Abstract:

Abstract: Born in Nepal but orphaned soon after; ordained and educated in Kashmir; despite old age and a long and harsh journey, a Buddhist monk traveled to china in the fourteenth century and lived there for the rest of his life. This is what this paper is about--the life of a great Buddhist missionary Sahajaśrī. Through various sources, mainly in Chinese, this paper will investigate what inspired or impelled him to leave Kashmir and travel to China. China was in a dynastic transactional period When Sahajaśrī arrived, against all expectations, he was well received by both Mongol and Chinese emperors. However, it seems that Sahajaśrī’s achievement in Chinese Buddhism has not been recognized. By putting all the fragmentary accounts about Sahajaśrī together, this paper aims at reconstructing Sahajaśrī’s life of in Ming China.

Author: Kuan Guang