The propagation of Buddhism in China cannot be separated from the translation enterprise of Buddhist scriptures. The earliest translation began when Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan started translating the “Sutra in Forty-Two Sections” during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, and reportedly some other classics as well. This was the earliest translation work.
Among the early translators (2nd and 3rd centuries CE), we must mention An Shigao from the Parthian Empire (in present-day Iran), Zhi Loujiachen from the Kushan Kingdom, Kang Sengjie and Kang Senghui from Kangju (in present-day Kyrgyzstan region of the former Soviet Union), and Zhu Fahhu, one of the earliest Chinese monks with Kushan ancestry to travel west seeking the Dharma. Meanwhile, Zhu Shixing also traveled west seeking the Dharma in 260 CE. Through their efforts, many Hinayana and Mahayana texts were translated into Chinese.
These translators mainly belonged to two systems: first, the Hinayana school, focusing on the study of the Agama Sutras and Meditation Numerical Sutras, represented by An Shigao; second, the Mahayana school, focusing on the Prajnaparamita Sutras and Pure Land Sutras, represented by Zhi Loujiachen. Both schools developed simultaneously.
Translation work was still in its initial stage at that time. Limited by various conditions, there was no planned or systematic translation yet. Most translated scriptures were not complete translations, and the translation style had not yet been established. However, the translators had already excellently accomplished the groundbreaking work, establishing Buddhism’s position in Chinese intellectual circles with far-reaching influence.
Buddhism’s widespread popularity in China began in the 4th century, when Master Daoan was an important figure in Chinese Buddhist circles and a Buddhist leader who played a significant positive role. He was our country’s earliest enthusiastic missionary, having dispatched his disciples to various places to greatly promote Buddhism. He was also the first establisher of monastic institutional systems in our country. He earnestly sought the Vinaya rules to remedy the incomplete nature of the Vinaya collections at that time, and established monastic regulations that the entire country followed (Chinese monastics abandoning their original surnames and uniformly adopting “Shi” as their surname began with Daoan’s advocacy). Master Daoan organized the already translated classics and compiled China’s first sutra catalog; he vigorously encouraged translation work and first summarized translation experience. Under Master Daoan’s guidance, many important sutras and treatises were translated, gathering and cultivating many scholars and translation talents, creating favorable conditions for Kumarajiva’s large-scale translation enterprise later.
The enthusiasm of Daoan and his disciples in seeking the Vinaya greatly promoted the completion of the Vinaya collections. During Daoan’s lifetime, he had already obtained numerous precept texts and translated portions of Vinaya literature, though unfortunately those books have been lost. Soon after, Buddhavarman and Dharmagupta from Kashmir successively helped Kumarajiva translate multiple parts of the “Ten Recitation Vinaya.” This Vinaya, with assistance from Kumarajiva’s teacher Vimalaksha, was greatly promoted in Jiangxi. Buddhayasas (also from Kashmir) translated the Dharmaguptaka “Four-Part Vinaya” in 410 CE. Following the command of Venerable Buddhaghosa, Sanghabhadra who came to China from Sri Lanka translated the “Samantapasadika.” In the early 5th century, Master Faxian traveled to India mainly to seek the Vinaya. Master Faxian is well-known as a great ancient Chinese Dharma-seeker and traveler. His immortal “Record of Buddhist Kingdoms” and achievements in other areas might easily cause people to overlook his original motivation for seeking the Vinaya and his accomplishments in this area. Besides bringing back many books, he also brought back the “Mahisasaka Vinaya” and the Mahisasaka “Five-Part Vinaya.” The former was translated into Chinese by himself and Buddhabhadra from Kapilavastu (present-day Nepal), while the latter was translated by Buddhajiva (from Kashmir) after his death. Another great Dharma-seeker, Yijing of the 7th century, also traveled far with the aspiration to study the Vinaya. He brought back Vinaya texts and translated eleven works of the Sarvastivada school, thereby greatly completing the Vinaya collections. The Chinese translations of Vinaya collections include the “Four-Part Vinaya” in 61 volumes, the “Sarvastivada Vinaya” in 157 volumes, the “Ten Recitation Vinaya” in 61 volumes, along with various karman texts, precept texts, and treatises explaining Vinaya literature – approximately 500 volumes translated successively and still extant today. Later Chinese eminent monks’ works on Vinaya also number over 500 extant volumes. Regarding the transmission of Chinese bhiksu precepts, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the North transmitted the “Four-Part Vinaya” while the Southern dynasties followed the “Ten Recitation Vinaya.” When the Sui Dynasty unified China, politically the North unified the South, and Buddhist precepts followed the same pattern – from the Sui period onward, only the Northern Dharmaguptaka “Four-Part Vinaya” was transmitted. Tibetan Buddhist regions have always transmitted the Sarvastivada Vinaya, while Dai ethnic regions have transmitted the Theravada Vinaya same as Sri Lanka and Myanmar, sharing the same origin as the “Four-Part Vinaya” (Dharmaguptaka Vinaya).
Large-scale, systematic translation of Buddhist sutras and treatises should be said to have begun with Kumarajiva in the early 5th century.
Master Kumarajiva’s translation enterprise had superior conditions unprecedented by his predecessors: the strong support of the government (Later Qin of Yao) and assistance from a large group of learned doctrinal monks with high cultural cultivation gathered under Daoan’s influence. However, Master Kumarajiva’s great achievement lay in his rich learning and persistent effort. This master of outstanding wisdom, of Indian ancestry born in what is now northwestern China (Kucha, Xinjiang), was the common glory of both Chinese and Indian peoples. Master Kumarajiva and later Master Xuanzang were the two great masters of translation work. The over 300 volumes of classics he translated were not only treasures of Buddhism but also important literary heritage, having enormous influence on Chinese philosophical thought and literature. Under Master Kumarajiva’s teaching and guidance, thousands of talents were cultivated, greatly elevating Buddhism’s status and vigorous development at that time. In terms of Buddhist studies, Master Kumarajiva’s most important contribution was introducing the Madhyamaka systematic texts established by Nagarjuna Bodhisattva. Through his efforts, this series of sutra and treatise works, such as the “Middle Treatise,” “Hundred Treatise,” “Twelve Gate Treatise,” “Vimalakirti Sutra,” “Lotus Sutra,” “Large Prajnaparamita Sutra,” “Small Prajnaparamita Sutra,” “Diamond Sutra,” and the commentary on the “Large Prajnaparamita Sutra,” the “Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom,” were transmitted to China, opening up vast territories for the Chinese Dharma-nature school. Additionally, Master Kumarajiva translated an important Hinayana treatise, the “Satyasiddhi Treatise,” which initially circulated complementarily with the Madhyamaka Three Treatises (or “Four Treatises”: the “Madhyamaka Three Treatises” plus the “Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom”), later gradually forming an independent school that flourished during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, later called the Satyasiddhi masters. This school was relatively close to Mahayana teachings within Hinayana.
Master Kumarajiva’s translation enterprise from 401-413 CE comprehensively and systematically introduced the teachings of the Mahayana Emptiness school’s Nagarjuna and Aryadeva. After Kumarajiva, important translators came successively, and major sutras and treatises were continuously translated. For example, Buddhabhadra translated the “Avatamsaka Sutra” from 418-421 CE, Dharmakshema translated the “Mahaparinirvana Sutra” in 421 CE, Gunabhadra translated the “Lankavatara Sutra” in 443 CE. The translation of these classics had a major impact on the development of Chinese Buddhist doctrinal studies. In the early 6th century, Bodhiruci came to China (508 CE) and began translating treatises of the Mahayana Consciousness-only school’s Asanga and Vasubandhu lineage, among which the “Ten Stages Sutra Treatise” had particularly great influence, with its students forming the Dilun master school (divided into Southern and Northern paths). Later, Paramartha Tripitaka (498-569 CE) came to China in 546 CE, translated Asanga’s “Compendium of Mahayana” and Vasubandhu’s “Commentary” in 563 CE, and translated Vasubandhu’s “Abhidharmakosa Treatise” in 564 CE. From 566-567 CE, he retranslated the “Abhidharmakosa Treatise.” Paramartha was not only a translation master but also a doctrinal master. Having been in China for a long time and mastering the Chinese language, he would lecture while translating sutras and treatises, with disciples recording these as commentaries. His followers were called Shelun masters and Jushe masters. After Paramartha came to China, he experienced over twenty years of warfare and chaos, yet in the midst of displacement and hardship, he was still able to translate over a hundred important volumes of sutras and treatises, forming important doctrinal schools in Chinese Buddhism. He was the translator who made the greatest contribution in the over 200 years between Kumarajiva and Xuanzang.
According to Xuanzang’s account, Silabhadra was born in 528 CE, from which we can deduce that Dharmapala was born around 530 CE. Since Paramartha was born in 498 CE, Paramartha was over thirty years older than Dharmapala. Paramartha also translated works by Dignaga, including the “Treatise on the Non-appearance of Objects of Cognition” (Xuanzang’s translation of the “Treatise on the Objects and Conditions of Cognition”) and the “Treatise on Loosening the Fist” (Yijing’s translation of the “Treatise in the Palm”). Dignaga was Vasubandhu’s disciple and Dharmapala’s teacher. It can be seen that Paramartha was a master of the Buddhist Consciousness-only school between Dignaga and Dharmapala. What Xuanzang transmitted took Dharmapala’s teachings as orthodox, while his followers regarded Paramartha’s learning and the Dilun masters’ teachings as old teachings or old translations, calling what Xuanzang transmitted the new translation. Ancient scholars (Tang dynasty’s Lingrun) summarized fourteen doctrinal differences. For example, the old translation believed all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature, while the new translation believed some beings lack Buddha-nature; the old translation believed that in Buddhahood, principle and wisdom are non-dual, while the new translation believed principle and wisdom are separate (i.e., divided into cessation and wisdom fruits); among the three natures, the old translation negated both the imagined nature and dependent nature, while the new translation only negated the imagined nature; the old translation held that the root of dependent origination lies solely in the eighth consciousness, while the new translation held that all consciousnesses and their associated mental factors are roots of dependent origination. Also, Paramartha’s translation of the “Treatise on the Transformation of Consciousness” treated Adana (another name for Alaya consciousness) as the seventh consciousness, while the new translation treated it as the eighth consciousness. The Shelun school transmitted by Paramartha further established a ninth consciousness, which the new translation does not mention. In summary, both old and new translations belong to the Consciousness-only school with the same fundamental tenets. Due to different historical periods, each formed their own systematic interpretations with slight doctrinal differences, which is quite natural. However, the learning transmitted by Paramartha’s translations caused great waves in Chinese Buddhist circles during the Sui and Tang periods, thus providing the motivation for Master Xuanzang’s later journey to India for in-depth research. In the over eighty years from Paramartha’s arrival in China to Xuanzang’s departure for India (546-627 CE), Indian Buddhist studies also underwent dramatic changes. Initially, Dharmapala and Bhavaviveka sparked the debate between Emptiness and Consciousness-only. Subsequently, Candrakirti and Bhavaviveka engaged in internal conflict, causing the Emptiness school to split into Svatantrika and Prasangika schools. Candrakirti also engaged in prolonged debates with Candragomi. Dharmapala’s disciple Dharmakirti also carried out new reforms of his teacher Dignaga’s logic. Doctrinal developments always become more refined through analysis, with later developments surpassing earlier ones. The learning that Master Xuanzang inherited was generally more precise than the old translations. This great traveler who journeyed alone for seventeen years, traveled fifty thousand li, whose footprints covered over 130 countries in the Western Regions and India, and who left behind an immortal travelogue “Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang”; this great Buddhist scholar who was proficient in Chinese and Indian languages, thoroughly understood the Three Pitakas’ teachings, served as a lecturer at Nalanda, the highest institution of learning in India at that time in his capacity as an international student monk, and received welcome and respect from kings and both monastic and lay people of India and the Western Regions – Master Xuanzang devoted his