釋迦方志 2
English (machine translation) 2
- Language
- English
2.1
By the Śākyan [monk Daoxuan] of Mount Zhongnan Taiyi
2.2
Continuation of the Chapter on Traces
Chapter on Travels
Chapter on Scope
Chapter on Chronology
Chapter on Doctrines
2.3
Gazetteer of the Śākya, Chapter Four: Continuation of the Chapter on Traces
2.4
The kingdom of Magadha (in Central India; the ancient form was corrupted): It is more than five thousand li in circuit. The cities have few inhabitants, but towns and villages are extremely numerous. There are more than fifty monasteries, with monks exceeding ten thousand, mostly studying the Mahāyāna. There are several dozen deva temples, with very many non-Buddhists. The old city lies north of the mountains of Rājagṛha, leaning east for two hundred and forty li, and borders the Ganges to the north. It is more than seventy li in circuit, and the people live to great ages. It was then named the city of Kusumapura, which means "Palace of the Fragrant Reed Flowers".
2.5
When human life expectancy was several thousand years, it was renamed Pāṭaliputra on account of the pāṭali tree. The ancient name of Balianfu is an error. North of the old palace is a stone pillar several tens of cubits high, the site where King Aśoka constructed his hell. One hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, King Aśoka (which means 'Without Sorrow'), who was the great-grandson of King Bimbisāra, moved his capital from Rājagṛha to this city and rebuilt the outer ramparts. The land produces a rare variety of rice, large-grained and delicious, with a wonderful luster, known as 'rice for noblemen'. North of the palace, fronting the Gaṅgā River, is a small walled town of over a thousand households; the stone pillar of that hell is still extant. To the south is a great stūpa decorated with gems and an inverted bowl, with stone railings, which is one of the eighty-four thousand [stūpas]. It houses one measure of the Buddha's relics, which occasionally emit auspicious rays of light; it was built by Aśoka when he met the arhat Upagupta and employed ghosts and spirits. Beside it, in a vihāra, is a large stone bearing the two footprints the Buddha made when, on the verge of entering nirvāṇa, he walked north toward Kuśinagara and turned back to gaze at Magadha. They are one cubit and eight inches long and six inches wide; the wheel marks, lotus motifs, and ten toes all differ. Recently, King Śaśāṅka (which means 'Moon') of Karṇasuvarṇa (which means 'Golden Ear Country') tried to destroy the Buddha's footprints, but after channelling them out, they became smooth again and the patterns returned to their former state. He then threw [the stone] into the Gaṅgā, but it soon returned to its original place. Beside it is a stūpa commemorating the walking and sitting of the four buddhas.
2.6
North of the old palace is a great stone chamber built by King Aśoka for his younger brother. Next is a large water cistern where King Aśoka fed the saṅgha. To the southwest of the palace is a small rocky mountain, with dozens of stone chambers around its crags and ravines, fashioned by King Aśoka using spirits under the command of the arhat Upagupta. By its side is a stone pool known popularly as the Sacred Water; those who drink from it are cured of illnesses. To the southwest of the mountain are five stūpas, each several hundred paces square. After King Aśoka had built the eighty-four thousand stūpas, five measures of relics still remained, so he built these stūpas; miracles occur from time to time. A king once took them to be the five storehouses of King Nanda and raised an army to excavate them; an earthquake shook the mountain, and loud cries issued from within the stūpas, causing the soldiers to collapse face-forward. To the southeast of the old city is the Kukkuṭārāma monastery (which means 'Rooster Garden'). In the past, [its monks] were once bested in debate by non-Buddhists and did not sound the ghaṇṭī for twelve years. Then the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna (which means 'Dragon Fierce' or 'Dragon Tree') of South India arrived, subdued all the non-Buddhists, and only then was the ghaṇṭī struck again. Therefore, the stūpa is called the 'Stūpa of Striking the Ghaṇṭī'.
2.7
Next to the north is the Ghost Eloquence Stūpa, connected with Aśvaghoṣa.
2.8
More than two hundred li southwest of the city, there is an ancient temple and a stūpa marking where the four buddhas walked and sat. More than a hundred li further southwest of this temple is a great monastery with over a thousand monks, all studying the Mahāyāna. It contains four courts in total, with three-story pavilions, towering terraces, and multi-layered gates. In between stand three vihāras with reliefs of gold and copper; inside is a standing image thirty cubits tall, flanked by Bodhisattva Tārā on the left and Avalokiteśvara on the right, both cast in brass. Each of the three locations contains one measure of relics, which from time to time display brilliant auras. A hundred li southwest of the monastery, atop a high mountain, stands a stone stūpa more than ten cubits high. The Buddha entered into absorption upon a great boulder; having passed the night, all the devas rained down light out of yearning admiration, so a jeweled stūpa about ten cubits high was raised, which has now turned to stone. One can only see the mist and vapors from afar; it is inhabited solely by sacred beings, dragons, and serpents in caves and hollows, as well as fierce birds and predatory beasts, so that from past to present no person has ever reached it. On the eastern ridge of the mountain is a stūpa marking the place where the Buddha stood and gazed upon the country of Magadha. More than thirty li northwest of the mountain, there is a mountain monastery backed by the ridge, with pavilions erected upon rugged crags. Here, Bodhisattva Guṇamati (rendered in Tang as Dehui), a follower of the Mahāyāna, subdued non-Buddhists. There are now more than fifty monks.
