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Cahill, J. + (James Cahill [was] an art historian and cu … James Cahill [was] an art historian and curator who played an influential role in expanding the study and teaching of Chinese painting in the West before and after the opening up of U.S.-China relations in the early 1970s . . .A longtime professor at UC Berkeley, Cahill was a dominant scholar in his field for 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was one of a small number of Western scholars permitted access to the imperial paintings that had been evacuated to Taiwan before the Chinese mainland fell under Communist rule. He was allowed to photograph many of the works for ''Chinese Painting'', his classic 1960 text that for decades was required reading in Chinese art history classes. ([https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-james-cahill-20140222-story.html#axzz2uLyt7i66 Adapted from Source July 14, 2023])yt7i66 Adapted from Source July 14, 2023]))
Jhado Rinpoche + (Jhado Rinpoche is one of the most highly e … Jhado Rinpoche is one of the most highly esteemed lamas in the Geluk lineage today. In addition to his excellent education in the Geluk monastic college system, over the years Rinpoche has also received many oral transmissions and empowerments from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his two main tutors, as well as from many great teachers from other traditions. Renowned for his keen intelligence and dynamic teaching style, Jhado Rinpoche is also highly acclaimed for his ability to engage Western students in ways that are interesting and personally relevant. In addition to these qualities, Rinpoche is also well known and loved for his gentle demeanor and his kindness. ([https://maitripa.org/jhado-rinpoche/ Source Accessed Dec 2, 2023])do-rinpoche/ Source Accessed Dec 2, 2023]))
Jingxi Zhanran + (Jingxi Zhanran. (J. Keikei Tannen; K. Hyŏn … Jingxi Zhanran. (J. Keikei Tannen; K. Hyŏnggye Tamyŏn 荊溪湛然 (711–782). Chinese monk who is the putative ninth patriarch of the Tiantai zong; also known as Great Master Miaole (Sublime Bliss) and Dharma Master Jizhu (Lord of Exegesis). Zhanran was a native of Jingqi in present-day Jiangsu province. At age nineteen, Zhanran became a student of the monk Xuanlang (673–754), who had revitalized the community on Mt. Tiantai. After Xuanlang's death, Zhanran continued his efforts to unify the disparate regional centers of Tiantai learning under the school's banner; for his efforts, Zhanran is remembered as one of the great revitalizers of the Tiantai tradition. A gifted exegete who composed numerous commentaries on the treatises of Tiantai Zhiyi, Zhanran established Zhiyi's ''Mohe zhiguan'', ''Fahua xuanyi'', and ''Fahua wenju'' as the three central texts of the Tiantai exegetical tradition. His commentary on the ''Mohe zhiguan'', the ''Mohe zhiguan fuxing zhuanhong jue'', is the first work to correlate ''zhiguan'' (calmness and insight) practice as outlined by Zhiyi with the teachings of the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'' ("Lotus Sūtra"), the central scripture of the Tiantai tradition. In his ''Jingang Pi'' ("Adamantine Scalpel"), Zhanran argued in favor of the controversial proposition that insentient beings also possess the buddha-nature (''foxing''). Zhanran's interpretation of Tiantai doctrine and the distinction he drew between his own tradition and the rival schools of the Huayan zong and Chan zong set the stage for the internal Tiantai debates during the Song dynasty between its on-mountain (shanjia) and off-mountain (shanwai) branches. Zhanran lectured at various monasteries throughout the country and was later invited by emperors Xuanzong (r. 712–756), Suzong (r. 756–762), and Daizong (r. 762–779) to lecture at court, before retiring to the monastery Guoqingsi on Mt. Tiantai. (Source: "Jingxi Zhanran." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 391–92. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Jingying Huiyuan + (Jingying Huiyuan. (J. Jōyō Eon; K. Chǒngyǒ … Jingying Huiyuan. (J. Jōyō Eon; K. Chǒngyǒng Hyewǒn 淨影慧遠) (523-592). Chinese monk and putative Di lun exegete during the Sui dynasty. Huiyuan was a native of Dunhuang. At an early age, he entered the monastery of Guxiangusi in Zezhou (present-day Shanxi province) where he was ordained by the monk Sengsi (d.u.). Huiyuan later studied various scriptures under the vinaya master Lizhan (d.u.) in Ye, the capital of the Eastern Wei dynasty. In his nineteenth year, Huiyuan received the full monastic precepts from Fashang (495-580), ecclesiastical head of the saṃgha at the time, and became his disciple. Huiyuan also began his training in the Dharmaguptaka "Four-Part Vinaya" (Sifen lü) under the vinaya master Dayin (d.u.). After he completed his studies, Huiyuan moved back to Zezhou and began his residence at the monastery Qinghuasi. In 577, Emperor Wu (r. 560-578) of Northern Zhou began a systematic persecution of Buddhism, and in response, Huiyuan is said to have engaged the emperor in debate; a transcript of the debate, in which Huiyuan defends Buddhism against criticisms of its foreign origins and its neglect of filial piety, is still extant. As the persecution continued, Huiyuan retreated to Mt. Xi in Jijun (present-day Henan province). Shortly after the rise of the Sui dynasty, Huiyuan was summoned by Emperor Wen (r. 581-604) to serve as overseer of the saṃgha (shamendu) in Luozhou (present-day Henan). He subsequently spent his time undoing the damage of the earlier persecution. Huiyuan was later asked by Emperor Wen to reside at the monastery of Daxingshansi in the capital. The emperor also built Huiyuan a new monastery named Jingyingsi, which is often used as his toponym to distinguish him from Lushan Huiyuan. Jingying Huiyuan was a prolific writer who composed numerous commentaries on such texts as the ''Avataṃsakasūtra'', ''Mahāparinirvānasūtra'', ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa'', ''Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra'', ''Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra'', ''Shidi jing lun'' (Vasubandhu's commentary on the ''Daśabhūmikasūtra''), ''Dasheng qixin lun'', and others. Among his works, the ''Dasheng yi zhang'' ("Compendium of the Purport of Mahāyāna"), a comprehensive encyclopedia of Mahāyāna doctrine, is perhaps the most influential and is extensively cited by traditional exegetes throughout East Asia. Jingying Huiyuan also plays a crucial role in the development of early Pure Land doctrine in East Asia. His commentary on the ''Guan Wuliangshou jing'', the earliest extant treatise on this major pure land scripture, is critical in raising the profile of the ''Guan jing'' in East Asian Buddhism. His commentary to this text profoundly influenced Korean commentaries on the pure land scriptures during the Silla dynasty, which in turn were crucial in the evolution of Japanese pure land thought during the Nara and Heian periods. Jingying Huiyuan's concept of the "dependent origination of the tathāgatagarbha" (rulaizang yuanqi)—in which tathāgatagarbha is viewed as the "essence" (ti) of both nirvāṇa and saṃsāra, which are its "functioning" (yong)—is later adapted and popularized by the third Huayan patriarch, Fazang, and is an important precursor of later Huayan reconceptualizations of dependent origination (''pratītyasamutpāda''; see fajie yuanqi). (Source: "Jingying Huiyuan." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 392. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Jizang + (Jizang. (J. Kichizō; K. Kilchang) (549–623 … Jizang. (J. Kichizō; K. Kilchang) (549–623). In Chinese, "Storehouse of Auspiciousness"; Chinese Buddhist monk of originally Parthian descent and exegete within the San lun zong, the Chinese counterpart of the Madhyamaka school of Indian thought. At a young age, he is said to have met the Indian translator Paramārtha, who gave him his dharma name. Jizang is also known to have frequented the lectures of the monk Falang (507–581) with his father, who was also [an] ordained monk. Jizang eventually was ordained by Falang, under whom he studied the so-called Three Treatises (San lun), the foundational texts of the Chinese counterpart of the Madhyamaka school: namely, the ''Zhong lun'' (''Mūlamadhyamakārikā''), ''Bai lun'' (*''Śataśāstra''), and ''Shi'ermen lun'' (*''Dvādaśamukhaśāstra''). At the age of twenty-one, Jizang received the full monastic precepts. After Falang’s death in 581, Jizang moved to the monastery of Jiaxiangsi in Huiji (present-day Zhejiang province). There, he devoted himself to lecturing and writing and is said to have attracted more than a thousand students. In 598, Jizang wrote a letter to Tiantai Zhiyi, inviting him to lecture on the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra''. In 606, Emperor Yang (r. 604–617) constructed four major centers of Buddhism around the country and assigned Jizang to one in Yangzhou (present-day Jiangsu province). During this period, Jizang composed his influential overview of the doctrines of the Three Treatises school, entitled the San lun xuanyi. Jizang's efforts to promote the study of the three treatises earned him the name "reviver of the San lun tradition." Jizang was a prolific writer who composed numerous commentaries on the three treatises, the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'', ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'', ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa'', ''Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra'', etc., as well as an overview of Mahāyāna doctrine, entitled the ''Dasheng xuan lun''. ("Jizang". In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 395. Princeton University Press, 2014)'', 395. Princeton University Press, 2014))
Karma chags med + (Karma Chakme, also known as Raga Asé (Rāgā … Karma Chakme, also known as Raga Asé (Rāgāsya), was one of the most highly realized and accomplished scholar-yogins of Tibet. An important Karma Kamtsang teacher, he was recognized by many as the incarnation of the ninth Karmapa (but not selected.) His teachers included the most famous masters of his time, both Nyingma and Kagyu. He was both the teacher and student of Tertön Mingyur Dorje. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Karma_Chakm%C3%A9 Rigpa Wiki])x.php?title=Karma_Chakm%C3%A9 Rigpa Wiki]))
Karma gling pa + (Karma Lingpa was a 14th century tertön kno … Karma Lingpa was a 14th century tertön known for his expansive revelation on the Peaceful and Wrathful deities, the ''Zab chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol''. Commonly known as ''Kar gling zhi khro'' it remains to this day an extremely popular treasure cycle and was highly influential in the early days of Western interest in Tibetan Buddhism, as it is the source of the text popularly known as the ''Tibetan Book of the Dead''. He was also the son of Nyida Sangye who is known for his '''pho ba'' revelation that would become the basis for the religious festival known as the Drikung Phowa Chenmo.estival known as the Drikung Phowa Chenmo.)
Thinley, Karma + (Karma Thinley Rinpoche, (b. 1931) is an im … Karma Thinley Rinpoche, (b. 1931) is an important lama of the Kagyu and Sakya traditions of Tibetan Buddhism active in the west highly regarded as a meditation master, scholar, and poet.([https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Karma_Trinley_Rinpoche_IV Source Accessed April 21, 2023])npoche_IV Source Accessed April 21, 2023]))
Gyamtso, Khenpo Tsultrim + (Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso is a noted scholar … Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso is a noted scholar and teacher who was born in Eastern Tibet in 1935. After completing this early training, he spent five years wandering throughout Eastern and Central Tibet undertaking extensive solitary retreats in caves. When he reached Tsurphu Monastery, he received instruction from the head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, the 16th Karmapa, who later named him a khenpo, which is a title of scholastic mastery. In 1977 he came to the West to teach Tibetan language and Buddhism. Known for his highly engaging teaching style, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso has been traveling and teaching in the West ever since, placing an emphasis on the careful training of Westerners. Some of his students include [[Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche]], [[Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen]], [[Shenpen Hookham|Lama Shenpen Hookham]], [[Karl Brunnhölzl]], and [[Elizabeth Callahan]]. ([http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0661/2002152104-b.html Source Accessed July, 21 2020])Visit his official site at [http://www.ktgrinpoche.org/ ktgrinpoche.org]tp://www.ktgrinpoche.org/ ktgrinpoche.org])
Khyung sprul pad+ma dbang chen bstan 'dzin phrin las + (Khyungtrul Pema Wangchen Tendzin Trinley ( … Khyungtrul Pema Wangchen Tendzin Trinley (1870-?) was born in the khyung po area of eastern Tibet, met Dza Patrul Rinpoche, Orgyen Jigme Chokyi Wangpo (dpal sprul o rgyan 'jigs med chos kyi dbang po, 1808-1887), and his main teachers were Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820-1892) and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas, 1813-1899). He later became an influential teacher in central Tibet where he gave the transmission of the ''rin chen gter mdzod chen mo'' and other major ''rnying ma'' teachings. He was also a treasure discoverer (''gter ston''). (Source: [[Khyung sprul pad+ma dbang chen bstan 'dzin phrin las kyi rnam thar]]: The Autobiography of Khyung Sprul Padma Dbang Chen Bstan 'Dzin Phrin Las. Delhi: Shechen Publications, 1995.)n Las. Delhi: Shechen Publications, 1995.))
Renou, L. + (Louis Renou (French: [ʁənu]; 26 October 18 … Louis Renou (French: [ʁənu]; 26 October 1896 – 18 August 1966) was the pre-eminent French Indologist of the twentieth century.After passing the agrégation examination in 1920, Louis Renou taught for a year at the lycée in Rouen. He then took a sabbatical, read the works of Sanskrit scholars and attended the classes of Antoine Meillet. Henceforth he opted exclusively for the study of Sanskrit. He attended the lectures of Jules Bloch at the École des hautes études. The work he did at this time gave rise to Les maîtres de la philologie védique (1928). His doctoral thesis, submitted in 1925, was La valeur du parfait dans les hymnes védiques. After a short time at the Faculté de lettres in Lyon, he moved to L'École des hautes études and then to the Sorbonne where he succeeded Alfred A. Foucher. In 1946 he was elected to the Académie des Inscriptions.In the following years he undertook three journeys: India in 1948-1949, Yale University in 1953, and Tokyo in 1954-1956 where he was director of the Maison franco-japonaise. He hardly travelled after this.He had settled on his line of study early on and never wrote about any subject other than India. He left to one side archaeology, political history and Buddhism and concentrated firmly on the tradition that, beginning with the Rig Veda, runs through all aspects of belief and practice right up to the present. For forty years he regularly published articles and books that were often voluminous, were based on original research, and are of considerable merit. The study of the Indian theory of grammar lies at the heart of his work. This can be seen in the Études védiques et paninéennes published between 1955 and 1966. The Études consist of more than two thousand pages of translation and commentary of Vedic hymns. The Études covered two thirds of the Rig Veda by the time of his death.He, in his 1953 lectures on the religions of India, observed that "the Jaina movement presents evidence that is of great interest both for the historical and comparative study of religion in ancient India and for the history of religion in general. Based on profoundly Indian elements, it is at the same time a highly original creation, containing very ancient material, more ancient than that of Buddhism, and your highly refined and elaborated."Louis Renou was director of the Institut de civilisation indienne and attended regularly meetings of the Académie and the Societé Asiatique. He died in 1966. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Renou Source Acessed Aug 29, 2023])/Louis_Renou Source Acessed Aug 29, 2023]))
Nanyue Huisi + (Nanyue Huisi. (J. Nangaku Eshi; K. Namak H … Nanyue Huisi. (J. Nangaku Eshi; K. Namak Hyesa 南嶽慧思) (515-577). Chinese monk in the Tiantai school and teacher of Tiantai Zhiyi (538-597); also known as Great Master Nanyue and Great Master Si. Huisi was a native of Yuzhou in present-day Anhui province. According to his biography in the Liang-era Gaoseng zhuan, Huisi was obsessed with the prospect of death in his youth and assiduously pursued a means of attaining immortality. Studying with his teacher Huiwen (d.u.), about whom next to nothing is known, Huisi is said to have learned a meditative technique based on Nāgārjuna's premise of the identity of emptiness, provisionality, and their mean (see sandi), which he later taught to his own students. Monks who disagreed with his teachings tried to poison him, so Huisi left northern China for the south, but his popularity there prompted jealous monks to brand him a spy. This charge was rejected by the Chen-dynasty emperor, and Huisi continued to teach in the south, where he attracted many students, including the renowned Tiantai Zhiyi. Huisi's meditative teachings on the suiziyi sanmei ("cultivating samādhi wherever mind is directed," or "the samādhi of freely flowing thoughts") were recorded in Zhiyi's ''Mohe Zhiguan''. In this type of meditation, the adept is taught to use any and all experiences, whether mental or physical, whether wholesome or unwholesome, as grist for the mill of cultivating samādhi. Huisi is credited with the compilation of several treatises, such as the ''Dasheng zhiguan'', ''Cidi chanyao'', ''Fahua jing anle xingyi'', and others. (Source: "Nanyue Huisi." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 573. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Phywa pa chos kyi seng ge + (Phywa pa [alt. Cha pa] Chos kyi Seng ge. ( … Phywa pa [alt. Cha pa] Chos kyi Seng ge. (Chapa Chökyi Senge) (1109–1169). The sixth abbot of Gsang phu ne’u thog, a Bka' gdams monastery founded in 1073 by Rngog Legs pa'i shes rab. Among his students are included the first Karma pa, Dus gsum mkhyen pa and the Sa skya hierarch Bsod nams rtse mo. His collected works include explanations of Madhyamaka and Prajñāpāramitā. With his influential ''Tshad ma'i bsdus pa yid kyi mun sel rtsa 'grel'' he continued the line of ''pramāṇa'' scholarship started by Rngog Blo ldan shes rab, one that would later be challenged by Sa skya Paṇḍita. He is credited with originating the distinctively Tibetan ''bsdus grwa'' genre of textbook (used widely in Dge lugs monasteries) that introduces beginners to the main topics in abhidharma in a peculiar dialectical form that strings together a chain of consequences linked by a chain of reasons. He also played an important role in the formation of the ''bstan rim'' genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature, the forerunner of the more famous ''lam rim''. (Source: "Phywa pa Chos kyi Seng ge." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 644. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27)ttp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27))
Goldman, R. + (Robert Goldman is the William and Catherin … Robert Goldman is the William and Catherine Magistretti Distinguished Professor of Sanskrit and India Studies. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and has taught and held fellowships and several academic institutions around the world, including the University of Rochester, Oxford University, Jadavpur University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. His areas of scholarly interest include Sanskrit literature and literary theory, Indian Epic Studies, and psychoanalytically oriented cultural studies. He has published widely in these areas, authoring several books and dozens of scholarly articles. He is perhaps best known for his work as the Director, General Editor, and a principal translator of a massive and fully annotated Princeton University Press translation of the critical edition of the ''Valmiki Ramayana'', perhaps the single most widely copied and massively influential text on the religions, literatures, societies politics and general cultures of the entire region of South and Southeast Asia from antiquity to the modern world. His work has been recognized by several awards, fellowships and prizes including election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1966), Citation and Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of California at Berkeley (1974), Honorary Fellowship at Calcutta Sanskrit College (1992), Honorary Degree of "Vidyāsāgara" ("Ocean of Learning") by the Mandākinī Saṃskṛta Vidvat Pariṣad, New Delhi (1997), President’s Certificate of Honour for Sanskrit (International) (2013), Excellence in Teaching Award presented by the Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association (2016), the World Sanskrit Award 2017 presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, (2017) and the A.K. Ramanujan Translation Prize by the Association of Asian Studies (with Sally Sutherland Goldman) (2020). ([https://sseas.berkeley.edu/people/robert-p-goldman/ Source Accessed Feb 7, 2023])t-p-goldman/ Source Accessed Feb 7, 2023]))
