Over the last one hundred years or so, the numerous studies of Dignāga’s (ca. 480-540) thought, especially his logic and epistemology,have greatly improved our understanding of Buddhist and non-Buddhist Indian intellectual history. Using his Sanskrit name Dignāga or Diṅ nāga and its Tibetan translation of Phyogs [kyi] glang [po], many of his theories were carefully studied by scholars all over the world. Dignāga was also well known to Chinese Buddhism. In fact, there are no less than four different Chinese renditions of his name, i.e. Chén nà 陳那, Yù lóng 域龍, Tóng shòu 童授, and Fāng xiàng 方象. The first three are considered to be reflexes of Sanskrit, but they are not unproblematic in every instance. The last one has gained currency since pre-modern China and is simply based on the Tibetan name for him. One of the earliest records of Dignāga’s names and life is found in the Datang xiyuji 大唐西域記, Record of the Western Regions, which Xuanzang 玄奘completed in 646. I begin my discussion with an analysis of the names of Dignāga as found in the writings of Xuanzang and his disciples. Having done that, I then take a close look at all the relevant Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan sources that have something to say about his names. In so doing, I clarify the meaning of each different name with their probable original counterparts and how they are related to one another. Finally, I point out how and why “Dignāga” received four different Chinese reflexes and consider these in light of the Chinese understanding and misunderstanding of Sanskrit and Indian Buddhism.
