DESCRIPTION

Four translations of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra were made from Sanskrit into the Chinese language between roughly 420 CE and 704, the earliest being attributed to Dharmarakṣa in the 5th century.

Of these, only three are now extant:

• The first is Taishō Tripiṭaka 670 (楞伽阿跋多羅寶經 Lengqieabaduoluobaojing). This is the earliest edition which was translated by Guṇabhadra in 443 CE, and divided into four fascicles. This edition by Guṇabhadra is said to be the one handed down from the founder of Chan Buddhism, Bodhidharma, to the Second Patriarch, Dazu Huike. This version lacks chapter 1, 9 and 10 from the later versions.
• The second is Taishō # 671 (入楞伽經 Rulengqiejing). This second edition was translated by Bodhiruci in 513 CE, and divided into ten fascicles. This edition is criticized in the imperial preface to the later translation, which says that it contains extra words and sentences mixed in that detract from the original meaning.
• The third is Taishō # 672 (The Mahāyāna Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra; 大乘入楞伽經 Dashengrulengqiejing). This third edition (divided into seven fascicles) was translated by a team headed by Śikṣānanda and it was completed in 704 CE. This final translation was made at the behest of Empress Wu Zetian, after Śikṣānanda had completed his 80-fascicle translation of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. This translation is said to have employed five separate Sanskrit editions for accuracy. The Huayan scholar and Sanskritist Fazang was also involved in this translation effort. Before the final edits to this version had been made, Śikṣānanda returned to India, and another Indian monk called Mitrasena came to China who had studied the Buddhist sutras for 25 years in India, and who knew the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. Fazang and Mitrasena were given the task of revising and completing the translation.

In addition to these Chinese translations, there are also two Tibetan translations, and a version of the Sanskrit was preserved in Nepal. One Tibetan translation is derived from the Sanskrit original, and the other is likely a translation of Guṇabhadra's Chinese into Tibetan.