New Light on Buddhism in Medieval India
Waley, Arthur
Melanges chinois et bouddhiques
Vol. 1931-1932
Juillet 1932
P.355-376
P.355
The document(1) here translated is the preface to
a `poetical inscription' on a stuupa erected in
memory of the Indian priest Dhyaanabhadra, also
called `Suunyaadi'sya, at the Korean temple Kuei-yen
Ssuu (Juniper Rock temple). It was composed in the
summer of 1378(2) by a certain Li Se who, previous
to the fall of the Mongols in 1368, had been
Secretary to the Mongol Administration of Manehuria
and Korea.
The work is interestin for several reasons. To
begin with, it shows that Buddhism survived in India
Propter at the beginning of the 14th century to an
extent far greater than has hitherto been suspected.
To find Buddhism at such a date in Bengal is indeed
no surprise. But in Dhyaanabhadra's narrative we
find it also at Kaa~ncipura (Madras Presidency),in
the Chola Kingdom (Coromandel coast) and at
Jaalandhara (Punjab).
Two further centres of Buddhism are mentioned: Da-
ra-va and Ka-ra-na.That the first is Dvaaravatiipura,
the capital of the Hoysala Ballalas, seems to me
almost certain.
The Tripi.taka, in a footnote, gives the equivalent
Daarva, without however making it clear whether such
a place ever existed. Karana is identified by the
Tripi.taka with Mysore. This must, I think, be based
on a supposed equivalence Karana = Kana.ra, the name
of the Dravidian dialect now spoken in Mysore. Such
an identification is most improbable. I would
suggest(3) that 'Karana' is 'the kingdom of king
Karan', native ruler of Gujerat, whence he was
expelled by the Moslems in 1927,but still reigned at
Nandurbaar (east of Gujerat) at the beginning of the
14th century.
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1 Printed in the Taishoo Tripi.taka,Vol. LI, p.982,
with footnotes (by Prof. Takakusu).
2 The date given(Hsuan Kuang 8th year)is according
to the calendar of the Mongols who had retired to
Karakorum; this reckoning was commonly used in Korea
at the time. The cyclical date given is mou-wu which
makes it certain that 1378 is meant, though
according to some chronological tables the period
Hsuan Kuang ceased in 1377.
3 This theory is put forward only as a possibility.
P.356
Our narrative is interesting in the second place
because of the light it throws on the kind of
Buddhism that survived. One knows, for example, that
in Ceylon in early days the Mahaayaana existed side
by side with the Hiinayaana. But it is unexpected to
find that at this late date a pilgrim should still
be sent to Ceylon to study Mahaayaana. Again, it has
been generally supposed that such Buddhism as
survived in Central and Eastern India was, at any
time subsequent to the 9th century, exclusively
Tantrie.But Dhyaanabhadra is definitely anti-Tantric.
He may indeed, with his prevailing interest in the
Praj~naapaaramitaa and Avata^nsaka Suutras, be
described as a rather old-fashioned Mahaayaanist.
The third point of interest is that his Buddhism is
coloured with certain characteristies which show
great affinity with the Zen(Dhyaana) Buddhism of
China and Japan. The method of sudden Awakening by
means of violence, brusquerie, riddles, shouts,
beatings, startling and 'gratuitous' acts of all
kinds appears repeatedly in these pages, long before
the Master's arrival in China. And just as in China
it is against Tantrism that the hostility of the Zen
priests is principally directed, so we find
Dhyaanabhadra ridiculing the supposed magical power
of Tantrie invocations.
It is of course possible that Dhyaanabhadra's re-
collections were coloured by his long residence in
China, and allowance must be made for the fact that
it was a Chinese who committed these recollections
to writing. Even so, Ithink the document suggests
the existence in 14th century India, of a type of
Buddhism very different from what we should have
expected. It also raises the question whether many
aspects of Zen which have been regarded as
originating in China may not, after all, like other
developments of Buddhism, have been importations
from India.
The value of the document would of course be
greatly enhanced if we could discover the exact
dated of Dhyaanabhadra's story. We know that he
started from Magadha at the age of 19(18 in our
reckoning). If we are to believe the theory (see
below, p.25) that he died in 1363 at the age of 127,
he must have set out in 1254, his wanderings in
India lasting about 70 years. It is of course not
impossible that he lived to this great age, but it
is unlikely, and the assertion that he did so is
based on a very uncertain computation. Such stories
however would not have been circulated unless
Dhyaanabhadra had lived to a considerable age.
Provisionally I think we may assume that his
wanderings took place mainly in the first quarter of
the 14th century.
Our ignorance of the fortunes of Buddhism in India
at this period is due to the fact that our
information is derived chiefly from Moslem sources
which do not trouble to distinguish Buddhism from
Hinduism, or from
P.357
Hindu sources which are unwilling to admit the
existence of rival creed. From Taaranaatha(1) indeed
we get a rather dim picture of the survival of
Buddhism in Bengal and Orissa down to an even later
period. But he gives no definite information about
the fate of Buddhism in other parts of India Proper
at this period; moreover the historical elements in
his narrative are hard to disentangle from the
legendary.
In Dhyaanabhadra, too, we could wish for a greater
precision. No distances or times taken are
mentioned, nor apparently is chronological order
always preserved. This makes the identification of
some of the places that he mentions a matter of
considerable difficulty, but no doubt an expert in
Indian topography and history could carry the matter
a good deal further than I have done.
There is one matter which it will be more conveni-
ent to treat here than in a footnote. In the
presence of the 'King of Karana' Dhyaanabhadra
expounds the 'Mahe'svara Hetubhuumi Varga of the
Ta[Sh^eng] Chuang Yen Pao Wang Ching (literally,
Mahaayaana Vyuuha Ratnaraaja Suutra). The sutra in
question is obviously the Kaara.n.da Vyuuha, which
exists in Sanskrit in two forms, one metrical, the
other in prose. The metrical version, analysed by
Burnouf(2), contains a description of Mahe'svara's
origin and functions; the prose version merely says
that he emanated from Avalokite'svara's forehead,
though 'in the evil days to come men will cling to
the notion that Mahe'svara existed from the
beginning of time and was always ruler and lord.'(3)
I think what Dhyaanabhadra took as his text was
something more developed than the existing prose
version, though it may not have been so prloix as
the Nepalese metrical version. It may here be worth
while correcting a misapprehension that has been
caused by the mention, in the poetical version, of
the doctrine of the AAdi-Buddha(4) .Professor
Berriedale Keith(5) says that the Kaara.n.da Vyuuha
was translated into Chinese in 270 A.D., and
continues: 'This text is remark-
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 History of Indian Buddhism, 1608 A.D. Translated
from the Tibetan by A.Schiefner, 1869.
2 Introduction a l'Histoire du Bouddhisme Indien,
p.221 seq.
3 Taishoo Tripi.taka,Vol.XX, p.49. Dhyaanabhadra's
object in expounding this passage was doubtless to
show a 'Saivite monarch that even in Buddhism
Mahe'svara ('Siva) held an important position, but
at the same time to persuade him that it was false
to regard 'Siva as the origin of all things.
4 A theistic doctrine developed in Nepal, under
Hindu influence, probably not before the tenth
century.
5 Buddhist Philosophy, p. 226.
P.358
able for its patronage of the doctrine of an
AAdi-Buddha.' This might lead the reader to suppose
that the cult of AAdi-Buddha existed in the 3rd
century A.D.
In point of fact the only Chinese version of the
Kaara.n.da Vyuha is that made by Deva'saantika
(T'ien-hsi-tsai) between 980 and 1000 A.D.(1)
Nanjio does indeed give a cross-reference to his NO.
168(2), which was translated in 270 A.D. But this
suutra (No.168) has no connexion with the Kaaranda
Vyuuha except in resemblance of title(3). Even if it
were identical with Nanjio's 782, it would still
contain no reference to the Adi-Buddha; for the
passage about that divinity occurs only in the very
late metrical version of the Kaara.n.da Vyuuha, and
the Chinese translation was made from the prose
version, the only one that is known outside Nepal.
Referring again to the conception of the AAdi-Bud-
dha, Professor Keith says on p.301 of the same work
that this conception was evidently current in the
4th century, because 'it is condemned by
Asa^nga.'(4) The passage(5) in question is one in
Chapter IX of the Mahaayaanasuutraala^nkaara. The
Chinese translation, admittedly much less corrupt
and obscure(6) than the Sanskrit text, does not for
a moment suggest that Asa^nga is refuting anything
in the least resembling the theistic heresy of the
Nepalese AAdi-Buddha theory. He is merely proving
that is equally false to say that Buddha is a
plurality as to say that he is a unity. The original
(in Chinese 'beginningless') Buddha whose existence
Asa^nga denies, is not an AAdi-Buddha from whom all
other Buddhas are derived and to whom they are in a
sense inferior, but simply a supposed initial Buddha
in the chain of Buddhas. Asa^nga merely argues that
the chain stretches back indefinitely. An article on
Dhyaanabhadra (which I have been unable to procure)
was published by Professor Takakusu in Zengaku
Zasshi,August 1919(Vol.XXII, NO.8).
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Nanjio No.782;Taishoo Tripi.taka, Vol. XX, p.47.
2 Taishoo Tripi.taka, Vol. XIV, p.452.
3 Ratnakaara.nda Vyuuha.
4 [Meme opinion dans La Vallee Poussin,Bouddhisme,
Opinions(3), p.264].
5 Taishoo Tripi.taka, Vol. XXXI, p.607.
6 Professor Sylvain L'evi tells us in the intro-
duction to his edition of the text, that without the
aid of the Chinese version his task would have been
impossible.
P.359
Preface to the Inscription on Dhyanabhadra's Stupa.
The 108th descendant of Kaa'syapa, the Venerable
Dhyaanabhadra (Chinese, Ch'an-hsien) was called
'Suunyaadi'sya {Chinese, Chih-k'ung, ((Finger
pointing at the Void))}. In the period T'ai-ting
(1324-1327) he had audience with the Emperor(1) on
the banks of the Onan River(2) and expounded the
teachings of Buddha. An Imperial Command decreed
that he was henceforward to receive from the
Emperor's officers a yearly supply of clothes and
grain. But he said that was not what he had come
for, and went away. Travelling eastward he arrived
in Korea, where he did reverence to the cell of
Fa-ch'i on the Diamond Mountain(3). An Imperial
Command brought him back to Peking. At the beginning
of the T'ien-li period (1328) he was ordered by the
Emperor(4), along with other priests in attendance,
to discourse on the Law in the Emperor's Inner
Palace. His Majesty was present in person. The other
priests, elated by this condscension, gave
themselves great airs, bustling about with the
utmost self-importance. The master was disgusted by
their arrogance and felt unable to take any part in
the proceedings. Before long, however, these
priessts were either exiled or discredited; whereas
the Master's fame soon resounded all over China and
beyond.
In the period Chih-cheng (1341-1368)the Empress(5)
and Crown Prince(6) brought the Master to Court and
asked him questions about
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1 Yasun Tamur.
2 In Mongolia.
3 On the east coast of Korea. The Avata^msaka
Suutra (Nanjio Bunyiu's Catalogue, No.88 Taishoo
Tripi.taka X,241) says: 'In the ocean there is a
place called the Diamond Mountain...Here the
Bodhisattva Fa-chi (Rise of the Law') continually
preaches.' The passage was popularly applied by
Korean monks to their Diamond Mountain, as also by
the monks of the Kongoo-zan (kawachi Province,
Japan) to theirs.
4 Tugh Tamur.
5 Bayan Khutukh, empress from 1335 till her death
in 1365.
6 Aiyuchilidala(this was his Indo-Tibetan religious
name as pronounced in Mongol; his Mongol name is
unknown). In 1370, after the flight to Mongolia, his
fater Toghon Tamur abdicated in his favour and he
ruled over the Mongol remnants, assuming the Chinese
title Chao Tsung. He is believed to have died in
1377.
p.360
the law in the Yen Hua Pavilion. He said:((The
existence of people devoting their minds to the
study of Buddha's Law does much to promote the
prosperity of the Empire.)) He also said: ((Ten
thousand blessings! Blessings and Blessings! For he
who of ten thousand lacks one, cannot be ruler of an
Empire.)) He refused to accept the pearls and jade
that they offered him. After the T'ien-li period
(i.e. from the summer of 1330) he neither ate nor
spoke for more than ten years. When he spoke again,
he sometimes referred to himself as the Ruler of the
Empress and Imperial concubines as his servants.
Those who heard him do so were astonished but dared
not ask what he meant. In the end the Emperor
(Toghon Tamur) got wind of this, but he merely
said:(( He is a Prince in the Law and has the right
to aggrandize himself like this. It implies no
reflection on me or my family.))
When the Chinese troops were about to rise(against
the Mongols, he publicly addressed the crowd
saying:((Do you know how many soldiers and horses we
have? In such a place there are mustered so many
thousand; in such a place, so many)), and so on.
The priests in the temple where he lived were all
Koreans. One day he suddenly said to them:((Why are
you rebelling?)) They wanted to sound their gongs
and go to the attack, but he checked them. Several
days later the cavalry of the Liao-yang (Manchurian)
Government reported that Korean troops had crossed
the frontier. Great masses of people(1) had gathered
together in the Capital. He was always saying to
them: ((You will not be here long.)) And sure enough
soon afterwards the Emperor (Toghon Tamur) was
obliged to retire to the north, and Chinese troops
entered the city, which was henceforward known as
Pei-P'ing Fu. There was indeed some truth in the
Master's predictions!
The Master said that his great-grandfather was
called Lion's Flank(2), his grandfather, Bushel
Rice(3). Both were kings of Kapi-
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Mongols.
2 Si^mha-paar'sva.
3 Dro.nodana.
P.361
lavastu. His father, named Full(1) was king of the
country of Magadha. His mother was a princess of the
country of Hsiang-chih (Kaa~ncipura). ((My two elder
brother)), he said, ((were called 'Sriikarava and
'Sriimani. I myself was born in answer to a prayer
offered by my parents to the God of Great Majestic
Virtue in the Eastern Quartier(2). From my earliest
years I delighted only in (food and drink) that was
pure, and would not take(?) wine or garlic. At five
I was given a teacher and studied both native books
and the teachings of foreign lands. But I had only
mastered these in a rough and general way when my
lessons stopped. About this time my father fell ill
and the doctors could do nothing for him. The
diviners said ((If a son leaves the house, the king
may recover.)) My father explained this to us three
brothers, and I offered myself. He was delighted and
calling me by my pet name said: ((Can it be that
Rudraarthavat(3) is capable of such devotion?)) At
first my mother strongly opposed it, on the ground
that I was the youngest. But in the end, though it
rent her heart, she agreed to part with me. My
father at once recovered.
At eight I completed my ordination {literally,
((completed my three garments))}and was sent to
Naalandaa to study with the Master of Exposition,
Vinayabhadra(4) (Chinese, Lu-hsien). Here I shaved
my head, dyed my clothes(5) and received the five
vows(6). I studied the Mahaapraj~naa. When I asked
about Buddha, the Multitude of Living Creatures, the
Void, the Three Worlds (Kaamadhaatu, Ruupadhaatu and
Aruupadhaatu), the Master said: ((It is not true
that they exist or that they do not exist. That is
the real doctrine of
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Puur.na.
2 'Siva ? Certainly not the Vidhyaaraaja Da-wei-te
who presides over the West, and would not, in any
case, be called a sh^en, god.
3 Lou-ta-lo-to-p'o.
4 The name recalls that of the seventh century
pilgrim Hsuan-tsang's teacher, 'Siilabhadra, who was
also a professor at Naalandaa. The names of the
Naalandaa abbots mentioned by Taaranaatha all end in
-bhadra.
5 Novices wore white.
6 Possibly he had received five already and these
were the other five, to make up the full Ten.
P.362
Praj~naa. You had better go to the Master
Samantaprabhaasa (Chinese, P'u-ming) in the country
of La^nkaa (i.e. Ceylon) in Southern India. He lives
on the Mountain 'Sriigiri (Chinese, Chi-hsiang,
Auspicious). He will teach you the inner meaning of
this doctrine.))
I was now nineteen. I set out all alone and did
obeisance to my master (Samantaprabhaasa) in the
Ting-yin-an (Summit Sound Cloister). He said: ((In
coming here from Central India how many steps did
you take?)) I was unable to answer, and retiring to
a stone cave sat there for a good six months. I then
received an illumination and tried to rise. But my
legs stuck together and I could not. The king(1) of
the country sent his doctor to me, who treated me
with drugs and I recovered. I said to my master:
((Both legs were one step.))(2) He conferred on me
his garment and bowl, and stroked my head (?)
saying: ((Here is another young lion to take a step
down the mountain. I have already had 243 pupils who
have successfully got the Law at my hands. But on
the Multitude of Living Beings they have none of
them had great effect. It remains for you to
propagate my teaching. May you prosper in your
going.))
