Bodhiruci (8th century CE)

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Bodhiruci (also Bodhiruchi or Bodairushi; Chinese 菩提流志; 562 or 571 – 727 CE) was an Indian Buddhist monk and translator from South India. He came from a Brahmin family in the Kashyapa Gotra, and his exact birth year is unknown. He is said to have lived about 156 years and died in 727 CE. As an adult, he chose Buddhism.

In 663 CE, Emperor Gaozong invited him to China, but he delayed for 30 years and finally arrived in 693 CE, during the time of Empress Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian requested that his name be changed from Dharmaruci to Bodhiruci. He first settled at the Foshoujisi monastery in Chang’an (the ancient capital, now Xi’an) and also stayed in Luoyang.

In 699 CE, under the guidance of Śikṣānanda, he helped translate the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra). In 706 CE, he moved to the Chongfusi monastery to translate the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra. It took seven years to translate 49 sutras, and by 713 CE the collection had grown to about 120 scrolls. He also translated many other sutras and commentaries.

At the age of 90, he renounced worldly life to devote himself entirely to meditation and devotion, isolating himself and reading only his Sanskrit manuscripts. Some of his translated sutras are listed in the Korean Buddhist Canon, which also notes an incomplete list of translations attributed to Bodhiruci.