Ryōgen + (Ryōgen (良源, 912 – January 31, 985) was the … Ryōgen (良源, 912 – January 31, 985) was the 18th chief abbot of Enryaku-ji in the 10th century. He is considered a restorer of the Tendai school of Mahayana Buddhism, and credited for reviving Enryaku-ji. His supposed role as a precursor of the sōhei, or "warrior monks," is questionable and seems to be a later invention (see Adolphson 2007). Ryōgen was born in the Omi Province in 912, and he began his practice at Mount Hiei in 923, becoming chief abbot in 966. Over the course of the 10th century, there had been a number of disputes between Enryaku-ji and the other temples and shrines of the Kyoto area, many of which were resolved by force. In 970, Ryōgen formed a small army to defend Enryaku-ji and to serve its interests in these disputes. Records are not fully clear on whether this army consisted of hired mercenaries, or, as would be the case later, trained monks. Most likely, this first temple standing army was a mercenary group, separate from the monks, since Ryōgen forbade monks from carrying weapons. In addition to the prohibition on carrying weapons, Ryōgen's monks were subject to a list of 26 articles released by Ryōgen in 970; they were forbidden from covering their faces, inflicting corporal punishment, violently interrupting prayer services, or leaving Mount Hiei during their twelve-year training. In 981 Ryōgen was appointed general administrator, the most important rank in priesthood. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dgen Source Accessed June 4, 2020])sed June 4, 2020]))
Sengzhao + (Sengzhao. (J. Sōjō; K. Sǔngjo 僧肇) (374-414 … Sengzhao. (J. Sōjō; K. Sǔngjo 僧肇) (374-414). Influential early Chinese monk and exegete, whose writings helped to popularize the works of the Madhyamaka school in China. Sengzhao is said to have been born into an impoverished family but was able to support himself by working as a copyist. Thanks to his trade, he was able to read through much of traditional Chinese literature and philosophy, including such Daoist classics as the ''Zhuangzi'' and ''Laozi'', and is said to have resolved to become a monk after reading the ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa''. He later became a disciple of Kumārajīva and served as the Chinese-language stylistfor Kumārajīva’s translations. After Yao Xing (r. 394-416) of the Latter Qin dynasty (384-417) destroyed the state of Liang in 401, Sengzhao followed his teacher to Chang’an, where he and his colleague Sengrui (352-436) were appointed as two of the main assistants in Kumārajīva’s translation bureau there. YaoXing ordered them to elucidate the scriptures Kumārajīva had translated, so Sengzhao subsequently wrote his ''Bore wuzhi lun'' to explicate the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra'' that Kumārajīva and his team had translated in 404. This and other influential treatises by Sengzhao were later compiled together as the Zhao lun. Sengzhao’s treatises and his commentary on the ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa'' played a crucial role in the development of Mahāyāna thought in China. Sengzhao is treated retrospectively as a vaunt Courier in the San lun zong, the Chinese analogue of the Madhyamaka school, which was formally established some two centuries later by Jizang (549-623). The influential ''Baozang lun'' is also attributed to Sengzhao, although that treatise is probably a later work of the early Chan tradition. (Source: "Sengzhao." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 794. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Thrangu Rinpoche + (Short Biography of the Ninth Khenchen Thra … Short Biography of the Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Tulku, Karma Lodrö Lungrik Maway Senge: The Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche was born in Kham, Tibet, in 1933. At the age of five, he was formally recognized by His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa and Tai Situpa as the ninth incarnation of the great Thrangu tulku. He entered Thrangu monastery, where, from the ages of seven to sixteen, he studied reading, writing, grammar, poetry, and astrology, memorized ritual texts, and completed two preliminary retreats. At sixteen, under the direction of Khenpo Lodro Rabsel, he began the study of the three vehicles of Buddhism while in retreat. At twenty-three he received full ordination from the Karmapa.Because of the Chinese military takeover of Tibet, Thrangu Rinpoche, then twenty-seven, was forced to flee to India in 1959. He was called to Rumtek monastery in Sikkim, where the Karmapa has his seat in exile. Because of his great scholarship and unending diligence, he was given the task of preserving the teachings of the Kagyu lineage; the lineage of Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa, so that one thousand years of profound Buddhist teachings would not be lost.He continued his studies in exile, and at the age of thirty-five he took the geshe examination before 1500 monks at Buxador monastic refugee camp in Bengal and was awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa. Upon his return to Rumtek, he was awarded the highest Khenchen degree. Because many of the Buddhist texts in Tibet were destroyed, Thrangu Rinpoche helped in beginning the recovery of these texts from Tibetan monasteries outside of Tibet. He was named Abbot of Rumtek monastery and the Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies at Rumtek. Thrangu Rinpoche, along with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, was one of the principal teachers at the Institute, training all the younger tulkus of the lineage, including The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who was in the first class. He was also the personal tutor of the four principal Karma Kagyu tulkus: Shamar Rinpoche, Situ Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. Thrangu Rinpoche established the fundamental curriculum of the Karma Kagyu lineage taught at Rumtek. In addition, he taught with Khenpo Karthar, who had been a teacher at Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery in Tibet before 1959, and who is now head of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in Woodstock, New York, the seat of His Holiness Karmapa in North America.After twenty years at Rumtek, in 1976 Thrangu Rinpoche founded the small monastery of Thrangu Tashi Choling in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal. Since then, he has founded a retreat center and college at Namo Buddha, east of the Kathmandu Valley, and has established a school in Boudhanath for the general education of Tibetan lay children and young monks in Western subjects as well as in Buddhist studies. In Kathmandu, he built Tara Abbey, which offers a full dharma education for Tibetan nuns, training them to become khenpos or teachers. He has also established a free medical clinic in an impoverished area of Nepal.Thrangu Rinpoche recently completed a large, beautiful monastery in Sarnath, India, overlooking the Deer Park where the Buddha gave his first teaching on the Four Noble Truths. This monastery is named Vajra Vidya after the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, and it is now the seat for the annual Kagyu conference led by His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa. In January of this year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to Sarnath to perform a ceremony in the Deer Park with the Karmapa, Thrangu Rinpoche, and other high lamas.Around 1976, Thrangu Rinpoche began giving authentic Buddhist teachings in the West. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. In 1984 he spent several months in Tibet where he ordained over one hundred monks and nuns and visited several monasteries. In the United States, Thrangu Rinpoche has centers in Maine and California, and is currently building the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. Highly qualified monks and nuns from Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery will give retreatants instruction in various intensive practices. He often visits and gives teachings in centers in New York, Connecticut, and Seattle, Washington. In Canada, he gives teachings in Vancouver and has a center in Edmonton. He is the Abbot of Gampo Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in Nova Scotia. He conducts yearly Namo Buddha seminars in the United States, Canada, and Europe, which are also part of a meditation retreat.Rinpoche has now taught in over twenty-five countries and has seventeen centers in twelve countries. He is especially known for making complex teachings accessible to Western students. Thrangu Rinpoche is a recognized master of Mahamudra meditation.Because of his vast knowledge of the Dharma and his skill as a teacher, he was appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the personal tutor for His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa.(Source: [http://www.rinpoche.com/bio1.htm Rinpoche.com, Official Site of the 9th Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche])For ''The Life of Thrangu Rinpoche with Pictures'' [http://www.rinpoche.com/life_of_TR_11_11_2015.pdf Click here].com/life_of_TR_11_11_2015.pdf Click here])
