There are many accounts of Xuanzang’s life, but the most popularly accessible one is Sally Hovey Wriggins’s Xuanzang’s Silk Road Journey. Mostly Buddhist texts written in Sanskrit, they were the lure that had brought Xuanzang out of China to India, seeking the roots of the religious tradition that had been growing in China for many centuries, and to which Xuanzang had devoted himself since boyhood. The centerpiece of his belongings, though, was nearly 700 books and manuscripts. Seven statues of the Buddha were included too, made of sandalwood, silver, and gold, up to four feet tall. Chief among these were relics of the Buddha himself: more than 100 pellets of the Buddha’s flesh, as well as bones. Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk, covered some 10,000 miles on foot and horseback, from China to India, and passed through parts of what are today Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal.Īlong with his memories and stories of more than a decade on the road, Xuanzang brought with him a treasury of art and literature, as well as holy relics. The spectacular welcome was a fitting conclusion for what is one of the most remarkable journeys undertaken in any era.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |