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Then all night long — they burnlamps, indulge in games and music, and make religious oftsings, Such is the custom of all those who assemble on tHs occasion from the different countries round about.” This is avaluable account from an eye- | witness of the system of idolatory to which Buddhism had declined by the 5th entury A.D. Many writers are of opinion that later Finduism owes its proces~ sions and idolatory to Buddhi:m. More interesting to us is th: account of the chari- “d < table dispensaries of the town of Pataliputra.. “The nobles and householders of this ountry have founded hospitals within the city to which‘he poor of all coun- tries, the destitute, cripple, and the dreased, may repair. They receive every kind of requisitehelp gratuitously. : Physicians inspect their diseases, and acording to their cases order them food and drink, medcine or decoc- tions, everything in fact that may contrbyte to their ease. When cured, they depart at their coivenience.” Fa Hian then visited RAJAGRIHA, the new town built by Ajatasatru, as well as the old town of 83imbisara.. “ The traveller here alludes to the first Buddhist Council which was held immediately after the death of Buidha to compile the sacred texts. ‘ There isa stone cave situa- ted in the northern shade of the mountain and alled Cheti. This is the place where 500 Arhats assembled after the Nirvana of Buddha to arrange the collection of sacred books,” a te At Gay Fa Hian found everything desolate and like a desert. He visited the famous Bo-tree and all the other places connected with Buddha’s penances and attaining supreme wisdom, and tells legends which had. mr ““BUDDHIST PERUD, BOOK LV grown up since Gautama’s time He then arrived at the country of KAsi and thecity of Benares where he visited the deer park whee Gautama had first pro- claimed the truth, Two Smgh4rdmas had been built here. Thence he went p the ancient town of Kau- sambi where Gautama hal often preached. From Benares, Fa Tian returned to PaAtaliputra. The purpose of Fa Mian was to seek for copies of the Vinaya Pitaka ; ht “throughout the whole of Nor- -thern India the vious masters trusted to tradition only for their kmwledge of the precepts, and had no originals to copyfrom. Wherefore Fa Hian had come even so far as Mid-India.* But here in the Sangha- rama of the sreat vehicle he obtained one collection “of the precéps.” Proceeding down the course of the river Ganges, the pil- grim cams to CHAMPA on the southern shore of the river. We havealready said before, that Champ4 was the capi- tal of Anga or East Behar, and was situated near modern Bhageipur. Going further eastward and southward, Fa Hian came to TAMRALIPTI which was then the great sea-port at the mouth of the Ganges. There wete 24 Sanghdéramas in this country ; all of them had " ‘resident priests, and the Jaw of Buddha was generally # respected. Fa Hian remained here for two years, writ- ing out copies of the sacred books, and drawing image- " * ‘The whole tract of country from Malwa to Magadha seems to have ] Deen called Middle India, CHAP. VI.] FA HiAN’S ACCOUNT. 79 pictures. Hethen shippid himself on board a great mer- chant vessel. Putting to sea, they proceeded in a south- westerly direction, catching \he first fair wind of the winter season. They sailed for pines days and nights, and arrived at the “country of tht lions” (Sintala Ceylon). CEYLON, our traveller sa had originally no inha- bitants, but merchants came great numbers and gradually settled here, and sola great kingdom rose. Then the Buddhists came, (Fa Han says, Bhuddha came), and converted the people. ‘the climate of Cey- lon was agreeable, and the vegetation jerdant, and to the north of the royal city was a- greattower 479 ft. in height, with a Sangh4rdma containing 5000 monks, But amid these pleasing scenes, the hezt of the tra- veller sickened for his home from which ie was now separated for many years, and when on one ovasion the present of a fan of Chinese manufacture by a rerchant, to a jasper figure of Buddha 22 ft, high, remitded Fa Hian of his native country, he “gave way to his orrow- ful feelings, and the tears flowing down filled his e;es.” After a residence of two years in Ceylon, and iter obtaining copies of the Vinaya Pitaka and other wor:s “hitherto unknown” in China, Fa Hian shipped hin- self on board a great merchant vessel which carried about 200 men. <A great tempest arose, and the ship sprung aleak, and much cargo had to be thrown over- board. Fa Hian threw over board his pitcher and , his basin, “and was only afraid lest the merchants 80 BUDDHIST PENOD. [BOOK IV. the should fling into the sea his sacted books and images. The hurricane abated after chirteen days, the passen- .gers came to a