early buddhism in china: daoist reactions 219
However, when during the Han dynasty early Chinese translations of
Buddhist texts occurred, the term shou was adopted, as Livia Kohn
observed, “to denote the effort of concentration of mind”^95 and was
even used to translate the title of the Mah npnasmtistra as Da anban
shou yi jing (T.602; note that this text was not translated
by Chen Hui , as Kohn has it, but by An Shigao ).^96 The
meditation technique described in this text,
consists of the observation of respiration as it enters and leaves through
the nostrils (npna), with the aim of a state of mindfulness (sm ti) and
ultimately absorption of mind (dhyna). It outlines the six basic stages of
counting the breath, following the respiration, calm, observation, return-
ing, and purifying. [.. .] The last two stages are explained as ‘unifying the
mind’ and ‘guarding the mind’.^97It cannot be just by accident that the Parthian (?)^98 An Shigao, who
arrived at Luoyang in 148 AD and there organised probably the rst
translation team, to some extent concentrated on translating Buddhist
meditation texts. He may thus have responded to an apparent need
among his Chinese followers. Perhaps already being acquainted with
the Daoist “guarding the One” technique they may have been eager
to learn other meditation forms, too, and may have been tempted to
do so by apparently equal technical terms, such as shou , used in
the texts and their titles. Buddhism seems to have satis ed a demand
which made it easier for this foreign religion to get a rm footing on
Chinese soil.
Towards the end of the Later Han dynasty (25–220) a new type of
meditation appears in the Chinese sources. It is characterised by terms
such as si (lit.: think, contemplate), sixiang (lit.: contemplate
and imagine), sicun (lit.: contemplate and preserve), or cun
(lit.: preserve). These verbs are usually collocated with an object as, for
example, in the phrase si shen “contemplate the divinities” and
mean “meditate on”, “visualise” or “concentrate your mental efforts on
the image of ”. Although this meditation technique may also start with
China of the Warring States and Western Han periods, for example Conrady 1906,
Liebenthal 1968, or, more recently, Mair 1990, and others. However, this topic needs
more research. 95
Kohn 1989b, p. 152.
(^96) Zürcher 1991, p. 279.
(^97) Kohn 1989b, p. 152.
(^98) See the contribution of Xavier Tremblay in the present work.