entire life to Sino-Indian cultural exchange, translating 1,335 volumes of sutras and treatises (approximately 500,000 verses). Master Xuanzang’s systematic translation scale, rigorous translation approach, and enormous translation achievements left a brilliant example in Chinese translation history. His achievements and contributions in Buddhism and scholarship were extremely far-reaching. Master Xuanzang not only comprehensively and systematically translated and transmitted the sutras and treatises of the Mahayana Yogacara Consciousness-only lineage, but also completely translated the fundamental great sutra of the Emptiness school, the “Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra” in 200,000 verses; he also translated almost all the important treatises of the Hinayana Sarvastivada school. Additionally, he uniquely obtained secret transmitted works of Dharmapala Bodhisattva, a rare Buddhist genius master of India, such as the “Commentary on the Hundred Treatise” that harmonized the Emptiness and Consciousness-only schools and the orthodox Dharmapala doctrine included in the “Treatise on the Establishment of Consciousness-only,” which had no transmitted copies in India. From this, it can be seen that Master Xuanzang was truly the foremost synthesizer of Indian Buddhist studies when it reached its highest peak. Therefore, at the eighteen-day Great Assembly of All Giving held for him by King Harsha, he sat high on the lion throne, expounding principles and establishing doctrines, with no one daring to come forward to debate with him. Consequently, Mahayana scholars collectively honored him as “Mahayana Deva” (God of Mahayana), winning the highest academic honor between the two great ancient civilizations for China. Over a century later, when the Japanese monk Kongosanmei (around 818 CE in China) traveled to India, he saw that both Chinese and Indian monasteries had paintings of the hemp sandals worn by Xuanzang and the spoon and chopsticks he used, set off with colored clouds, “and on every fasting day they would worship them” (see Duan Chengshi’s “Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang,” Volume 3 of the first collection and Volume 2 of the continued collection). It can be known that the Indian Buddhist community at that time already revered and made offerings to Xuanzang’s hemp sandals like the Buddha’s footprints. For a scholar to enjoy such high respect in a foreign country, besides the founders of major religions, there has been no second person in history. Even now, Japanese Buddhist scholars still believe that a talent like Master Xuanzang could only be produced by a great nation like China. Master Xuanzang is truly the glory and pride of our nation.
Master Faxian set out from Chang’an in 399 CE at the advanced age of sixty-five, crossing flowing sands, traversing the Onion Mountains, walking tens of thousands of li on foot, traveling throughout North India, extensively visiting sacred sites, studying Sanskrit, copying scriptures. After many years, he crossed the ocean to the Lion Country (present-day Sri Lanka), passed through Yavadvipa (present-day Indonesia) and then returned home. At the age of eighty, he was still engaged in Buddhist sutra translation. He authored the “Record of Buddhist Kingdoms,” which became an important historical document. Master Yijing came slightly later than Xuanzang, taking the southern sea route to India to seek the Dharma, spending twenty-five years and traveling to over thirty countries, seeking Vinaya collections and paying homage to sacred sites everywhere. After returning home, he translated over fifty works of sutras and Vinaya in over 200 volumes, and authored “Buddhist Monks’ Pilgrimage Sent Home from the Southern Sea” and “Biography of Eminent Monks Who Sought the Law in the Western Regions During the Great Tang.” Like Master Xuanzang, Faxian and Yijing both possessed fearless spirits, forgetting their bodies for the Dharma, and were indomitable in seeking truth. They were immortal translators, thinkers, and travelers who made indelible contributions to the development of Chinese culture.
