Travels of Fa-Hien to BHARATVARSH( 399-412/413 AD):
Introduction
In these troubled times, when the diplomatic relations between India & China are at its lowest point, let us reflect back 1600 years ago when a famous Chinese pilgrim and scholar named Fa-Hien came to India and has left a moving account on his travels and on the social conditions of India in early fifth century AD.
Fa-Hien, Xuanzang and Yi-Jing are the most famous of Chinese scholars who have visited India between the 5th to 7th century AD.
Between the 3rd century BCE – when Buddhism was first introduced to China to 9th century AD , there was an avalanche of scholars from China who visited India.
Many of the names of these scholars are lost in the mist of time. Ancient Chinese thought of India as an ‘ epicenter of knowledge’ and that is why these great scholars came to India to drink from that ‘ fountain of knowledge’.
Fa-Hien and His Travels to India
The efficiency of Gupta rule was demonstrated by the material and moral progress of the people of which glimpses are seen in the account of India by the Chinese Pilgrim, Fa- Hien between 399- 414 AD, in the time of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya whose name, however, is not mentioned by him.
Fa-Hien( 337- 422 AD), however, was not the sole & solitary instance of this cultural intercourse between India & China. India, for long had been looked up to by China as the seat of saving knowledge & the highest wisdom which were eagerly & devoutly sought after by her best minds.
These were found in Buddhism of which India was the cradle. Buddhism became known in China as early as third century BC. Since then, it created a stir in Chinese religious circles & a movement towards India for drinking in her wisdom at it’s very sources.
In 399 AD, Fa-Hien organized a joint mission with several Chinese scholars like Hui- Ching, Tao – Cheng, Hui – Yang & Hui – Wei to travel together to India to understand Buddhism better, as he felt that Buddhist ‘ Disciplines’ were very imperfectly known in China.
On the way, this band of scholars met others , who had proceeded them on the same grounds. They were Chin – Yen, Hui – Chien, Song – Shao, Pao – Yun, Seng – Chin, and others.
Route of Fa-Hien
Tbe first country where they saw Buddhism being followed was Shan- Shan ( in modern China). Here “some 4000 priests belonging to Hinyayana sect.” ‘The common people of these countries, practice the religion of India’, states Fa-Hien.
Route of Fa-Hien’s Travels
Next, the party passed through several regions, where they found ‘ ‘ all those who have ” left the family ” (priests and novices), study Indian books & the Indian spoken language.’
In the country of ‘Kara-Shahr’ ( in modern Xinjiang province of China), the Buddhist Hinyana monks numbered ‘over 4000’.
After undergoing ‘ hardships beyond comparisons’ on their journey through uninhabited tracts & across difficult rivers, the party came to Khotan (South Western Xinjiang province , in Western China), where the monks followed Mahayana Buddhism & numbered ‘tens of thousands’.
They were accommodated in the nearby Monastery, known by an Indian name of ‘Gomati’ where ‘at the sound of a large bell, 3,000 monks assembled to eat.’ There were 14 such large monasteries in Khotan.
There was in neighborhood another such Monastery, which was ‘250 feet high ‘ overlaid with gold and silver ‘and took 80 years to build and the reign of three kings.’
The next sect of Buddhism was Kashgar ( in Xinjiang province of China), where the scholars found the king holding a ‘ pancha-parishad’, for purpose of making offerings including ‘all kinds of jewels’. There were 1000 Hinayan monks, along with some sacred relics of Buddha.
From Kashgar, crossing snowy ranges, the travelers came to Northern India to a place called Darel ( location unknown), where
‘there were many Hinyana monks.’
Next, they had to negotiate ‘a difficult, precipitous & dangerous road’, with the Indus flowing along the deepest gorge. Coming down 700 rock steps , they crossed the Indus by ‘a suspension bridge of ropes, & met monks who anxiously asked Fa-Hien
‘ if he knew when Buddhism first went eastwards’, to which Fa-Hien replied ‘ Shamans from India began to bring the Sutras and Disciplines, across this river ( Indus), from the date of setting up the image of Maitreya Bodhisattva, 300 years after Nirvana’.
After crossing the Indus, the scholars came to the region called ‘Udyana’ where Buddhism was ‘ extremely flourishing’ , and the language used was that of Central India or Middle Kingdom’.
The next stage reached was Gandhara, followed by Taxila and Peshawar, where King Kanishka ‘built a pagoda over 400 feet high and which no other could compare in grandeur and dignity’.That is called as Kanishka Stupa.
The whole region was studied with monuments enshrining the relics of Buddha or incidents of his life: his footprints, the stone on which he dried his clothes, his alms-bowl, the spot where he cut his flesh to ransom a dove, or gave his body to feed a hungry tiger.
