and burnt lamps, and indulged in games and amuse- CHAPTER V. ments which lasted throughout the night. FahHian also noticed the hospitals which had been founded in Patali-putra by the nobles and wealthy round about, similar to those which had been established by Asoka. The poor of all countries, the destitute, the crippled and the diseased, repaired to these hospitals for food and shelter. Every requisite was supplied gratuitously. Physicians inspected their diseases, and ordered them diet and medicine according to their respective cases; and when they were cured they were permitted to depart at their own convenience.70 in a converted One incident is recorded by Fah-Hian which Pride of caste seems to prove that the pride of caste was still Brahman. deeply rooted even in those Bráhmans who had been brought under the influence of Buddhist culture. A great Bráhman pundit dwelt in the city of Pataliputra, and had embraced the law of Buddha as it was taught by the great Vehicle. He devoted his whole time to silent meditation, and was supposed to have mastered every science. During fifty years the people far and wide placed the utmost confidence in this learned sage; and so mightily did he extend the knowledge of Buddha and the law, that the heretics were unable to gain a single advantage over the Srámans. The king honoured him as his Guru, or religious superior, and never ventured to sit down in his presence. Yet if the sovereign, out of affectionate esteem, happened to touch him by the hand, the Brahman deemed himself impure, and immediately bathed from head to foot. Strangely enough, 70 Fah-Hian, ch. xxvii, CHAPTER V. Whilst Fah-Hian relates the incident, he seems to have been unconscious of the caste feelings by which the Brahman was guided." Superior philanthropy of FahHian. After three years' study at Patali-putra FahHian began to prepare for proceeding on his pilgrimage alone. The four companions with whom he had left China were now all dead excepting one, and that one refused to return. In India he had seen the perfection of monastic discipline and decorum; and he vowed that he would never again dwell in the outskirts of Buddhism, until he himself should have become a Buddha. FahHian, however, was burning with a philanthropic desire to carry his scriptures and images to the land of Han, and spread abroad a better knowledge of the law amongst his own countrymen. Accordingly he resolved to proceed to Ceylon and complete his stock of sacred books. He would have preferred undertaking the journey by land; but the roads through the Dekhan were dangerous and intricate, and it would have been necessary to secure guides by making large presents to the king of the country. This he was unable to do. He therefore proceeded down the Ganges to the kingdom of Tamluk at the mouth of the Húghly; and after a considerable stay he embarked for Ceylon, where he 72 71 Fah-Hian, chap. xxvii. Fah-Hian also noticed a pillar in Patali-putra which bore the following inscription :-" King Asóka, gifted with invincible faith, has thrice given the whole of Jambudwípa to Buddha, the law, and the assembly, and has thrice redeemed it with all the valuable property in his possession." The significance of this inscription will be best explained by a reference to the redemption of offerings made to the priests by the king and nobles of Kartchon (see ante, p. 249). Jambudwipa is the central continent in the mythical geography of the universe, and includes the earth. The gift of Asóka must therefore be regarded as an oriental metaphor. 72 Fah-Ilian, chap. xxviii, et seq. made further copies of the Buddhist scriptures, and CHAPTER V. then finally returned to his own land.73 Return of Fah- Hiouen-Thsang, Fah-Hian was absent from China between A.D. Travels of 399 and 414. Two centuries after this date another 629–615. Chinese Sráman appeared in the Punjab. His name was Hiouen-Thsang. He left China in the year 629, and did not return until 645. He spent the intervening years in travel and study, for the purpose of accomplishing in India the same objects that were effected by Fah-Hian. racter of Hio Hiouen-Thsang was a monk of a very different Liberal cha stamp from his pious and humble predecessor. He uen-Thsang. apparently belonged to a more honourable family, and was certainly a man of broader intellect and higher culture. He was zealous for Buddha and the law, and had been an ardent and successful student in the higher forms of Buddhist philosophy which were taught by the great Vehicle. He did not, however, confine his studies to those books which expressed his religious opinions. He was prepared to master the A few details of the voyages of Fah-Hian are worth preserving. He embarked at Tamluk on board a merchant vessel during the prevalence of the northeast monsoon, and in fourteen days he reached the island of Ceylon. At Ceylon he remained for two years, still engaged in copying the scriptures. At last he prepared to return to China. He obtained a passage on board a large merchant ship that was going to Java, and carried about