Fa Xian was a Buddhist monk who traveled from China to Gupta India, as well as to Sri Lanka, searching for Buddhist holy sites. He also brought back copies of Buddhist texts. He recorded his observations in a detailed travelogue. Unfortunately, we do not have the opposite perspective. Write about India or China from the point of view of a Buddhist monk who travel to India or China, and observe the spread of Buddhism from that perspective. Refer to Chapter 9 for information on Buddhism in China, or have the students do independent research. Write travelogues describing the transmission of Buddhism throughout Asia. Discuss Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu rituals. How do they differ? Would this make it difficult to interact with the other religions of India at the time?
