Fazang

Fazang () (643–712) was a Chinese Buddhist scholar, translator, and religious leader of the Tang dynasty. He was the third patriarch of the Huayan school of East Asian Buddhism, a key figure at the Chinese Imperial Court, and an influential Chinese Buddhist philosopher. Some scholars see him as the main figure in or even de facto founder of the Huayan school. Fazang's ancestors came from the Central Asian region of Sogdia, a major center for Silk Road trade, but he was born in the Tang capital of Chang'an (now Xi'an), where his family had become culturally Chinese. Fazang was known for his skill as a translator, knowledge of Sanskrit, and for his efforts to produce a new translation of an extended edition of the Gaṇḍavyūha sūtra. He also composed an original commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra, called the Huayan jing tanxuan ji (Record of Investigating the Mystery of the Huayan jing). He was also known as a popularizer and promoter of Huayan teachings, through his relationship with Empress Wu Zeitian and his authorship of several essays on Huayan philosophy, especially Essay on the Golden Lion. Although there remains ambiguity with varying interpretations of biographical sources, most recent scholarship promotes that the well-known name Fazang is not only the monk's dharma-name, but the secular name he used prior to being ordained. His surname was Kang, which originated from his place of birth, Kangjuguo. Furthermore, he had the nickname of Xianshou 賢首 which appears to have been the style-name given to him by his parents, despite prior claims that it was an honorific title from Empress Wu. This is further supported by Fazang's self-reference using the nickname, which strongly suggests it was not an honorific title as previous scholars thought. His title as a teacher and of distinction (biéhào 別號) was Dharma Master Guoyi 國一法師, in which his disciples referred to him post-ordination and in the latter stages of his life. Little is known about Fazang's early life. Fazang's family were Sogdians and lived in an ethnically Sogdian enclave in the imperial capital of Chang’an.