MAHĀPIṬAKANewsletter New Series No. 19

January 1, 2014

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

Editor: MAYEDA Sengaku

Table of Contents
Publishing Schedule	 Published in 2013 ............................................................................................ 1
Forthcoming titles ............................................................................................ 2

Review:
Expository Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sutra (Translated by Jamie Hubbard)
ISHI’I Kōsei ................................................................................................... 2-3

Report:The 16th Biennial Conference of
the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies (IASBS)
Kenneth K. Tanaka ....................................................................................... 4-5

Announcement:
BDK Daizokyo Text Database
YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu ................................................................................. 6-8

Committee Members ................................................................................................. 9	 

Publishing Schedule	 Published in 2013:

1. TENDAI LOTUS TEXTS	 (無量義經 Muryōgikyō, Taisho 276)
Translated by KUBO Tsugunari and Joseph M. Logan	 (觀普賢菩薩行法經 Kanfugenbosatsugyōbōkyō, Taisho 277)
Translated by KUBO Tsugunari and Joseph M. Logan	 
(妙法蓮華經憂波提舍 Myōhōrengekyō-upadaisha, Taisho 1519)
Translated by Terry R. Abbott-Yamada(天台四敎儀 Tendaishikyōgi, Taisho 1931)
Translated by David W. Chappell & ICHISHIMA Masao

2. THE MADHYAMA ĀGAMA (MIDDLE-LENGTH DISCOURSES)
Volume I(中阿含經 巻一〜十六	 Chūagongyō, Taisho 26, Divisions 1-6 = fasc. 1-16)
Translated by
Bhikkhu Anālayo (Division 1)
Kin-Tung Yit (Division 2)
William Chu (Division 3)
Teng Weijen (Division 4)
Marcus Bingenheimer (Division 5)
Shi Chunyin (Division 6, fasc. 11-13)
Kuan Tse-fu (Division 6, fasc. 14-16)
Edited byMarcus Bingenheimer, Bhikkhu Anālayo, and Roderick S. Bucknell

3. THE NIRVANA SUTRA
Volume I(大般涅槃經 巻一〜十	 Daihatsunehangyō, Taisho 374, fasc. 1 - 10)
Translated by Mark L. Blum1

Forthcoming titles:

1. DISCOURSE TO PRINCE CANDRAPRABHA(月燈三昧經 Gattōzanmaikyō, Taisho 639)
Translated by MURAKAMI Shinkan

2. THE COLLECTION FOR THE PROPAGATION AND CLARIFICATION OF
BUDDHISM
Volumes I and II(弘明集 Gumyōshū, Taisho 2102)
Translated by Harumi Hirano Ziegler

3. THE ALL PLEASING: A COMMENTARY ON THE RULES OF DISCIPLINE(善見律毘婆沙 Zenkenritsubibasha, Taisho 1462)
Translated by MORI Sodō and ENDŌ Toshiichi	 