2.9
More than twenty li further southwest is a monastery on an isolated peak, where the treatise master Śīlabhadra (rendered in Tang as Jiexian), who is still alive, originally subdued non-Buddhists and founded it using a granted settlement. At that site, an isolated and steep peak rises, shaped like a stūpa, which houses Buddha relics.
2.10
More than fifty li further southwest, crossing the Nairañjanā River, is the city of Gayā. It has few inhabitants, with only a little over a thousand families of Brahmins residing there, who are descendants of ṛṣis. They are not treated as subjects by the king, and all people revere them. More than thirty li north of the city is a clear spring, traditionally called the Sacred Water; those who drink from it and bathe in it have their sins washed away.
2.11
About six li southwest of the city is Mount Gayā. Its valleys are dark and mysterious, and the world calls it a sacred mountain; from ancient times, monarchs have climbed it to offer sacrifices and proclaim their accomplishments. On its summit is a stone stūpa more than a hundred feet high, which emits wonderful rays from time to time. Here the Buddha preached the Ratnamegha Sūtra and other discourses.
2.12
Less than two li southeast of the mountain, across the Nairañjanā River, one reaches Mount Prāgbodhi (which means 'Prior to Awakening'). It is named so because the Buddha climbed it before attaining enlightenment.
2.13
The Buddha ascended to the summit from the northeastern ridge, intending to enter the vajra-samādhi, but the earth shook and the mountain deity, terrified, cried out to inform him. The Buddha then proceeded halfway up the southwestern crag, sat upon a rock facing the ravine, and the earth and mountain shook once more. A Śuddhāvāsa deva told him, 'Fifteen li to the southwest from here, near the site of austerities, beneath the pippala tree, is the vajrāsana. That is the bodhimaṇḍa where all buddhas of the three periods attain enlightenment.' Only then did the Buddha proceed to that place. He still left his shadow in the dragon's stone cave, which can still be seen by some today. When Aśoka arose in the world, he marked all the holy sites with stūpas, and showers of heavenly flowers rained down. Whenever the summer retreat ended, monks and laypeople together would climb the mountain to make offerings to the Bodhi Tree. The Bodhi Tree is surrounded by brick walls built for height and durability, measuring around five hundred and forty paces in circumference from east to west. Rare trees and celebrated flowers are planted in dense rows, offering shade. The main gate opens to the east, facing the Nairañjanā River; the south gate leads to a large lotus pond; the west is rugged and strongly fortified; the north gate connects to a great monastery. Within the enclosing courtyard, holy traces, stūpas, and vihāras are arrayed like stars. The vajrāsana at the exact center of the tree's enclosure was formed at the beginning of the Auspicious Kalpa, coeval with the great earth. In the trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu, it extends down to the golden wheel and up to the surface of the earth. Fashioned from vajra, it is more than a hundred paces in circumference; the thousand buddhas all sit upon it to enter the vajra-samādhi, hence its name. It is indeed the place where the Path was realized. It is also said that when the great earth quakes, the bodhimaṇḍa alone remains unshaken. After the Buddha attained awakening, as the age entered the Latter Day of the Dharma, sand and soil covered it entirely, so that its true substance can no longer be seen, and it is known only through the Buddha's teachings. Later, two statues of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva were placed to mark its boundary on the north and south, facing south. The prophecy says: 'When the bodies of these statues sink [into the ground], the Buddha-dharma shall perish.' The statue at the southern corner is now submerged up to its chest.
2.14
When the Buddha was in the world, the Bodhi Tree was several hundred feet high, with yellow branches and green leaves that never withered in winter or summer. When the Buddha passed into nirvāṇa, its leaves withered, but soon flourished again. Later, King Aśoka had it cut down, piled it several tens of paces to the west, and burned it as a sacrifice to the gods. Before the smoke and flames had died down, two trees suddenly sprang forth, both displaying lush green foliage amidst the raging fire; thus it was named the Ash Bodhi Tree. The king, witnessing this, gave rise to faith and watered the remaining roots with fragrant milk; by morning, the tree grew as before. The queen, enraged, had it cut down again at night. The king renewed his supplication and watered it with milk; within days, it grew back. He piled stones into a surrounding wall over ten cubits high. Recently, King Śaśāṅka of Karṇasuvarṇa cut down this tree again, digging down to the water table without exhausting its roots. He then set fire to it and poured sugarcane juice over it to scorch and rot it, intending to destroy its roots. Several months later, King Pūrṇavarman (which means 'Full Armor'), who was the great-great-grandson of King Aśoka, heard that the tree had been cut down and cast himself to the ground. He invited monks to perform circumambulations around the tree for seven days, and poured milk from thousands of cows into a large pit. After six days and nights, the tree grew more than ten cubits. Fearing it would be cut down again, he erected a surrounding stone wall twenty-four cubits high. The tree now rises more than twenty cubits above the stone wall, with a circumference of about three feet.
2.15
East of the tree stands a blue-brick vihāra over one hundred and sixty feet high, with a foundation more than twenty paces wide. Above it is a stone balustrade ten cubits high surrounding it. Tiered niches contain gilded statues on all four walls, and the four walls are carved with heavenly beings and ṛṣis. Surmounting the summit is a gilded copper āmalaka fruit, which corresponds to what is called a jeweled vase and jeweled terrace.
2.16
Adjoining it to the southeast is a three-story pavilion with unique eaves, all carved and decorated with gold and silver. In the niches outside the triple gate, to the left is an image of Avalokiteśvara and to the right an image of Maitreya, both cast in silver and about ten cubits tall, made by King Aśoka. The vihāra was originally small and was later enlarged. Inside was placed an image of the Buddha attaining enlightenment. A Brahmin had answered the call to make it, asking only for fragrant clay and a single lamp inside the vihāra, closing the door for six months to fashion it. When four days still remained, the monks grew suspicious, so they opened the door to inspect it and found the statue dignified and complete, seated facing east with the right leg crossed on top, the left hand drawn in, and the right hand pointing down, but no maker was seen. The seat is four cubits two inches high and twelve cubits five inches wide; the image is eleven cubits five inches tall, with eight cubits eight inches between the two knees and six cubits two inches between the shoulders, complete with all marks and signs, except that the decoration on the right breast was not yet finished. Though they filled it with various gems, when viewing the statue from afar, it still seemed incomplete. A monk dreamed that the artisan said, 'I am Maitreya. Fearing that worldly craftsmen might misrepresent the design, I painted it myself.' The lowering of the hand depicts the Buddha telling Māra that he points to the earth as his witness. Recently, when King Śaśāṅka cut down the tree, he commanded his minister to destroy the statue while the king himself returned to the east. The minister, having faith at heart, erected a brick barrier in front of the statue; remorseful of the darkness, he placed a lamp inside, and on the outside painted an image of Maheśvara. When the work was complete, he reported his duty done. When King Śaśāṅka heard this, he was filled with terror; blisters erupted all over his body, his flesh cracked, and he soon died. The minister rushed back and immediately removed the barrier; after many days of journeying back and forth, the lamp had still not gone out. Today, it resides in an inner chamber; in the morning, holding a mirror to reflect the light, one can view its visage; those who behold it are filled with sorrowful longing and deep reverence, forgetting to return. The Buddha attained enlightenment on the eighth day of the third month according to the Chinese calendar; the Sthaviras say it corresponded to the fifteenth day of this third month. As for his age being thirty, or according to some, thirty-five, such discrepancies are merely their own differences. Because of differing calendars, this variation arose, just like the different dynastic calendar epochs in China, where the Three Dynasties established varying New Year beginnings and different lengths of months—why should it be a wonder? One should simply rely on one account to gain understanding and leave it at that.
2.17
After the Buddha attained awakening, he remained in silent absorption for seven days. He then walked north of the tree for seven days, pacing back and forth over a distance of more than ten paces from north to south; rare flowers appeared in his footprints, leaving eighteen impressions. Later generations piled bricks to make a foundation more than three cubits high, which people call the 'Platform of the Sacred Footprints'. To divine the length of a person's lifespan, one first makes a sincere vow and then measures it with a cord; whether it expands or contracts corresponds verifiably to the length of one's life. North of this, to the left of the road upon a boulder, is a great vihāra showing the Buddha looking up and contemplating the tree, known as the 'Statue of Gratitude'; at that time, he did not turn his eyes away for even an instant during the seven days. West of the tree is a great vihāra with a brass image facing east, adorned with rare gems. In front of it is a blue stone of rare markings and wondrous colors. On the day he first attained the Path, Brahmā built a hall of seven jewels and Śakra built a throne of seven jewels; the Buddha sat upon it for seven days contemplating and emitting light to illuminate the tree; today, the jewels have turned to stone. South of the tree is a stūpa more than a hundred feet high, marking the place where the Buddha, having bathed in the river, was about to sit down and thought of grass, whereupon Śakra transformed into a human and offered him kuśa grass (meaning 'auspicious'); King Aśoka built a stūpa to mark it. Next, to the northeast, is a stūpa where, at the time he realized the fruit, a blue magpie circled around and a herd of deer presented auspicious omens.
2.18
To the east of the tree, on either side of the great road, there is a stupa at each place where the Demon King, disturbing the Buddha, was thwarted and retreated. In the vihāra northwest of the tree, light shone forth during the time of Kāśyapa Buddha. Popular tradition says that if one circumambulates it seven times with supreme sincerity, one gains knowledge of past lives in this very life. Furthermore, a stupa northwest of the wall, made of saffron-scented clay, is over forty feet high. At the southeast corner of the wall of the tree, beside a nyagrodha tree, there is a stupa. Inside the vihāra is a seat where Great Brahmā petitioned the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma when he first attained the fruit. At the four corners within the wall, there are stupas at each. When the Buddha first received the grass and proceeded to the tree, he first went to the southwest, and the earth shook; he then turned to the northwest, then to the northeast, and then to the southeast, and the earth quaked at all of them. He then went from the northwest to beneath the tree and sat facing east upon the vajrāsana, whereupon the ground became peaceful and still; hence, stupas were erected to commemorate this. Outside the wall to the southwest, at the site of the dwellings of the two cowherd maidens, at the site beside it where they boiled the milk-rice, and at the site next to it where the Buddha received the milk-rice, commemorative stupas are erected at all of them. Outside the south gate of the tree is a great pond over seven hundred paces in circumference, clear and pure, where fish and nāgas dwell. Next to the south is a pond made by Śakra for the Buddha to wash his robe.
2.19
West of the pond is a great stone brought by the heavenly sovereign from the Snow Mountains for the Buddha to dry his robe. The stupa beside it is the place where the Buddha put on the old robe.
