(Buddhist Traditions) Latika Lahiri-Chinese Monks in India_ Biography of Eminent Monks Who Went to the Western World in Search of the Law During the Great T'Ang Dynasty-Motilal Banarsidass (1995).pdf

ground for intellectual and spiritual interest and intercourse between India and China. The presen! work is a lrans}alion of a sevenlh-century text Hao-Seng-Chusrt (Biographies of Eminen! Monks) t y the renowned Chinese monk-scholar 卜 ching (a.o. 614-713). It consists of biographies of fifty-six monks. Among the Chinese pilgrim-monk-scholars who visitdd India, Fa-hsien, Hsuan-chuang and l-ching are the best known for having played the greatest rofe in the history of $ino-lr>dian cultural relation. However, the fifty-six monks whose adventurous travels and experiences are recorded in this book are no less important as active promot­ ers of the most cordial relations between the two great countries Most of these f^y-six monks came out to India from China on Pilgrimage and for colleciion of texts to enrich Buddhist literature in their own home­ land. In this book l*chif>g has also given a vivid, though not full-length, descrip­ tion of the premief University of Nalanda, the seal o f Suddhrst learning. The academic life and activities of Nalanda attracted the Chinese monks in a large number for higher studies. Written with insight, realism and c la iiy, l-ching's book is thought-provok­ ing. All these features are carefully preserved in this translation which will no doubt evoke interest among scholars as well as general readers

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BUDDHIST TRADITION SCRIES EdU ed b y a j .e x w a y m a n

E d ito rial A dv iso ry B o ard J.W . D F J O N G KATSUMl MIMAKI CHR. U N DTfs’ER MICHAEL JIA H N LOKESH CfiA N D RA ERNST STEINKELLNER

VOLUME 3

CHINESE MONKS IN INDIA Biography o f Eminent Monks who went to the Western Wodd in Search o f the Law daring the Great Tang Dynasty

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I-CHING

TRANSLATED BV

LATIKA LAHIRI

M O TILA L B A N A RSrD A SS PUBLISHERS PR IV A T E L IM IT ED • DELHI

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AUqavaiiabit no commission had been deputed to find out whether they were Uvi呢 or ihcy were dead. Sramana Hsuar>*chao Fa-shih一the monk Hsuan-chao was a native of Hsicn-chstng2 in T*ai*chou. Hi$ Sanskrit name was 破 史 食 t 成 Fan-chia-shc-^no^ti, Frakasamati. He was known asjftanaprabha in Chinsc. His grandfather and father— both were successively holding h妙 posts in the Imperial Services. But at an early age he cut his hair done up In a knob, threw away (he hairpiris and accqpted the tonsure. As he gr^w, he desired to pay homage to the sacred places. For this purpose, he went to the capital city to attend discussions and deliberatioiu on Buddhist $utra$ and S^stras. In the middle of the 迨 敗 ，Chcn-ICuan period, in the monastery of 1. In A.D, 685 the Dowgcr Empress Wu of (he T a 叫 Dyiusty dethtoned the rightful sovereign and usurped the cbrone for herself twenty years. To commcmor»ec this event, *h« ttartrd ehi» era and founded the Drastic title of Chou instead of ihe T*ang from this dAtt. 2. la T*ai-chou Fu» modem Ghe^citng, or Che-chiangt Lau 20*52*, Long. 120° 46*. 3. T«i-T*unf the second Emperor of the T*ang Dynasty tt&ttcd tbit «r» in A.D. 627.

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Ta-h$ing-sb«nl 欠 廣 4 of Hskn-chang, he fim started learning Sanskrit literature with the monk teacher Hsuan. chaog. Thereafter, he with a mendicant stick proceeded t〜 wards the Wctt as a PmvrS^Mkmebemhing the memory of 辦 曲 Oiih-yQan> Jcuvana.’ Leaving behind CSiin-chou (Lan-chou) (or the Capital city) he crossed the drlftii^ sands and passing through che Iron gate， ascended the snow-clad mouniaim. In the frajprant water of the nearby bke be had his wash, bearing in his miad to complete tht vow of (acquiriz^) profund know* ledge. He climbed (he dangerous ^ 年. Pam ir, a n d k e p t u p bis vigour a n d s p ir it. H e took a vow o f achieving

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1. *Ttie Great goodnen-pTOTrotiag9 4Bhodndo9a' was one o f the ten (ami>us T*ang mansaxctm of the capital Cb*an^an. According to report dated A.D. 775, the capital had three hundred Buddhm hftlb rb wdl ss thirty-three smsJl monasteries and an un甲 cciflcd number of larger ones. Vide The Chinese Tripitakc, Tftbho Ed. (Hence foith C .T.T.) Vol. 51, No. 2093, p. 1022. 2. The ioundex of the Jetav»Aa-Vihira> in the vicinity o f S f iw f i, vnu a famous and wealthy xaerchant Aa&thtpi^dika (supporter of d«ttiuite and orphans) of SrAvuti. He purehMed. the pleasure-garden o f A e prince J r ta by paying a fantastic price for the residence of th« Buddha. AnAtliapui^ika troniformcd the park into a SaAfh&rAms whkh developed into a large establlihment and became • &vourite retort of the Buddha and hii. followers. The Jegend Bay» thftt the Buddha had ipertt nineteen cVa$sa* period In thiljcta.vana and delivered most of hii important sermons here. The cftriy Chinese travd* I^Jcc Fa-haierx and HsU»n-Chuans visited this piacc. ^a-hsicn lccorded tnat "The JetavAna-Vih&ta was originally seven storeyed. The kings and the pfoplc of the countries vied with one another in their offerings hanging up about U silken streamers atnd canopies, scattering flowers, biuming incense and lighting liunpB, so &s to make the night as bright as the day." Jamea Legge; A Itteord tht Buddhist Xingdom (Translation) pp. 56, 57. In A.D. 636 when HsUan-Chuang visited this place, he found that mott of the buildiap had fallen into decay. 3. Pamir o t Onion range (Kizil rabat). It was known as the Xmftos to ancient Greek geographers. Pamir Joins both the mountains, the T*ien*5h4n (Celeitial Mountain) in the north and the snow clad mountain in the south. It is popularly kaowrt as (be 'Roof of the Worfd\ 4. TW/fffej. The three kinds of *bhmta%or exifttence. The $tttc of mental existence in the realm of Kime or dcsite, K&maloka, the field of Hve leiues of form or r ^ a - ^ a n c s d* meditation, rSpnfoka and beyond form ，or印a—the Cum丨 ca world correapoading to the ixigher level of Dkjfdm.

