Buddhist Studies

This seminar is an intensive introduction to various genres of Buddhist literature in Classical Chinese, including translations of Sanskrit and Central Asian scriptures. Chinese commentaries, philosophical treatises, hagiographies, and sectarian works. It is intended for graduate students who already have some facility in Classical Chinese. It will also serve as a tools and methods course, covering the basic reference works and secondary scholarship in the field of East Asian Buddhism. 

This semester we will be focusing on selections from the first fascicle of the Dasheng yi zhang 大乘義章 (T.1851: 44), an encyclopedic compilation by Jingying Huiyuan 淨影慧遠 (523-592) who is commonly (but somewhat misleadingly) associated with the southern branch of the Dilun 地論 school. Time permitting, we will focus on three sections: (1) the twelve-fold division of the canon, (2) buddha-nature, and (3) the two truths. We will couple our reading of the Dasheng yi zhang with secondary sources bearing on doctrinal controversies in sixth-century Chinese Buddhism.