 |
 |
 |
|||
|
A TRIPITAKA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL SANSKRIT BUDDHIST CANON Min Bahadur Shakya This paper outlines the formation of the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon, a project to digitize and freely distribute the Sanskrit texts of Buddhism. The scriptures which make up this Tripiṭaka comprise over a hundred thousand printed pages. Electronic access to Sanskrit Buddhist texts has profound possibilities for enhancing the scope and depth of research. To turn this dream into reality, in 2003, Prof. Lewis R. Lancaster, former President of University of the West and coordinator of the project, initiated cooperation with Nagarjuna Institute in Nepal to digitize the published texts which make up the Sanskrit Buddhist Canon. The Most Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Founder of University of the West, Los Angeles, kindly agreed to sponsor this meritorious project. Master Hsing Yun's vision for this project was to make the original Sanskrit Buddhist texts available online. In this way, the Sanskrit Tripiṭaka is being made easily accessible to all. We are accelerating our work by broadening our support and applying the latest computer technology. Currently we have placed the full texts of 62 Sutras, 87 Shastras, and 108 Stotras (hymns) online. Now, for the first time in history, the basic texts of Indian Buddhism are accessible freely downloadable via the internet at http://www.uwest.edu/sanskritcanon To have all the Sanskrit Buddhist texts online will be a major milestone in Buddhist scholarship, and this will also be immensely useful to teachers and practitioners within Buddhism. This paper will discuss the progress made to date and the steps that will be required to meet this great, yet still distant goal. Contents: Introduction I. Introduction We know that the various editions of Tibetan Kanjur contain the translation of the most of the important texts of Sanskrit Buddhist canons. In the catalogue index of Tibetan Kanjur prepared by Dharma Publishing there are more than 1000 Sanskrit titles in it. Among them only 10 percent are available in original Sanskrit. The canons of other schools of the Shravakayana are largely identical to the Pali canonical tradition of the Theravāda; however, they are however compiled in other languages or dialects The Vinaya Piṭaka is found without too much variation in almost all schools. The Sutta Piṭaka shows more variations, however, none of them being of a fundamental nature. In Sanskrit it is mostly referred to as the Agama Piṭaka. The large body of literature concerning Agama texts is available only in Chinese Translations. Often Agama texts are longer than Sutta texts. Concerning the Abhidhamma Piṭaka there is no agreement with Abhidharma literature in Sanskrit. This could be explained by the later date of the redaction. A lot of Sanskrit texts have been lost and only are extant in their Chinese and or Tibetan translations. Besides the Theravada school, the only other school with a completed (i.e. closed) canon is the Mūlasarvāstivāda School. A great number of fragments are still being discovered, mostly in Sanskrit or Central Asian languages (Sogdian, Tokhari, Khotanese). II. Exploration of Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Nepal, Central Asia, Gilgit, Beijing-China, Tibetan Autonomous regions, Japan, UK/USA, will be dealt with. II.1. Nepal has the largest repository of Buddhist Sanskrit literature dealing with different aspects of Mahayana creeds and practices. The monk scholars as well as Vajracharya Pandits have contributed in producing and preserving Buddhist manuscripts It was not until the advent of Sir Brian B. Hodgson (1824-1842 AD.) a British diplomat in Nepal, discovered a great number of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts in Nepal. The existence of these Sanskrit Buddhist Manuscripts before his time was unknown, and his discovery entirely revolutionized the history of Buddhism, as Europeans knew it in the early part of this century. Copies of these works, totaling 381 bundles of manuscripts have been distributed so as to render them accessible to European scholars. Of these 86 eighty-six manuscripts comprising 179 separate works, many were presented to Asiatic Society of Bengal:[1] 85 to the Royal Asiatic Society of London; The last two collections have since been deposited in the Bibliothèque Nationale of France. It is in Nepal that most of the Sanskrit Buddhist documents have been found. Most of the manuscripts originally preserved in Nepal have been carried out of the country by the pioneers of the modern Indology. At present following organizations are working hard for the preservation of these Sanskrit Buddhist mss in Nepal. 