The Nāmamantrārthāvalokinī ('An Explanation of the Meaning of the Namemantras') is an early, and major, commentary on the Nāmasaṃgīti ('The Chanting of Names'). Written by the eighth century Indian ācārya Vilāsavajra, it survives in the original Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation. The Nāmasamgīti enumerates the 'Names' of Mañjuśrī, the Mahayana figure embodying wisdom, and it exerted a strong influence on liturgy, ritual and meditation in the later phase of Buddhism in India (750-1200 CE). Vilāsavajra's commentary is written from a Yogācāra perspective and interprets the 'Names' within an elaborate ritual framework which consists in a maṇḍala that has Mañjuśrī as its central deity. The central part of the thesis comprises a critical edition and annotated translation of the Sanskrit text of the first five chapters of Vilāsavajra's commentary, approximately a quarter of the whole. The critical edition is based on eight Nepalese manuscripts for which a stemma codicum is established. Two blockprint editions of the Tibetan translation are consulted at cruces in the Sanskrit. Their readings, treated as those of any other witness, are incorporated into the apparatus as appropriate. The edition is followed by textual notes. Introductory material is divided into two parts. Matters relating to the Sanskrit and Tibetan materials are discussed in a section placed before the edition. These include a description of the manuscripts, discussion of the method of editing, establishment of the stemma codicum and an assessment of the Tibetan translation. An introduction to the contents precedes the translation and is primarily concerned with an outline of the ritual structure of the commentary, giving particular attention to chapters 1-5. Evidence concerning the life and date of Vilāsavajra is considered, suggesting he should be placed in the latter part of the eighth century. Assessing the work's significance for the study of Buddhism, 1 suggest that it is of historical importance in that it throws light on the process by which Tantric methods were being related to soteriology in this period; and that it contains material, especially in the sādhana of chapter 4, that contributes to an understanding of the development of Tantric forms of Buddhist meditation. The work is also the only known instance of a commentary of a Yogatantra type that survives in Sanskrit.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 298-322).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 590-616).

This dissertation examines Japanese conceptions of and devotional attitudes toward Śākyamuni (the historical Buddha) during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. It focuses in particular on a new interest in Śākyamuni that arose in the twelfth century, and argues that this interest was a response to two developments: the appearance of the belief that the world had entered Buddhism’s final age, and the increasingly acute sense that Japan existed at the periphery of the Buddhist world. These two developments evoked in some clerics a sense of distance from the origins of Buddhism and a feeling of helplessness since the final age was a time when soteriological progress was thought to be particularly difficult. Japanese Buddhists were thus faced with a problem: how to proceed given these disadvantageous circumstances? Some clerics found comfort in theories about the Buddha Amida’s ability to take humans away from this world to his pure land, while others turned instead to the Mahāyāna Buddhist idea that humans are born enlightened (and thus need not worry about their personal salvation after all). The monks and texts at the center of my research instead looked to Śākyamuni in an attempt to reconnect with the source of the Buddhist tradition, thereby countering the inevitable decline of Buddhism by linking themselves to, and in some cases recreating, the imagined golden age that Śākyamuni and his Indian environs represented.

Buddhist translation has a long history and has become one of the most important translation activities in the new millennium. It plays an important role in popularizing the Buddhist doctrine and in facilitating the exchange of views on the Dharma between East and West. / But the sheer volume of texts to be translated and the complex nature of Buddhist translation bring challenges to translators. The use of electronic translation tools might provide a way out. To explore translation technology for the rendition of Buddhist texts and to evaluate its possible contributions, my research introduces six computational approaches to Buddhist translation. They highlight the significance of combining human intelligence and artificial intelligence in the process of translation. / I hope my research will help revolutionize Buddhist translation in the information age. It will also provide new insights into translation technology, Translation Studies, Buddhist studies, and translation activities in other domains. / The present research consists of 10 parts: Chapter 1 is the introduction, with the objectives and methodology explained. Chapter 2 (i) redefines Buddhist translation in a global context, and (ii) introduces the idea of translating Buddhist texts with technology. Chapters 3-8 explore the six approaches to bring technology and Buddhist translation together. Chapter 3 discusses the use of existing translation tools (e.g., translation engines and translation memory databases) and electronic resources (e.g., electronic Buddhist dictionaries). Chapter 4 presents a dialogue-based approach highlighting the interaction between human translators and virtual translation assistants. Chapter 5 examines a stepwise approach featuring human-aided natural language processing in a series of translation sub-tasks. Chapter 6 concerns itself with a hint-based approach involving computer-assisted human translation based on the automatic generation of translation tips and instant suggestions. Chapter 7 focuses on a collaborative approach to the open translation of Buddhist texts. Chapter 8 studies a new form of e-text that provides readers with new ways to interact with not only the target text but also other readers and translators. Chapter 9 examines possible ways to integrate the six approaches in different translation scenarios. Chapter 10 is the conclusion. / This study is a pioneer attempt to (i) explore computational approaches to the rendition of Buddhist texts and (ii) examine how these approaches might change the world of Buddhist translation in the digital era. / 蕭世昌. / Advisers: Sin Wai Chan; Yau Yuk Chong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-09(E), Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 306-318) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Xiao Shichang.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 284-294). Also available via World Wide Web.