2.20
Next, in a grove to the south, there is a stupa where the Buddha received the offering of an old robe from an impoverished mother. In the grove east of the magically created pond is a dragon pond, clear, dark, and sweet-tasting. In a small vihāra on the west bank is an image where, upon first attaining enlightenment, the Buddha sat for seven days and entered samādhi, and the Nāga King circled the Buddha seven times, transforming into multiple heads to shelter the Buddha. In a vihāra in the grove east of the dragon pond, an emaciated image of the Buddha is made. Beside it are the traces of his walking for over seventy paces. To the north and south there is a pippala tree at each; he walked back and forth, grasping them before standing up. This is the place of his six years of austerities, where he ate one hemp seed and one grain of wheat a day. Today, when those afflicted with disease smear the image with fragrant oil, many are healed. There is also a stupa at the dwelling place of the five men. Furthermore, there is a stupa to the southeast where the Buddha entered the Nairañjanā River to bathe. Next, close to the river, is the place where the Buddha ate the milk-rice and then attained liberation beneath the Bodhi tree. Beside it are two stupas where the householders offered honey and roasted flour. The stupa southeast of the tree is where the Four Heavenly Kings came from the four quarters, each holding a golden bowl and various jewel bowls, none of which the Buddha would accept; they then each held a stone bowl, deep blue and translucent, and only then did he accept them all, pressing them into a single bowl that displayed four rims on the outside. Beside it is a stupa where, after attaining enlightenment, he preached the Dharma to his mother and manifested supernatural transformations; the place where he converted Uruvilvā Kāśyapa and a thousand men; and to the northwest, the place where he subdued the fire-breathing nāga. The place where five hundred pratyekabuddhas entered extinction, and south of the Mucilinda dragon pond, the place where Kāśyapa thought the Buddha was drowning, and the place where the demon frightened the Buddha—commemorative stupas are erected to mark all of them. Outside the north gate of the wall of the tree is the Mahābodhi Monastery. Its courtyard encompasses six residential courts with three-storied watchtowers and pavilions, and the surrounding wall is about fifty feet high. The Buddha images are cast in gold and silver, adorned with craftsmanship of the utmost worldly splendour. The stupa is also tall and vast, housing a relic of the Buddha as large as a finger joint, lustrous and pure white, translucent throughout. The inner relic is as large as a blue-green gem, tinged with red. Every year in the month of the Buddha's Great Miracle, it is brought out to show to people (that is, the thirtieth day of the twelfth month in India, corresponding to the fifteenth day of the first month under the Tang). At this time, it emits light and rains down flowers, evoking profound faith. The monastery usually has fewer than a thousand monks, who study the Mahāyāna Sthaviranikāya, and its monastic discipline is pure and solemn. It was established by the King of Siṃhala in the Southern Sea upon petitioning the King of Great Auspiciousness in Central India, some four hundred years ago; thus, many in the monastery are men from the Lion Kingdom. Furthermore, for more than ten li across the area around the Bodhi tree, holy traces adjoin one another, so numerous that it is hard to enumerate them completely. Each year, when the bhikṣus conclude the rains retreat, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of laypeople from the four quarters offer worship and celebrate with incense, flowers, and music throughout the grove for seven days and seven nights. The monks of India enter the rains retreat on the sixteenth day of the fifth month under the Tang, and end the retreat on the fifteenth day of the eighth month under the Tang. This also varies with circumstances and cannot be universally fixed. For example, there are countries north of the Snow Mountains that observe a spring or an autumn retreat. The intention is to stipulate a three-month stay during the hot and humid period of the year, within which an extension or shortening of a month before or after is not fixed. If considered from the standpoint of cultivating the Path, when is one not at peace? Thus wandering during the three seasons is generally prohibited as an offense, but where there are binding affairs, it is also permitted to combine them for the benefit of others, without being rigid. Crossing the Nairañjanā River to the east of the Bodhi Tree compound, to the north of the stupa in the great forest is a pond where the Buddha in the past was the calf of a scent-elephant, serving his blind elephant mother. In front of it is an erected stone pillar; formerly, Kāśyapa Buddha sat here in serene meditation, and beside it are the walking and sitting traces of the four buddhas. A small stone pillar in the forest marks the place where Udraka [Rāmaputra] made an evil vow. Further east, crossing the great wilderness of the Mahī River for more than a hundred li, one reaches Kukkuṭapāda Mountain (meaning 'Cock's Foot'), also called Gurupāda Mountain (meaning 'Venerable's Foot'). Three peaks rise straight up, shaped like a cock's foot; precipitous and isolated, they tower high into the sky. The lower half is dense forest, and the upper half is tangled grasses. It is so named because the Venerable Mahākāśyapa entered serene extinction within it. Formerly, the Buddha took the gold-threaded kāṣāya woven by his maternal aunt and transmitted it to Maitreya Buddha, bidding him to save the fourfold assembly of disciples remaining from the Dharma; Kāśyapa, having received the directive, took the robe into the mountain in the twentieth year after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa to await Maitreya. On top there is a stupa; gazing upon it in the quiet of night, a bright torch illuminates of itself. More than a hundred li northeast of Kukkuṭapāda Mountain, one reaches Buddhavana Mountain. In a great stone chamber on the northern cliff, the Buddha stayed for several years; beside it is a flat boulder where Śakra ground candana to smear on the Buddha, which is still fragrant today. Coming out of the empty valley to the east for over thirty li, the Yaṣṭivana (meaning 'Forest of Staves') fills the mountain valley. Formerly, someone measured the Buddha with a sixteen-foot bamboo staff, but the Buddha always exceeded the top of the staff; he thereupon threw the staff down and departed, and it took root and covered the mountain. In the middle is a stupa where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for seven days. In the forest is the lay devotee Jayasena, who used powdered incense as clay to make stupas of five or six inches, inscribing sūtra texts upon them, called Dharma-relics. For thirty years, without slacking day or night, he made a total of seven hundred million; for every one hundred million small stupas, he made one large stupa to house them, inviting the saṅgha to a Dharma assembly to celebrate the occasion, all of which emitted light. More than ten li southwest of the Yaṣṭivana, on the sunny south side of a great mountain, are two hot springs that are exceedingly hot, where the Buddha transformed himself to bathe; when those from near and far bathe there, their chronic afflictions are all cured. Beside them are an image and a stupa of the Buddha's walking place. About seven li southeast of the forest, on the ridge of a great mountain, is a stone stupa where the Buddha preached the Dharma to devas and humans for two or three months; King Bimbisāra piled stones to make a path, over twenty paces wide and about four li long. About four li northeast of the great mountain, one reaches an isolated mountain, the chamber of a ṛṣi. Further northeast for five li, in a cliff stone chamber on a small isolated mountain that can seat a thousand people, the Buddha preached the Dharma for three months; on a flat boulder above the chamber, Brahmā and Śakra ground candana here to smear on the Buddha, which is still intensely fragrant today.
