Kumarajiva 鸠摩罗什

KUMARAJIVA 鸠摩罗什

Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra, the Diamond Sutra

Kumarajiva

Kumarajiva had four principal disciples:

道生 Daosheng

僧肇 Sengzhao

道融 Daorong

       Sengrui del 僧叡 Zenithic 

In summary, around 6,000-7,000 fascicles of the sutras were transmitted to China and translated in Chinese between the 2nd century and 13th century. There were almost 200 prominent translators during those years. Amongst them, Kumarajiva was the most prominent in the the 5th century.

Before Kumarajiva, there had been several hundred sutras translated into Chinese. However, the profound doctrine of Buddhism was not yet transmitted, as the Chinese translators did not fully transmit some of the deeper meanings.

鸠摩罗什  Kumarajiva (344-413 A.D.)

Kumarajiva agreed with Dao an that the "best fit" method of translation, in which unfamiliar Sanskrit Buddhist concepts were replaced by well-known Chinese Taoist words, was inadequate.

His belief that a translation should accurately convey the tone and texture of a teaching inseparably from its content forced him  him to adopt a new approach and methodology for translation.

He chose to emphasize the central theme of a text or treatise and to edit passages which would seem unnecessarily repetitive to Chinese readers.

We are forced then to rely upon his judgement, which itself may well have been inadequate, as he was not a meditator.

Once he had arranged the working force at his disposal to his satisfaction, he would read a text aloud, sentence by sentence, before a large congregation.

Kumarajiva explained after each sentence its meaning as he perceived t and the offered an oral translation in Chinese.

The congregation would comment on the results and suggest improvements. Meanwhile, a recorder would write down the approved translation, and later an editor would review the whole text for style and internal consistency. Finally, a calligrapher would correct the Chinese characters to be sure there were no ambiguities in transmission of the texts.

Major Scriptures translated by Kumarajiva

Between 401-413 he translated 74 scriptures in 384 fascicles

           PRAJNAPARAMITA PERFECTION OF WISDOM SUTRAS

        Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutrae. the Diamond Sutra 1 fascicle in 402-412 .

 Mahaprajnaparamita Upadesha, 100 fascicles in 402-405  27 fascicles in 404

Panchavimshati Sahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra in Twenty-five Thousand Lines

Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra 10 fascicles in 408

  Karunikaraja Prajnaparamita Sutra 2 fascicles

                         THE VIMALAKIRTI AND THE BRAHMANET

 Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra, Vimalakirti Sutra 3 fascicles in 406 A.D.

          Brahmajala Satyasiddh Shastra: Treatise on the Completion of Truth 20 fascicles in 402-412 .

    Saddharmapundarika Sutra i.e. the Lotus Sutra 8 fascicles

         Smaller Sukhavati-vyuha, i.e. the Amitabha Sutra 1 fascicle in 402

     Madhyamaka-shastra, i.e. the Treatise on the Middle 4 fascicles in 409

 Shatika-shastra, i.e. the Treatise in One Hundred Verses 2 fascicles in 404

Dvadashamukha Shastra the Treatise on the Twelve Gates 1 fascicle in 409

Sarvastivadin Vinaya the Ten-Category Vinaya 1 fascicle in 404-409

 Maitreyavyakarana Sutra 1 fascicle

 Shurangama-samadhi Sutra 2 fascicles

 Dasabhumikavibhasa 17 fascicles