Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s5.t11.4

v1.c7.s5.t11.4

The purpose for Yi Jing going to India was to study Buddhism. He spent a long time living in India's Nalanda Monastery and also visited some temples in India and South Sea area. At every place he visited, he paid special attention to observe the religious lives and regulations of monks and monk groups ie actual theory and practice of Buddhism and compared them with that of in China at that time. Yi Jing thought, the disciplines practiced and the regulations implemented in Indian temples were models for Chinese Buddhists to follow. *Account of Buddhism Sent from the South Seas* written by Yi Jing, based on what he saw and heard, "complies with the holy teaching and practice the significant doctrine." He wanted to introduce Buddhist disciplines practiced in India to China through this book. At his eyes, only by this, can Chinese Buddhism be developed correctly.