Centuries later, Rhythms Monthly Magazine sent a reporter and photographer to retrace Hsuan Tsang's route, and a series of articles was published in the magazine. We selected this article--a highlight of the journey--in the hope that our readers will enjoy it as much as we did.

Leaving Kusinagara, where the Buddha had entered nirvana, Hsuan Tsang carried his relics of the Buddha with him to the south. The places he passed through were also the places where the Buddha had spent the most time. Hsuan Tsang finally arrived in India's first sacred city, Varanasi [Benares], on the Ganges River.

To Hsuan Tsang, Varanasi was a city filled with abundant crops, blooming trees and flowers, and buildings and towers. Many rich people lived in the city. People were polite and industrious in learning new things. Hsuan Tsang saw many devotees of Shiva [the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration], who painted their bodies gray and tied their hair back, and followers of Jainism, who wore nothing in the belief that the sky clothed their bodies.

The proud residents of Varanasi say that when the universe was created, water flowed down Shiva掇 hair from heaven to earth and became the Ganges River. Thus the city was born. At the end of the 19th century, Mark Twain visited the city and wrote: "Varanasi is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

Indeed, Varanasi was found very early. Kasi, an old name for Varanasi, was a major kingdom in northern India before the Buddha's time. Its capital, also named Kasi, was located at a key point for water and land transportation. Industries became highly developed there, and civilization and religion arose. Today, one can find legends and stories of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism here in the city. Fa Hsien [see the Winter 2001 issue of the Tzu Chi Quarterly] also visited the city.

Varanasi is as important to the Hindus as Jerusalem to the Christians and Mecca to the Muslims. The Hindus treat the city as a stepping stone to Heaven, the refuge for wandering souls and the permanent city of light. Every day, countless numbers of people travel thousands of miles to this place; some wait to die there and look towards spiritual rebirth.

Hindus around the world all long to visit Varanasi once in their lifetime, hoping to drink the water from the Ganges River and wash away their sins from their bodies. The dying try to come because they want to die in this sacred place of Shiva.

Stefan Zweig, an Austrian writer, once described the city as a rose shrouded in secrecy, a home for people who had hopeful expectations. Because of their hope, locals have patiently endured enslavement by other races and the shackles of their social caste. This may explain the Indians' strong feelings towards Varanasi.

Varanasi is awake early in the morning. The scent of the Ganges River follows the morning mist to the winding alleys and buildings of the city to wake people up. Streets leading to the Ganges become so jammed that people have to give up their cars and buses and just walk to the river. People are everywhere, their faces full of hope.

Looking at the riverbanks from a boat on the river early in the morning, one finds the magnificent sight intoxicating. The green river sends out a magnetic power that draws hordes of people to the stone steps by the river. Then people simply jump into the river as though they have been hypnotized. Once in the river, they shower themselves with their hands from head downwards. The water rolls down their faces in large droplets and provides moisture to their praying lips. Women's saris are soaked in water, the colors seeming to drip out. People on the riverbanks all face east and send out huge waves of energy to the sun and river with prayer, repentance, desire, and suffering.

Not far from these people, another kind of spiritual energy curls upward into the air with smoke--from a crematory. Indians believe that the human body is made up of five elements: air, water, soil, fire, and emptiness. After death, cremation helps release these five elements back to nature. When the ashes are cast into the Ganges River, the souls will be able to go straight to heaven, free from reincarnation. Thus, the muddy river has carried countless ashes down to the sea, including those of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, and George Harrison, of the Beatles.

Every day, the crematory burns 100 bodies on average. Each body costs 15,000 Rupees (US$300), which is a large amount to many Indians. Next to the traditional wood-burning crematory is an electric crematory, which is much cheaper and also environmentally friendly, but not many people use it. Our local guide told us that only the poor use the electric crematory because the locals believe that souls can go to heaven only when their bodies are burnt with the best quality sandalwood and joss sticks, which are very costly.

Nevertheless, four types of people are not cremated: sages, babies, pregnant women, and people who die from snakebites. Sages' bodies are considered to be very pure, so they do not need to be cremated. The five elements in babies and pregnant women are incomplete, and those inside of people who die from snakebites have been destroyed, so they can't be cremated either. The bodies of these people are tied to rocks and sunk to the bottom of the river.

Although the Indian government forbids the casting of bodies into the river, many villages still carry out the custom. Therefore, bodies that have separated from the rocks can be seen floating down the river, looking for the way to heaven.

I wondered whether the Ganges--with its load of people's ashes, sins, bodies, and garbage--could still remember the pure snow from the Himalayas.

Desire and sin, life and death, filth and purity, soul and body, all the absolutes and relatives intertwine in the river in seething profusion under the morning sun. When I saw the sun rising over the Ganges and the waves of desire and sin in the scintillating masses of people, I realized why the sharp-spoken Mark Twain described India as "the one land that all men desire to see and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the globe combined" [More Tramps Abroad].

Hsuan Tsang came to Varanasi because he wanted to visit Mrgadava (today's Sarnath), where the Buddha gave his first sermon. After Siddhartha became the Buddha, he walked westward to this forest and met five old acquaintances who had carried out ascetic spiritual cultivation with him when he first left his home. The Buddha explained to them the Four Noble Truths he had comprehended--suffering, the arising of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Historically, this is called the Buddha's "First Turning of the Dharma Wheel," the Buddha's first sermon. The five old friends took refuge in the Buddha and became his first disciples.

Because Mrgadava was the birthplace of Buddhism, it had become a major Buddhist center by the time Hsuan Tsang arrived. He wrote, "The temple in Mrgadava is divided into eight groups. Walls are linked together and layers of buildings and pavilions are everywhere. Everything is quite elegant."

There were 1,500 monks at the temple, and Hsuan Tsang also saw the Dharmarajika Stupa, a dagoba built by the famous King Ashoka. [This king ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 269 to 232 bc. He was so disturbed by the suffering he saw during a military campaign that he forsook war and promoted peace throughout his empire. He became a pious Buddhist and a major patron of Buddhism in its early days.] The dagoba has now fallen apart, but the remains still stand at around 100 meters high [328 feet] and indicate the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon.

Hsuan Tsang also wrote, "There is an abode surrounded by high walls. The abode is extremely tall and is covered with gold. Stones were used for the foundation and bricks for the niches. Each niche is several hundred steps high and inside each niche is a golden statue of the Buddha." This abode is probably the giant Dhamekh Stupa, the most visible symbol in Mrgadava. On the dagoba are relief carvings of flowers, grass, and clouds, but the statues in the niches have all disappeared.

At the end of the 12th century, Muslim armies ravaged much of India, including Mrgadava, and deeply affected Buddhism. It wasn't until 1956 that Mrgadava was revived; it is a spacious park now. Unfortunately, the ruins cannot be restored to their original appearances.

An important Buddhist site like this one of course had a stone stele built at the order of King Ashoka. When one walks into the Sarnath Archaeological Museum, one is immediately attracted by the sculptures of four lions on the top of the pillar. Although the carvings of the Dharma Wheels on the four lions have disappeared, the roaring beasts representing the Buddha's inspiring sermons still look powerful and alive. The pillar capital is carved in the shape of an upside-down lotus flower, and between the flower and the lions are relief sculptures of four sacred animals: a cow, a horse, a lion, and an elephant. This relic has become the national emblem of India, and its likeness can be found on Indian paper currency and coins.

The museum also has a statue of the Buddha giving his first sermon; it is considered one of India's finest and most magnificent Buddhist statues. The gentle outlines and thin clothes draping the skin indicate a Mrgadavan style.

Vaishali, near Basarh in northern Bihar, is one of India's ancient cities. Not heeding any of the derision and rumors about him in the city, the Buddha converted a prostitute there named Ambapali. When the Buddha was seriously ill, he again came to the city to announce that he was about to attain nirvana. About 100 years after the Buddha attained nirvana, the Buddhist elders came there for the second great convocation to collect the Buddha's teachings.

Hsuan Tsang certainly did not want to miss an important place like this. He wrote in his book that there was fertile soil, abundant flowers and fruits, and wonderful weather in that region. Unfortunately, the city of Vaishali had turned for the worse and not many monks resided there. Hsuan Tsang went to a dagoba that housed the Buddha's sacred relics, saw the stele of King Ashoka, passed by the Macaque Pond, visited the historical remains of many other dagobas, and went to the lecture halls in the city.