Murti, T. R. V. + (Tirupattur Ramaseshayyer Venkatachala Murt … Tirupattur Ramaseshayyer Venkatachala Murti (June 15, 1902 – March 1986) was an Indian academic, philosopher, writer and translator. He wrote several books on Oriental philosophy, particularly Indian philosophy and his works included commentaries and translations of Indian and Buddhist texts. He was an elected honorary member of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS), a society promoting scholarship in Buddhist studies. ''Studies in Indian Thought: Collected Papers'', ''The Central Philosophy of Buddhism'', and ''A Study of the Madhyamika System'' are some of his notable works. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1959, for his contributions to education and literature.Murti dedicates his 1955 work, ''The Central Philosophy of Buddhism'', as follows: "To my revered teacher Professor S. Radhakrishnan". ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiruppattur_R._Venkatachala_Murti Source Accessed Nov 20, 2023])T. R. V Murti was an original and leading thinker among the Indian philosophers of the twentieth century. He had a brilliant philosophical mind, a love of analysis and argument, and a respect for texts, especially the ones with which he disagreed, as seen in his most important book, ''The Central Philosophy of Buddhism''. With both traditional "Shastri" training and a Western style Ph.D., Murti was able to bring both strengths to his writing and teaching. Murti knew everything by heart, all the Sutra texts, the Upanisads and other philosophical classics, Panini's grammar, and Patanjali's "Great Commentary" and other core texts. Upon that foundation, he evaluated doctrines and ideas. Though a philosopher of the classical type, he was also alive to the latest philosophical currents of his day and effectively related the wisdom of traditional teaching to contemporary questions. It was this last quality that made him a most sought after teacher by students from around the globe. Murti spoke with such eloquence and authority that few would dare to interrupt him. He represented the best of the Indian philosophical tradition to the world through his teaching at places such as Oxford, Copenhagen, Harvard, Hawaii, and McMaster University in Canada. ([http://www.coronetbooks.com/books/t/trvm0775.htm Source Accessed Nov 20, 2023])rvm0775.htm Source Accessed Nov 20, 2023]))
Urgyen, Tulku + (Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (Tib. སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ཨོ་ར … Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (Tib. སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ཨོ་རྒྱན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, Wyl. ''sprul sku o rgyan rin po che'') (1920–1996) was one of the greatest teachers of Dzogchen and Mahamudra in recent times, whose lineage is now continued by his sons, including Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Mingyur Rinpoche.Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was born in Nangchen, in the province of Kham, eastern Tibet, in 1920. He began meditation practice at the early age of four, when he attended the teachings his father, Chime Dorje, would give to his many students. Already at four he had what is called a recognition of the nature of mind. Later he studied with his uncle Samten Gyatso, his root master, as well as with many other lamas of both Kagyü and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the lineage masters from whom he drew his inspiration were Milarepa and Longchen Rabjam—on merely hearing their names, tears would come to his eyes.In his youth he practised intensively, and stayed in retreat for a total of twenty years. He had four sons, each of whom is now an important Buddhist master in his own right: Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Mingyur Rinpoche.When he left Tibet he went to Sikkim and then settled in Nepal at Nagi Gompa Hermitage, in the mountains above the Kathmandu valley. He was the first lama to spread the Tibetan Buddhist teachings to Malaysia. In 1980 Tulku Urgyen went on a world tour encompassing Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Great Britain, the USA, Hong Kong and Singapore. In his later years, however, he did not travel much and his many students, both Eastern and Western, would go to Nepal to visit him.Tulku Urgyen accomplished a great deal in his life. He constructed and restored many temples, and established six monasteries and retreat centres in the Kathmandu region. He had over three hundred monks and nuns under his guidance. In particular he built a monastery and three-year retreat centre at the site of the sacred cave of Asura, the site of Padmasambhava’s famous retreat. He also re-established some traditional annual prayer gatherings in exile.In his childhood he had been recognized by the Fifteenth Karmapa Khakhyap Dorje, as the reincarnation of the master Chöwang Tulku, and he was also an emanation of Nupchen Sangye Yeshe, one of the twenty-five main disciples of Padmasambhava. He was the lineage holder of many teaching transmissions, especially that of the terma teachings of his great grandfather Chokgyur Lingpa. He transmitted the Dzogchen Desum teachings to such masters as Sixteenth Karmapa, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche as well as thousands of other disciples. Tulku Urgyen was especially close to the Karmapa—one of his root teachers—and to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, with both of whom there was a powerful bond of mutual respect.Tulku Urgyen is the author of several books in English, including ''Repeating the Words of the Buddha'' and ''Rainbow Painting''. He also supervised many English translations of Tibetan texts and teachings carried out by his Western students, and gave the name Rangjung Yeshe to the publishing imprint established to make these and other Dharma works available in the West.He was famed for his profound meditative realization and for the concise, lucid and humorous style with which he imparted the essence of the teachings. Using few words, he would point out the nature of mind, revealing a natural simplicity and wakefulness that enables the student to actually touch the heart of the Buddha’s wisdom mind. In this method of instruction, he was unmatched.Tulku Urgyen passed away peacefully on 13th February 1996 (the 24th day of the 12th month of the Wood Pig year), at Nagi Gompa. At that time the sky overhead was clear and completely cloudless for two days, which is traditionally seen as a sign that a highly realized master is passing on.The ''yangsi'' of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, named Urgyen Jigme Rabsel Dawa, was born in 2001. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Tulku_Urgyen_Rinpoche Rigpa Wiki])p?title=Tulku_Urgyen_Rinpoche Rigpa Wiki]))
Tarthang Tulku + (Twenty-Four Years of Traditional Training … Twenty-Four Years of Traditional Training in TibetDharma Publishing was founded by Tarthang Rinpoche, commonly known as Tarthang Tulku. Rinpoche was born in in the mountains of Golok in the far northeast of Tibet as the son of Sogpo Tulku, Pema Gawey Dorje (b 1894), a highly respected physician and holder of the Nyingma Vidyadhara lineage. Before Rinpoche was two years old, he was recognized and given the name Kunga Gellek by the Sutrayana and Mantrayana master Tragyelung Tsultrim Dargye (b. 1866), who made predictions about Rinpoche’s future mission as a servant of the Dharma, and instructed his parents in the special treatment of young tulkus.Rinpoche’s training began at a very early age, and his first teachers were his father and private tutors. After the age of nine, he resided at Tarthang Monastery where he was initiated into the teachings of the Palyul tradition by Tarthang Choktrul and given instruction in Mahayana view, meditation, and conduct by various expert khenpos. At the age of fifteen in the iron tiger year of 1950, Rinpoche departed from Tarthang Monastery to travel to the major monasteries of Kham in eastern Tibet. There he received blessings, teachings, and initiations from the greatest masters of the 20th century: Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, Zhechen Kongtrul, Adzom Gyelsey, Bodpa Tulku, and others, altogether thirty-one teachers. For the next ten years, until the age of 24, Rinpoche was given intensive training in the three Inner Yogas of Maha, Anu, and Ati.Nine Years of Retreat, Research, and Publishing in IndiaIn 1958 Rinpoche departed from his homeland, traveling through Bhutan into Sikkim following in the footsteps of his root guru, Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. The next several years were devoted to pilgrimage and retreat at holy places in India. In 1963 he was appointed by Dudjom Rinpoche as the representative of the Nyingma tradition and given the position of research fellow at Sanskrit University in Benares. In that same year, he set up one of the first Tibetan printing presses in exile and began his life’s work of preserving sacred art and texts. After six years at Sanskrit University and some twenty publications, Rinpoche decided that this was not enough, and departed for America to bring Dharma to the West.Forty-three Years of Dharma Work in the WestArriving in America in late 1968, Rinpoche chose California as his headquarters, and established the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center in early 1969. One of the first learned Tibetan exiles to take up residence in the West, he has lived continuously in America for over forty years. With the full support and blessings of Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tarthang Tulku began in the 1970s to unfold a vision of wisdom in action that would eventually encompass over twenty different organizations and make a significant impact on the transmission of Dharma to the West and the restoration of Dharma in Asia.([http://dharmapublishing.com/about/our-founder/ Source Accessed August 26, 2015])founder/ Source Accessed August 26, 2015]))
Lodro, Tsultrim + (Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö is a renow … Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö is a renowned contemporary Nyingma teacher of Tibetan Buddhism based at Larung Gar (formally known as the Serthar Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Institute), where he serves as a standing Vice Principal. He is a native of Draggo (Ch: Luhuo) County in Sichuan Province. He is an influential public intellectual. Read more [https://www.luminouswisdom.org/index.php/biography/biography-2 here].org/index.php/biography/biography-2 here].)
