MAHĀPIṬAKA
Newsletter New Series No. 26

January 1, 2021

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE of
the ENGLISH TRANSLATIONof the CHINESE TRIPIṬAKA
Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai(Society for the Promotion of Buddhism)

Editor: Kenneth K. Tanaka

Table of Contents
Publishing Schedule
Published in 2020.................................................................................................. 1
Forthcoming titles ................................................................................................. 1
Report:The 71st Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies Conference
By KANNO Hiroshi ............................................................................................... 2
Report:Dr. MAYEDA Sengaku Selected the Recipient of BDK Award (Cultural Awardfor the Promotion of Buddhism): Previous Chairperson of the Editorial
Committee of BDK English Tripitaka
By Kenneth K. Tanaka.......................................................................................... 4
Obituaries:
ISHIGAMI Zennō (1929–2020)
By YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu ................................................................................... 5
YUYAMA Akira (1933–2019)
By WATANABE Shogo .......................................................................................... 6
Committee Members ........................................................................................................ 7

Publishing Schedule
Published in 2020:

THE MADHYAMA ĀGAMA (MIDDLE-LENGTH DISCOURSES)(中阿含經 Chū-agonkyō, Taishō 26)

Volume IITranslated by 關則富, 朱倍賢, 釋法曜, Marcus Bingenheimer, and 釋純因
Edited by Bhikkhu Anālayo and Roderick S. Bucknell

THE FAYUAN ZHULIN (THE JADE GARDEN OF DHARMA FOREST)(法苑珠林 Hō-on-jurin, Taishō 2122)

Volume III (Fasc. 13–20)
Translated by Koichi Shinohara

Volume IV (Fasc. 21–27)
Translated by Harumi Hirano Ziegler
Forthcoming titles:

MADHYĀNTAVIBHĀGA BHĀṢYA/ THE SCRIPTURE ON THE MONKNĀGASENA(辯中邊論 Ben-chū-hen-ron, Taishō 1600/ 那先比丘經 Nasen-biku-kyō, Taishō 1670B)
Translated by Jeffrey Kotyk/ Bhikkhu Anālayo

THE MAHAYANA SUTRA OF PREVIOUS LIVES AND CONTEMPLATION
OF THE MIND-GROUND(大乘本生心地觀經 Daijō-honjō-shinji-kangyō, Taishō 159)
Translated by Rolf W. Giebel

THE FAYUAN ZHULIN (THE JADE GARDEN OF DHARMA FOREST)(法苑珠林 Hō-on-jurin, Taishō 2122)

Volume V–VI (Fasc. 28–40)
Translated by Harumi Hirano Ziegler

THE MADHYAMA ĀGAMA (MIDDLE-LENGTH DISCOURSES)(中阿含經 Chū-agonkyō, Taishō 26)

Volume III–IV
Translated by 關則富, 朱倍賢, 釋法曜, Marcus Bingenheimer, and 釋純因
Edited by Bhikkhu Anālayo and Roderick S. Bucknell*The following two are tentative, contingent upon factors beyond PC Control.

OBSERVING THE MIND, AWAKENING FROM A DREAM(觀心覺夢鈔 Kan-jin-kaku-mu-shō, Taishō 2312)
Translated by A. Charles Muller

TREATISE ON THE TEN GROUNDS(十住毘婆沙論 Jūjū-bibasha-ron, Taishō 1521)
Translated by Dharmamitra

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Report:

