Center for Multi-cultural Studie

Speaker: Michel Mohr (Professor and Chair, Department of Religions & Ancient Civilizations, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Organizer: Center for Multi-cultural Studies, National Cheng Kung University

Venue: Conference Room, 7F, College of Liberal Arts

Date & Time: March 21 (Thurs.) 10-12 a.m.

The earliest remaining translation into Chinese of a text exclusively focused on the concept of Buddha-nature or tathāgatagarbha emerged at the beginning of the fifth century. This sutra called Dafangdeng Rulaizang jing 大方等如來藏經 (T 16 no. 666) was completed under the direction of Buddhabhadra (Fotuobatuoluo 佛馱跋陀羅, 359–429).

Two Chinese versions of this text are available today, the second one having been produced much later under the supervision of Amoghavajra (Bukong Jingang 不空金剛, 705–774). Although no original text in an Indic language was preserved, a few Sanskrit fragments are included in the Ratnagotravibhāga and two Tibetan translations are available.

Having produced a new English translation of Buddhabhadra’s text, I propose to examine how the concept of Buddha-nature or tathāgatagarbha impacted the religious landscape in the Six Dynasties (Liu Chao 六朝, 220–589) and after that, while bearing in mind its significance for us here and now and highlighting its crucial philosophical implications.