Brief History Of Buddhist Studies In Europe And Maerica

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

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THE EASTERN BUDDHIST
One of the most important texts of later Hīnayāna is the Saddharmasmrtyupasthānasūtra. It was studied by Lin Li-kouang (1902–1945) in his: L'aidemémoire de la vraie loi (Paris, 1949). Lin also prepared an edition of the Sanskrit text of the verses which had been re-arranged in 36 chapters by Avalokitasimha as a compendium of the Buddhist doctrine: the Dharmasamuccaya. Lin prepared the first volume for publication which appeared after his death in 1946. Volume 2 (containing chapters VI-XII) was published in 1969 and the final volume in 1973. According to Lin's calculation the incomplete Sanskrit manuscript of the Dharmasamuccaya contains 2372 verses whereas the Chinese and Tibetan versions of the Saddharmasmộtyupasthānasūtra contain about 2900 verses. The verses are not very interesting in themselves, being nothing but dull variations on well-known themes, but they form a welcome addition to Buddhist literature in Sanskrit. The edition is based upon very bad copies, made by Nepalese scribes, and much effort will still be needed to solve textual problems. In the field of Abhidharma we must welcome the publication of the Sanskrit text of the Abhidharmakośabhāsya by P. Pradhan (Patna, 1967), although the critical apparatus is practically non-existent. Much more care has been given by P. S. Jaini to his edition of the work of an unknown Vaibhāșika critic of Vasubandhu's Sautrāntika leanings: the Abhidharmadīpa (Patna, 1959).
In the field of Mahāyāna studies much work has been done in recent years. Our knowledge of a rather neglected group of texts, the Prajñāpāramitā texts, has been greatly enlarged by the efforts of one scholar, Edward Conze (1904– ). Since the publication of his article on the Prajñāpāramitāhrdayasūtra in 1948 (FRAS, 1948, pp. 33-SI) he has published a great number of books and articles, most of them dealing with Prajñāpāramitā or the Abhisamayālamkāra. He published a comprehensive survey of the Prajñāpāramitā literature, editions and translations of the Abhisamayālamkāra, the Vajracchedikā, the Așțasāhasrikā, the Pañcavimśatisāhasrikā, the Astādaśasāhasrikā, and a dictionary of Prajñāpāramitā literature. 41 Conze also published extensively
41 The Prajñāpāramitā Literature, The Hague, 1960; Abhisamayālamkāra. Translation, Roma, 1954; Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā. Ed. & Tr., Roma, 1957; Aşțasābasrikā Prajñapāramitā. Tr., Calcutta, 1958 (New edition together with tr. of the Ratnagunasamcayagātha: The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & its Verse Summary, Bolinas, 1973); Buddhist Wisdom Books. The Diamond Sutra. The Heart Sutra, London 1958; The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, London and Madison, 1961-4; The Gilgit Manuscript of the*
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