Jiange Buddhist Studies, Volume 3

Author: Research Institute of Buddhist Studies / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In the history of Chinese Buddhism, the practice of traveling westward to seek Dharma did not begin with Faxian, but among the Chinese monks who truly reached India and returned with scriptures, Faxian stands out as one of the most notable figures. Deeply troubled by the incomplete state of Buddhist precepts in the Chinese land, Faxian, at the age of around sixty, resolved to travel westward to seek Dharma. The Buddhist scriptures he acquired in India were primarily precept texts. According to the Biography of Faxian, during his ten-year journey in India, Faxian wrote the Mahasanghika Vinaya and the Sarvastivada Vinaya in the city of Baoli, and the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya in the Land of Lions.
It is said that during the period from early Buddhism to the Schools of Buddhism, five precept texts were popular in the Five Heavens (Wudian). These include the Four-Fold Vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka school, the Ten-Recitation Vinaya of the Sarvastivada school, the Five-Fold Vinaya of the Vaibhasika school, the Liberation Vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka school, and the Mahasanghika Vinaya of the Mahasanghika school. Except for the Liberation Vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka school, which was not transmitted to China, the other four Vinayas were successively introduced and translated into Chinese. The Vinayas Faxian brought back included three of these five. The Mahasanghika Vinaya was translated in Jiankang's Daochang Temple together with (Bodhidharmaputra) after his return to China; the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya was later translated by (Bodhisena) and (Zhu Daosheng) during the Liu Song Dynasty; and the Sarvastivada Vinaya was not translated further because, by the time Faxian returned, (Furo Doro) and (Kumarajiva) had already translated the Ten-Recitation Vinaya. This demonstrates the significant contribution of Faxian to the development of Buddhist precepts in the Chinese land.
In addition to Vinayas, Faxian also brought back several important scriptures and treatises. During his three years in Baoli studying Sanskrit, Sanskrit grammar, and writing Vinayas, he wrote the Majjhima Abhidharma Heart, the Dharani Sutra, the Fangdeng, and the Mahasanghika Abhidharma; while in the Land of Lions, he wrote the Majjhima Agama, the Majjhima Nikaya, and the Majjhima Kanon. These scriptures and treatises were either newly spreading or yet to be transmitted in the Chinese land at the time. Special mention should be made of the Fangdeng he brought back. This scripture, based on the theory of the Buddha-nature (Tathagatagarbha), promotes the eternal nature of the Buddha-nature and is a representative text in the development of Mahayana Buddhism, marking an important transition from the theory of emptiness (Sunyata) to the theory of the Buddha-nature (Tathagatagarbha). After translating this scripture in Jiankang together with (Bodhidharmaputra) (now known as the Sutra on the Great Nirvana, in six volumes), it had a profound impact on the Buddhist community at the time.
During the period between the Jin and Song dynasties, a group of "Nirvana masters" emerged in the south, promoting the theory of the Buddha-nature. This was closely related to the translation of this scripture. As a result, it advanced the theoretical integration and development of the "Emptiness" (Sunyata) and "Buddha-nature" (Tathagatagarbha) schools in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, sparking extensive and in-depth discussions on important theoretical issues such as whether the Buddha-nature is inherent, present, and whether all sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature. P41
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