Hello, ma'am. I study archaeology.
I'm looking for a book
by Alexander Cunningham.
Alright. Wait a moment.
Okay.
This is Cunningham's journal.
Have a look. Will this work for you?
Let me see.
- Sure, ma'am. - Thank you.
There was a period in my life when
every night before I slept.
I read a Very old Chinese book
from the Tang Dynasty.
The book was called A Journey To The West.
It was written by a monk named Xuanzang.
And in his book, he described statues and temples all
surrounding a Very, Very important tree.
The tree, in fact, under which
enlightenment was granted to Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha.
We found these ancient ruins.
The Mahabodhi Temple.
The Nalanda.
And in this digging,
we followed the path laid out by Xuanzang.
It was an exciting time.
And everywhere we went.
Xuanzang's descriptions and our discoveries
matched perfectly.
I've been in India five years already.
Mother said, in the year of the flood,
she put me in a wooden basket that floated downstream.
She feared she'd never see me again.
Who'd have thought I floated into a temple
and an old monk saved me.
I've been a monk since childhood.
People say my brother took me there.
But I prefer to believe my mother.
I was fated to be a monk.
The night I left Chang'an
seems Very long ago.
By Imperial Decree,
We, in sympathy with the people and their plight,
issue a special order
that they may leave
and go to wherever, there is abundance
to survive the famine.
So be it.
The emperor
forbids travel to the West.
Therefore the other acolytes
won't travel with you to India.
Abbot. I've made up my mind.
You've mastered the Tripitaka.
I see no need for you to go ahead.
Although I am in Chang'an,
my heart is already on the road.
Natural disasters
left the land barren.
Years of drought led to mass famine.
Now, frost and locusts
forced people to flee their homes.
Buddhists could only pray.
But Buddhist texts came to China
in many different translations.
People argued points of faith.
Hearing the Sanskrit sutras,
I wanted to go to India
to find the true original texts.
Walking by day, resting by night,
I lived on dew and wind.
The further from Chang'an,
the more desolate the landscape.
This city is called Liangzhou.
It Wasn't just 'hang' - desolate,
but had an air of Violence,
abandonment and desperation.
Catch the spies!
Where did he come from?
Take him in for questioning.
Name.
The humble monk Xuanzang.
A monk poking his nose into trouble.
That's how you see it.
I see it as practicing my faith.
Why are you in Liangzhou?
I'm passing through on my way to Sidhu.
You want to practice your faith, I won't stop you.
But pass through Liangzhou on your way to Sidhu?
I have to ask
do you have permission?
No.
No?
How'd you leave Chang'an?
With the refugees.
An illegal border crossing.
You put yourself at risk
and dragged me into it too.
Your trip ends in Liangzhou.
Forget going further west.
Ten years of study and not one true text.
I need to collect the scriptures for the sake of the faith.
Don't you know the law?
His Majesty sent me, Li Daliang
to the western regions
to strengthen the borders.
Try to cross and it's a year in jail.
Succeed and you get worse.
I want Buddhism to endure, that's all.
Your devotion moves me. I won't punish you.
But today go back to Chang'an.
I'm ordering all officials
from here to the West
to arrest you on sight.
Your luck runs out here.
What's up?
Mahayana-samgraha-sastra
Volume One
Translation by Paramartha.
I've been thwarted, but I won't give up.
I'll teach here in Liangzhou
until they've forgotten my quest.
Then the Venerable Hui Wei will help me get away.
Master
Why do you wear a patchwork robe?
Buddha, meditating on the mountain,
saw the fields below
square, neat, clearly marked.
It gladdened his heart.
He had his disciples find scraps of cloth,
wash them clean
and sew them together
to resemble the fields.
It's Called a lucky-field robe.
A monk wears the robe
as the hill wears its fields,
sowing seeds of fortune with faith.
When a monk lectures
in a lucky-field robe
good fortune spreads outwards and protects the living.
"Your blue robe, ever in my mind..."
Smells nice.
Venerable
my name is Li Chang.
Bless you.
M'1ord.
