On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c22.s16: Po-Fa-To
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c22.s16
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Po-Fa-To
v2.c22.s16.1
Continuing the account the Records tell us that from Mou-lo-san-pu-lu the pilgrim went north-east above 700 *li* to the *Po-fa-to* country. This was, he relates, above 5000 *li* in circuit and its capital above 20 *li*; it was well peopled; was subject to the Teka country; its productions were upland rice, pulse, and wheat. There were above ten Buddhist monasteries and 1000 Brethren adherents of the two "Vehicles"; and there were four topes built by Asoka. By the side of the capital was a large monastery with above 100 Brethren all Mahāyānists. In this monastery the Śāstra-Master *Shên-na-fuh-ta-lo* (Jinaputra) composed the "Yü-ka-shih-ti-shih-lun", and in it the Śāstra-Masters *Hsien-ai* (Bhadraruchi) and *Tê-kuang* (Guṇaprabha) entered the religious life as bhikshus. This monastery was in ruins, having been burned by fire from heaven.
v2.c22.s16.2
The *Po-fa-to* of this passage is supposed to be for *Po-lo-fa-to*, that is, Parvata. In the D text of the Life the reading is *Po-fa-to*, but in the other texts it is *Po-fa-to-lo*. In the Fang-chih this country is placed to the east of Mou-lo-san-pu-lu, but in all the texts of the Life and Records it is to the north-east of that country.
v2.c22.s16.3
The treatise here ascribed to Jinaputra is not named correctly as its proper title is "Yü-ka-shih-ti-lun-shih", which has been restored as "Yogāchāryabhūmi-śāstra vyākhyā(-kārikā)".¹ It is a short commentary on a part of the "Yogāchāryabhūmi-śāstra" already mentioned. On the title-page of the Chinese translation made by Yuan-chuang the work is ascribed to *Tsui-shêng-tzŭ* (Jinaputra) and other p'usas. The treatise mentions works by Nāgā- rjuna, Deva, and Asanga, and we may with some probability assign Jinaputra to the second half of the sixth century A. D.
v2.c22.s16.4
¹ Bunyiu Nanjio, No. 1201.
v2.c22.s16.5
From the Life we learn that the pilgrim found a few learned Brethren in this place and remained two years studying the “Sammatiya-mūla-Abhidharma”, the “Shê-chêng-fa-lun (攝 正 法 論) and the “Chiao-shih (教 實)-lun”. Of these the first is apparently the No. 1272 of Bunyiu Nanjio’s Catalogue, and the names of the others are apparently not in the Catalogue.