Silla · by 崔致遠撰
14,305 · about 48 min
The Biography of the Dharma Master Fazang, Former Abbot of Dajianfu Temple in the Tang Dynasty, compiled by the Silla scholar Cui Zhiyuan of the Tang Dynasty, is an authoritative biography of the Third Patriarch of the Huayan school, Master Fazang. Fazang was a distinguished monk of the Tang Dynasty and the de facto founder of the Huayan school, having participated in the translation of the eighty‑scroll Avataṃsaka Sūtra. This biography details his life, his work in translating and propagating the scriptures, as well as his interactions with the imperial court, reflecting the flourishing state of Buddhism during the Tang period. As an important document for the study of Fazang’s thought, the development of the Huayan school, and medieval Chinese Buddhist history, it holds significant historical and religious value. The author, Cui Zhiyuan, was a Silla literatus who traveled to Tang China; his account combines a cross‑cultural perspective with authoritative historical material.