Y mite not him, amen“: you'?
Tell me the truth.
That way, I can help you out.
My name is Xuanzang and yes, I am that man.
Please help me out.
Since you admit it, I ought to arrest you
and return you to Liangzhou.
Yet seeing you
eating thin gruel out in the cold.
I saw how hard it is for a monk.
Hard, yes, but it's my destiny and I am happy with it.
Why's that?
I think only of Buddha
and of the texts I'll find in Sidhu.
I fear you won't make it.
Say I let you pass by Guazhou.
You'll never get through Yumen Pass.
And the other road
winds around five Watchtowers
Three hundred miles apart, no water anywhere.
Generals guard all water sources. It would defeat a god.
Say you make it past the five.
Behind lies the Vast Gobi Desert,
just hot Winds and desolation.
Most camel trains don't make it out alive.
On your own without even a horse
all the way to Sidhu - forget it.
My advice return east to Chang'an.
Sir,
I've come this far. I won't turn back.
Should I die on the way, it will be Without regret.
I got past Guazhou,
grateful to Li Chang, who took risks to help me.
Although he tore up the Warrant
Liangzhou had sent them to every western guard post.
From now on
at no pass could I let down my guard.
Otherwise, I'd fail in my quest.
From ancient times,
monks have traveled with merchant caravans.
I was grateful to them
for taking me time and again.
How'd you get those out?
At the frontier
they were still just eggs.
They didn't find them.
The mulberry leaves should last to Cuiye.
By then, they'll be making cocoons.
Cocoons - that means silk.
Weaving is an important art.
I've thought it through.
Next time I'm in the south, I'll marry a Weaving girl to take home.
I'll treat her really well.
And We'll make silk.
With silk, I don't have to work so hard
lugging stuff here and there.
May you be blessed.
You're a good man.
Venerable, I have a question.
What is the world, really?
My world
is taking things this place has
to a place without them.
Coming in, I bring what China lacks
what you call
"barbarian" pepper, flax and carrot seeds.
Going out, I want to take silkworms With me.
This is my world.
I am going to India for scriptures
to fill a lack as well.
Monk,
we're going to pick up the pace.
Why don't you ride on a camel?
No need. I'll try to keep up.
Random encounters and farewells
gave joy followed by loneliness.
When I said goodbye
I was filled with worry for them.
Bandits often ambushed caravans
who had no defense against their Violence.
Please, good sir,
are any caravans heading West?
Please, good sir,
are any caravans heading West?
Monk,
there's fighting there, it's dangerous.
Forget it. No one's going.
Please, good sir,
are any caravans heading West?
Heading west?
Venerable
I'm heading West. I'll take you.
Is Sidhu far?
Very-
And you're going alone?
Yes.
Why?
It's my fate, I guess.
All right. Leave me here.
Liao Wu,
a monk may be coming to Visit.
Abbot,
No one has come for six months.
Last night I dreamed a monk was sitting on a lotus
flying from east to west.
Don't disturb him.
Bodhisattva, help your disciple.
This journey from Chang'an
is harder than I ever imagined.
The road to India is long
and all I see is desolation.
It leaves me dazed and yet your disciple doesn't waver from his goal.
Please, help me.
I need Buddha's support
to reach India and the scriptures.
Good sir,
You've followed me a while. Why not Walk with me?
I'm not worthy.
The abbot had a dream about you.
I'm Vandak. I've chased after you
to bring you food.
Please, instruct me.
Buddha gives loving protection
to those of pure heart
and trust in the 'three treasures'.
These are Buddha, Dharma and monkhood.
Do you understand?
I do.
Five basic precepts govern the life of the monk.
Monks and other seekers
of inner peace follow them
no killing, no stealing, no lust,
no lying, no drinking.
I see.
It's not a big price for release.
One, no killing, two, no stealing,
three, no lust, four, no lying,
five...
no drinking.
It was hard going for a While.
Vandak showed me many shortcuts.
He'd been in a gang robbing caravans.
But they fought over the spoils.
He chose VOWS over impossible revenge.
