In 631, Hsuan Tsang, then 32 years old, finally arrived at Nalanda Temple, the best university in India. Built in the fifth century B.C., it is also considered the world's earliest university. It is 10 kilometers north of today's Rajgir.

While Hsuan Tsang was still in Bodhgaya, the monks in Nalanda Temple somehow learned that he would be arriving soon, and four monks were dispatched to receive him. When the four monks and Hsuan Tsang reached the gate of Nalanda Temple, around 200 monks and 1,000 laypeople with flags, baldachins, flowers, and incense were there to welcome him. The famous Chinese monk then entered the temple with people clustering around him.

Hsuan Tsang immediately went to see Abbot Silabhadra, who was also the president of the university. When the abbot heard that Hsuan Tsang had come from China to learn the Yogacaryabhumi-sastra, he was moved to tears.

Abbot Silabhadra had been suffering from arthritis for years, and whenever the disease attacked, it brought him unbearable pain. Once he had even tried to starve himself to death to end his misery and life. One night he dreamed that the Great Compassion Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, and Manjusri Bodhisattva persuaded him to stay alive because a Chinese monk would come to him to study the Yogacaryabhumi-sastra. If he could teach this young man to promote Buddhism in the remote land of China, his body would recover completely. When the abbot woke up, his arthritis had disappeared.

The bodhisattvas' prediction had come true. Hsuan Tsang stood before the abbot, and both men were quite excited. Hsuan Tsang immediately prostrated himself before the abbot and became his disciple. They both chatted very happily and Hsuan Tsang was given special status--he received special offerings, was relieved of all monastic duties, and was given an elephant chariot to ride whenever he went out. Hsuan Tsang could finally enjoy the fruits of his labor and no longer needed to be tortured by the blazing sun or chilly winds when he went out.

After settling down at the temple, Hsuan Tsang went out to visit Rajagrha (today's Rajgir). In the past the city had been the capital of Magadha, but when Hsuan Tsang arrived, only the foundations of the city walls still remained.Rajagrha is surrounded by five mountains. The area is quite hilly, a rare sight along the Ganges River. Low shrubs are everywhere. One of the five mountains is the famous Grdhrakuta Mountain (also known as the Holy Vulture Mountain), where the Buddha carried out his spiritual cultivation and gave many of his lectures. There are many caves in the mountain where the Buddha and his disciples once resided. Even now we can still see a sign that says, "Hsuan Tsang was once here." A particular spot on the mountain is said to be where the Buddha gave his lecture on the famous Wonderful Lotus Sutra.

In addition to Grdhrakuta Mountain, there are also other historical remains from the Buddha's time. Sapataparni Cave, where the Buddha's top disciples gathered for the first time after the Buddha entered nirvana, is located halfway up Vipula Mountain. At the Jivakamravana monastery, one of the Buddha's favorites, only some low walls are still standing and the area has become a pasture for cattle. In another place with some stone foundations, an old metal chain was discovered. That place is considered by archaeologists to be where King Ajatasatru jailed his father, Bimbisara.

Hsuan Tsang mentioned that Vipula Mountain had 500 hot and cold springs, quite useful for curing chronic illnesses. The local village has become famous for these spas, as well as a Hindu temple nearby. Next to the springs is Kalandaka Venuvana, founded by King Bimbisara as a residence for the Buddha and his disciples. This was also where the Buddha lived during the rainy season. Walking down a small path with bamboo on both sides, one comes to a huge square pond. Next to the pond are two Buddha statues.

After visiting the relics in Rajagrha, Hsuan Tsang returned to Nalanda Temple and spent his time studying the Buddhist doctrines.

The dynasties changed along with time. The Muslim dynasty that once occupied India vanished, and even the ambitious British authorities who colonized the country were expelled. However, in a village called Bargaon, there still hides a giant relic that has existed for hundreds of years--Nalanda Temple.

Nalanda was the largest of all the temples in India. Even in later periods, no other temples were built on the same scale. Nalanda gathered not only the best Buddhist monks in India, but also foreign students like Hsuan Tsang, so it was the primary center for Buddhist studies in India.

The temple was still quite famous during the Pala dynasty in the 10th century. If it had not been attacked by the Muslims, who completely destroyed the temple in the 12th century, Buddhism would still be very much alive in India today.

In the 12th century, Indian Buddhism became more esoteric and monks started advocating magic and incantations, and thus Buddhism became indistinguishable from Hinduism. At that time, the Muslim invasion worsened the situation by accelerating the eradication of Buddhism in India.

We have to thank Hsuan Tsang for the reappearance of the temple. In the 19th century, English archaeologist and army engineer Alexander Cunningham used Hsuan Tsang's descriptions to find and unearth the Nalanda Temple.

According to a scientific report, the ruins of the temple are in a rectangular shape over 11 kilometers long. So far only a small part of it has been dug out, but it is magnificent enough to make a formidable impression on any visitor. The ruins now include eight halls, all the same size, lined up in a row, along with smaller temples and the Sariputra Stupa. The whole place is like a mystical palace.

Each hall is designed in an orderly fashion on two floors. There is a stairway connecting the ground floor and the second floor. In each hall there is a lecture room, a courtyard, a kitchen, a dining hall, and a library. Each bedroom has a raised flat platform for beds. There are also numerous ponds on the grounds; they were probably for the monks to bathe in and drink water from. In addition, all kinds of daily goods have been excavated there: cooking pots, water kettles, metal cups, stamps, ink bottles, scissors, etc. These items clearly illustrate how the monks lived there more than 1,000 years ago.

We can imagine that in the 7th century, Hsuan Tsang must have walked with his gown flying in the breeze on this huge campus. His pale skin surely set him off from the Indian students.

Hsuan Tsang spent five years here and became one of the top students in the temple, well-versed in over 50 sutras and commentaries. He loved to learn from his studies and to travel, so he decided to travel throughout India and seek out other famous Buddhist masters and visit many more Buddhist cities. Furthermore, he was determined to continue collecting more original Sanskrit Buddhist documents.