Xuanzang crossed the Ganges River, passed through the kingdom of Khassam (present-day Kassam region of India), and arrived at the Kapila Kingdom (located at the junction of present-day Nepal and India) to pay homage to the pool of Shakyamuni's birth.
Prior to this, the Eastern Jin Dynasty monk Fa Xian had come here. When Xuanzang arrived, the water in the pool where Sakyamuni was born was still warm and greasy. In the kingdom of Kushnachara (in the Kassia region east of present-day Gorakpur in northern India), he paid homage to the place of Shakyamuni's annihilation, Brahmanatin.
Restoration map of the ancient Kapila Guardian city
Subsequently, Xuanzang visited Sarnath in the country of Bolones (now Varashina, India), where Shakyamuni first spoke after his enlightenment. Compared to the Northern and Southern Dynasties era, this place is more gorgeous and magnificent. There is a Buddha statue in the temple making a gesture to turn the wheel of Dharma to commemorate the first turn of the wheel of Dharma by Shakyamuni here. In the southwest, there is also an Ashoka-era Damanke Pagoda, which is made of smooth and fine materials.
It was not until modern times that archaeologists from India and the West found the ruins of Sarnath according to Xuanzang's records, and excavated the four lion pillars on the stone pillars of Ashoka and the statue of the Buddha turning the Dharma wheel for the first time. The four lion stigmas have also become the national symbol of India today.
The contemporary Indian coat of arms is derived from the Damankh Pagoda built by Emperor Ashoka
Eventually, Xuanzang came to Magadha, the homeland of Magadha (present-day Patna region in southern Bihar), where the Buddha lived and preached for a long time. The Buddha spent most of his life here, and two of the four sutra assemblies in the history of Buddhism were held here. Therefore, this is not only a holy place in the hearts of all Buddhists, but also a royal palace and a bamboo forest retreat that Fa Xian visited. By the time of Xuanzang's visit, there were still many temples and monks.
After the destruction of the king who did not believe in Buddhism, the Bodhi tree that the Buddha had an epiphany of was only four or five zhang left. Although the winter and summer seasons are evergreen, surrounded by treasure light, it has long since lost its prosperity. The rest of the ruins are generally in decline. The spiritual hometown of his longing for is withering, and Xuanzang can't help but worry, can he really be here but wish?
By the time Xuanzang arrived, Magadha's Buddhist influence had declined
Near the place of the Buddha's Nirvana, Xuanzang saw two half-buried statues of Guanyin, and couldn't help crying: When the Buddha became enlightened, he didn't know what it was to drift; In the era of Buddhism, I was not able to live with the Buddha. Now that the Dharma is decaying, I have only come here, and my karma is so deep!
When the other monks nearby heard the crying, they burst into tears. The scene of the decay of Buddhism along the way urged Xuanzang to forge ahead in the future and devote himself to studying Buddhism.
The ruins of Nalanda Temple are still magnificent and majestic
Fortunately, when Xuanzang arrived, Nalanda Temple, as the highest institution of learning in India, was still prosperous. Located in the village of Baragon in present-day Rachakir, the monastery has been expanded and donated by successive kings, which corresponds to the original meaning of the name - "endless almsgiving".
The pavilions here are beautiful and luxurious, and the level of luxury is comparable to that of a palace, so that the monks have good living conditions and a hygienic environment. In order to ensure that the monks could concentrate on their studies, the king also arranged for 200 families to provide japonica rice and crisp milk for the temple. This allowed scholars to devote themselves to Buddhism without asking about the world, and it was also the prototype of the Western Heaven in the future "Journey to the West". In addition, Xuanzang noticed that a sweet white sand grain was abundant here, which was later introduced to the homes of ordinary Chinese people - white sugar.
The white sugar that Xuanzang saw would be introduced to Middle-earth in a few years
The Venerable Venerable Rings of Nalanda believed that Xuanzang was the apprentice assigned to him by Manjushri in his dream. Hearing that the famous Xuanzang visited, the whole temple boiled. The temple sent more than 200 monks and more than 2,000 secular elders to greet Xuanzang with canopies and flowers. Everyone surrounded Xuanzang with joy and admiration, and recited all kinds of beautiful verses in Sanskrit to praise Xuanzang.
In addition, Venerable Jiexian was moved by Xuanzang's indomitable spirit of risking nine deaths and life and pursuing the truth. He was over 100 years old and rarely lectured, but he made an exception for Xuanzang to carefully teach the classic "Yoga Guru Land Treatise" in Mahayana Buddhism.
During his five years at Landa Monastery, Xuanzang was able to study academics almost undisturbed
In the following days, Xuanzang quickly became one of the top ten "Ten Virtues" in the temple due to his extraordinary talent and academic accumulation. Not only can you travel on an elephant, but you can also enjoy a sufficient amount of rice and spices every day. The most important thing is that in order to prevent Xuanzang from being disturbed, the temple exempted him from all daily affairs, allowing him enough time to study.
According to the modern division of subjects, in addition to teaching Xuanzang "The Treatise on the Land of Yogis", Venerable Jiexian also studied Sanskrit linguistics, literature, logic, and some Hindu classics. He studied in this worry-free environment for 5 years.
Before returning to China, Xuanzang also debated all kinds of foreign ways for Nalanda Temple
Until the eve of returning to China, Xuanzang was also invited by his master to respond to various challenges at Nalanda Temple. Seeing that the "Shun Shi Wai Dao" launched an rude harassment against Nalanda Temple, in order to avoid embarrassing or humiliating the Indian teachers and students of the same sect, Xuanzang took the initiative to fight as a foreigner.
Later, the king of the ring sent an envoy to invite Xuanzang to participate in the debate meeting. The largest of these took place in 642 A.D., and was presided over by the King of the Ring Sun for him in the capital city of Qunu. This festival was so grand that the king of the Eighteen Kingdoms was invited to listen to the Dharma. At the same time, more than 3,000 people from the eastern, western, southern, northern, and central five Indian shamans, and more than 2,000 Brahmins and foreign people were summoned to participate in the debate.
In the later stages of India, Xuanzang became almost the most famous classical debater
After the ceremony began, Venerable Xuanzang ascended to the magnificent throne of the forum. The king of the precepts respectfully invited the Dharma Master to be the master of the lecture and praised the Mahayana teachings. After eighteen days of tongue warfare, no one dared to raise objections to Xuanzang's theory. Master Xuanzang finally won the unanimous respect of Theravada Buddhists, and Mahayana followers revered him as "Mahayana Heaven".
Even the Hinayana followers, with whom he debated the most fiercely at the Festival, had to bow down at his feet and revere him as the "Liberation Heaven." Compared with the various victories in debate on the road of seeking the law, this victory is undoubtedly the most significant and far-reaching one.
(To be continued)