A branch of the early Mahāyāna movement—more precisely, the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda school—was the first to bring the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections into China. Around 180 CE, the Yuezhi monk Lokakṣema, representing this North Indian Mahāsāṃghika tradition, arrived at the Han court in Luoyang under the patronage of the Kushan Empire. His translation work, commissioned during the heyday of the Silk Road, included what became China’s very first Mahāyāna scripture.

Lokakṣema’s rendition distilled the Buddha’s core moral teachings into 42 bite-sized passages—each a nugget of practical wisdom. It wasn’t just about chanting mantras or lofty philosophy. These succinct verses resonated with Confucian and Daoist sensibilities already familiar at court, making the new faith feel surprisingly at home. In a way, it was like threading a needle between two rich cultural tapestries.

Fast-forward to today, and the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections still turns up in ritual contexts across East Asia, from modest village temples in Zhejiang to grand monasteries in Taiwan. It may be comparatively brief, but its legacy looms large: a reminder that the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda missionaries didn’t simply cross borders—they bridged entire worldviews, setting the stage for Buddhism’s flourishing in China.