CHAPTER XIV
~Crossing the Indus to the East~
Having stayed there till the third month of winter, F‚-hien and the two others, proceeding southwards, crossed the Little Snowy mountains. On them the snow lies accumulated both winter and summer. On the north side of the mountains, in the shade, they suddenly encountered a cold wind which made them shiver and become unable to speak. Hwuy-king could not go any farther. A white froth came from his mouth, and he said to F‚-hien, "I cannot live any longer. Do you immediately go away, that we do not all die here"; and with these words he died. F‚-hien stroked the corpse, and cried out piteously, "Our original plan has failed; it is fate. What can we do?" He then again exerted himself, and they succeeded in crossing to the south of the range, and arrived in the kingdom of Lo-e, [1] where there were nearly three thousand monks, students of both the mah‚y‚na and hÓnay‚na. Here they stayed for the summer retreat, [2] and when that was over, they went on to the south, and ten days' journey brought them to the kingdom of Poh-n‚, where there are also more than three thousand monks, all students of the hÓnay‚na. Proceeding from this place for three days, they again crossed the Indus, where the country on each side was low and level.
[Footnote 1: Lo-e, or Rohi, or Afghanistan; only a portion of it can be intended.]
[Footnote 2: We are now therefore in A.D. 404.]
CHAPTER XV
~Sympathy of Monks with the Pilgrims~
After they had crossed the river, there was a country named Pe-t'oo, where Buddhism was very flourishing, and the monks studied both the mah‚y‚na and hÓnay‚na. When they saw their fellow-disciples from Ts'in passing along, they were moved with great pity and sympathy, and expressed themselves thus: "How is it that these men from a border-land should have learned to become monks, and come for the sake of our doctrines from such a distance in search of the Law of Buddha?" They supplied them with what they needed, and treated them in accordance with the rules of the Law.
CHAPTER XVI
~Condition and Customs of Central India~