The Chinese Han-language Buddhist translation enterprise lasted for ten centuries (2nd to 11th centuries), translating over 1,690 works of the Three Pitakas (sutras, Vinaya, and treatises) totaling over 6,420 volumes, with nearly 200 famous native and foreign translators. Besides those mentioned above, there were Indians like Dharmakshema, Buddhabhadra, and Bodhiruci; from Pakistan, Jnanagupta and Danapala; from Afghanistan, Prajna; from Cambodia, Mandrasena and Sanghavarman; and from Sri Lanka, Amoghavajra Tripitaka who transmitted esoteric Buddhism – all well-known figures. Through everyone’s persistent and tireless efforts, the teachings of all Buddhist systems – Hinayana, nature school, characteristics school, exoteric, and esoteric – were introduced to China, thereby forming the enormous treasure of Chinese Buddhism. China’s ancient translation enterprise created enormous spiritual wealth for brilliant Chinese culture, which is unmatched and represents our excellent cultural tradition.
However, we must also point out an easily overlooked but very important point. Our country has been a large multi-ethnic family since ancient times. Each brother ethnic group has made significant contributions and outstanding achievements in creating the culture of the entire nation; this is especially true in Buddhism. During the Tibetan Empire period, due to the marriages of Princess Wencheng and Princess Jincheng, the flourishing Tang culture and Buddhist faith were introduced, and a script still in use today was created. During the reign of Trisong Detsen, the most famous exoteric scholars Santaraksita and Kamalasila and the esoteric master Padmasambhava were invited to build temples and establish monastics, engaging in systematic translation work. At the same time, Chinese monks were invited through Shazhou to transmit the Chan school and lecture on sutras. During the reign of Tri Ralpachen (also known as Khri gtsug lde brtsan or Yeshe De, r. 815-836), many great Indian masters were invited along with Tibetan scholars to jointly establish translation terminology, correct old translations, and translate large quantities of sutras and treatises. After the 10th century, Tibet began the later propagation period of Buddhism, with great masters continuously traveling between India and Tibet to transmit and seek the Dharma for three to four hundred years. Among the most famous was Atisa (982-1053), born in Bengal, who was a master of high learning and virtue in India at that time. He came to Tibet in 1042 at invitation and established the Kadam school. His teachings were later inherited by Master Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), who established the Gelug school (Yellow Hat school), which spread throughout the vast regions of Tibet, Han China, and Mongolia. Also, the Tibetan Karmapa traveled to India three times to study the Dharma and established the Kagyu school (White Hat school), which controlled Tibet’s local political power for a long period during the Ming dynasty. The world-renowned Tibetan saint Milarepa was the second patriarch of this school. Other great masters who translated scriptures and transmitted the Dharma are too numerous to list. From the mid-8th to mid-13th centuries, a span of 500 years, the Three Pitaka scriptures translated by Tibet, as calculated by inclusion in the Kangyur and Tengyur collections, numbered over 5,900 works, with a volume equivalent to approximately 3 million verses, or about 10,000 volumes in Chinese translation. Retranslations are rare in the Tibetan Tripitaka, so the actual content far exceeds that of the Chinese Tripitaka. This is especially true for treatises of both Emptiness and Consciousness-only schools, as well as works on logic, medicine, and grammar, and esoteric sutras and treatises popular in late-period India – these are vast in quantity and absent from Chinese translations. Because Tibetan translation took into account Sanskrit grammatical word endings and syntactic structures, it can easily be restored to the original Sanskrit text, and is therefore highly valued by modern Buddhist researchers. Additionally, during the Qing dynasty, translation of a Manchu Tripitaka was undertaken. In modern times, remnants of Tangut and Uighur Buddhist scriptures have been discovered. Furthermore, Dai ethnic culture was previously unknown, but after liberation it was discovered that the Dai people have extremely rich Dai-language works, including Dai translations of the southern transmission Pali Tripitaka. From this it can be seen that the Tripitakas in various ethnic scripts of our country are extremely rare and magnificent monuments in human cultural history, embodying the wisdom, diligent cultivation, tenacious spirit, and great vision of countless predecessors and sages – these are priceless spiritual treasures.
Glossary
Hinayana (Sravakayana) One of the Two Vehicles, or one of the Three Vehicles. Sravakas are disciples of the Buddha’s Hinayana teachings. Those who listen to the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths, eliminate the delusions of views and thoughts, and enter nirvana.