From here, Fa-Hien was left with only two companions; Hui – Ching & Tao- Cheng ; the rest all went back to China.
Fa-Hien and two companions, now crossed the little snowy mountain ( Safed Koh, in Eastern Afghanistan), where one of his companions, Hui-Cheng died of cold, saying to Fa-Hien: ‘ I cannot recover; you had better go on while you can; do not let us all pass away here.’
Gently stroking the corpse, Fa-Hien cried out in lamentation: ‘
It is destiny. But what is there to be done ‘ ?
Crossing the range, the scholars arrived in Afghanistan and found there about 3000 monks of both Hinyana and Mahayana schools.
A similar number of monks, they found at Bannu, whence travelling eastwards, they again crossed the Indus and came to country called ‘Bhida’ in the Punjab where Buddhism was flourishing.
Passing through Punjab with its’ many monestaries containing in all nearly 10,000 monks’, the scholars came to Mathura and found about‘ 20 monestaries with some 3,000 monks’ along the banks of Yamuna.
Social Conditions of India as per Fa-Hien
Fa- Hien now talks about the general condition of the country, as he saw it : ‘ the country to the South of Mathura, which is called the middle kingdom of the Brahmins, where people are prosperous & happy, without any official restrictions.’
‘ Only those who till the King’s lands have to pay so much on the profit they make. Those who want to go, may go and those who want to stop, may stop.’
‘The King in his administration uses no corporal punishment; criminals are merely fined according to the gravity of their offences.’
‘Even for the second attempt at rebellion, the punishment is only the loss of the right hand. The men of King’s body- guard have all fixed salaries.’
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Throughout the whole country no one kills any living things, nor drinks wine , nor eats onions or garlic ; but Chandalas are segregated. ‘Chandal’ is their name for foul men ( lepers).’
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In this country, they do not keep pigs or fowls, there are no dealings in cattle, no butcher’s shops or distilleries in their market places.’
‘As medium of exchange, they use cowries ( shell money). Only the Chandalas go hunting and deal in fish.’
Since the time of the Buddha ,’ the kings, elders built shrines & gave lands , houses, gardens with men & bullocks for cultivation. Binding title-deeds were written out, which subsequent Kings did not dare disregard.’
‘Rooms with bed and mattresses , food and clothes are provided for resident and travelling monks without fail; and this is the same in all places.’
‘Pious families organize subscriptions to make offerings to monks, various articles of clothing and things they need, after the annual Retreat.’
‘The Middle Kingdom’ mentioned by Fa-Hien was the stronghold of Hinduism and the heart of the Gupta Empire, where India’s civilization was seen at its best.
The observations of Fa-Hien shows how the people were allowed by the government considerable individual freedom not subglject to troubles and interference form its Officers in the shape of registrations, or other restrictions, economic liberty with unfettered mobility of labour,
so that the agriculturists were not tied to holdings; like bonded labourers; and humane criminal law.
The moral progress and the public spirit of the people are shown in the liberal endowments of religious and educational institutions.
These endowments took the permanent grants of lands, with full apparatus necessary for their cultivation by men and bullocks.
This shows that these cultural institutions had to mention efficient agricultural department to make out of their landed properties, cultivated fields as well as gardens or orchards, enough income to meet their expenditure.
The way of life was based on nonviolence ( ahimsa), with vegetarian diet, ruling out heating foods and spices such as onion and garlic, also distilleries, and butcheries.
Fa-Hien now visited the sacred places of Buddhism: ‘ Sankassa’ ( in Farrukhabad dist of UP), where Ashoka built a shrine and a pillar 60 feet high with a lion capital, with about 1000 monks & another 600-700 in a neighboring monastery.
At Sravasti, Fa- Hien arrived with his only companion Tao-Cheng. The monks asked Fa-Hien: ‘From what country do you come ‘ ? And when he replied ‘ From China’, the monks sighed and said: ‘Good indeed ! Is it possible that foreigners can come so far as this in search of the Faith?
‘Ever since the faith has been transmitted by us monks from generation to generation, no Chinese adherents of our doctrine have been known to arrive here.’
Fa-Hien saw at Sravasti, the famous Jetvana Vihara which he calls the ‘shrine of the Garden of Gold built by Suddata who spread out Gold money to buy the ground.’
Buddha’s hut at Jetvana Vihara
He saw all ‘ those spots where men of later ages have set up marks of remembrance’.
Further Observations on India by Fa-Hien
‘In the country, there are 96 schools of non-Buddhists, each with its own disciples , who also beg their food , buy do not carry alm-bowls’.
