33. PRAJÑA
Paul CoppPrajña^1 (Boruo , alt. Bolaruo ; 744–ca. 810) was perhaps
the last great translator of Buddhist texts in the Tang period— certainly,
he was the last to receive the full support of the Tang imperial house.
Most famous for his translation of the Gaṇdavyūha sūtra, the Da fang-
guang fo huayan jing , in 40 juan (T. 293), he also
translated important works such as the Dasheng liqu liu boluomi jing
(in 10 juan; T. 261), a text on the six perfec-
tions of Buddhist practice celebrated in part for its section containing
dhāraṇīs and mantras, as well as other texts of Buddhist incantation
practice.
Biographical sources state that Prajña was from Kapiśā (in present-
day Afghanistan) and that at age seven he conceived the desire to fol-
low the Buddhist path, left his home village at age fourteen and trav-
eled south to India in order to seek Buddhist teachings, and took full
ordination there at age twenty.^2 His early years as a fully ordained
monk are said to have focused on the study of Sarvāstivādin texts, the
Abidharmakośa, and the Mahāvibhāṣā. At age thirty-three he is said
to have entered the great monastic university of Nālandā, where his
studies centered especially on the Vimsatikā, the Yogacārabhūmi, the
Madhyānta-vibhāga, the Vajracchedikā, and the basic “Five Sciences”
of medieval Indian education.
After leaving Nālandā and, it is said, spending nearly two decades
studying at the eight great stūpas of India, Prajña began his studies
in the esoteric Buddhist tradition. The Song gaoseng zhuan reports
that once he had “heard that Vidyādhara traditions (chiming
were honored in southern India he journeyed there to search for a
teacher,” meeting a consecration master (guanding shi named
*Dharmayaśa (Damoyeshe ; dates unknown), who taught
(^1) The proper transliteration of his name remains uncertain, whether “Prajñā” (“wis-
dom”) or “Prajña” (“wise”). My choice in this essay is highly tentative. Yoritomi 1979,
1–109 has an excellent treatment of Prajña.
(^2) Song gaoseng zhuan , T. 2061.50:716a; and Zhenyuan xinding shijiao
mulu ㍳, T. 2157.55:893a.