The 71st Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies Conference
KANNO Hiroshi
Professor, Soka University
The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (JAIBS) was founded in 1951 and is Japan’slargest academic association in the fields of Indian Studies and Buddhist Studies, with its current
membership standing at over 2,000 people. Its academic conferences are held annually, and the 71st
conference was held at Soka University (located in Hachioji City, Tokyo) for two days, July 4–5, 2020.
In recent years, the conference has been held at the beginning of September. However, this year’s
conference was moved up for two months, since the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic were scheduled
July 9th – 24th and August 25th – September 6th, respectively.
For Soka University, this was the first time to host the conference of JAIBS; we began to prepare
for it from the autumn of 2019. When we look back, the first infection of the novel coronavirus (COVID19) was reported on January 16, 2020, and Japan’s pandemic entered its early stage from February
through March.
For the conference, we accepted 248 applications for the research presentations from February 22
to March 3, which were a little less than those of the ordinary year. We admitted 248 applicants (thenumber of speakers must be lower than 250) and started making the program. However, the infection of
the new coronavirus kept increasing, and the Emergency Declaration for the whole country was finally
announced officially on April 7 (it ended on May 25).
As things kept going from bad to worse, Soka University could not help but to shut down theschool facilities and forbid people to enter the campus on April 9. As a result, it became impossible forSoka University to convene the JAIBS conference on its campus. However, the Head Office of JAIBSand Soka University thought that they could not cancel this important conference easily. So weadministered a questionnaire concerning the possibility of an online presentation for the speakers. In a
survey, 60% answered: “possible.” So at the special meeting of the Board of Directors, it was officiallydecided to hold an online presentation (by using Zoom) on May 16.
As a result, there were 218 online speakers and 16 alternate speakers (they uploaded theirpresentation documents to Google Drive, and received the other participants’ questions and comments),
while 14 speakers declined presentations. Afterwards, there were amazingly many tasks for an online
conference until the actual day of the conference. As its details are available athttps://sites.google.com/view/jaibs71/, we would like you to refer to it by all means, if interested.
Presentations were given in ten sessions in the morning and the afternoon on July 4th, and they
were given in nine sessions and a special session, “Literature, Thought, and Culture of the Lotus Sutra”
in the morning on the 5th. In the afternoon of the 5th, panel A “The lineages of transmission of the2Abhidharmasamuccaya: from India to Tibet, and from the past to the future” convened by TAKAHASHI
Kōichi and panel B “The Concept of ‘Human Dignity’ and Buddhist Thoughts” convened by MAEGAWA
Kenichi were held. A total of more than 400 participants, including the speakers, attended thisconference.
From session one to session five (the morning and the latter part of the afternoon of the first day)covered Brahmanism, Hinduism, Indian Philosophy, Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. From thesession five (from the latter part of the afternoon of the first day on) to session seven (the morning of
the first day) dealt with Chinese Buddhism (partly Korean Buddhism). From session seven (from theafternoon of the first day on) to session ten (only the first day) were devoted to Japanese Buddhism.
In the special session there were two presentations concerning the Sanskrit version of the Lotus
Sutra, three presentations concerning Chinese Buddhist monks such as Daosheng, Zhiyi, and Kuiji, one
presentation

concerning

Wonhyo,one

presentation

concerningamanuscriptof

Saddharmapuṇḍarīkôpadeśa stored in Japan, and two presentations concerning Nichiren. I personallygave a presentation entitled “Zhiyi’s Understanding of the Relationship between the Lotus Sutra and the
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sutra: Including a Comparison with Jizang’s Understanding.”
In panel A, the information concerning materials at present concerning Abhidharmasamuccaya(the Sanskrit text and commentaries on the Tibetan translation) were introduced by four speakers, andone presentation concerning the method of arranging the digital texts was given. In panel B, thepresenters worked on the assumption that even though the concept of “Human Dignity” came from theWest, it is related to Buddhist thought and practices. The four speakers shared their views on how tothink about “Human Dignity” from the standpoint of Buddhism.
Fortunately, there was no serious trouble throughout the online conference, with the exception ofa few minor cases, in which the pictures and sounds of speakers were subpar due to poor connection.
In the evening of the first day, a general meeting was held and the chairperson of JAIBS,SHIMODA Masahiro gave the JAIBS academic awards to four young scholars, YANAGI Mikiyasu,
YAMAHATA Tomoyuki, FURUKAWA Yōhei and MURAKAMI Akiya. Then at the end of the day, 200participants attended the online convivial party.
Even though this time we were forced to hold an online conference due to the corona pandemic,
we found out that an online conference can be effectively used to expand the academic activities. I thinkthat we gained a valuable experience and were able to create an important manual for an online
conference in the future.