He gave me the name 'Suunyaadi' sya, in Chinese
Chih-k'ung (Finger Pointing at the Void). I composed
a gaathaa in which I thanked my teacher for his
kindness and addressing the other pupils I said to
them ((Advance and the Void opens wide; retreat and
the ten thousand structures (dharmas) are
submerged.)) Then I gave one great shout.
On the way to my teacher, I first of all passed
through the country of Lo-lo-hsu (Raadhaka i.e.
Raadhapura in Bengal).Here I found someone explain-
ing the Lotus Scripture. I talked with him and
cleared up some of his difficulties.
In the country of Danta (3) the men and women live
promiscuously and without clothing. I showed them
the Great Way. At Kaa~n-
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1 Parakkama-Baahu IV ?
2 Evidently this was the correct answer to Saman-
prabhaasa's riddle; but the meaning is obscure.
3 Dantapura, the capital of Kalinga.
P.363
cipura(1) (Chinese, Hsiang-chih) the king was
delighted to see me, saying I was his nephew. He
wanter me to stay with him; but I refused. An
expositor of the Avata^nsaka Suutra was giving a
public address on the twenty(2) sorts of Bodhicitta.
I used the illustration of ((the one that is many
and the many that are one.))(3) In the country of
Kalinga on the shores of the sea is the Tortoise
Peak Mountain. It is inhabited by Brahmins who say
that by throwing oneself over the cliff which is
20,000 eubits high, one can be certain of being born
again as a man or Devaraaja. I told them that true
ascetism is a thing of the heart and has nothing to
do with the body. I made them practise the method of
the Six Paaramitaas and the Ten Stages (of
Bodhisattvahood), and other practices. I performed
my summer Retreat on Mt. Maariicii, and went on to
La.^naa (Ceylon).
After I parted with my teacher and went down from
the mountain I was met halfway by the my merits. He
asked me to expound the Law; but I merely composed a
gaathaa in praise of his pagoda, and went on my way.
In that land the ruler(5) is an infiedel, and
knowing that my vows debarred me from violence and
lechery, he ordered a dancing-girl to bathe with me
in the same pool. I showed complete indifference to
her presence, being no more affected than if I had
been a corpse. The king sighed, saying ((This is
certainly an unusual man.)) These infidels make a
((man of Mount Sumeru)) out of wood or stone. On his
head and thighs they set the image of a mountain,
before which they make libations of wine. The men
and women have intercourse in front of it. This is
called yin-yang wor-
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Conjeeveram, in reality further south than
Kali^nga.
2 The 'two sorts' is the common category. 'Twenty'
is probably a mistake for 'two'.
3 All the dharmas are merely expressions of one
undifferentiated Absolute. They have no
characteristics of their own nor any absolute
position in time or space. Thus any one dharma is
equal to all the dharmas, and all the dharmas to any
one dharma.
4 A pagoda made out of one block of stone.
5 Northern Ceylon(?), which was at this time under
the rule of invaders from S.India.
P.364
ship ('Sakti-puujaa? ) .I set before them the prin-
ciples of right-thinking and delusion concerning
mankind and the gods, exhorting them to break with
this unholy cult.
The ruler of the country of Tso-li ( i.e. of the
Cholas)(1) is a Buddhist. I addressed a gaathaa to
him and he replied with one. I again gave him a
gaathaa and he sent me a number of jewels. Among the
gaathaas was one about the elephant-king passing
through the eye of a needle.
The Lion Country(Ceylon)possesses the Tathaagata's
bowl,(2) Buddha's Foot-prints, and a magic bowl that
when filled with rice can supply 10,000 monks.
Buddha's Footprints sometimes give out a bright
light. I did reverence to all these relies. In the
country of To-lo-fu (Dvaaravatii).(3) there are both
true believers and misguided people. I mounted the
chair and delivered a discourse. There was a nun who
silently accepted my teaching. In the country of
Karana(4) too they are infidels. But the king was
delighted to see me. I expounded to him the chapter
about the ((initial stage of Mahe'svararaaja's
conversion)) in the Ta Chuang-yen Kung-te Pao-wang
Ching(5). ((So there is true doctrine to be found
outside the Law as well as in,)) said the king.(6)
The infidels tried to assassinate me and I was
obliged to fly from the city at nightfall. A tiger
was approaching. The man in attendance upon me knew
this because he understood the language of birds. He
therefore climbed a tree in order to be safe from
the tiger. ((I wonder whether you)), I said to him,
((who are elever enough to understand the language
of birds, also understand my teaching.)) He made no
reply. I gave him a good thrashing ¢w twenty strokes
of my staff, ¢w and he had an illumination.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 What had formerly been the territory of the
Cholas was at this time under the dominion of the
Hoysalas.
2 It is curious that no mention is made of the much
more famous Tooth Relic.
3 See above p.1.
4 See above p.2.
5 See above p.5.
6 By ((the Law)) he presumably means his own Hindu Law.
P.365
In the country of Sindh (Chinese, Shen-t'ou) there
is a vast expanse of flowing sands (desert). I did
not know which way to go. I came upon a tree with
fruit like peaches. I was very hungry and took two
of them to eat. I had not finished eating them when
the Air Spirit (Chinese, K'ung-shen) appeared in a
great hall suspended in space. An old man occupying
the main seat said: ((Why does not this thief do
obeisance to me?)) I said: ((I am a follower of
Buddha. Why should I do obeisance to you?)) The old
man abused me saying that if I was really a follower
of Bouddha I had no business to be stealing fruit. I
said ((The flames of hunger pressed hard upon me.))
