The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c16.26

c16.26

The travels of the Chinese pilgrim, Fa-Hien, have given to the world some very interesting glimpses of India in the early part of the fifth century A.D., from the sectarian point of view. The object of his journey was to obtain copies of the Vinaya-pitaka, or rules of discipline of the Buddhist Sangha, and his chief interest as he went through the land of the Lotus of Good Law was to follow the footsteps of the Master, to recount the wondrous legends of His life, and to describe the great monasteries and temples built in His honour. What struck him most in secular matters was the security and tranquillity in which the people lived, their prosperity, piety, and benevolence. The great towns of Magadha, famous in Buddhist history, were mostly deserted or in decay; others rich and prosperous which had sprung up in other places did not interest him. Buddhism as a sect was declining, but the spirit of the Master's teaching prevailed everywhere.