Review:Expository Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sutra
Translated by Jamie Hubbard(BDK English Tripiṭaka Series, published in 2012)
ISHI’I Kōsei
Professor, Komazawa University
This work constitutes an English translation of a commentary (henceforth, Commentary) attributed toPrince Shōtoku. Much discussion has ensued on the question of Shōtoku’s authorship of the ThreeCommentaries, one of which being the Commentary.
I have, however, determined that the three were written by the same person (or persons) andnot compiled in China. This conclusion was based on a computer analysis that revealed numerous
occurrences of unique style common only to these three works. And these were concentrated in
sections that contained interpretations not found in the Chinese commentaries. In other words, while
the Three Commentaries attributed to Shōtoku are abridged the Chinese commentaries from aroundthe Liang period, they also reveal a distinct interpretation by adopting an ungrammatical style on thosesections that captured their personal interest. As a result, these texts are extremely difficult tounderstand.
Regarding translation into modern Japanese of the Commentary, there is one by HANAYAMA
2Shinshō. However, it constitutes little more than a mere mechanical rendering of classical Chinese intomodern Japanese, and it also fails to explain many of the technical terms. At the same time, it contains
quite a few errors in interpretation. In order to read this work correctly, one must have a goodunderstanding of the general thought of the era around the Liang period as well as to have thoroughly
surveyed the unique style found on the Korean Peninsula and in Japan. In all likely, I may be the only
person in recent years to have read the Commentary by carrying out this kind of research. It isregrettable, therefore, that the present translation was completed prior to the publication of the findingsof my research. As a result, I have found quite a number of errors in the translation, particularly in theearlier part.
The translator has taken note of the researches that utilize Tibetan translation ofVimalakīrti-sūtra and the Sanskrit fragments. He has further attempted to clarify the differences
between the original text and the Chinese translation as well as between them and the Commentary.
These efforts are worthy of acknowledgement. Plus, I found it commendable that the translator has
adopted easy-to-understand English expressions whenever possible.
I found the “Translator’s Introduction” to be succinct and appropriate, but it was written
based on the views when the controversy surrounding the authorship of the three commentaries wasraging, but prior to the recent reassessment of Prince Shōtoku’s historical role. Consequently, heacknowledges the dominant view at the time that Prince Shōtoku was not the author of theCommentary. The translator, then, goes on to point out the extremely important role that theCommentary played throughout the history of Japanese Buddhism.
However, the fact of matter is that the active study of Shōtoku’s Three Commentaries lasted
only up around the Nara period, and since that time its interest was confined only to a segment ofmonks at Hōryūji, Shitennōji, and Tōdaiji. There is no evidence that they were read even by Shinran
who fervently admired Shōtoku as well as by Nichiren who was a passionate believer of the Lotus
Sutra (whose commentary constitutes one of the Three Commentaries). Indeed, the cult of Prince
Shōtoku was strong throughout the history of Japanese Buddhism, but the three commentaries were
never widely read and had any significant impact on the various schools of Japanese Buddhism.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the Commentary contains some distinctive qualities as acommentarial text. I wished that the translator had included a simple explanation as to how theCommentary differed from some of the previous commentaries found in China. Could the absence ofsuch an explanation reflect the possibility that the translator was unclear about its historical status,
including the possibility of it being of Chinese origin?	 	 

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	 Report:

The 16th Biennial Conferenceof the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies (IASBS)
Kenneth K. Tanaka
Professor, Musashino University
From May 31st to June 2nd we witnessed the gathering of the members of the IASBS on theUniversity of British Columbia campus, located in Vancouver, Canada for their 16th Biennial
Conference. This year also marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of IASBS. Further, thisconference was unprecedented in that the conference was co-sponsored with another organization, the“Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program” at the University of British Columbia.
Under the theme, “The Pure Land in Buddhist Cultures: History, Image, Praxis, Thought,” theconference drew 125 participants from approximately 10 countries with 49 paper presentations.
Further, there were two keynote speeches, made possible by the increased financial support by The
Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation and Rev. and Mrs. Doryu Baba of Miyazaki, Japan. These
funds also provided financial assistance for travel and accommodations for 13 young scholars under
the age of 40 as part of the IASBS policy to increase the participation of the next generation ofscholars.
The first of two keynote speakers of the conference was Dr. Georgios Halkias (VisitingAssociate Researcher at Oxford University), whose talk was entitled “The Three Paths to Amitabha’s
Pure Land: ‘Sutra,’ ‘Tantra’ and ‘Great Perfection’ Interpretations of Sukhavati in Tibet.” Dr. Halkias
addressed topics rarely discussed within IASBS due to its traditional focus on Japanese and East Asian
Pure Land Buddhism. He outlined some of the ways in which Pure Land scriptures, thought andpractices manifested themselves in the overall Tibetan Buddhist history. Prof. Halkias made frequent
reference to his recent book, Luminous Bliss: a Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet.
With an Annotated Translation and Critical Analysis of the Orgyen-ling golden shortSukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2012).
The second keynote was delivered by Dr. Masahiro Shimoda (Professor, Tokyo University)and entitled, “Early Pure Land Buddhism Manifesting as Written Text in Ancient India: A
Background for the Emergence of Buddhism of Otherness and Other Power.” The essence of his talkis effectively summarized by Prof. Jessica Main (Univ. of British Columbia), the chair of theconference, in her description: “Prof. Shimoda presented a novel way to understand the emergence of‘pure land’ as an identifiable movement within Mahayana Buddhism: as an effect of textualization.
That is, the text is a necessary historical technology for what we know as Pure Land Buddhism.”(IASBS Newsletter, Vol. 24, No. 1, August, 2013)
Each of the forty-nine presenters was included in one of the following 16 panels:1)

Pure Land Branches: Destinations

2)