Although time has rolled on for another 1,000 years, what we see today is not much different from Hsuan Tsang's description. Next to the Vaishali ruins there is a simple and passionate village. Hsuan Tsang referred to the people there as "pure and simple." Most of the villagers are farmers. During the harvest season in the fall, hay and crops are abundant and everywhere is the yellow color of harvest.

At the first dagoba, there is a talc case that contains the Buddha's relics. However, only the splotched foundation of the dagoba emerges slightly above the soil. Even though there is a semicircular metal canopy that attempts to imitate the original shape of the dagoba, it does not conceal the deteriorated foundation.

What is worth mentioning is a perfect stele, still standing after more than 2,000 years, with a spirited lion kneeling on top. The stele and a second dagoba in front of it were also built upon the orders of King Ashoka. According to Hsuan Tsang, the pond next to the pillar was dug out by a group of macaques. It was said that these monkeys greatly respected the Buddha, so when he came to this place, they dug out the pond so that the Buddha could fetch water from it for drinking and bathing. One macaque even presented a bowl of honey to the Buddha.

Next to the ruins is an old museum. Few items are on display in a spacious but desolate-looking exhibition hall. The old staff member there apparently had not had any visitors for a long time because he zealously tried to introduce every item to visitors with his broken English, as though he were trying to introduce a lifelong collection. A stone slab from Amaravati in southern India bears a carving of the Buddha's last visit to Vaishali. Stamps and pottery displayed in the glass cases demonstrate the past glory of Vaishali.

Hsuan Tsang continued southward. He crossed the Ganges River again and finally arrived at the place he had dreamed of--Magadha. The territory of Magadha is in today's Bihar state. The name Bihar comes from "vihara," which means "Buddhist monastery," indicating the strong connection of the area to Buddhism. The city of Patna was the imperial capital of King Ashoka, and the town of Bodhgaya, where Prince Siddhartha became the Buddha, is one of the holiest places of Buddhism and a center of pilgrimage.

Magadha was one of the most powerful of the 16 Indian states in ancient times. India's two most outstanding dynasties, the Maurya and Gupta, were founded here. The Buddha spent most of his life in this kingdom, and Magadha is known as the cradle of Buddhism. After the Buddha attained nirvana, his disciples convened their first and third gatherings in this kingdom to collect and codify the Buddha's teachings.

Hsuan Tsang went to Pragbodhi (where the Buddha carried out an ascetic life before he became enlightened), Vajrasana (where the Buddha attained enlightenment), and Grdhrakuta (one of the places where the Buddha gave sermons). Hsuan Tsang also studied for five years at Nalanda Temple, India's largest Buddhist university at that time.

Under King Harsavardhana, who was reigning when Hsuan Tsang arrived, the kingdom of Magadha was rich and prosperous. However, the modern state of Bihar, where Magadha was located, is now one of India's poorest areas and also has the most disasters. The land around the Ganges is prone to flooding during the rainy season. The caste system causes farmers to go on the streets to protest, and government corruption and armed violence are common. Therefore, the Buddhist relics are now the only assets to attract Buddhists from around the world every year.

Hsuan Tsang first visited Pataliputra, today's Patna, in Magadha. Pataliputra, built on the orders of King Ashoka as the imperial capital of the Maurya dynasty, was the largest city in central India at that time, but after the succeeding Gupta dynasty had fallen, the city was invaded by the White Huns. When Hsuan Tsang arrived, only the foundations of the city still remained.

Patna, the capital of Bihar, is no different from other Indian cities: in the daytime, people and cars make lots of noise, cows wander freely on dirty streets, and the golden color of African marigolds (the lucky flower of Hinduism) can be seen everywhere. Away in the distance is the smoke of cow dung being burned for fuel. At night, lights only come from street vendors and their cooking pots. The foul smell of urine and dung are really irritating in the dark.

The road from Patna to Bodhgaya is full of potholes of all sizes, so our car moves rather slowly. From time to time, we see buses so packed that people are even sitting on the rooftops. The road is dusty and vast fields lie on both sides of the roads. We see farmers plowing the fields or herds of cows and sheep wandering around. Such simple scenes on the Ganges River plain would be similar to what Hsuan Tsang saw in his time.

Hsuan Tsang had planned to visit Vajrasana and the Bodhi Tree. The name "Vajrasana" ("Diamond Throne") is an old name for the town of Bodhgaya, and it also refers to the exact place where the Buddha sat to attain enlightenment. It is said that all buddhas became enlightened on this spot. Even if the world ceases to exist, Vajrasana shall remain where it is. Thus even today, Vajrasana, the founding place of Buddhism, is the most important place of Buddhist pilgrimage. The pipal tree under which the Buddha attained enlightened was named the Bodhi ("Enlightenment") Tree.

However, there was no sight of the Vajrasana when Hsuan Tsang arrived. After the Buddha had entered nirvana, the kings agreed to use two statues of the Bodhisattva of Compassion to mark the northern and the southern ends of the Vajrasana. If the two statues ever became completely buried in the soil, it would signal the end of Buddhism. When Hsuan Tsang arrived, the Vajrasana had been completely buried, and the statue at the southern end had been covered halfway by soil.

Hsuan Tsang encountered many difficulties while traveling to India, but he persisted due to his sincere devotion to the Buddha and his passion to seek out the Buddhist teachings. When he entered India, though, everything he saw showed the decline of Buddhism and the rise of other religions. Hsuan Tsang's anxiety and disappointment can only be imagined.

When he arrived at the Bodhi Tree and saw that one statue was already half buried, he knelt down disheartened in front of the tree. Tears welled up as his passion towards Buddhism and the sufferings he had endured along the way suddenly filled his heart.

To this day, the Bodhi Tree and the Vajrasana are still there. The Vajrasana is now a rectangular-shaped red rock. According to modern archaeologists who discovered the rock, it was probably created by King Ashoka to commemorate the Buddha's enlightenment, and so it should be over 2,000 years old. Next to the Vajrasana is a black rock that bears the Buddha's footprint; on the footprint is a carving of the Dharma Wheel.

Hsuan Tsang also saw the Mahabodhisamgharama [Great Bodhi Temple]. The temple had six halls and each hall had three floors. The walls were very high and were richly decorated with paintings. The temple was built upon the order of a Sri Lankan king. The dagoba was destroyed by Muslims and then buried for hundreds of years by sand and silt from floods on the Ganges. It was rediscovered in 1861 and remains in about the same condition as it was when Hsuan Tsang saw it.

By this time, the dagoba was under the control of local Hindus, who also considered it a holy place in their religion. In 1891, Anagarika Dharmapala, a famous Sri Lankan monk, set up the Mahabodhi Society. After years of hard work, he finally helped to transfer the ownership of the dagoba to the society itself. This helped to bring hope for Buddhism in India.

In 631, Hsuan Tsang, then 32 years old, finally arrived at Nalanda Temple, the best university in India. Built in the fifth century B.C., it is also considered the world's earliest university. It is 10 kilometers north of today's Rajgir.

While Hsuan Tsang was still in Bodhgaya, the monks in Nalanda Temple somehow learned that he would be arriving soon, and four monks were dispatched to receive him. When the four monks and Hsuan Tsang reached the gate of Nalanda Temple, around 200 monks and 1,000 laypeople with flags, baldachins, flowers, and incense were there to welcome him. The famous Chinese monk then entered the temple with people clustering around him.

Hsuan Tsang immediately went to see Abbot Silabhadra, who was also the president of the university. When the abbot heard that Hsuan Tsang had come from China to learn the Yogacaryabhumi-sastra, he was moved to tears.

Abbot Silabhadra had been suffering from arthritis for years, and whenever the disease attacked, it brought him unbearable pain. Once he had even tried to starve himself to death to end his misery and life. One night he dreamed that the Great Compassion Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, and Manjusri Bodhisattva persuaded him to stay alive because a Chinese monk would come to him to study the Yogacaryabhumi-sastra. If he could teach this young man to promote Buddhism in the remote land of China, his body would recover completely. When the abbot woke up, his arthritis had disappeared.

The bodhisattvas' prediction had come true. Hsuan Tsang stood before the abbot, and both men were quite excited. Hsuan Tsang immediately prostrated himself before the abbot and became his disciple. They both chatted very happily and Hsuan Tsang was given special status--he received special offerings, was relieved of all monastic duties, and was given an elephant chariot to ride whenever he went out. Hsuan Tsang could finally enjoy the fruits of his labor and no longer needed to be tortured by the blazing sun or chilly winds when he went out.

After settling down at the temple, Hsuan Tsang went out to visit Rajagrha (today's Rajgir). In the past the city had been the capital of Magadha, but when Hsuan Tsang arrived, only the foundations of the city walls still remained.

Rajagrha is surrounded by five mountains. The area is quite hilly, a rare sight along the Ganges River. Low shrubs are everywhere. One of the five mountains is the famous Grdhrakuta Mountain (also known as the Holy Vulture Mountain), where the Buddha carried out his spiritual cultivation and gave many of his lectures. There are many caves in the mountain where the Buddha and his disciples once resided. Even now we can still see a sign that says, "Hsuan Tsang was once here." A particular spot on the mountain is said to be where the Buddha gave his lecture on the famous Wonderful Lotus Sutra.

In addition to Grdhrakuta Mountain, there are also other historical remains from the Buddha's time. Sapataparni Cave, where the Buddha's top disciples gathered for the first time after the Buddha entered nirvana, is located halfway up Vipula Mountain. At the Jivakamravana monastery, one of the Buddha's favorites, only some low walls are still standing and the area has become a pasture for cattle. In another place with some stone foundations, an old metal chain was discovered. That place is considered by archaeologists to be where King Ajatasatru jailed his father, Bimbisara.

Hsuan Tsang mentioned that Vipula Mountain had 500 hot and cold springs, quite useful for curing chronic illnesses. The local village has become famous for these spas, as well as a Hindu temple nearby. Next to the springs is Kalandaka Venuvana, founded by King Bimbisara as a residence for the Buddha and his disciples. This was also where the Buddha lived during the rainy season. Walking down a small path with bamboo on both sides, one comes to a huge square pond. Next to the pond are two Buddha statues.

After visiting the relics in Rajagrha, Hsuan Tsang returned to Nalanda Temple and spent his time studying the Buddhist doctrines.

The dynasties changed along with time. The Muslim dynasty that once occupied India vanished, and even the ambitious British authorities who colonized the country were expelled. However, in a village called Bargaon, there still hides a giant relic that has existed for hundreds of years--Nalanda Temple.

Nalanda was the largest of all the temples in India. Even in later periods, no other temples were built on the same scale. Nalanda gathered not only the best Buddhist monks in India, but also foreign students like Hsuan Tsang, so it was the primary center for Buddhist studies in India.

The temple was still quite famous during the Pala dynasty in the 10th century. If it had not been attacked by the Muslims, who completely destroyed the temple in the 12th century, Buddhism would still be very much alive in India today.

In the 12th century, Indian Buddhism became more esoteric and monks started advocating magic and incantations, and thus Buddhism became indistinguishable from Hinduism. At that time, the Muslim invasion worsened the situation by accelerating the eradication of Buddhism in India.

We have to thank Hsuan Tsang for the reappearance of the temple. In the 19th century, English archaeologist and army engineer Alexander Cunningham used Hsuan Tsang's descriptions to find and unearth the Nalanda Temple.

According to a scientific report, the ruins of the temple are in a rectangular shape over 11 kilometers long. So far only a small part of it has been dug out, but it is magnificent enough to make a formidable impression on any visitor. The ruins now include eight halls, all the same size, lined up in a row, along with smaller temples and the Sariputra Stupa. The whole place is like a mystical palace.

Each hall is designed in an orderly fashion on two floors. There is a stairway connecting the ground floor and the second floor. In each hall there is a lecture room, a courtyard, a kitchen, a dining hall, and a library. Each bedroom has a raised flat platform for beds. There are also numerous ponds on the grounds; they were probably for the monks to bathe in and drink water from. In addition, all kinds of daily goods have been excavated there: cooking pots, water kettles, metal cups, stamps, ink bottles, scissors, etc. These items clearly illustrate how the monks lived there more than 1,000 years ago.

We can imagine that in the 7th century, Hsuan Tsang must have walked with his gown flying in the breeze on this huge campus. His pale skin surely set him off from the Indian students.

Hsuan Tsang spent five years here and became one of the top students in the temple, well-versed in over 50 sutras and commentaries. He loved to learn from his studies and to travel, so he decided to travel throughout India and seek out other famous Buddhist masters and visit many more Buddhist cities. Furthermore, he was determined to continue collecting more original Sanskrit Buddhist documents.