Mahayana Sanskrit: Mahayana. “Great” is relative to “small,” and “yana” means vehicle or conveyance. Hinayana practitioners can only save themselves, while Mahayana practitioners not only save themselves but also save others. Hinayana refers to sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, while Mahayana refers to practitioners of the bodhisattva path.
Hinayana Hinayana is relative to Mahayana, mainly referring to sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.
Vinaya Pitaka One of the Three Pitakas in Buddhism. The Three Pitakas consist of Sutra Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidharma Pitaka, where Vinaya Pitaka refers to the precepts and regulations.
Kumarajiva Personal name, full name Kumarajiva. A famous eminent monk and Buddhist translator during the Later Qin of Yao period in China. He translated over 380 volumes of sutras in his lifetime and passed away in Chang’an in the 11th year of Hongshi of the Qin.
Nagarjuna Personal name, also called Nagarjuna Bodhisattva. He appeared in South India 700 years after the Buddha’s parinirvana. He was a disciple of Kapimala, who was Asvaghosa’s disciple, and teacher of Aryadeva Bodhisattva. Legend says he entered the dragon palace to obtain the “Avatamsaka Sutra” and opened the iron tower to transmit the esoteric treasury. He is revered as the patriarch of eight schools of exoteric and esoteric Buddhism.
Madhyamaka (Middle Way) One of the Three Contemplations, namely contemplating the principle of the Middle Truth. All schools consider Madhyamaka as the ultimate of contemplative paths. The Three Contemplations are: Emptiness Contemplation, Provisional Contemplation, and Middle Contemplation. Madhyamaka means not clinging to the two extremes of emptiness and existence, but contemplating the truth of non-arising and non-ceasing of all phenomena.
Mahayana Emptiness School Opposed to the “Consciousness-only School.” Refers to schools that advocate all is empty and prajna is empty. Mahayana Prajnaparamita thought is its representative, mainly promoting the empty contemplation of the Middle Way. From the lineage of Nagarjuna and Aryadeva who advocated that all phenomena are empty, relative to the Hinayana Abhidharmakosa school’s “existence school,” it refers to the Satyasiddhi school; relative to other Mahayana Dharma-characteristics schools (Consciousness-only), it refers to the Three Treatise school.
Mahayana Consciousness-only School Refers to schools that advocate phenomena as “existent.” Also called the Existence Teaching. Opposed to the “Emptiness School” that advocates all is empty and prajna is empty. Buddhism’s position on explaining the universe originally does not lean toward either existence or emptiness, but the Consciousness-only school’s doctrine leans toward the existence of phenomenal forms. This doctrine is represented by the Hinayana Sarvastivada school. Later, Vasubandhu’s school opposed Nagarjuna’s empty contemplation, repeatedly producing debates between emptiness and existence. The Mahayana Consciousness-only school takes Consciousness-only as fundamental, belonging to the Dharma-characteristics school.
Shelun Masters During the Chen and Sui periods, there were many Buddhist scholars who lectured on Paramartha’s translation of the “Compendium of Mahayana.” Later generations collectively called them “Shelun Masters.”
Abhidharmakosa Masters Buddhist scholars who studied and transmitted Vasubandhu’s “Abhidharmakosa Treatise.”
Doctrinal Studies Studies of terminology and doctrinal meaning, theoretical studies. Also called analytical studies. Such as Abhidharmakosa and Consciousness-only studies, which analyze the categories and quantities of dharma-characteristics, and meticulously stipulate the organization of cultivation cause-and-effect stages and interpretation of textual passages; namely, studies concerning doctrinal theory.
Dilun Masters A Chinese Buddhist school. Also called the Dilun school. Named for transmitting and promoting the “Ten Stages Sutra Treatise.” Its scholars are called Dilun Masters.
Three Pitakas Sutra Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidharma Pitaka. Sutra Pitaka contains the sutras spoken by the Buddha; Vinaya Pitaka contains the precepts established by the Buddha; Abhidharma Pitaka contains treatises composed by Buddha’s disciples to explain the Buddha-dharma.
