Search Results (38)

The Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedikā-Prajñāpāramitā-Sūtra) translated by the Sui Dynasty monk Dharmagupta is the fourth Chinese rendition of the Diamond Sutra. Characterized by unprecedented linguistic opacity and syntactic complexity within the history of Buddhist textual transmission, this translation’s distinctive features have attracted significant scholarly attention. This study synthesizes existing academic perspectives and employs Sanskrit–Chinese textual criticism and comparative analysis of parallel translations to conduct a granular examination of Dharmagupta’s retranslation. Our findings reveal that this text fundamentally deviates from conventional sutras designed for religious dissemination or liturgical recitation. Its defining traits, including morphological calquing of Sanskrit structures, simplified pronominal systems, and etymologically prioritized equivalence, collectively reflect a pedagogical focus characteristic of language instructional texts. Dharmagupta’s approach epitomizes a translation-as-pedagogy paradigm, with the text’s deviations from conventional norms resulting from the interplay of religious development, historical context, and translator agency. We argue that the Diamond Sutra retranslation constitutes a radical experimental paradigm in translation history, warranting re-evaluation of its significance within the broader trajectory of Buddhist textual practice. Full article

Focusing on the Pārijāta Tree on the summit of Mount Sumeru, the centre of Asian cosmology, this study analyses its depictions and images. These include Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, the most notable depictions in the handscrolls from the Dūn Huáng and Harvard Art Museums, its representations in Japanese classical literature and early modern Japanese illustrations of Mount Sumeru. Finally, drawing from the discussions on trees in the Buddhist texts, A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden [法苑珠林, Fǎ yuàn zhū lín], the study also addresses various issues surrounding tree felling, which are relevant to the current concerns of environmental protection. I argue that the Pārijāta Tree, positioned as the heavenly king of trees, holds significance as a core figure at the centre of the cosmos. The Pārijāta Tree can be said to serve as a metaphor for the supreme state pursued by Buddhist practitioners. Furthermore, this study suggests that issues related to Asian cosmology or worldviews should be pursued as important subjects in future research on environmental literature. Full article

This study provides a comprehensive philological analysis of ten Old Uyghur manuscript fragments of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra (Lotus Sutra) in the Berlin Turfan Collection, while systematically examining all extant Old Uyghur Lotus Sutra manuscripts to establish a complete corpus for comparative analysis. By collating this complete corpus with Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation, this research demonstrates a typology of Old Uyghur Lotus Sutra fragments. It identifies at least two distinct translation lineages: (1) early translations (pre-10th century) exhibiting lexical and structural divergences indicative of Sogdian mediation or hybrid source traditions, and (2) late translations (11th–14th centuries) directly derived from the Chinese version, characterized by syntactic fidelity and a standardized terminology. Through comparative textual analysis, orthographic scrutiny, and terminological cross-referencing, this paper aims to reconstruct the historical trajectory of the Lotus Sutra’s transmission. In addition, it discusses some facts indicating linguistic and cultural contact between the Sogdians and the progressive alignment of Uyghur Buddhist texts with Chinese Buddhist traditions. Full article

In the 19th century, the British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham identified the remains of an unidentified Buddhist monastery at Jamāl Gaṛhī, an ancient site located approximately 13 km from present-day Mardān, Pakistan. Subsequent excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India between 1920 and 1921 unearthed a schist inscription dated to the year “359”. Heinrich Lüders, the renowned German Indologist and epigraphist, attributed this inscription to the Dharmaguptaka sect/school. Despite this early attribution, the Monastery’s precise sectarian characteristics have remained largely unexplored in later scholarship. This article reevaluates the site’s sectarian identity by employing a “ground-to-text” methodology that integrates archaeological evidence with textual analysis, with a particular focus on the Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. Through this comparative framework, this study seeks to elucidate the religious ideas reflected in the site’s material culture and their relationship with Dharmaguptaka disciplinary thought. The analysis encompasses the architectural remnants of the stūpa excavated by Cunningham and the “Fasting Buddha” statuary, now preserved in the National Museum of Pakistan, the British Museum, and other sites, situating these artifacts within the distinctive visual and contemplative traditions linked to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. By integrating architectural, sculptural, textual, and epigraphic materials, this article provides a nuanced understanding of sectarian developments at Jamāl Gaṛhī and argues that an explicit emphasis on the ‘Middle Way’ ideology constituted a defining feature of the Dharmaguptaka tradition during this period. Full article

