The first monk in China who went west to learn Buddhist scriptures was more than 200 years earlier than Tang Xuanzang. No matter his experience or contribution, Fa Xian is actually not under Tang Xuanzang, and still occupies the title of "the first", but few people know his name. That's because he didn't become the protagonist of the bestseller like The Journey to the West. In The Journey to the West, the Tang Priest was set off by well-connected disciples such as the Monkey King, Pig Bajie and Friar Sand, and supported by fairies and monsters, which made Tang Priest stand out. However, it is not necessarily a bad thing that Fa Xian is not as famous as Tang Xuanzang. After all, the master is not a human being in the world of mortals, and he is not tainted with a false name. Besides, although The Journey to the West made Tang Priest a household name, it was well known to all women and children, but the image of Tang Priest created by Wu Cheng'en was not very popular, even boring. The novel allowed Tang Xuanzang to expand and continue his influence, but at the same time it also concealed his true temperament and strength. If you want to know the real Tang Xuanzang, you still have to read his diary "The Western Regions of Datang".
Faxian has a shallow relationship with the world of mortals. His three brothers all died in childhood, and his parents were worried that he would die, too. When he was three years old, he was sent to a Buddhist temple as a young monk, praying that he could get the blessing of the Buddha. At the age of ten, Faxian's father died. Considering his mother's widowhood and difficult life, his uncle asked him to be secular. Faxian was very devout in Buddhism at this time. He claimed to his uncle that he was not mortal, that he was not a monk because of anyone, and that he would not be secularized because of anyone. Uncle didn't force him again. Soon, Faxian's mother also died. He went back to handle the funeral, and now he is carefree. Just after the funeral, he went back to the temple to continue his practice.
Fa Xian became a monk from Baofeng Temple at the age of 3 and became a monk at the age of 20. In the process of studying Buddhism, he often lamented that the scriptures were incomplete and made a vow to go to Tianzhu to seek scriptures. At the age of sixty-five, Faxian finally made up his mind to go to Tianzhu with like-minded partners. Dozens of monks in the same trade have traveled through the north, west, middle and east of Tianzhu, and after difficulties and obstacles, they have obtained dozens of Sanskrit classics such as Maha Monk Dharma, Chang 'an and Zazang.
After traveling to more than 30 countries, when Fa Xian returned home by boat, the time had passed 14. His fellow friends either died in a foreign country or stayed in the country where Buddhism flourished at that time. Only Fa Xian, who was alone, returned to China with a large number of Brahma Buddhist scriptures. In the eighth year of Yi Xi, he went to Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao, Shandong Province, and in the autumn of the following year, Faxian went to Jindun Jiankang. In Dojo Temple, I translated the classic Confucian theories with Putuo Luo, Baoyun and other eminent monks. And write a travel book through Tianzhu, which is equivalent to the "Buddha country" in his travel diary.
Faxian was 78 years old when he returned to his motherland. In these fourteen 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!" " Is it necessary to experience the 81 difficulty described by The Journey to the West? Let's just say that this method shows that there have been hundreds of bad natural climates, dangerous mountains and bad waters, earthquakes, hail, lightning, tsunamis and mudslides, and it was really a narrow escape. As for whether there are monsters or not? Go to Tianzhu to learn Buddhist scriptures and cross the Liusha River on the way. Fa Xian recorded in the Buddha's Theory that they were supplied by Li Hao, governor of Dunhuang, and crossed the Liusha River. There are many evil spirits in Shahe River, and they all died as soon as they met. There are no birds in the sky, no animals in the sky, and I don't know why I want to cross the river. Only dead bones are used to mark ears.
And Tang Xuanzang's "The Story of the Western Regions of Datang" also records the Liushahe River. "When I hear singing and screaming, or hear ghosts crying, I suddenly don't know what to do."
In The biography of Master Sanzang, Yan Brown, a disciple of Xuanzang, recorded that Xuanzang came to Guazhou and planned to continue his westward journey. Hu Lao, a local Sogdian businessman, told him that "the westbound road is sinister, the quicksand river is boundless, and there are ghosts in the hot air". Advise him to cherish his life and not to take risks.
It seems that the Liusha River was not invented by Journey to the West, and the real situation seems to be more dangerous than the novel.
According to Buddhist records, there are no fewer than 500 or 600 places similar to the Liusha River in Fa Xian's journey to learn from the scriptures, which shows one of the difficulties and hardships in the West.
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