Jiangling fortune-teller _ Who is Jiangling fortune-teller

Who was the earliest monk in ancient China who went to India to learn Buddhist scriptures?

Fa Xian (334-420) was born in Wuyang (now Linfen, Shanxi), Pingyang County, Sizhou, Eastern Jin Dynasty. According to legend, he was born in xiang yuan (now xiang yuan, Shanxi), Shangdang County, Bingzhou. He is a famous monk in the history of Buddhism in China, an outstanding Buddhist innovator, the first master in China who went abroad to learn from Buddhism, an outstanding traveler and translator. Becoming a monk since childhood is one of the three major religions in the world. By the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism had made great progress. Various schools of Buddhism have been introduced into China. Buddhist classics have been translated in large numbers; Large-scale repair of Buddhist temples all over the country; The number of Buddhist believers has increased rapidly. During the Western Jin Dynasty, there were 180 Buddhist temples in China, with as many as 3,700 monks and nuns. Since then, more and more. Fa Xian lived in the historical period of unprecedented development of Buddhism in China. Faxian's real name is Gong. He has three brothers, all of whom died in childhood. His parents are worried that he will die, too. When he was only three years old, he was regarded as a novice monk (that is, he was sent to a Buddhist temple as a young monk). At the age of ten, my father died. Considering his mother's widowhood and difficult life, his uncle asked him to be secular. Faxian was very devout to Buddhism at this time. He said to his uncle, "I didn't become a monk because I had a father. It is because I am far away from the world that I became a Taoist. " His uncle didn't force him. Soon, his mother died, and he returned to the temple after the funeral. Faxian is pure and honest. Once, he and dozens of classmates were cutting rice in the field and met some poor people to rob them of their rice. The monks fled in fear, but Faxian was the only one who stood still. He said to the food snatcher, "If you need food, please help yourself!" ! It's just that you are so poor now because you didn't pay in the past. If you don't rob people of food, I'm afraid you will be poorer in the afterlife. I was really worried about you! After that, he calmly returned to the temple, but those who robbed the grain were persuaded by him to abandon the grain. This incident impressed hundreds of monks in the temple. At the age of twenty, Fa Xian accepted a great precept (a ceremony held by monks to prevent them from physical and mental failure when they entered adulthood). Since then, he has been more devout in Buddhism and more rigorous in his behavior. Sometimes, he has the reputation of "clear-headed and clean-headed". In the three years of Long 'an in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (399), 65-year-old Fa Xian spent 62 years in Buddhism. Faxian experienced more than 60 years, and deeply felt that the translation of Buddhist scriptures could not keep up with the needs of the great development of Buddhism. Especially due to the lack of precepts, the majority of Buddhists can't follow them, so that the upper-class monks are extravagant and want everything. In order to maintain the "truth" of Buddhism and correct the shortcomings of the times, Fa Xian, who was nearly ancient, decided to go west to Tianzhu (ancient India) to ask for rules. In the spring of this year, Fa Xian, together with Hui Jing, Dao Zheng, Huiying and Wei Hui, set out from Chang 'an and started a long and arduous journey to the west. The following year, when I arrived in Zhangye (now Zhangye, Gansu), I met five monks, namely, Hui Jian, Shao Monk, Bao Yun and Jing Monk, and formed a "tour group" of ten people. Later, they added a Huida, a total of eleven people. The "Tour Group" traveled westward to Dunhuang (now Dunhuang, Gansu Province), with the support of Li Hao (Li Shi), and westward to the "Shahe" (Bailongdui Desert) in Yangguandu. Faxian and other five people followed the messenger first, followed by Yan Zhi, Bao Yun and others. The climate of Bailongdui desert is very dry, with hot air and quicksand from time to time. When travelers come here, they are often buried by quicksand and die. Fa Xian later described the scene here in his "Buddha Country", saying: "There are no birds in the sky, and there are no animals in the sky. If you look everywhere, you don't know what you want, but you only mark it with dead bones. " They risked their lives to go forward, walked 17 days and nights, traveled 1500 miles, and finally crossed the "Shahe". Then, they passed through Shanshan country (now Ruoqiang, Xinjiang) and arrived at Niaoyi country (now Yanqi, Xinjiang). They lived in the bird for more than two months, and Baoyun and others also arrived. At that time, because Niayi believed in Hinayana Buddhism (Indian Buddhism is divided into Hinayana and Mahayana), and Faxian and his