2.21
In the cave at the southwest corner of the chamber is the palace of the asuras. Beside the stone chamber is the wooden plank-way where King Bimbisāra went to the Buddha's place, cutting through the stone to open a path about five li long to serve as steps. Further east for more than sixty li, one reaches the city of Kuśāgrapura (meaning here 'City of Kuśa Grass'); the Palace City of Superior Kuśa Grass is in the very centre of Magadha. It produces much fragrant kuśa grass, the finest in the country. From ancient times the various kings made their capital in its mountains, and the city gates and watchtowers are still there; it was named after the fragrance. Lofty mountains surround it on all four sides to serve as the outer wall; a narrow path opens to the west, and a mountain gate is cleaved to the north. Long from east to west, it is one hundred and fifty li in circumference. The flowers on the trees are lush and all golden in color. The inner city is over thirty li in circumference; inside the city, it is desolate, completely devoid of human inhabitants. Outside the north gate is a stupa where the Buddha extended his hand to manifest five lions to subdue the intoxicated elephant of Devadatta. Another stupa to the northeast is the place where Śāriputra heard the bhikṣu Aśvajit preach the Dharma and realized the Path.
2.22
Beside a great, deep pit north of the stupa is a stupa marking the place where Śrīgupta (meaning 'Glorious Protection') prepared a fire pit to harm the Buddha. Northeast of the pit, at a bend in the mountain city, there is a stupa at the dwelling of Jīvaka, the King of Physicians, who built a Dharma preaching hall for the Buddha; the surrounding walls, flowering fruit trees, and stumps are still preserved, and the Buddha often stayed within it. About fifteen li northeast of the palace city, one reaches Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa (meaning 'Vulture Peak' or 'Vulture Terrace', formerly Gṛdhrakūṭa); adjoining the southern slope of the northern mountain, it stands isolated at its crest, long from east to west and overlooking a cliff. Hanging to the west is a brick chamber of spacious, tall, and extraordinary construction, with its door opening to the east. The Buddha lived in the world for fifty years and frequently resided in this chamber to preach the Dharma; today, a life-sized image of the Buddha is made there. Formerly, in order to listen to the Dharma, King Bimbisāra crossed valleys and mounted cliffs from the base of the mountain to the summit, paving stones to create a road of steps, totaling six li in length and over ten paces wide. From the stone chamber at Yaṣṭivana to this place, the three flights of stone steps still survive. Beside the steps are two small stupas: one prompted the king to descend from his chariot, and the other barred ordinary people. On the long stone east of the vihāra above, the Buddha once walked and stepped. Beside it is a great stone fourteen or fifteen feet high and over thirty paces wide, which Devadatta hurled at the Buddha. The stupa beneath the southern cliff is the place where the Buddha preached the Lotus Sūtra.
2.23
In a great stone chamber in the mountain cliff south of the vihāra, the Buddha entered samādhi here. While Ānanda was in a separate chamber, a demon frightened him; the Buddha reached his hand through the stone to stroke his head, and a through-hole is visible. At a great stone gully northeast of the vihāra is a great flat boulder where the Buddha dried his robe; the pattern is still clear and distinct today. Beside it are the Buddha's footprints with wheel marks pressed into the stone. The stupa at the peak of the north mountain is where the Buddha gazed at the city of Magadha and preached the Dharma for seven days. West of the north gate of the mountain city is Mount Vipula. Formerly, on the shady southwest cliff, there were five hundred hot springs; today there are still several tens, offering both cold and warm waters. Their source issues from Lake Anavatapta in the Snow Mountains, flowing secretly beneath the ground to emerge here; they are still clear and sweet, matching the original lake. Stones are carved throughout into the heads of lions, through which the water circulates, and stones are paved below to form pools. Those who bathe have their illnesses cured. The various Buddhist monasteries mostly draw this water to drink. Washing one's hair with this water keeps it clean for the rest of one's life. The envoy Wang Xuance once washed his head with it, and even now, five years later, his hair remains sleek and clean, which is extraordinary. To the left and right of the springs, stupas and old foundations of vihāras are lined up, all bearing the walking and sitting traces of the four buddhas. The mountain and forest here are intertwined, a place where hermits are seen. West of the springs is the Pippala stone chamber where the Buddha used to reside constantly; the cavern in the rear wall is the palace of the asuras. The stupa on this Mount Vipula is where the Buddha preached the Dharma; it is now occupied by naked tīrthikas. To the left of the north gate of the mountain city, on the shady southern cliff, traveling east for about three li, there is a great stone chamber where Devadatta entered samādhi. East of the chamber is a blood-stained boulder where in ancient times a bhikṣu cultivated samādhi without attaining realization; he stabbed his own neck, immediately realized arhatship, soared into the sky, transformed into fire, and cremated himself. The stone stupa on the cliff is where one who practiced meditation threw himself off the cliff and realized the fruit. More than one li outside the north gate, one reaches the Kalanda Bamboo Grove Vihāra, with stone foundations and a brick chamber opening to the east; the Buddha often stayed within it, and the chamber still survives. Today there is a life-sized image of the Buddha. The great stupa east of the Bamboo Grove was built by Ajātaśatru (meaning 'Unborn Enemy', namely King Ajātaśatru) upon receiving his share of relics. Later, King Aśoka opened it and built separate stupas; those that remain emit light from time to time. Beside it is a walking place of the Buddha. To the east is a stupa containing half the body of Ānanda. About six li southwest of the Bamboo Grove, in a great bamboo forest on the shady southern mountain, there is a great stone chamber where Mahākāśyapa and a thousand arhats compiled the Tripiṭaka; because the elders were among the saṅgha, it was named the Sthaviranikāya. The stupa northwest of the chamber is where Ānanda was rebuked and realized the fruit, named the 'Stupa of Realizing the Fruit'.
