(1.1.1)--01-1BuddhistLectionTranslationMa.pdf

《(1.1.1)--01-1BuddhistLectionTranslationMa.pdf》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《(1.1.1)--01-1BuddhistLectionTranslationMa.pdf（4页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、Chapter1:ChangChapter1:Changanan andand ChineseChinese BuddhistBuddhist MonkMonkSection1:Section1:KumarajivaKumarajivaTheThe GreatGreat MasterMaster ofof ScripturesScriptures TranslationTranslationChangan was once a galaxy of Eminent Buddhist monks in China.A large number ofnoble and virtuous monks

2、gathered here in history,to translate Scriptures,promotedoctrines,and develop sects.Among these eminent monks,there was one extraordinarytalent,whose life was brimming with mystery.To win him over,the Han emperors haveincited two wars.It is Master Kumarajiva,that we are talking about.Kumarajiva(344-

3、413)was a distinguished translator of Scriptures living in the Later QinDynasty,one of the four Buddhist Scriptures translators in ancient China.He was also theprimary ancestor of East Asian Mdhyamaka.BirthBirth andand breakbreak thethe preceptspreceptsKumarajivas father,Kumryana,was born intoa prom

4、inent Indian family.Being theson of the Chancellor,he was not interested in pursuing an official career.Devoting himselfto the Buddhism,Kumryana traveled everywhere,and eventually arrived at Kucha(inpresent-day Kuqu county).As the pivot of the Silk Road at the south slope of MountTianshan,Kucha was

5、then a hub for oriental and occidental cultures.Hinayana was in adominant status during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Out of his admiration to Kumryanasintelligence,The King of Kucha offered him the post of Imperial Preceptor,and betrothed hissister,Jvaka,to him.During her gestation,J J v va ak ka a s s p

6、 po ow we er r o of f u un nd de er rs st ta an nd di in ng g g go ot t e en nh ha an nc ce ed d(Memoirs of EminentMonks,Volume 2)by innumerable fold.Via frequent contact with the dharma and doctrines,Jvaka became more and more eloquent.Her growing interests toward Buddhism,led to herdecision to bec

7、ome a Buddhist nun.In his Memoirs of Eminent Monks(Volume 2),Hui Jiao recorded that,K Ku um ma ar ra aj ji iv va a p pa ab bb ba aj jj ja a w wi it th h h hi is s m mo ot th he er r a at t a ag ge e s se ev ve en n,C Ch ha an nt ti in ng g t th ho ou us sa an nd ds s o of f G G t th h e ev ve er ry

8、yd da ay yb by yf fo ol ll lo ow wi in ng gt th he eMMa as st te er rs s.The seven-year old Kumarajiva became a Buddhist monk,together with his mother.Hehad such a good memory that,he can chant thousands of Buddhist verses everyday withextreme fluency.Kumarajiva began his journal with Hinayana,and t

9、hen turn to Mahayana.His prestigespread far and wide in the Western Regions,after he began to teach Hinayana.The King ofKucha invited him to expound the texts of Buddhism,by preparing him a resplendent andmagnificent Throne of Lion.Kumarajiva was already a prestigious Great Dharma Masterin the Weste

10、rn Regions by the age of twenty.According to historical materials,the kings of the Western Regions worshiped him asgod.N Na at ti io on ns s o of f WWe es st te er rn n R Re eg gi io on ns s a al ll l s su ub bm mi it t t to o K Ku um ma ar ra aj ji iv va a,K Ki in ng gs s p pr ro os st tr ra at te

11、e o on n t th he e g gr ro ou un nd dw wh hi il le e h he e t te ea ac ch he es s.K Ku um ma ar ra aj ji iv va a m ma ar rc ch he es s b by y t tr ra am mp pl li in ng g t th he e b ba ac ck ks s o of f t th he e k ki in ng gs s u un nd de er rf fo oo ot t.T Th hi is sp pr ro ov ve es sh ho ow wi im

12、 mp po or rt ta an nt th he ei is s.(MMe em mo oi ir rs so of fE Em mi in ne en nt tMMo on nk ks s,V Vo ol lu um me e2 2)That is,whenever Kumarajiva teaches,the kings of the Western Regions knee besideshim with respect.This allows Kumarajiva to make his way to the bema and teach bystepping on the ba

13、cks of the kings.Kumarajivas achievement attracted extensive attention,and his reputationquicklyspread to central mainland.Having heard so much about him,Fu Jian,Emperor of(Former)Qin,dispatched an expedition of 70,000 soldiers in 383 A.D.,at L Guangs command toKucha and destroyed it in the followin

14、g year.L Guang,who was not a believer of Buddha,got quite amazed when he first sawKumarajiva for his young age.He then came up with a misadvise of forcing Kumarajiva tomarry the princess of Kucha,which,of course,was refused by Kumarajiva.Kumarajiva thenwas locked in a penetralium,together with the p

15、rincess,after he was inebriated by L Guang.Thus,the young Master broke the religious precept.ArrivingArriving inin ChangChanganan andand ScripturesScriptures translationtranslation inin thethe forumforumFu Jian started the Battle of Fei River in 384 A.D.,and got completely annihilated.FuJian was kil

16、led in the next year by Yao Chang,Fu Jian was killed in the next year by YaoChang,who established the Later Qin Dynasty.Seeing the change of situation,L Guang setup a separatist regime at Liang Zhou,and claimed throne.In the March of 401 A.D.,or the third year of Shi Hong of Later Qin,Two trees brok

17、ethrough the soil and thrived with intertwined trunks in the Xiaoyao Garden of Changan.This is regarded as a propitious sign:a person of virtue is coming from afar.Yao Xing,the Emperor of the time,has long known the stories of Kumarajiva.He has also negotiatedwith L Guang and his son for multiple ti

18、mes about permitting Kumarajivas travel to theLater Qin.L Guang and his son,however,kept procrastinating.Yao Xing finally made uphis mind to lay attack on the Later Liang.The troop of Yao Xings achieved their victory onthe December of the same year.Kumarajiva was then escorted to Changantwentyyears

19、after L Guangs expedition to Kucha.The Emperor of the Later Qin offered substantial support to Kumarajivas Scripturestranslation after his arrival.The Xiaoyao Garden at the south bank of Wei River wasbestowed to Kumarajiva,upon which a grand translation forum was built for him to translatethe Script

20、ures.When he was translating the Scriptures,Kumarajiva had the Sanskrit version inhand,and was surrounded by many assistants.Even the Emperor himself came to the forumto show his support.Thus,volumes of popular Scriptures were translated in Xiaoyao Garden.It is recordedthat Kumarajiva has translated

21、 35 Scriptures,with altogether 294 volumes,including LotusSutra,Diamond Sutra,Vimalakirti Sutra,Shorter Sukhvatvyha Stra,as well asMlamadhyamakakrik,atastra,and Dvdaanikya stra,etc.Kumarajivas translationhas covered an unparalleled range.The translation of Scriptures in China had witnessed a 400-yea

22、r history before him.However,most of the translated volumes were opaque and ambiguous.Seventeen yearsliving in Liang Zhou has improved Kumarajivas Chinese.This and the effort in makingperfection more perfect made Kumarajiva and his disciples translation faithful,expressiveand elegant,and achieved an

23、 unprecedented level.A number of his translationshave been recognized by the Buddhist and the scholars.LotusLotus inin thethe siltsiltCaotang Temple has witnessed Kumarajivas success in translation,as well as the greatwaves in his life.Once again,he broke the precept of Abstention from sexual miscon

24、duct.The Emperor of the Later Qin admired Kumarajivaswisdom so much that hewondered how can such an intelligent Master end up with no offsprings,given that he wasunparalleled in the world.As is recorded:E Em mp pe er ro or r Y Ya ao o s sa ay ys s t to o K Ku um ma ar ra aj ji iv va a,T Th he e w wi

25、 it t o of f y yo ou ur rs s i is s m ma at tc ch hl le es ss s.H Ho ow w c co ou ul ld d y yo ou u b be ea ar rt th ha at t n no o o on ne e i in nh he er ri it t y yo ou ur r l le eg ga ac cy y a af ft te er r y yo ou ur r P Pa ar ri in ni ir rv va an na a？T Th he en n,t th he e E Em mp pe er ro o

