Śubhakarasiṃha
Śubhakarasiṃha was an eminent Indian Buddhist monk and translator of Esoteric Buddhist texts.
He originally studied in Nalanda monastery and later arrived in the Chinese capital Chang'an in 716 CE and translated the , better known as the Mahāvairocana Sūtra. Four years later another master, Vajrabodhi, and his pupil Amoghavajra, would arrive and proceeded to translate other scriptures, thus establishing a second esoteric tradition. Along with these other masters, Śubhakarasiṃha was responsible for bringing Esoteric Buddhism to the height of its popularity in China.
Biography
Origins
There are differing views regarding Śubhakarasiṃha's place of origin.According to Chinese sources, Śubhakarasiṃha was born in India as the oldest son of Buddhakara. Li Hua's Shan-wu-wei-hsing-chuang states that his family originated in Magadha in the statement: " was a man of Magadha in Middle India, having resided at the monastery of Nalanda of the city Rajagrha.” His funeral stele also refers to him as "Late Trepiṭaka Upādhyāya Śubhākarasiṃha from Central India, Who Passed Away in the Great Shengshan Monastery in the Eastern Capital of the Great Tang". Other scholars state that he was from Odisha and that his ancestors have arrived there following unrest in their original homeland in Central India. A theory has been put forward that Śubhakarasiṃha may have been an ancestor of the Bhauma-Kara dynasty, which ruled in Odisha between the 8th and 10th centuries, and whose kings included people named Śubhakara.
India
According to his biography, Śubhakarasiṃha ascended to the throne as king when he was thirteen years old. Although emerging victorious from a power struggle with his older brothers, he turned over his position to his oldest brother and entered the monastic life. He became well known for his supernatural abilities and finally settled in Nālandā where he met the master Dharmagupta. After being instructed by him and gaining the title of Trepiṭaka, Śubhakarasiṃha became a travelling teacher and was then told by Dharmagupta to go further east to China.Turk Shahis
While travelling to China, he went through the territory of the Turk Shahi kingdom around modern-day Kashmir and Afghanistan. Here he preached Buddhism to the Turks and this event was recorded in his stone stele inscription which was erected by his disciple, Li Hua:China
Due to unstable conditions in Central India, Śubhakarasiṃha reached Chang’an in China via Tibet.When Śubhakarasiṃha arrived in China, he was already eighty years old and was carrying with him a variety of different manuscripts although the catalogue of what texts he brought with him has been lost. Upon his arrival, he became well known for his supposed supernatural abilities and became favoured by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. It was during this time that he translated several works of Esoteric Buddhism including the . Emperor Xuanzong first invited him to Xingfu si but later reassigned him to Ximing si. From this point onwards he assembled a group of assistants to help him with the translations of the manuscripts that he brought with him. The Chinese hagiographies also praise his metallurgical skills and craftsmanship and state that he designed and modelled many Buddhist images and stupas.
According to Robert Sharf, Chán Master Yi Xing was the most eminent of his students. Yixing belonged to the northern school of Chán Buddhism, but this was not seen by Chinese Buddhist culture as being fundamentally different from the esoteric teachings of Śubhakarasiṃha. Around the turn of the eighth century, the northern school was known for its esoteric practices of dhāraṇīs and mantras.
Śubhakarasiṃha died in 735 CE and was posthumously bestowed with the title of "Court Director of State Ceremonial". He was buried in 740 CE in the hills nearby to Longmen Caves and the site of his burial became a place of reverence for at least 250 years after his death.
Siddhis
After his death, many Chinese hagiographical sources on Śubhakarasiṃha's life began to place an emphasis on the supernatural feats or Siddhis that he was said to have performed during his lifetime. These include stories and legends of defeating monsters, dragons, serpents among others. Some of these stories also promoted his rainmaking abilities. One of these stories states:Other stories also detail how he used his siddhis to save the lives of other people: