|
bhadrakalpa
will hold
meetings of heavenly and human beings at this place to speak on the profound
and marvelous Dharma. In the three-hundredth year after the nirvana of
Śākya Tathāgata, the
śāstra
master Kātyāyana (wrongly transcribed as
Jiazhanyan in olden times) composed the
Abhidharma-jñāna-prasthāna-
śāstra
at this monastery.
Inside Dark Forest Monastery there is a stupa more than two hundred feet
high built by King Aśoka. Beside it are the ruins of places where the four
past buddhas used to sit and walk up and down. Small stupas and large caves,
of which the number is unknown, lie close together. They were built since
the beginning of the present
kalpa,
when arhats of different stages passed
away at this place, but I cannot give a full description of these events. Their
holy tooth relics are still kept there. The range of hills that encircles the
monastery is over twenty
li
in circuit. There are hundreds and thousands of
102
889c
Fascicle IV
stupas containing the Buddha’s relic bones, built so closely together that
their shadows touch one another.
Going northeast from here for more than one hundred forty or fifty
li,
I
reached the country of Jālaṃdhara (in the domain of North India). The country
of Jālaṃdhara is over one thousand
li
from east to west and more than eight
hundred
li
from south to north; the capital city is twelve or thirteen
li
in
circuit. It yields cereals and has plenty of nonglutinous rice. The trees in the
forests are luxuriant and flowers and fruit are abundant. The climate is tem-
perate and warm and the people are violent and indomitable by custom and
ugly in appearance, but all their households are wealthy. There are over fifty
monasteries with more than two thousand monks, who have specialized knowl-
edge of both Mahayana and Hinayana teachings. There are three
deva
temples
with over five hundred heretics, who all smear their bodies with ashes.
A previous king of this country had venerated heretics, but he later met
an arhat from whom he heard the Dharma and he came to understand and
believe in it. The king of Central India, appreciating his sincere faith, empow-
ered him to be the sole controller of all affairs connected with the Triple Gem
in all of the five parts of India. [The king of Jālaṃdhara] made no distinction
between different regions and, forgetting his personal likes and dislikes, he
supervised all the monks, skillfully pointing out even the most minute of
their good and evil deeds. Therefore virtuous monks of good repute were
highly respected, while those who violated the disciplinary rules were
denounced and punished. At all sacred sites he erected memorial buildings,
either stupas or monasteries, which were found everywhere in India.
Going from here to the northeast for more than seven hundred
li
over pre-
cipitous ranges, through deep valleys, and along perilous paths, and trudging
on dangerous tracks, I reached the country of Kulūta (in the domain of North
India). The country of Kulūta is more than three thousand
li
in circuit, sur-
rounded by mountains, and the capital city is fourteen or fifteen
li
in circuit.
The soil is fertile and cereals are sown and planted in season. Flowers and
fruit are abundant and various kinds of grasses and trees are luxuriant. As it
borders the Snow Mountains, it is rich in precious medicinal herbs. It yields
gold, silver, red copper, crystal, and brass. The climate is somewhat cold but
there is little snow or frost. The people have ugly features and suffer from
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The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions
goiter as well as edema. They are violent and furious by nature and uphold
the spirit of bravery. There are more than twenty monasteries with over one
thousand monks, most of whom study Mahayana teachings; a few of them
practice the tenets of various [Hinayana] schools. There are fifteen
deva
tem-
ples with heretics living together. On the steep mountains there are caves sit-
uated in connection with one another, which were either the lodgings of
arhats or the abodes of
ṛṣi
s.
In this country there is a stupa built by King Aśoka in memory of the
event of the Tathāgata coming to this place in olden times to preach the
Dharma for the conversion of the people.
From here the road, leading to the north for one thousand and eight or
nine hundred
li
by perilous paths and over mountains and valleys, takes one
to the country of Lāhul. Going further to the north over two thousand
li
along
a route full of difficulties and obstacles, in cold winds and wafting snowflakes,
one could reach the country of Marsa (also known as the country of Sanbohe).
From the country of Kulūta going south for more than seven hundred
li
over
a great mountain across a big river, I reached the country of Śatadru (in the
domain of North India). The country of Śatadru is more than two thousand
li
in circuit, bordering on a big river in the west. The capital city is seventeen
or eighteen
li
in circuit. Cereals are grown in abundance and fruit is plentiful.
It produces much gold and silver and also yields pearls. The people’s dress
and utensils are bright and clean and their clothes are extravagant and gor-
geous. The climate is hot and the people are honest and amiable by custom.
Their disposition is kind and gentle and the superior and inferior are in proper
order. They earnestly believe in the buddha-dharma with a true attitude of
respect. Within and outside the royal city there are ten monasteries, which
are in desolation and have few monks. Three or four
li
to the southeast of
the city there is a stupa over two hundred feet high built by King Aśoka.
Beside it are the ruins of places where the four past buddhas used to sit and
walk up and down.
Going from here to the southwest for over eight hundred
li,
I reached the
country of Pāriyātra (in the domain of Central India). The country of Pāriyātra
is more than three thousand
li
in circuit and the capital city is fourteen or
104
Fascicle IV
fifteen
li
in circuit. It yields cereals and winter wheat in abundance and has a
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
