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Introduction
NEPAL AND CHINA have a long history of
cultural and political relations. Historically, political
relations between the two countries go back to the seventh
century CE. During this period, official contacts between
the Nepalese Court and the T’ang dynasty were maintained
through the exchange of political missions. However,
official contacts between the two countries began in the
fifth century CE through cultural delegations. Buddhism
seems to have been the most important factor in the
relationship between these two countries in ancient times.
It is probable that the Chinese were anxious to explore the
birthplace of the Buddha and its environs. Interestingly,
Buddhism still has a certain place in Sino-Nepalese
relations. Here it should be mentioned that one of the most
significant events in the history of Nepal-China cultural
relations was the introduction of Buddhism into China
during the Eastern Han Dynasty around the second
century CE. Gradually, Buddhism spread to all parts of
454
2
Bagchi, India and China, pp. 45 and 220; Manandhar, A
Comprehensive History of Nepal-China Relations, p. 47.
3
Chou Yi-liang, ‘Tantrism in China’, pp. 251-272; Bagchi, India and
China, pp. 52-53 and 218; Watt, ‘Tantric Buddhism in China’, pp.
399-400; Ch’en, Buddhism in China, p. 334; Upadhyaya,
‘Vajrayana: Dharma, Darshan Aur Jeevan-Darshan’, pp. 56-57;
Manandhar, A Comprehensive History of Nepal-China Relations,
pp. 47-49.
456
4
Petech, Northern India According to the Shui-Ching-Chu, pp. 6
and 33-40.
457
5
Shaha, Heroes and Builders of Nepal, p. 41; Shaha, ‘Nepal, Tibet
and China’, p. 15.
6
Thapa, Newar Buddhism, p. 19; K. C., The Judicial Customs of
Nepal, p.138; Singh, Buddhism in Nepal, p. 37; Ratna, Buddhism
and Nepal, p .5; Pandey, ‘Promoting Nepal-China Cultural
Cooperation’, p. 54; Shaha, Heroes and Builders., p. 41; Shaha,
‘Nepal, Tibet and China’, p. 15; Manandhar, A Comprehensive
History of Nepal-China Relations, p. 22; Bhattarai, Chin Ra
Tyasasita Nepalko Sambandha, p. 65; Nepal, Nepal Nirukta, pp.
155-156; Acharya, Chin, Tibbat Ra Nepal, p. 11; Joshi, Kalakar
Arniko, p. 2.
7
Ghoble, China-Nepal Relations and India, p. 17; Dutt, Buddhist
Monks and Monasteries of India, p. 307; Welch, Buddhism Under
458
9
Bagchi, India and China, p. 331; Beal. Buddhist Records of the
Western World, p. XII; Puri, Buddhism in Central Asia, p. 62.
10
Bhattarai, Chin Ra Tyasasita Nepal Ko Sambandha, p. 66; Joshi,
Kalakar Arniko, p. 3; Wang Hung -wi, ‘Chin-Nepal Maitri’, p. 86;
Ikeda, The Flower of Chinese Buddhism, p. 81.
11
Bagchi, India and China, p. 44; Puri, Buddhism in Central Asia,
p.122; Majumdar, The Classical Age , p. 610; Bhattarai, Chin Ra
Tyasasita Nepal Ko Sambandha, p. 66. But some writers have
wrongly stated that Buddhabhadra was born in Kashmir. See:
Bowker (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of World Religion, p. 169;
Kohn, The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, p. 30.
12
Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Vol. II, p. 400; Huang
Sheng-Chang, ‘China and Nepal’, p. 8. Interestingly some writers
have noted that Buddhabhadra was born in Kapilavastu in
northern India. See Fujita, 'The Textual Origins of the Kuan Wu-
ling-Shou Ching’, p. 157; The Seeker’s Glossary, p. 90.
13
Das, Indian Pandits in the Land of Snow, p. 32; Majumdar, The
Classical Age, p. 610; Bagchi, India and China, p.205 and Puri,
Buddhism in Central Asia, p. 66; Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest
of China, Vol. II, p. 400.
460
14
Bagchi, India and China, p. 44; Puri, Buddhism in
Central Asia, p. 122 and Bhattarai, Chin Ra Tyasasita
Nepal Ko Sambandha, p. 66.
