94 
Sarat Chandra Das— Rise and Prrogess 
[No. 2, 
Mandala for the benefit of the king who, on account of his devotion 
to Buddhism, was given the religious name of “Repository of wisdom 
and knowledge of the triple pitaka.” The astrologers having found that 
malignant stars were ascendant on the king’s destiny, he averted the evil 
by performing a yajna as prescribed in Buddhist mysticism. Amogha 
Vajra also propitiated one of the guardians of the world called Vaisramana 
and thereby enabled the king to triumph over his enemies. Being pleased 
with him for his eminent services, the king made him a gift of a piece of 
land supporting three thousand tenants. He translated seventy-seven 
principal treatises on Tantrikism. After installing his pupil, Huilan, in 
his place as the high priest, or Vajracharya, he retired to the region of 
peace. Although both these two great Tantriks and their pupils passed 
for saints and sages, yet Tantrikism did not flourish long but soon declined. 
During the reign of the Soon dynasty, Pandit Danaraksliita, Dharmabhadra 
and other Indian Pandits visited China, but, being very jealous of their mystic 
operations being known to the public, they only communicated the mantras 
to a selected few, under solemn promise of not revealing them to the 
people. The later Hwashan were taught in only a few of the Tantrik 
rites, such as the ceremony Amoghapasa. It was owing to these several 
restrictions that mysticism made no progress in China. 
III. Vaipulya Daesana (Mahayana School). 
The founder of this sect was Thah-san, 13 one of the most famous 
Budddist teachers of China. He was a descendant of Tun-kun, the 
chief minister of Than kin. He was admitted into the order of monkhood 
at a very early age. Being of saintly origin, in intelligence, quickness, 
sharpness of mental faculties and aptitude for learning, he was unrivalled 
by any boy of his age. While only 11 years old, he committed to memory 
theYimala-kirti sutra of the Tangur and the Saddharma Pundarika of 
Kahgyur, both of which he could reproduce from memory. He first 
mastered the Abhidharma pitaka and then studied all the volumes of the 
Kahgyur and Tangur collections. At the age of twenty-nine he became 
acquainted with the Prakrit language of India, and with a view to travel 
in that country, secured for himself a passport from the Emperor. Passing 
through different countries, he reached India, and travelled all over 
its central and border provinces, such as Kashmir, in all of which he 
visited numerous places of pilgrimage. He learnt many of the higher 
and lower yanas from several Indian Pandits. Jetari, an illustrious sage, 
was his chief preceptor. At the noble monastery of Nalendra, he learnt 
the Yogacliarya philosophy from one of its most learned professors, 
Danta Bhadra or Danta Deva, who was then in his lOGth year. Some 
12 Contraction of Than-Ssen-tsan. 
