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Abstract
<p class="1Body">To provide more updated and accurate information on Faxian, an eminent monk of ancient China’s Jin Dynasty (266–421 CE), the present study conducts a literature survey to analyze his native region. It is found that Faxian was actually born in modern Linfen City in Shanxi Province, not Xiangyuan County as previously described. In his childhood, he became a novice monk and was compassionate toward the poor. To search out and collect Buddhist scriptures, Faxian undertook a westward pilgrimage to India from 399 to 412 CE. During this hard and dangerous pilgrimage, Faxian burst into tears three times. Finally, he succeeded in bringing a trove of Buddhist scriptures back to China from India. For the rest of his life, along with Buddhabhadra, he was engaged in translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. These translated scriptures were highly beneficial for Chinese Buddhism, especially the precepts (sila-vinaya) and Mahāyāna works. Faxian himself is demonstrated to have been a Mahāyāna Buddhist follower. His pilgrimage experience was recorded in his work “Record of Buddhist Kingdoms”, which provides important information about ancient Asian kingdoms. Faxian’s story promoted Asian tourism relevant to Buddhist culture. As a pioneer in the 4<sup>th</sup> century, Faxian started a new era of westbound pilgrimage to ancient India, including the similar pilgrimages of Xuanzang and Yijing in the 7<sup>th</sup> century. Even today, Faxian continues to strengthen friendship among Asian countries.</p>
Highlights
In 2014, Chinese President Jinping Xi, during a visit to Sri Lanka, said: “The ties between China and Sri Lanka can be traced back to the 1,000-year-old bond of Buddhism created by an eminent Chinese monk Fahien” (Xi, 2014)
During this hard and dangerous pilgrimage, Faxian burst into tears three times
He succeeded in bringing a trove of Buddhist scriptures back to China from India
Summary
In 2014, Chinese President Jinping Xi, during a visit to Sri Lanka, said: “The ties between China and Sri Lanka can be traced back to the 1,000-year-old bond of Buddhism created by an eminent Chinese monk Fahien” (Xi, 2014) With these words, Faxian (Fahien or Fa-hsien, 法顯, see Figure 1A), a Buddhist monk in the Jin Dynasty (晉朝, 266–421 CE), again came into popular consciousness. The book has been translated into several languages, including English, French and Japanese This literature provides some important information about Faxian. This is limited to Faxian’s pilgrimage experience to India, and seldom mentions his childhood, his Buddhist philosophy (Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna?), and his contributions to Asian Buddhism and culture (Faxian, 1995). Doing so may enhance our understanding of Faxian and Asian Buddhist history
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