The Country of Najieluohe那揭羅曷國

The country of Najieluohe is more than six hundred li from east to west and two hundred fifty or sixty li from north to south. Mountains ring it on all four sides, and it is cut off and steep as though hung in the air. The great capital city of the country is more than twenty li around. There is no great ruler to hold command, and the country is bound in service to the country of Jiabishi. Grain crops are plentiful and flowers and fruits are many. The climate is warm and hot, and the customs are simple and plain. The people are fierce and quick, bold and strong. They think lightly of wealth and love learning. They honor and revere the Law of the Buddha, and few believe in other ways. The monasteries are many, but the monks are few, and the many stupas are overgrown and fallen down. There are five temples of the gods and more than a hundred men of other ways.

Two li east of the city there is a stupa more than three hundred feet high. It was built by King Wuyou. Stones are fitted together and it rises up alone, and the carving on it is of rare work. It is the place where the bodhisattva Sakyamuni met the Buddha Dipamkara, spread out his deerskin garment, loosed his hair to cover the mud, and received the prophecy. Though kalpas have passed and it has fallen into ruin, this trace has not been wiped away. On fast days the heavens sometimes rain down flowers of every kind, and the people vie with one another in their hearts and make offering after the rule. In the monastery west of it there are few monks. The little stupa next to the south is the place where he covered the mud long ago. King Wuyou kept clear of the great road, and so set it up to one side.

Within the city there is the old foundation of a great stupa. In the records of former days it is said that long ago there was a tooth of the Buddha here, high and broad, stately and fair. Now there is no tooth, and only the old foundation remains. Beside it there is a stupa more than thirty feet high. The people there hand down the tale but do not know how it began, and they say that it came down out of the sky and set its base here. It is not the work of men, and truly it has many spiritual signs.

More than ten li southwest of the city there is a stupa. It is the place where the Tathagata, journeying and teaching through the void from Central India, let down his trace. The people of the country were moved and longed for him, and they raised this holy base. Not far to the east of it there is a stupa. It is the place where the bodhisattva Sakyamuni, meeting the Buddha Dipamkara long ago, bought the flowers.

Going more than twenty li southwest of the city, one comes to a little stone ridge, where there is a monastery. Its high halls and storied pavilions are made of piled stone. The courts and buildings are silent, and there are no monks at all. Within it there is a stupa more than two hundred feet high, built by King Wuyou.

Southwest of the monastery a deep ravine is cut steep, a waterfall flies down, and the cliffs stand like walls. In the stone wall of the eastern bank there is a great cave, where the dragon Gubolo dwelt. The gate and the way in are narrow, and the hollow of the cave is dark. Water drips from the cliff stone, and a running stream still remains on the narrow path. Long ago there was a shadow of the Buddha here, shining like his true likeness, complete in all the marks of beauty, as though he were solemnly present. In these latter days men do not see it fully, and even those who do see it see only a dim likeness. One who prays with utmost sincerity and is answered unseen can see it clearly for a moment, and even that does not last long. Long ago, when the Tathagata was in the world, this dragon was a man who herded cattle. He offered milk and curds to the king, and his offering was not fitting, and he was rebuked for it. He kept the grudge in his heart, and at once he bought flowers with gold coins, made offering at the stupa of the prophecy, and vowed, "May I become an evil dragon, break the country, and harm the king." Then he went to the stone wall and threw himself down and died. So he came to dwell in this cave and became a great dragon king, and he was about to go out of the cave and fulfil his first evil vow. As soon as this thought arose, the Tathagata had already seen it, and pitying the people of this country, who would be harmed by the dragon, he used his spiritual power and came from Central India. When the dragon saw the Tathagata his poisonous heart stopped at last, and he received the precept against killing and vowed to guard the true Law. Then he asked the Tathagata, "Dwell always in this cave, and let your holy disciples receive my offerings without end." The Tathagata said, "I am about to enter nirvana. For your sake I shall leave my shadow and send five arhats to receive your offerings always. Though the true Law be hidden away, this work shall not cease. If your poisonous heart rises in anger, look upon the shadow I leave. Because it is kind and good, your poisonous heart will stop. The World Honored Ones who are to come in this good kalpa will also pity you, and all of them will leave their images." Outside the gate of the shadow cave there are two square stones. On one of them is the trace where the Tathagata trod, and the mark of the wheel shows faintly, and a bright light shines from it at times. To the left and right of the shadow cave are many stone chambers, all of them places where the holy disciples of the Tathagata entered into meditation. At the northwest corner of the shadow cave there is a stupa, the place where the Tathagata walked back and forth. In the stupa beside it are hair and nail parings of the Tathagata. Not far from here there is a stupa, the place where the Tathagata made plain the true doctrine and spoke of the aggregates, the elements and the fields of sense. West of the shadow cave there is a great flat rock, where the Tathagata once washed his robe, and the pattern and its shadow show faintly.

Going more than thirty li southeast of the city, one comes to the city of Xiluo. It is four or five li around, steep and strong, and its flowering groves and ponds are fresh and clear as a mirror. The people who live in the city are simple and plain and hold the right faith. There is also a storied pavilion with painted beams and red pillars. In the second story of the pavilion there is a little stupa of the seven treasures that holds the bone of the crown of the Tathagata's head. The bone is a foot and two inches around, the pores of the hair are clear on it, and its color is yellowish white. It is kept in a precious casket and set within the stupa. One who wishes to know the marks of his good and his evil kneads scented powder with clay and presses it on the bone of the crown of the head, and according to the answer of his merit the pattern comes out plain. There is also a little stupa of the seven treasures that holds the skull bone of the Tathagata. It is shaped like a lotus leaf, its color is the same as the bone of the crown of the head, and it too is sealed in a precious casket. There is also a little stupa of the seven treasures that holds the eye of the Tathagata. The eye is as big as a crab apple, and its bright light is clear and piercing and shines through within and without, and it too is sealed in a casket of the seven treasures. The sanghati robe of the Tathagata is made of fine cotton, its color yellow and red, and it is kept in a precious casket. The years have been long, and it is a little damaged. The staff of the Tathagata has rings of white iron and a shaft of sandalwood, and it is held in a precious tube. In recent times a king of one country heard that all these things had been used by the Tathagata himself long ago, and trusting in his own power he threatened them and carried them away. When he reached his own country he put them in the palace where he lived, but before ten days were out he sought for them and they were already gone. Then he searched again, and they had already returned to their first place. These five holy traces have many spiritual wonders. The king of Jiabishi ordered five men of pure conduct to serve them with incense and flowers, and the crowds who come to look and do reverence follow one after another without a break. The men of pure conduct wished to follow after emptiness and stillness, but wealth is what men hold heavy, and so they set up rules for the time being to stop the noise and the throng. The chief of these says, "Whoever would see the bone of the crown of the Tathagata's head pays one gold coin. Whoever would take a print of it pays five gold coins." The rest were graded in order by rules of the same kind. Though the rules are heavy, those who come to look and do reverence grow ever more.

Northwest of the storied pavilion there is a stupa. It is not very high or large, but it has many spiritual wonders. When a man touches it with his finger it shakes at once, and the base leans and moves with it, and the bells ring together.

From here, going southeast more than five hundred li through mountain valleys, one comes to the country of Jiantuoluo.