中國著名小說《白蛇傳》歷來認為它源出佛教來華後帶來的西方傳說，但向未尋得其來源。如今本文找出這小說的主幹──「人類與蛇妖相戀」及「和尚降伏妖蛇」這兩者的確淵源於佛教的傳說。 關於「人蛇戀」，其淵源出自於唐代玄奘三藏的著作《大唐西域記》，其中述及西域烏仗那國有一釋迦族的青年和火山湖的龍王公主相戀成婚的故事。而佛家所稱的「龍」，其梵文原字為 Naga ，其字義為「巨蛇」，放知「人龍戀」其實是「人蛇戀」。 關於「和尚降伏妖蛇」，則源出唐段成式所撰《酉陽雜俎》，其中述及在洛陽城北面的邙山之上居有特大的巨蛇。印度來華的密宗和尚不空發現這有神通而心懷憤恨的巨蛇意圖發動黃河之水來淹沒洛陽，乃對它說法，並訓以勿犯此不可恕的大惡。不日蛇死。 另外，五代的後晉劉晌所修《舊唐書‧五行志》載有近似傳說，而主角改為印度來的另一密宗和尚善無畏，畏公以梵文咒語將巨蛇咒死，而免一場大禍。

The famous Chinese novel Pai-she Chuan or “Lady White Snake” tells a female white snake demon who falling in love with a human being , a male young employee of a herbal shop named Hsu Hsien (許仙).Then she transformed herself into a woman and appeared with name Pai Shu-Chen in order to court this man. After her courting was successful, she married Hsu and helped the Later to open his own herbal shop. One day , Hsu Hsien met a Buddhist monk Fa-hai(法海) on the road. The monk told him that he has been bewitched, for his wife in fact a snake demon. Then Hsu Hsien was scared and following the monk to go to the Later’s Chin-shan Monastery as his asylum for escaping the bewitchment of his demon wife. After knowing her husband was holding by Fa-hai , Lady White Snake fought to the monastery in order to take back her man. Then she fought a magical battle with the monk by creating a flood from Yangtzu River for downing the monk’s establishment. Unfortunately, the demon lady who defeated and being exorcised. Then Fa-hai casted some Samskirt spell upon her for returning her back into a snake. Afterwards, Lady White Snake who imprisoned in the Lei-feng Pagoda(雷峰塔). According to the author’s research, the above-mentioned human-snake demon love story is derived from a Buddhist legend record in Tripitaka master Hsuan-tsango (玄奘三藏,602-664) work Ta-T’ang Hsi-yu Chi (大唐西域記,or Records on the Foreign Regions West of the Great T’ang China). In his work, Hsuan-tsang records a legend that a young-man of the Sakya Clan was exhelled by his own clan. Then he wondering aimlessly for a long journey until reaching the shere of a huge volcano lake in the state of Udyana( in the valley of Swat River a branch of Indus River). Then he slept under a tree. In the deep of this crater lake there living a Nagaraja and his royal family. In that day, the rajas princess happen to the came out from the water and hanging around at the lake side . After she saw this handsome human being, she transformed herself into a young girl and come to woo the Sakyere. After that, they married.With the help of his divine father-in-law, this young man become the king of Udyana. The legend mentioned above suggest an inspiration for the Chinese novelist to from a human-snake demon love story. For the Sanskirt term “Naga” means serpent “and Nagaraja ” means “King of serpents”. As Fa-hai’s exorcism ,however , is derived from Tudn Chieng- shih’s (段成式，Ca 834-862 Yu-yang Tsa-tsu (酉陽雜俎,or Desultory Notes by a Resident of Yu-Yang City) . It tells in the Manf-shan (邙山), a mountain north to the Loyang(洛陽)City, there lived a gigantic python who bears some magical powers. One day, the Indian Tantic Buddhist Vandya Amoghavajra (705-774) found that this resentful python was planning to make a flood from Yellow River in order to down Loyang , he came to teach it some Buddhist Preaching and instructed it not to commit such an unforfivable sin. Ten days odd after, the python passed away. Also, a legend alike is recording in Liu Hsu’s (劉晌，888-941) Chiu T’ang-shu (舊唐書，or The Old History of the T’ang Dynasty). In its Wu-hsing Ch’i(五行志，or Treatise of the Five Primary Elements”) tells another Trantic Vandya Subhakaresimha (637-735) discovered a python who intended to flood Loyang , he casted some Sanskirt spells upon the creature. Some days after, the python died. Both of the aboved-mentioned legends are the story about the conflict between Lady White Snake and Fa-hai derived from.