PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Third Series Number 9 Fall 2007 SPECIAL Iss UE : Essays Celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary GUE S T EDITOR S : Leslie Kawamura and Sarah Haynes FRONT COVER PACIFIC WORLD: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Third Series, Number 9 Fall 2007 SPINE PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies HALF-TITLE PAGE i REVERSE HALF TITLE ii PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Third Series Number 9 Fall 2007 SPECIAL Iss UE : Essays Celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary GUE S T EDITOR S : Leslie Kawamura and Sarah Haynes TITLE iii Pacific World is an annual journal in English devoted to the dissemination of historical, textual, critical, and interpretive articles on Buddhism generally and Shinshu Bud- dhism particularly to both academic and lay readerships. The journal is distributed free of charge. Articles for consideration by the Pacific World are welcomed and are to be submitted in English and addressed to the Editor, Pacific World, 2140 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704-1589, USA. Acknowledgment: This annual publication is made possible by the donation of BDK America of Berkeley, California. Guidelines for Authors: Manuscripts (approximately twenty standard pages) should be typed double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Notes are to be endnotes with full biblio- graphic information in the note first mentioning a work, i.e., no separate bibliography. See The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition), University of Chicago Press, §16.3 ff. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all quotations and for supplying complete references. Clear, clean typescript is required for electronic page scanning. Please include electronic version on disk in both formatted and plain text, if possible. Manu- scripts should be submitted by February 1st. Foreign words should be underlined and marked with proper diacriticals, except for the following: arhat, bodhisattva, buddha/Buddha, dharma/Dharma, Hinayana, kalpa, karma, Mahayana, nembutsu, nirvana, samsara, sangha, shinjin, sutra, yoga. Roman- ized Chinese follows Pinyin system (except in special cases); romanized Japanese, the modified Hepburn system. Japanese/Chinese names are given surname first, omitting honorifics. Ideographs preferably should be restricted to notes. Editorial Committee reserves the right to standardize use of or omit diacriticals. Conventionalized English form of sutra title may be used if initially identified in original or full form in text or note. Editorial Committee reserves the right to edit all submis- sions. Upon request, page proofs may be reviewed by the author. Include institutional affiliation and position, or present status/occupation and place. All manuscripts submitted for publication become the property of Pacific World. By agreeing to publication in the Pacific World, authors give the journal and the In- stitute of Buddhist Studies an unlimited license to publish and reprint the essay. This license includes, but is not limited to, any media format (hard copy, electronic, etc.), and international rights. Copyright remains the author’s. EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Richard K. Payne, Chair David Matsumoto Eisho Nasu Natalie Quli, Assistant Editor REVERSE TITLE PAGE iv PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Third Series, Number 9 Fall 2007 SPECIAL Iss UE : Essays Celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary CONTENTS Prolegomenon LE S LIE KAWAMURA AND SARAH HAYNE S 1 The Unanswered Questions: Why Were They Unanswered? A Re-examination of the Textual Data YA K UPITIYA G E KARUNADA S A 3 The Role of Prātimokṣa Expansion in the Rise of Indian Buddhist Sectarianism CHARLE S S. PREBI S H 33 Transitivity, Intransitivity, and tha dad pa Verbs in Traditional Tibetan Grammar TOM J. F. TILLEMAN S 49 How Did the Buddhists Prove Something? The Nature of Buddhist Logic SHORYU KAT S URA 63 An Instance of Dependent Origination: Are Krishnamurti’s Teachings Buddhadharma? HILLARY RODRI G UE S 85 Christina “the Astonishing” Meets the Tibetans Returning from the Beyond: A Case of Mutual Recognition? PAUL WILLIAM S 103 v Striving for Perfection: On the Various Ways of Translating Sanskrit into Tibetan MICHAEL HAHN 123 The Buddhist Pratimālakṣaṇa: “Defining the Image” CHARLE S WILLEMEN 151 Mythologies of Bosat Viṣṇu JOHN CLI ff ORD HOLT 169 Expanding Notions of Buddhism: Influences beyond Meiji Japan JOHN HARDIN G 189 The Names of Buddhist Hells in East Asian Buddhism INE K E VAN PUT 205 The Cult of Amitābha and the Apotheosis of the Tibetan Ruler EV A NEUMAIER 231 Ākāra and Direct Perception (Pratyakṣa) K. L. DHAMMA J OTI 245 Aparimitāyus: “Tantra” and “Pure Land” in Medieval Indian Buddhism? RICHARD K. PAYNE 273 Book Reviews 309 BDK English Tripitaka Series: A Progress Report 331 vi Prolegomenon Leslie Kawamura, Professor Holder of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies Department of Religious Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Calgary Sarah Haynes, Assistant Professor Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies Western Illinois University FROM MAY 13 TO 17, 2004, A SYMPOSIUM to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the Chair of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religious Studies was held at the University of Cal- gary. Through the kind assistance of Dr. Akira Yuyama, the first Visit- ing Numata Scholar to the University of Calgary, an original donation of $300,000 Canadian was received in 1987 from Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK Tokyo, Japan). To this was added a donation of $35,000 Canadian from the Honpa Buddhist Churches of Alberta. Both donations were matched two to one by the Government of Alberta to establish the Nu- mata Chair of Buddhist Studies Endowment of $1,000,000 Canadian at the University of Calgary. During the intervening years, the Numata Endowment sponsored international scholars who resided at the University of Calgary for one term (a four-month period) or for longer periods of up to one year to teach, to conduct research, and to give public lectures. The public lec- tures have been published (except for a few at the beginning, from the early stages of the Endowment, when there were insufficient funds for publication) and can be obtained free of charge from the Department of Religious Studies. The symposium brought together scholars who were recipients of the Numata fellowships at the University of Calgary. Other scholars 1 2 Pacific World from the University of Lethbridge, where Numata Visiting Scholars lectured in its classes or gave public lectures, also participated in the symposium. Invitations for the symposium were sent to BDK Canada, BDK US, BDK Japan, and to scholars who were Numata Chair Coordina- tors in North America. As part of the symposium, the group took a trip to the Canadian Rockies. It is with great pleasure that the papers presented at the sympo- sium are made available to the scholarly world and to the adherents of Buddhism. These papers are published as a tribute in memory of Mr. Yehan Numata and the members of the Honpa Buddhist Churches of Alberta who have kindly contributed towards the establishment of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies Endowment. Mr. Numata’s vision to propagate the buddhadharma throughout the entire world by means of both popular and academic projects has enabled the Department of Re- ligious Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Calgary to continue the Buddhist Studies Program. We look forward to a brighter future for Buddhist studies because of that vision. I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Haynes, Assistant Professor at West- ern Illinois University, for her untiring assistance in organizing the papers found in this volume. Thanks must be extended to Dr. Richard Payne, who kindly offered the Pacific Worldas the venue through which these papers could appear in print, and to Natalie Quli, Assistant Editor of the Pacific World who provided a majority of the editorial work re- quired to bring this volume to completion. It goes without saying that this volume could not have been possible without the contribution by the scholars who took the time and effort to attend and present papers at the Symposium. Thank you all. May these papers bring happiness and joy to all. The Unanswered Questions: Why Were They Unanswered? A Re-examination of the Textual Data Yakupitiyage Karunadasa Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Hong Kong EVER SINCE THE ACADEMIC study of Buddhism began in the early nineteenth century, one question that has intrigued scholars is why the