Xuan Zang is still spreading the Dharma

Busses in Xi'an are super crowded and its not always easy to be sure one is traveling in the right direction.  I walked much of the way past the Shaanxi Museum in search of Da Yan Ta - the Wild Goose Pagoda, home of the works of a Buddhist monk..
After 13 centuries the work of the Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang is still not finished.  The photo of the Wild Goose Pagoda shows a rebuilt version (14th century) of the 7th century original pagoda which was built to house the manuscripts Xuanzang brought back from India in 643 AD.
He spent 17 years on his journey which took him over the Silk Road through Samarkand and Afghanistan into India to the homeland of the Buddha.  Along the way he learned the local languages and impressed local rulers with his piety and his knowledge.  When he got back to Chang'an (modern day Xi'an) he became a royal advisor and spent an additional 12 years translating extensive Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese.  Although the original writings are lost having been written on leaves, the knowledge brought by Xuanzang spread throughout China, Korea and Japan and has been passed down by an unbroken lineage of monks in Xi'an to the present day.
Obviously this makes the Wild Goose Pagoda a special place for anyone interested in the history of  Buddhism.
Its quite a climb to the top of the pagoda; however the views are definitely worth the effort.  On the right is a photo of the pagoda as it appeared in 1936.  As you can see the modern city has overtaken it since that time.  An earlier photo from 1904 shows the pagoda covered with foliage so it had already been cleaned up a bit.  We don't know what the 7th century original looked like because there have been a number of renovations since that time.
Exploring the surrounding park I entered a number of temple-like buildings which contained various artistic contributions from Buddhist devotees.  Below is an enormous wood carved mural that shows stages in the life of the Buddha and the travels of Xuanzang.  The figures are so lifelike and well carved that one cannot help but feel moved by the commitment of the artist.  Apparently he worked on the murals for 5 or 6 years!
The whole complex attracts tourists like moths to the flame and I could not help wondering to what extent they are actually learning anything about the profound and life-changing philosophy that worked so hard to preserve.  Certainly Xi'an must be home to some very devoted Buddhists considering how much care has been given to it all.  So the work continues.
For myself the day was also an exercise in Buddhist compassion for the crowds as I made my way by bus and metro line to the pagoda and back - my own small echo of Xuanzang's awesome journey.