This released him from Vexation.
When I told him I had no travel permit
Vandak was startled, it was a shock.
He knew illegal crossings could get you killed.
He was fearful and wavering.
Master, do you know where India is?
In my heart.
So you don't know.
Except for the road ahead
you know nothing and see nothing.
Can you really find Buddha?
You've put aside older cares
and taken on new ones
Vandak.
Yes, master?
Last night you wanted to kill me.
It's true, I had thoughts of murder.
Why didn't you do it?
I was torn, confused.
Master, I've been full of regret.
Please, return to Chang'an.
You can go home.
If you won't turn back,
it'll be the end of me.
Master, The Five Peaks lay ahead.
I can't get you past the guard post.
You'll be arrested.
That's not your problem.
But if they learn I helped you,
they won't just kill me
but my whole family will be in danger.
That's why, last night,
I thought to kill you.
Vandak.
Our connection is unbroken.
Go.
Even if I am arrested,
even if I am tortured,
I will never tell them about you.
Hurry, go.
- Master. - Go.
Master. The road to Yiwu is long.
Find an old horse that knows the way.
Ahead lies the Vast desert.
If you insist on going,
then take my horse as an offering.
It's sturdy and knows the Way.
Still. The River of Flowing Sand,
takes nine lives out of ten.
Venerable, please reconsider.
Tang monk,
you only just got this far?
It's you!
You're still by yourself?
Yes.
Look after this horse
she's a pretty old horse.
I understand.
Will you return?
Yes.
Who are you?
A monk
from the capital.
Please spare me.
You can't be Xuanzang.
News from the east says
Xuanzang is returning to Chang'an.
All of you, leave us.
I don't want to know your name.
So don't tell me.
It's the middle of the night.
If you were in a temple now
what would you be doing?
Early prayers.
Is that Dharma, Buddhist law?
I know nothing about it.
Have a seat.
Taking monastic vows
seems to make a man happy -
but not at ease.
More at ease in fact.
Why?
We know what to do and what not to do.
It requires no thought.
In his enlightenment, Buddha realized
the 'four noble truths'.
What's that about?
Suffering. Release.
Suffering.
Release.
I've guarded this place for seven years
and all I know is suffering. How can I find release?
Why do you suffer?
You have to ask?
The watchtower is my prison.
To you, the watchtower is like a prison.
To me, starved for 300 miles,
and finding here food and Water,
it is a place of deliverance.
Nothing in life is constant.
Venerable, I spend all day waiting for night
so I can sleep and dream.
Dream as in fantasies?
No.
Just dream. Like everyone does
no matter how hard their day.
So long as I am dreaming
I am happy-
I often dream I'm wearing fancy Tang robes,
strolling through Chang'an.
Then I wake into a different world.
Dreams are wine.
Life is dregs.
Your insight moves me deeply.
The first Noble Truth - impermanence
There are three others.
Desire is suffering.
There is no self in Dharma. Nirvana is stillness.
These are the Four Noble Truths.
I give them to you.
Venerable. To avoid the Watchtowers
is impossible.
You must go southwest instead.
And cross the Taklamakan.
If you can find Wild Horse Spring
you'll make it.
If you can't,
then you must turn back.
I'll wait here for you.
So I've heard
Amitabha
Idealism
Nalanda
All is emptiness
Walking alone in the desert,
it seems like it will never end.
No one speaks with you,
no bird or animal to make a sound,
and you have only the wind and your own shadow to talk to.
C'mon.
What is it?
If we waver for a moment,
we'll be back on the road to Chang'an.
We'll get out of here.
C'mon.
Come.
C'mon.
All right.
Maybe you're right.
There's water back at the watchtower.
But no, we have to keep going.
You'll make it.
You will. Let's go.
Maybe it's like Wang Xiang said -
this is a dream that feels real,
but I am only traveling in my sleep.
Or perhaps I'm really on my way
but have entered a world of illusion.
Not only will you see rivers of sand
but there are invisible demons
that follow people there, shadowing them.
It's said, they can conjure up mirages
to confuse the traveller.