party belonged to Mahayana, they received a cold reception in Niayi, and there was even no room for accommodation. As a last resort, Yan Zhi, Hui Jian and Wei Hui returned to Gaochang (Turpan, Xinjiang) to raise funds. Monk Shao went to Yan Bin (present-day Kashmir) with monks from the Western Regions. Faxian and other seven people were funded by Gong Gongsun, a former Qin royal family, and began to head southwest and cross the Taklimakan desert. Taklimakan Desert, also known as Tarim Desert (Tarim, Uygur language, meaning "can't get in, can't get out"), is extremely dry here, with large temperature difference between day and night and changeable climate. At this point, there is nothing difficult for pedestrians. As Fa Xian said: "There are no residents on the road, it is difficult to sand, and the suffering is unparalleled." Xian Yi walked for a month and five days, and finally got out of this desert safely and arrived in Yu Jia County (now Hotan, Xinjiang). Yu Jia was the main Buddhist center in the Western Regions at that time. They stayed here for three months to watch the Buddhist "walking like an elephant" ceremony. Then move on, through Asia and America, across the Green Ridge, across the new head and exhausted country. Fa Xian, Huiying, Baoyun, Monk Jing and others stayed in many countries to defend their country and went to Frausha (now Peshawar, Pakistan). Hui Jing was ill when he arrived there, and Tao was with him for some time. Huida went to Frosha alone to meet Faxian and them. Frosha Kingdom is the Buddhist center of Northern Tianzhu, where Huida, Baoyun and Monk Jing visited the Buddhist relics and returned to China, where Huiying died of illness. Fa Xian went to the hinterland alone, joined Hui Jing and Daozheng, and the three of them went south to Xiaoxue Mountain (Sunaman Mountain in Dan 'a). In Sanskrit, it means "the Great Snow Mountain", that is, the Himalayas. The mountain is also covered with snow in winter and summer. The three of them climbed to the north of the mountain in the shade, and suddenly they were caught in a cold wind. Hui Jing couldn't stand the cold wind and froze to death. Fa Xian stroked Hui Jing's body and cried with infinite emotion: "The desire to learn from the scriptures has not been realized, but you are dead and your life is helpless!" Then, I walked with Daozheng, crossed the small snow-capped mountains, and arrived in Luoyi country. After remembering that country, we crossed the Xintou River and arrived at Bida Kingdom. Then pass through the kingdom of Motoro, cross the Pune River and enter the territory of Zhongtianzhu. Faxian and Daozheng spent more than four years traveling around the middle of Tianzhu and visiting Buddhist monuments. In the third year of Jin, Yuan and Xing (404), they came to the Jingshe of Acropolis, the birthplace of Buddhism. According to legend, Sakyamuni lived and lectured here for the longest time before his death, and the monks here deeply admired the fact that he had traveled thousands of miles from Faxian to seek the Dharma. "Tales of the Buddhist Kingdom" said: "It is amazing that people in the frontier can seek Buddhism so far. It goes without saying: we teachers are all descendants of our ancestors, but we have never seen a Han Taoist. " This year, Fa Xian also visited the Acropolis of Gaviluo, the birthplace of Sakyamuni. In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties (405), Fa Xian went to Balun House, where Buddhism was extremely prosperous. He studied Sanskrit in Sanskrit here, copied scriptures, and collected six Buddhist classics, including Maha Monk Law, Sapo Duobi Law, Zhaxin Sutra, Fangni Sutra and Jing and Maha Monk Law, and lived there for three years. Tao Zheng admires Samoan law and the dignity of monks in Barenfoy, laments the imperfection of the law of monks in his hometown, and vows to stay here and never return to China. Faxian was bent on returning the precepts to the motherland, so he continued to travel alone. He traveled around South Tianzhu and East Tianzhu, wrote scriptures and painted (Buddha statues) in Tamarix Empire (Tamruk, India) in the Ganges Delta, and lived for two years. At the end of the fifth year of Yixi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (409), Faxian left Daumarie, took a merchant ship, crossed the Bay of Bengal and came to the Lion Country (now Sri Lanka). He lived in the Fearless Mountain of the Lion Kingdom and got four classics: Misheru, Chang Ashe, Za Ahan and Za Zang. So far, Fa Xian has been in another city for twelve years. He often misses the distant motherland, thinking about the original "tour group", whether to stay or die. Today, he cares about himself and is infinitely sad. On one occasion, he saw a businessman offering a Chinese white silk fan to the Buddha in the Fearless Mountain Jingshe, and was touched by something, so he wept bitterly. In August of the seventh year (465,438+065,438+0), Faxian completed the task of learning from the scriptures and