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Buddhist Studies: The Journal of The International Association of

This summarizes a document that is the journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies from 1982. It contains 8 articles on topics related to Buddhism, such as early Buddhism and urbanization. It also contains several book reviews and notices of scholarly works on Buddhism. There is a section with notes and news about topics like computing and Buddhist studies. It concludes with an obituary for a scholar of Buddhism. The journal contains scholarly works that analyze various aspects of Buddhism to further the academic study of the religion.

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71 views5 pages

Buddhist Studies: The Journal of The International Association of

This summarizes a document that is the journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies from 1982. It contains 8 articles on topics related to Buddhism, such as early Buddhism and urbanization. It also contains several book reviews and notices of scholarly works on Buddhism. There is a section with notes and news about topics like computing and Buddhist studies. It concludes with an obituary for a scholar of Buddhism. The journal contains scholarly works that analyze various aspects of Buddhism to further the academic study of the religion.

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jiashengrox
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE JOURNAL

OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

BUDDHIST STUDIES

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A. K. Narain
University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

EDITORS

L. M. Joshi Ernst Steinkellner


Punjabi University University of Vienna
Patiala, India Wien, Austria

Alexander W. Macdonald Jikido Takasaki


Universite de Paris X University of Tokyo
Nanterre, France Tokyo, Japan

Bardwell Smith Robert Thurman


Carleton College Amherst College
Northjield, Minnesota, USA Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Roger Jackson

Volume 5 1982 Number 2


CONTENTS

I. ARTICLES

1. "Early Buddhism and the Urban Revolution," by Bal-


krishna Govind Gokhale 7
2. "Pilgrimage and the Structure of Sinhalese Buddhism," by
John C. Holt 23
3. "A New Approach to the Intra-Madhyamika Confrontation
over the Svatantrika and Prasahgika Methods of Refu-
tation," by Shohei Ichimura 41
4. '"Later Madhyamika' in China: Some Current Perspectives
on the History of Chinese Prajndpdramitd Thought," by
Aaron K. Koseki 53
5. "The Doctrine of the Buddha-Nature in the Mahayana Ma-
hdparinirvdna Sutra" by Ming-Wood Liu 63
6. "The Development of Language in Bhutan," by Lopon
Nado 95
7. "Prolegomena to an English Translation of the Sutrasamuc-
caya," by Bhikku Pasadika 101
8. "The Issue of the Buddha as Vedagu, with Reference to the
Formation of the Dhamma and the Dialectic with the
Brahmins," by Katherine K. Young 110

II. BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTICES

1. Focus on Buddhism. A Guide to Audio-Visual Resources for Teach-


ing Religion, edited by Robert A. McDermott; and Spiri-
tual Discipline in Hinduism, Buddhism, and the West, by
Harry M. Buck 121
2. Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine, ed. and tr. by T.J. Tsarong,
etal. 124
3. Pratityasamutpadastutisubhds.itahrdayam of Acarya Tsong kha pa,
tr. by Gyaltsen Namdol and Ngawang Samten 127
4. Repertoire du Canon Bouddhique Sirw-Japonais, Edition de Tai-
sho. Fascicule Annex du Hobogirin, compiled by Paul De-
mi£ville, Hubert Durt, and Anna Seidel 128
5. Three Worlds According to King Ruang: Thai Buddhist Cosmol-
ogy, tr. by Frank E. Reynolds and Mani B. Reynolds 132
6. The Way to Shambhala, by Edwin Bernbaum 133

III. NOTES AND NEWS

1. Computing and Buddhist Studies 136


2. Terms of Sanskrit and Pali Origin Acceptable as English
Words 137
3. A Report on an Educational Television/Film Series on 'Ti-
betan Buddhism 138
4. Proposal for an Index of Publications in Buddhist Studies 141
5. 6th Conference of the International Association of Buddhist
Studies 143

IV. OBITUARY

Isaline Blew Horner (1896-1981) 145


Contributors 150

Contributors 150
Three Worlds According to King Ruang: Thai Buddhist Cosmology.
Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Frank E. Reynolds
and Mani B. Reynolds. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press. Moti-
lal Banarsidass, 1982, 383 pages. Preface, Introduction, 2 Ap-
pendicies, Glossary, Index. $30.00.

In translating the Three Worlds According to King Ruang the


authors have taken upon themselves a most difficult task. The
text, known in Thai as Trai Phum Phra Ruang, is long and com-
plex, and much of the language is archaic. Complicating the
situation, the extant manuscripts often disagree, and there are
passages which are evidently corrupt. Nevertheless, the text is a
most important one, that should be available in English transla-
tion. We are most fortunate that this publication, the fourth in
the Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series, brings us a fine translation,
accompanied by clear and informative explanatory material.
T h e Three Worlds According to King Ruang, generally attrib-
uted to Phya Lithai of the Kingdom of Sukhothai, is a rich and
vivid description of the cosmos as it was understood by the royal
author. The text was composed as a sermon, and it covered a
broad range of topics. For example, the ways in which different
kinds of beings come to be born and finally die are spelled out in
detail. Heavens and hells are also described in specific detail, as
are the acts by which a creature earns a place of residence in one
or another of them. All of the many realms which together make
up the cosmos are also described, along with the inhabitants of
each of those realms. The sermom also includes a concise and
specific description of the path to perfection mapped out for
humanity by the Buddha. All of this, and much more that is to
be found in the Trai Phum Phra Ruang, have made the text one
of great importance in the development of Thai religious
thought, and it has served as an important source of literary and
artistic inspiration. It would be difficult to understate the signifi-
cance of the text, or the usefulness of a translation of it for those
interested in Thai or Theravada Buddhist studies.
In this translation, introductory material serves to place the
text in perspective. A brief description of what is known about
Phya Lithai is presented first, followed by some introduction to
early Thai kingship. T h e basic trends in the development of
traditional Theravada cosmology are sketched out for the
reader, as are the trends of development within the Thai tradi-
tion itself, demonstrating a two-fold process of preservation and
innovation which is at work in the text. T h e structure and con-

132
tent of the Trm Phum Phra Ruang are then described in some
detail. Finally, the authors present a history of the text. Here
they discuss briefly the difficulties involved in translating a work
of this type, and the reasons which led them to adopt their
translation strategies, with maximum "clarity, readability and
general usefulness of the English text" as the goal. This goal has
certainly been achieved.
T h e text itself reads easily and naturally, as does the ex-
planatory material that has been provided. The introduction is
always informative and clear, and care is taken to explain each
term that might be unfamiliar to the general reader. This is true
throughout the translation as well, in which extensive footnotes
are used in a variety of ways. They are used, for example, to
clarify references, to point out passages in which the Trai Phum
Phra Ruang differs significantly from the older source material
used by the royal author of the sermon, and to clarify and com-
ment on sections in which the manuscripts have conflicting read-
ings. Useful charts and diagrams are also provided, and a glos-
sary of selected terms gives the original wording on which the
English version is based. For each glossary entry the source lan-
guage of the original term, Pali, Sanskrit or Thai, is also given.
Along with the quality of the translation, and of the accom-
panying explanatory material, the volume also has beautiful il-
lustrations to recommend it. Ten color illustrations from a re-
production of the manuscript commissioned in the 18th century
by King Taksin of Thonburi are included here, as are three
color illustrations painted by Thawan Dachanee, a modern Thai
artist who works on Buddhist themes.

Robert J. Bickner

The Way to Shambhala, by Edwin Bernbaum. Garden City, New


York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1980. xv 4- 31(5 pages. Map,
figures, plates, glossary, bibliography, index. $6.95 (paper).

Mr. Bernbaum has accomplished a major feat in producing


this interesting and richly informative volume; he has brought
considerable clarity to the much obscured issue of Shambhala
and Buddhist eschatology, combining wide scholarly research
with extensive reportage from living informants, including a
number of distinguished lamas of all the major schools, and he

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