Vācaspatimiśra + (Vācaspati Miśra was an extremely versatile … Vācaspati Miśra was an extremely versatile and influential Indian philosopher in the tenth century CE . As a follower of Advaita Vedānta, he wrote commentaries on the fundamental works of the two great masters of this tradition, Śaṅkarā and Maṇḍana Miśra. He also contributed to most of the orthodox (or Brahmanical) philosophical schools of Hinduism: he wrote on Mīmāṃsā and grammatical theory (in particular, on the holistic ''sphoṭa'' theory of meaning), and his commentaries on Nyāya, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga are all considered authoritative in these traditions. One of the two subschools of Śaṅkara's Advaita tradition follows and is named after Vācaspati's ''Bhāmatī'' ("Bright"), itself a commentary on Śaṅkara's ''Brahmasūtrabhāṣya'' ("Commentary on the aphorisms on ''brahman''"). ([https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119009924.eopr0400 Source Accessed Jan 22, 2024])24.eopr0400 Source Accessed Jan 22, 2024]))
Zaya Pandita + (Zaya Pandita or Namkhaijamts (1599–1662) w … Zaya Pandita or Namkhaijamts (1599–1662) was a Buddhist missionary priest and scholar of Oirat origin who is the most prominent Oirat Buddhist scholar. Among his accomplishments is the invention of the Clear Script.Zaya Pandita was the fifth son of Babakhan, a minor Khoshut prince. After Babakhan converted to Tibetan Buddhism in the early 17th century, he, like many other Oirat princes, wished for one of his sons to enter the Buddhist clergy. In pursuit of his wish, Babakhan chose Zaya to become a śrāmaṇera ("novice monk"). In 1615, Zaya journeyed to Lhasa where he would study and practice Buddhism, including study under the guidance of the Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama.In 1638, Zaya Pandita left Tibet at the direction of the Panchen Lama to conduct missionary work among the Mongols. One year later in 1640, he assisted Erdeni Batur, Khun Taiyishi of the Choros (Oirats) tribe, in assembling a pan-Mongol conference between the Oirat and the Khalkha Mongols. The purpose of the conference was to encourage the formation of a united Mongolian front against potential external enemies, such as the Kazakhs, Manchus, and Russians and to settle all internal matters peacefully. The conference produced a code, which provided protection from foreign aggression to both the Oirat and the Khalkha and guaranteed the free movement of people throughout Mongol land.When not engaged in diplomacy between the Oirat and the Khalkha, Zaya Pandita spread Tibetan Buddhism to the Oirats, the Khalkha and even the Kalmyk people in far away Russia. In furtherance of his missionary work, Zaya Pandita composed a new alphabet, based on the traditional Mongolian alphabet, called "Clear script" (''todo bichig'') to transcribe the Oirat language as it is pronounced. By doing so, Zaya Pandita eliminated the ambiguities of the traditional Mongolian alphabet.From the time Zaya Pandita developed the Clear Script in 1648 until his death in 1662, he translated approximately 186 Buddhist texts from Tibetan language to the Oirat language while still serving the religious needs of the Oirat tribes in Dzungaria.The todo bichig script is still used by Oirats in Xinjiang with slight revisions, and is taught alongside standard classical written Mongolian in that region. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaya_Pandita Source Accessed Oct 6, 2023])According to Fredrick Liland, "The Oirat scholar Zaya Pandita (1599-1662) according to his biography made a new translation of the BCA. Zaya Pandita was influential in spreading the Buddhist faith also among the Kalmyks, a Mongolian people who migrated to the shore of the Caspian Sea in the 17th Century. He is said to have translated a large number of texts into the Oirat/Kalmyk language, so it is quite likely that the BCA was among these. The translation of Zaya Pandita has however not been found. (Source: Liland, Fredrik. "Later Editions and Translations." In "The Transmission of the Bodhicaryāvatāra: The History, Diffusion, and Influence of a Mahāyāna Buddhist Text," 49–58. MA thesis, University of Oslo, 2009.)–58. MA thesis, University of Oslo, 2009.))
Śaṃkarasvāmin + (Śaṃkarasvāmin. (T. Bde byed bdag po; C. Sh … Śaṃkarasvāmin. (T. Bde byed bdag po; C. Shangjieluozhu; J. Shökarashu; K. Sanggallaju 商羯羅主) (c. sixth Century CE). Sanskrit proper name of an Indian philosopher and logician, who was a student of the Indian logician Dignāga. Śaṃkarasvāmin is credited with the authorship of the ''Nyāyapraveśa'', or "Primer on Logic," which became an important work in many Asian schools. Some have argued, based on the Tibetan tradition, that the ''Nyāyapraveśa'' was actually written by Śaṃkarasvāmin's teacher Dignāga, and that the recension translated into Chinese is a version that Śaṃkarasvāmin later edited. The ''Nyāyapraveśa'' provides an introduction to the logical system of Dignāga, covering such subjects as valid and invalid methods of proof, methods of refutation, perception, erroneous perception, inference, and erroneous inference. Although Śaṃkarasvāmin's work was not as extensive, detailed, or original Dignāga's, it proved to be popular within the tradition, as attested by its extensive commentarial literature, including exegeses by non-Buddhists. Large parts of the work survive in the original Sanskrit. (Source: "Śaṃkarasvāmin." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 755. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Śāntideva + (Śāntideva (late 7th to mid-8th century CE) … Śāntideva (late 7th to mid-8th century CE) was a Buddhist monk, philosopher, and poet whose reflections on the overall structure of Buddhist moral commitments reach a level of generality and theoretical power that is hard to find elsewhere in Indian thought. His writings were immensely influential in the development of the Tibetan religious tradition. Though Śāntideva repeatedly denied that he had said anything original, his two major works may nevertheless represent the single most significant contribution of the Buddhist tradition to the global enterprise of ethical theory. And some of Śāntideva’s poetic passages exhibit an emotional and rhetorical power that gives them a claim to be included among the greatest achievements of world literature. (Source: [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/shantideva/ The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]))

(A highly influential Vedāntic thinker and exegete. Now credited with the)

Sperling, E. + ('''Obituary: Elliot Sperling (1951-2017)'' … '''Obituary: Elliot Sperling (1951-2017)''' by Tenzin Dorjee. (''HIMALAYA''. Volume 37, Number 1, pp 149-150)Professor Elliot Sperling’s death was a colossal tragedy byevery measure. He was only 66 years old, and he exudedlife, health, and purpose—the antithesis of death. Afterretiring from a long professorship at Indiana Universityin 2015, where he was director of the Tibetan Studiesprogram at the department of Central Eurasian Studies,Sperling moved back to his native New York. He bought anapartment in Jackson Heights, where he converted everywall into meticulously arranged bookshelves—only thewindows were spared. He was clearly looking forward toa busy retirement, living in what was basically a librarypretending to be an apartment.Sperling was the world’s foremost authority on historicalSino-Tibetan relations. For his landmark work “on the political, religious, cultural, and economic relations betweenTibet and China from the fourteenth through seventeenthcenturies,” he was awarded a MacArthur genius grant atthe age of 33.1He accumulated a compact but enduring body of work that defined and shaped Tibetan studiesover the last three decades. No less important, he was alsoa phenomenal teacher, storyteller, entertainer, whiskey connoisseur (he delighted in teaching us how to enjoythe peaty Scotch whiskies), and a passionate advocate forTibetan and Uyghur causes.Through his seminal writings on Tibet’s relations withChina during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, hebecame arguably the first historian to use both Chineselanguage archives and Tibetan language sources extensively, bringing to light the separation and independence thatcharacterized the relationship between the two nations.Until he came along, most Western academics viewedTibet through Chinese eyes, largely because they couldnot access Tibetan sources. Sperling, fluent in Tibetan aswell as Chinese, upended the old Sino-centric narrativeand transformed the field. Roberto Vitali, who organized afestschrift for Sperling in 2014, writes that Sperling’s work“will stay as milestones” in Tibetan studies.2 His writingshave become so central to the field that any scholar whowrites a paper about historical Sino-Tibetan relations cannot do so without paying homage to Sperling’s work. He is,so to speak, the Hegel of Sino-Tibetan history.One can imagine the joy many of us felt when ProfessorSperling chose to make his home in Jackson Heights, thesecond (if unofficial) capital of the exile Tibetan world—after Dharamsala, India. We saw him at demonstrations atthe Chinese consulate, art openings at Tibet House, poetrynights at Little Tibet restaurant, and sometimes at dinnerparties in the neighborhood. At every gathering, he heldcourt as the intellectual life of the party. His friends andstudents bombarded him with questions on topics rangingfrom art to politics to linguistics, for his erudition wasnot limited to