The Holy land of the Shaolin

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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The Arhats (chin.: luóhàn 羅漢) are the enlightened beings of Buddhism (chin.: Fójiào 佛教), who were disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni (chin.: Shìjiāmóuní 釋迦牟尼) and attained freedom from the cycles of suffering and rebirth. Arhat is translated into Chinese as Luohan. Luohans are those who become enlightened (chin.: zhèngguǒ 證果) by means of the Four Noble Truths (chin.: Sìshèngdì 四聖諦) of suffering, suffering’s origin, suffering’s extinction, and the path leading to suffering extinction. Their enlightenment is not ultimate, because they only enlighten themselves, and do not yet know how to enlighten other beings like the Bodhisattvas (chin.: púsà 菩薩) do. 

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Mahayana literally Great Vehicle; is one of the major branches of Buddhism. Scholars believe that Mahayana (chin.: dachengfojiao大乘佛教) as a distinct movement began around the 1st century BCE, in the North-western Indian subcontinent, estimating a formative period of about three centuries before it was transmitted in a highly evolved form to China in the 2nd century CE.

The first known Mahayana texts (chin.: fojing 佛经) are translations (chin.: yichu 译出) made into Chinese by the Kushan (chin.: Guishuang 貴霜) monk Lokaksema (chin.: Zhi Lou Jia Chen 支娄迦谶) in the Chinese capital of Luoyang (洛阳 - A city in east central China; the capital of ancient China during several dynasties) between 178 and 189 CE.

The Pratyutpanna Sutra contains the first known mentions of the Buddha Amitabha and his Pure Land, said to be at the origin of Pure Land practice in China:

Bodhisattvas (chin.: pusa 菩萨) hear about the Buddha Amitabha and call him to mind (chin.: ji 记) again and again(chin.: zai 再) in this land. Because of this calling to mind, they see the Buddha Amitabha. Having seen him they ask him what dharmas (chin.: fa 法) it takes to be born in the realm of the Buddha Amitabha. Then the Buddha Amitabha says to these bodhisattvas: If you wish to come and be born in my realm, you must always call me to mind again and again, you must always keep this thought in mind without letting up, and thus you will succeed in coming to be born in my realm.

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Dao Xuan (596-667) was the founder of the Nanshan branch of the Precepts (Lu) school in China. In 611 he were ordained as a Buddhist Monk and studied the vinaya, or commonly known, rules of the monastic discipline, under Zhijun. In 624 he went to a mountain called Zhongnanshan (终南山) to study and practice and eventually founded his own Buddhist school based on the precepts of The Fourfold Rules of Discipline (chin.: sifen lu shanfan buque xingshi chao 四分律刪繁补阙行事钞).

The Nanshan (南山) school was the only branch of the Precepts school (chin.: Luzong 律宗) to survive, and later it became synonymous with the Precepts school. From 645 Dao Xuan assisted Xuanzang with his translation work. He also authored several books on precepts, as well as a number of historical works. His works it is considered invaluable in the study of Chinese Buddhism.

The Essentials of “The Fourfold Rules of Discipline,” which is the principal text of the Nanshan school, and The Further Anthology of the Propagation of Light, a thirty-volume anthology of essays on Buddhism by various Chinese Buddhists are unique books in the world.

Dao Xuan’s Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks carries on from The Biographies of Eminent Monks and contains the biographies of five hundred Monks historically active from 502 to 645. 

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