实叉难陀

Shikshananda was a monk who came to China during the Tang dynasty to translate Buddhist scriptures. His life is sparsely documented in publicly available sources: neither his dates of birth and death nor his nationality are clearly recorded, and his main confirmed identity is that of a participant in the Chinese translation of Buddhist texts. Three of his works are included in this collection: the Avatamsaka Sutra (Mahavaipulya-buddhavatamsaka Sutra), the Sutra of the Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (unannotated edition), and the Ksitigarbha Sutra (Sutra of the Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva). All belong to the religion category of Buddhist scriptures and concern, respectively, the teachings of the Avatamsaka and Ksitigarbha faith. These translations are grand in structure and dense in technical terms, combining the solemnity of the translation style with the rhythm of verse, and they strive to convey the original meaning faithfully with little embellishment. The Avatamsaka Sutra and the Ksitigarbha Sutra in particular circulated widely in Chinese Buddhism and have had a lasting influence on later religious practice, ritual recitation, and literary vocabulary. Because historical sources are limited, this introduction confines itself to a brief account of the subject matter and circulation of his translations.