Buddha deemed it unnecessary to answer certain questions. Although the Buddha gave his own reasons for leaving these questions unanswered, modern scholars wanted to know what other reasons lay behind the Buddha’s “silence.” So we find attempts being made to understand this situation in the light of such ideological stances as skepticism, agnosticism, pragmatism, logical positivism, and so on. Among the many writings on the subject of undetermined questions, the latest and most exhaustive is the one made by K. N. Jayatilleke in his monumental work, The Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge.1 After criti- cally examining all previous interpretations on the subject and basing himself on almost all textual data, Jayatilleke sums up his study in such a manner that it seems to exclude the need for any further contribu- tion to our
Recommended publications
  • A History of Buddhist Philosophy
    A HISTORY OF B U D D H IS T P H ILO S O P H Y Continuities and Discontinuities * DAVID J. KALUPAHANA A HISTORY OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Continuities and Discontinuities David J. Kalupahana MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED • DELHI Reprint: Delhi, 2006 First Indian Edition: Delhi, 1994 © 1992 University of Hawaii Press First Published by the University of Hawaii Press, 1992 ISBN: 81-208-1191-7 MOTILAL BANARSIDASS 41 U A Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007 8 Mahalaxmi Chamber, 22 Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai 400 026 236, 9th Main III Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 011 203 Royapettah High Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004 Sanas Plaza, 1302 Baji Rao Road, Pune 411 002 8 Camac Street, Kolkata 700 017 Ashok Rajpath, Patna 800 004 Chowk, Varanasi 221 001 For sale in India only Printed in India BY JAINENDRA PRAKASH JAIN AT SHR1JAINENDRA PRESS, A-45 NARAINA, PHASER, NEW DELHI 110 028 AND PUBLISHED BYNARENDRA PRAKASH JAIN FOR MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED, BUNGALOW ROAD, DELHI -110 007 This work, completed three days before an accident that left our youngest son, Milinda, paralyzed, is dedicated to our friends and well-wishers, at home and abroad, especially my colleagues Eliot Deutsch and Larry Laudan, whose gracious support lessened the trauma for both Milinda and the family. CONTENTS Introduction ix Abbreviations xv Part One: Early Buddhism I Indian Philosophy and the Search for Ultimate Objectivity 3 II Life of the Buddha 22 III Knowledge and Understanding 30 IV Experience and Theory (Paficcasamuppana and Pa(iccasamuppclda)
    [Show full text]
  • Back Copies of Buddhist Studies Review
    Vol. 15, 1 Buddhist Studies Review 1998 CONTENTS Frontispiece Buddhist Studies Review and the UK Association for Buddhist Studies.. .. ~ ..... 1 The Trials of Yasodhara and the Birth of Rahula: A Synopsis of Bhadrakalpavadana II-IX — Joel Tatelman .. 3 A Critical Examination of Nanavira's 'A Note on Paticcasamuppada' (I) — Bhikkhu Bodhi .. 43 -ft i 4- — tr. * $ Ekottaragama (XXIII) Thich Huyen-Vi and % Bhikkhu Pasadika 65 Obituaries; Jean Boisselier, Albert Le Bonheur, Walter Couvreur, Wtadysiaw Misiewicz, Bhikkhu Nanajlvako 71 Letter to the Editor 79 Review Article: Abhidhamma Studies at the British Buddhist Association and A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma — A. Haviland-Nye .. 81 Book Reviews 100 ISSN 0265-2897 © 1998 Buddhist Studies Review Buddhist Studies Review is the semi-annual journal of the U K Association for Buddhist Studies and is sponsored by the Inst i tut de recherche bouddhique Linh-Sdn Advisory Committee: Ven. Thich Huyen-Vi (Spiritual Adviser) Eric Cheetham J.W. de Jong Hubert Dun K.R. Norman G.C. Pande Charles Prebish Peter Skilling Paul Williams Editor. Russell Webb Assistant Editors: Bhikkhu Pasadika, Sara Boin-Webb N. American Representative: Charles S, Prebish For editorial addresses and subscription details,' see inside back cover. Vol.15, 1 BUDDHIST STUDIES REVIEW 1998 Frontispiece: the calligraphy in Sino-Vietnamese characters (Norn) by Ven Thich Huyen-Vi reads: Buddhist Studies Review and the UK Association for Buddhist Studies As of 1998, Buddhist Studies Review has been endorsed as the Mental phenomena are preceded by mind, have journal of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies. All paid up mind as their leader, are made by mind.
