(Last updated, 29 August 2009)
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CONVENTION:
ASCII version of diacritical marks for Pali and Sanskrit used on this site are listed below:
- Long vowels are doubled: aa, ii, uu.
- Other diacritics precede the letters marked by them, so:
vowels: .r .l
retroflex consonants: .t .th .d .dh .n
retroflex sibilant: .s
palatal sibilant: "s
palatal nasal: ~n
guttural nasal: "n
anusvara: .m
visarga: .h
Examples: nirvaa.na, vi~n~naa.na.
(according to the Pali Text Society website)
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PUBLICATIONS (Last updated, 29 August 2009): (1) - (11) items.
(1) The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism (Singapore, 1995; second revised edition, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1999).
ISBN: 81-208-1649-8
- This book originated as an MA thesis (1994) at University of Queensland. It investigates the teachings of emptiness in early Buddhism, as recorded in the Paali and Chinese versions of the early Buddhist canon. In general, the finding is that these two versions, although differently worded, record in common that the teachings of the historical Buddha are connected with emptiness (su~n~nataapa.tisa.myuttaa). The notion of emptiness is mainly applied in the teachings of "empty of self-attachment" and "empty of the two extremes". By way of the wisdom of right view, leading to the highest peaceful state (nirvaa.na), the mind can, in this very life, be fully liberated from (empty of) suffering, affliction, and distress. Having shown that the emptiness-teachings are common to the Paali and Chinese versions, the author concludes that the notion of emptiness had arisen already in the period of the early Buddhist suutras, and was not simply a creation of the Mahaayaana.
The general reader, with little or no prior knowledge of Buddhism, can discover in this book how early Buddhism provides a vision and a method to help in overcoming the ills of the mind.
- For order, please contact the publisher, Motilal Banarsidass (www.mlbd.com), or search other booksellers.
(2) The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A comparative study based on the Suutraa"nga portion of the Paali Sa.myutta-Nikaaya and the Chinese Sa.myuktaagama (Series: Beitrage zur Indologie Band 32; Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2000).
ISBN: 3-447-04232-X
ISSN: 0340-6261
- This book originated as a doctoral dissertation (1999) at University of Queensland (awarded as "Dean's Commendation List for Outstanding PhD Theses 1999" by University of Queensland Graduate School, 29 June 2000). It is a comparative examination of the main teachings contained in the Suutra-a"nga portion of the Paali Sa.myutta-nikaaya (SN) and its counterpart in Chinese canon, a translation of a now lost Sanskrit Samyuktaagama (Za-ahan-jing) (SA). The SN and SA are essentially two different versions of the same collection of discourses. This study builds on the work of Yin Shun, which demonstrates the historical importance of SN/SA in the formation of the early Buddhist canon. In particular, it is based on Yin Shun's recognition of the three-a"nga structure of SN/SA, and of the status of its Suutra-a"nga portion as of prime importance in the historical formation of this nikaaya/aagama, and as containing the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha. The aim of this research is to reveal and clarify the similarities and differences between SN and SA, with regard to the principal Buddhist teachings contained in their Suutra-a"nga portion.
- For order, please contact the publisher, Harrassowitz Verlag (http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/), or search other booksellers.
(3) "A Discussion on the Determination of the Date of the Historical Buddha", Journal of Indian History, vols. LXXVI-LXXVIII, 1997-1999 (March 2004), pp. 1-6.
- Readers can view this article on this website: www.geocities.com/cmkwk/TheBuddhaDates.html
(4) Annotated Translation of Suutras from the Chinese Sa.myuktaagama relevant to the Early Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness and the Middle Way (LU YE CHAN SI, Johor, Malaysia, 2004).
ISBN: 983-9439-58-6
- Published by Lu Ye Chan Si, and distributed by Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha, Xin Lian Jine She (Johor Bahru, Malaysia). The distributor's address is:
20, Jalan Dato Abdul Hamid, 81200 Tampoi, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
This book is currently out of print.
-This book presents thirteen significant sutras from the Chinese Sa.myuktaagama, with Chinese text and English translation handily set out in parallel columns. It contains also an introduction and notes to the sutra translations. The sutra numbers (according to Taisho vol. 2, text 99) are 236, 293, 262, 300, 297, 301, 296, 299, 287, 335, 273, 249, and 232 (as presented in the book). They all deal with the important early Buddhist teachings of Emptiness and the Middle Way. Of the thirteen sutras, nine have Pali counterparts (seven have counterparts in Sa.myutta-nikaaya, one is in Majjhima-nikaaya, and one in A"nguttara-nikaaya), four have no known Pali counterparts, and eight exist in fragmentary Sanskrit versions (all indicated in footnotes). This small collection opens the way for English and Chinese readers interested in Pali-Chinese comparison in the studies of the early Buddhist canon.
This book also includes two appendixes, titled "Historical and Textual Background of Buddhism" and "Definitions of Ta.nhaa (Craving) in Early Buddhist Sutras" (This article was presented to the Australian Association for the Study of Religions Annual Conference at Griffith University, Brisbane on 6th July 2003, and in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at University of London on 25th June 2001).
(5) "The importance of Pali-Chinese comparison in the study of Pali suttas", Khthonios: A Journal for the Study of Religion (Queensland Society for the Study of Religion), vol. II, No. 2 (June 2005), pp. 19-26.
-This article, including 'A comparison of the different versions of the Satipatthana-sutta, a Buddhist meditation text', was presented to the "Exploring Theravada Studies: Intellectual Trends and the Future of a Field of Study" Conference in Asia Research Institute, at National University of Singapore, 12th-14th August 2004; to the research seminar, School of Classics, History and Religion at University of New England, Armidale (Australia) on 2nd April 2004; and to the conference of Religion Studies at University of Western Sydney on 16th-18th July 2004.
(6) "A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Kosala Sa.myutta, an early Buddhist discourse on King Pasenadi of Kosala", The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 7, 2006, pp. 21-35.
- This article was presented to The XIVth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, London, 29th August-3rd September 2005 (in the section, Early Buddhism in India), hosted by the SOAS (Department of the Study of Religions), British Library and British Museum.
(7) "A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Bhikkhu Sa.myutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on monks", Buddhist Studies Review 23 (1), 2006, pp. 61-70.
- This article was presented to the conference of Religion Studies at University of Queensland on 18th-20th August 2006.
(8) "A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Va"ngiisa-thera Sa.myutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on the Venerable Va"ngiisa", Buddhist Studies Review 24 (1), 2007, pp. 35-45.
(9) "Problems and Prospects of the Chinese Sa.myuktaagama: Its structure and content" (To be published in the series 'East Asia Intercultural Studies -Interkulturelle Ostasienstudien'(Harrassowitz,Wiesbaden), ed. Yasuo Ariizumi and Konrad Meisig).
- This article was invited to participate in the international workshop on 'Translating Buddhist Chinese: Problems and Prospects' at the Institute of Indology of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. The conference took place on 4th-5th July 2008.
(10) "A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Braahma.na Sa.myutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on the priestly Braahma.nas", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 19, issue 03, July 2009 (Cambridge University Press), pp. 371-382.
- This article was presented to the conference of Religion Studies at University of Queensland on 17th-19th August 2007, and to the Classics and History Seminar Series in the School of Humanities at UNE on 22nd May 2009.
(11)"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Maara Sa.myutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on Maara, the Evil One", The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies, vol. 10, 2009, pp. 35-53.
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