Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s4.t2.8

v1.c7.s4.t2.8

According to *Biographies of Eminent Monks*, Lokakṣema was a monk of Yuezhi origin. He was a pure and kind-hearted person with high morals and hard-working nature. He read and chanted classics, and was dedicated to the mission of propagating doctrines (fa). In the later phase of the reign of Emperor Huan of Han (around 167 CE), he came to Luoyang and learned Chinese. During the Guanghe and Zhongping years of the reign of Emperor Ling (178-189 AD), he translated 13 Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit version. When Dao’An, an eminent monk of Jin Dynasty (314-385 CE) compiled the *Comprehensive Catalog of Scriptures*, he personally went through the three scriptures, the years of which can be checked from the *Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra* (2^nd Guanghe year ie 179 CE), *Pratyutpanna Sutra* (*Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhàvasthita-samàdhi-såtra*, ditto), and *øåraïgamasåtra* (2^nd Zhongping year ie 185 CE), of which *Øåraïgamasåtra* was lost. There were also *Ādūshì Wáng Jīng*, *Mahàratnakåñasåtra*, *Manjusri-pariprcha-bodhisattva-sutra*, *Dousha Sutra* and so on which seemed to have been translated by Lokakṣema from the original language. Apart from the translation work by himself, he also often worked with Zhu-shuo-fo (also known as Zhufoshuo). For example, the two original classics