The old man said:((To take what one is not given is
stealing. If I let you go, it is because I am a good
spirit who protects observers of the Monastic
Rules.)) He made me shut my eyes, and in a moment I
found myself at the far side (of the desert). I
began to boil myself some hot water on a fallen
tree; but discovered that it (the fallen tree) was a
python!
In the country of Ti-li-lo-ern (1), a woman wanted
to have inter-course with me. I was hungry, but knew
that if I took food from her I should have to yield
to her(?). However, I asked whether a good horse
could be obtained. She answered sensibly, and I
continued on horseback. It was indeed a splendid
horse and I flew to the frontier. But suddenly a man
came and bound me, and took me away too look after
his sheep. Heavy snow began to fall, but I got into
a cave and spent seven days and nights in samadhi,
during which time a bright light shone out of the
cave. The people cleared away the stone and on
entering the cave were delighted ot see me sitting
cross-legged. They offered me clothes and treasure;
but I refused to accept anything. The hearts of both
the men and women were enlightened, and they put me
on to my right road. For a long while I met no-one
at all. But suddenly I came upon people on the road,
and was glad indeed to see them. They hurried me
into the presence of their king and kneeling before
him said:((The drought
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 This seems to represent a Sanskrit Tridhaara
'place of the Three Streams'; perhaps somewhere in
the neighbourhood of the modern Multaan.
P.366
from which we are suffering is certainly due to this
monster. May if please you that he be slaughtered.))
The king said: ((Leave him alone for three days. If
by then it hasn't rained, there will still be time
to slay him.))
I burnt incense and recited a single incantation
which at once produced a heavy fall of rain that
lasted for three days.
In the country of Ts'o-ling-t'o(Jaalandhara) (1)
there is a crazy priest. When he sees anyone coming,
he arranges three rows of priest. When he sees
anyone coming, he arranges three rows of bulls'
skulls on the ground and spreads a mass of rushes
over them. Then he sits in silence. But, at first
sight of me, he set it on fire to and shrieked:
((The mountains, the rives and the great earth are
but a scrap.))
The priest Tao-yen {((Rock of the Way))} lives on
the shores of Lake Anavatapta(2) (Chinese, A-nou
Ch'ih). He has a small shelter made of grass. If
anyone comes, he burns it, screaming ((Help! Fire!))
When I arrived, he at once screamed ((Help! Fire!))
and kicked over his water-pot. He said he was sorry
I had not come long ago.
In the country of Mo-lo-so {(( Malasa))or the like
}there are some fervent Buddhists; but there are
also bad people mixed among them. I delivered a
discourse hoping to break them of their bad views,
and all the heretics became orthodox. East of the
city, the Upaadhyaaya Pao {((Treasure))} lives in a
hole which he has dug for himself. He cultivates the
ground all round his hole. In it he keeps a vessel
filled with greens. If anyone comes, he goes on
gardening and will not utter a word. But when I came
down into his hole hoping for some greens, he
shrieked ((Greens growing! Greens growing!))
In the city there is a man who weaves fine silks.
If anyone comes
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Famous in Buddhist history as the scene of
Kanishka's Council. Twice visited by the Chinese
pilgrim Hsuan Tsang, c. 634 A.D. In the Punjab, near
the borders of Cashmire.
2 Properly speaking, this is the legendary lake at
the centre of our universe. Tradition placed it
north of the Great Snow Mountains. It is commonly
identified with Lake Manasarowar.
P.367
he does not speak, and what he weaves, he never
removes(1) (from the loom). I ripped it across with
a knife. The man said ((There goes the work of many
years!))
A priest of Anavatapta called Sheng-i lives in a
cave. When he sees anyone coming he smears his face
with soot and comes out and dances. Then he goes
back to his cave. I shouted a gaathaa at him.
A priest of Ts'ao-so (Sausalya(2))called Na-ta has
lived at the side of the road for several years. To
every person who approaches (the city) he says
((Welcome! ) ) and to everyone who is leaving
((Goodbye)). I gave him three strokes with my staff
and he replied with a blow of the fist.
In the country of Ti-li-hou-ti(3) the doctrine of
the Brahmins flourishes and I avoided going that
way. In the country of T'ing-ch'u-li(4) both the
true and the false are practised. I met robbers who
stripped me naked.
But the king of Ni-ch'ieh-lo (Nikala(5)) sent to
meet me, brought me to his palace, and asked me to
expound the Law. A certain Pao-fent {((Precious
Peak))}was discoursing on the scriptures. I joined
in and we took turns at preaching and expounding.
After travelling to the east for several days I came
to a high mountain, called the Iron Mountain. On it
there is no soil, stones, plants or trees. When the
sun shines on it in the morning, its rays burn like
fire. For this reason the place is also called
Fire-blaze (Sikkim?(6)). After seven or eight days I
was able to get to the top of the mountains. There
are here seventeen of eighteen states (small
countries )almost touching the sky. To the north
(the mountains) stretch I do not know how many
thousand or ten thousand leagues. to the east is the
source
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 But goes on weaving indefinitely.
2 Suggested in a footnote of the Taishoo Tripi.taka.
But, so far as I know, no such place is known.
3 The Tripi.taka suggests 'Tirhut'.
4 Perhaps Tehri, now a native state in the Himaal-
ayas, adjoining Tibet, is meant.
5 Is Nepal meant?
6 But there are fire-legends connected with Cash-
mire as well as Sikkim.
P.368
of the river(of the Indus?).Between two peaks that
soar aloft one crosses on a plank bridge. Here the
ice and snow never melt. These are called the Snow
Mountains. Alone and in great extremities of hunger,
having subsisted merely on wild fruits, I reached
the borders of Tiber (Hsi-fan).
My mission was to the Middle Kingdom,and when in
Tibet I met the North Indian (monk?)Mahaapa.n.dita.