    [Show full text]
  • J. W. De Jong Bibliography 1949–1986, Hokke Bunka Kenky∑ 14 (1988), Pp
    J. W. de Jong Bibliography ( 1949 – 2000) 1 Abbreviations ALB = Bulletin of the Adyar Library AM = Asia Major AS = Asiatische Studien Bespr. = Besprechung BSOAS = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) CAJ = Central Asiatic Journal CR = Compte rendu FEQ = Far Eastern Quarterly HJAS = Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies IBK = Indogaku Bukkyøgaku Kenky∑ (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) IIJ = Indo-Iranian Journal JA = Journal Asiatique JAOS = Journal of the American Oriental Society JIABS = Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies JIP = Journal of Indian Philosophy OLZ = Orientalistische Literaturzeitung TP = T’oung Pao ZAS = Zentralasiatische Studien ZDMG = Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft * This Bibliography is based on J. W. de Jong Bibliography 1949–1986, Hokke bunka kenky∑ 14 (1988), pp. 1–63. J. W. de Jong Bibliography 1987–1997, Hokke bunka kenky∑ 25 (1999), pp. 1–63. Minoru HARA,J. W. de Jong hakase no chøsei o itamu, Tøhøgaku, no. 100, 2000, pp. 301-309. 2 1949 l. Cinq chapitres de la Prasannapadå (= Buddhica. Documents et Travaux pour l’étude du Bouddhisme. Collection fondée par Jean Przyluski, publiée sous la direction de Marcelle Lalou, première série: Mémoires, tome IX). Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1949; XVI + 167 pp. [Ph.D. thesis, University of Leiden]. 2. Contributions à Bibliographie bouddhique, IX-XX, Paris, 1949. 1950 3. Le problème de l’absolu dans l’école Madhyamaka, Revue philosophique de la France et de l’étranger, Paris, 1950; pp. 322-327. [Cf. no. 200] 1951 4. Suggestions for a Polyglot Buddhist Dictionary, Våk, I (Poona, Dec. 1951), pp. 5-7.
    [Show full text]
  • Nothing Transcended
    Nothing Transcended An examination of the metaphysical implications of interdependence Justin Shimeld, BA (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania April 2012 This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of the my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: Date: Justin Shimeld 2 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors for all their help and support - Jeff Malpas for his feedback and insightful suggestions, Wayne Hudson for helping me to find my way and Sonam Thakchoe for all his time and wisdom. It was Sonam’s presence and attitude which inspired me to look further into Buddhism and to investigate a way out of the ‘nihilism’ of my Honours project – research which became the foundation of this thesis. I would also like to thank my two anonymous examiners for their helpful comments. A special thanks to David O’Brien, a master whose interests and drive for knowledge are unbound by any field. He has taught me so much and also read my draft, giving invaluable feedback, particularly, with regard to my use of commas, grammatical clarification! I am indebted to my friends and colleagues at the School of Philosophy at UTas who created a rich atmosphere provoking thought across diverse subjects, through papers, seminars and conversations.
