Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t4.8

v2.c14.s4.t4.8

In the Yonghui sixth, Ammannati, a monk from Central India came to Changan with 1,500 volumes of Mahayana and Hinayana *Vinaya-sutra*. Emperor Gaozong arranged him to live in the Ci'en Temple. In the first year of Xianqing (656 CE), Emperor Gaozong issued an order for Ammannati to head to the Kunlun Mountain to collect various magic medicinal herbs. Ammannati went to the countries around the South Sea and received courteous treatment from the kings there who even built a temple for him to disseminate the dharma. In the Longshuo third year (663 CE), Ammannati started a return journey to the Ci'en Temple with a variety of medicinal herbs, (according to *Continuation of Eminent Monk Biography*, volume IV; *Biography of Master Heun Sang*; *Record of Śākyamuni's Teachings Compiled during the Kaiyuan Period*, volume IX; *Buddhism Theogony*, volume 39)