seeking the Dharma, boarded a merchant ship and returned to Haidong. Soon after the ship set sail, it was caught in a storm and broke the water. Fortunately, I met an island, fixed the loophole and moved on. In this way, I drifted in danger for more than 100 days and arrived in Yepoti (now Sumatra Island, Java Island in Xijin, India). Faxian lived here for five months, and then transferred to another merchant ship for Guangzhou. Unexpectedly, a strong wind blew during the journey, and the ship lost its way and drifted with the wind. Just as the ship was running out of food and water, it suddenly reached the shore. Fa Xian went ashore and asked the hunter, only to know that this was Laoshan Mountain in Changguang County, Qingzhou (Jimo, Shandong). Li Ben, the magistrate of Qingzhou Changguang County, heard the news of Fa Xian's return from overseas and immediately rushed to the seaside to meet him personally. It was July 14th (4 12) in the eighth year of Yixi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Fa Xian began to travel at the age of 65 and traveled to more than 30 countries before and after. Thirteen years later, he was 78 years old when he returned to his motherland. In the past 13 years, Fa Xian has traveled through mountains and rivers and experienced unimaginable hardships. As he later said, "I don't feel sweaty when I am looking for what I have learned!" " After Faxian landed in Shandong Peninsula, he immediately passed Pengcheng and Jingkou (Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) to Jiankang (now Nanjing). After living in Jiankang Dojo Temple for five years, he came to Xin Temple in Jingzhou (Jiangling, Hubei), where Yuan died in 420 at the age of 86 and 82. For more than seven years before his death, he had been trying to translate classics. He had translated six classics, 63 volumes, accounting for more than 10,000 words. His translation of the Maha Monk Law, also known as the Mass Law, is one of the five precepts of Buddhism, which has had a far-reaching influence on the later Buddhist circles in China. While paying close attention to the translation of Confucian classics, Fa Xian also wrote an immortal world masterpiece, The Story of the Buddha Country. The Story of the Buddha's Country is more than 9,500 words, and its aliases are Fa Xian Xing Chuan, Fa Xian Chuan, Li You Tian Zhu Ji Chuan, Buddha You Tian Zhu Ji, etc. It occupies an important position in the academic history of the world. It is not only a masterpiece of biographical literature, but also an important historical document and a very important historical material for studying the history of the Western Regions and India at that time. When Fa Xian went to India, it was the golden age in Indian history-the era when the famous super-Japanese king of Biduo Dynasty (320-480) was in power. There is no systematic literature record about the ancient history of the Biduo dynasty, and the history of the King Chaori can only be supplemented by the records of Buddhism. Shanshan, Khotan, Qiuci and other ancient western countries have been lost for a long time, leaving no biographies. The situation in these areas recorded in The Story of the Buddha Country can make up for the shortage of history books. Buddhist records also describe the Buddhist monuments and the life of monks in India in detail, so they were later cited as Buddhist classics by Buddhists. Besides, the story of Buddha is also a masterpiece in the traffic history of South China Sea in China. China's maritime trade with Indian, Persian and other countries began as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, but there are no specific records about sea breeze and ships in the history books. The detailed description and systematic record of trade winds and ships in The Story of the Buddha became the earliest record in China. Fa Xian, who was over 60 years old, completed an amazing feat of crossing the Asian continent and returning to China via the Nanyang sea route. His masterpiece The Story of the Buddha was not only praised by the Buddhist community, but also highly praised by Chinese and foreign scholars. Yijing, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty, said: "Since ancient times, on the land of China, I have been a martyr of Buddhism, and Master Dharma (Dharma) has opened up wasteland, and Master Xuanzang has opened the way." Liang Qichao, a modern scholar, said: "Fa Xian crossed the snow-capped mountains and entered Tianzhu. There are many kinds of Buddhist scriptures, and the book "The Story of Buddhism" is written. The first batch came from China. " Sri Lankan historian Nicholas Shaler said: "People all know that the names of China people who have been to Indonesia are Fa Xian." He also called the description of Yepoti in Buddhist records "China's first Indonesian detailed account". Japanese scholar Zu Liu praised the Buddha's story as a guide for explorers in the western regions and Indian Buddhist cultural relics investigators. "