15
Das, Indian Pandits in the Land of Snow, p. 32.
461
16
Lahiri, Chinese Monks in India, p. 27.
17
Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Vol. I, p. 223.
462
18
Fa-hsien, A Record of the Buddhist Countries, pp. 50-51; Chin
Keh-mu, A Short History of Sino-Indian Friendship, pp. 63-65;
Wang Hung -wi, ‘Chin-Nepal Maitri’, p. 86.
19
Lahiri, Chinese Monks in India, p. XIX.
20
Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism, p. 118.
21
Legge, A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms ..., passim; Giles, The
Travels of Fa-hsien (399-414 A.D, passim; Needham, Science and
Civilisation in China, p. 207; Jan Yuan-Hua, ‘Fa-hsien’, pp. 245-
246; Keyes, ‘Buddhist Pilgrimage in South and Southeast Asia’, p.
348.
463
22
Bagchi, India and China, pp. 61-64; Perkins, Encyclopedia of
China, pp. 47 and 155; Hazra, The Rise and Decline of Buddhism
in India, pp. 77-81; Takakusu, ‘Yuan-Chwang, Fa-hian and I-
Tsing’, p. 843; Dillon, China: A Cultural and Historical Dictionary,
p. 98; Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 223; Bapat
(ed.), 2500 Years of Buddhism, pp. 254-261; The Soka Gakkai
Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 174; Keown, A Dictionary of
Buddhism, p. 92; Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism, pp. 117-118;
The Seeker’s Glossary…, pp. 205-206; Kohn, The Shambhala
Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, p. 67; Ch’en, Buddhism in
China, pp. 89-92.
23
Pradhan, Lumbiné Kapilawastu Devadaha, p. 23.
464
24
Bhattarai, Chin Ra Tyasasita Nepal Ko Sambandha, p. 68.
25
Chin Keh-mu, A Short History of Sino-Indian Friendship, p. 54.
465
26
Bhattarai, Chin Ra Tyasasita Nepal Ko Sambandha, pp. 68-71;
Das, Indian Pandits in the Land of Snow, p. 32; Bokshchanin,
‘Sino-Indian Relations from ancient Times to the Sixteenth
Century’, p. 121; Majumdar, The Classical Age , pp. 610-611.
467
27
Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism, p. 238.
28
Puri, Buddhism in Central Asia, p. 116.
468
29
Keown, A Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 150.
30
Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism, p. 159.
31
Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism, p. 239.
469
32
Puri, Buddhism in Central Asia, pp. 120-121.
33
Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism, p. 239.
34
Ch’en, Buddhism in China, p. 109.
35
Bagchi, India and China, pp. 44-45.
470
36
‘Some Notes on Perceptions of Pratétyasamutpäda in China from
Kumarajiva to Fa-yao’, www.ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-
JOCP/jc26721htm
37
Bagchi, India and China, p. 45.
38
Ch’en, Buddhism in China , p. 109
471
39
The Seeker’s Glossary of Buddhism, p. 321.
40
Anesaki, ‘Missions (Buddhist)’, p. 701.
41
Whalen Lai, ‘The Three Jewels in China’, p. 291.
472
42
Anesaki, ‘Missions (Buddhist)’, p. 701.
474
43
Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism, p. 77.
44
Bhattarai, Chin Ra Tyasasita Nepal Ko Sambandha, p… 72.
45
Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Vol. I, p. 223;
Dumoulin, A History of Zen Buddhism, p. 57.
46
The Seeker’s Glossary…, p. 276.
475
47
Anesaki, ‘Missions (Buddhist)’, p. 701.
48
Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism, p. 138.
49
Bagchi, India and China, p. 99.
50
Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism, pp. 138-139.
477
51
Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Vol. I, p. 223.
52
Ibid., p. 224.
478
53
Ibid., pp. 224-225.
54
Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Vol. II, p. 397.
55
Bhattarai, Chin Ra Tyasasita Nepal Ko Sambandha, p. 75.
480
56
Huang Sheng-Chang, ‘China and Nepal’, pp. 8-9.
57
Ibid.; Legge, A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, pp. 2-3.
481
58
Lancaster and Park, Korean Buddhist Cannon, pp. xx-xxiii.