I agreed to accompany him to Peking. After a short
stay(1) I went off to the west to the headquarters
of the Prince of An-hsi (Kuchaa, in Turkestan)(2)
and had an audience with the Prince, who was called
Fu-k'o-t'i. He wanted me to stay with him and teach
him the Law, but I had set my heart on going about
and could not consent to be tied. He said to me
((The Multitude of Living Beings have been going on
continually piling up evil Karma. But we(3) are able
by a single spell (mantra)to put a man beyond
re-incarnation and bring him the bliss of Heaven.))
I said he was talking nonsense.Murder,for example,
still remains murder(4). Life and death are mutually
opposed. Such indeed, I told him, is the origin of
all pain. He said I was a heretic; but I replied
that compassion was true Buddhism, and its opposite,
heresy. He tried to make me accept presents, but I
refused.
In the town of Mo-t'i-yeh (Matiya or the like)in
Hsi-fan( Ti-bet )I could have converted the people,
but the mantra-massters poisoned me by putting
something in my tea. At this moment an official
arrived from Peking and asked me to go back with
him. But
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 The sentence reads as though `a short stay at
Peking' were meant. This of course is not possible.
2 It seems certain that this Fu-k'o-t'i is iden-
tical with Ulu-tamur (son fo Andan-bukha, son of
Ananda, son of Monghola, son of Khubilai Khan)who
was created Prince of An-hsi in 1323, but was
accused of complicity in the assassination of the
Emperor Khoghan (Ying Tsung) and banished to Yun-nan
in the early weeks of 1324. As may be judged from
dates of the subsequent narrative, Dhyaanabhadra
probably passed through Tibet c. 1324-5.
3 i.e. the Tantric School.
4 The bad karma that it creates cannot be removed
by spells.
P.369
I wanted to share my mission with the Master
Pa.n.dita, and did not accept the offer.
I left the place,and at Katan (Gadan or the like)
the sorcerers tried to kill me, so that I was
obliged to leave. At the city of Hsia(1) (crayfish)
the ruler was delighted to see me; but the heretics
were jealous and knocked out one of my teeth. I
wanted to leave by the manin road in the ordinary
way. But had I done so the hereties would certainly
have killed me, and the ruler gave me an escort as
far as Shu(2). Here I did homage to a huge image of
Samantabhadra and sat in contermplation(ch'an) for
three years. Round the Big Poisonous River (Ta-tu
Ho)(3) there were thieves everywhere. Again I was
stripped naked, and fled to the territory of the
Lolos(4). Here a priest gave me meditation-garment
and a woman gave me a small coat. I was obliged to
live on the offerings of donors. A priest with whom
I was eating had got hold of a goose offered [in
accordance with the custom of] releasing live
things. He wanted to have it cooked and eat it. I
beat his wife (5) till she howled. The priest was
angry and chased me away. I heard that a local
official had moulded an image of me and that when
there was drought or illness his prayers to this
image were always answered.
The official at the Kin-sha River(6)Barrier,seeing
me in a woman's coat and with long hair, was
astonished and asked what I was. I tried to explain;
but he could not understand what I said. I then
wrote in western (Indian) letters, but he could not
read it, and detained me there. At evening I hid in
a crevice of the rocks and lay there. Soon, before
anyone knew what had happened, I was on the far
shore. The ferryman was lost in admiration and did
obeisance before me.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Somewhere near the modern Chando in the Tibetan
province of Kham?
2 Presumably Ch'eng-tu, the capital of Ssu-ch'uan,
is meant.
3 Probably the Ta-tu ('Big Ford'), an affluent of
the Min, is meant.
4 Aboriginces who are still settled S. W. of
Ch'eng-tu.
5 Among priests of the Tibetan unreformed seet
(Read Hat) celibacy is still not universal.
6 The upper Yangtze.
P.370
On arriving near Yunnan City(1) went up to a room
above the gate of a temple to the town and entered
samaadhi. The priests of the temple asked me to go
into the city, and I went to the Tsu-pien Ssu
('Patriarch Chang Temple'), where I sat under an
eleococca tree. It rained in the night; but my coat
dit not get wet. I went to the provincial
headquarters and prayed for better weather. My
prayer was answered. I then settled in the
Hsia-lung-ch'uan Ssu ('Summer Dragon Spring
Temple') , and wrote out the Praj~naapaaramataa
Suutra in Sanskrit. The people were short of water.
I ordered the dragon to make the spring work, and
thus saved the people.
In Ta-li(2)I gave up all pleasant-tasting foods and
lived on nine walnuts a day.
The Golden Teeth (3), Wu-ch'e and Wu-meng form one
aboriginal tribe. They did reverence to me and made
me their master. They moulded a statue of me and
worshipped it. I was told that a rascal took the
Dhyaana-staff of this statue and struck the figure
to the ground. But he was unable to raise my statue
and take it away. He then repented of his act and
put the statue up again. At Anning-chou(4) a priest
asked me how it was that when the Tripi.taka
(Buddhist scriptures) first entered China people
bowed their heads and were at once ready to accept
them. By that time I understood the language of
Yunnan and answered: ((You cannot expect things te
remain always the same. Religious and secular life
are bound to go their own ways.)) He asked me to
explain to him the monastic rules and suutras, and
[to show that he was in earnest] burnt his head and
arm. The officials and people all did this. On the
Chung-ch'ing(5) circuit all the monasteries asked me
to preach the Law. I conducted five assemblies. The
Prince(6) did reverence to me and took
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Due south of the point where the traveller must
have crossed the Kin-sha.
2 He is now making a detour to the west.
3 The Zardandan of Marco Polo.
4 Near Yunnan Fu.
5 A circuit in Yunnan.
6 Not identified.
P.371
me as his teacher. The Lolos knew nothing either of
Buddha or the clergy. But on my arrival their hearts
were always awakened(1), and even the birds flying
in the air were heard to be uttering Buddhas's name.
