The ‘Huiguang muzhi’ 慧光墓誌 (Huiguang’s Tomb Inscription), excavated in 2002, yields some valuable clues to the investigation of the early spread of Buddhist precepts in the northern dynasties. The inscription clearly states that Huiguang died in the year of 538, which helps to clarify the fact that Huiguang first met the meditation monk ‘Fotuo’ 佛陀 in the city of Pingcheng 平城 rather than Luoyang. And Pingcheng, the old capital of the Northern Wei, was then the center for the study of Sifen lü of the Dharmagupta tradition. Huiguang composed the commentary on Sifen lü, which was characterized by the thorough comparison of vinaya texts of different schools. Soon after his death, Sifen lü started to prevail in the north and gradually triumphed over the Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya which was introduced from the south in the mid-fifth century. The inscription also reports that Emperor Xiaojing 孝靜帝 (r. 534–550) received the bodhisattva precepts under the guidance of Huiguang. Considering the records in the Xu Gaoseng zhuan 續高僧傳 [Extended Biographical Collection of Eminent Monks], we conclude that the emperor received the bodhisattva precepts twice: first from Huiguang, and then from Huiguang’s disciple Sengda 僧達 (475–556) after he returned from the south. Viewed within a broader context, this fact most likely demonstrates the zeal of the monastic community to emulate the cultural innovations of the emperor Liang Wudi 梁武帝 (r. 502–549).
