Chinese and Arabian Literature - E. Wilson - The Search For Mecca

a76 THE TRAVELS OF FA-HIEN
years ; and on his return it took him three years to reach
Ts'ing-chow. The countries through which he passed were
a few under thirty. From the sandy desert westwards on to
India, the beauty of the dignified demeanor of the monkhood
and of the transforming influence of the Law w^as beyond the
power of language fully to describe ; and reflecting how our
masters had not heard any complete account of them, he there-
fore went on without regarding his own poor life, or the dan-
gers to be encountered on the sea upon his return, thus incurring
hardships and difficulties in a double form. He was
fortunate enough, through the dread power of the three
Honored Ones, to receive help and protection in his perils
and therefore he wrote out an account of his experiences, that
worthy readers might share with him in what he had heard and
said.
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