When Buddhism was introduced into China, it was necessary to translate the sutras into Chinese. The translators inaccurately used terms from Taoism and Confucianism, which unfortunately misled or confused the readers. Later, a number of monks with a thorough understanding of Chinese and other languages made new translations which preserved the original meanings of the sutras. The greatest of these monks was called Kumarajiva.

Kumarajiva (344D413) was from Kucha, a small ancient state in what is now Xinjiang Province in northwestern China. His father, Kumarayana, was an Indian prince. He preferred Buddhism to his wealthy royal life, so he left India and eventually reached Kucha. The king of Kucha had a sister who was about twenty years old. She was beautiful and intelligent and many men wanted to marry her, but she refused them all. However, when she saw Kumarayana, she immediately fell in love with him. The king gave him his sister in marriage, and one year later their son Kumarajiva was born.

While she was pregnant with Kumarajiva, the mother suddenly became more intelligent and her power of reasoning became stronger. She was also able to understand Sanskrit. Therefore, it was said that the child would indeed be extraordinary.

When Kumarajiva was seven years old, his mother left home to become a nun. The boy accompanied his mother to the temple. She thought he would want to go home after a few days, but to her surprise, he was fascinated by the Buddhist scriptures and did not want to go home at all. All these signs reminded her of the omens when she was pregnant. Thus, all the great minds were invited to the temple to teach the boy, and he showed his talent by reading and memorizing thousands of Buddhist verses.

Because mother and son were members of the royal family, they received special care and treatment. The mother worried that this would make her son lax in his Buddhist training, so she decided to take him elsewhere.

When the boy was nine years old, his mother took him from Kucha to Kubha, a state in what is now Kashmir, and had him study under Pantoutatuo, a famous Buddhist monk who was also the brother of the king of Kubha. After about two years, the king requested Kumarajiva's presence at the palace to debate with some religious sectarians who were challenging the Buddhists. At first these people did not think much of Kumarajiva because he was only eleven years old, but the boy was able to defeat them with his cool manner and intelligence.

The whole country went wild with the news. The exuberant king sent many gifts to Kumarajiva, even moving him to a larger room and having several monks and novices look after him. After some time, his mother again worried that such a life of luxury could hinder his spiritual cultivation and studies, so when he turned twelve years old, they left again for a kingdom called Shale.

When they arrived, they received a warm welcome because the people there had already heard of the boy's successful debate in Kubha. Kumarajiva spent his time reading all the Hinayana Buddhist scriptures. One day as he was wandering around Shale, he came across a prince named Sumo from the state of Shachu. This prince knew a great deal about the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. When Kumarajiva talked with Sumo, he suddenly realized that the Hinayana philosophy was quite inferior and he decided to direct all his energy into learning Mahayana Buddhism.

As time passed, Kumarajiva became quite famous and his uncle, Paichun, who was now the king of Kucha, dispatched messengers to bring them back home. Paichun built a new temple where they lived and where Kumarajiva preached. In 363, Kumarajiva celebrated his twentieth birthday, at which he not only marked his adulthood, but also received all the precepts and became a real Buddhist monk. At this time, his mother decided that her son was now an adult and they had to go their own ways, so she went to India alone. She asked the young monk to go east to spread Buddhism, but she knew that his path would be filled with all sorts of difficulties.

From 304 to 439, China was ruled by a sequence of Chinese dynasties and was in a state of constant civil war. In 378, Fu Chien, the founding ruler of the Chien Chin state, had already heard of Kumarajiva and wanted him to assist in government affairs. He ordered his general, Lu Kuang, to go west and bring Kumarajiva back, but he warned him not to destroy Kucha. However, Lu Kuang did not obey and destroyed several states on his way to Kucha. In Kucha, he killed the king along with many other people, and installed the king's younger brother on the throne. When Lu Kuang saw that Kumarajiva was so young, he despised him deeply. Among other insults, the general forced the monk to drink alcohol and marry his cousin. The year was 384.

When they reached Liang Chou, they learned that Fu Chien had been killed by Yao Chang, one of his subjects. Lu Kuang then set up a state of his own and called it Hou Liang. After sixteen years, Yao Hsing, Yao Chang's son, attacked the state of Hou Liang and Kumarajiva was freed. The monk was then welcomed into the capital, Changan.

When Kumarajiva arrived in Changan, Yao Hsing, himself a Buddhist, invited many monks to join Kumarajiva in translating the scriptures. After Buddhism was introduced into China, many people had tried to translate the Buddhist texts into Chinese. Unfortunately, they used terms from Confucianism and Taoism to explain or substitute for Buddhist terms. The translated scriptures became distorted or unintelligible and it was thus necessary to retranslate them.

It was said that around eight hundred people helped Kumarajiva translate the scriptures. First, he would read a phrase in its original language to his assistants and translate it into Chinese. If everyone agreed with the translation, then the Chinese version was recorded. Anyone could raise questions about the translations. During his lifetime, Kumarajiva translated more than three hundred volumes of scriptures.

Kumarajiva seemed to have all his troubles behind him, but his happiness did not last. One day, Yao Hsing came and said that he had prepared a palace filled with women, because he wanted Kumarajiva to have children who could be as smart as their father and take over the work of propagating Buddhism and translating the scriptures. The monk then realized why his mother had told him that he would undergo many difficulties in spreading Buddhism. Although he accepted the palace and the women, he still retained his purity and faithfully kept the Buddhist precepts.

One day in 413, Kumarajiva suddenly fell ill. His disciples prayed for him for days, but it was useless. Knowing that his end was near, he told his disciples that he was delighted to have worked with them, and he also vowed that if any translation had been incorrect, his tongue would be burned during the cremation. Indeed, after his cremation, everyone was amazed to see that his tongue still remained among the ashes. Kumarajiva, one of the greatest translators of the Buddhist scriptures, died in Changan in 413, at the age of seventy.