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Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who walked to India in search of Buddhist monastic texts. When he was three, Faxian’s father had sent him to become a Buddhist *monk. He received full ordination at twenty. Under the auspices of the *Eastern Jin dynasty, Faxian and the nascent Buddhist community made translations of many scriptures, including the *Lotus Sutra. However, they lacked materials containing the monastic rules, which were crucial for establishing and maintaining life in Buddhist *monasteries. Thus, when Faxian was about sixty years old he determined to travel to India in search of more sutras the better understand *Buddhism. He left *Chang’an ca. 399 and travelled on foot along the *Silk Road to *Dunhuang before going west through Central Asia into India. As he travelled he chronicled his journey, paying particular attention to the practices and numbers of monks and *nuns. He travelled to Sri Lanka around 408–409 before finally returning to China.