Dharmarakṣa

Dharmarakṣa (c. 229–306), whose Chinese name is Zhu Fahu, was of Yuezhi descent and lived for generations in Dunhuang. A major Buddhist translator of the Western Jin period, he was known as the "Bodhisattva of Dunhuang." He became a monk at the age of eight and traveled with his teacher through the Western Regions. Between 266 and 308 he directed translation work in Chang'an and Luoyang, producing more than 150 Buddhist scriptures, including the Zhengfahua jing (Lotus Sutra) and the Guangzan bore jing. His renderings represent the first large-scale Chinese translation of Mahayana texts, and he is regarded as one of the most important translators before Kumārajīva. His translations, centered on the Prajñāpāramitā and Lotus traditions, are archaic in style and provided foundational texts for later Chinese Buddhist scholarship. This library holds three of his works in punctuated editions: the Wenshushili foto yanjing jing, the Foshuo baotai jing, and the Foshuo pumen pin jing. Because public sources on his life are limited, this note focuses on his translation work and surviving texts.