Chapter 3
JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES
千里之行，始於足下
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” — Lao Tzu (Lǎo Zǐ)
Xi’an, Chinese New Year, 2016
Xi’an is one of the four oldest cities in China. Aeons ago it was known as Chang’ an or the Land of Eternal Peace. It marked the eastern end of the Silk Road. At the remains of archaeological sites in the plains surrounding Xi’an, is the celebrated Bingmayong. Xiao Ming always made it a point to be with her parents in Xi’an during the Chinese New Year. This year Lu Yao accompanied her.
Settling down on the plush bed in her house, Xiao Ming picked up the remote and flipped on the television set, aimlessly surfing through the channels. She whiled away the next hour or so indulging in channel-surfing and reflecting on her thoughts. Quite suddenly, something on the screen caught her attention.
The movie seemed to be about a Chinese traveller from ancient times, the tale of Xuan Zang and appeared to be a chronicle of his journey to Yindu, as India is called in Chinese, in order to discover the original teachings of Buddhism and original Buddhist texts. There was something magical about the movie that kept her riveted and Xiao Ming ended up watching the film.
She was surprised at the description of India as a mystical land inhabited by “civilized” and sophisticated people. In the context of ancient Chinese discourse on foreign people, who were often described
as uncivilized and barbaric, these accounts significantly elevated the Chinese perception of Indian society.
This was in contrast to the impression of India that she had based on media reports.
She learnt that Xuan Zang was a leading Indophile of ancient China. The Chinese monk not only promoted Buddhist doctrines and the perception of India as a holy land through his writings, he also tried to foster diplomatic exchanges between India and China by lobbying his leading patrons, the Táng rulers. Xuan Zang’s work was significant both as an account of religious pilgrimage and as a historical record of foreign states and societies.
The movie had caught her interest. Once it was over, she visited a few sites on the internet in order to learn more about Buddhism. Of course, on the net what she found was nothing short of an information overload; still, it was an instructive read.
The prevalent view in China was that Daoist founder Lǎozǐ, was the originator of Buddhism, partially sprang from the use of existing Daoist vocabulary to translate Buddhist terms. This in turn gave a false sense of similarity between the two systems. More rigorous translations were produced, and an acceptance of Buddhism on its own terms began towards the end of the fourth century.
As she continued reading, Xiao Ming realised that essentially a Buddhist recognises that life is impermanent and characterised by suffering. The primary aim is to escape from the cycle of successive lives. Eventually, each and every being hopes to attain nirvana, a state of being without rebirth and therefore no more pain, suffering, birth or death. Anyone can reach a state of nirvana through discipline, moral behaviour, wisdom and meditation, leading to the denial of all desires and cravings.
The next morning, she awoke feeling refreshed. The movie had obviously left a strong impression on her for she realised that parts of the movie still remained entrenched in her mind. She decided she wanted to read about Buddhism in China and also about the traveller and Buddhist scholar Xuan Zang.
Ever the logical person, Xiao Ming continued looking up several sources to learn more.
She learnt that historically the figure of Buddha or Sakyamuni, was considered the founder of Buddhism. According to Buddhist doctrine, the Sakyamuni had been preceded by numerous Buddhas and would be followed by many others. At Chinese Buddhist sites these were symbolised by the statues of the “Buddhas of the three times” — Dipamkara (past ages), Sakyamuni (present age), and Maitreya (future ages). Interestingly, she learnt that a “Buddha” was a being who had achieved complete enlightenment, and thus attained a state of nirvana. For such a being, his final passage through life could be identified by numerous signs.
The more she read about the rise of Buddhism, the more she wondered what could have led to its almost complete decline over the next few centuries. By now it was noon and she had been glued to her laptop all morning. Usually, her routine during the New Year’s trip involved a fair amount of meeting with friends and family. But if her parents found the sudden alteration in her behaviour strange, they did not comment on it. Xiao Ming ploughed on.
The peak of Buddhist strength in China was during the period of the Suí and the Táng dynasties, she learnt. It was during this period when the main Chinese schools were developed. Numerous monasteries were established that became rich and powerful in their own right. In the year 845, Buddhism received a body blow from which it never completely
recovered. As the persecution continued, the Chinese state ordered the dismantling of the monasteries and the return of monks and nuns to everyday life.
Xiao Ming was fascinated by this development during an ancient period in her country’s history. As she continued to look up the reasons for such a complete turnaround enforced by the state, she couldn’t but empathise with the practicality of it all.
Xiao Ming noted with interest that there were economic, social and religious reasons that came into play. The battle against the Uyghur tribes had almost bankrupted the country, forcing the powers-that-be to go after the wealth that had been accumulated in the Buddhist monasteries. As a society, Confucian intellectuals believed that
Buddhism undermined the social structure of China, by placing competing and conflicting demands of a citizen. The Buddhist monastic way of life eroded the loyalty of son to father, and subject to ruler, by encouraging people to leave their families and to become monks and nuns. Once ordained, the monks and nuns no longer engaged in economic activity, instead living completely on the support of others.
The most striking reason, Xiao Ming realised was that Buddhism was viewed as a foreign religion and Taoism as native to China. The promise of immortality by Taoism was a compelling notion that increasingly captured the attention of the emperor Wuzong as he grew older and was perhaps the final nail in the coffin of Buddhism, as it
existed then. The persecution lasted for twenty months—not long, but long enough to have permanent effects. Buddhism, for all its strength, never completely recovered.