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Su-Ii1 to reach 炸 贫 亨 Tu-ho4tto*， Tokhara. Then he passed through th t countries of the barbarians and re a c h e d ^ • TTu-fim.5 He was very much favoured by the princess WcnCh’ang of Tibet who gave him financial help Ibr his journey to North India. He gradually reached 間 f^T u -lan -fa, Jalandhara.4 It was an extremely difficult and perilously long journey. Before be could enter the d ty , he fell in the hands of robbers* There was no place where (he merchaals and travellers could go and report ihc crime or could get help. Despairing of human 1. According to Hsuan-Chuwng*i Travd Su*ti ^ogdiana) was the place between Itw city of Su-afac water and the country of KCasmia inhabited by people- Su-Ii was not only the name of the place che.name of the iC€ but b a t aalso b a (he pcopte, their language and literature. T h t Chinese character 箄 利 Su-li used by Hsu^n-Chuan^ diffm from 表 利 votd by 1-cWug. He bas mentioned the Su-li people ai a genera! term for the northern cxtra-IadU people. TaKcakusu thinks Su-li wm ia the W«$t of K»hgarh peopled by Mongob or Turks. See Dr. P. G. Bagchi: M U and O t/ra/ A m , pp. 43, 44. 2. Tokharcstan, the Und ofTukhara people was • great ccacrc of Indian culture and religion in Central Asia. To the ancient Greek it was known by the name ofTochari. Ia che Chinese Annals of the Han Dynasty，it is recorded as Ta.*hsia. In the secoad century B.C. China Arse eUablisbcd contact with Ta-iuia. In the AeiW o f tht J^orthem-Wei Dynas^ it i» transcribed «4 T*u-hu-Iuo «1 典. and ia the 丁*ang Annals it T*a-huo-luo c土 *JL, ‘ 气 , in the Stanyuksdgma, Tou* »ha-lao 兒 Vjf in the SaiHkarma Smriyupasthdna Sutra Tu-Chu .都 钱 During the Mshomcdan period TokharcMhan war limited to the territory between Badnltihan and Balk. But in the earlier period the geographictl boundary of the country w u more cxtcr^sive than in th t Mahomcdan (>eriod. According to HsUan-Ghuing, Tu-huo-luo was extended up (o the Oaioc range (Ts'unf-ling) in the w t , to Feriia in the west, in th« south i( touched the snow-capped Hinduktuh and to Iron. Pass (Dcrbcnt near Badakahan) in the north. According to Thomas Watters Tu-huo-luo of Huian*Chuang was definite y Tukhw* of an cl cat geographers. See VVaUcw等(Or Tuan Chutong*s Trat/il in Jadia)f Vol. I, p. 103. Aurcl Stein. On AnciitU Cittlral Asian Tracht p.107; Dr. P.C. Bagchi; India and Central Asia* Chapter II; Ftng Ch'cn^ChuMi Tht Gt^rophical namts 4/ Uu Wtst. Hsi-YU-ei-miiig: p. 72. 3. Tibet. 4*. JalAndhxnk in

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assistance, lie chanted u m c sacred words. In the following night he had a drraun tliat fulfilled his desire. Suddenly he woke up and found that the robbers were all fast asleep. Stealthily he M t (he place and Bed away quickly. T h u s he averred the danger* He lived in Jalandhara for Four years. T here he was warmly received by the king and all arrangcmcnta for his food and stay were made. While he was living in Jalan d h ara, he practised Sanskrit language and studied the Buddhist Smtas and ViiUyft texts，but made tittle success. Next be gradually proceeded towards south an d reached M 约 考 提 the M ahabodhi sangharama1 where he spent four years. He felt very m uch disappointed that he could not sec ihe reverend Arya but he lucky enough to pay reverence to the sacred vest^es o f the presence of the Buddha. He saw the image of 德 久 T*zu-shih M aitrcya* that I • Mahabodhi SaAghirtma was ntuatc^ in tht pre»«nt thrivinf viHtgc ofBodh*Gayft(Ut. 24* 42% NS Long. 83QOi* E, in the District of CUyi， Bihar). The present Bodh-Caya grew &nd (levelled around the «mdent Sambodhi near the sacted vDtagc Uruvels, and this Sambodhi Uter oa with the entire Buddhut establishment over there came to be known at Mtthabodhi. The St^gharftina w trected during the Gupta period at the foot of tht Bodhi tree. Hsuau«Ghuang had left a vivid description, of this great c&tabtishment. He law an image of Avsloltitesvara and Maitreya each n u d e of silver. They wore above 10 化hi^i. 奶de* R^jcndia 1a \ Mitra: Buddha C ^S; W aters II. pp. US-136; Dr. D. Mirra; Budi&ist Monwrunis, pp. GA-G6.

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2* Mention of tills Bodhisatton h«s bem made la early Buddhist literature like lAlUamtara, Oivync&dam^ MahMitv^ SadtfkamO'Pu^^aTika and Vtmaltb kHrtimrdeiti S$tnt, The popularity of Maitreya Bodhisattva in China was enor­ mous. The BucMhUt texts whkh narrsite the «toty of Maitreya were cxtesxsi> vcly trsnsl«tccci^ly m Amitibh* can secure rebirth in the Western Paradise. Hinay&na t» $ometir»» docribed self*b