59
Puri, Buddhism in Central Asia, p. 123.
60
The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 57.
482
61
Hirakawa, ‘Buddhist Literature: Survey of Texts’, p. 512. Nanjio
(comp.), A Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the Buddhist
Tripitaka, p. 247; Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism, p. 124; Nariman,
Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism, p. 263; Chou Hsiang-
kuang, Chini Baudha Dharmaka Itihas, p. 80; Sankrityayan,
Baudha Sanskriti, p. 297; Bagchi, India and China, p. 129; Prebish,
The A to Z of Buddhism, p. 118; Keown, A Dictionary of
Buddhism, p. 42; Thapa, Newar Buddhism, p. 20; Joshi, Kalakar
Arniko, p. 69. ‘Other Translators in The Period of Disunity’,
www.buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/archive/nutshell/teach/
teach50htm;‘Buddhabhadra,’ www.kr.ks.yahoo.com/service/wiki_
know/know_view.html?tnum=1650.
62
Bagchi, India and China, p. 129.
63
Joshi, Kalakar Arniko, pp. 2-3; The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of
Buddhism, pp. 174 and 381; and Chou Hsiang-kuang, Chini
Baudha Dharmaka Itihas, p. 80; Prebish, The A to Z of Buddhism,
p. 118; Thapa, Newar Buddhism, p. 20; Keown, A Dictionary of
Buddhism, p. 196; Dharmakñema, The Great Parinirväëa Sütra,
(Eng. tr. Charles Patton), pp. 2-4; www. villa.lakes.com/cdpatton/
Dharma/Canon/T0375(1-6).
483
liang men Ch’ih Ching) in the first year of Yuan Hsi of the
Eastern Tsin Dynasty in 419 CE in Yang Tu.71 Similarly, he
also translated the Bhadracaryäpraëidhäna (Wen Shu shih li
fa yuan ching) during the second year of Yuan Hsi of the
Eastern Tsin Dynasty in 420 CE in Tao-Ch’ang Ssu
monastery, 72 Dhyäna Sütra (Ta mo to lo Shan Kin) during
the Eastern Tsin Dynasty,73 Samantabhadra Praëidhäna
Bhadracari and the Maïjuçré Praëidhänotpäda Sütra (Wan-
shu-sh-li-fa-yuen-Ching)74 in 420 CE. Buddhabhadra also
translated several other Buddhist texts, which include the
Mahäsäìghikabhikñuëi Vinaya (Mo ho seng ch'i pi ch'iu ni
chien pen) during the Eastern Tsin dynasty in 414 CE 75 and
the Pratimokña Säìghika Vinayamälä (Po lo thi mu kha san
71
Nanjio, A Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the Buddhist
Tripitaka, p. 90; Lancaster and Park, Korean Buddhist Cannon, p.
119; Thapa, Newar Buddhism, p. 20.
72
Lancaster and Park, Korean Buddhist Cannon, p. 361; Thapa,
Newar Buddhism, p. 20.
73
Nanjio, A Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the Buddhist
Tripitaka, p. 300; Dumoulin, A History of Zen Buddhism, p. 58;
‘History of Zen in China’, www.sacredtexts/com/bud/rosa03.htm;
‘Buddhabhadra’,www.daekaksaofcanada.com/sub03/sub03_08.htm
74
Nanjio, A Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the Buddhist
Tripitaka, p. 297; Chou Hsiang-kuang, Chini Baudha Dharmaka
Itihas , p. 80.
75
Lancaster and Park, Korean Buddhist Canon, p. 329; Nanjio, A
Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the Buddhist Tripitaka, p.
253; Thapa, Newar Buddhism, p. 20.
486
76
Nanjio, A Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the Buddhist
Tripitaka, p. 253; Lancaster and Park, Korean Buddhist Canon, p.
330.
487
77
Lai, ‘The Three Jewels in China’, p. 290.
78
‘Hua-Yen Sect’, www. buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/archive/nutshell
/teach65.htm
79
Bhattarai, ‘Dharmacharya Buddhabhadra (Chueh-hsien)’, Buddha
Jayanti Golden Jubilee Souvenir, p. 24.
488
80
Dumoulin, A History of Zen Buddhism, p. 57.
81
Bagchi, India and China, p. 45.
489
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