佛祖歷代通載 7.93

7.93

Dharma Master Faxian returned from the Western Regions. Earlier, in the second year of Long'an, Faxian entered the Western Regions to seek the Dharma along with Huijing, Daozheng, and others. Crossing the drifting sands, they lost their way; taking the sun as their guide for east and west, they proceeded forward by looking for human bones. Encountering scorching winds and demonic spirits, they pressed on regardless. Arriving at the Congling Mountains, snow had piled up, and venomous dragons flew about. The sand path coiled through the air as they advanced, oblivious to the fact that all were sheer precipices of ten thousand fathoms. They crossed by scaling wooden ladders for seven days and stepped across using ropes as bridges to cross waters eighty paces wide—places that Zhang Qian and Gan Ying of the Han had never reached. Crossing the Little Snow Mountains, it was bitterly cold, and Huijing trembled violently and died. Faxian wept for him in agony, then wiping away his tears, journeyed on alone. Crossing more than thirty kingdoms, he arrived in Central Tianzhu. Thirty li from Rājagṛha, he entered a monastery and asked for the path to Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain. A monk said, 'It is already dusk. There are many lions there, and they eat people; you cannot go.' Faxian thought: 'I wish to behold the sacred site, and having fortunately arrived, it is late. If I die tonight, my vow will not be fulfilled; my body is not what I cherish—should I fear lions?' When Faxian arrived, the sun had already set, so he stayed on the mountain. Weeping, he prostrated and said, 'I did not know if I would ever reach this place myself.' He sat under a tree and chanted sūtras. At the third watch of the night, a lion crouched, licked, and chewed at him. Faxian stroked it with his hand and said, 'If you want to feast on my flesh, wait until I have finished chanting the sūtra before you may do so.' Thereupon, it tucked its tail and walked away. The next day, as he was returning, an old monk stood leaning on a staff, bowed, made no reply, and slowly walked away. A young man came by, and Faxian asked who the elder was. He said, 'It was the ascetic Mahākāśyapa.' Faxian pursued him to the mountain, but a boulder blocked the rock cavern, preventing him from proceeding. Arriving in Southern Tianzhu, he obtained the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya and the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. He stayed for three years to learn Sanskrit script. Entrusting the scriptures and images to a merchant ship, he arrived in the Lion Country [Śrī Laṅkā]. None of his companions survived; he was left entirely on his own. It happened that someone offered a white silk fan to the Buddha; Faxian saw it, and thoughts of returning east were stirred. After two more years, he arrived in Qingzhou. The prefect Li Yi personally welcomed him and escorted him to the capital.