1. National Archives: It has recently published a catalogue of all the important Sanskrit Buddhist texts numbering 1800. 2. Nepal German Mss. Preservation Project: NGMPP has published a catalogue of all microfilmed mss from National archive and the center’s collection. 3. Asha Archives In collaboration with the Buddhist Library of Japan, Nagoya, the 4. Keshar Library: Keshar Library has preserved valuable Buddhist Mss which is worth mentioning dating back as early as 13th century. II.2 Central Asia: As we discussed, the discovery of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts in Nepal has revolutionized the history of Buddhism and its academic study. In the beginning of the 20th century, from a series of missions in Central Asia Prof. A.F. Rudolf Hoernle, Prof. Stein Konow, Prof. A. Stein and others have reported an existence of number of Sanskrit Buddhist Manuscripts, Prakrit, Uigurs, Sogdian, Tokhania and others in Central Asia[2]. As much as 33 Sanskrit Buddhist texts were published in fragments or some in full text. The Central Asia Manuscripts belong to all the major form of Buddhism. Some of these important texts are as follows: 1. Samgiti Sutra-Dirghagama III. Gilgit Manuscripts: In 1931 Several Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts were discovered in a Stupa near Gilgit in Kashmir. The Manuscripts were written in 5th or 6th century A.D and are some of the earliest manuscripts discovered at the times. Most of these mss. are known through Chinese and Tibetan translations and not in their original Sanskrit. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Nalinkasa Dutta who edited and published a series of rare texts worthy of praise and admiration. These titles are 1. Samadhiraja sutra IV. Afganistan: Another important discovery is the Schoyen's collections "The stolen (afghani) dead sea scrolls of Buddhism/Schoyen collection" Buddhist manuscripts smuggled out of Afghanistan now in Norwegian collection of Buddhist manuscripts from Afghanistan acquired by Martin Schoyen are now kept in his private manuscript collection.[4] The Norwegian media has written quite a bit about the Schoyen-collection in the course of the last few months. The coverage was initially positive, but lately more critical views regarding the collection have been aired. The Egyptian authorities, through their ambassador, are now considering a claim on the return of Egyptian objects in the collection. The current debate in Norway concerning the Schoyen-collection The Norwegian collector Martin Schoyen is the formal owner of the alleged largest private collection of ancient manuscripts in the world.
I) Sutra: a) Āgama: 1. Camgisutra, edited by Jens-Uwe Hartmann b) Mahāyana: 4. New fragments from the Astasāhasrikā Prajñaparamita of the Kusana period, II) Vinaya: 1. Mahāsānghika-vinaya edited by Seishi Karashima III) Abhidharma: Three Fragments related to the Sariputra-Abhidharma, Kazunobu Matsuda IV) Miscellaneous: 1. 2nd century Abhidharma Commentary edited by Lambert Schmithausen, Lore Sander, Jens Braarvig Buddhastotras by Matrceta edited by Jens-Uwe Hartmann V. Discovery of Buddhist Manuscript in Tibetan Autonomous Regions In year 2004, Prof. Ernst Steinkellner published his extensive article: “On Sanskrit Manuscripts in Tibet, their Past and their Future” from Royal Netherlands Academy Of Arts And Sciences, Amsterdam. Here is the summary of his article. The Tibetan kingdom reached the apex of its power and extension by the end of the 8th century A.D. and the new religion was officially adopted by king Khri-srong I lde-btsan (755-797A.D.)for his people in 779 A.D. The first monastery, bSam-yas, was founded in A.D. 775_ with the help of the famous Indian scholar Santaraks Iita who ordained the first Tibetan monks in A.D. 779. Translating the scriptures and scholastic treatises, mainly from Sanskrit, but also from Chinese, was considered to be a major task during this period. The following kings, particularly Khri-gtsug lde-btsana lias Ral-pa-can (A.D. 815-841), _ continued this policy. The list of works deposited in the palace of lHan-kar. Aa_ mentions seven hundred and twenty-two texts translated and seven texts under preparation. All these translations were done by teams consisting of Indian, Tibetan and Chinese monastic scholars. For the translations of Sanskrit texts these teams must have been working on the basis of manuscripts brought from the Indian Buddhist realm. What happened to these original materials after they were translated into Tibetan, we can only guess. They were certainly treated carefully and with the highest respect and in all probability safely kept in the royal palaces and the early temples, much in the same way as they were kept in later times. The so-called ‘‘later spread of the doctrine” was initiated by the fervently Buddhist kings of the Western Tibetan kingdom. It began with king Ye-ses-’od’s strong efforts to re-establish the links to authoritative Buddhist traditions. Young Tibetans were sent to neighboring Kashmir and its monasteries to learn the language of the Holy Scriptures, to translate, and to acquire Sanskrit manuscripts to be translated in the new royal realm. Rin-chen bzanI-po, the leading figure of this period, reportedly worked on one hundred and sixty-eight translations. Another Indian scholar of renown was invited to Western Tibet. Atisa (A.D. 982-1054) who subsequently went to Central Tibet to continue his missionary work. Monastic centres soon began to develop again. Again Tibetans went to India and Nepal, and Indian scholars, monks and practitioners were invited to Tibet. Manuscripts were imported once more and translated in much the same way they had been during the old kingdom. Clearly the influx of Indian Buddhists and Buddhist material from the 11th century onwards was also substantially enhanced by the fact that Muslim raids swept through Northern India with steadily increasing pressure during this period. The great centers of Buddhist learning as for example in the Pala realm, were destroyed near the turn to the thirteenth century, and with them their libraries "Odantapura, Vikramasila , Somapura, and Jagaddala. Nalanda" founded before the middle of the century, was already a ruin when the Chag lotsaba Chos rjes- dpal alias Dharmasvamin visited. The libraries had long ago been turned to ashes, and Dharmasvamin could not take a single manuscript back home. All the manuscripts he brought back to Tibet were acquired in Nepal. Now we have to imagine Indian refugees who went with their most precious treasures, consisting again, mainly of manuscripts, to Nepal and even further to Tibet for safety. Sanskrit Manuscripts in Sakya Monastery: In Sa-skya, the Sanskrit manuscripts were kept in the so-called Phyag-dpe lhakhan (’Manuscript-Chapel’). In this context Sankrityayana’s vivid description of his first visit to these treasures was outstanding and marvelous. Thanks to Indian genious- a man called Rahula who brought a great deal of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts from these Tibetan monasteries and has been preserved at Bihar Research Society. V.2. K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute In this aspect K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute has done a commendable job in publishing important texts which were received from Tibet from Rahula's expedition in Tibet. I'd like to express my special thanks and offer my obeisance to these scholars who worked on this project of publication of these texts. Among these outstanding scholars of international repute Prof. Karunesh Shukla is one of them who edited and worked on Shravaka bhumi text energetically and thoroughly. Other Scholars are as follows: Gustabh Roth, Padmanabha Jain, Ananta Lal Thakur, Nalinaksa Dutta, and so on. V.3. New Sanskrit Buddhist texts published from Japan: Vimalakīrtinirdesa and Jñānālokālamkāra Sanskrit texts collated with Tibetan and Chinese translations The Vimalakīrtinirdesa (The Teaching of Vimalakirti) is one of the most well known Mahayana sutra among Buddhist countries in Asia. The complete Sanskrit text had been considered lost until a delegation team of Taisho University found out the complete and beautiful palm-leaf manuscript at the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. The news of the discovery of the manuscript was released in the end of 1999. The Sanskrit manuscript of the Vimalakīrtinirdesa is preserved together with the Jñānālokālamkāra mahāyānasūtra in the same bundle. This Mahāyanasutra is one of the important sources for the study of the Tathāgatagarbha philosophy, for it is often cited in the Ratnagotravibhāga. The bundle of both important Sanskrit manuscripts are reproduced as the facsimile edition. Apart from these two important texts, there are others such as Siddhaikaviramahatantra Chapter II by Nobuo Otsuka. VI. Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project-UK/USA Project history: The British Library / University of Washington Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project was founded in September 1996 in order to promote the study, editing, and publication of a unique collection of fifty‐seven fragments of Buddhist manuscripts on birch bark scrolls, written in the Kharohī script and the Gāndhārī (Prakrit) language that were acquired by the British Library in 1994. The manuscripts date from, most likely, the first century A.D., and as such are the oldest surviving Buddhist texts, which promise to provide unprecedented insights into the early history of Buddhism in north India and in central and east Asia. Research findings and translations are being presented in publications of the University of Washington Press. VII. People's Republic of China a. Research Institute Of Sanskrit Manuscripts and Buddhist Literature At Peking University The Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts and Buddhist Literature were established under the Department of Oriental Languages of the School of Foreign Languages and are currently under the direction of Professor Dr. Duan Qing. As an effort to promote studies of Buddhist texts around the world, the Research Institute will publish periodically in the internet facsimiles of Sanskrit palm leaves, together with tran Loi em noi cho tinh chung ta, nhu doan cuoi trong cuon phim buon. Nguoi da den nhu la giac mo roi ra di cho anh bat ngo... http://nhatquanglan1.0catch.com Tibetan and Chinese). Such valuable Sanskrit textual Loi em noi cho tinh chung ta, nhu doan cuoi trong cuon phim buon. Nguoi da den nhu la giac mo roi ra di cho anh bat ngo... http://nhatquanglan1.0catch.com resources will thus be made readily available to Indologists and Buddhist scholars worldwide. Since the discovery of the Dunhuang Manuscript Cave in 1990, a new academic discipline - "Dunhuang Studies" sprang up, attracting international attention. As so much attention has been focused on Dunhuang, let us not forget that there is yet another Manuscript Cave, that is, a substantial collection of Sanskrit Manuscripts preserved in Tibetan and other parts of China. As they are now made available to us, these manuscripts deserve our serious attention. Our endeavor to compile and conduct research on them is an on-going and long-termed project, demanding supports in various ways, financially and technically from interested parties worldwide. b. China Tibetological Research Center-Beijing Recently, CTRC has publishing new Sanskrit Buddhist texts which were discovered in Potala Palace of Lhasa and elsewhere. Some of these publications were jointly collaborated Austrian academic of sciences led by Dr. Ernst SteinKellner. They are as follows: 1.Jinendrabuddhi's Visalamalavati Pramanasamuccayatika edited by Ernst Steinkellner, Helmut Krasser and Horst Lasic published by China Tibetological Publishing House and Austrian Academy of Sciences Press Beijing-Vienna 2005. 2.Dharmakirti's Pramanaviniscaya ( chap I and II) edited by Ernst Stein Kellner -published by China Tibetological Publishing House and Austrian Academy of Sciences Press Beijing-Vienna 2007. VIII. Importance of Restoration of Sanskrit Buddhist texts It is believed that there had been a separate Sanskrit Buddhist canon in older period but it does not exist now. Because due to the destruction of Nalanda and Vikramashila monasteries and its libraries a great deal of Sanskrit texts had been lost. Most of the agama literature, Mahāyana Sutras, and Shastras are not extant now and is available only in fragments. In this context the works of individual scholars are praise worthy. There are galaxies of scholar authors who are worthy to mention and are commendable for their outstanding restoration works. In this aspect Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, has done a commendable job in restoring a number of Sanskrit texts from Tibetan sources. A bulk of shastra literature of the Buddhists has already been restored into Sanskrit and some of them are waiting for publication. Their next venture is the restoration of lost Mahayana sutra literature from Tibetan or Chinese. In this act of restoration works, scholars from Vishva-bharati Shanti Niketan, Adyar Library, Delhi University, K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute and others are worthy of mention. IX. Digitization of Sanskrit Buddhist Canon The Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods (NIEM) is a non-profit, educational foundation. Our goal is to promote research into the vast Sanskrit Buddhist Canon. The scriptures and treatises, which make up this canon, encompass over a hundred thousand pages. Over the past 12 years, NIEM has established a solid basis in scholarship and organization. We are accelerating our work by broadening our support and applying the latest in computer technology. We need the financial and moral support of all those who recognize the importance of Buddhism for today's world. Through this support, we hope to complete the Sanskrit Buddhist Canon CD-ROM project in 5 years. It is the nature of this project than the more support we receive; the faster it can be completed. Significance of the Project
A Pioneering Resource for Cultural and Religious Studies: The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon (DSBC) Rare treasures of human wisdom, freely available for the first time The University of the West is engaged in a ground-breaking project to gather, digitize and distribute the original Sanskrit scriptures of the Buddhist faith. Although Buddhism disappeared from its Indian homeland hundreds of years ago, many of its sacred texts were preserved in Nepal. Now, with the collaboration of Nagarjuna Institute of Nepal, these texts are again being brought to the world. The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon, or DSBC, is an ambitious project to offer the original intellectual and spiritual heritage of Buddhism in digital form. Currently over two hundred scriptures are freely offered at our website (http://www.uwest.edu/sanskritcanon) Some Highlights of the DSBC Global significance: The Sanskrit scriptures of Buddhism are authorities for the majority of the world’s Buddhists, namely those in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet and Nepal, as well as India and much of Southeast Asia. The DSBC has generated enormous interest in these countries, as well as among scholars in the United States and Europe. Open access: Many of the scriptures offered by DSBC are difficult or practically impossible to find in libraries or through the usual research methods. The DSBC’s texts are not only instantly accessible via the internet, but can also be searched and indexed instantaneously. A Pioneering Resource: The digitization of Sanskrit Buddhist texts was considered a desirable but distant goal for many years. The DSBC’s unique expertise, together with the generosity of its sponsors, turned this dream into a reality for the first time. The DSBC’s work to date will enable rapid advances in the study of Buddhism, philosophy, culture and other fields of the humanities. Help Us Complete a Successful Project Since coming online in 2005, the DSBC has attracted a steadily growing base of users. The DSBC website serves tens of thousands of visitors every month from all over the world. To give one indication of its importance, Göttingen University in Germany requested and received permission to host a large portion of the DBSC on its internet servers. The response has been very positive and now our users are looking forward to the completion of the project. Much has been achieved, but much remains to be done, and further funding is needed. Financial assistance is sought for: - The identification and input of a hundred or more texts not yet in the DSBC; Donations may be assigned to specific texts or resources, and are gratefully acknowledged within the DSBC itself. X. Conclusion: I appeal to outstanding Sanskrit Buddhist scholars and academics to put a concerted effort in restoring these texts which are available only in Chinese and Tibetan languages. We understand that there is no complete closed Sanskrit Buddhist canon in Buddhist history. Sanskrit literature in Buddhism is by no means exclusively Mahāyānist. Various sects of Hīnayāna including Sarvāstivāda possess a canon of their own and a rich literature in Sanskrit. Several original Sanskrit Buddhist Mss. are found in Nepal Archives dating from 11th century to 20th century. The digitization of these Sanskrit Buddhist texts was considered a desirable but distant goals for many celebrated Universities and organizations for many year. But now we are confident that UWEST/NIEM will achieve this goal in no time. UWEST will be premiere University who is producing Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon for the first time in the history of electronic Buddhist world. XI. Acknowledgements Thanks to the vision of Grand Master Hsing Yun who sponsored this project generously. I owed a deep debt of gratitude to Prof. Lewis Lancaster, who initiated and inspired to work on this project. Without his support this project will not have actualized to this present state of success. Last but not the least, I’d like to thank the organizer led by Most Ven. Prof. Le Manh That Vice President, Vietnam Buddhist University Chairman, IOC for UN Day of Vesak 2008 – BE. 2552 who invited me in this magnificent conference in the city of Hanoi and gave me an opportunity to share the missions of DSBC and for their kind and generous hospitality during our sojourn in this beautiful city of Vietnam. [1] A summary of contents of 85 Mss was published as Sanskrit Buddhist literature of Nepal by Rajendra Lal Mitra in 1882 published by The Asiatic Society of Bengal,Calcutta. |
 |
||||
 |
|||||
