Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s4.t2.60

v1.c7.s4.t2.60

According to *Biographies of Eminent Monks*, Dharmaruci was from Western Regions. After he abandoned his family and became a monk, he was famous for mastering *vinaya*. Puõyatàra once recited Sanskrit *Da ÷ a-bhàõavàra-vinaya* in Chang'an Central Temple and Kumārajīva translated it into Chinese. However when he translated two-third of the *vinaya*, Puņytārā died due to an illness. The eminent monk, Hui Yuan, living in Mt Lu knew that Dharmaruci mastered *vinaya*, so he quickly sent a letter to him and hoped that he could bring the book to Chang'an and continue to finish the translation. Dharmaruci received the letter and earnest invitation of Yao Xing, the emperor of later Qin Dynasty, and then he came to China in the autumn of seventh year of Hong Shi (405 CE) and finished the translation with Kumārajīva. However before the *vinaya* was revised and finalised, Kumārajīva died. So Dharmaruci went to other places with *vinaya*. It was said that after he had travelled to many places, he finally died in Liangzhou (present-day Wuwei, Guzang with district government on the west of Yellow River within Gansu). *Da ÷ a-bhàõavàra-vinaya* was finally supplemented and finished by Vimalàkùa.