Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.29

v1.c7.29

During this period, apart from Chinese monks going to India in search of the law and to obtain scriptures, there were even more Indian monks who came to China to transmit the scriptures and to bring precious objects. She Moteng and Zhu Falan had set an example for those who came later. They came in succession, uninterruptedly. During the period of the Western Jin, the Indian monk Qiyu reached Guangzhou, the area of Xiangyang etc, by sea. He further cured people in Luoyang. During the period of the Eastern Jin (317-420 CE), the number of Indian monks who came to China steadily increased. They carried many scriptural texts and they transmitted the Buddhist teachings then flourishing in India. All these monks arrived either over land or by sea in Chang’an in China, or in the big city of Guangzhou. After they had arrived in China, they actively translated Buddhist scriptures in cooperation with Chinese monks. They accepted students and resolved their doubts. They discussed Buddhist studies and while the monks of both countries worked together, Buddhism in China prospered. The ideas of the greater and of the lesser vehicle were introduced and *vinaya* was instituted. Moreover, the Dilun (*Daśabhūmikasūtraśāstra*/*Daśabhūmivyākhyāna*) school which had characteristics of different schools, the Shelun (‘Mahāyānasaṅgraha’) school, the Sanlun (Madhyamaka) school, and other Buddhist schools appeared too. Out of respect for the monks, the Imperial Court built temples especially for them. For instance, the Indian *dhyāna* master Fotuo (Buddhabhadra) was paid a great honour by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei. He built the Shaolin Temple for him on Mount Song. The *dhyāna* master from southern India, Puti Damo (Bodhidharma), landed in Guangzhou and later arrived in the Shaolin Temple. He was honoured as the first patriarch of the Chan School in China. The Indian monk, Damo Bore (Dharmaprajñā), was appointed as the clerical official "Governor Zhaoxuan" by the Court of the Northern Qi.