There's no way out.
I, the humble monk Xuanzang,
in the 20th year of Sui WenDi' s reign was born in Gou County, Luozhou.
My surname is Chen. My mother died when I was five.
When I was seven, my father schooled me in the classics.
He died when I was ten. With my older brother
I went to the Pure Land Temple to study Dharma,
and became a monk at thirteen.
I read the Nirvana Sutra and the Mahayana Compendium.
Later, in the southwest
I both studied and taught.
And now I will die here in the Gashun Gobi.
There is no way out.
Son -
Yesterday I dreamt you'd grown up
and rode a white horse to a very far-away place.
Mother. What are you saying?
What are you saying?
When I stopped at Yiwu
I heard the sound of hooves.
Gaochang's king wanted to see me.
But I wasn't headed to Gaochang.
It was hard for the King of Yiwu.
Gaochang, it's a big country.
We are all afraid of it.
Venerable, if you don't go,
I fear he'll invade Yiwu.
So, please, go to Gaochang.
You must go.
Venerable, As a boy, with my father the king,
I traveled to your great cities
wealthy places like Yan, Dai, Fen, Jin.
They deeply impressed on me
I saw there was an art to ruling.
Please, Venerable, what can Buddhism teach a king?
What I know is this:
to safeguard the country, be charitable and upright,
and you protect all living things.
If you help spread the faith
you don't only enrich one kingdom
but bring peace to all.
May I ask, Venerable, what scripture says this?
The Prajnaparamita Sutras.
Please, Venerable, take me as your student.
I was moved by the king's sincerity
and rested here for a while.
I taught scripture, months passed.
Gaochang is prosperous and has many faithful.
They'll look after you. You stay here,
and have a good life. I've kept my word.
Now I must be on my way.
Venerable, I've pledged to support you your whole life.
And commanded my people to become your disciples.
All these offerings express my sincere desire
that you, Venerable, can help your disciple
by staying in Gaochang. Forget the journey to the west.
Your offer is generous, but I can't accept.
My sense of purpose
grows stronger every day. I cannot give up my quest.
Please, let me go.
I'll put it bluntly
because Gaochang has no other Buddhist teacher,
we have to impose on you. Guide us
out of darkness.
If you still won't agree, I'll be very clear with you.
You have two choices.
One, stay in Gaochang
and accept our support.
Two, be forcibly returned to the Tang.
Sir, you can imprison my body
but not my spirit.
Venerable, our king invites you to eat.
I've done a terrible thing, causing you such grief.
I won't detain you any longer. Please take some food,
Venerable.
I reconciled with the king.
People accompanied me on my way.
Buddhism was growing in influence.
People treated us as guests of honour.
After the beautiful music of Kucina
what awaited us
were the dangerous peaks of Lingshan
After a few dangerous, hard years,
we reached Suyab
in Turkestan,
crossed the central Asian steppes,
and finally reached Sidhu.
Finally, I was in Nélandfi.
Finally, I was in the temple of my dreams.
I'm here.
Young man,
where have you come from?
Master,
My name is Xuanzang.
I've come from the Tang.
How long did it take you?
Four years.
Why have you come to Nfilandfi?
Master,
I came to study Yogficéra with you.
Wonderful. Good.
Three years ago,
the Bodhisattvas
Maitreya
and Manjusri
came to me in a dream
and said:
"a monk from the Tang
will study Dharma with you."
Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha
Rise, young man.
I have lived this long awaiting your arrival.
When the good person faces death
they are freed from torment and desire.
When the bad face death
they are haunted by What awaits them.
Five years passed.
I'd return to Chang'an soon.
I wanted to see Sidhu first.
Without thinking, another five years. passed like that.
Finally, I came to Mahabodhi,
where Buddha achieved enlightenment.
It is a sacred place of pilgrimage.
Approaching, I felt I saw the Buddha,
like I was speaking with him.
That moment thrilled me to the core.
I've heard that in the Tang,
people eat leeks and garlic.
They're not banned for lay people.
Here, if you eat such things you're chased out of town.
