They use to live outside the cities and whenever they had to walk by sounding the sticks, the above statement was made by

This refers to the Chinese Buddhist monk Fa-Hien's account of Indian monks who lived outside cities and used wooden staffs that made sounds when tapped on the ground during walks. This was a distinctive practice he observed during his travels in India (399-414 CE). The staffs served both practical purposes and announced the monk's presence.