Protection of the Dharma in Daoxuan’s Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks

Abstract

This study examines the section of hufa 護法 (Protection/Defence of the Dharma) in the Xu gaoseng zhuan 續高僧傳 (Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks, XGSZ for short), compiled by Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667 CE). This study sheds light on both religious persecution and Buddhist biographical writings. While hufa could refer to a large range of activities against both external and internal challenges to the Buddhist communities, Daoxuan focuses on Daoism and anti-Buddhist imperial policies as the major threats to Chinese Buddhism. In the thesis, I annotate and summarize all the biographies in the hufa section to discuss the patterns of narrative through those biographies. I provide an annotated translation of Daoxuan’s lun 論 (evaluation) on hufa, which reflects Daoxuan’s notion of hufa as a Buddhist tradition through Buddhist history. The study also looks into examples of hufa from other sections of XGSZ to further explore the meaning of protecting the Dharma to Daoxuan and his contemporaries.