rajagrha, Sravasti and Gaya were virtually deserted and abandoned. To what extent, the heretical movement, alluded to by Fa-hsien, was responsible for bringing about this decline needs further investigation.

The perseverance, undaunted courage and determination of Fa-hsien were not shared by most members of his party. Three members of the party, Hui-ta, Pao-Yen and Seng-Cheng were back to China without fulfilling their objectives. Some members parted with the main group to visit places of their own choice.

Unfortunately for Fa-hsien, two members Hui-Ying and Hui Ching died on the way. Tao-cheng accompanied Fa-hsien upto Pataliputra and decided never to return home. The party which originally included ten members was reduced to one. It was only Fa-hsien who carried out the mission undaunted until the achievement of his objective