2.24
The stupa more than twenty li to the west marks the place where the Great Assembly of those in training and beyond training compiled the Five Piṭakas of the Dharma; hence it is called the Mahāsāṃghika [school]. More than two hundred paces north of the Bamboo Grove is the Karaṇḍa Pool, where the Buddha often preached the Dharma; it is now dried up. About three li northwest of the pool is a stupa built by King Aśoka, sixty feet high, with a stone pillar over fifty feet tall on which the circumstances of erecting the stupa are inscribed. Not far northeast of the pillar one reaches the city of Rājagṛha (that is, the new Rājagṛha; originally a burial ground, it was built when King Ajātaśatru moved the capital; it lies four li northeast of Kuśāgārapura). Its outer wall is already ruined, but the inner city is over twenty li in circumference, with one gate on each side. King Aśoka later relocated his capital to Kusumapura and bestowed this city upon the brahmins; fewer than a thousand families dwell there now. Southwest of the palace city are two small monasteries, places where the Buddha formerly preached the Dharma; visiting monks from various countries often come here to lodge. Next to the northwest is a stupa at the old village of the elder Jyotiṣka (also called Zhutijia, which means 'astrology'). The stupa to the left of the road outside the south gate of the royal city is where the Buddha preached the Dharma and converted Rāhula.
2.25
Going north again for more than thirty li, one arrives at
2.26
Nālandā Monastery (meaning 'Giving Without Satiety'). It was originally the southern Āmra Grove. In the past, five hundred merchants purchased it to offer to the Buddha, who preached the Dharma there for three months. It was jointly built by five successive kings: the first was King Śakrāditya (meaning 'Sun of Indra'), who initially founded this monastery; the second was King Buddhagupta (meaning 'Protected by the Awakened One'), who built a monastery next to the south; the third was King Tathāgatagupta (meaning 'Tathāgata'), who built a monastery next to the east; the fourth was King Bālāditya (meaning 'Morning Sun'), who built a monastery next to the east; and the fifth was King Vajra (meaning 'Diamond'), who built a monastery next to the north. Its surrounding walls rise steeply, about fifty feet high; there are seven courtyards in all, each three stories high, all sharing a single gate. Constructed across successive generations, it is magnificent and extremely ornate to the utmost degree. The monastery enforces strict regulations: since its founding, women have never entered. Ten overseers patrol and inspect every evening. Those who have not yet received full ordination are ranked according to age. The community of monks numbers several thousand; including visiting scholar-monks of renown, the total approaches ten thousand. Most of them are men of exceptional talent and extensive learning; several hundred of them have reputations renowned in foreign lands, so all the monks of India look up to them as models. Those who do not discourse upon the tenets of the Piṭakas feel ashamed of their very bodies. Therefore, when people from distant lands come to debate, the gatekeeper questions them and most are refuted and turn back. Even if visiting junior scholars come to discourse extensively on their arts and capabilities, seven or eight out of ten certainly retreat like flying birds. For this reason, those of lofty talent, broad erudition, strong memory, and manifold abilities guide others with their illustrious virtue and connect with the world through their brilliant splendor. Figures such as Dharmapāla and Candrapāla stirred up noble legacies in their fragrant dust; Guṇamati and Sthiramati spread their renown beyond the world of phenomena; the clear discourses of Prabhamitra and the elevated discussions of Jayasena; the insightful discernment of Jñānacandra and the resolute practice of Śīlabhadra—all were consummate in their own time and celebrated down through antiquity. Their learning surpassed old traditions, and their treatises and commentaries, each numbering several tens of fascicles, circulated widely in an illustrious age. Thus the sacred traces of this monastery may be briefly described: In the vihāra west of the monastery, the Buddha once preached the Dharma for three months. A hundred paces south of it is a small stupa, where monks from distant lands saw the Buddha. Farther south is a standing image of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, whom some have seen holding an incense burner and circumambulating the vihāra to the right. Next to the south is a stupa where the Buddha once stayed for three months shaving his hair and paring his nails; those who are ill and circumambulate it are mostly healed.