history alone. Unfailingly generous andeloquent, he supplied the most intriguing, insightful andexhaustive answers to every question. Each conversationwith him was a scholarly seminar. Among the circle ofTibetan activists and artists living in New York City,Sperling quickly fell into a sort of second professorship, anunderground tenure without the trappings of university.We weren’t about to let him retire so easily.Some of Professor Sperling’s most influential early worksinclude: The 5th Karma-pa and Some Aspects of the RelationshipBetween Tibet and the Early Ming (1980); The 1413 MingEmbassy to Tsong-ka-pa and the Arrival of Byams-chen chos-rjeShakya ye-shes at the Ming Court (1982); Did the Early MingEmperors Attempt to Implement a ‘Divide and Rule’ Policy inTibet? (1983); and The Ho Clan of Ho-chou: A Tibetan Family inService to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1990) among others.One of my personal favorites in his corpus is The 5th Karmapa and Some Aspects of the Relationship Between Tibet and theEarly Ming. In this text, Sperling argues that in the earlyyears following the collapse of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in1367, the Ming rulers of China adopted a non-expansionistforeign policy, displaying greater interest in drawing clearboundaries to keep the ‘barbarians’ out of China thanin expanding its boundaries to encroach into non-Mingterritories. Ming China was initially conceived more asan inward-looking state than an outward-looking empire,partly in critique of the ruthless expansionism of theirpredecessors, the Mongol Yuan rulers. In fact, Sperlingquotes from the very proclamation carried by the firstmission that Ming Taitsu, or the Hongwu Emperor, sent toTibet::Formerly, the hu people [i.e. the Mongols] usurped:authority in China. For over a hundred years caps:and sandals were in reversed positions. Of all:hearts, which did not give rise to anger? In recent:years, the hu rulers lost hold of the government….:Your Tibetan state is located in the western lands.:China is now united, but I am afraid that you have:still not heard about this. Therefore this proclamation [is sent].3 Sperling goes on to write that this “first mission is acknowledged by Chinese records to have met with nosuccess,” and that necessitated the dispatching of a secondmission.4In ''Did the Early Ming Emperors Attempt to Implement a “Divide and Rule” Policy in Tibet?''5Sperling defies decades of conventional wisdom with a bold argument when he writes::The Chinese court was never, in fact, able to mount:a military expedition beyond the Sino-Tibetan:frontier regions. This fact becomes strikingly:obvious as one glances through both Tibetan and:Chinese sources for the period in question…. Unable:to protect its embassies or even to retaliate against:attacks on them, China was hardly in a position to:manifest the kind of power needed to implement a:policy of “divide and rule” in Tibet.For many Tibetans who care about seemingly inconsequential details of the murky Sino-Tibetan relations from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, a historical period that has become a domain of highly charged information battles between Dharamsala and Beijing, Sperling’s writings are like a constellation of bright lamps illuminating the tangled web of Sino-Tibetan history. He excavated critical pieces of Tibet’s deep past from the forbidding archives of antiquity, arranged them in a coherent narrative, and virtually placed in our hands several centuries of our own history.Elliot Sperling’s academic stature would have allowedhim to be an ivory tower intellectual. Instead, he choseto be a true ally of the Tibetan people and an unwaveringchampion of Tibetan freedom. While he studied withTaktser Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama’s elder brother, hemaintained lifelong friendships with the people he metin Dharamsala: Tashi Tsering (the preeminent Tibetanhistorian), Jamyang Norbu (the rebel intellectual andaward-winning author), Peter Brown (the ‘AmericanKhampa’ and a brother in the Tibetan struggle). Sperlingjoined many of us in the trenches of activism, alwaysencouraging us to embark on bigger and bolder advocacycampaigns for Tibet. Speaking in his Bronx-accentedTibetan, he told us that if only Tibetans studied our historymore seriously, we would be able to believe that Tibet willbe free again.A sharp and fearless critic of Beijing, Sperling neitherminced his words nor censored his writings under fear ofbeing banned from China. Even when he taught in Beijingfor a semester, where he developed a close friendship withthe Tibetan poet Woeser, he successfully avoided the trapof self-censorship that has neutered so many scholars in our time.6While railing against Beijing’s atrocities in Tibet, he managed to be critical of Dharamsala’s excessively conciliatory stance toward Beijing.7His provocative critiques of the Tibetan leadership sometimes made us uncomfortable, but that was exactly the impact he was seeking as a teacher who cared deeply about Tibet: to awaken and educate us by pushing us into our discomfort zone. “Having a teacher like Sperling was a bit like having access to a genius, a father, and some sort of bodhi all in one,” says Sara Conrad, a doctoral student at Indiana University who studied with Sperling for many years. “A walking encyclopedia, I felt I could learn a lot just being near him—and he took every opportunity to teach me. I benefited learning from him about Tibet and Tibetan of course, but also about parenthood and morality, music and comedy. In terms of academia he told me I must be able to live with myself after I write, and therefore it is always best to be honest.”In recent years, Sperling took up the case of Ilham Tohti,the Uyghur intellectual sentenced to life imprisonmentby Beijing. He played a key role in raising Tohti’s profileas a prisoner of conscience, nominating him for humanrights awards. He took Tohti’s daughter, Jewher, underhis wing and oversaw her wellbeing and education. InJewher’s own words, Elliot Sperling became “like a secondfather” to her. His friendship with Ilahm Tohti and Jewherexemplified the compassion and generosity with which hetreated everyone. Sure, he made his mark in this world as ascholar, but his monumental intellect was matched by hisunbounded kindness, altruism, and humanity.“Professor Sperling was the moral compass of Tibetan studies,” said fellow historian Carole McGranahan at Sperling’s March 11 memorial in New York. His untimely deathhas left an abyss in our hearts and a chasm in the world of Tibetology. Christophe Besuchet, a fellow activist, remarked that it is “as if a whole library had burned down.”Even so, it is worth remembering that Sperling has already done far more than his fair share of good in the world, and he deserves a rest (or a break, if you consider it from a Buddhist perspective). In the course of 66 years, he lived multiple lifetimes—as a taxi driver, hippie, scholar, mentor, activist, father—each one more productive and meaningful than the last. He has engraved his spirit so deeply in the lives of so many of us that, in a way, he is still alive. And while one library has burned down, there are thousands of libraries where his words still live and breathe.''Endnotes'' 1. MacArthur Foundation, <https://www.macfound.org/fellows/236/> (accessed 6 March 2017).2. Roberto Vitali, “For Elliot from a Friend,” InternationalAssociation for Tibetan Studies. Also see Trails of the TibetanTradition: Papers for Elliot Sperling, edited by Roberto Vitali(Amnye Machen Institute: 2014).3. Elliot Sperling, “5th Karmapa and Some Aspects ofthe Relationship Between Tibet and the Early Ming,” inMichael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi, eds., Tibetans Studiesin Honour of Hugh Richardson, Warminster, 1980 (publishedin translation as Shiboling, “Wushi Gamaba yiji Xizanghe Mingchu de guanxi yaolue,” in Guowai Zangxue yanjiuyiwenji, vol. 2, Lhasa, 1987), pp.279-289.4. Ibid.5. Elliot Sperling, “Divide and Rule Policy in Tibet,” inErnst Steinkellner, ed., Contributions on Tibetan Language,History and Culture. Proceedings of the Csoma de KorosSymposium Held at Velm-Vienna, Austria, 13-19 September1981, Vienna, 1983, pp.339-356.6. See Tsering Woeser, “A Chronicle of Elliot Sperling,”in Trails of the Tibetan Tradition: Papers for Elliot Sperling,Roberto Vitali eds., (published by Amnye Machen Institute,2014).7. He has criticized the Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle WayApproach’ to dealing with China as too conciliatory. Seehis article Self-Delusion, <http://info-buddhism.com/SelfDelusion_Middle-Way-Approach_Dalai-Lama_Exile_CTA_Sperling.html#f1>.'''Tenzin Dorjee''' is a writer, activist, and a researcher at TibetAction Institute. His monograph The Tibetan NonviolentStruggle: A Strategic and Historical Analysis was publishedin 2015 by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.His writings have been published in various forums includingGlobal Post, Courier International, Tibetan Review, TibetTimes, and the CNN blog. He is a regular commentatoron Tibet-related issues for Radio Free Asia, Voice ofAmerica, and Voice of Tibet. He served as the ExecutiveDirector of Students for a Free Tibet from 2009 to 2013.An earlier version of this obituary was published in theHuffington Post <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/remembering-elliot-sperling-personal-reflections-on_b_5899c990e4b0985224db59cb>.t-sperling-personal-reflections-on_b_5899c990e4b0985224db59cb>.)