<i>The Unravelers</i> is a Buddhist novel of literary fiction, which to my knowledge is the first in the last one hundred years to synthesize the Buddhist teachings and values found in the suttas of the <i>Pāli</i> Canon, the theory of ancient Indian <i>kāvya</i> literature, and the latest stylistic and structural innovations of contemporary literary fiction. The narrative follows four characters from the moment of their deaths as they manipulate the process of becoming—the mental act of creating and entering into “worlds”. The novel depicts the characters’ development of dispassion for a variety of realms, resulting in their eventual return to the human world with the motivation necessary to practice the Buddhist path. My critical essay opens with an introduction to <i>kāvya </i>and Theravāda Buddhist concepts that are particularly relevant to the process of creating a fictional world— namely, <i>saṅkhāra </i>(fabrication) and <i>bhava </i>(becoming)—and the inherent karma of writing. Section II “Literary Review” explores narrative modes from Theravāda Buddhist literature and develops them through experimental narrative modes of contemporary literary fiction. Section III discusses the depiction of becoming, fabrication, and dispassion through the novel’s characters. Section IV “<i>Rasa</i>,” explains the theory of how a reader experiences the work’s savor, while relating the use of <i>rasa </i>in<i> The Unravelers</i> to the early Buddhist <i>kāvyas </i>(the <i>Pāli </i>Canon’s <i>Udāna </i>and <i>Dhammapada</i>, and two works by Aśvaghoṣa). Section V evaluates the classic use of Buddhist concepts and metaphors in Aśvaghoṣa’s <i>Handsome Nanda</i> as compared to<i> The Unravelers</i>. Section VI examines Jack Kerouac’s <i>The Dharma Bums</i> as a forerunner to the genre of the Buddhist novel and Keith Kachtick’s <i>Hungry Ghost</i> as archetypal. Section VII concludes by detailing<i> The Unravelers</i>’ contribution to the Buddhist novel.

The dissertation delineates how the writings compiled in The Collected Works (Gsung ’bum) of Jey Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (1357–1419), the founder of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism, constitute the centrality of the Geluk thought and philosophy and have contributed towards the school’s formation. It details how the texts have played a prominent role in establishing doctrinal authority, defining philosophical boundaries, postulating intellectual identity, and reorienting monastic education for the school. These texts have also considerably enhanced the intellectual, spiritual, and charismatic authority of Jey Tsongkhapa as a teacher and philosopher. This dissertation bases its approach on the premise that the life and writings of Tsongkhapa define the core identity of the Geluk School and that an explicit rejection of either tantamount to an outright abnegation of its membership. The dissertation begins with a critical retelling of Tibet’s religious history to contextualize the subject. The second chapter presents the culture and practice of life writing in Tibet to inform about the mechanism employed in traditional auto/biographies. Given the enormous attention drawn by the study of Jesus Christ (c. 4 BCE–c. 33 CE) in western academia, the chapter includes a literary review of contemporary studies and research for their emulation in the study of Tibetan hagiographies. The life story of Tsongkhapa is recounted in the third chapter. The fourth chapter details significant historical events that helped recenter Tsongkhapa in the Tibetan religio-cultural landscape. The fifth chapter presents his oeuvre—The Collected Works, the first extensive xylographic work printed in Tibet in the early fifteenth century. It also outlines the volume contents, presents sample texts, and chronicles the history of its publication and printing. The sixth chapter illustrates the centrality of Jey Tsongkhapa’s writings and its integration into the Geluk monastic educational system. The seventh chapter explicates on the topic of textual transmission and demonstrates how the texts were passed down through unbroken lineages to this day. The dissertation concludes with an epilogue and other back matters, including a list of transliteration of names, which are phoneticized in the main body for the ease of reading.

This dissertation explores the use of new mass-media forms and technologies in early twentieth-century China to preserve and disseminate Chinese cultural heritage. It focuses on the contributions of Di Baoxian (狄葆賢 1873–1941), a publisher of art and Buddhist texts who established one of the earliest photography studios in Shanghai and a publishing house for art, the Youzheng Press (有正書局). Di pioneered the use of collotype reproduction to publish traditional Chinese art and founded the major newspaper Shibao, through which he preserved traditional literary genres in the form of newspaper columns. He was also interested in the practice of ghost photography to investigate supernatural elements associated with Buddhism and provide scientific evidence for these phenomena. This study situates Di’s work within the context of other art and Buddhist publishers and examines the emerging public art arena and political press as key sites for legitimizing Chinese Buddhism and creating new images of China’s past at a pivotal moment in the country’s history. The turn of the nineteenth century saw China’s territory partitioned among imperial powers, leading to the plundering of artistic treasures by rampaging armies and art collectors. Meanwhile, political reformers advocated art education to combat what they saw as superstitious Chinese religions obstructing China’s emergence as a powerful modern state. Despite these challenges, Buddhist literati like Di saw the miraculous aspects of Chinese religions as fully compatible with art education, modern science, and technology. Engaging with Victorian science and spiritualism, they used new technologies like photography to investigate supernatural phenomena associated with Buddhism, seeking to explain and substantiate them with evidence. Visualizing the seemingly invisible through practices like ghost photography became central to their efforts to preserve China’s cultural heritage amid the fall of the Qing empire (1644–1911). This dissertation argues that visual media became the preferred mode of authenticating the past and establishing a common Chinese culture in the early Republic, marking a shift away from a text-based literati culture. It brings Buddhist studies into dialogue with histories of art, print culture, and science and technology to explain how mass media and public art culture emerged in early twentieth-century China, how the preservation of art and literature became linked to Buddhist culture, and how Buddhist literati engaged with global trends of spiritualism, science, and media technologies.