論《龍龕手鑑》正俗體字聲符替換與唐五代西北方音

<p>遼僧行均所著《龍龕手鑑》，成書於宋太宗至道三年（997），乃專為佛教徒通解文字研讀佛典所編纂的一部字書。當中引用他書的情況相當複雜，除了佛經音義書，還有不少前代字書、韻書，因此不管是在音韻性質或者語料時代的判別上，皆不宜做太單純的思考。本文在孔仲溫、儲泰松等學者的啟發下，一方面考察當中眾多參用資料的成書年代，以確定其語料的時代性，繼而觀察筆者從中整理所得的四百多筆正俗體字聲符替換字組，並分析存在其間的音韻現象。發現當中某些音韻表現與唐五代西北方音的音韻特徵具有一致性，與過去學者們運用反切系聯法，以系聯當中複雜音切所得結果有所不同。在跳脫《切韻》或是通語雅音的音系框架之外，得以看見《龍龕手鑑》不同面向的音韻內涵。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>Longkan Shoujian, a dictionary completed by a Liao dynasty monk named Xingjun in 997, is used to aid Buddhists in the study of Buddhist text and scriptures. Because Longkan Shoujian cites from numerous sources including yinyishu (dictionaries of pronunciations and meanings), dictionaries published in previous dynasties, and rhyme dictionaries, one must investigate thoroughly when attempting to decipher the phonological characteristics of Longkan Shoujian and the dynasties in which its corpuses were written. Inspired by scholars such as Chung-wen Kung and Tai-song Chu, this study examined the years in which many of the cited materials were completed to verify the dynasties in which the corpuses of Longkan Shoujian were written. Subsequently, this study explored the phonetic component substitution groups for the 400+ canonical and noncanonical Chinese characters that it had organized and summarized; and analyzed the phonological phenomena within. The study results showed that some of the phonological characteristics were similar to those of Northwestern China in the Five Dynasties period, challenging the results obtained by previous scholars using the fanqie association method (which involves separating a character&rsquo;s pronunciation into two other characters). By not accepting information preached in Qieyun and the phonological system of common languages in China as the gospel truth, this study discovered the different phonological characteristics observed in Longkan Shoujian.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Kathāvatthu (“Points of Controversy”) as a Primary Source of Early Buddhist Philosophy

This article focuses on the under-researched Buddhist text Kathāvatthu (“Points of Controversy”) and aims to better determine its place within Indian philosophy. We consider how the text was compiled, its contents, and main characteristics (such as its genre, its classification lists – mātika). To understand some of those characteristics, we suggest viewing them as shared with the whole Pali Canon (a large body of heterogeneous texts, of which the Kathāvatthu is part). This article also illustrates the issues of translating religious and philosophical texts from the Pāli language. Particularly, we highlight that the Kathāvatthu belongs to the part of Pāli Canon known as the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, and consider how this influences the philosophical discourse presented in this text. We analyze the historical and philosophical content of the Kathāvatthu. We argue that such content of this work is consistently revealed in the discussion of issues controversial for the schools of Early Buddhism. At the beginning of the text, there are the most significant questions for Early Buddhism (about the subject (pudgala), about the one who has reached perfection – arhat). As we get closer to the end of the text, the importance of the issues discussed diminishes. Its final part contains the latest questions. The discussion in each question depends on the logical method of the eight refutations, the use of lists (mātika), and the position of the Theravada school to which the final version of the text belongs. In the article, special attention is paid to the determination of the Kathāvatthu genre. We conclude that the genre of this work can be considered as a unique example of religious and philosophical dialogue in Early Buddhist literature.

Running the Numbers for the Path of Mantra: Distinguishing the Thirteenth Bhūmi in Fifteenth-Century Tibet

This article explores a Buddhist text in which numbers set the very stakes for liberation. In 1404, Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po (1382–1456), who was to become one of the most esteemed tantric commentators of the Tibetan Sakya tradition, composed his first polemical text, Dispelling Evil Misunderstandings of the Explanation of the Ground of Zung ‘jug Vajradhara. In this early work, Ngor chen grapples with the relationship between the path of perfections and of secret mantra as conduits to liberation. I illuminate the ways in which ritual, exegesis, and pedagogy converge in Ngor chen’s text to reveal larger implications for distinguishing the eleventh and thirteenth grounds (bhūmi) of Buddhahood in fifteenth-century Tibet. In concluding, I highlight the art of differentiation as a fundamental Tibetan scholastic enterprise and briefly engage Ngor chen’s acts of distinguishing sūtra and tantra in conversation with those of key Tibetan predecessors and contemporaries.

