Faxian, A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms: a Chronicle / record source. Covers AD 399 – 414, with 84 events in chronological order. Text license and provenance included.
| Type | Chronicle / record |
|---|---|
| Viewpoint | Outsider account |
| Years covered | AD 399 – 414 |
| Events | 84 events, 47 placed on the map |
| Author | 法顯 (James Legge 영역 1886) |
| Original title | 法顯傳 / 佛國記 |
Regions: South Asia 64 · China 17 · Central Asia 3
| Year | Place | Event | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|
| AD 399 | Chang'an | Faxian, lamenting the incomplete Vinaya in Chang'an, promises with Huijing, Daozheng, Huiying and Huiwai to go to India to obtain the precepts | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 399 | Lung (隴) | Leaves Chang'an and passes through the Long region | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 399 | Kʽeen-kwei (乾歸國) | Reaches the kingdom of Qiangui and spends the summer retreat there | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 399 | Now-tʽan (褥檀國) | After the retreat, proceeds to the kingdom of Rutan and crosses the Yanglou mountains | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 399 – 400 | Zhangye | Reaches Zhangye, a market city; because the country is in turmoil the road is blocked. The king treats them with great care, detains them and serves as their patron (danapati) | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 400 | Zhangye | Meets other monks seeking the Dharma (Zhiyan, Huijian, Sengshao, Baoyun, Sengjing) and spends the summer retreat together | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 400 | Dunhuang | After a month at Dunhuang, Faxian and four others leave first with an envoy's party, briefly separating from Baoyun's group; the governor Li Hao supplies goods for the desert crossing | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 400 | Sandy Desert (沙河) | They cross the desert full of evil spirits and hot winds; the trail markers are only the dry bones of the dead | Legge 1886 ch.I (법현전 1章) |
| AD 400 | Shen-shen (Shanshan) | After walking 17 days (about 1,500 li), they reach the kingdom of Shanshan; 4,000-odd monks (Hinayana). They stay about a month | Legge 1886 ch.II (법현전 2章) |
| AD 400 – 401 | Woo-e (Yanqi) | From Shanshan, 15 days' walk to the northwest reaches the kingdom of Wuyi; 4,000 monks with strict precepts. With Gongsun's help they stay for two months and more | Legge 1886 ch.II (법현전 2章) |
| AD 401 | Gaochang | The people of Wuyi treat them rudely, so Zhiyan, Huijian and Huiwai go back toward Gaochang to seek travel funds | Legge 1886 ch.II (법현전 2章) |
| AD 401 | Khotan (Yu-teen) | With Gongsun's support, Faxian's party goes straight southwest across the uninhabited wilderness and reaches Khotan in one month and five days | Legge 1886 ch.II (법현전 2章) |
| AD 401 | Khotan (Yu-teen) | Khotan is prosperous, with tens of thousands of monks (mostly Mahayana). The king lodges Faxian's party at the Gomati Mahayana monastery: 3,000 monks ring bells for the offering and they eat in silence | Legge 1886 ch.III (법현전 3章) |
| AD 401 | Khotan (Yu-teen) | Huijing, Daozheng and Huida leave first for Jiecha (Kashgar), while Faxian and the others stay three more months to watch the procession of images | Legge 1886 ch.III (법현전 3章) |
| AD 401 | Khotan (Yu-teen) | From the 1st to the 14th of the fourth month the procession takes place: outside the city, four-wheeled carts over 30 chi tall are set up, and the king, barefoot, holds flowers and incense to welcome the image | Legge 1886 ch.III (법현전 3章) |
| AD 401 | Khotan (Yu-teen) | A royal shrine, the New Temple, seven or eight li west of the city, was completed over 80 years and three reigns; it is 250 chi tall and decorated in gold and silver | Legge 1886 ch.III (법현전 3章) |
| AD 401 | Tsze-hoh (子合) | When the procession ends, Sengshao follows the Hu-tao monk toward Kipin; Faxian's party goes to Zihe, arriving after 25 days. The king is devout; there are over 1,000 monks (Mahayana). They stay 15 days | Legge 1886 ch.IV (법현전 4章) |
| AD 401 | Yu-hwuy (於麾) | Four days south from Zihe they reach the kingdom of Yuhui in the mountains of Congling and spend the summer retreat there | Legge 1886 ch.IV (법현전 4章) |
