Xuánzōng cháo fānjīng sānzàng Shàn Wúwèi zèng hónglúqīng xíngzhuàng 玄宗朝翻經三藏善無畏贈鴻臚卿行狀
Conduct-Record of the Tripiṭaka-Master and Translator under Xuánzōng’s Reign, Śubhakarasiṃha, Posthumously Granted the Title Hónglú-qīng
composed by 李華 (Lǐ Huá, ca. 715–774, 撰), Táng literatus
About the work
A short xíngzhuàng (formal funerary “conduct record”) of 善無畏 (Śubhakarasiṃha, 637–735) — the great Indian esoteric Buddhist master who arrived in Cháng’ān in 716 and inaugurated, with his disciple 一行 (Yīxíng) and his colleague 金剛智 (Vajrabodhi) and his disciple 不空 (Amoghavajra), the Táng-period Mìjiào 密教 (Esoteric Buddhism) tradition. The xíngzhuàng was composed by the eminent Táng literatus 李華 shortly after Śubhakarasiṃha’s death and is one of the principal Chinese sources for his life. Preserved in the Taishō (T50 no. 2055).
Abstract
善無畏 (Skt. Śubhakarasiṃha, “Auspicious Lion”) was an Indian master of the Vairocana-tantra tradition who arrived in Cháng’ān in 716 (Kāiyuán 4) at the invitation of Xuánzōng 玄宗. He took up residence at the Xīmíng-sì 西明寺 and Dà Fúxiān-sì 大福先寺 and translated the Mahāvairocana-sūtra (T848, Dà Pílúzhēnà chéng-Fó shénbiàn jiāchí jīng 大毘盧遮那成佛神變加持經) and other esoteric scriptures, in collaboration with the Chinese astronomer-monk 一行 (Yīxíng, 683–727) and others. He is the founding figure of the Vairocana / Mahāvairocana-sūtra tradition in East Asia. He died in Cháng’ān in 735 and was posthumously granted the title 鴻臚卿 (Hónglú-qīng, “Director of the Court of State Ceremonial”).
李華’s xíngzhuàng gives the biographical narrative as the Chinese saw it: Indian royal birth (in Magadha, in the lineage of King Aśoka), early career as a doctrinal master, ordination, journey to Central Asia, arrival at the Táng court, translation activity, and death. The composition window is fixed by Śubhakarasiṃha’s death (735) and the productive years of 李華 (post-735); a date bracket of 735–750 is the standard scholarly consensus, with most scholars placing the work in the late 730s.
Translations and research
- Charles D. Orzech (ed.), Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia (Leiden: Brill, 2011) — extensive treatment of 善無畏 and his circle, drawing on KR6r0045.
- Henrik H. Sørensen, Esoteric Buddhism in East Asia — major surveys of the Táng esoteric establishment.
- Yi-liang Zhou, “Tantrism in China,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 8 (1945): 241–332 — the foundational Western survey.
- Charles Orzech, Politics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scripture for Humane Kings in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism (University Park: Penn State Press, 1998) — for the political and esoteric context.
Links
- CBETA: T50n2055
- Wikipedia: Śubhakarasiṃha