Talks Buddhist Studies Lecture Series continues this winter

"The Buddha’s Original Teaching versus Theravāda Buddhism: Conflicts between a Dissident Monk and the Monastic Authorities in Myanmar."

6 PM, room 400.02.12 (HCTS)

Abstract:
The compound “Theravāda Buddhism” was invented in the early 20th century (although the term “theravāda” is ancient). After the postwar period, it has come to be a prestigious term representing the earliest Buddhism and has become integral to national identity in South and Southeast Asia. Since the 1980s, the dissident, blue-robed monk Ashin Nyāna has been imprisoned three times, mainly for disseminating a form of Buddhism considered a Buddhist heresy (adhamma-wāda) by monastic authorities in Myanmar. Rejecting Theravāda Buddhism that is sanctioned by the state and monastic authorities, he claims that it represents a later, corrupt, and Brahmanized, or Hinduized form of Buddhism and contrasts it to the original teaching of the Buddha. This lecture will mainly explore an alternative history of early Buddhism outlined by Ashin Nyāna and his followers and demonstrate how their reform of Buddhism is shaped by modern developments, methods, and scholarship focusing on Buddhist doctrines.

“Copying Fees, Ownership, and Transmission of Sanskrit Manuscripts in Indian Buddhist Monasteries.”

6 PM, room 400.02.12 (HCTS)

Abstract:
In this talk, I start by looking at the colophons found in Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in Tibet. Some of these colophons include short notes written in Tibetan. These notes can tell us where a manuscript came from, where it was stored, and who owned it over the years. Thanks to this information, we can clearly see how Sanskrit manuscripts were looked after and passed down in Tibet.
This leads to another question: did Indian Buddhist monasteries have similar ways of owning, protecting, and passing on manuscripts? The evidence from India is not as abundant as that from Tibet, but some clues do survive. In this presentation, I give an initial overview of the traces of evidence that show how Sanskrit manuscripts were owned, copied, preserved, and handed down in Indian Buddhist monastic settings. I would also like to present a few, though limited, examples of the copying fees that were charged when manuscripts were reproduced.
 

“Indian-language inscriptions and graffiti from Roman Egypt.”
Co-organized with the South Asia Institute and the Institute of Papyrology

4 PM, room 010.01.05 (CATS Auditorium)

Abstract:
In this presentation we examine recent discoveries that shed new light on the presence of Indians in Egypt between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. Inscriptions in three different languages and scripts have been discovered in the Valley of the Kings, within the ancient capital of Thebes. The individuals responsible for these inscriptions originated from several regions of present-day India: some from the northwestern area of the subcontinent, others from its western regions, and still others from the southern extremity of the Indian peninsula. Their inscriptions can be correlated with recent finds from Berenike, a Red Sea port that has been under excavation for more than three decades. At Berenike, longer inscriptions in Indian languages have been uncovered; these were produced locally and provide evidence of an active Indian religious presence in the settlement. This interpretation is further supported by the discovery of representations of Indian deities, likewise manufactured in Egypt. It is plausible that Berenike served as the main point of entry into Egypt for those individuals whose names are recorded in no fewer than six tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

"In the Mirror of Karma: Reflecting on Reflection and Speaking of Dialogue in the Sanskrit Manuscript of the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra."

6 PM, room 400.02.12 (HCTS)

Abstract:
forthcoming