2.27
Outside the west wall, beside a pond, is a stupa where a tīrthika held a sparrow to question the Buddha. More than fifty paces inside the southeast wall is a wondrous tree, eight or nine feet high, whose trunk divides in two; in the past, after chewing [his tooth-stick], the Buddha discarded it, and it grew into this form.
2.28
Next to the east is a great vihāra over two hundred feet high, where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for four months. More than a hundred paces north of it, in a vihāra, is an image of Avalokiteśvara, whose manifestations appear differently: sometimes standing beside the door, sometimes appearing before the eaves; therefore, both monastics and laity throughout the country make separate offerings to it.
2.29
Next to the north is a great vihāra over three hundred feet high, built by King Śīlāditya; its adornments, dimensions, and the Buddha image inside are identical to those of the vihāra beneath the Bodhi tree. Next to the northeast is a stupa where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for seven days. To the northwest are the places where the four buddhas sat.
2.30
Next to the south is a brass vihāra eighty feet high, built by King Śīlāditya, which is still unfinished today.
2.31
More than two hundred paces farther east, outside the wall, is a standing copper image over eighty feet tall, housed in a six-tiered pavilion built by King Pūrṇavarman. Three li north of this, inside a brick vihāra, is an image of the Bodhisattva Tārā of great height and miraculous power. On the first day of every year grand offerings are made: the kings and ministers of various countries assemble precious instruments to play music together, which ceases only after seven days.
2.32
Inside the monastery's enclosure gate is a large well. When traveling merchants were parched with thirst, the Buddha pointed to the ground and said, 'Water may be found here.' Thereupon an axle of a cart was used to pound the earth; the spring gushed forth, and drinking it they awakened to sagehood.
2.33
About nine li southwest of the monastery is the native village of Maudgalyāyana; King Aśoka built a stupa to commemorate Maudgalyāyana. About four li farther east is the place where King Bimbisāra (meaning 'Shadow-Firm') welcomed the Buddha. More than twenty li farther southeast, at the native village of Śāriputra, King Aśoka erected a stupa; beside it are the stupa containing the venerable one's physical remains and his well.
2.34
Five li farther southeast is a stupa marking the place where, in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, three hundred million great arhats entered extinction together. More than thirty li farther east is the Cave of Indra. The crags and valleys are precipitous, and flowering groves rise luxuriantly. Two peaks stand out prominently; on the southern face of the western cliff is a stone chamber where the Buddha once resided. Indra drew forty-two queries upon the stone to question him, and those marks still remain. Today an image is modeled on that past event; upon entering to pay homage, one is filled with solemn awe. On the mountain ridge are the traces where the four buddhas walked and sat. On the eastern peak is a monastery; at night, the monks look westward and see lit lamps and torches burning before the stone chamber. In front of the monastery on Indra's Peak is the Goose Stupa, the origin of which is as related in the sūtras. About one hundred and sixty li northeast of Indra's Mountain one reaches the Kapotaka Monastery (meaning 'Pigeon'), with two hundred monks. East of the monastery is a stupa where the Buddha preached the Dharma to the great assembly for one night. In the past, the Buddha became a pigeon and threw himself into a fire to provide food for a fowler. To the east is a stupa of King Aśoka. Three li south of the stupa is an isolated mountain, exceedingly high and steep, with many stupas and shrines. On it is an image of Avalokiteśvara, small in stature but great in majestic power, holding a lotus flower in his hand and bearing an image of a buddha on his crown. If one fasts for seven days up to a month, one will see the true form emerge from the image; it is a vihāra built by the king of Siṃhala. Traveling southeast again for forty li, there is a monastery with fifty monks who study Hīnayāna. Its great stupa is highly miraculous; it is the place where the Buddha preached the Dharma for seven days to King Brahmā and others. Beside it are the traces where the four buddhas walked and sat. More than seventy li northeast of the monastery, south of the Gaṅgā River and east of a deva temple, is a great stupa where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for one night. Entering the mountains and forests eastward for more than a hundred li, there is a great monastery with a stupa of King Aśoka, where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for three months. Three li to the north is a large pond over thirty li in circumference, where four colors of lotus flowers blossom in all four seasons. Entering the mountains and forests eastward again for two hundred li, one arrives at
2.35
the country of Īraṇaparvata (in Central India), over three thousand li in circumference. The capital borders the Gaṅgā River to the north and is twenty li in circumference. There are ten monasteries with more than four thousand monks, mostly of the Hīnayāna Saṃmatīya school. There are over twenty deva temples where various tīrthikas dwell together. Within the city are two monasteries, each with fewer than a thousand monks, both studying Hīnayāna. By the river north of the city is Mount Īraṇa, where ṛṣis of the five superknowledges have resided since antiquity; today there is a deva temple. The Buddha preached the Dharma here for three months. At the stupa south of the city, the Buddha once preached the Dharma for three months; beside it are traces where three buddhas walked and sat. On the western border of the country, on the south bank of the Gaṅgā River, is an isolated mountain over a li long where the Buddha once spent the summer retreat for three months and subdued the yakṣa demon Vakula. Beneath the cliff southeast of the mountain, on a great boulder, are the Buddha's sitting footprints sinking more than an inch into the rock, five feet two inches long and two feet one inch wide, covered by a stupa. Next to the south on a rock is the base of the Buddha's kuṇḍikā (that is, a washing pitcher), more than an inch deep with an eight-petaled flower pattern. Further southeast of the sitting traces is the footprint of a yakṣa, one foot six inches long, eight inches wide, and two inches deep. On the mountain peak is the former dwelling of the yakṣa. To the north is the standing footprint of the Buddha, one foot eight inches long, over six inches wide, and half an inch deep, covered by a stupa. To the west are six or seven hot springs that are exceedingly hot. In the great forest south of the country are many wild elephants of enormous size. Following the south bank of the Gaṅgā River eastward from here for three hundred li, one arrives at
