Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t8.2

v1.c7.s3.t8.2

Daxingshan Temple can be referred to as a memorable place in the history of cultural exchanges between India and China. In the seventh year of Kaihuang period Sui Dynasty (587 CE), a Buddhist scriptures Translation Institute was built in the temple and many famous translators of Buddhist scriptures from India such as Narendrayasas, Jnanagupta, Dharmagupta etc. resided and worked there. In the third year of Zhenguan Period, Tang Dynasty (629 CE), Master Prabhamitra from Nalanda Monastery of India presided over this institution. Between the fourth and eighth year of the Kaiyuan period (716-720 CE), Esoteric Buddhist monks, the so-called Three Great Beings in the Kaiyuan period of Tang Dynasty, known as Subhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra translated more than 500 historical classics of Esoteric Buddhism here. In the 15th year of the Tianbao period (756 CE), Tang Dynasty, Daxingshan Temple was presided over by Amoghavajra, an eminent monk who was the royal preceptor for three emperors of Tang Dynasty, Xuanzong, Suzong and Daizong. He had once launched Esoteric Buddhism rites for the dissemination of *dharma*. Moreover, there was the Amoghavajra Tripitaka Stone Tablet in the temple built during the first year of Jianzhong period of Tang Dynasty (780 CE).