On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c19.182

v2.c19.182

The vihāra or monastery here called "Mahābodhi-saṅghārāma" was evidently a very large and splendid establishment in excellent preservation. It is not mentioned by name by Fa-hsien, but it may have been one of his three saṅghārāmas. The six courts were evidently large quadrangles, planted with trees, and surrounded by houses which served as residences for the Brethren and lodging-places for guests. I-ching tells of a pilgrim sitting in one of these quadrangles under an asoka tree making images of Buddha and Kuanyin.¹ He, like some others, uses the name "Mahābodhi" to designate a district, and it seems to correspond roughly to the old Uruvilvā. He writes, for example, of the "vihāras of Mahābodhi and Kusinārā", and of the countries "from Mahābodhi east to Lin-i".² He translates Mahābodhi-vihāra by Ta-chiao-ssŭ or "Monastery of Great Enlightenment", but he and others also call it simply P'u-t'i-ssŭ or "Bodhi monastery". I-ching also seems to use Mahābodhi and Mahābodhi-vihāra as convertible terms, and as general designations for the locality including its various sacred objects. Thus some of his pilgrims going to Mahābodhi-vihāra or Mahābodhi "inspect the sacred traces": the Muchilinda dragon was at Mahābodhi,³ and so was the image of Buddha made by Maitreya.⁴ But this image cannot have been found by I-ching in the same building in which it was found by our pilgrim. I-ching and his friends had a good view of the image—"the real portrait"—, and I-ching was able to measure it for a silk robe, and afterwards dress it in the robe. If the beautiful image had been in the brahmin's temple, into which daylight could not penetrate, these things could not have occurred. In one place I-ching specialises the monastery calling it the "Vajrāsana Mahābodhi-vihāra", adding that it had been made by a king of Ceylon, and used as a lodging place by pilgrims from Ceylon.⁵ But in the seventh century this monastery was evidently an Indian institution, and under government control. When the Chinese ambassador sent by T'ang T'ai Tsung, Wang Yuan-tsê, came to the district, he was lodged here as the guest of the head of the establishment;¹ so also was the pilgrim Tao-fang; and when Wu-hsing and his companion came to the Monastery the government officials made them honorary members (chu-jen 主人).² It will be noticed that Yuan-chuang describes the monks of this establishment as Mahāyānists of the Sthavira School; and he applies the same terms to the Brethren of Ceylon in his account of that island. As the Sthavira School is generally represented as belonging to the early and Hīnayāna form of Buddhism it would seem that in these and other passages Yuan-chuang uses the term Mahāyāna in a peculiar sense, as has been already stated. At his time many of the Brethren in the Magadha Monasteries were evidently Mahāyānists in that sense.