Buddhabhadra
Buddhabhadra (C. Fotuobatuoluo; J. Butsudabatsudara; K. Pult’abaltara 佛陀跋陀羅) (359–429).[1] An Indian Buddhist monk who traveled to China and became a translator of Indian Buddhist texts into the Chinese language.[1][2][3] His translation efforts included the first Chinese translation of the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra (aka. "Flower Ornament Scripture") in the 5th century.[4] In China, he was popularly known as the "Meditation Master from India" (Tiānzhú chánshī 来自印度的冥想大师).[3]
Overview
Buddhabhadra was a descendant of the Śākya clan born in Nagarahāra (Ch. Nàhēlìchéng 那呵利城, modern Jalal-Ābād), which was a famous center of Sarvastivada at the time.[3] Buddhabhadra was a student of the Kashmiri meditation master Buddhasena, who was a Mahayanist and a Sarvastivadin.[5][2] Buddhabhadra became a master of discipline (Vinaya) and meditation. He had a Chinese student, Jìbīn Zhìyán (350-427) who invited him to travel to China.[5][3] On arriving in the Chinese Later Qin capital of Chang'an in 406–8, Buddhabhadra befriended Kumārajīva and took part in a public debate with him promoted by the Prince Hóng which is recorded in Chinese sources. Buddhabhadra soon became famous as a meditation master.[2][3] Kumārajīva’s group and Buddhabhadra's group eventually developed a rivalry which eventually led to Buddhabhadra being expelled from Chang’an (c. 410).[5]
Buddhabhadra traveled to Lushan ("Mount Lu"), where he was welcomed by Lushan Huiyuan. While staying at Lushan, Buddhabhadra translated some meditation manuals at the behest Lushan Huiyuan.[5] These are the Damoduoluo chan jing (“Dhyāna Sūtra of Dharmatrāta”, T618), a "dhyana sutra", and the Sutra on the Ocean-Like Samādhi of the Visualization of the Buddha (Guānfó sānmèi hǎi jīng, 觀佛三昧海經 T 643), a visualization sutra.[2]
After his stay at Mount Lu, Buddhabhadra and his disciples moved to Dàochǎng Monastery (道場寺) where Buddhabhadra continued teaching meditation, becoming known as a famous meditation master and teacher. Soon they were joined by Faxian. It is here that Buddhabhadra and his translation team (consisting of Chinese disciples such as Bǎoyún, Huiguang, Zhiyan) along with Faxian, translated most of the scriptures attributed to Buddhabhadra.[2]
Buddhabhadra and his team translated the large 60 fascicle Avataṃsaka-sūtra (T 278).[2][3] Buddhabhadra and his team also produced translations of the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya (T 1425), the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra (T 376, translated together with Faxian), Tathāgatagarbha sūtra (T 666) and the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha (T 360).[3]
Influence
Buddhabhadra's work was profoundly influential on later Chinese Buddhism. His meditation manuals and his disciples (Zhiyan, Huiguan, Baoyun, Xuangao and Tanyao) influenced the practice of Chinese Buddhist meditation, and the popularity of the construction of grotto meditation cave-temples such as the Yungang Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes and the Bingling Temple Grottoes.[5] His translation of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra also influenced the development of the early Avataṃsaka exegetical tradition which would in time develop into Huayan Buddhism, while his Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha likewise influenced the development of Pure Land Buddhism.[2]
Buddhabhadra's protégé Xuangao (玄高, c. ?-444) was an important meditation master in the northern Liang of the Sixteen States era who focused on Buddha visualization practices and on the practice of the "Huāyán Samadhi".[5][6] This tradition of Xuangao (centered around the Binglingsi cave) has been seen by scholars like Imre Hamar as a precusor to the Huayan school proper.[6] Furthermore, Hamar theorizes that Xuangao along with the master Daorong cooperated to compose the apocryphal sutras Brahma's Net Sūtra (Fanwang Jing T1484) and the Sutra of the Original Acts that Adorn the Bodhisattva (Pusa yingluo benye jing T1485) which stand at the beginning of the development of the Huayan tradition.[7]
The meditation texts of Buddhabhadra also influenced Chan Buddhism, and some of their methods were criticized by later sources like Shenhui and the authors of the Lidai fabao ji.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Buddhabadhra
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Lyapina, Sasha. Buddhabhadra and his Translation Team
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Muller et al. 佛陀跋陀羅 [Buddhabhadra], Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
- ↑ Cleary, Thomas. The Flower Ornament Scripture: a Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra. 1984. p. 2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Chen Jinhua Sen, "Meditation Traditions in Fifth-Century Northern China: With a Special Note on a Forgotten “Kaśmiri” Meditation Tradition Brought to China by Buddhabhadra (359-429)", in Tansen (editor) (2014). Buddhism Across Asia: Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, pp. 101-130. ISEAS Publishing.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hamar, Imre (Editor) (2007). Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism (Asiatische Forschungen), pp. 171-172.
- ↑ Hamar, Imre (Editor) (2007). Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism (Asiatische Forschungen), p. 174
- ↑ Adamek, Wendi L. (2007). The Mystique of Transmission: On an Early Chan History and Its Context, p. 37. Columbia University Press.
Further reading
- Hodge, Stephen (2009 & 2012). "The Textual Transmission of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana-sutra"
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