Fa xian biography of alberta

Among people born in ChinaFaxian ranks out of 1, Among writers born in ChinaFaxian ranks Faxian Faxian —c. Read more on Wikipedia Sincethe English Wikipedia page of Faxian has received more thanpage views. The most famous thing faxian is famous for is the discovery of the Dunhuang caves. It is sometimes said to have belonged to "the eastern Tsin dynasty " A.

If he became a full monk at the age From Encyclopedia of Buddhism. This biography is a copy of a Wikipedia article. See latest Wikipedia version here. Faxian at the ruins of Ashoka 's palace. Asian Culture and History. Retrieved 16 August Retrieved February 19, Hidden categories: Pages using religious biography with multiple nickname parameters Articles having different image on Wikidata and Wikipedia Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text Imported from Wikipedia.

Navigation menu Personal tools Log in. Namespaces Page Discussion. A Chinese Buddhist monk and traveller who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries, Faxian is credited with the translation of several Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Chinese. The accounts of his travels to South Asia via land and sea routes to acquire the original texts has also helped scholars gain a historical understanding of Buddhism in the region in the fifth century.

In CE, in his early sixties, Faxian began his journey to India with the intent of procuring manuscripts on vinaya the rules of monastic life in Buddhism as well as to visit sacred sites in India associated with the life of the Buddha. He crossed into the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent in CE, visiting the sites of Udyana, Peshawar and Taxila before travelling eastwards into the Gangetic plains.

In India, he visited the sites of MathuraSankissa, Shravasti, Kapilavastu, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Rajgir, Bodhgaya and Sarnath — sites which had a strong Buddhist presence and were connected to events in the life of the Buddha. He then made his way to the port city of Tamralipti present-day Tamluk, West Bengal, Indiafrom where he travelled on a mercantile ship to Sri Lanka.

He spent two years there before returning to China. Upon his return, he began working on translations of the Buddhist texts he had transcribed and brought with him. What follows this is merely an account of his travels in India and return to China by sea, condensed from his own narrative, with the addition of some marvelous incidents that happened to him, on his visit to the Vulture Peak near Rajagriha.

It is said in the end that after his return to China, he went to the capital evidently Nankingand there, along with the Indian Sramana Buddha-bhadraexecuted translations of some of the works which he had obtained in India; and that before he had done all that he wished to do in this way, he removed to King-chow in the present Hoo-pihand died in the monastery of Sin, at the age of eighty-eight, to the great sorrow of all who knew him.

It is added that there is another larger fa xian biography of alberta giving an account of his travels in various countries. Such is all the information given about our author, beyond what he himself has told us. Fa-Hien was his clerical name, and means "Illustrious in the Law," or "Illustrious master of the Law. It is sometimes said to have belonged to "the eastern Tsin dynasty " — CEand sometimes to "the Sung," that is, the Sung dynasty of the House of Liu — CE.

If he became a full monk at the age Faxian's memoirs are an independent record of the society and culture of places he visited, particularly India. His translations of Sanskrit texts he took with him to China are an important means to date texts, named individuals, and Buddhist traditions. They provide a terminus ante quem for many historical names, manuscripts, events, and ideas mentioned.

Faxian noted that central Asian cities such as Khotan were Buddhist, with the clergy reading Indian manuscripts in Indian languages. The local community revered the monks. He mentions a flourishing Buddhist community in Taxila now in Pakistan amid a generally non-Buddhist community. He describes elaborate rituals and public worship ceremonies, with support of the king, in the honor of the Buddha in India and Sri Lanka.

He wrote about cities like Pataliputra, Mathuraand Kannauj in Madhyadesha. He also wrote that inhabitants of Madhyadesha eat and dress like Chinese people. He declared Patliputra to be a prosperous city. However, some of his Chinese companion pilgrims who came with him on the journey decided to stay in India. The cities and towns of this country [Magadha] are the greatest of all in the Middle Kingdom [Mathura through Deccan].

The inhabitants are rich and prosperous, and vie with one another in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. Every year on the eighth day of the second month they celebrate a procession of images. They make a four-wheeled car, and on it erect a structure of four storeys by means of bamboos tied together. This is supported by a king-post, with poles and lances slanting from it, and is rather more than twenty cubits high, having the shape of a tope.

White and silk-like cloth of hair is wrapped all round it, which is then painted in various colours.

Fa xian biography of alberta

They make figures of devas, with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli grandly blended and having silken streamers and canopies hung out over them. On the four sides are niches, with a Buddha seated in each, and a Bodhisattva standing in attendance on him. There may be twenty cars, all grand and imposing, but each one different from the others. On the day mentioned, the monks and laity within the borders all come together; they have singers and skillful musicians; they pay their devotion with flowers and incense.

The Brahmans come and invite the Buddhas to enter the city.