Subsequent centuries saw a fusing of the various schools into one, with the Lamaist version of Buddhism coming to the fore. Lamaism, or Tibetan Buddhism, evolved from both the indigenous shamanism of Bon and a particular Indian form of Buddhism. The Manchus had been converted to Lamaism before conquering China in 1644, and supported Lamaism to keep the Dalai Lamas happy and to pacify Tibet and Mongolia. Xiao Ming learnt that while Buddhists were usually vegetarians, most Tibetans and Mongols were not.
Xiao Ming continued her study. It was infinitely fascinating with innumerable twists and turns. As if to complete the circle she learnt that Buddhism adapted to Chinese culture and came to be known as Chan Buddhism. This sect of Buddhism was a mixture of Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism and most interestingly was known as Zen Buddhism in Japan.
She was incredibly fascinated to know that her technology idol, Steve Jobs’ mantra was rooted in Buddhism which he often referred to as “mind technology”. She learnt that he had gone to India in the year 1973 in search of enlightenment and visited a mystic known as Neem Karoli Baba at his ashram situated in a place called Kainchi. He returned home to California a Buddhist, complete with a shaved head and traditional Indian clothing and a philosophy that she realised may have shaped much of his corporate values. The simplicity of Apple products was indeed a Zen idea! Buddhism offered him a way to
integrate spiritual ideals of simplicity, empathy, and mindfulness into
his rigorous working life.
This last bit of information left her wondering. Here was the quintessential technology guru, and he was living the Buddhist principles in his work. She wondered if there was something in this for her to learn.
Gradually, she was getting back into the groove, new plans were developing. Her interest in Xuan Zang gathered momentum as she continued to read about him. Xiao Ming was reminded of the painting of a travelling monk, believed to of Xuan Zang on Silk Route. She had seen the painting on numerous occasions but paid scant attention, but now the image constantly filtered into the crevices of her mind.
Xiao Ming pored over articles on Xuan Zang. At one level, Xiao Ming was sceptical about the great Chinese polymath, as in the amphitheatre of her mind only science and logic prevailed. She wondered if her enthusiasm of the last few days was somewhat misplaced. However, recent events in her life had dented her will. She was willing to give new ideas and points of view a chance.
The more she read, the more she was astounded by Xuan Zang’s experiences. She found them incredible, his resoluteness showed her a mirror. The scholar, despite following the tenets of Buddhism which is based on acceptance, non-violence and pacifism was a remarkable personality and an intrepid warrior. He challenged the might of the state, an imperial decree no less and fulfilled his quest! Whereas, she, a modern-day emancipated woman had had to capitulate.
“I have to find everything that I can about this traveller-monk. He is an antithesis of the person I am. Despite all the wealth at my command, I find an enormous lack,” she told Lu Yao. “Not that I have turned to Buddhism, but I find this person who travelled westwards 1400 years ago, braving the adversity of nature and the power of the state, quite engaging,” she shared with Lu Yao, who struggled to make sense of her state of mind.
During the course of her research, she learnt that Xuan Zang was a multi-faceted Chinese Buddhist monk, born Chen Hui. The monk was a scholar, polymath, traveller, and a translator all rolled into one. He travelled to India in the seventh century and graphically described the interaction between the pristine Buddhism and what was prevalent in China during the Táng dynasty.
“My soul is pining to unravel the mystique of Buddhism. I have to dwell deep into the original texts of Buddha in order to have a glimpse of the quintessential truth of Buddhism. I must embark upon this journey. I will travel westwards across China in the search of sacred books on Buddhism.”
Ming remembered snippets from the movie, a film jointly produced by China and India.
Xiao Ming had learnt while watching the movie that it dawned on Xuan Zang to travel westwards to India to unearth the pearls of wisdom of Buddhism. The monk was aware of Fa Xian’s journey to India and, like him, was concerned about the incomplete and misinterpreted nature of the Buddhist texts which were found in China.
Fa Xian was one of the first and perhaps the oldest Chinese monk to travel to India. In 399, when he embarked on his trip, Fa Xian was more than sixty years old. By the time he returned fourteen years later, the Chinese monk had trekked across the treacherous Taklamakan desert (in present-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), visited the
major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India, travelled to Sri Lanka, and survived a precarious voyage along the sea route back to China.
Watching and reading all these made her feel like a dwarf. After creating one single app, she felt she was making a far-reaching contribution to peoples’ lives. But this man, in such hostile conditions had transfigured the mindset of several people.
Xiao Ming decided to visit the Xingjiao Temple Pagoda, in Chang’ an County, in the southern suburbs of Xi’an. The five-storey brick pagoda within the temple premises, housed the ashes of Xuan Zang. Her family accompanied her, but they did find her new found interest strange.
Xiao Ming noticed that of late there was a constant tussle between the technocrat and creative being in her, which often left her restless; a transformation that was noticeable to Lu Yao too. The pace of her life had thawed and the eternal questions on lack, existence, existentialism which had confronted Buddha and Xuan Zang began to knock on her mind. She wanted to start the process to reinvent and reinvigorate her persona.
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