Reviews Of Diffeent Books

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

Page 22

216
REVIEWS
Tatz's book is a useful contribution to the study of bodhisattva ethics in India and Tibet. The texts translated by him are of great importance and the translation is very readable. One has the impression that Tatz was more interested in Tson-kha-pa's work than in Asanga's silapatala. The translation is without annotation which, however, is to be found in the notes to the translation of the Basic Path, a rather inconvenient arrangement for those who are mainly interested in the silapatala. Tatz gives no page references to the editions by Wogihara and Dutt. It would also have been very helpful if Tatz had subdivided the text into sections and subsections in accordance with the synopsis which is to be found in Wogihara's edition as has been done by Demiéville in his translation of the dhyana chapter. On the whole the translation of the Chapter on Ethics is satisfactory, but Tatz has not solved all problems relating to the text. For instance, on p. 140 of Wogihara's edition one reads: samasataḥ sarvänarthopasamhitamanāpasamudäcäraparivarjanaiḥ cittänuvartanata in brief, he complies with the thought [of everyone] but avoids all conduct which is useless and disagreeable'. Tatz translates: 'briefly, he complies with the thought [of everyone] excepting those who are useless and disagreeable' (p. 50). There is no divergence here between the Sanskrit text and the Tibetan version and Tatz fails to point out the reason for his translation. The next sentence reads: bhūtais ca gunaiḥ sampraharṣaṇata rahaḥ prakāśam vodbhāvanām upadaya 'he makes [everyone] rejoice in genuine good qualities by making them known privately or publicly'. Tatz translates: 'He applauds the genuine good qualities of others, or reveals those that are hidden' (p. 50).
On p. 187 the Sanskrit text reads: kayasya bhedat tatropapadyate yatrasya samänädhikasilä bodhisattväḥ sabhāgāḥ sahadhärmikäḥ kalyanamitrabhūtā bhavamti. Tatz translates: 'After his physical dissolution, wherever he is reborn those with the same higher ethics are found, bodhisattva colleagues with the same doctrine who function as spiritual advisers' (p. 88). Tatz wrongly translates samānādhikaśīlā 'with the same or higher ethics', cf. Tib. tshul-khrims mtshuns-pa 'am Ihag-pa'i byan-chub-sems-dpa'. Tatz has also misunderstood the Tibetan translation. In note 577 he states that the Tibetan translation reads samāna-siläḥ vä-adhika-bodhisattväḥ sabhägäḥ! Tson-kha-pa (Tashilhunpo ed. 106a) has: lus-zig-nas kyan gan-na randan-tshul-khrims mtshuns-pa'am Ihag-pa'i byan-sems skal-pa 'dra-zin... Tatz translates: 'After your physical dissolution, wherever you are reborn, those with the same ethics as yours are found in other words, higher bodhisattva colleagues with the same doctrine... (p. 258). Hsüan-tsang also interpreted samānādhikasilä correctly as Tatz could have seen if he had consulted Ui's work on the Bodhisattvabhūmi.2 Moreover, Tatz does not explain why he translates sabhaga 'similar' as 'with the same doctrine".