Buddhabhadra 佛陀跋陀羅 (also 佛陀跋陀, Chinese rendering 覺賢 Juéxián “Realised Worthy”, 359–429) was a Kapilavastu-born Sarvāstivāda meditation-master and translator who became one of the most influential foreign monks of the Eastern Jìn 東晉 / LiúSòng 劉宋 transition. The principal biography is in Huìjiǎo’s Gāosēng zhuàn 高僧傳 (T50n2059, j. 2). Buddhabhadra was a relative of Buddha-Śākyamuni’s gotra (Śākya descent), studied meditation in Kashmir under Buddhasena, and was invited to China by Zhì Yán 智嚴 in 408. After a falling-out with Kumārajīva’s circle at Chángān (he was expelled by Kumārajīva’s disciples in 410), he retired to Lúshān 廬山 to join Huìyuǎn 慧遠 (慧遠), then moved to Jiànkāng 建康 in 413, where he became the principal translator at the Dàochǎngsì 道場寺.
His most important translations are: (i) the 60-fascicle Huāyán jīng Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra (T9n278, 418–420) — the foundational Chinese Huayan scripture, completed at Yángzhōu Dàochǎng-sì from the Sanskrit manuscript brought back by Faxian (法顯) from Khotan; (ii) the 40-fascicle Móhē-sēngqí lǜ Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (KR6k0006, T22n1425) jointly with Faxian (416–418); (iii) the Dámó-duōluó chán-jīng 達摩多羅禪經 (T15n0618), the principal Sarvāstivāda meditation-manual transmitted to China; (iv) numerous shorter dhyāna and Mahāyāna texts. His meditation lineage was foundational for early Chinese Chán and for the Lúshān school of Huìyuǎn.