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śramaṇa
sobbed piteously and could
not speak properly. The king said, “What is wrong with you, why are you
so sad?” The
śramaṇa
said, “Depending upon the prestige of our country I
traveled far to seek the Way. I sojourned in a foreign land and experienced
the discomfort of cold and hot weather. I was often insulted for my behavior
and ridiculed for my utterances. How could I be happy under such worrisome
and shameful conditions?” The king said, “If that is the case, what should
I do?” The
śramaṇa
said, “I sincerely hope that Your Majesty will pay atten-
tion to the performance of good deeds and construct a monastery in India.
That will not only glorify the holy site but also build a good reputation for
yourself. The blessedness of the deed will honor our forefathers and benefit
our descendants as well.” The king said, “That is a good idea. How is it that
I hear of it so late?”
The king [of Siṃhala] then offered all the treasures of his country to the
king of India, who, after accepting the tribute and wishing to foster friendship
with a distant ruler, said to the envoy, “What shall I give you to take back as
a return gift?” The envoy said, “The king of Siṃhala pays homage to the
King of Great Auspiciousness of India. Your prestige and virtue extend far
and your kindness and benevolence cover all living beings. A
śramaṇa
of
our humble land, out of respect and admiration for the morals and manners
of your country, ventured to travel to your esteemed land to pay veneration
to the holy sites. He sought lodging in various monasteries but none would
house him. After undergoing extreme difficulties, he returned home in shame.
I humbly propose a far-reaching project that may serve as an example for
coming generations: to build a monastery in India in order to provide a resting
place for traveling monks, to promote good relations between our two coun-
tries, and to allow envoys to be exchanged without lapse.” The king said,
228
918c
Fascicle VIII
“The tradition of the Tathāgata’s subtle edification is still extant. You may
choose any of the holy sites [for the construction].”
Bearing this message the envoy returned home to report to the king [of
Siṃhala]. The king’s ministers prostrated themselves before him in congrat-
ulation. The
śramaṇa
s were then convened to discuss the matter of construct-
ing a monastery and they said, “As the
bodhi
tree is the place where the past
buddhas attained [buddhahood] and future buddhas will attain buddhahood,
there is no better place among all the suggestions.” The treasures of the
country were donated for the construction of this monastery, and monks from
the country [of Siṃhala] were sent to look after it. A copper plate was inscribed
with the following words: “Selfless almsgiving is the supreme teaching taught
by all buddhas and rendering assistance to those who have the cause to receive
it is the explicit instruction of former sages. I, this humble person, after having
succeeded to the throne, have built this monastery to glorify the holy site
and to render blessedness to my ancestors, as well as to benefit the common
people. The monks of my country may have free access to it and the people
of the country where it stands may also enjoy the same privilege as the monks.
This tradition is to be transmitted to posterity into the indefinite future.” Thus
most of the monks in this monastery come from the Land of Lions.
More than ten
li
to the south of the
bodhi
tree the sacred sites are located
so closely to each other that it is difficult to tell of them all in detail. Each
year when the
bhikṣu
s end the rains retreat, monks and laypeople, hundreds
and thousands in number, come here from the four quarters, holding flowers,
playing music, and wandering in the woods to perform acts of veneration
and make offerings for seven days and nights.
According to the Buddha’s holy teachings, the monks of India commence
the rains retreat on the first day of the first half of the month of Śrāvaṇa, cor-
responding to the sixteenth day of the fifth month in China, and the retreat
ends on the fifteenth day of the second half of the month of Aśvayuja, cor-
responding to the fifteenth day of the eighth month in China. In India, as the
months are named after the constellations, the course of time has not changed
from ancient times to the present and it is invariably accepted by all schools.
Probably due to misunderstanding or mistranslation from the foreign language
differences in the calculations for the division of time and the fixation of the
229
The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions
months arose. Thus [in China] the rains retreat begins on the sixteenth day
of the fourth month and ends on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (one
month earlier than in India).
End of Fascicle VIII of
The Great Tang Dynasty
Record of the Western Regions
230
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