Fotudeng

Fotudeng
Illustration of Fotudeng from a Chinese print
Born	232 CE Kucha
Died	348 CE
Occupation	Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary, political analyst, and translator

Fotudeng (Sanskrit: Buddhacinga?; simplified Chinese: 佛图澄; traditional Chinese: 佛圖澄; pinyin: Fótúdéng) (ca. 232–348 CE) was a Buddhist monk and missionary from Kucha. He studied in Kashmir and came to Luoyang in 310 CE, and was active in the spread of Buddhism in China.

Fotudeng came from Central Asia to China in 310 CE and propagated Buddhism widely. He is said to have demonstrated many spiritual powers, and was able to convert the warlords in this region of China over to Buddhism. He succeeded in converting the Jie warlord Shi Le and became his closest advisor as he founded the Later Zhao dynasty in 319 CE. Fotudeng uttered the only phrase that reached us in the Jie language, cited in connection with Shi Le's successful war against Liu Yao of Former Zhao in 328 CE, and recorded in the Chinese annals with Chinese translation. This phrase was analyzed in several publications.

Fotudeng is well known for teaching methods of meditation, and especially ānāpānasmṛti ("mindfulness of breathing"). Fotudeng widely taught ānāpānasmṛti through methods of counting breaths, so as to temper to the breathing, simultaneously focusing the mind into a state of peaceful meditative concentration (Skt. samādhi). By teaching meditation methods as well as doctrine, Fotudeng popularized Buddhism quickly. According to Nan Huai-Chin, "Besides all its theoretical accounts of emptiness and existence, Buddhism also offered methods for genuine realization of spiritual powers and meditative concentration that could be relied upon. This is the reason that Buddhism began to develop so vigorously in China with Fotudeng."