4. Bodhidharma and his Successor the Second Patriarch.

China was not, however, an uncultivated[FN#29] land for the seed of
Zen--nay, there had been many practisers of Zen before Bodhidharma.


[FN#29] The translation of Hinayana Zen sutras first paved the way
for our faith. Fourteen Zen sutras, including such important books
as Mahanapanadhyana-sutra, Dhyanacarya-dharmasanyjnya-sutra,
Dhyanacarya-saptatrimcadvarga-sutra, were translated by Ngan Shi Kao
(An-sei-ko) as early as A.D. 148-170. Cullamargabhumi-sutra was
translated by K' Yao (Shi-yo) in A.D. 185; Dharmatara-dhyana-sutra by
Buddhabhadra in A.D. 398-421;
Dhyananisthitasamadhi-dharma-parygya-sutra by Kumarajiva in A.D. 402;
'An Abridged Law on the Importance of Meditation' by Kumarajiva in
A.D. 405; Pancadvara-dhyanasutra-maharthadharma by Dharmamitra in
A.D. 424-441. Furthermore, Mahayana books closely related to the
doctrine of Zen were not unknown to China before Bodhidharma.
Pratyutpanna-buddhasammukhavasthita-samadhi was translated by K' Leu
Cia Chan (Shi-ru-ga-sen) in A.D. 164-186; Vimalakirttinirdeca-sutra,
which is much used in Zen, by Kumarajiva in A.D. 384-412;
Lankavatara-sutra, which is said to have been pointed out by
Bodhidharma as the best explanation of Zen, by Gunabhadra in A.D.
433; Saddharma-pundarika-sutra, in its complete form, by Kumarajiva
in A.D. 406; Avatamsaka-sutra by Buddhabhadra in A.D. 418;
Mahaparinirvana-sutra by Dharmaraksa in A.D. 423.

If we are not mistaken, Kumarajiva, who came to China A.D. 384, made
a valuable contribution towards the foundation of Zen in that