Tathāgatagarbha: A Brief History

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:39:20-07:00

A term of indefinite meaning and uncertain origin, tathāgatagarbha is one of the most inspiring, provocative, and controversial concepts in the vast literature of Buddhism. Variously interpreted as the promise of buddhahood for all, the promise of buddhahood for some, and a provisional teaching for those intimidated by emptiness, it has generated commentary from across the Mahāyāna world among many of the most influential masters of India, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan. This lecture will seek to provide an overview of the history and influence of tathāgatagarbha.

Tathāgatagarbha: A Brief HistoryMarcus Perman2022-11-16T23:39:20-07:00

New research on the concept of buddha-nature in India: the beginnings

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:12:25-06:00

The idea that all living beings carry a buddha embryo within themselves or already have full-fledged buddha-nature is one of the most pervasive ideas in the history of Buddhist thought. Buddhist thinkers have been struggling with the different concepts based on such a thought and its meanings for soteriology and spiritual training. In the 1990s the traditions that promote the idea of buddha-nature were heavily criticized and denounced as being non-Buddhist by a Japanese group of scholars who thought of themselves as “true” followers of Buddhism which, so they claimed, always must be “critical” with regard to its underlying philosophical […]

New research on the concept of buddha-nature in India: the beginningsGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:12:25-06:00

What Authority Can a Translation Claim?

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:09-07:00

Although we recognise the fundamental importance of translation in the transmission of texts written in languages that we do not know, the question remains as to what authority a translation can claim. The relationship between translation and original has been a source of heated debate for centuries, with widely differing views as to how ‘faithfulness’ in translation might be defined. There is a paradox at the heart of how we view translation, for though we acknowledge the inherent difficulties of the task, we also take translation for granted to the point where translators become invisible. This paper will consider that […]

What Authority Can a Translation Claim?Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:09-07:00

The Proto-History of Buddhist Translation: From Gāndhārī and Pāli to Han-Dynasty Chinese

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:12-07:00

Discussions of the history of Buddhist translation usually begin with China, where in the middle of the second century Buddhist scriptures were translated into a non-Indian language for the first time. Yet the process of translation itself began many centuries earlier, when the words of the Buddha were rendered into a multitude of Indian vernaculars. Beginning with a brief sketch of these intra-Indian translations, I will then turn to the earliest Chinese Buddhist translations, focusing on the variety of “translation policies” used by their second-century translators and comparing them with the strategies subsequently employed in Tibet and elsewhere. I will […]

The Proto-History of Buddhist Translation: From Gāndhārī and Pāli to Han-Dynasty ChineseMarcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:12-07:00