2.36
the country of Campā (in Central India), over four thousand li in circumference. The capital borders the Gaṅgā River to the north and is more than forty li in circumference. There are several tens of monasteries with over two hundred monks, who study Hīnayāna. There are more than twenty deva temples where various tīrthikas dwell together. The city is built of brick walls several tens of feet high, with lofty and steep battlements. At the beginning of the kalpa, when human beings first appeared, they dwelt in the wild and nested in caves. Later, a heavenly maiden descended among humans, wandered along the Gaṅgā River, and washed in its current to admire her beauty; moved by spiritual resonance, she became pregnant and gave birth to four sons, who partitioned Jambudvīpa, dividing its territories and establishing cities. This city was the capital of one of the sons, who was the very first ruler of Jambudvīpa. The land is warm and suitable for elephants. One hundred and fifty li east of the city, south of the Gaṅgā River, water encircles an isolated islet; on the cliff in its midst is a deva temple of great spiritual power. Herds of wild elephants roam along the borders of the country. Going east again for more than four hundred li, one arrives at
2.37
the country of Kajaṅgala (in Central India), over two thousand li in circumference. There are seven monasteries with more than three hundred monks. There are ten deva temples where diverse sectarian scholars dwell together. The land has many springs and is damp. On the bank of the Gaṅgā River north of the city is a very high platform made of bricks, with images of buddhas, devas, and others carved on its four sides. In the southern regions there are many wild elephants. King Śīlāditya, during his tour of inspection in eastern India, built a temporary palace here. Crossing the Gaṅgā River eastward for more than six hundred li, one arrives at
2.38
the country of Puṇḍravardhana (in Central India), over four thousand li in circumference. The capital is more than forty li in circumference and densely populated. There are over twenty monasteries with more than three thousand monks, who study both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. There are a hundred deva temples where various tīrthikas dwell together, with the nirgranthas being especially numerous. More than twenty [li] west of the city is a great monastery with over seven hundred monks, all studying Mahāyāna; renowned monks of the eastern Indian region come from here. There is a stupa of King Aśoka where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for three months; on fast days it emits light. Beside it are the traces where the four buddhas walked and sat. In the adjacent vihāra an image of Avalokiteśvara is made; spiritual descents are frequent here. Many people abstain from grain to pray, and those who pray unfailingly receive a response. The land is low and damp. It produces the panasa fruit, which is both abundant and prized; it is as large as a crane's egg, and grows either on tree branches or among the roots, like fuling. Crossing a large river eastward again for more than nine hundred li, one arrives at
2.39
the country of Kāmarūpa (in Eastern India), over ten thousand li in circumference. The capital is more than thirty li in circumference. To this day the Buddha-Dharma has not existed there; they serve heavenly spirits on their own. There are several hundred deva temples and several tens of thousands of tīrthikas. King Kumāra (meaning 'Youth') rules over it, having inherited the throne through more than a thousand generations. The climate and springs are warm, and the population is prosperous. The country's eastern border adjoins the southwest of the Tang empire; there are various Man and Lao barbarians who present tribute there, saying that after a journey of about two months one enters the western borders of Shu. In the southeast of this country, wild elephants also abound. When its king heard the renowned name of the śramaṇa Xuanzang, who had come from afar to Central India, he invited him to travel east. Upon meeting him, he was filled with admiration as if with an old acquaintance; he gave rise to faith in the Śākya gate, gloriously opening the way for Buddhism. Xuanzang also subdued various non-Buddhists in debates, conferred upon them the refuges and precepts, and broadly propagated the transformation. Thus Buddhism in Eastern India was propagated by Xuanzang. When his fame spread to distant borders and King Śīlāditya learned of it, he also invited him back to the west, treating him with re-doubled courtesy. The details are in his separate biography. Traveling south from here for one thousand three hundred li, one arrives at
2.40
The kingdom of Samataṭa (Eastern India) is over 3,000 li in circuit. It is close to the sea and low and damp. The capital is over 20 li in circuit. There are over thirty monasteries with over 2,000 monks, who belong to the Sthaviranikāya. There are over a hundred deva temples, and the tīrthikas and nirgranthas are very flourishing. By the side of the city is an Aśoka stupa, where the Buddha once preached the Dharma for seven days. Beside it are the traces of the walking and sitting of the four buddhas. In a nearby monastery is a blue jade statue eight feet high, complete in marks and supremely majestic. To the northeast from here, amid mountain valleys on the shore of the great sea, lies the kingdom of Śrīkṣetra. Next, on the southeast corner of the sea, is the kingdom of Kāmalaṅkā. Next to the east is the kingdom of Dvāravatī. Next to the east is the kingdom of Īśānapura. Next to the east is the kingdom of Mahācampā, that is, Linyi. Next to the southwest is the kingdom of Yamunadvīpa. The roads to these six kingdoms are blocked and impassable. Further travelling west 900 li from the kingdom of Samataṭa, one reaches [the following kingdom].
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- 釋迦方志 — 道宣, Classical Chinese