The three monks, Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, were all people who dared to sacrifice their lives to seek the Fa praised by Lu Xun, all of whom were social elites who pursued ideals, and who were all backbones of Chinese who had wisdom, courage, and strategy, and dared to act boldly. Faxian went west along the land route and returned by sea; Xuanzang walked back and forth by land, and only Yijing went out along the sea route and returned along the sea route, and they were all the forerunners of the real ancient Maritime Silk Road and the Land Silk Road.
The three monks, Faxian, Xuanzang and Yijing, introduced Buddhist culture to China, which had a great impact on Chinese history and culture, and greatly enriched the profound connotation of Chinese culture in all aspects. Here's a brief introduction to the heroic deeds of the three monks.
Portrait of the Fa Xian
The first monk, named Faxian (334–420), was a high-ranking monk of the Eastern Jin Dynasty who was born in Wuyang, Pingyang County (present-day Linfen, Shanxi). He was a famous monk in the history of Chinese Buddhism, a figure of Buddhist innovation, the first master to go overseas to learn the scriptures and seek the Dharma, an outstanding traveler and translator.
In 399 AD, although Faxian was already a 65-year-old man, he was not afraid of the gossip of the people around him, and resolutely embarked on the road of seeking the Dharma, starting from Chang'an (now the ruins of Chang'an City in the Han Dynasty), traveling through the Western Regions to Tianzhu to seek precepts, traveling to more than 30 countries, collecting a large number of Sanskrit classics, which lasted 14 years and returned to China in the ninth year of Yixi.
Dharma Master
In the short period of time during his lifetime, Despite his physical weakness, Faxian has been unremittingly translating the classics in 996 and 887, translating a total of six books and sixty-three volumes of the classics, counting more than 10,000 words. His translation of the Mahāyāna Vinaya, also known as the Mass Law, was one of the five buddhist precepts and had a profound impact on the later Chinese Buddhist community.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Buddhism developed unprecedentedly in China, and Buddhism was introduced from India to China, reaching a critical moment in the Fa Xian era, which was an important turning point, from the stage of basically "sending in" to the stage of "taking in". The senior monk Fa Xian had great ambitions, devoted himself to the Buddha, took it as his duty to purify the world, traveled west to India to seek the precepts of the True Scriptures, and compiled the mountains and rivers and customs and customs of the countries he had experienced into the "Record of the Buddha's Kingdom", leaving a valuable cultural heritage for Sino-foreign cultural exchanges.
At the advanced age of huajia, Fa Xian completed the amazing feat of crossing the Asian continent and returning to China through the Nanyang Sea Route, and his masterpiece "The Record of the Buddha Kingdom" left behind was not only praised in the Buddhist circles, but also highly praised by Chinese and foreign scholars. A famous Indian historian once wrote: "Without the works of Faxian, Xuanzang, and Ma Huan, it would be impossible to reconstruct Indian history."
Stills from the Fa Xian
In order to carry forward the lofty spirit of Fa Xian's perseverance and selfless dedication, modern people have specially edited the story of Fa Xian's learning from the scriptures into a rice opera, and the opera "Faxian" truly reproduces the touching story of the 62-year-old Faxian who has traveled for 14 years, traveled a long way through more than 30 countries, and finally retrieved the precepts of the True Scriptures.
In order to commemorate the Fa Xian monk, the Chinese government specially named an island and reef in the Nansha Qundao: Fa Xian Dark Sand.
The second monk was Xuanzang (602-664), a senior monk of the Tang Dynasty, the prototype of the Tang monk in the well-known Journey to the West, one of the four major Buddhist translators of Chinese Buddhism and the founder of the Chinese Han Buddhist Wisdom Sect.
Statue of Xuanzang
Xuanzang's original surname was Chen, and his name was Yi (祎), a native of Luoyang (present-day Yanshi Town, Henan). He was ordained at the age of 13 and received full ordination at the age of 21. He has traveled all over the world and visited famous teachers, because he felt that what the teachers said was different, and the various classics were different, and the reason why Xuanzang took the sutras was first, to solve the doubts in the Buddhist scriptures, and the other was that there were too few scriptures in my Eastern Tang Dynasty, and he wanted to learn more scripture knowledge. So he decided to go to the Western Heavens to learn the scriptures, in our popular words, that is, to go to the Western Buddhist country of India, to personally experience the situation in the birthplace of Buddhism, and to diligently pursue the truth.
Xuanzang
In the third year of Zhenguan (629), Tang Xuanzang set out from Chang'an, passed out of Dunhuang through Guzang, passed through present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia, and arrived at the shecheng of The King of Magadha in Central India, and entered the Nalanda Monastery, the center of Indian Buddhism at that time, where he studied the Treatise on the Land of Yogis, the Theory of Manifest Teachings, the Theory of Dharma, the Theory of Set, the Theory of The Middle, the Theory of Hundred Treatises, the Theory of Clubs, the Treatise on the Great Vipassana, the Theory of Shunzheng, the Theory of Enlightenment, and the Theory of Declarations. Soon, the fame rose. Five years later, he traveled to dozens of countries in eastern, southern, western and northern India. After returning to Nalanda Monastery, the Indian Buddhist master Ordamus asked him to give lectures on the Mahayana And the Theory of Decision-Making, which was appreciated by the precepts. He was also instructed to hold a debate contest with the Hinayana masters alone, and finally won a great victory.
King Jieri set up a Dharma lecture hall for Xuanzang in Qunu City, and Xuanzang successfully preached Mahayana teachings and gained a great reputation. Finally, he returned to Chang'an in the nineteenth year of Zhenguan. According to the historical records, Xuanzang traveled west to seek the Dharma, traveled 17 years, traveled 50,000 miles, traveled "100 to 38 countries", and brought back a total of 520 sutras and 657 sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. After returning to China, he was summoned by Emperor Taizong of Tang to live in the Great Ci'en Temple.
Statue of Xuanzang
Xuanzang's main achievements were: in 645 AD, Xuanzang returned with a total of 150 Relics of the Buddha, 7 Statues of the Buddha, 657 Sutras, and engaged in the translation of Buddhist scriptures for a long time. Xuanzang and his disciples translated 75 canons (1335 volumes). The twelve volumes of the Tang Dynasty Records of the Western Regions record the mountains, rivers, lands, products, and customs of 110 countries that he personally experienced in his journey to the west and the rumored 28 countries.
Xuanzang was praised by the people of the world as an outstanding messenger of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and his patriotism and the spirit and great contribution of upholding Buddhism were praised by Lu Xun as "the backbone of the Chinese nation" and a messenger of world peace.
The third monk was: Master Yijing (635-713), Master Yijing, commonly known as Zhang, wenming, a native of Shanzi County, Qizhou (present-day Changqing District, Jinan, Shandong Province), was a senior monk of the Tang Dynasty and one of the four major translators of Buddhism in China. He is also a famous Buddhist scholar, translator and traveler in China.
Master of Righteousness
Master Yijing traveled in India for 25 years, which is 8 years longer than Xuanzang's 17 years in India.
In 695 AD, Master Yijing returned to China with his two disciples, Zhengu and Daohong. At this point, he was 6l years old. At that time, the female emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian, attached great importance to the return of Master Yijing, and not only sent emissaries to greet him, but also Wu Zetian himself personally greeted him outside the shangdong gate of Luoyang. Master Yijing brought back only 400 Sanskrit sutras, 500,000 mantras, a shop of Vajrapani Zhenrong, and 200 relics, all of which were given to Wu Zetian.
After Emperor Zhongzong of Tang ascended the throne, when he restored the title of Tang Dynasty, in order to commemorate the merits of Master Yijing's translation, Master Yijing was also known as "Tang Sanzang of the Sea Seeking The Law", along with Master Xuanzang.
In terms of exploration, Dharma seeking, translation, and writing, Master Yijing is one of the most outstanding monks who have made the most outstanding contributions to Chinese Buddhist culture after Master Fa Xian and Master Xuanzang.