    [Show full text]
  • Aśvaghoṣa and His Canonical Sources II Yaśas, the Kāśyapa Brothers and the Buddha’S Arrival in Rājagha (Buddhacarita 16.3–71) *
    Aśvaghoṣa and his canonical sources II Yaśas, the Kāśyapa brothers and the Buddha’s arrival in Rājagha (Buddhacarita 16.3–71) * Vincent Eltschinger Introduction According to Paramārtha’s (499–569) Life of Vasubandhu (T. 2049), Aśva ghoṣa played a major role in the composition of the Mahā vibhāṣā, a/the literary outcome of the synod held in Kaśmīr at the invitation of the Abhidharma scholar Kātyāyanīputra.1 As this account has it, Aśvaghoṣa committed to literary Sanskrit what Kāt yā yanīputra, 500 arhats and 500 bodhisattvas dictated to him.2 * Most sincere thanks are due to Jens-Uwe Hartmann, Isabelle Ratié, Richard Salomon and Vincent Tournier for their careful reading of this paper and their many suggestions. 1 On this synod, see Frauwallner 1952: 250–256 and Willemen/Dessein/ Cox 1998: 116–121. For Paramārtha’s account, see T. 2049, 189a1–26 (Taka- kusu 1904: 276–279), and below, n. 2. 2 Takakusu 1904: 278–279: “The Bodhisattva, Ma-ming (Aśvaghoṣa), who was a native of Sha-ki-ta (Sāketa) of the country of Sha-yei (Śrāvastī), was well versed in the eight divisions of the Bi-ka-la (vyākaraṇa) treatise, in the four Vedas, and the six treatises on them (vedāṅgas), and was con- versant with the Tripiṭakas of all the eighteen (Buddhist) schools. He was the Laureate of Literature, the Treasury of Learning, the Home of every Virtue. Kātyāyanīputra sent an envoy to Śrāvastī to invite Aśvaghoṣa in or- der to embellish for him the literary compositions. When Aśvaghoṣa came to Ki-pin (Kaśmīra), Kātyāyanīputra expounded the eight books [of the Jñānaprasthāna, VE] in succession.
    [Show full text]
  • Deconstructing Androcentrism in Buddhist Literature Through the Lens of Ethnography: a Case Study of Bhutanese Nuns
    KEMANUSIAAN Vol. 25, Supp. 1, (2018), 143–165 Deconstructing Androcentrism in Buddhist Literature Through the Lens of Ethnography: A Case Study of Bhutanese Nuns *SONAM WANGMO JULI EDO KAMAL SOLHAIMI FADZIL Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia *Corresponding author: [email protected] Published online: 20 December 2018 To cite this article: Wangmo, S., Edo, J. and Fadzil, K.S. 2018. Deconstructing androcentrism in Buddhist literature through the lens of ethnography: A case study of Bhutanese nuns. KEMANUSIAAN the Asian Journal of Humanities 25(Supp. 1): 143–165, https://doi.org/10.21315/ kajh2018.25.s1.8 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.21315/kajh2018.25.s1.8 Abstract. Traditional androcentric sociology has reinforced biased views of women and portrayed women as silent research objects of minor importance that figure marginally in academic writing, thereby distorting the knowledge base. The same tendencies have been observed in Buddhist religious literature. The bone of contention in the feminist critique of Buddhism is the omission of women from religious literature. Although Buddhist women’s spiritual prowess was well documented in early Buddhism in religious literature such as the Therīgatha, later Buddhist literature began to demonstrate androcentric tendencies, in most instances completely ignoring the religious lives of women. Since women have been largely sidelined in Buddhist texts, it is important to go beyond textual dimensions to gain deeper insights into women’s religious lives. The feminist Buddhist scholar, Rita Gross (2009), in her monumental work, A Garland of Feminist Reflections, emphasised the need to explore various ways other than our own to think, live and practice religion to broaden our horizons to avoid a narrow-minded approach to academic research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Life and Scholarship of the Eighteenth- Century Amdo Scholar Sum Pa Mkhan Po Ye Shes Dpal ’Byor (1704-1788)
    Renaissance Man From Amdo: the Life and Scholarship of the Eighteenth- Century Amdo Scholar Sum Pa Mkhan Po Ye Shes Dpal ’Byor (1704-1788) The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:40050150 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Renaissance Man From Amdo: The Life and Scholarship of the Eighteenth-Century Amdo Scholar Sum pa Mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor (1704-1788) ! A dissertation presented by Hanung Kim to The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of History and East Asian Languages Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts April, 2018 © 2018 – Hanung Kim All rights reserved. ! Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp Hanung Kim Renaissance Man From Amdo: The Life and Scholarship of the Eighteenth- Century Amdo Scholar Sum pa Mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor (1704-1788) Abstract! This dissertation examines the new cultural developments in eighteenth-century northeastern Tibet, also known as Amdo, by looking into the life story of a preeminent monk- scholar, Sum pa Mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor (1708-1788). In the first part, this study corroborates what has only been sensed by previous scholarship, that is, the rising importance of Amdo in Tibetan cultural history.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism: It,S Role and Importance in Bhutanese Culture
    Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 Buddhism: it,s role and importance in Bhutanese culture Research Scholar Pankaj Kumar Department of Western History University of Lucknow Abstract Bhutan is situated along the southern slopes of the Great Himalaya range. It is bounded by the table-land of Tibet on the north ; the plains of jalpaiguri district of west Bengal and Goalpara , kamrup and Darrang districts of Assam in the south; the Chumbi valley ( Tibet) , Sikkim and Darjeeling district of west Bengal in the west ; and the kameng district of the Arunachal Pradesh on the east. Before the introduction of Buddhism in Bhutan, the prevalent religion was Bon. Some scholars assert that it was imported from Tibet and India, perhaps in the eighth century when Padmasambhava introduced his lineages of Vajrayana Buddhism into Tibet and the Himalayas. The history of Bhutan is mainly the history of spreading of Buddhism and it,s different sects those creates main bases for Bhutanese culture from ancient time to till now. Many famous monks such like Guru Padmasambhawa presented many religious rituals and symbols before Bhutanese people those became traditions and culture. Buddhism and Bhutanese culture are seems like mirror of each other. Bhutanese dresses, dances, festivals, rituals, paintings etc. directly follows Buddhism. Key word:- Bhutan, Buddhism, Culture, Padmasambhawa, Ngawang Namgyal, Driglamnamzha, Introduction Bhutan is situated along the southern slopes of the Great Himalaya range. It is bounded by the table-land of Tibet on the north ; the plains of jalpaiguri district of west Bengal and Goalpara , kamrup and Darrang districts of Assam in the south; the Chumbi valley ( Tibet) , Sikkim and Darjeeling district of west Bengal in the west ; and the kameng district of the Arunachal Pradesh on the east.1 Bhutan is situated 88 deg.45 min to 92 deg.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism and Medicine in Tibet: Origins, Ethics, and Tradition
    Buddhism and Medicine in Tibet: Origins, Ethics, and Tradition William A. McGrath Herndon, Virginia B.Sc., University of Virginia, 2007 M.A., University of Virginia, 2015 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia May, 2017 Abstract This dissertation claims that the turn of the fourteenth century marks a previously unrecognized period of intellectual unification and standardization in the Tibetan medical tradition. Prior to this time, approaches to healing in Tibet were fragmented, variegated, and incommensurable—an intellectual environment in which lineages of tantric diviners and scholarly literati came to both influence and compete with the schools of clinical physicians. Careful engagement with recently published manuscripts reveals that centuries of translation, assimilation, and intellectual development culminated in the unification of these lineages in the seminal work of the Tibetan tradition, the Four Tantras, by the end of the thirteenth century. The Drangti family of physicians—having adopted the Four Tantras and its corpus of supplementary literature from the Yutok school—established a curriculum for their dissemination at Sakya monastery, redacting the Four Tantras as a scripture distinct from the Eighteen Partial Branches addenda. Primarily focusing on the literary contributions made by the Drangti family at the Sakya Medical House, the present dissertation demonstrates the process
    [Show full text]
  • The Looping Journey of Buddhism: from India to India
    Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-9, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in The Looping Journey of Buddhism: From India To India Jyoti Gajbhiye Former Lecturer in Yashwant Rao Chawhan Open University. Abstract: This research paper aims to show how were situated along the Indus valley in Punjab and Buddhism rose and fell in India, with India Sindh. retaining its unique position as the country of birth Around 2000 BC, the Aarya travelers and invaders for Buddhism. The paper refers to the notion that came to India. The native people who were the native people of India were primarily Buddhist. Dravidian, were systematically subdued and It also examines how Buddhism was affected by defeated. various socio-religious factors. It follows how They made