A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms / Being an account by the Chinese monk Fa-hsien of travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414) in search of the Buddhist books of discipline

Chapter 21: CHAPTER XV. BHIDA. SYMPATHY OF MONKS WITH THE PILGRIMS.

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About This Book

The narrative records a fifth-century Chinese monk's pilgrimage to South Asia to seek canonical Buddhist texts, describing routes, cities, monasteries, relics, and religious practices encountered. It combines travel observations — geography, local customs, and logistical hardships — with precise notes on monastic discipline, sacred sites, and textual transmission. Interspersed are catalogues of scriptures, accounts of holy places and ceremonies, and reflections on doctrinal variants, all presented in a matter-of-fact, episodic travel log supplemented by scholarly annotations and textual appendices.

CHAPTER XV.
BHIDA. SYMPATHY OF MONKS WITH THE PILGRIMS.

After they had crossed the river, there was a country named Pe-t’oo,(1) where Buddhism was very flourishing, and (the monks) studied both the mahayana and hinayana. When they saw their fellow-disciples from Ts’in passing along, they were moved with great pity and sympathy, and expressed themselves thus: “How is it that these men from a border-land should have learned to become monks,(2) and come for the sake of our doctrines from such a distance in search of the Law of Buddha?” They supplied them with what they needed, and treated them in accordance with the rules of the Law.

NOTES

(1) Bhida. Eitel says, “The present Punjâb;” i.e. it was a portion of that.

(2) “To come forth from their families;” that is, to become celibates, and adopt the tonsure.