But ginger and mustard are fine.
Different places, different customs.
At home, we use chopsticks
but here, hands, so we must wash them before meals.
Swami, I have a question. I blink and that star disappears.
Is this what is called a "ksana"?
The eye is not quick enough to perceive a ksana.
How long is a ksana?
Take this movement.
Divide it into 75 parts
each of these is a ksana.
So that's how you measure it.
Impossible to grasp.
"Ksana" - a Sanskrit word. In Chinese, "nianqin"
the time it takes for a thought to form.
People often say: "hold in one's heart"
This "hold" - niannian also comes from Buddhism.
It's meaning is beyond words.
I followed the footsteps of Buddha,
seeking his path to enlightenment.
Buddha was the rich and spoiled prince
Siddhartha Gautama.
In his youth,
he knew nothing of the world's suffering.
Then, one day,
he saw an old man, a sick man and a poor man.
To release the world from suffering,
He left town in the dark of night.
He thought deeply on the path that led to Nirvana.
The world today is full of war,
inequality and violence.
Yet, though I am of this troubled earth,
my heart is planted in Sukhfwati, Land of Bliss.
Hello, sir.
Why not walk in the middle?
I'll tell you the answer.
Butchers, prostitutes, beggars and so on
are not allowed in town.
If they have business here,
they must avoid the main roads and walk on the sides.
But this is the land of the Buddha.
Who said all are equal. It shouldn't be like this.
Venerable, it's not so strange.
Although it is the Buddha's country,
but his people are not all Buddha's.
Hello
Amitabha.
This fruit is sweeter.
The other ones will get a good price at market.
Don't give them to me, sell them.
I'm meeting a man in the next village.
Can you please take me there?
Careful.
Why wear a mask on such a hot day?
Me... I'm a slave. I was cursed by my master.
It's a symbol of my wrongdoing.
How did this come about?
When I was very little, I was orphaned
and sold to a faraway village
as a slave to the village chief's family.
Six months ago, their house caught fire in the night.
How dare you touch my daughter?
You have brought us this bad luck.
Get out, you worthless slave!
No one must see your filthy face again.
I've had to wear this ever since
so no one sees my face.
We live in a hut by the river.
And the curse cannot be lifted?
Only a Brahmin
can release me from the mask.
But who'd take pity on a poor slave?
Kumari is the girl I saved.
Jayaram saved my life
but my father said the slave's touch had dirtied me.
Only by dying a Brahmin's funeral pyre
could I be purified.
So I ran away with Jayaram,
far from my family, to live an itinerant life.
Although I'm alive,
it's as though I'm dead.
Good sir, please have pity on Jayaram,
who risked his life to save another.
Please, have compassion and release him from his curse.
As you've come all the way from China
I will do this and release him.
And so the old Brahmin undid the curse,
giving Jayaram back his face.
He said: "Bathe in the Ganges. After 10 days,
take off the mask."
A storm.
The wind's up.
The scriptures! My scriptures!
Jayaram !
- Careful, Jayaram! Careful, Jayaram! - Jayaram!
Jayaram !
The gods removed Jayaram's mask
And let his beautiful, kind face be seen once more.
This made me happy.
Master. Ten years studying, traveling,
collecting scriptures and relics. what's it all for?
To take back to the Tang.
Master, you are so popular here.
Why go back to the Tang?
What's popularity?
To be loved.
I left in order to return, not to be loved.
The trip might take another four years.
So long as I get there, four years is nothing.
I will read Emperor Harsha's letter.
I, Harsha, have travelled to Udra,
Where they slander Mahayana.
I have heard that Nfilandfi is full of
wise and virtuous monks.
I respectfully ask for four learned monks
to take part in a theological debate.
The Buddha says: "a monk should not argue."
Yet if Dharma is at stake, we have no choice.
And so. I will choose four monks
to participate in the great debate.
Haihui.
Zhiguang
Simharsami.
Xuanzang.
You will take part.
You will debate scripture,
not just for the glory of Nalanda,
but the truth of Dharma.
Now, put my mind at ease.
