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A Tripitaka for the 21st Century: The Development of the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon
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By Min Bahadur Shakya
Contents:
Introduction:
Exploring Sanskrit Buddhist canon
Restoration of lost Sanskrit Buddhist literature and its importance
Digitization of Sanskrit Buddhist canon
Conclusion
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 Theravada; however, they are however compiled in other languages or dialects
The Vinaya Pitaka is found without too much variation in almost all schools.
The Sutta pitaka shows more variations, however, none of them being of a fundamental nature. In Sanskrit it is mostly referred to as the Agama Pitaka. 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 Pitaka 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 Mulasarvastivada 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.
I. 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:
85 to the Royal Asiatic Society of London;
30 to the Indian Office Library;
7 to the Bodleian Library, Oxford;
174 to the Société Asiatique, and to French scholar Eugene Bernouf.
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 Asha Archives has recently completed the digitalization of its 7025 titles of manuscripts. All the manuscripts including their paintings and illuminations are available on CD-ROM (368 cd’s) or 53 DVDs The Collections in this archives there are several valuable collections of palm leaf, loose leaf pothi and folded manuscripts.
4. Keshar Library: .Keshar Library has preserved valuable Buddhist Mss which is worth mentioning dating back as early as 13th century..
II. 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.. 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
2. Atanatia sutra-Dirghagama
3. Upali Sutra-Madhyamagama
4. Suka Sutra-Madhyamagama
5. Pravarana Sutra-Samuktagama
6. Candropama Sutra-do
7. Sakti Sutra-do
8. Ratnarasi sutra-Ratnakuta Class
9.Ratnadhvaja Sutra-Mahasannipata class
10. Candragarbha Sutra-do
11. Bhadrapala Sutra-do
12. Mahaparinirvana Sutra-Nirvana class
13. Suramgama samadhi sutra and several others.
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 –
2.Vajrachedika Prajnaparamita
3.Maitreyavyakarna
4.Ajitasenavyakarana
5.Hayagrivavidya
6.Mulasarvastivadavinaya vastu
7.Arya Buddhabaladhana sutra
8.Ekadasamukham
9.Sri mahadevi vyakaranam
10.Sarvatathagata adhisthana vyuha and so forth.
IV. Afganistan:
Another important discovery is the Schoyen’s collections
“THE STOLEN (AFGHANI) DEAD SEA SCROLLS OF BUDDHISM/SCHØYEN 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. 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.
BUDDHIST MANUSCRIPTS IN THE SCHØYEN COLLECTION
CONTENTS
I) Sutra:
a) Agama:
1. Camgisutra, -Jens-Uwe Hartmann
2. Fragments from the Mahaparinirvanasutra, Klaus Wille
3. Fragments of a Sanskrit Version of the Andhasutta, of a Sutra on the Three Bad Moral Qualities of Devadatta, and of a Kavikumaravadana, - Siglinde Dietz
b) Mahayana:
4. New fragments from the Astasåhasrikå Prajñaparamita of the Kusana period,
Lore Sander
5. Candrottaradarikavyakara, -Jens Braarvig, Paul Harrison
6.Fragments of the Saddharmapundarikasutra, Hirofumi Toda
7. Samadhirajasutra, Andrew Skilton
8. Larger Sukhåvativyuha, Paul Harrison, Jens-Uwe Hartmann Kazunobu Matsuda
9. Another Fragment of the Ajåtasatrukaukrtyavinodanasutra, Harrison, Jens-Uwe Hartmann
II) Vinaya:
1. Mahåsånghika-vinaya, Seishi Karashima
2. Manuscript Remains of a Karmavacana Collection:
III) Abhidharma:
1. Three Fragments Related to the Sariputra-Abhidharma, Kazunobu Matsuda
IV) Miscellaneous:
1. 2nd century Abhidharma Commentary, Lambert Schmithausen, Lore Sander, Jens Braarvig
2. A Sanskrit Fragment Mentioning King Huviska as a Follower of the Mahayana, Richard Salomon
3. Jyotiskavadana, Stefan Baums
4. Poetical Texts
Buddhastotras by Matrceta, Jens-Uwe Hartmann The Jatakamala of AryaSura, Jens-Uwe Hartmann Haribatta’s Jatakamala, Michael Hahn
V. Discovery of Buddhist Manuscript in Tibetan Autonomous regions 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.
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. New Sanskrit Buddhist texts published from Japan
Vimalakîrtinirdesa and Jñânâlokâlamkâra Sanskrit texts collated with Tibetan and Chinese translations.
The Vimalakîrtinirdesa (“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.
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 Kharocmhî script and the Gândhârî (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 & 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.
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 Visalamal-avati 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 Praman-aviniscaya ( chap I & II) edited by Ernst Stein Kellner -published by China Tibetological Publishing House and Austrian Academy of Sciences Press Beijing-Vienna 2007.
VIII. 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
• Electronic access to Sanskrit Buddhist texts, with all its profound implications for enhancing the power, scope and subtlety of research, has been a desideratum of the field for quite some time. Clearly, the conversion of the Buddhist canons into machine-readable format is an idea whose time has come. We will begin with the published editions of the Sanskrit Buddhist texts published from the beginning of this century. About 200 Sanskrit Buddhist texts are available to day in printed form.
• The availability of all the Sanskrit language texts on CD-ROM will be an important milestone in Buddhist scholarship, and the inclusion of the English preface will make this CD-ROM immensely useful to educators and non-specialists. We are trying to publish and disseminate these texts in electronic media.
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;
- The reorganization and classification of the completed canon;
- The provision of easy-to-use search and study tools;
- Long-term support for the DSBC’s internet presence.
Our goal of open access to this treasury of human wisdom can be realized with your support.
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 Mahâyânist.
Various sects of Hinayâna including Sarvâstivâda 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.Acknowledgement
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.
*Director, Nagarjuna institute of Exact Methods, Chakupat, Lalitpur, Nepal
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