At Kuei-chou(2) the Commander-in-chief and his
subordinates all received the Rules. The Miao-man,
the Yao-t'ung, the Ch'ing, the Hung['Blue and Red'],
the Hua-chu['Flower Bamboo'], the Ta-ya ['Knock-out
Tooth'],the ko-lao ¢w in fact, all the cave-dwelling
aborigines¢wcame to me with offerings of rare salads
and asked to receive the Rules.
At Chen-yuan Fu (3) there is a temple (miao) where
the spirit of Prince Ma(4) is worshipped. Everyone
crossing the river at this point has to make an
offering of meat, otherwise his boat comes to harm.
I was able by a single shout a procure a passage for
the boats.
On the Ch'ang-te (5) road I did reverence to the
two patriarchs Ching-kang ('Mirror Diamond') and
Po-lu ('White Deer'). There is an image of Kuan-yin
moulded by himself which works many marvels at the
Lake of Tung-t'ing. It can bring wind and rain. When
I was there, it was causing wind and huge waves
rose. I discoursed on the Three Refuges [in Buddha,
the Law and the Church], speaking in Sanskrit and
Chinese. Previously people used to make offerings
[to this image] of rope shoes. But by next morning
the shoes were always broken to bits. Afterwards
[after my visti?] they gave up these offerings and
only offered prayers.
The Counsellor of the Government of Hu-kuang (6)
wanted to drive me away(7); but I represented that I
had come all the way
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Technically, 'They acquired Bodhicitta'.
2 Capital of the Chinese province of that name.
3 In Kuei-chou province.
4 Ma Yuan of the Han dynasty, the `Wave-subduer',
who is worshipped as a water-god in southern China.
5 In Hunan.
6 The provinces of Hunan, Hupeh, Kuang-tung and
Kuang-hsi.
7 Prophecies were current at the time that the
Bodhisattva Maitreya was about to descend from
Heaven and turn out the Mongols; this may have made
the authorities nervous of such a figure as
Dhyaanabhadra.
P.372
from India to interview the Emperor and propagate
the True Law. Did he, I asked, not want me to pray
for the Emperor's long life?
I visited the Tung-lin Ssu('Eastern Forest Temple')
on Lu-shan, where I saw the soaring Relie Pagoda
(literally, 'previous body pagoda'), in which the
bones are still undecayed(1). In Huai-hsi(2), I was
asked many questions about the meaning of Prajnaa. I
replied ((The Three States of Mind(3) cannot be got
[for asking].))
At Yang-chou the Prince took me in charge and
brought me by boat to the Capital. The wife of the
Chancellor of the Metropolitan Government, a member
of the Ch'ang family, was a native of Korea. She
asked me to hold an Ordination in the Ch'ung-jen
Temple(4). When this was over, I proceeded to
Luanching [Shang-tu; Cole-ridge's Xanadu] and
resided there during the period T'ai-ting
(1324-1327).'
This concludes Dhyaanabhadra's narrative. Li Se
continues:
Ah me, what wanderings! The master was indeed a
marvellous man! After the period T'ien-li (1328) he
discarded priestly dress. The wife of his
Excellency....Chaghan Tamur(5) was a member of the
Chin family, and she too was a Korean. She became a
disciple of the Master's and took her vows. She
bought a house in Ch'eng-ch'ing Li [a district of
Peking?] and turned it into a Buddhist temple,
inviting the Master to reside there. On the
inscription-board he wrote 'Source of the Law'. What
he meant was that all the rivers in the Empire run
from west to east, as his own life-course had run.
His grizzled hair and white beard gave him a god-
like air [His skin?] was dark and lustrous. In
clothing and diet he was very
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Relics of Buddha preserved in the Iron Pagoda.
2 The district west of the river Huai.
3 The Direct Mind, which instinctively perceives
the truth, the Profound Mind, which has a passion
for knowledge, and the Compassionate Mind, which
longs to save the world from its miseries.
4 In Peking?
5 One of the outstanding figures in the closing
years of the Mongol dynasty.
P.373
lavish(1). His bearing was majestic and inspired awe
in all who beheld him.
In the 23rd year of Chih-eheng (1363) a chamber-
lain arrived from Court in the winter. The Master
said to him 'Ask your lord for me whether I may go
before the close of my days'(2). The Master of the
Wardrobe Sukho Tamur brought back an Imperial Order
that he was to stay, and he remained where he was
all the winter. The Master further said: ((My image
is to be put up in the T'ien-shou Ssu.)) This year
on the 20th day of the eleventh month (December 26)
he died in the Kuei-hua Cell. It was he who had
built it and given it its name. By order of the
Emperor (Toghon Tamur; Chiness title, Shun Ti) all
the officials of the Metropolitan seat of Government
attendedhis funeral in the T'ien-shou Ssu. Next year
the Censor Toghan Tamur(3) and the Minister of State
Bai Tamur(4) brought incense which they mixed with
clay, and using water scented with plum and cassia
tree they moulded the mass into flesh for his
body(5).
In the autumn of the year mou-shen (1368),when the
troops(6) were approaching the city, the relics
(Jhaapita) were divided into four parts. [The
priests] Ta-hsuan, Ch'ing-hui. and Fa-ming, and the
nei-cheng (eunuch?) Chang Lu-chi each got a share
and went off with it. Ta-hsuan embarked on the sea
and Ch'mg-hui gave his portion to Ta-jui. Both
Ta-jui and Ta-hsuan returned to the East (i.e.to
Korea).
