The International Buddhist College in Thailand was founded by Venerable Wei Wu, Abbot of Than Hsiang Temple with the objective of providing Buddhist education in the three main traditions of Buddhism. In conjunction with its 10th Anniversary Celebration and 7th Convocation, IBC Rector, Professor Charles Willemen suggested holding a seminar on Kumārajīva to celebrate his 1600 anniversary and to provide a platform for both Indian and Chinese scholars to interact and highlight on the life and contribution of Kumārajīva to Buddhist scholarship. Thus the international one-day seminar themed “Kumārajīva: The Great Translator” was organised and held in Malaysia at two venues, i.e. Shah Alam Buddhist Society and Penang Than Hsiang Temple on September 6 and 7 respectively. It was jointly sponsored by Than Hsiang Temple and the Malaysian Buddhist Kulapati Association.
Ven Wei Wu in his opening address gave a presentation on the establishment and development of the International Buddhist College. He also welcomed and thanked the speakers for their participation. A total of eight international speakers were invited to present their research papers on Kumārajīva. Among them four speakers delivered their papers in English while the three professors from China presented in Mandarin and the Japanese professor spoke in his mother tongue. The eight sessions were skilfully moderated by Dr. Ong See Yew, Secretary General of Malaysian Buddhist Kulapati Association.
The first session was delivered by Professor Kamal Sheel, the Professor of Chinese Studies at the Banaras Hindu University in India whose paper titled “Kumārajīva: Some Observations on His Life and Contribution” discussed the life and work of Kumārajīva as well as the characteristic style of his translation of Sanskrit Buddhist texts to Chinese. The conclusion drawn was this not only promoted cross-cultural communications but also contributed to the development of syncretism in China.
The second speaker was Professor Charles Willemen, the Rector of International Buddhist College who gave an engaging discussion on “How were Kumārajīva’s Texts received?” with the conclusion that Kumārajīva’s texts were very well received in Southern China in the fifth century and Kumārajīva together with Xuanzang were the most successful translators in China.
The third speaker Professor Li Chongfeng from Peking University gave a vivid exposition on “Kumārajīva’s Translation of Buddhist Scriptures and Construction of the Cave Temples in China”. He informed that many Buddhist scriptures translated by Kumārajīva were unearthed from the Dunhuang Library Cave and numerous murals based on Buddhist Sutras in free-standing temples and rock-cut caves were created from his translation works.
The fourth speaker was Professor Lalji Shravak also from Banaras Hindu University in India who spoke on the “Chinese Translation of Buddhists Texts and the Translation Style of Kumārajīva”. He presented a good account of the earlier translators and their techniques which paved the way for Kumārajīva’s fluid and elegant translations that greatly contributed to the propagation of Buddhism in China.
The fifth speaker Professor Huang Xianian from the Institute of World Religions in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences presented his paper titled “Examining the Translator and the version of ‘The Sutra of Eight Virtues of the Ocean’”. Despite the discrepancies in the catalogues of Chinese Buddhist Sutras, most scholars attributed the translation of this sutra to Kumārajīva and Professor Huang is of the opinion that this sutra provides a good model for the translation of Buddhist texts as well as Buddhist literature.
The sixth speaker was Dr. Fa Qing, a senior lecturer of International Buddhist College who offered a refreshing paper on “Examining the Mindfulness of Breathing (anapanasmrti) in Kumārajīva’s Meditation Texts. The emphasis was on the method of counting the breath which is more effective in removing discursive thoughts, good for beginners and a perfect meditation method for modern people.
The seventh speaker Professor Liu Zhen from Shanghai Fudan University who is an adept linguist expounded on the meaning of “Bodhimanda”. He highlighted the Sanskrit origin of this word and its translation into Chinese with the development and changes in meaning and usage of this compound word.
The last speaker was Professor Ochiai Toshinori, the Head of International Center of Postgraduate Studies, Bukkuyo University in Japan. He gave a lively presentation in Japanese which was summarized by Professor Charles Willemen who also assisted in the Q&A session. Professor Ochiai discussed the origin of the “Mahāprajñāpāramitā mahāvidyā sutra translated by Kumārajīva” and the role Xuanzang played in popularizing it.
A total of about 230 participants attended the seminar and were actively involved in the Q&A sessions. As a final conclusion, this seminar was a great success with the insightful contribution of the eight distinguished speakers that led to a deeper and richer understanding of Kumārajīva as the great translator of Sanskrit Buddhist Texts to Chinese, his florid and elegant style of translation, the popularity of his texts and their contribution to the establishment and development of Buddhism in China.