The character “雜” (zá), commonly found in Chinese Buddhist literature, typically conveys the meaning of “mixed” or “varied”. However, in the translations of the renowned Tang dynasty translator Xuanzang, its usage stands out both in frequency and distinctiveness, setting his work apart from that of other translators. Terms traditionally conveyed using “不淨” (bù jìng, “impure”) or “穢” (huì, “filth”) were deliberately transformed by Xuanzang into “雜染” (zá rǎn, “mixed defilement”) and “雜穢” (zá huì, “mixed filth”), with “雜” nearly becoming synonymous with impurity. Examining the original meaning of “雜”, we find that it primarily signifies “to gather” or “miscellaneous”, typically carrying a neutral connotation. However, when used as an adjective describing a state, “雜” transcends its neutral sense of “various” or “diverse” to encompass notions of impurity, disorder, and deviation from normative standards—often with negative implications. Building on this understanding, it becomes clear that the abstract opposition between purity and impurity in the doctrinal meanings of Buddhist scriptures was reinterpreted by Xuanzang as a concrete opposition between “清淨” (qīng jìng, “purity”) and “雜穢” (mixed filth). This reinterpretation allowed “雜” to describe anything defiling the mind or carrying negative overtones—even when the original Sanskrit text did not explicitly indicate such a notion—thereby constituting a strategic substitution in translation. Furthermore, Xuanzang and his contemporaries frequently employed “雜” as a functional component within disyllabic compounds that collectively expressed negative meanings. Some terms containing “雜” thus cannot be understood simply as “mixed” or “varied”; instead, “雜” functions as a negative marker, reinforcing unfavorable connotations. This paper provides a focused case study on the lexical strategies of ancient Buddhist translators, illustrating how particular concepts—including 雜—were leveraged to reshape doctrinal content. In doing so, it highlights the deliberate linguistic and interpretative choices made by translators like Xuanzang, offering insights into their motivations and the cultural–linguistic contexts that framed their work. Full article

This study conducts a comprehensive evaluation of large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT 4, ERNIE Bot 4, and Gemini Advanced, in the context of translating Buddhist texts from classical Chinese to modern English. Focusing on three distinct Buddhist texts encompassing various literary forms and complexities, the analysis examines the models’ capabilities in handling specialized Buddhist terminology, classical Chinese grammar, and the translation of complex, lengthy sentences. The study employs a methodology where selected excerpts from these texts are translated by the LLMs, followed by an in-depth analysis comparing these machine-generated translations to human translations. The evaluation criteria include word translation accuracy, the ability to recognize and correctly interpret specific meanings within both classical and modern contexts, and the completeness of phrases without omitting or unnecessarily adding words. The findings reveal significant variations in the performance of these LLMs, with detailed observations on their strengths and weaknesses in translating specialized terms, managing grammatical structures unique to classical Chinese, and maintaining the integrity of the original texts’ meanings. This paper aims to shed light on the potential and limitations of using LLMs for translating complex literary works from ancient to modern languages, contributing valuable insights into the field of computational linguistics and the ongoing development of translation technologies. Full article

Pratītyasamutpāda, the doctrine of dependent origination, has a long history in Old Uyghur Buddhism. It was first articulated in the Early Old Uyghur Buddhist texts and is evident in the terminology of Maitrisimit and the Daśakarmapathāvadāna-mālā. The dependent origination is systematically illustrated in at least three Pratītyasamutpāda texts, one text with Brāhmī elements, and the other two in Dunhuang and Turfan prints. The latter two are discussed in detail in this paper. The Dunhuang print provides the most comprehensive demonstration of the Old Uyghur understanding of dependent origination. The structure of the text is largely consistent with the corresponding passages in the Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣaśāstra and other Abhidharma texts. The text offers a more comprehensive account than the Chinese text. The Turfan prints, which consist of four fragments, are derived from two distinct prints. Print U 4170 is an Abhidharma text, and it has parallels in the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya. It seems plausible to suggest that the print bearing the abbreviated titles Pratyitasamutpad in Old Uyghur and Buladi 布剌帝 in Chinese may have been translated from a Chinese text sharing the same or a similar Chinese name. However, as with the Dunhuang print, the Turfan prints may have been produced by the Old Uyghurs from some Abhidharma texts. The Dunhuang print and the Tufan prints are unique within the corpus of known Old Uyghur prints. These texts represent the first known printed examples of the Abhidharma tradition. Moreover, the illustration employed in the Dunhuang print is not known in other printed texts discovered in Dunhuang and Turfan, representing the first instance of such an illustration in printed form. Full article

While scholarly works often attribute the pronunciation of “卍” as “wan” to Empress Wu Zetian in 693, associating it with the meaning “auspicious myriad virtues”, a closer examination of the history of “卍” in Chinese Buddhist translations suggests otherwise. The more accurate transliterations and translations of svastika emerged much later than the term “Wanzi” and had very limited influence. The connection between “卍” and “Wanzi” more likely appeared during the early transmission of Buddhism to China, when people used the accepted cursive form of “萬” to approximate the shape of the svastika symbol. However, as this rationale gradually became obsolete over time, the legend that “Empress Wu Zetian decreed that ‘卍’ be pronounced as ‘wan’” arose during the Song dynasty and has persisted to this day. Full article

There are many foreign astronomical materials that were preserved in the Chinese translation of Buddhist canons. From the content, these astronomical materials include cosmology theories, lunar mansion systems, calendrical data, etc. These astronomical materials are important evidence for the exchange and dissemination of astronomy between ancient civilizations. This paper aims to sort out and analyze the astronomical materials preserved in the Chinese translation of Buddhist canons, classifying and differentiating the content of astronomy, which was foreign to China, tracing the origins of these astronomical knowledge, discussing their impact on local astronomy in China, and evaluating the preservation form, characteristics, reliability, functionality, and limitations of these astronomical materials. Through the above discussion, this paper will demonstrate the core meaning of the historical view of transcultural transmission of sciences and technology, which is ‘knowledge progresses through dissemination and civilization thrives through communication’. Full article

The two modern concepts, “Engaged Buddhism” and renjian fojiao 人間佛教, with the variety of its English translations (such as “Humanistic Buddhism”), were developed and discussed with and without reference to each other over several decades. This article raises the question of how “Engaged Buddhism” has been portrayed in the Chinese-speaking world. It therefore reflects on a hybrid conceptual history and distinguishes between “concept-unaffected” and “concept-affected” (“concept-affirming”, “concept-negating”, and “concept-corresponding”) positionings in the Buddhist world, as well as a “concept-distancing” and “concept-processing” scholarship of Buddhist studies. The concept of “Engaged Buddhism” has been rendered with various Chinese terms in mainland China and Taiwan, e.g., “rushi fojiao” 入世佛教 (Buddhism that Enters the World), “canyu fojiao” 參與佛教 (Participatory Buddhism), and “zuoyi fojiao” 左翼佛教 (Left-Wing Buddhism). As can be seen from a rich body of sources, its discussion among Chinese-speaking Buddhists and scholars increased over the past twenty years and has been strongly characterized by comparisons with “renjian fojiao”, which can lead to different currents, such as exclusivism, inclusivism, and pragmatism. Full article

The Shisong lü 十誦律, translated in the early 5th century, remains the only complete version of this Buddhist Vinaya text preserved to date and represents the first Vinaya text translated into Chinese. This Vinaya text introduced standardized terminology that significantly influenced subsequent translations of Vinaya texts and profoundly impacted Chinese Buddhism during the Six Dynasties period. Due to its complex translation history, the text is bifurcated into two lineages: the Northern lineage, featuring an initial 58-scroll version (without a preface), and the Southern lineage, with an expanded 61-scroll version (including a preface). This study examines the two oldest extant manuscripts of the Lüxu 律序 (Preface to the Shisong lü) from the Southern lineage—one from the Dunhuang collection currently preserved in Japan and the other from the Nara Japan. Through intensive comparisons with woodblock editions, these manuscripts from Dunhuang, and ancient Japanese manuscript Buddhist canons, this study not only traces the textual evolution of the Southern lineage of the Shisong lü from the 6th to the 13th centuries but also offers new insights into both the historical development and the relationship between these two lineages of the text. Methodologically, this paper provides inspiration for textual criticism of the Vinaya in particular and Buddhist studies in general. Full article