Yin Shun + ((Master) Yin Shun (印順導師, Yìnshùn Dǎoshī) ( … (Master) Yin Shun (印順導師, Yìnshùn Dǎoshī) (5 April 1906 – 4 June 2005) was a well-known Buddhist monk and scholar in the tradition of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. Though he was particularly trained in the Three Treatise school, he was an advocate of the One Vehicle (or Ekayāna) as the ultimate and universal perspective of Buddhahood for all, and as such included all schools of Buddha Dharma, including the Five Vehicles and the Three Vehicles, within the meaning of the Mahāyāna as the One Vehicle. Yin Shun's research helped bring forth the ideal of "Humanistic" (human-realm) Buddhism, a leading mainstream Buddhist philosophy studied and upheld by many practitioners. His work also regenerated the interests in the long-ignored Āgamas among Chinese Buddhist society and his ideas are echoed by Theravadin teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi. As a contemporary master, he was most popularly known as the mentor of Cheng Yen (Pinyin: Zhengyan), the founder of Tzu-Chi Buddhist Foundation, as well as the teacher to several other prominent monastics. Although Master Yin Shun is closely associated with the Tzu-Chi Foundation, he has had a decisive influence on others of the new generation of Buddhist monks such as Sheng-yen of Dharma Drum Mountain and Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan, who are active in humanitarian aid, social work, environmentalism and academic research as well. He is considered to be one of the most influential figures of Taiwanese Buddhism, having influenced many of the leading Buddhist figures in modern Taiwan. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_Shun Source Accessed July 10, 2020])ed July 10, 2020]))
Śaṅkara + (A highly influential Vedāntic thinker and … A highly influential Vedāntic thinker and exegete. Now credited with the founding of the Advaita Vedānta tradition, he has been promoted by many, particularly in the modern era, as the greatest Hindu philosopher. Nothing is known of his life beyond the hagiographies; these portray him as a brahmin from the small village of Kālati in Kerala who became a saṃnyāsin at the age of seven. According to the tradition, his guru was called Govindapāda and his paramaguru (his teacher's teacher) was Gauḍapāda. (Gauḍapāda was the reputed author of the earliest identifiable Advaita text, the Gauḍapādīya Kārikā, the basis of a commentary attributed to Śaṅkara.) The boy Śaṅkara moved to Vārāṇasī, where he acquired his own pupils, including Padmapāda and Sureśvara. Moving again, to Badrinātha, he composed the earliest surviving commentary on the Brahmasūtras, supposedly while still only twelve years old. Thereafter, he led the life of a peripatetic debater and teacher, before dying at the age of 32 in the Himālayas. During his period of wandering he is supposed to have founded an India-wide network of Advaitin monasteries, each with its associated order of saṃnyāsins, later identified as the Daśanāmis. There is some evidence, however, that these maṭhas may have been established much later in the history of Advaita, and it should be noted that while the Daśanāmis have a markedly Śaiva affiliation, it is likely that Śaṅkara himself was born into a smārta Vaiṣṇava family. Nevertheless, by around the 10th century ce, through the advocacy of his pupils, and various subcommentators, and the critical response of rival schools, Śaṅkara had become established as the major proponent of Advaita, and a large number of works, both philosophical and devotional began to be attributed to him. Most scholars now agree that only a small proportion of these texts should be unreservedly accepted as the work of the 8th-century Śaṅkara. Apart from one independent text, the Upadeśasāhasrī (‘Thousand Teachings’), these are all commentaries (bhāṣyas), namely: the Brahmasūtrabhāṣya (also known as the Śārīrakabhāṣya), bhāṣyas on the Bṛhadāraṅyaka and Taittirīya Upaniṣads, and (probably) the Bhagavadgītā, as well as the commentary on the Gauḍapādīya Kārikā (itself a commentary on the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad). Some scholars also regard commentaries on the other major Upaniṣads (with the possible exception of the Śvetāśvatara) as genuine. ([https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100440958 Source Accessed Mar 4, 2022])803100440958 Source Accessed Mar 4, 2022]))
An Xuan + (An Xuan (Chinese: 安玄; pinyin: Ānxuán) was … An Xuan (Chinese: 安玄; pinyin: Ānxuán) was a Parthian layman credited with working alongside An Shigao (Chinese: 安世高; pinyin: Ānshìgāo) and Yan Fotiao (Chinese: 嚴佛調; pinyin: Yán Fúdiào) in the translation of early Buddhist texts in Luoyang in Later Han China. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Xuan Source Accessed Aug 30, 2021])iki/An_Xuan Source Accessed Aug 30, 2021]))
Waley, A. + (Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schl … Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 1889 – 27 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were the CBE in 1952, the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1953, and he was invested as a Companion of Honour in 1956.Although highly learned, Waley avoided academic posts and most often wrote for a general audience. He chose not to be a specialist but to translate a wide and personal range of classical literature. Starting in the 1910s and continuing steadily almost until his death in 1966, these translations started with poetry, such as ''A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems'' (1918) and ''Japanese Poetry: The Uta'' (1919), then an equally wide range of novels, such as ''The Tale of Genji'' (1925–26), an 11th-century Japanese work, and ''Monkey'', from 16th-century China. Waley also presented and translated Chinese philosophy, wrote biographies of literary figures, and maintained a lifelong interest in both Asian and Western paintings.A recent evaluation called Waley "the great transmitter of the high literary cultures of China and Japan to the English-reading general public; the ambassador from East to West in the first half of the 20th century", and went on to say that he was "self-taught, but reached remarkable levels of fluency, even erudition, in both languages. It was a unique achievement, possible (as he himself later noted) only in that time, and unlikely to be repeated. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Waley Source Accessed Apr 22, 2020])rthur_Waley Source Accessed Apr 22, 2020]))
Little, H. + (Binks devoted much of his life to the stud … Binks devoted much of his life to the study and teaching of religion. Before coming to Williams, he taught religion at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., and served as a teaching assistant at Harvard, where he earned his Ph.D.At Williams, he contributed greatly to the life of the college, both inside and outside the classroom. In the 20 years during which he chaired the Department of Religion, starting in 1967, rapid growth of departmental enrollments, followed by new faculty appointments, set the stage for the development of an exciting and rigorous introductory religion course that was both highly popular at Williams and emulated nationally.An intellectual who cared deeply about his students, Binks was intensely curious about developments in the full range of liberal arts disciplines. “Almost immediately following his faculty appointment in the Department of Religion, it became apparent that Binks Little had the potential to become a significant leader in his department and in the college generally,” says John Chandler, Williams president, emeritus, who served as dean of the faculty and religion department chair when Binks joined Williams.Binks was also the first-ever chair of the Committee of Undergraduate Life when it was conceived in the late 1960s. Under his leadership, the committee recommended and the college implemented major revisions of protocols governing residential life. He also paved the way for student membership on standing committees that, up until then, were strictly composed of faculty. “Binks had a great memory for students and a complete devotion to them,” says Mark C. Taylor, Cluett Professor of Humanities, emeritus.Binks became a full professor in 1974. That year he was appointed the managing editor of the American Academy of Religion Dissertation Series, a publishing venture organized to make outstanding doctoral research in the study of religion readily available to the wider scholarly community.Shortly before he retired from Williams, Binks participated for two years in an experimental faculty development program, mentoring second-year faculty across the academic divisions and coordinating and directing periodic seminars and conferences that addressed the myriad challenges faced by new faculty members.Born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1932, Binks grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and Pasadena, Calif., and attended Deerfield Academy. He graduated from Princeton University in 1954 and earned a B.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1957, having spent the 1954-55 academic year at the University of Edinburgh. He earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1965. ([https://president.williams.edu/writings-and-remarks/articles-2/the-passing-of-professor-h-ganse-binks-little/ Source Accessed Apr 21, 2022])nks-little/ Source Accessed Apr 21, 2022]))
Phuntsok, Tulku Orgyen + (Birth and Recognition: Tulku Orgyen Phun … Birth and Recognition: Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok was born in Pemakö, in northeastern India, as the son of Lama Rigdzin Phuntsok. He was recognized at a young age by Dudjom Rinpoche as the reincarnation of Togden Kunzang Longrol, his father’s root guru. Togden Kunzang Longrol was a great Dzogchen yogi from the Powo region who had been a main disciple of Dudjom Rinpoche, and who had been influential in spreading the dharma and the Dudjom Tersar lineage both in Tibet and in upper and lower Pemakö.Training: Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok spent his early years in retreat in Pemakö, at his own monastery, under the blessings of his first root teacher, the great master Tulku Dawa Rinpoche. Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok underwent vigorous training in multiple fields of study, including various ritual sadhana performances from different terma lineages, with an emphasis on the Dudjom Tersar lineage, all under the care of his previous incarnation’s disciples, including his father Lama Rigzin Phuntsok.At the age of 15, Tulku Orgyen commenced advanced studies in southern India at Namdroling Monastery, the largest Nyingma monastery in India, established by Penor Rinpoche. There, Tulku Orgyen completed a nine-year-long program of study, obtaining the degree of Khenpo. While appointed to a teaching position for the duration of his final three years at the monastery, he taught various Buddhist philosophies to monks. Over the course of his nine years of study, he also received empowerments and transmissions from many masters of the Nyingma lineage such as Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche, Lama Rigdzin Phuntsok, Penor Rinpoche, and Tulku Dawa Rinpoche.Upon completion of his studies at Namdroling monastery, Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok returned to his retreat land in Pemakö, where he engaged in solitary retreat and completed the requisite practices to become a qualified Vajra master in this lineage.Activity:Since late 1999, Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok has assisted his uncle and teacher, Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche, by giving teachings, leading practices and retreats, and undertaking various other Dharma activities at Vairotsana Foundation Centers in California and New Mexico and in various cities in North America and Asia. In order to gain a western education and perspective, Tulku Orgyen studied and guest lectured at the University of California, Santa Barbara.Currently, Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok splits his time between North America and Asia, spending winters in Pemakö where he oversees reconstruction of the temple. he oversees reconstruction of the temple.)
Karthar, Khenpo + (Born in eastern Tibet in 1924, Khenpo Kart … Born in eastern Tibet in 1924, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche was one of the great masters of the Karma Kagyu tradition. Rinpoche, who received most of his training and education in Tibet before the Chinese invasion, was highly accomplished in meditation, philosophy, and monastic arts. As abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmacakra Monastery (KTD) in Woodstock, New York; spiritual guide of thirty-five Karma Thegsum Choling (KTC) affiliate centers; and retreat master at the Karme Ling Retreat Center in Delhi, New York, Rinpoche touched the lives of thousands of students. He was also known for numerous books, including ''The Quintessence of the Union of Mahamudra and Dzokchen''; ''Dharma Paths''; ''Instructions of Gampopa''; ''Bardo: Interval of Possibility''; ''The Wish-Fulfilling Wheel: The Practice of White Tara''; and the five-volume masterwork ''Karma Chakme’s Mountain Dharma''.erwork ''Karma Chakme’s Mountain Dharma''.)