| AD 401 | Kʽeeh-chʽâ (竭叉) | After the retreat, 25 days along mountain paths bring them to Jiecha (Kʽeeh-chʽâ), where they rejoin Huijing and the other two | Legge 1886 ch.IV (법현전 4章) |
| AD 402 | Kʽeeh-chʽâ (竭叉) | The king is holding the Pañca-parishad (five-yearly great assembly); ascetics from all directions gather like clouds, and the king gives offerings and alms | Legge 1886 ch.V (법현전 5章) |
| AD 402 | Kʽeeh-chʽâ (竭叉) | The country holds the stone bowl into which the Buddha spat and a stupa enshrining the Buddha's tooth; there are over 1,000 Hinayana monks. It is a country within the Congling where only wheat ripens | Legge 1886 ch.V (법현전 5章) |
| AD 402 | Tʽo-leih (陀歷) | Traveling west for a month, they cross the Congling and enter North India, reaching the small kingdom of Tuoli, where there is a wooden Maitreya statue 80 chi tall | Legge 1886 ch.VI (법현전 6章) |
| AD 402 | Indus crossing | Going southwest for 15 days, along a cliff path (with 700 ladders) and by rope bridges, they cross the Sindhu (Indus) | Legge 1886 ch.VII (법현전 7章) |
| AD 402 | Woo-chang (Udyana) | After crossing the river they reach the kingdom of Wuzhang (Udyana): 500 monasteries, Hinayana, and a legend of the Buddha's footprint. Daozheng and others go first toward the Buddha-shadow area, and Faxian stays here for the summer retreat | Legge 1886 ch.VIII (법현전 8章) |
| AD 402 | Soo-ho-to (宿呵多) | After the retreat, going south they reach the kingdom of Suhedo; there is a stupa where the Buddha saved a dove chased by a hawk by giving his own flesh | Legge 1886 ch.IX (법현전 9章) |
| AD 402 | Gandhâra (犍陀衛) | Five days east they reach Gandhara (Jiantuowei), ruled by Ashoka's son Fayi (Dharmavivardhana); a stupa stands where the Buddha gave his eyes | Legge 1886 ch.X (법현전 10章) |
| AD 402 | Takshaśilâ (Taxila) | Seven days east they reach Takshashila (Zhushashiluo), where the Buddha gave his head; two more days east is the place where he threw his body to a starving tiger | Legge 1886 ch.XI (법현전 11章) |
| AD 402 | Purushapura (Peshawar) | Four days south of Gandhara they reach Purushapura (Fulousha): a stupa of Kanishka over 400 chi tall and the Buddha's alms bowl; around 700 monks | Legge 1886 ch.XII (법현전 12章) |
| AD 402 | Purushapura (Peshawar) | Baoyun and Sengjing only make offerings at the bowl and turn back; one companion dies at the Bowl Monastery (named Huijing in the text, Huiying in the chapter title). Faxian alone goes on to the place where the Buddha's skull is kept | Legge 1886 ch.XII (법현전 12章) |
| AD 402 | He-lo (Hidda/Hadda) | Going west 16 yojanas, they reach Xiluo city on the border of Nagarahara; the Buddha's skull is housed in a gold-leaf monastery, guarded by eight families who seal it | Legge 1886 ch.XIII (법현전 13章) |
| AD 402 – 403 | Nagâra (Jalalabad) | One yojana north is the capital of Nagarahara: a stupa holds the Buddha's tooth, honored in the same rite as the skull; the Buddha's staff and monastic robe are also kept in a valley | Legge 1886 ch.XIII (법현전 13章) |
| AD 402 – 403 | Nagâra (Jalalabad) | Half a yojana south of the capital, in a stone cave remains the image (shadow) of the Buddha: from afar the figure is clear, but up close it blurs | Legge 1886 ch.XIII (법현전 13章) |
| AD 403 | Little Snowy Mountains (小雪山) | After staying through the third month of winter, they go south over the Snow Mountains; in the cold wind Huijing foams at the mouth and dies, and Faxian strokes the corpse and weeps | Legge 1886 ch.XIV (법현전 14章) |
| AD 403 | Lo-e (羅夷) | On the south side of the Snow Mountains they reach the kingdom of Luoyi: nearly 3,000 monks (Mahayana and Hinayana). They spend the summer retreat there | Legge 1886 ch.XIV (법현전 14章) |
| AD 403 | Poh-nâ (Bannu) | After the retreat, ten days south they reach the kingdom of Bana: 3,000 monks (Hinayana). After three days they cross the Indus again onto low, flat ground | Legge 1886 ch.XIV (법현전 14章) |
| AD 403 | Bhida (毗荼) | After crossing the river, the kingdom of Pitu: Mahayana and Hinayana flourish together; the monks take pity on Faxian's party, who came from Qin, and provide what they need | Legge 1886 ch.XV (법현전 15章) |
| AD 404 | Mathurâ | Passing many monasteries to the southeast, they reach Mathura: 20 monasteries by the Yamuna river, nearly 3,000 monks. From here south is Central India | Legge 1886 ch.XVI (법현전 16章) |