This paper explores the accumulation of Indian astronomical knowledge within Chinese Buddhist scriptures and its dissemination across Chinese society through a comparative study of the Modengjia jing (Ch1 of the ZKA) and the Xiuyao jing (XYJ). The period from the Ch1 of ZKA to the XYJ was a time when Buddhism was in the midst of developing and maturing within China. The Ch1 of the ZKA is regarded as the first Buddhist scripture including a complete account of Indian nakṣatra astrology and translated from Sanskrit parallel text, rather than a native work codified by Buddhists in Ancient China. The XYJ is not a translation but rather an authoritative handbook of Indian astrological knowledge taught by Amoghavajra. A detailed comparison of the contents of the two texts shows that the knowledge contained within Ch1 of the ZKA belongs to the Vedic era and that the XYJ belongs to the post-Vedic era. Beginning with the Ch1 of the ZKA and ending with the XYJ, Buddhist astronomical knowledge steadily grew. Yang Jingfeng’s revision and explanation of the first fascicle of the Sutra reflects Ancient Chinese intellectuals’ acceptance, digestion, and recreation of Buddhist astronomical knowledge. His abandonment of the “Calculation of weekdays” reflects the influence of the Chinese mathematical and astronomical tradition and the calendar tradition upon his perspective; perhaps this is one of the reasons why China has accepted the weekday within daily life up to the modern era. Every civilization, in learning to assimilate other cultures, has a choice between foreignization and domestication, within which a tension is reflected. Learning from foreign cultures is about keeping up with the most advanced civilizations in the world and advancing with the times, while maintaining one’s own cultural identity and cultural characteristics is necessary for one’s own civilization; these two notions are complementary and should not be neglected. Full article

The Sutra of the Buddha’s Mother (Fomu jing 佛母經), a Chinese Buddhist scripture, is closely linked to the Mahāmāyā Sutra (Mohe Moye jing 摩訶摩耶經). However, there is a significant difference between the two sutras regarding the narrative story of the Buddha’s nirvana and meeting with his mother, namely the difference in the disciple who travels to Trāyastriṃśa Heaven to inform the Buddha’s mother. The substitution of Aniruddha with Upāli could be attributed to Upāli’s inclusion in Tang dynasty commentaries on “Ānanda Asking the Buddha Four Questions,” where he is depicted as a prominent disciple in the gathering prior to the Buddha’s nirvana. This narrative preference was also reflected in the Mohe Moye jing. To a certain extent, this confusion reflects the process of ‘between translation and composition,’ or the compiling and mixing of various texts from different sutras and sources to create a new scripture in the Chinese context. In the nirvana images, which contain the inscriptions, the presence of Upāli becomes an important symbol for identifying the classical texts on which the frescoes were painted. Full article

The story of Futijinhu 浮提金壺 (“Golden Pot of Futi”) in Shiyiji 拾遺記 (Record of Gleanings), whose authorship is traditionally attributed to Wang Jia (王嘉) from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, appears to be a Daoist rendition at first glance, reimagining the legend of Laozi’s Daodejing. However, upon closer examination of the depiction of “Golden Pot of Futi”, the characters with “Shentong Shanshu” (神通善書, supranormal cognition and exceptional writing ability) and the narrative of writing and its outcomes, it becomes evident that this tale harbors a multifaceted Buddhist essence. In the tale, one can observe the changes and diversity in the early methods of translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, the references and adaptations of Buddhist imagery and narratives by Daoists, the understanding and imagination of materials used for writing Buddhist scriptures and early iconographic forms, and even the author’s insights and responses to the evolving religious landscape of their era. When placed in a broader historical context, exploring the Buddhist elements in this tale further aids in understanding the dynamic interactions between Buddhism and Daoism during the Wei and Jin periods. Full article

Commentarial literature constitutes a cornerstone in the edifice of Chinese Buddhism, providing critical exegesis of Indian Buddhist texts. This paper examines the pivotal role of Chengguan (738–839), the fourth patriarch of the Huayan school, revered for his extensive commentarial work on the Chinese translations of the Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra. Chengguan not only composed a written commentary but also engaged in discourses with the monastic and lay communities at Wutaishan, prompting the creation of a sub-commentary derived from these oral elucidations. The study posits that the composition of Chengguan’s audiences, comprising Confucian-educated scholars and Buddhist monks, necessitated a pedagogical strategy that integrated Chinese intellectual traditions into the Buddhist narrative to enhance comprehension. This analysis focuses on Chengguan’s citations of the Analects, showcasing how he interweaves Confucian maxims into the fabric of his commentary to illuminate Buddhist doctrines. The research articulates the method he employed to make the Buddhist texts resonate with a Chinese audience. Full article