Abstruct: Beginning in approximately the first century B.C., with the arrival of Buddhism, Kucha was a center of Hīnayāna Buddhism on the Northern route of the Silk Road. However, Mahāyāna Buddhism also existed there. Although Hīnayāna Buddhism was dominant prior to Kumārajīva, Mahāyāna gradually gained ground. After Kumārajīva returned following his studies, Mahāyāna Buddhism became increasingly influential. By integrating information from catalogs, it is evident that Kucha absorbed Mahāyāna Buddhism, benefiting mainly from the proselytizing activities of two Buddhist countries in Central Asia: Dayueshi and Kustana. The Mahāyāna of these two countries had distinguishing characteristics: in Dayueshi, Vaipulya texts were valued, while in Kustana, Huayan texts were valued. Through an examination of the texts in circulation in the two countries, translation activities, and their relationship with Mahāyāna Buddhism in Kucha, it becomes evident that the Mahāyāna Buddhism of Dayueshi was the more influential; this may be due to the close relationship of the language and culture of these two countries. Kucha Buddhists, who used texts translated by eminent Dayueshi monks, were not in the minority. Because of the scale of the Dayueshi Mahāyāna texts, they were naturally accepted and integrated by Buddhist scholars in Kucha. Huayan texts, which were favored by Kustana Buddhists, were not readily accepted by Kucha Buddhists; Kustana Buddhism’s influence on Kucha was less than that of Dayueshi. Beginning with the time of Kumārajīva, the activities of translation and transmission of Kucha’s Mahāyāna Buddhism, in terms of number and type, all saw rapid growth. Although Kumārajīva’s translation activities created a new face for Buddhism in China, the Mahāyāna sūtras that he translated mostly follow Mahāyāna Buddhist trends of his native Kucha. That is, the Vaipulya were esteemed. Of the system of Mahāyāna Kumārajīva brought from Dayueshi, he selected its essential parts, and re-translated them. He also made a great effort to bring in Mādhyamika materials, to the benefit of Kucha Mahāyāna. Thus the many contributions of Dayueshi Mahāyāna Buddhism to Kucha Buddhism should not be overlooked.
