The Concept of Emptiness (Sunyata) in Early Buddhist Texts in Chinese Language

The present paper is one of the first special research on the adaptation of the pivotal Buddhist philosophical concept of emptiness (sunyata) in the early Buddhist texts in Chinese language. The object of the research in this work is the early stage of Buddhism in China (II-IV cent. AD), the subject of the research is the concept of emptiness in the early translations of Buddhist sutras into Chinese language. To achieve the above-mentioned aim of the study, the following tasks were solved during the work: 1. Disclose the definition of the concept of "sunyata" in the philosophy of Buddhist schools, its place and role in the Buddhist picture of the world. 2. Characterize the translation activities of Buddhist monks at the early stage of the spread of Buddhism in China from the beginning of the penetration of Buddhism to the period of Kumarajiva's translation activities (400-413). 3. Identify the basic principles of translation used by the early Buddhist translators, their role in the development of the Buddhist translation tradition and the spread of Buddhism in the Middle Kingdom. 4. Identify the most significant early Buddhist texts in Chinese language that feature the concept of "sunyata", describe the context in which the term was used and the choice of vocabulary used for its transmission. 5. Show the early stage of the relationship between the Buddhist doctrine and the traditional philosophical thought of China. 6. Translate significant in the framework of this study fragments of the early sutras from Chinese language, indicate the authors of these translations. The work consists of 57 pages, including introduction, 3 chapters, conclusion, bibliography and 1 appendix with the translation of selected passages necessary for the aim of the research. In the work we use methods of textual analysis of the Chinese translations of the particular sutras, historical analysis and the method of comparison.