Teaching Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums and the Diamond Sutra

The essay discusses Jack Kerouac’s use of the Diamond Sutra, a major Buddhist text grounding his composition of The Dharma Bums. In addition to a close reading of how the sutra is incorporated in the novel, the essay also presents a brief history of Buddhism in the United States.

Buddhism in the worldview of the characters in Gaito Gazdanov's works

In the historical context of the total disintegration that occurred in Europe between 1920 and 1940, the Russian community abroad was particularly interested in Buddhism and the Buddhist worldview. This is connected with the general pessimistic atmosphere among Russian emigrants. Because of their disillusionment with harsh reality, many of them find consolation in Eastern religion to escape from the whirlwind of earthly existence. Such an unusual phenomenon wasnoticed by the young writer Gaito Gazdanov. The writer described this psychological phenomenon in his fiction. The main purpose of this article is to discover in Gazdanov's characters a psychological mindset closely linked to Buddhism. Accordingly, the aim of the study is to highlight the main characteristics of the Buddhist worldview in Gazdanov's characters, analyse the writer's perception of some Buddhist concepts and examine Gazdanov's attitude to the Buddhist teaching on life and superrealism. The material for the study is the novels An Evening at Clare's and The Return of the Buddha, meaningful in the early and mature periods of the writer's work. The analysis of the «Buddhist text» in Gazdanov's novels reveals a number of psychological traits in the characters that are similar to the category of Buddhism, such as detachment from the major history, deliberate alienation from the real world and dreamlike meditation as the main way of perceiving the world. At the same time, a number of Buddhist concepts, such as metempsychosis and nirvana, become the theme of the writer's work as well. This shows the mystical side of Gazdanov's work. However, the article concludes that the writer also warns of the danger and harm of the nihilism and indifference to life inherent in this Eastern religion, which eventually leads to the disappearance of the personality

Ethics and Ontology in the Theravāda Buddhism: Talks on ethically good and bad deeds in “Kathāvatthu” I.1.200–I.1.216

This article focuses on the development of ethical issues in early Buddhism. The author focuses on the concepts “good deed” (kālyana-kamma) and “bad deed” (pāpa-kamma). These concepts are discussed in the text “The Section on Ethical Goodness” from “The Points of Discpute” (Kathāvaththu). The article begins with a brief description of “Points of Discpute”. The author then analyzes the semantics of the concepts of good and evil in early Buddhism. Beside therms kālyana – pāpa, a pair of concepts kusala – akusala is used in early Buddhist philosophy. The author concludes that the concepts kusala – akusala are used in later Buddhist texts and their use is more regular. The main part of the article is an analysis of the “The Section on Ethical Goodness”. Using specific examples, the discussion techniques characteristic of the Kathāvattu are revealed: interrogation, repetition and reduction to absurdity. It is demonstrated that scrutinizing of ethical topics in the Buddhist text cannot be separated from solving of metaphysical issues, that of the existence of the substantial doer besides deeds being most important one. Just this issue proved fundamental in discordance in opinions between the orthodox Buddhism of the therāvada school and heterodox lines of the puggalavāda. Attached is the first Russian translation from Pali of sections I.1.200, I.1.201, I.1.212 from Kathāvaththu text of the Abhidhamma-piţaka.

Brahmanical Theology and a Buddhist Text

The Tevijja Sutta is an early Buddhist text notable for the way it addresses a problem in Brahmanical theology. Many have studied or cited the Tevijja Sutta, but for various reasons scholars have had trouble describing the problem that the sutta addresses. This article reviews some key developments in the modern academic study of the Tevijja Sutta and proposes a solution to interpretive difficulties associated with the text. The proposed solution leads to a more contextualized reading of the Tevijja Sutta and sheds light on Brahmins and Brahmanical theology in the early Buddhist period.

4. What am I?

‘What am I? An unknown Buddhist on the self: King Milinda’s chariot’ looks at a para-canonical Buddhist text, in which King Milinda questions a monk, Nagasena, who demonstrates the Buddhist concept of anatta, or no-self. The monk refers to ‘Nagasena’ as a designation, not himself. When the king asks what then wears robes, eats food, and creates karma, Nagasena asks the king whether the constituent parts of a chariot form a chariot. The king agrees there is no inherent ‘chariot’ essence that transforms the sum of its parts. Is the chariot argument fully applicable to a person, or is it more useful as an illustration of Buddhist doctrine?