Language cannot be separated from its context in space, time, and culture to have an independent existence. The study of transliteration in Chinese Buddhist texts is important not only because it shows the need to move beyond old translations, but also because it brings to light various internal and external hidden factors that influenced the ancient translators. By comparing the transliterations used in the different translations of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa, this article attempts to examine how translators dealt with the factors of internal and external phonetic shifts, source language, and translation strategies in order to explore the reasons why translators used different transliterations.