| AD 404 | Saṅkâśya (僧伽施) | Eighteen yojanas southeast they reach Sankasya (Sengjiashi), where the Buddha descended from the Trāyastriṃśa heaven; legends of the three jeweled stairways and Ashoka's lion pillar. They spend the summer retreat at Longjing monastery | Legge 1886 ch.XVII (법현전 17章) |
| AD 404 | Kanyâkubja (Kannauj) | After the retreat, seven yojanas southeast they reach Kanyakubja (Jiraoyi) on the Ganges, with two Hinayana monasteries; six or seven li west on the north bank is a stupa where the Buddha preached | Legge 1886 ch.XVIII (법현전 18章) |
| AD 404 | Â-le village (訶梨村) | Crossing the Ganges and going three yojanas south, the village of Ali: a stupa at every place where the Buddha preached, sat in meditation, or walked | Legge 1886 ch.XVIII (법현전 18章) |
| AD 404 – 405 | Shâ-che (Saketa/Ayodhya) | Ten yojanas southeast, the great kingdom of Shaqi (Saketa): outside the east road of the city's south gate is the willow twig the Buddha chewed and planted, now 7 chi tall; heretics cut it but it keeps growing back | Legge 1886 ch.XIX (법현전 19章) |
| AD 405 | Śrâvastî | Eight yojanas south they reach Shravasti (Shewei city) of the kingdom of Kosala: about 200 households; the site of King Prasenajit and Anathapindika's Jetavana monastery | Legge 1886 ch.XX (법현전 20章) |
| AD 405 | Śrâvastî | At the Jetavana monastery Faxian and Daozheng mourn when they see the Buddha's old dwelling; the monks sigh, saying it is the first time a person of the Han has come here | Legge 1886 ch.XX (법현전 20章) |
| AD 405 | Too-wei / Na-pei-keâ | Fifty li west of Shravasti, the city of Duwei is the birthplace of Kāśyapa Buddha; twelve yojanas southeast, Nabiga is the birthplace of Krakucchanda Buddha. A stupa is built at each | Legge 1886 ch.XXI (법현전 21章) |
| AD 405 | Kapilavastu | A little more than one yojana east, Kapilavastu: no king and no people, only ruins; a few monks and 20 to 30 households. On the road beware of white elephants and lions | Legge 1886 ch.XXII (법현전 22章) |
| AD 405 | Lumbinî | Fifty li east of the city, the Lumbini grove: where Queen Māyā, after bathing in a pond, grasped a branch and gave birth to the crown prince. The monks still drink the water of the well and the pond | Legge 1886 ch.XXII (법현전 22章) |
| AD 405 | Râma | Five yojanas east, the kingdom of Ramagrama (Lanmo): a stupa with the Buddha's relics is cared for by herds of elephants bringing water and flowers. King Ashoka tried to tear it down but was persuaded by the dragon king and gave it up | Legge 1886 ch.XXIII (법현전 23章) |
| AD 405 | Kuśanagara (Kushinagar) | Going east to Kuśinagara: between two trees north of the city the Buddha entered nirvana. There are stupas and monasteries at each relic site, such as the offering of the golden coffin and the division of relics. (At the end: twelve yojanas southeast, a stone pillar marks the place where the Licchavis, who followed the Buddha, were sent back.) | Legge 1886 ch.XXIV (법현전 24章) |
| AD 405 | Vaiśâlî | Ten yojanas east, Vaishali: the Ambapali monastery and garden; the stupa where the Buddha put down his bow and weapons; the place where he announced his passing three months ahead; the stupa of the council of 700 monks | Legge 1886 ch.XXV (법현전 25章) |
| AD 405 | Confluence of five rivers | Four yojanas east, where five rivers meet: Ānanda burned himself in the middle of the river and entered nirvana, between the kings of Magadha and Vaishali; his body was divided and left on both banks | Legge 1886 ch.XXVI (법현전 26章) |
| AD 405 – 406 | Pâṭaliputtra | After crossing the river, one yojana south reaches Pataliputra (Bālianfu) in Magadha, the capital of Ashoka: a royal palace said to have been built by spirits; Mahayana and Hinayana monasteries (600 to 700 monks); the brahmin Radhasami | Legge 1886 ch.XXVII (법현전 27章) |
| AD 406 | Pâṭaliputtra | Every year on the 8th day of the second month, the procession of images: 20 four-tiered bamboo-frame carts are decorated, and brahmins invite the Buddha into the city. Wealthy families set up free clinics (charity and doctors) to care for the sick and poor | Legge 1886 ch.XXVII (법현전 27章) |
| AD 406 | Nâla (Nalanda area) | Going nine yojanas southeast, past a lone rocky mountain (where Śakra questioned an ascetic), then one yojana southwest to the village of Nāla: birthplace and nirvana site of Śāriputra | Legge 1886 ch.XXVIII (법현전 28章) |
