PARAMĀRTHA was the religious name of Kulanātha (499–569), an Indian monk and translator of Sanskrit texts. Paramārtha was a central figure in the introduction of the Buddhist Yogācāra, or Vijñānavāda (idealist), doctrines to China. Born in Ujjain, India, Paramārtha traveled widely as a Buddhist missionary and was probably living in Cambodia prior to arriving in Canton, baggage full of sūtras, in 546. Two years later he reached the Liang capital at Jiankang, present Nanjing, and was summoned to audience by Emperor Wu, a great patron of Buddhism. Impressed by both the knowledge and volume of sūtras Paramārtha possessed, the emperor had decided to appoint him director of an ambitious translation project when the Hou Jing rebellion forced him to abandon his plan.

Fleeing to the coastal provinces, Paramārtha wandered about translating and teaching and...