Lokaksema

Lokaksema (flourished 147–189 CE) was a significant Buddhist monk of Kushan or Yuezhi ethnicity who traveled to China during the Han dynasty. He holds a pivotal place in Buddhist history as one of the earliest known translators of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language. His arrival and translation activities in the Han capital of Luoyang marked a crucial step in the transmission of Buddhist teachings from Central Asia to East Asia.

Biography and Translations

Details about Lokaksema's life are primarily derived from a short biography by the Chinese monk Sengyou (445–518 CE). While his Chinese name, Zhī Lóujiāchèn (支婁迦讖), is well-documented, the exact Sanskrit rendering of his name is debated among scholars, with Lokaksema being the most common form. The prefix 'Zhī' in his Chinese name suggests he was of Yuezhi ethnicity, a group that inhabited a broad region encompassing parts of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is speculated that his mother tongue might have been Bactrian, and he was likely multilingual, possessing knowledge of Gandhari Prakrit, a language used for religion, administration, and commerce in northwestern India.

Lokaksema arrived in Luoyang around the end of Emperor Huan of Han's reign (147–168 CE) and was active in translating Mahayana texts into Chinese between 178 and 189 CE. His translation style was distinctive, characterized by the extensive transliteration of Indic terms and the retention of Indian stylistic elements, such as long sentences. He typically rendered Indic verse into Chinese prose, without attempting to preserve the original meter.

Extant and Lost Works

The editors of the Taishō Tripiṭaka attribute twelve texts to Lokaksema, though scholarly research has led to some questioning of these attributions. Among the translations considered reasonably certain to be his are the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (T224) and the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra (T418). Other texts like the Druma-kinnara-rāja-paripṛcchā-sūtra (T624) and the Ajātaśatru Kaukṛtya Vinodana Sūtra (T626) are considered to show more deviations from his typical style. Several other translations attributed to Lokaksema have been lost to history, including versions of the Suramgama-samādhi-sutra and the Hu Parinirvāṇa Sutra.

Significance

Lokaksema's translation work, alongside that of other Central Asian monks like An Shigao and Dharmarakṣa, highlights the vital role played by individuals from Central Asia in propagating Buddhism throughout East Asia. With the subsequent decline and fall of the Han dynasty, historical records of Lokaksema cease, and the precise date of his death remains unknown.