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Report:Dr. MAYEDA Sengaku Selected the Recipient of BDK Award:
Previous Chairperson of the Editorial Committee of BDK English Tripitaka
Kenneth K. Tanaka
Professor Emeritus, Musashino University
Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (BDK) awarded Dr. MAYEDA Sengaku its 54th Cultural Award, Bunka-shō. The
award ceremony and reception took place on October 8th at the BDK headquarters building in Tokyo.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. MAYEDA spoke of his indebtedness to his teacher, the late Dr.
NAKAMURA Hajime, for having inspired him to pursue the study of Indian philosophy. That inspiration
came when the young MAYEDA Sengaku took Dr. NAKAMURA Hajime’s undergraduate introductory
class on Indian philosophy at University Tokyo. This led to Dr. MAYEDA becoming one of the foremost
scholars on Indian philosophy, particularly on Vedānta.
Dr. MAYEDA’s accomplishments lie not only in the academic arena but also in his contributions
to the promotion of Buddhist studies and Indian Philosophy through his positions in various academic
and educational organizations. He served as the chairperson of the Japanese Association of Indian andBuddhist Studies for approximately 10 years (1991-1995, 1998-2002). During his tenure Dr. MAYEDA
succeeded in holding one of the association’s annual conferences in Korea, which constituted the first
and the only time this largest humanities academic association in Japan had held its meeting outside
Japan.
Dr. MAYEDA’s contributions to the education efforts are represented by his long years of serving
as a faculty member at various universities (as noted below) as well as of President of the Eastern
Institute, established by his teacher Dr. NAKAMURA Hajime. The Eastern Institute holds classes at its
campuses in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and elsewhere in Japan to anyone interested in pursuing theirstudies in Buddhism, Indian philosophy, and related fields, including Sanskrit. Dr. MAYEDA has alsotaught classes at the Eastern Institute, which are some of the best-attended classes at the Institute.
Born 1931 in Nagoya, Japan, Dr. MAYEDA graduated from the Dept. of Indian Philosophy andSanskrit Literature, Tokyo University in 1955. He continued his graduate studies at Tokyo University
and then at University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Ph.D. in the Dept. of Asian Studies. In 1973,
he was conferred Doctor of Literature from the University of Tokyo. His academic career includes
appointments as Associate Professor in the Dept. of Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania (1964),
Professor in the Dept. of Indian Philosophy, University of Tokyo (1982), Dean, Musashino Women’
University (1991), and Vice-President, Musashino University (1994).
Dr. MAYEDA is a recipient of numerous awards, including The Third Order of Merit with the
Middle Cordon of the Rising Sun (from the Japanese government in 2002) and The Buddhagunapakan
Kancanakiartigun – Highest Decoration of Excellence from the House of Representatives, Kingdom ofThailand (2011).

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Dr. MAYEDA’s publications in English include: Śaṅkara’s Upadeaśasāhasrī, Critically editedwith Introduction and Indices. Tokyo Hokuseido Press, 1973: A Thousand Teachings: The
Upadeśasāhasrī of Śaṅkara, Translated and edited by Sengaku Mayeda and Foreward by John M. Koller.
State

University

of

New

York

Press,

1992;“Lafcadio

Hearn

and

Buddhism,”

Bauddhavidyāsuddhākaraḥ: Studies in Honour of Heinz Bechert on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday,
ed. By Petra Kieffer-Pülz and Jens-Uwe Hartman, Swaistthal-Odendorf, 1997.
Finally, all of us associated with the English Tripiṭaka Translation project are especially elated
that this year’s award went to Dr. MAYEDA, for he has played a vital leadership role in our project. He
served for twenty-one years (1995-2016) as the Chairperson of the BDK English Tripiṭaka Editorial
Committee. Dr. MAYEDA inherited the position after the untimely passing of the first Chairperson of thecommittee, Dr. HANAYAMA Shōyū in 1995. During his acceptance speech of the award, Dr. MAYEDA
expressed regret that he was not able to see the translation project to its completion. However, those of
us who have worked closely with him, his contributions have been enormous and extensive.
We join all those who have been privileged to know and work with Dr. MAYEDA Sengaku in
expressing our congratulatory wishes and heartfelt joy for being selected recipient of this prestigious
award.