26、r r s se en nt t t te en np pr ro os st ti it tu ut te es st to of fo or rc ce et th he em mu up po on nK Ku um ma ar ra aj ji iv va a.S Si in nc ce e t th he en n,K Ku um ma ar ra aj ji iv va am mo ov ve ed do ou ut to of ft th he e m mo on nk ks s a ap pa ar rt tm me en nt t,a an nd dw wa as sw we

27、 el ll l-p pr ro ov vi id de ed d.(MMe em mo oi ir rs so of fE Em mi in ne en nt tMMo on nk ks s,V Vo ol lu um me e2 2)The Emperor bestowed Kumarajiva ten prostitutes and forced him to accept for thereason of preserving excellent gene and breeding qualified successors.Kumarajiva had nochoice but to

28、accept it and move out of the temple.He lived in the house outside the templebuilt by Yao Xing,and only returned the temple for Scriptures translation.Some monks itched for following this example of their Masters,and pursued pleasuresin the depth of night.Kumarajiva was laden with anxiety,and decide

29、d to renovate it in hisown way.One day,he called everyone together,and set out an alms bowl filled with needles.He then talked to his disciples,You may as well take a wife,if you can swallow all theseneedles the same as I do.He then ate all the needles spoon by spoon,just like a commonmeal of his.Ho

30、w could these disciples do anything like this?Thus,everyone cannot but tobe convinced,and perished the inappropriate thoughts.Be that as it may,he always starts his teaching of Scriptures by self-accusation.Headmonishes his disciples that they should abide by the Scriptures he translated,instead ofh

31、is breaking of the precepts.He says,L Lo ot tu us s g gl lo ow ws s b be en ne ea at th h t th he e m mu ud d,t ta ak ke e t th he e l lo ot tu us s a an nd d d di is sc ca ar rd d t th he e m mu ud d.(MMe em mo oi ir rs s o of fE Em mi in ne en nt tMMo on nk ks s,V Vo ol lu um me e2 2)The mud is a

32、metaphor of his precept-breaking life,while the unblemished lotus is thenature of Kumarajivas mind and the expressive and elegant Scriptures he translated.This isthe deepest reflection from Master Kumarajiva on his life and his breaking the precept.Master Kumarajiva passed into Parinirvana when he w

33、as seventy.Before that,he tookan oath thatI I h ho op pe e a al ll l m my y t tr ra an ns sl la at ti io on ns s c ca an n c co om me e d do ow wn n t to o t th he e a af ft te er rt ti im me e.WWi it th h a al ll l t th he e w wi it tn ne es ss se es s,I It ta ak ke e t th hi is s s so ol le em mn

34、n o oa at th h:MMy y t to on ng gu ue e w wi il ll l n no ot t s sc co or rc ch h a af ft te er r m my y c cr re em ma at ti io on n i if f m my y d de el li iv ve er ry y h ha as s b be ee en ni in nf fa al ll li ib bl le e.(MMe em mo oi ir rs so of fE Em mi in ne en nt tMMo on nk ks s,V Vo ol lu u

35、m me e2 2)What this oath means is that my tongue will be left intact as my Buddhist relics after mydeath and the cremation of my body,if what I,Kumarajiva,have translated are actually thewill of Buddha.The cremation ceremony was held in Xiaoyao Garden by the Emperor after Kumarajivapassed into Parin

36、irvana.All the human body of the Masters were incinerate but his tongue,just as expected.The crystal Buddhist relics of tongue left by the Master now is reposited ina pagoda in Caotang Temple.Master Kumarajiva was a world-famous ideologist,Buddhist scholar,and translator.Hiscontribution to Chinese b

37、uddhism is unprecedented.If Nagarjuna can be regarded as pathfinder to Mahayana,then Kumarajivas translationof Scriptures has strongly promoted the Prajnaparamita sutras,which makes Kumarajiva thefounder of Mahayana.Kumarajivas translations influenced Chinese buddhism profoundly,and will be handeddown to a hundred future generations.Up to this day,these classics are still the modelsrecognized by the Buddhist and the scholars,and glow with dazzling brilliance under thefirmament of Chinese Buddhist thought.