two hundred men. A smaller vessel was towed astern, as a refuge in the event of a leak or wreck. A terrible storm arose, and preparations were made for hauling up the auxiliary vessel, when the crew of the latter ship became afraid of being swamped, and cut the towing-cable and shifted off. The merchants were now in the utmost alarm. They threw all their merchandise overboard. Fah-Hian cast away all his little property, but succeeded in concealing his scriptures and images. After a perilous voyage of ninety days Fah-Hian at last arrived at Java, where heretics and Brahmans flourished, and where Buddhism was scarcely known. Fah-Hian remained five months at Java, and then embarked in another large merchant vessel for Canton. After a month the ship encountered a typhoon, and all on board were in mortal danger. Some Bráhmans advised that the poor Sráman should be thrown overboard, as the real cause of the tempest. Fortunately a patron stood forward and took the part of FahHian, and the Chinese pilgrim at last reached Nankin in safety with his priceless treasures. CHAPTER V. literature of both Vehicles, as well as the sacred and profane books of the Bráhmans. Moreover, he was a man of some observation. He was so far imbued with the spirit of the age as to devote the greater portion of his narrative to holy legends and extraordinary miracles and prodigies; but he furnishes some curious information respecting the political and religious condition of India in the seventh century, which may be accepted as the authentic testimony of an intelligent and impartial traveller." Surface life of the Indian towns. The India of the seventh century certainly presents more characteristics of peculiar interest. The surface life of the towns was apparently much the same as it is in the present day, only that it bears the ameliorating and benevolent impress of Buddhism. Hiouen-Thsang describes the tortuous streets and lanes; the brick houses and verandahs, with walls plastered with cow-dung; the roofs either of bamboos and dry grass, or of planks and tiles; the public buildings with their towers and terraces; the absence of all butchers' shops and wine-sellers; and the secluded villages of Chandálas without the city. The dwelling-houses are said to have been elegant 74 The travels of Hiouen-Thsang are much more comprehensive than those of Fah-Hian. They are comprised in two volumes entitled "Mémoires sur les contrées occidentales, traduits du Sanskrit en Chinois, en l'an 648, par HiouenThsang, et du Chinois en Français par M. Stanislas Julien." 2 vols. Paris, 1857 and 1858. There is also a third volume which was published first, containing the memoirs of Hiouen-Thsang as written by two of his disciples. There are three interesting chapters on these books in the second part of the eloquent work of M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, "Le Bouddha et sa Religion." (Third edition, Paris, 1866.) The first is devoted to the life of Hiouen-Thsang; the second to the condition of India as described by Hiouen-Thsang; and the third to Indian Buddhism as described by Hiouen-Thsang. A useful outline of the travels of HiouenThsang has been added by Professor Cowell, in the form of an appendix to his edition of Elphinstone's History of India. Besides Fah-Hian and Hiouen-Thsang, other Chinese pilgrims reached India, but their narratives are brief and devoid of interest. inside, but plain and unadorned outside. The ground CHAPTER V. in front of the houses was strewed with flowers, just as is often to be seen in the present day, especially at morning time. The only exterior ornament was a couch of brick and plaster against the wall, which doubtless resembled the benches plastered with white chunam, which are still to be found outside the majority of native houses. The Buddhist colleges or Sanghárámas have long since passed away, but still it is not difficult to recall them. They were large open quadrangles, with pavilions of two or three stories high at each of the four corners, and probably a chapel or assembly hall in the centre. The pious zeal of ages had expended much art and magnificence in decorating these handsome buildings. The beams and joists were covered with sculptures, and the windows, partitions, and walls were adorned with pictures of different colours.75 tween ancient The people of India, however, as described by Contrast beHiouen-Thsang, would almost appear to have been and modern a different race to the modern Hindús. They had not as yet been moulded into existing forms by ages of Brahmanical repression and Mussulman tyranny; and they bore a stronger resemblance to the unsophisticated Buddhists of modern Burma, than to the worshippers of Vishnu and Siva. The Chinese pilgrim states that they were naturally volatile, but distinguished by their rectitude and honesty of character. They committed no frauds. They confirmed their promises by oaths. They feared the chastisements of another world. were easy and gentle.76 Their customs 75 Mémoires de Hiouen-Thsang, Liv. ii. Notice sur l'Inde, sect. 5. |