Obituaries:

ISHIGAMI Zennō (1929–2020)
YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu
Associate Professor, Taisho University
With enormous sadness, we have to report the passing of Professor ISHIGAMI Zennō, Professor Emeritus
of Taisho University. He passed away on November 30, 2020.
Born in Otaru City, Hokkaido, ISHIGAMI sensei graduated in 1953 from the Sanskrit study coursein the Department of Buddhist Studies at Taisho University and received his Master’s degree from thesame University in 1956. As a professor of Taisho University, he established a close relationship with
Dongguk University in Korea. After retirement from Taisho University, he served as President of
Shukutoku Junior College for many years.
In October of last year, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
recognized Prof. ISHIGAMI with an award for having rendered distinguished service in the area of
education at junior colleges throughout Japan. And in 2016, Professor ISHIGAMI was the recipient of theprestigious 50th Cultural Award for the Promotion of Buddhism, awarded by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai(BDK).
As a Jodoshū priest, ISHIGAMI Sensei served as President of the Jodo-Shu Research Institute andSanko Bunka Institute, located in Tokyo. We were privileged to have had Prof. ISHIGAMI’s participationin the BDK English Tripiṭaka Translation Project. He served as a member of its Editorial Committee

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from its inception in 1982. This means that he is two of the longest serving members of the committeewith 38 years of service. We shall miss his sagely advice at our Editorial Committee meetings.
We wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to his support and leadership in the area of Buddhist
research and propagation for not only at BDK but also for the academic and religious communities inJapan and beyond.

YUYAMA Akira (1933–2019)
WATANABE Shōgo
Professor, Toyo University
Dr. YUYAMA Akira, Professor Emeritus, Soka University, passed away on July 26, 2019 at the age of
85. Dr. YUYAMA played a vital role as a key member of the Editorial Committee of the BDK English
Tripiṭaka translation project from its inception in 1982 until 2009. In fact, he served as an extremelycompetent Vice-chairperson of the Editorial Committee for many years in support of the Chairperson,
Dr. HANAYAMA Shōyū. His contributions proved especially valuable to the project on account of hisvast connections throughout the world with numerous researchers in Buddhist Studies.
We wish to express our deepest appreciation to Dr. YUYAMA for his dedication and contribution
to the BDK English Tripiṭaka translation project. We pledge to work even harder to build on what Dr.
YUYAMA contributed to our translation project.
Please find below a very abbreviated list of Dr. YUYAMA’s representative academic
achievements:
Education:
1961–1967

Doctoral Course, Department of Indian Philosophy, University of Tokyo

1963–1965

The University of Leiden. (studied under J.W. de Jong & F.B.J. Kuiper)

1971

Doctor of Philosophy, Department of South Asian and Buddhist Studies,
Australian National University, Canberra)

Academic Posts:
1971–1973

Lecturer in Sanskrit, Australian National University

1976–1981

Director, The Reiyukai Library, Tokyo

1977–2007

Professor of Buddhist Sanskrit Philology in the International Research Institute forAdvanced Buddhology at Soka University, Tokyo.

Publications:
A Grammar of the Prajñā-pāramitā-ratna-guṇa-saṃcaya-gāthā (Sanskrit Recension A) (= OMS,
XIV). Canberra: 1973. xxxii and 190 pages.
Translated with KUBO Tsugunari. The Lotus of the Wonderful Law (BDK English Tripiṭaka, XIII,
1). Tokyo-Berkeley: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai, 1991. 332 pages.
Eugène Burnouf: The Background to his Research into the Lotus Sutra. Tokyo: 2000. 192 pages.

6Committee Members
Editorial Committee, Tokyo:
Kenneth K. Tanaka (Chairperson), Professor Emeritus, Musashino University
ICHISHIMA Shōshin, Professor Emeritus, Taisho University
KATSURA Shōryū, Professor Emeritus, Hiroshima University
MINOWA Kenryō, The University of TokyoSAITŌ Akira, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies
SHIMODA Masahiro, The University of TokyoWATANABE Shōgo, Toyo University
YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu, Taisho University
Publication Committee, Berkeley:
A. Charles Muller (Chairperson), Musashino University
Carl W. Bielefeldt, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University
Marianne Dresser, BDK America
Hudaya Kandahjaya, BDK America
Brian Kensho Nagata, BDK America
Robert H. Sharf, University of California, BerkeleyMAHĀPIṬAKA
Newsletter New Series No.26
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE of
the ENGLISH TRANSLATION of the CHINESE TRIPIṬAKA
c/o Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism)
4-3-14 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0014, JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-3455-5851
Fax: +81-3-3798-2758
E-Mail:bdk@bdk.or.jp
URL: http://www.bdk.or.jp

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