Hsuan Tsang bought a garland and made three vows to the Bodhisattva: First, he wished that he could finish studying in India and go home safely; second, that he could be born again as a servant of the Bodhisattva in the Tusita Heaven; finally, that he could become enlightened. After making his vows, he tossed the garland at the statue and it landed on the statue perfectly. Having flowers even brush the statue was considered a good omen. Hsuan Tsang couldn't have been happier and continued his journey with complete confidence.

The weather was getting more humid and warm when he approached the wide mouth of the Ganges River. This brought him to two Buddhist nations: Pura-vardhana (current Mahasthan in Bangladesh, north of Bogra) and Samatata (current Comilla in Bangladesh, about 100 kilometers southeast of Dhaka).

Presently Bangladesh is a Muslin nation that achieved independence in 1971. Her history can be traced back to the ninth century B.C. In the famous Indian poetic epic, Mahabharata, there is a record of the warfare of the Varendra, which is inside modern Bangladesh. Later, Aryans came to settle there. After that, this region was part of the Maurya Empire and later the Gupta Empire.

During the eighth century, A.D., Muslims such as Arabs, Persians, Turks and Afghans came and lived in this land and started to influence the local people's religious view. In 1525, this region became part of Islamic Mughal Empire. Hence, Islam became the mainstream religion and replaced Buddhism and Hinduism completely.

The Whereabouts of the Green-Jade Buddha Statue

Muslims are forbidden to worship images of gods. None seems likely to care whether the green-jade Buddha statue still exists. What the modern Muslims in Bangladesh care about is why the US attacked the Muslim country Iraq. "Are you Muslim?" I shook my head. They were a bit disappointed. "Christian?" I shook my head again. I could tell that they felt relieved. Inside the tea hut outside of the Sarabande Monastery, a group of people continued their enthusiastic debates about the war between US and Iraq.

The temperature reached 36 or 37 degrees Celsius outside of the tea hut. The humidity and heat preceding the rainy season are unbearable and make people drowsy. This kind of climate brings a large amount of seasonal rain that blew away the history of Buddhism during of the preceding thousand years. Only the ruined foundations of several brick monasteries are still left for people to grieve over. Maybe the green-jade Buddha statue has long been buried under the ground, just as Hsuan Tsang has, or it has been cut into personal ornaments of the rich.

Hsuan Tsang had a short stay in Samatata. Then he headed southwest to Tamralipti (currently the seashore of West Bengal State). Originally, he planned to go by sea to Simhalauipa (or Sri Lanka), where he had heard there were some outstanding monks who had mastered the Buddhist canon and Yog?c?rabh?mi-??stra. Yet, he had also heard there were cyclones, yakshas (beings half-divine and half demon) and big waves on the route by sea. Therefore, he decided to go to the harbor in the southeast tip of India and then go by sea from there, which would only take three days. Hsuan Tsang was anxious to gain more knowledge. Therefore, he couldn't help but sped up as he went through the eastern Indian nations and continued southwards.