The Country of Zhanzhu戰主國

The country of Zhanzhu is more than two thousand li around. Its capital city stands on the Qingqie river and is more than ten li around. The people who live there are rich and happy, and the towns and villages lie close to one another. The land is rich and fat, and sowing and reaping are done in their season. The climate is mild and pleasant, and the customs are honest and plain. The nature of the people is rough and fierce. They believe in the false and the true alike. There are more than ten monasteries and a little under a thousand monks, and all of them follow and study the teaching and the Law of the Lesser Vehicle. There are twenty temples of the gods, and followers of other ways live mingled among them.

In a monastery northwest of the great city there is a stupa raised by King Wuyou. The Yindu ji says, "Within it there is one sheng of the relics of the Tathagata." Long ago the World Honored One once stayed in this place and for seven days set forth the wonderful Law for the host of gods and men. Beside it is the place where the three Buddhas of the past sat and where the traces of their walking remain. Next to this there is also an image of the bodhisattva Cishi. Its form and size are small, but its majesty and divine power stand out. Its holy insight passes through in secret, and strange signs arise from time to time.

Going east from the great city more than two hundred li, one comes to the monastery of Abituojielana. Its surrounding wall is not wide, but the carving and adornment are very skillful. Flower ponds throw their reflections across one another, and terraces and pavilions join roof to roof. The monks are grave and solemn, and the bearing of the community is orderly. In the records of former times it is heard that long ago, in the country of Duhuoluo north of the Great Snow Mountains, there was a shramana who loved learning. In the free hours between worship and reciting he and two or three of like mind would say to one another, "The wonderful truth is deep and dark, and talk cannot fathom it. The holy traces are clear and plain, and our own feet can seek them out. Let us take counsel with friends who never cross us, and look upon the holy traces ourselves." So the two or three friends took up their staffs and traveled together. When they reached India they lodged at the monasteries, but they were looked down upon as men of the borderlands, and no one would take them in. Outside they were driven by wind and dew, and within they were bound by mouth and belly. Their faces grew worn and their bodies thin and withered. At that time the king of this country went out to roam in the fields nearby. He saw the traveling monks, and wondering at them he asked, "From what land are these beggars? For what cause have they come? Their ears are not pierced, and their clothes are dirty and worn." The shramana answered, "We are men of the country of Duhuoluo. We have humbly received the teaching he left behind and have trodden high above the dust of the world, and we led those of like mind here to look upon the holy traces and do them reverence. We grieve that our merit is thin and that all men alike have cast us out. The shramanas of India take no thought for travelers. We wished to return to our own land, but our round of reverence is not yet complete, and so, though hard toil drives us, our hearts put the return off to the last." When the king heard what they said, his pity was stirred the more. On this excellent ground he built a monastery, and he wrote upon white cotton cloth and made a rule for it, saying, "That I dwell honored above the world and hold the highest rank among men is all through the holy help of the Three Jewels. Since I have become a king of men and have received the charge of the Buddha, I shall give kindly aid to all who wear the dyed robe. I build this monastery to call in those who travel far from home. From this day onward, no monk with pierced ears may stop or lodge in this monastery of mine." It is named after this event.

Going southeast from the monastery of Abituojielana more than a hundred li and crossing the Qingqie river to the south, one comes to the town of Mohesuoluo. All there are of Brahman stock and do not follow the Law of the Buddha. Yet when they see a shramana they first ask about his studies, and when they know that his memory is strong they then bow to him with deep respect.

North of the Qingqie river there is a temple of the god Naluoyan. Its storied halls and tiered terraces are splendid in their fair adornment. The images of the gods are carved out of stone. The workmanship goes to the end of what men can devise, and their holy answering is hard to fathom.

Going east from the temple of the god Naluoyan more than thirty li, there is a stupa raised by King Wuyou. More than half of it has sunk into the ground. In front of it stands a stone pillar more than twenty feet high. On top of it is made the image of a lion, and cut into it is the record of the subduing of the demon. Long ago there was a demon of the open wilds in this place. Trusting in his great power, he devoured the blood and flesh of men, harmed living things, and worked his evil mischief to the utmost. The Tathagata pitied the many living beings who could not die their own death. By the power of his divine penetration he drew the demons and changed them, leading them to the reverence of taking refuge and ordering them by the precept against killing. The demons received his teaching and went about at his side in service. Then they lifted a stone and asked the Buddha to sit upon it at his ease, wishing to hear the true Law, and they took it to heart to guard and keep it. From that time onward men without faith have vied with one another to push away the stone seat that the demons set there. They have moved it in their thousands, but none has been able to shift it. Thick woods and clear ponds surround the foundation on the left and the right, and no one who comes near the place is without fear in his heart.

Not far from the side of the place where the demon was subdued there are several monasteries. Many of them are leaning and broken, but there are still monks, and all of them follow and study the teaching and the Law of the Greater Vehicle.

Going southeast from here more than a hundred li, one comes to a stupa. Its foundation has already leaned and fallen in, and what is left is several tens of feet high. Long ago, after the Tathagata had passed into stillness, the great kings of eight countries divided the relics. The Brahman who measured the relics smeared honey inside a jar, and when he had shared the relics out to the kings he carried the jar home. He gained the relics that had stuck to it, and so he raised a stupa and placed the jar inside it as well. It is named after this. Afterward King Wuyou opened it and took out the relic jar, and he built a great stupa in its place. Sometimes, when a fast day comes, a bright light shines there.

Going northeast from here and crossing the Qingqie river, after a hundred and forty or fifty li one comes to the country of Feisheli.