The biography of The Dharma Master, Bodhidharma (chin.: Pútídámó 菩提達摩) and explication of his “Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices – (chin.: èrrùsìxíng lùn 二入四行论)” of principle and practice were compiled by Ven. Master Tanlin (chin.: Tánlín 曇林, 506–574) in the first half of the 6th century in Eternal Peace Temple (chin.: Yǒngníngsì 永寧寺) in Luoyang.
Venerable Master Tanlin, or Armless Lin (chin.: wúbìlín 无臂林) as he is known of the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (chin.: Xù gāosēng zhuàn 續高僧傳), not only was a member of the Bodhidharma circle, but also had an illustrious reputation as one deeply involved in the translation of Indian Buddhist books into Chinese. Tanlin has been considered a disciple (chin.: túdi 徒弟) of Bodhidharma, but he was also a student of Master Hui Ke (chin.: Huìkě 慧可). He knew Sanskrit to some degree, perhaps quite well. Though we possess no biography for this scholar monk, translation records and prefaces, a genre that provides us with a wealth of detail concerning the history of Buddhist translation in China, tell us that he took part in many translation projects at the great monasteries of the Eastern Wei (chin.: Dōngwèi 東魏, 534-550) capital Ye (chin.: Yè 鄴)—an ancient Chinese city located in what is now Linzhang (chin.: Línzhāng 臨漳) County, Hebei and the neighbouring Anyang (chin.: Ānyáng 安陽) County, Henan—during the late 530’s and early 540’s.
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