The first translator of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese.
From Barbara O'Brien's seminal Circle of the Way: "Dharmaraksha (ca. 230–307) was the son of a Kushan merchant living in Dunhuang. He received a Chinese education and was also prolific in Indian and central Asian languages. A sixth-century catalog of Chinese Buddhist texts attributed 154 translations to him, including the Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra (better known in English as the Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines) and the Lotus Sutra. But Dharmaraksha didn’t just passively sit in a temple translating texts. He traveled west to Gandhara to collect sacred texts not yet available in China. He also traveled to other cities in north China, spreading knowledge of these scriptures as he went."
The First Patriarch of Pure land Buddhism. From Circle of the Way: In 402, the monk Huiyuan (334–416) established the White Lotus Society on Mount Lushan in modern-day Jiangxi Province, south of the Yangtze River. This White Lotus Society (there were several in Chinese history) is considered the forerunner of Pure Land Buddhism, which is the dominant form of Buddhism in East Asia to this day."
From Barbara O'Brien's seminal Circle of the Way: "And then there was Kumarajiva (344–413), the most renowned of all the early translators. Like Fotudeng, Kumarajiva was from Kucha in central Asia. In his youth he studied with the Sarvastivadins in Kashmir, but he later converted to Mahayana. His reputation as a scholar of the dharma grew. And then his life got interesting. In 379 Fu Jian (337–85), leader of the Former Qin dynasty of north China (351–94), heard of the great scholar Kumarajiva and desired to bring him to his court. Fu Jian ordered his general, Lu Guang, to take a delegation to Kucha and escort the scholar to his capital at Chang’an. But Lu Guang rebelled. He did go to Kucha, but instead of returning to Chang’an, he set himself up as a warlord and made Kumarajiva his hostage. The scholar remained a captive for seventeen years. In the meantime, Fu Jian died and the Former Qin dynasty crumbled. Kumarajiva was not forgotten, however. He was rescued in 401 after Yao Xing (366–416) of the Later Qin (384–417) ordered his armies to defeat Lu Guang and bring Kumarajiva to Chang’an. It’s said that during his time in captivity Kumarajiva occupied himself by learning Chinese, so he was well prepared for the next phase of his career. Beginning in 402, he spent the remaining eleven years of his life translating many of the great Mahayana texts. These included the Vimalakirti Sutra and classics of the Madhyamaka/perfection of wisdom literature, such as the Ashta, the Diamond Sutra, Nagarjuna’s Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, and a commentary on the prajnaparamita sutras attributed to Nagarjuna. Through his translations and through his many students, correspondents, and collaborators (which included several disciples of Fotudeng), he was able to raise understanding of Madhyamaka far above what it had been before in China—a necessary precursor to the appearance of an indigenous Mahayana school such as Zen. The quality of Kumarajiva’s work remains relevant to this day. Many of the original texts are lost, and scholars still rely on Kumarajiva’s translations. A substantial portion of Mahayana sutras that have been published in English were translated from Kumarajiva."
From Circle of the Way: Zhu Daosheng (355–434), who also was a student of Kumarajiva, promoted the idea that enlightenment could be realized in a single, immediate experience of insight. This “sudden enlightenment” is possible because buddha-nature permeates all beings; thus, enlightenment is already present. This bit of doctrine would become critical to the formation of Zen. At least one ancient Chinese scholar nominated Zhu Daosheng as the true First Patriarch of Zen.
This landmark anthology illuminates the true story of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism’s historical development in China. Here we have the essential source material in its own native understanding, free of the mistranslation and misrepresentation that has characterized it in the modern West. As such, The Way of Ch’an offers a revolutionary understanding of Ch’an as a Buddhist-inflected form of Taoism, China’s native system of spiritual philosophy. This authentic Ch’an was a radical and wild practice cultivating a deeply ecological form of liberation: the integration of mind and landscape/earth/Cosmos. Hinton’s accessible introductions guide us through texts that build from seminal Taoism through all stages of classical Ch’an—a tradition of zany and profound sages revealing Ch’an’s original form of awakening each in their own way. It’s a roller-coaster of voices and insights across thousands of years: The Way of Ch’an is a thrilling ride.
From Circle ofthe Way: "Sengzhao (378–413) was a student and collaborator of Kumarajiva who is remembered for his influential analysis of Madhyamaka, which he made using idioms from Confucianism and Daoism. In spite of his mastery of words, Sengzhao maintained a distrust of them. “The sphere of Truth is beyond the noise of verbal teaching,” he wrote. “How then can it be made the subject of discussion? Still I cannot remain silent.”
From The Circle of the Way: "Gunabhadra (394–469), a scholar of central India, arrived in China about the year 435. He resided and worked in southern China, in Jiankang and then Jingzhou, farther west. He translated fifty-two scriptures—including the Lankavatara Sutra, which is associated with Yogacara—into Chinese. The Lankavatara went on to develop a devoted following in China and would play a role in early Zen history."
Chinese pilgrim Faxian, whose account of India during his pilgrimage is one of the more reliable sources of Buddhism in India at this time, spent over ten years there in the early fifth century.
Dates very approximate as very little biographical detail is known about Bodhidharma. Heis traditionally credited as the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China. Known as Damo in China and Daruma in Japan, he is considered the 28th patriarch of Indian Buddhism and the first patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism. According to legend, Bodhidharma traveled from India to China, where he had a famous encounter with Emperor Wu of Liang and later spent nine years in meditation facing a wall at the Shaolin Monastery. He is associated with the practice of wall-gazing meditation and is said to have transmitted the concept of "direct pointing at the mind" as a way to attain enlightenment. While many legendary stories surround his life, modern scholars generally agree that only one text, the "Two Entrances and Four Practices," can be reliably attributed to Bodhidharma. His teachings emphasized the importance of meditation and direct insight into one's true nature, which became foundational principles of Chan/Zen Buddhism.
