I Ching (monk) - Definition and Overview

Not to be confused with the I Ching 易經, the Book of Changes.

I Ching (義淨; pinyin yi jing) (635 - 713) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled to India via the Silk Trade Route to collect Buddhist texts in Sanskrit. These he took back to China and translated into Chinese. He was based for a time at Xi Ming Temple in Ch'ang-an, the capital of T'ang dynasty China.

During his trip, in the year 671 he visited the Srivijaya kingdom on Sumatra, and his writings are one of the few sources about that kingdom.

Translated 60+ sutras into Chinese, including:

• Sarvabhava Vinaya (一切有部毗奈耶)
• Avadana, i.e. Stores (譬喻經) in 710.
• Suvarnaprabhascottamaraja-sutra, i.e. Sutra of the Most Honored King (金光明最勝王經) in 703.

External link

• Personal response to the writing of I Ching (http://www.livejournal.com/users/emilygazley/350.html)
• Translators in Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty (http://www.buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/0202/sources/teach51.htm)

Example Usage of (monk)