Each of you, say a few words.
Abbot,
I know Buddhist logic and language
but in other areas of study, I'm not so confident.
Abbot,
I fear that a great debate of 18 days
is not for an old man like me.
So modest! And if you're old, what am I?
Abbot,
I'm happy to represent Nalanda.
It's an honour.
I came to Nalanda as a non-believer. You converted me.
I know Mahayana-samgraha
and will triumph with it.
Tell me about Hinayana and Mahayana.
Hinayana aims at worthiness. Mahayana aims at Buddhahood.
And Prajnagupta's critiques of Mahayana?
I don't know them.
But anyway, my arguments are better.
You underestimate Prajnagupta.
Xuanzang,
Can you tell me the difference
between Mahayana and Hinayana?
Yes, Abbot.
Hinayana believes
that the universe is material
but perception illusory.
But Mahayana believes
that both perception and the universe are mutable and illusory.
Mahayana sees the universe's true face.
All is mutable, all is illusion.
Very good.
You speak to the essence of it.
My worries have dissolved.
Today is a happy day.
I praise and thank Lord Buddha.
The Harsha Empire was the greatest empire in Sidhu.
Harsha brought together 18 kings for a theological debate
that would affect all Sidhu.
Welcome, learned and virtuous monks.
I convene this debate on Dharma
in honour of the Buddha.
We are here to discuss
Hinayana and Mahayana.
We have the Venerable Prajnagupta,
author of 700 Verses against Mahayana
and the Venerable Xuanzang of Nalanda,
the author of 1600 Verses for it.
The texts are on display.
Over the next 18 days, anyone with different ideas
who wishes to present them, please speak up.
At the end, we will celebrate the Victor
and pay homage to him
as he parades on an elephant.
All my arguments were written down.
I wasn't nervous or worried.
I loved the atmosphere,
and the diversity there,
like a lake fed by many streams, brimming and full.
Swami, you come from China.
The drums recall the triumphal music
of your emperor.
Yes, tell us, what he has done
to be so revered by his people?
He is the Son of Heaven of the Tang,
who was previously called "Qin".
The people love and support him.
Of course,
it is heaven's will that he rules.
'Hinayana' and 'Mahayana' are metaphors.
To put it simply, they are like ferries.
Hinayana - 'small vehicle' transports an individual.
Mahayana - 'greater vehicle' transports others as well.
Compassion.
It is how Buddhism changes the world.
Buddha forbid the taking of life,
including of those with other beliefs.
Mahayana's love and tolerance
can cleanse the world of Violence,
and make it a more beautiful place.
This is the greatness of Buddha.
The great scriptural debate
spread the Dharma far and wide.
Winning didn't matter so much to me.
It was the process,
how the truth of Mahayana was spread,
that gave it meaning.
Eighteen days have passed.
There was no need for debate.
It was like when the sun rises,
the fireflies stop glowing.
Or when it's thundering, hammers are silenced.
It was thus, that all other arguments
faded away before Xuanzang's.
I congratulate him and Nalanda Temple
for their victory.
Venerable, please.
At this moment, in my mind,
I saw a monk called Xuanzang
surrounded by admirers riding an elephant,
applauded by all, praised by all,
paraded in their midst.
I can go home now,
I want to go home.
Buddhism is in decline in Sidhu.
Only Nalanda keeps it alive.
But it is advancing in the Tang.
You will help it to flourish there.
The true value of your journey to Sidhu
lies there.
When I think of home, I dream of my mother.
Although I was very small when I lost her,
her image often appears to me.
It makes me feel homesick.
The kings Harsha and Janaka Kumara
want you to stay in Sidhu.
What do you think?
This is the homeland of the Buddha.
It's not that I don't love it,
but I came for the scriptures,
and I need to take them back.
On the return journey,
The emperor sent a party to meet me.
They had an edict that said,
Having gone west for the Dharma,
the monk was returning, and this truly delights us.
All officials are to help him on his way.
I finally brought the scriptures home.
Translating them into Chinese
gave my life meaning.
Nothing was more important.