little islard where they stopped the leak, and then put to ©a again. “In this ocean there are many pirates who, coming on you suddenly, _ destroy everything. Tle sea itself is boundless in cx- tent; it is impossible to know east or west, except by observing the sun, mson or stars, and so progress, * * At length the weatier clearing up, they got their right bearings and oncemore shaped a correct course and proceeded onwads,” and after over ninety days they- reached Ye-po-i (Java or Sumatra). “In this country heretics and Brhmans flourish.” Stopping hee for nearly five months, Fa Hian em- barked on bard another merchant.vessel with a < crew of about 2@ men, who took fifty da days ys’_provisions—with them Ater they hi had sailed for over a month, a storm again anse, and the superstitious Brahmans said to one anothe; “It is because we have got this Sraman (Fa Hianyon board we have no luck,- and have incurred this freat mischief. Come let us land this Bhikshu onvany island we may meet, and let us not all perish fo the sake of one man,” But Fa Hian’s patron bold- iy stood by him and saved him from a miserable death in some lonely island. After sailing for 82 days they arrived at the southern coast of China. Our readers will not-regret the length of the above account of the voyage which we have given. It is CHAP. VL] FA HIAN’S ACCOUNT. 81 among the very few accounts which have been left to us of the state of navigation between India and. China in the Buddhist Period. We learn from this accomt that merchant vessels from India, wtth crew of 200 or more, braved the perils of the a fifteen centuries ago; that the bold voyagers trusted {6 the stars and the sun and the moon to know the/ direction they were going; and that in fair weather they could thus ascertain their bearings. We learn further that Brahman mer- chants sailed in these vessels to Sumatra and Java and © to China; and that .in Sumatra and Java Hindu re- ligion * and civilization flourished. Such enterprise has died out in India with the decline ofthe nation until a voyage in the present day entails loss of caste! The travels of Sung Yun‘(5 18 A. D.) need not detain us long as he scarcely came as far as Hindustan pro- per. He came to Udy4na (near Cabul), and found the king to be a faithful Buddhist and merciful in his administration. He then came to Gandhara, a kingdom which closely resembled Udyana, but'the king did not believe the law of Buddha; he was warlike and powerful, and ever engaged in his frontier wars. Cross- ing the Indus, Sung Yun came to the city Nagarahdra, and after visiting a few neighbouring sites, commenc- ed his return in 521 A.D. * The present writer has seen in the museum of Leyden in Holland, stone image of Ganesa, Durga, Siva, and other Hindu si bas from the temples and shrines of Java. : R. C.D, A. L—IIL 6 ‘ CHAPTER VII. 'HOUEN TSANG’S ACCOUNT OF INDIA. ‘WE tow come to the records of the most eminent of ' Chinese travellers, Houen Tsang, whose story has shed a fluod of light on the state of India after the close of the Buddhist Period. He left China in 629 A. D. and came. through Ferganah, Sumarkand, Bokhara and -Balk, to India where he lived and travelled for many years and finally returned to China in 645 A.D. At the commencement of his account of India, he gives a general description of the arts and manners of the Hin- dus which we will consider when we come to treat of their social manners and civilization. We proceed now with the traveller’s account of the Hindu kingdoms he visited. NaAGARAHARA, the old capital of the Jelalabad district was 4 miles in circuit. The country was rich in cereals and fruits, the manners of the people were simple and honest, and their disposition ardent and courageous. Buddhism was the prevailing religion, but Hinduism was also followed, and there were five Deva temples and about a hundred worshippers in the city. To the east of the city was a st(ipa 300 feet high, built by Asoka, and wonderfully constructed of stone beautifully adorn- ed and carved.. There were many Sangh4rdmas, of CHAP. VIL] HOUEN TSANG’S ACCOUNT. 83 which one, four miles to the south-west of the city, had a high hall and storied tower made of piled up stone, and a stipa 200 feet high. The kingdom of GANDHARA had its capital at Pesha- war, and both Nagarah4ra and Gandhdra were then subject to the king of Kapisa (near the Hindu Kush} and were governed by his deputies. The towns and villages of Gandhara were deserted, and there were but few inhabitants. The country was rich in cereals, and the people were timid and fond of literature. The 1,000 Sangh4ramas were deserted and in ruins, ane there were about roo Hindu temples. While speaking of the kingdom of Gandhéra, Houen Tsang gives us an anecdote of Manohrita, a great Bud-. dhist writer.