Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t3.46

v1.c7.s10.t3.46

In the *Matanga Sutra*, translated in the Three Kingdoms by Zhi Qian and Zhu Lvyan, the Volume 1 states that, “There once lived Brahma, who practiced Zen, has great wisdom, and created a Veda to preach, and later on, there is a god, named Svetasvatara, who created four Vedas to praise, to sacrifice, to chant and to expel disaster”. This means that the basics of the four Vedas were already known in China in the Three Kingdoms period. It is also mentioned in Chinese sutras of Tang Dynasty. For instance, the Volume 1 of the *Vijāptimātratāsiddhi* translated by Xuanzang sates that, “Minglun can explain things and should be non-eternal, as a sound.” Here, “Minglun” means the *Vedas*.