| AD 406 | New Râjagṛiha (Rajgir) | One yojana west reaches the new Rājagṛha: a new city built by King Ajatashatru, two monasteries and Ajatashatru's reliquary stupa. In the southern valley, inside the Five Mountains, the old site of Bimbisara's city is empty | Legge 1886 ch.XXVIII (법현전 28章) |
| AD 406 | New Râjagṛiha (Rajgir) | On Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa): buying incense, flowers and lamps in the new city and hiring two monks, they make offerings at the summit; they chant the Śūraṅgama Sūtra all night and come down to the new city | Legge 1886 ch.XXIX (법현전 29章) |
| AD 406 | New Râjagṛiha (Rajgir) | The Karanda bamboo grove, the Pippala cave, and the Saptaparṇi cave (Śrataparṇa), where 500 arhats compiled the scriptures after the Buddha's passing; the stone cave of Devadatta and the story of a monk's self-immolation | Legge 1886 ch.XXX (법현전 30章) |
| AD 406 | Gayâ | Four yojanas west, the city of Gaya: the inside of the city is empty, in ruins | Legge 1886 ch.XXXI (법현전 31章) |
| AD 406 | Bodh Gayā | Twenty li south of Gaya, the place of ascetic practice; passing ruins to the west and north, under the Bodhi tree (pippala) he defeated Mara's temptation and attained Buddhahood. Three monasteries here, with strict precepts | Legge 1886 ch.XXXI (법현전 31章) |
| AD 406 | Gurupada (雞足山) | Three li south, Gurupada (Kukkutapada mountain): a tradition says Mahakashyapa still remains inside the mountain; arhats stay there | Legge 1886 ch.XXXIII (법현전 33章) |
| AD 406 – 407 | Vârâṇasî (Varanasi) | Turning back toward Pataliputra and following the Ganges for 10 yojanas reaches the Kuangye monastery; 12 yojanas west reaches Varanasi (Bolinai), the city of the kingdom of Kashi | Legge 1886 ch.XXXIV (법현전 34章) |
| AD 407 | Vârâṇasî (Varanasi) | A dozen-odd li northeast of Varanasi, the Deer Park of the immortals (Mṛgadāva): where the Buddha first turned the Wheel of Dharma while teaching five monks; stupas mark the place where he prophesied Maitreya; two monasteries | Legge 1886 ch.XXXIV (법현전 34章) |
| AD 407 | Kauśâmbî | Thirteen yojanas northwest of the Deer Park is the kingdom of Kauśāmbī (Jushanmi); the Ghośirārāma monastery (Ghochiravana) has hinayana monks | Legge 1886 ch.XXXIV (법현전 34章) |
| AD 407 | Dakshiṇa (達嚫國) | Two hundred yojanas south, the kingdom of Dakṣiṇa: the five-tiered rock monastery of Parabata; Faxian did not go there himself and records only what he heard from the people of that country | Legge 1886 ch.XXXV (법현전 35章) |
| AD 407 – 409 | Pâṭaliputtra | At the great Mahayana monastery of Pataliputra he obtains a Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya manuscript, the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (6,000 to 7,000 verses), and the Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya; for three years he learns Sanskrit and copies the texts. Daozheng decides to stay in Middle India; only Faxian returns | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVI (법현전 36章) |
| AD 409 | Champâ (Bhagalpur) | Going down the Ganges 18 yojanas to the east, he reaches Champa on the south bank: the places where the Buddha walked and meditated, and stupas | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVII (법현전 37章) |
| AD 409 – 411 | Tâmaliptî | Going about 50 yojanas further east, he reaches the port of Tāmraliptī: 24 monasteries (22 in the text). He stays two years, copies scriptures and paints Buddha images | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVII (법현전 37章) |
| AD 411 | At sea | He boards a large merchant ship and sails southwest on fair winds in early winter for 14 days and nights (about 700 yojanas) | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVII (법현전 37章) |
| AD 411 | Singhala (Sri Lanka) | They reach the island of Siṃhala (the land of the lions): 50 yojanas east-west and 30 north-south, with over a hundred small islands; rich in pearls and jewels. The king collects 30 percent of the pearl output | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVII (법현전 37章) |
| AD 411 – 412 | Anuradhapura | Above the footprint, a 400-chi stupa and the Abhayagiri monastery: 5,000 monks, and a blue jade Buddha image over 20 chi tall, holding a jewel in its right hand. Seeing a white silk fan offered by a merchant, Faxian weeps, moved by thoughts of home | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVIII (법현전 38章) |
