I-Tsing at the South Sea – The Buddhist Learning Journey

Abstract

This paper takes a more informed look into the personal life learning experience aspect of narrative analysis. The research method of narrative analysis was analyzed along with a narrative from the original literacy text written by I-tsing himself, the Chinese historical record of the T’ang Dynasty, as well as other commentaries ascribed by scholars in the various period to better demonstrate its validity. The humanistic geography - phenomenological approach was employed for a better understanding of the human world by studying people’s relation with nature, their geographical behavior, as well as their feelings and ideas with regard to space and place. The researcher has invented a combined data analysis framework of Polkinghorne’s Narrative Analysis and Humanistic Geography – Phenomenological Analysis to study in-depth the central reason of why I-tsing decided to set foot at the South Sea (Śrīvijaya) for such a long time carrying out his mission before returning to China after the completion of his study in India. The researcher has articulated the analyzed outcomes into three insightful findings as a response to the research inquiry. The three findings are: (1) The disagreeable conditions for allowing I-tsing to return home; (2) I-tsing needed a conducive platform for his return to China; and (3) The supportive conditions in Śrīvijaya. Each of the findings was explicated in lengthy detail and supported with various valid and reliable references, documentary facts, and case-studies of real-life stories.