Pure Land and Chan in Yuan Dynasty China

3)

Shin Interacting with American Religious Culture

44)Current Issues in Shin Buddhist Exegesis

5)

New Meeting Places: Pure Land in Modern Japanese Philosophy and Literature

6)

Claiming the Pure Land in Republican China

7)

Pure Land Roots: Origins

8)

New Fieldwork on Shin Buddhist Communities

9)

Envisioning the Pure Land from the Mountaintop, the Margins, and on the Move

10)

Original Features in Shinran’s Pure Land Thought:
Focusing on His Elucidation of Faith and Realization

11)

Social Dimensions of the Pure Land in Twentieth Century Japan

12)

Praxis in Chinese Pure Land Soteriology

13)Great American Pastimes? Baseball and Scouting Meet the Pure Land

14)

Rhetorical Strategies in Medieval Chinese Pure Land15)

Art and Iconography of the Pure Land

16)

Interpreting the Name of Amida Buddha

The titles reveal a broad range of topics, perhaps more than at any other previous conference.
This, too, reflects the expanded scope of topics as a result of the collaboration between the two groups.
Further, there was a higher percentage of younger presenters than in previous conferences, an outcomeof the concerted effort made by the two sponsoring organizations to encourage their participation.
The next conference is scheduled for the summer of 2015 at the Institute of Buddhist Studies
in Berkeley, California.
It is with pleasure that I make mention here of the fact that the IASBS was granted the statusof “Related Scholarly Organization” (RSO) by the American Academy of Religion. As a result, theIASBS hosted a panel at the 2013 AAR Conference. Entitled, “(Re)imagining the Founder: Shinran inModern Japanese History,” it was held on November 24, 2:00~5:00PM, in the Grand Ball Room West,of the Marriott Inner Harbor.	 

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Announcement:

BDK Daizokyo Database
YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu
Lecturer, Taisho University
The digital data of English Tripiṭaka series are now available in cooperation with SAT project.
I would like to introduce the website of the BDK Daizokyo Database.
Please access tohttp://bdk.or.jp/english/index.html
Please find the button of “Engllish
Tripitaka Digital Text”, and click it.

Please click the “Enter” button in thecenter of the page.

Then you will come to the top page of the BDK
Daizokyo Text Database.

On Left-side tabs
There are two tabs on the left side ― “Books” and “Tools.”

In the Books tab, English scripture titles are listed. When you
mouse over the title, a pop-up window displays the original
Chinese title and the translator's name.

6If you click on the title, the first pageof the English translation is displayedin the right side window.

On Search Functions
On the left side of the page, there is asearch box of “Keyword.” If you
input any word and press the enterbutton, a window of "Search result"appears, in which the occurrences inBDK translations are listed.

The window that provides access to various tools can be openedby clicking the “Tools” tab. You can also open the BDK-SATParallel Corpus and Bibliographical DB windows here.

On BDK-SAT Parallel Corpus

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If you select the part of the English translation
whose Chinese original you wish to see, thecorrespondent Chinese characters will appear
on the BDK-SAT Parallel Corpus.

On Bibliographical DB
This window provides a link to the other search engines, viz,Inbuds, Sards, and CiNii.

As is shown above, the BDK Daizokyo Database provides not only our English translations
but also research tools.

8Committee Members
Editorial Committee, Tokyo:
MAYEDA Sengaku (Chairperson), Professor Emeritus, The University of TokyoICHISHIMA Shōshin, Professor Emeritus, Taisho University
ISHIGAMI Zennō, Shukutoku Junior College
KATSURA Shōryū, Ryukoku University
NAMAI Chishō, Koyasan University
NARA Yasuaki, Professor Emeritus, Komazawa UniversitySAITŌ Akira, The University of TokyoSHIMODA Masahiro, The University of Tokyo
Kenneth K. Tanaka, Musashino University
WATANABE Shōgo, Toyo University
YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu, Taisho University
Publication Committee, Berkeley:Charles Muller (Chairperson), The University of Tokyo
Carl W. Bielefeldt, Stanford University
Marianne Dresser, BDK America
Hudaya Kandahjaya, BDK America
Brian Kensho Nagata, BDK America (President)
Robert H. Sharf, University of California, BerkeleyMAHĀPIṬAKANewsletter New Series No.19
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE ofthe 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-jp.org
URL: http://www.bdk-jp.org

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