| AD 411 – 412 | Anuradhapura | A branch of the Bodhi tree (pippala), brought by an old king from Middle India, grew to 200 chi beside the Buddha hall. When it leaned, they propped it with a pillar; it pierced the pillar and rooted in the ground. There are monasteries under the tree and a Tooth-relic monastery | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVIII (법현전 38章) |
| AD 412 | Anuradhapura | The Tooth festival in the middle of the third month: ten days before, the king adorns an elephant and proclaims it; 500 Jātaka scenes of the bodhisattva are set out along both sides of the road; the tooth relic is then enshrined at Abhayagiri and honored for 90 days | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVIII (법현전 38章) |
| AD 412 | Chaitya hill (支提) | Forty li east of Abhayagiri, the Chaitya mountain monastery: 2,000 monks. The shramana Dharmagupta, who has lived in a stone chamber for over 40 years, lets snakes and rats share one room | Legge 1886 ch.XXXVIII (법현전 38章) |
| AD 412 | Anuradhapura | Seven li south of the city, the Mahāvihāra (Great Monastery): the funeral of an arhat shramana. The king cremates him in the arhat manner, and later plows the site of a new monastery, permanently donating land, people and houses to the Sangha | Legge 1886 ch.XXXIX (법현전 39章) |
| AD 412 | Anuradhapura | Staying two years in the land of the lions, he obtains the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya, the Dīrghāgama, the Saṃyuktāgama and miscellaneous collections: Sanskrit texts that were not in the land of Han | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 412 | At sea | On a large merchant ship carrying over 200 people, with a small boat tied behind, they sail east for three days; a storm leaks the ship and the people in the small boat cut the rope. The merchants throw goods overboard and Faxian recites the name of Avalokiteśvara. On the 13th day they reach an island and stop the leak | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 412 – 413 | Java-dvîpa (耶婆提) | After sailing for over 90 days they reach Yavadvīpa (Java): heretics and Brahmanism flourish, and the Buddhist Dharma is hardly mentioned. He stays five months | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 413 | At sea | On another merchant ship of over 200 people, loaded with 50 days of provisions, they set sail on the 16th of the fourth month and head northeast toward Guangzhou. They keep the summer retreat on board | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 413 | At sea | After more than a month, black winds and heavy rain come in the middle of the night. The brahmins propose to put Faxian ashore on an island, but his patron threatens them and stops them | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 413 | Mount Lâo (Laoshan) | After more than 70 days, when the water runs out, they head northwest for 12 days and reach the south shore of Laoshan in the Changguang district; they get fresh water and vegetables and realize they are back in Han territory | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 413 | Chʽang-kwang city (長廣) | A hunter tells them they are in Changguang, Qingzhou (Jin territory). The merchants send a man to Changguang city; the governor Li Yi comes to the shore to receive Faxian's scriptures and images and takes them to the commandery office | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 413 – 414 | Qingzhou | In Qingzhou the governor asks them to stay one winter and one summer, and they keep the retreats there | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 414 | Jiankang (Nanjing) | He hurries to see the teachers he had long been apart from in Chang'an, but since the matter is serious he goes to the southern capital and shows the scriptures and vinaya texts he obtained to his teachers | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 414 | Jiankang (Nanjing) | From Chang'an to Middle India took six years, six years of staying, and three years to return to Qingzhou; the countries he passed through number fewer than thirty | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |
| AD 414 | Unspecified | The later compiler, after the summer retreat, welcomes Faxian to stay in a winter study and asks him again about the journey, recording it in detail: 'In the year Jiayin, the 12th year of Yixi of the Jin' | Legge 1886 ch.XL (법현전 40章) |