Buddhabhadra

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Buddhabhadra(359 - 429) 

Important early translator of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese, also known by the Chinese translation of his name, Juexian, or "Enlightened Sage" . . . According to the "Biographies of Eminent Monks" (Gaoseng Zhuan), Buddhabhadra was born in north India and joined the saṃgha after losing both his parents at an early age. Buddhabhadra studied various scriptures and was adept in both meditation and observing the precepts; he was also renowned for his thaumaturgic talents. At the behest of a Chinese monk named Zhiyan, Buddhabhadra traveled to China along the southern maritime route. Upon learning of the eminent Kuchean monk Kumārajīva's arrival in Chang'an, Buddhabhadra went to the capital in 406 to meet him. Due to a difference of opinion with Kumārajīva, however, Buddhabhadra left for Lushan, where he was welcomed by Lushan Huiyuan and installed as the meditation instructor in Huiyuan's community; Buddhabhadra came to be known as one of the eighteen worthies of Lushan. He devoted the rest of his career to translating such scriptures as the Damoduoluo Chan Jing, Guanfo sanmei hai jing, and Avataṃsakasūtra, to name just a few. Buddhabhadra also translated the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya with the assistance of Faxian and contributed significantly to the growth of Buddhist monasticism in China. (Source: "Buddhabhadra." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 150. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

3 Library Items

Text
Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra
One of the longest works in the entire Buddhist canon, the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra is widely considered to be a compilation of independent scriptures, which was expanded upon over the course of time. It was extremely influential in East Asia, where it was preserved in an eighty-scroll recension. The Tibetan translation of this work fills four volumes in the Derge Kangyur. Though only two sections—namely, the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra and the Daśabhūmikasūtra—have survived in Sanskrit, both of which have also circulated as independent works.
Text
Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
There are three different texts associated with this title in the Chinese and Tibetan canons. Two of which are related to the first Chinese translation of the long version of the sūtra, one being a revision and the other being a Tibetan translation from the Chinese. The other two might be more accurately described as a thematic series of scriptures, as they represent unique versions of the sūtra with similar titles and overlapping content. These various Mahāyāna versions of this sūtra became the main scriptural source for buddha-nature in China. While they generally equate buddha-nature with the dharmakāya—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha—they also assert that all sentient beings possess this nature as the buddhadhātu, or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. In other words, sentient beings posses buddha-nature, but they have yet to achieve buddhahood due to the obscuration of that nature. Furthermore, these texts include some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the dharmakāya is endowed with the four pāramitās of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self.
Text
Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (TGS) is a relatively short text that represents the starting point of a number of works in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism centering around the idea that all living beings have the buddha-nature. The genesis of the term tathāgatagarbha (in Tibetan de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, in Chinese rulai zang 如來藏, the key term of this strand of Buddhism and the title of the sūtra), can be observed in the textual history of the TGS. (Zimmermann, A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, p. 7)


Mentioned in

Article
A History of Buddha-Nature Theory: The Literature and Traditions
A lengthy historical survey of buddha-nature theory through the literature and traditions, based on academic scholarship.
Gardner, Alex. "A History of Buddha-Nature Theory: The Literature and Traditions." Buddha-Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, October 9, 2019. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/A_History_of_Buddha-Nature_Theory:_The_Literature_and_Traditions.


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