This engaging book is an introduction to Buddhism told as the story of the Korean pilgrim Hyecho, who travelled through the Buddhist world during its eighth-century golden age. Hyecho was a young monk who in the year 721 CE departed on one of the most extraordinary journeys in history. It was a time when Buddhism's great philosophical schools were thriving, the monastic universities were flourishing, and tantric Buddhism was just emerging. Hyecho sailed from Korea to China, then proceeded to what is today Vietnam, Indonesia, Burma, and onward to India, where he visited many of the most important places of pilgrimage for Buddhism. Heading north, he traveled through what is today Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, before turning east on the Silk Road. He never made it back to his homeland, ending his days on the sacred mountain of Wutaishan in China. Hyecho saw more of the Buddhist world than any other pilgrim of his era, and he saw much of it at its cultural peak. Donald Lopez tells the remarkable story of Hyecho's journey, along the way introducing key elements of Buddhism?its basic doctrines, its monastic institutions, its relationship to Islam, and the importance of pilgrimage. As an introduction to Buddhism, ?Hyecho's Journey” is unique, presenting Buddhism as a tradition flourishing simultaneously across a vast expanse of Asia, at one of its most vibrant periods, as seen through the eyes of one remarkable Korean monk. The book also serves as the companion to a three-year Buddhist art exhibit (opening October 2017) at the Smithsonian's Freer|Sackler Galleries.
