Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume One A -L Robert E. Buswell

K UMA RAJI VA
See also: Exoteric-Esoteric (Kenmitsu) Buddhism in
Japan; Shingon Buddhism, Japan
Bibliography
Abé, Ryuichi. “Saicho and Kukai: Conflict of Interpretations.”
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 22 (1995): 1–2.
Abé, Ryuichi. The Weaving of Mantra. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1999.
Groner, Paul. Saicho : The Establishment of Japanese Tendai
School. Berkeley: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies,
University of California at Berkeley, 1984.
Hakeda, Yoshito. Ku kai: Major Works. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1976.
KUMA RAJIVA
RYU ICHI ABÉ
Kumarajva (350–409 or 413), the most important
translator in East Asian Buddhist history, was born to
a noble family in Kucha, a center of largely MAIN-
STREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS on the northern branch
of the SILK ROAD. His native language, now known as
Tokharian B, belonged to the Indo-European family.
Under the guidance of his mother, Kumarajva became
a monk while still a boy, then traveled with her
to Kashmir to study Buddhist philosophy of the Sarvastivada
school. While continuing his studies in
Kashgar (roughly between Kucha and Kashmir),
Kumarajva was converted to the MAHAYANA by a
monk who was a former prince of Yarkand, in the
Khotan area, along the southern SILK ROAD. Eventually,
Kumarajva converted his earlier Indian teacher
to the Mahayana.
In 383 a Chinese army occupied Kucha and took
Kumarajva away as a captive. He was held for some
two decades in Liangzhou near DUNHUANG in the
Gansu corridor, where he presumably learned to speak
and read Chinese. When the Later Qin regime conquered
Liangzhou in 401, Kumarajva was taken to the
Chinese capital of Chang’an, where he was immediately
put at the head of a large translation staff.
Although a brilliant scholar, Kumarajva was painfully
aware of his own failings as a monk. While in
Chang’an he was forced by the ruler to sire numerous
children, in the hopes of producing offspring as gifted
as their father. Nothing is known of them.
There are four aspects to Kumarajva’s greatness.
First and most important is the volume, variety, and
richness of his translations. Kumarajva and his staff
translated seventy-four works in 384 fascicles, including
the Amitabha-su tra (402), about the Pure
Land paradise in the west; a new and more readable
Pañcavim śatisahasrikaprajñaparamita-su tra (Perfection
of Wisdom in 25,000 Lines, 404), a basic prajñaparamita
text; the Dazhidu lun (Great Perfection of Wisdom
Treatise, 405), a massive commentary attributed to
Madhyamaka philosopher NAGARJUNA (ca. second
century C.E.), but edited and probably compiled by
Kumarajva; the LOTUS SUTRA (SADDHARMAPUN DARIKA-
SU TRA, 406), the single most important Mahayana
scripture in all of East Asian Buddhism; the
Vimalaklrtinirdeśa-su tra (406), a very readable
scripture about a wise lay bodhisattva; and the
Zhonglun (Treatise on the Middle, 409?), Nagarjuna’s
Madhyamakakarika (Verses on Madhyamaka) and
commentary. The translations produced by
Kumarajva’s team borrowed significantly from predecessors
such as Zhi Qian (fl. mid-third century) and
are known for their fluent and readable style. In cases
where multiple Chinese translations exist, it is always
Kumarajva’s version that is used.
The second aspect of Kumarajva’s greatness is that
individual translations or groups of texts became the
bases for distinctive exegetical traditions, especially the
Tattvasiddhi-śastra (Chinese, Chengshi lun; Completion
of Truth) and the “Three Treatises” or Sanlun of the
MADHYAMAKA SCHOOL. Third, Kumarajva’s texts
contained much more than doctrine; they also included
various types of songs and poetry, legends and
stories, literary styles and motifs, and a vast repertoire
of religious images. Fourth, and certainly not
least, is that Kumarajva taught a group of gifted
students who wrote texts that formed the foundation
of East Asian Buddhism, including SENGZHAO
(374–414), DAOSHENG (ca. 355–434), Sengrui (also
Huirui; 352–436), and others.
See also: Paramartha; Śiksananda
Bibliography
Ch’en, Kenneth Kuan Sheng. Buddhism in China: A Historical
Survey. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1964.
Liu Mau-Tsai. Kutscha und seine Beziehungen zu China vom 2.
Jh. v. bis zum 6. Jh. n. Chr., 2 vols. Wiesbaden, Germany:
Harrassowitz, 1969.
Robinson, Richard H. Early Madhyamika in India and China.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967.
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