‘They ( people) further seek salvation by building alongside out-of-the-way roads, Homes of Charity, where food, drinks and clothes are offered to travellers.’
This is a remarkable testimony to public philanthropy inspired by the spirit of social service, the religion ( Hinduism), which inculcated worship of God as embodied in humanity ‘ Nara Narayana’ & expressed itself in building ‘ Dharamsalas’ open to all without distinction of Caste and Creed , to all sects, & also to the Buddhists.
Fa-Hien found Kapilvastu in wilderness, but with many of its monuments still intact.’ On the roads,wild Elephants & Lions are to be feared.’ He also visited Lumbini and Vaishali & crossing the Ganges, came to Pataliputra, the Capital of Gupta Empire.
‘At Pataliputra formerly ruled by King Ashoka, the palace of the King is still intact, its various halls & gates built by spirits who piled up stones, after no human fashion.’
Fa-Hien at Ashoka’s Palace
Up to Pataliputra, Fa-Hien was accompanied by his companion, Tao- Cheng. But now he too was to part from him.
Tao-Cheng was so much impressed by the ‘ shamans’ of India that he prayed that ‘ from this time forth until I become a Buddha, may I never live in another land.’
Tao- Cheng, therefore, remained in India & did not go back; but Fa- Hien’s object being to diffuse knowledge of the Discipline throughout the land of China, he ultimately went back alone.
Fa-Hien found at Pataliputra one Mahayana and another Hinyana monestary. The former had a teacher named Raivata ‘ a strikingly enlightened man of much wisdom , there being nothing which he did not understand.’
Fa-Hien next visited Nalanda and Rajagriha. At Rajgriha , he visited several spots sacred to Buddhism, including the famous Vulture mountain known as Gridhakuta or ‘ Vulture Peak’ at Rajgriha, Bihar
Seeing the Vulture mountain, Fa-Hien’s feelings overcame him’, but he retained his tears and said : ‘Buddha formerly lived here & delivered his ‘ Surgama Sutra’. I, Fa-Hien born at a time too late to met the Buddha,can only gaze upon his traces & his dwelling-place.’
He next procced to Gaya and Bodh Gaya seeing all places associated with Buddha, and then retraced his steps towards Pataliputra and arrived at Benaras, and its deer park (Sarnath) where he found two monastaries with resident monks.
Stupa at Sarnath, Varanasi
Return Journey of Fa-Hien
Now, he commenced his return journey home, coming back to Pataliputra and following the course of the Ganges downstream came to Champa., whence processing farther, he arrived at ‘Tamluk'( Midnapur District, West Bengal), ‘where there is a sea port.’
At Tamluk, he saw 24 monasteries and stayed for two years , copying the Sutras, drawing images and then set out on a ‘large merchant vessel’ , reaching Sri Lanka after 14 days.
He remained in Sri Lanka for 2 years and obtained some of the sacred works in Sanskrit, copies of Disciplines, selections from Canon , and Agamas.
From Sri Lanka, he took a Ship and reached Java ( Indonesia), where he saw Hinduism was flourishing, and the faith of Buddha’s religion was ‘in a very unsatisfactory condition.’
As he was reaching Indonesia, a great storm arose which threatened to blow the ship off-course. Fa-Hien prayed so that his years of work shouldn’t go waste.
Thankfully, the storm clouds blew away and Fa-Hien was able to reach Indonesia.
Fa-Hien remained in Java for 5 months and then returned to China on- board a large ship carrying ‘ over 200 souls.’
On the journey, storm clouds again threatened his ship and many passengers threatened to throw him overboard, as they thought that Fa-Hien was bringing bad luck to them.
However, a rich merchant stood by his side and again, Fa-Hien’s life was saved.
Thus, was completed, Fa-Hien’s remarkable journey on which he thus commented : ‘
Looking back upon what I went through, my heart throbs involuntarily, & sweat pours down. That in dangers, I encountered , I did not spare my body, was because I kept my objective steadily in view.’
Fa-Hien practically walked all the way from Central China , across the Gobi desert,over the Hindu Kush, & through India down to the mouth of Hooghly, where he took a ship for China, criss-crossing 30 different countries, spending 6 yrs travelling & 6 yrs on stay & study in India.
Fa-Hien had some interesting observations on Magadha: ‘
Of all the regions of India, this has the largest cities & towns. Its people are rich & thriving & emulate one another practising charity of heart and duty to one’s neighbour.’
Fa-Hien observes: ‘
The elders & gentry of the country have instituted in their capitals, free hospitals, where poor, crippled, destitute and helpless people come.’
‘They are well taken care of, a doctor attends them, food and medicine being supplied according to their needs. They all are made quiet comfortable, & when they are cured, they go away.’