Dharmaparyaya of the Pure-land Sect of Dunhuang from Late Tang to Song Dynasties

Abstract Dharmalparyaya of the Pure-land Sect , a Buddhist sect of China was established by Fa- zhao , a famous monk of the Middle Tang Dynasty . According , to the Chinese historical ac- counts , Fa-zhao once spread his doctrine into Hengzhou in presently Hunan Province , the Wutai Mountain and Bingzhou in presently Shanxi Province , Chang'an in today Shaanxi Province. Since Late Tang period . the activities of the sect disappeared in Central China . The Dunhuang manuscripts provide us with rather rich matterials about spreading of the sect in Dunhuang from the Late Tang until Song Dynasties. Concerned manuscripts come to ten juan ,among them , 2 belonging to Late Tang , 4 belonging to the Five Dynasties , 4 belonging to the early Song Dynasty. This fact shows this sect was prevalent in Dunhuang for a long period .