Tantric Exposition of the Dependent Origination according to the Candamahārosanatantra , Chapter XVI: pratītyasamutpāda-patala

The Candamahārosanatantra, or “Tantra of Fierce and Greatly Wrathful One”, belongs to the class of Highest Tantras (anuttarayoga, rnal ’byor chen po bla med). The text which has been preserved in the Sanskrit original and in Tibetan translation consists of twenty five chapters (patala). The 16th chapter entitled pratītyasamutpāda-patala is an exposition of the doctrine of dependent origination. The present author is preparing a critical edition of this chapter from Sanskrit and Tibetan, provided with an annotated translation. In this paper is offered a working translation alone with occasional references the readings of the oldest Sanskrit palm leaf manuscripts, compared with the Tibetan translation (Wanli edition)

Uwagi o historii i perspektywach rozwoju studiów nad buddyzmem

REMARKS ON THE HISTORY AND PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST STUDIESThe article entitled “Remarks on the History and Perspectives of Development of Buddhist Studies” is an extended version of the paper presented at the conference: “Buddhism and Buddhist Studies in Poland”, Kraków, 25–26 April, 2003. The article consists of three parts: Oriental and Buddhist Studies, Studies on Buddhism in the Institute of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw (1932–2003), Supplement. In the first part, the author presents Buddhist studies as a discipline of oriental studies, whose subject-matter is Buddhism in its various forms. The author emphasises the importance of the philological method as well as of suitable linguistic competence in Buddhist studies. In the second part of the article, the author presents a historical outline as well as the present state of research on Buddhism in the Institute of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw in the years 1932–2003. Having presented the silhouettes of the creators of the pre-war “Warsaw school of Buddhist studies” – namely those of S. Schayer, K. Regamey, J. Jaworski, A. Kunst and others, the author goes on to discuss the achievements of researchers in the post-war period as well as the perspectives of development of Buddhist studies in Poland (among others, the creation of a Polish specialist periodical entitled “Indological Studies” which is devoted to the various aspects of the Indian culture, including Buddhism). In the third part, the author presents an excerpt from S. Schayer’s introduction (translated from German into Polish) to his excellent translation of the Selected Chapters from Prasannapadā (Ausgewählte Kapitel aus der Prasannapadā, Kraków 1931, § 4), – as a good example of a presentation of the complex philosophical problems of the Buddhist school of madhyamika as well as the afore-mentioned outline of Buddhist studies

Early history of Oriental studies at Vilnius University

University of WarsawThe present paper was written as a contribution to the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Oriental studies at Vilnius University. The early history of Oriental studies, covering the period 1805–24, is presented on the basis of archival materials from collections kept in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives, Vilnius University Library, and Czartoryskis’ Library in Kraków. Two basic documents are published here for the first time. In the first quarter of the 19th century, three sequential attempts towards establishing a chair of Oriental studies at Vilnius University were undertaken, each one connected with a particular candidate: Szymon Żukowski (1782–1834), Julius Klaproth (1783–1835), and Józef Sękowski (1800–1858)

Sudhana’s Encounter with the Lumbinī-vana Goddess, according to the <i>Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra</i>

Two themes are presented in this paper: one concerns the name of the place where, according to tradition, the future Buddha was born, Lumbinī-vana, and the other is devoted to the figure of the forest goddess who assisted at the birth, Lumbinī-vana-devatā. The briefly presented survey of the relevant texts attempts to show the increasing role for the Lumbinī grove deity, culminating in chapter 42 of the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra

Early history of Oriental studies at Vilnius University

The present paper was written as a contribution to the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Oriental studies at Vilnius University. The early history of Oriental studies, covering the period 1805–24, is presented on the basis of archival materials from collections kept in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives, Vilnius University Library, and Czartoryskis’ Library in Kraków. Two basic documents are published here for the first time. In the first quarter of the 19th century, three sequential attempts towards establishing a chair of Oriental studies at Vilnius University were undertaken, each one connected with a particular candidate: Szymon Żukowski (1782–1834), Julius Klaproth (1783–1835), and Józef Sękowski (1800–1858)