their own culture called “vedik Buddhism had spread all over the world and again Sanskriti”. Their beliefs lay in elements such Yajna came back to India with the efforts of many social (sacred fire) and other such rituals. During workers, monks, scholars, travelers, kings and Buddha’s time there were two cultures “Shraman religious figures combined. It examines the Sanskriti” and “vedik Sanskriti”. Shraman Sanskrit contribution of monuments, how various texts and was developed by “Sindhu Sanskriti” which their translations acted as catalysts; and the believes In hard work, equality and peace. contribution of European Indologists towards Archaeological surveys and excavations produced spreading Buddhism in Western countries. The many pieces of evidence that prove that the original major question the paper tackles is how and why natives of India are Buddhist. Referring to an Buddhism ebbed away from India, and also what article from Gail Omvedt’s book “Buddhism in we can learn from the way it came back.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading the Early Biography of the Tibetan Queen Yeshe Tsogyal
    Literature and the Moral Life: Reading the Early Biography of the Tibetan Queen Yeshe Tsogyal The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Angowski, Elizabeth. 2019. Literature and the Moral Life: Reading the Early Biography of the Tibetan Queen Yeshe Tsogyal. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42029522 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Literature and the Moral Life: Reading the Early Biography of the Tibetan Queen Yeshe Tsogyal A dissertation presented by Elizabeth J. Angowski to The Committee on the Study of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of The Study of Religion Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts January 24, 2019 © 2019 Elizabeth J. Angowski All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Janet Gyatso Elizabeth J. Angowski Literature and the Moral Life: Reading the Early Biography of the Tibetan Queen Yeshe Tsogyal ABSTRACT In two parts, this dissertation offers a study and readings of the Life Story of Yeshé Tsogyal, a fourteenth-century hagiography of an eighth-century woman regarded as the matron saint of Tibet. Focusing on Yeshé Tsogyal's figurations in historiographical and hagiographical literature, I situate my study of this work, likely the earliest full-length version of her life story, amid ongoing questions in the study of religion about how scholars might best view and analyze works of literature like biographies, especially when historicizing the religious figure at the center of an account proves difficult at best.
    [Show full text]
  • How Buddhism Looks at Philosophical Theories
    How Buddhism Looks at Philosophical Theories Professor Y. Karunadasa Buddha-Dharma Centre of Hong Kong June 2019 Final Goal of Buddhism • Freedom from suffering • From an epistemological perspective, this means: ➢ freedom from all theoretical views and ideologies. ➢ abandonment of all metaphysical and theological speculations. 2 Buddhist Psychology of Philosophy • How Buddhism debunks philosophical speculation: ➢ Not through philosophical arguments, but by psychological analysis. ➢ This may be described as the “Buddhist Psychology of Philosophy’’. 3 Buddhist Psychology of Philosophy • What this means: ➢ Rather than resorting to logic and argumentation, Buddhism seeks to transcend all views and ideologies. ➢ This is done through diagnosis of their psychological mainsprings, the psychological factors responsible for their emergence and prevalence in the world. 4 Buddhist Psychology of Philosophy • What this really means: ➢ Buddhism takes into account psychological factors serving as causes for emergence of ideological positions. ➢ Underlying premise: Our desires and expectations have a direct impact on what we choose to believe in. 5 Buddhist Psychology of Philosophy • So, from Buddhist perspective: ➢ All metaphysical speculations are merely externalizations of our deep-seated desires and innate anxieties. ➢ Some speculative views and ideologies could appear as very lofty and profound, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. ➢ Nonetheless, the Buddhist position is they are but rationalizations of our self-centered desires to satisfy our innermost yearnings and compulsive urges. 6 Evidence for the Buddhist Perspective • Found in First Buddhist Discourse in Long Collection of Pali Canon “The All-Embracing Net of Views’’ ➢ Contains some 62 religious/philosophical views on nature of the “self” (atta) and the “world” (loka). ➢ All have as their epistemological ground: ❖ “logic and pure reasoning” (takka-vimaṃsā) ❖ or experience gained in “mental concentration” (ceto- samādhi) ❖ or combination of both.
    [Show full text]