re. Kumarajiva

[Ven. Tantra]

Thanks Girish and those off-list. See improvements,
below.

More please - more.

VT

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

*Kumarajiva* (CE 344�413). Great Central Asian-Indian
Buddhist scholar and missionary born in the Central
Asian kingdom of Kucha, present day Xinjiang, China.
His father was Kumarayana, the son of a former
minister of an Indian kingdom who had renounced the
right to his father�s position in order to become a
monk. His mother was Jivaka, a Kuchean princess. When
Kumarajiva was seven, his mother renounced the world.
He followed her into the monastic life and they
traveled throughout India and several other countries
studying and living in Buddhist centers. Kumarajiva
mastered several foreign languages and returned home
to propagate Mahayana Buddhism. His fame spread far
along the Silk Road to China. Keen to acquire such a
brilliant talent, in 383 the ruler of the Former Ch�in
dynasty ordered his army to invade Kucha and bring
Kumarajiva to China. On the way back to China with the
human treasure, the general learned that the dynasty
had fallen. He thus he made Liang-chou a seat of
independent rule and for eighteen years Kumarajiva was
held as a captive scholar. In 401, Kumarajiva finally
arrive at the Chinese capital of Ch�ang-an (modern
Xi�an), at the invitation the ruler. He was given the
position of Teacher of the Nation and immersed himself
in teaching and translating Buddhist scriptures into
Chinese. With 500 scholar monks assisting him, he is
said to have translated more than 100 Buddhist works.
Twenty-four are authenticated. These include some of
the most important titles in the Chinese Buddhist
canon.



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