In the year jen-tzu (1372) on the 16th day of the
9th month by the Prince's orders a shrine [to
contain these relics] was set up at the Kuei-yen
Ssu. Before being placed in the shrine the bones
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 One would have expected some such word as `mode-
rate'. There is probably a misprint.
2 The construction is obscure.
3 Made Censor in 1364, but executed in 1365.
4 His biography is in the Hsin Pien Yuan Shih ch.
199.
5 For this practics see Yetts, Journal of the R.
Asiatic Society, July 1911, pp.669-725.
6 The Chinese troops who drove the Mongols out of
Peking in this year.
P.374
were washed clean and several grains of 'sariira
(magical relics) were obtained.
The Master brought with him from India a copy of
the Ma~nju'srii No-birth Rules Suutra (Wen-chu-shih-
li Wu-sheng ching ching) in two rolls, at the
beginning of which the Chancellor Wei Ta-p'u(1)
wrote a preface; and a copy of the Yuan-chio Ching
'Suutra of Complete Apprehension'(2) with a note at
the end written by the Imperial Secretary
Ou-yang(3) . He wrote a considerable number of
gaathaa, which have been collected elsewhere and are
in circulation.
The Yunnan [priest] Wu-wu('Perceiver of the Void')
is esteemed for his eloquence. At the age of seven
he attached himself to the Master and became a
priest. At that time the Master had already
completed a full cycle of years(4). Now Wu-wu was 75
when Master died(5).
The priest Jen-chieh of Chi-wen-chiang (6) says
that among [the Master's] disciples Ta-yun, who was
formerly head of the Lin-kuan Ssu, set himself to
works of piety with an energy that continually
increased, and the disciple Ta-jui embarked on a
hazardous journey of several thousand leagues in
order to bring the Master's bones, prepared to
sacrifice his life in the achievement of this
purpose. One of Lan-weng's disciples says: 'Lan-weng
was the Master's teacher (pupil?); therefore the
Master is my grandfater [in the Law]'. This disciple
of Lan-weg, together with the master's disciple
Miaotsang, abbess of Ching-yeh Yuan, bought some
swallow-stone(7) and set it up on the cliff near the
Kuei-yen Ssu, so high that
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Wei Su, part author of the Ming shih, Born 1295;
died in exile at Kha-rakhojo in 1372. Works
published under the title Wei Hsuch-shih Chi.
2 Bunyu Nanjio's Catalogue, No.429.
3 Ou-yang Hsuan.Born 1274 or 5; died early in 1358.
Author of the Kuei Chai Chi, reprinted in the Ssu Pu
Pu Ts'ung K'an.
4 Sixty years.
5 It appears to be suggested that Dhyaanabhardra,
being 53 years older than Wu-wu, was 128 (127 in our
reckoning) when he died. This need not be taken too
seriously.
6 In Korea?
7 A stone resembling jade, but not so precious.
P.375
it brushed(?) the Hosts of Heaven. Cannot these be
called filial sons and obedient grandehildren?
News of all this reached the Court (1) and by Im-
perial Command, I, the minister Li Se, composed a
verse-inscription, which was written out by the
Minister Han Hsiu, while the minister Chung-ho
designed a tablet in seal-character. I, the Minister
Se, now say: The Master's relics were divided into
four portions, but it is uncertain whether shrines
were set up to him in other places [as well as the
Kuei-yen Ssu]. It was therefore difficult to find
anyone from whom to obtain an inscription setting
out the facts of his life. Moreover it is not clear
whether the Master Chih-k'ung(20 can really be
thought of as dwelling here, or elsewhere. But ought
not his relics to be considered simply like a
grasshopper's discarded shell, and disregarded? Or
that his disciples might have a chance of displaying
their gratitude was it right that an effort should
be made, despite the circumstances? These questions
weighed heavily upon me. But in deference to the
Imperial Command I composed the following
verse-inscription:
The Master's tracks start in the Western Land;
He was King Puur.na's son and the spiritual
successor of Samanta-prabhaasa.
In the Upper Capital he met with recognition;
The moment was favourable to his task.
His audience in the Yen-hua Pavilion
Was in the nick of time(3).
Looking back on his wanderings
He could say there was not a country he had not
explored,
Passing through strange lands as easily as water
down tiles,
Or a stone through the waters of a pond.
In the period T'ien-li the Emperor's priests
Brushed him with their hate.
But he went on wearing the same raiment,
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 The Mongol Court at Karakorum?
2 Dhyaanabhadra.
3 Before the troubles that ended in the fall of the
Mongols.
P.376
And his fame in religion continued to soar.
His mad sayings and wild jibes
A man of K'uang(1) could understand.
He told of armies before blood was shed
As easily as though sorting black from white¢w
And the power to foretell the future
Is surely the essence of religious power?
True, he met with incredulity and slander;
But his heart was unmoved.
His relics shone with such a splendour
That all beholders gasped in awe.
Who can say that 'man's nature
Is incapable of achieving extremes?'(2)
Surveying this Juniper Rock Temple
We have set up a monument and carved words upon it.
Let no-one dare to tamper with it,
But let it rather be guarded here forever.
Poem by a disciple of Dhyaanabhadra,written on visit
ing the place:
The study of the supernatural transcends worldly
teachings
And brings comfort, as a banquet to a starving man.
In conversation over country fruits there is some-
thing left to chew;
But the courtier's cup, when the Emperor has drunk,
is spilled.
simple words can convey infinite meaning;
But the highest truths cannot be concretely
expressed.
The doings of a holy man who would best record?
To the hermit or herdsman should be entrusted the
making of such an inscription(3).
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 i.e.he was more fortunate than Confucius,who was
badly received when passing through K'uang (Analects
IX. 5). The Man of K'uang is here the Emperor.
2 Evidently a quotation; but I cannot trace it.
3 i.e. an inscription recording Dhyaanabhadra's
life.