On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c12.7

v1.c12.7

Further, in this passage we have the sentence beginning with "On from this country there were numerous Puṇyaśālās". For this the original is *tzŭ-kuo-yi-wang-to-yu-fu-she* (此國已往多有福舍). Julien translates the whole sentence thus—"Il y avait jadis, dans ce royaume, une multitude de maisons de bienfaisance (Punyaçālās), où l'on secourait les pauvres et les malheureux. Tantôt on y distribuait des médicaments, tantôt de la nourriture. Grâce à cette resource les voyageurs ne se trouvaient jamais dans l'embarras". This rendering quite spoils the author's statement which is to the effect that at the time of his travels Rest-houses, at which food and medicine were distributed gratis, abounded in Cheh-ka and the countries of India about to be noticed. These Rest-houses or *Fu-she* are called Puṇyaśālās in *Chuan* XII, but in the account of the present country the *Life* calls them Dharmaśālās. This latter word, in Pali Dhammaśāla, is the name given to the Hall for preaching, but it seems to be also used to designate the free Rest-houses.