Papers by Gregory Schopen
University of Hawaii Press eBooks, Dec 31, 1997
to both Rhys Davids and de La Vallee Poussin, but for them, it seems, Indian Buddhism and Indian ... more to both Rhys Davids and de La Vallee Poussin, but for them, it seems, Indian Buddhism and Indian Buddhist practice were conrained in eanonical texts. What 0/ Buddhist Monasticism (Colombo: 1974). 16. G. Bühler, "Votive Inscriptions from the Sänchi Stüpas," EI 2 (1894) 93; cf.
Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2010
Most modern scholars seem to assume that Buddhist monks in early India had a good knowledge of Bu... more Most modern scholars seem to assume that Buddhist monks in early India had a good knowledge of Buddhist doctrine and at least of basic Buddhist texts. But the compilers of the vinayas or monastic codes seem not to have shared this assumption. The examples presented here are drawn primarily from one vinaya, and show that the compilers put in place a whole series of rules to deal with situations in which monks were startlingly ignorant of both doctrine and text. One of these examples is particularly interesting for what it suggests about the linguistic sophistication of nuns, and another because it presents a case in which a nun is required to fill an important liturgical role in public and in the presence of monks.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS: This thesis attempts to present three separate but related bodies of material... more SCOPE AND CONTENTS: This thesis attempts to present three separate but related bodies of material which might contribute towards the eventual establishment of a new basic descriptive category in the field of Buddhist Studies: non-tantric puja. The first part deals with a previously unacknowledged form of the relic-cult; the second, with an equally unacknowledged cult of the book; the third with the image-cult. A fourth part indicates a few problematic factors involved in future research in the area. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface
Hualin international journal of Buddhist studies, Oct 1, 2019
Whatever else the Buddhist monastic community or Saṅgha was in early and medieval India, it was c... more Whatever else the Buddhist monastic community or Saṅgha was in early and medieval India, it was certainly an institution with economic interests and concerns. At least one of its monastic Codes or vinayas presents it as a legal or juristic personality that owned property-both real and movable-and as a corporation that was intended to generate wealth. The authors or redactors of that same Code invented, developed, or used a whole series of sophisticated legal and financial instruments (permanent endowments, indirect deposits, written wills, etc.) and fundraising techniques (organized and advertised fund drives, etc.). It also authorized the engagement of its monks in a wide variety of business ventures, and framed rules governing such enterprises as selling rice under market value, dealing in expensive cloth, providing hospice care, etc.). All of this will be surveyed, paying particular attention to the justification and rationalization of these practices, and how they embedded the monastery in the local economies-both agricultural and commercial-so that the monastery had vested interests in the local economy, and the economy had the same interests in the monastery.
The learned monk as a comic figure: on reading a Buddhist Vinaya as Indian literature
Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2007
Page 1. Abstract The difficulties involved in identifying, appreciating, and under-standing the i... more Page 1. Abstract The difficulties involved in identifying, appreciating, and under-standing the intentional humor of ''other'' people far removed in time and culture are well known, and arenot surprisinglyencountered in reading ...
The authors wish to thank the Ringling Museum, and in particular its Collections Manager, Rebecca... more The authors wish to thank the Ringling Museum, and in particular its Collections Manager, Rebecca Engelhardt, for facilitating our study of this object, for providing photographs of it, and for granting us permission to print them. Thanks are also due to Prof. John Huntington of Ohio State University for providing us with his photographs of the inscription in question.
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Jun 30, 2002
The authors wish to thank the Ringling Museum, and in particular its Collections Manager, Rebecca... more The authors wish to thank the Ringling Museum, and in particular its Collections Manager, Rebecca Engelhardt, for facilitating our study of this object, for providing photographs of it, and for granting us permission to print them. Thanks are also due to Prof. John Huntington of Ohio State University for providing us with his photographs of the inscription in question.
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Dec 31, 1991
The eastern buddhist. New series, 2000
L'A. traite de l'economie dans l'histoire du monachisme bouddhiste telle qu'elle ... more L'A. traite de l'economie dans l'histoire du monachisme bouddhiste telle qu'elle apparait dans le Mulasarvastivada-vinaya qui concerne la discipline bouddhique et qui a ete redige au debut du Moyen Age dans le nord de l'Inde.
The Lay Ownership of Monasteries and the Role of the Monk in Mūlasarvāstivādin Monasticism
Journal of the International Association of …, 1996
The eastern buddhist. New series, 2000
In spite of the fact that according to most periodizations, and in most current handbooks, the Mi... more In spite of the fact that according to most periodizations, and in most current handbooks, the Middle Period of Indian Buddhism is presented as the period of the MahŒyŒna, it is becoming increasingly obvious that there is little evidence to support this. Certainly this period—from the beginning of the Common Era to the ¤fth/sixth centuries—saw the production of a substantial body of MahŒyŒna sètras, but this production can no longer be viewed in isolation. The Middle Period in India saw a very great deal more as well, and the bulk of this has no demonstrable connection with the MahŒyŒna. As we look for the reasons that this other material has been ignored or marginalized and try to explain how the MahŒyŒna may have been assigned a place in the history of Indian Buddhism that it does not deserve, at least one thing is becoming clearer: the history of the MahŒyŒna in China may well have been the single most powerful determining force in how the history of the MahŒyŒna in India was per...
Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2019
approached, having venerated with their head the feet of the Blessed One, they stood to one side.... more approached, having venerated with their head the feet of the Blessed One, they stood to one side. Standing to one side that large number of monks said this to the Blessed One: 'We, Reverend, have stayed for three months [for the rainy season retreat] in Vairaṃbhya'. 3 In the Gilgit manuscript, instead of the text continuing, the reader is instructed at this point: vistareṇa vairaṃbhyasūtram ekottarikāgame catuṣkanipāte / (Supply) in full (the text of) the Vairaṃbhyasūtra (found) in the Section of Fours in the Ekottarikāgama.
The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 1994
to both Rhys Davids and de La Vallee Poussin, but for them, it seems, Indian Buddhism and Indian ... more to both Rhys Davids and de La Vallee Poussin, but for them, it seems, Indian Buddhism and Indian Buddhist practice were conrained in eanonical texts. What 0/ Buddhist Monasticism (Colombo: 1974). 16. G. Bühler, "Votive Inscriptions from the Sänchi Stüpas," EI 2 (1894) 93; cf.
Mahāyāna in Indian inscriptions
Indo-Iranian Journal, 1979
The Buddha as an owner of property and permanent resident in Medieval Indian monasteries
Journal of Indian philosophy, 1990
... catur-ddi~-~bhycigatobhaya-vihrira-prativ~si-bhi~u-sa~ghasya [.pi]@aptita-~ayaayancisana-g&am... more ... catur-ddi~-~bhycigatobhaya-vihrira-prativ~si-bhi~u-sa~ghasya [.pi]@aptita-~ayaayancisana-g&a-pratyaya-bhakajya-pari&iropayogtirttha~ ca pra[tip]iditah [I?]?' Given for the acquisition of perfumes, incense, flowers, lamps, oils, etc., for the Blessed Ones, the Fully and ...
On the Cusp of an Era, 2000
Indo-Iranian Journal, 17, 1975
THE PHRASE 'sa prthiv?pradegag caityabh~to bhavet" IN THE Vafracchedik~: NOTES ON THE CULT OF THE... more THE PHRASE 'sa prthiv?pradegag caityabh~to bhavet" IN THE Vafracchedik~: NOTES ON THE CULT OF THE BOOK IN MAHAYANA* The phrase sa p.rthivrpradegag caityabhfito bhavet at Vajracchedik~ (= Vaj) 12 & 15c represents neither the sole, nor even, perhaps, the most important occurrence of this curious formula. The Vaj occurrences are taken as the point of departure for the present paper because they represent the least fully articulated form of the phrase and its supportive context, and, as a consequence, are most open to misunderstanding if confronted in isolation. Further, by beginning from this point, we are able to illustrate in a more general way the danger of approaching any one piece of Buddhist Sfitra Literature-be it a phrase, a figure of speech, or a whole text-in isolation from its fellows, which generally-as in this case-exhibit an unexpected interlocking of seemingly disparate wholes. The approach followed here is to give the two occurrences of the phrase in the Va]; to look at them and note the difficulties; then to read both behind them and around them in the hope of understanding the intention of the phrase and-if any-its concrete referent. This method requires that we rely heavily on textual citations, and they will usually be given in full in the hope that, since the language of the various passages is similar but not identical, the manner of expression in one passage will illuminate a somewhat different expression in another passage, and vice versa. Our basic source materials are the Sanskrit texts; within the Sanskrit texts, in turn, our basic problem is one of how to understand the compound 'caityabh~ta'. As an ancillary aid to this understanding we have consulted throughout the Tibetan translations of our basic documents. In the process it became apparent that the Tibetan translators had had the same difficulty in rendering the term into Tibetan that modem translators had had in rendering it into modern European languages, proving, I suppose, that if our understanding of these passages is not altogether satisfactory, we can at least be consoled with the idea that we are in good company. Finally, in investigating the occurrence and the context of parallel or partially parallel versions of the phrase in works other than the Vaj, we stumbled upon some significant data which made possible a set of generalizations as to the evolution of basic cult-types in early Mahffyff_na. The first of the two occurrences which constitute our point of departure is Vaj 12 (Mffller, 28.10-17); Pargiter 181.13-182.3; Chakravarti, deest; *I should like to thank my friends in Canada who helped me, and the Canada Council for its generous financial support.
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Papers by Gregory Schopen