In the year 721, a young Buddhist monk named Hyecho set out from the kingdom of Silla, on the Korean peninsula, on what would become one of the most extraordinary journeys in history. Sailing first to China, Hyecho continued to what is today Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, before taking the Silk Road and heading back east, where he ended his days on the sacred mountain of Wutaishan in China.

            WithHyecho’s Journey, eminent scholar of Buddhism Donald S. Lopez Jr. re-creates Hyecho’s trek. Using the surviving fragments of Hyecho’s travel memoir, along with numerous other textual and visual sources, Lopez imagines the thriving Buddhist world the monk explored. Along the way, Lopez introduces key elements of Buddhism, including its basic doctrines, monastic institutions, works of art, and the many stories that have inspired Buddhist pilgrimage. Through the eyes of one remarkable Korean monk, we discover a vibrant tradition flourishing across a vast stretch of Asia.Hyecho’s Journeyis simultaneously a rediscovery of a forgotten pilgrim, an accessible primer on Buddhist history and doctrine, and a gripping, beautifully illustrated account of travel in a world long lost.

721年，一位名叫慧超的年轻佛教徒从朝鲜半岛上的新罗王国出发，开始了历史上最不寻常的旅行。慧超首先航行到中国，然后继续前往今天的越南、印度尼西亚、缅甸、印度、巴基斯坦、阿富汗和伊朗，最后沿着丝绸之路返回东方，在中国的五台山圣山结束了他的一生。

            知名佛教学者唐纳德-S-洛佩兹(Donald S. Lopez Jr.)通过《慧超的旅程》(Hyecho's Journey)再现了慧超的徒步旅行。洛佩兹利用现存的慧超旅行回忆录的片段，以及许多其他文本和视觉资料，想象出这位僧人探索的繁荣的佛教世界。一路上，洛佩兹介绍了佛教的关键要素，包括其基本教义、寺院机构、艺术作品，以及激发佛教朝圣的许多故事。通过一位杰出的韩国僧侣的眼睛，我们发现一个充满活力的传统在亚洲的广大地区蓬勃发展。《Hyecho's Journey》同时也是对一位被遗忘的朝圣者的重新发现，是一本关于佛教历史和教义的通俗读物，也是一本扣人心弦、图文并茂的关于在一个久违的世界旅行的记录。