Harrison, P.

Harrison, P. on the DRL

Authors of English Works • Professors

Paul M. Harrison

English Phonetics	Paul M. Harrison

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

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Month
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Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
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Rab Jyung

About

Primary Affiliation (Workplace)

Stanford University

PhD University

Australian National University

Education

Ph.D. in South Asian and Buddhist Studies, Australian National University M.A. in Chinese, Auckland University B.A. in Chinese, Auckland University

Biographical Information

Paul Harrison completed his B.A. and M.A. in Chinese at Auckland University in his native New Zealand and took his Ph.D. in South Asian & Buddhist Studies from Australian National University in 1979. After a short stint at Auckland (1981-1983), he taught Religious Studies at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand, for 22 years, being responsible for courses on Buddhism. Paul joined the permanent faculty of Stanford's Religious Studies Department in 2007. His research focuses on Buddhist history and literature, on the study of Buddhist manuscripts, and the edition and translation of Buddhist sacred texts in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese. Paul is co-director of the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford. (Source Accessed Dec 4, 2019)

Links

Wiki Pages

• Harrison, P. on the DRL
• Harrison, P. on the LIB
• Harrison, P. on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
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All beings have Buddha-nature
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If "Qualified", explain:
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Which Wheel Turning
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Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
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Zhentong vs Rangtong
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Promotes how many vehicles?
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
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What is Buddha-nature?
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
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Causal nature of the vajrapāda
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Full Name

Paul M. Harrison

Other Information

Paul Harrison is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He received his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the Australian National University in 1980. His major publications include The Samādhi of Direct Encounter with the Buddhas of the Present and Druma-kinnara-rāja-pariprcchha-sūtra: A Critical Edition of the Tibetan Text (Recension A). His current research focuses on Mahāyāna sūtra literature, the history of Buddhism and the development of the Tibetan canon.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.

Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion.