Chapter 4 A Gandhāran among the Türks: Buddhist Texts and Travels in the Biographies of *Dhyānagupta (528–605)

In: Beyond the Silk and Book Roads
Author:
Ryan Richard Overbey
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Type:
Chapter
Pages:
126–150
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004687066_006

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Abstract

The Gandhāran monk *Dhyānagupta (aka. *Jñānagupta, 528–605) is best known as a prolific chief translator serving at the Sui 隋 dynasty capital of Daxing 大興. But before serving the Sui, *Dhyānagupta was a Buddhist wanderer on the Silk Road as a missionary, as a translator of Buddhist texts, and as a refugee. Having made the long journey from Gandhāra to China across the southern route, by 557 *Dhyānagupta settled in the Northern Zhou 北周 state, where he worked as a translator with Jñānabhadra, Jinayaśas, and Yaśogupta. His translation activity came to a sudden halt with the Northern Zhou proscription of Buddhism in 574. After the proscription, *Dhyānagupta fled north, residing at the Türkish court of Tatpar Qaghan until being summoned to the new Sui regime in 586. This paper will use Chinese Buddhist histories and hagiographies to outline the Türkish patronage of Buddhism. I will argue that the life of *Dhyānagupta gives us a unique window into the role played by the Türks in the preservation of Buddhist books and learning during the Zhou proscription.

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Beyond the Silk and Book Roads

Rethinking Networks of Exchange and Material Culture

Series:  Studies on East Asian Religions, Volume: 11
Cover Beyond the Silk and Book Roads
E-Book ISBN:
9789004687066
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
24 Nov 2023

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