Dragonetti, C. + (Carmen Dragonetti (born in Argentina, 1937 … Carmen Dragonetti (born in Argentina, 1937) and Fernando Tola (born in Peru, 1915) are the most prestigious Indologists in the Spanish-speaking world, both being researchers from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina. They were President and Vice-President, respectively, of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Foundation (FIEB).Both were professors at universities in Peru and Argentina. Dedicated to Indology and the study of Buddhism, they published a large number of books and articles in Spanish and English, containing highly reliable translations of Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese and/or Tibetan texts, such as the unsurpassed Tola versions of the ''Gita Govinda'' and the ''Bhagavad Gita'', and Dragonetti's ''Dhammapada'', which are remarkable for their beauty and clarity, one of the most relevant qualities of these authors as writers.Other translations by the same authors include ''Five Mahayana Sutras'', also published by Primorda Media, the ''Udana'' and ''The Sutra of Infinite Meanings'', ''Wu liang i ching''. ([https://www-librosbudistas-com.translate.goog/autor/carmen-dragonetti-fernando-tola?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en Adapted from Source Oct 4, 2022])l=en&_x_tr_hl=en Adapted from Source Oct 4, 2022]))
Tola, F. + (Carmen Dragonetti (born in Argentina, 1937 … Carmen Dragonetti (born in Argentina, 1937) and Fernando Tola (born in Peru, 1915) are the most prestigious Indologists in the Spanish-speaking world, both being researchers from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina. They were President and Vice-President, respectively, of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Foundation (FIEB).Both were professors at universities in Peru and Argentina. Dedicated to Indology and the study of Buddhism, they published a large number of books and articles in Spanish and English, containing highly reliable translations of Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese and/or Tibetan texts, such as the unsurpassed Tola versions of the ''Gita Govinda'' and the ''Bhagavad Gita'', and Dragonetti's ''Dhammapada'', which are remarkable for their beauty and clarity, one of the most relevant qualities of these authors as writers.Other translations by the same authors include ''Five Mahayana Sutras'', also published by Primorda Media, the ''Udana'' and ''The Sutra of Infinite Meanings'', ''Wu liang i ching''. ([https://www-librosbudistas-com.translate.goog/autor/carmen-dragonetti-fernando-tola?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en Adapted from Source Oct 4, 2022])l=en&_x_tr_hl=en Adapted from Source Oct 4, 2022]))
Ermakov, D. + (DMITRY ERMAKOV was born in 1967 in Leningr … DMITRY ERMAKOV was born in 1967 in Leningrad, Soviet Union, and trained as a classical musician from the age of six. He was raised in a highly cultural environment, attending after-school classes on ancient history, mythology and art history at the prestigious Hermitage Museum. During his summer holidays he often participated in archaeological digs led by his aunt, the former Head of Archaeology at Kiev University. In 1987 Dmitry joined the University of Leningrad's expedition to Khakassia near the Tuvan (Tyvan) border to excavate Scythian Kurgans. This was his first trip to Siberia.His interest in Buddhism began in his childhood, with a book called Gods of the Lotus by Parfionov. The book details the author's trip to the Himalayas and it opened up a whole new world of deities and religions. Later, this interest was combined with martial arts based on Taoism and Zen philosophy, and Qi Gong, disciplines which were strictly forbidden in the Soviet Union. It was only with the coming of Perestroika in 1989 that Dmitry was able to meet Buddhist masters: receiving a blessing for the Lotus Sutra from a Japanese Zen master; and then teachings and initiations from a Tibetan Buddhist lamas: Bakula Rinpoche (1989), Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoches (1991), Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (1992). In 1993 Dmitry moved to the UK and in 1995 he met the great Bönpo master Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. He has been practising Yungdrung Bon and attending Yongdzin Rinpoche's teachings ever since.Dmitry first visited Buryatia in 1990 where he struck up a deep friendship with the Buddhist thangka-painter Batodalai Doogarov as well as with a several of the local bo and utgan shamans. Welcomed into their circle, Dmitry was able to gain unique insight into the Buryatian spiritual tradition of Bo Murgel, insight which developed into a detailed study of the similarities and differences between this ancient tradition and Yungdrung Bon. With the patient help of Yongdzin Rinpoche, Dmitry spent years researching a large anthology, Bo and Bon: Ancient Shamanic Traditions of Siberia and Tibet in their Relation to the Teachings of a Central Asian Buddha, (2008), which sheds new light on both traditions. Dmitry went on to study Tibetan at Oxford University with Prof. Charles Ramble (2009-2010) and, as well as having articles published in both English and Russian, has been invited to lecture in Oxford, London, St. Petersburg, Vilnius, Cagliari, Budapest etc. His knowledge of Tibetan brings a new level of scholarship to the books and transcripts he and his wife Carol produce for the international Bonpo sangha.Dmitry currently lives in the North Pennines, UK, where he works as a freelance translator. Alongside his work for the Bon tradition, he is currently composing pieces for a new fusion album.y composing pieces for a new fusion album.)
Huineng + (Dajian Huineng (traditional Chinese: 大鑒惠能; … Dajian Huineng (traditional Chinese: 大鑒惠能; pinyin: Dàjiàn Huìnéng; Wade–Giles: Ta-chien; Japanese: Daikan Enō; Korean: Hyeneung); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism. According to tradition he was an uneducated layman who suddenly attained awakening upon hearing the ''Diamond Sutra''. Despite his lack of formal training, he demonstrated his understanding to the fifth patriarch, Daman Hongren, who then supposedly chose Huineng as his true successor instead of his publicly known selection of Yuquan Shenxiu.Twentieth century scholarship revealed that the story of Huineng's Buddhist career was likely invented by the monk Heze Shenhui, who claimed to be one of Huineng's disciples and was highly critical of Shenxiu's teaching.Huineng is regarded as the founder of the "Sudden Enlightenment" Southern Chan school of Buddhism, which focuses on an immediate and direct attainment of Buddhist enlightenment. ''The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' (六祖壇經), which is said to be a record of his teachings, is a highly influential text in the East Asian Buddhist tradition. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huineng Source Accessed July 14, 2021])ki/Huineng Source Accessed July 14, 2021]))
Jones, D. + (David Jones is professor of philosophy and … David Jones is professor of philosophy and editor of ''Comparative and Continental Philosophy'' (Taylor and Francis), the founding editor of ''East-West Connections'' from 2000 to 2013, and the editor of the ''Series on Comparative and Continental Philosophy''. In 2013 and 2015 he was Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at National Taiwan University and has been a visiting professor at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Visiting Professor of Chinese Philosophy at the University of North Georgia, and Visiting Professor of Confucian Classics at Emory. From 1996 to 2008 he was the director of the Center for the Development of Asian Studies, which was a Southeast regional center of the Asian Studies Development Program of the East-West Center in Honolulu. Under his direction, CDAS coordinated a number of faculty development workshops and organized conferences and programs on Asia for faculty and the public in Atlanta, the Southeast, and nationally. David Jones was the president of the highly regarded Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle for the last twelve years. ([http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~djones/index.htm Source Accessed Mar 17, 2020])s/index.htm Source Accessed Mar 17, 2020]))
Dharmakṣema + (Dharmakṣema. (C. Tanwuchen; J. Donmusen; K … Dharmakṣema. (C. Tanwuchen; J. Donmusen; K. Tammuch'am 曇無讖 (385-433 CE). Indian Buddhist monk who was an early translator of Buddhist materials into Chinese. A scion of a brāhmaṇa family from India, Dharmakṣema became at the age of six a disciple of Dharmayaśas (C. Damoyeshe; J. Donmayasha) (d.u.), an Abhidharma specialist who later traveled to China c. 397–401 and translated the ''Śāriputrābhidharmaśāstra''. Possessed of both eloquence and intelligence, Dharmakṣema was broadly learned in both monastic and secular affairs and was well versed in mainstream Buddhist texts. After he met a meditation monk named "White Head" and had a fiery debate with him, Dharmakṣema recognized his superior expertise and ended up studying with him. The monk transmitted to him a text of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' written on bark, which prompted Dharmakṣema to embrace the Mahāyāna. Once he reached the age of twenty, Dharmakṣema was able to recite over two million words of Buddhist texts. He was also so skilled in casting spells that he earned the sobriquet "Great Divine Spell Master" (C. Dashenzhou shi). Carrying with him the first part of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' that he received from "White Head," he left India and arrived in the Kucha kingdom in Central Asia. As the people of Kucha mostly studied Hīnayāna and did not accept the Mahāyāna teachings, Dharmakṣema then moved to China and lived in the western outpost of Dunhuang for several years. Juqu Mengxun, the non-Chinese ruler of the Northern Liang dynasty (397–439 CE), eventually brought Dharmakṣema to his capital. After studying the Chinese language for three years and learning how to translate Sanskrit texts orally into Chinese, Dharmakṣema engaged there in a series of translation projects under Juqu Mengxun's patronage. With the assistance of Chinese monks, such as Daolang and Huigao, Dharmakṣema produced a number of influential Chinese translations, including the ''Dabanniepan jing'' (S. ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra''; in forty rolls), the longest recension of the sūtra extant in any language; the ''Jinguangming jing'' ("Sūtra of Golden Light"; S. ''Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra''; in four rolls); and the ''Pusa dichi jing'' (S. ''Bodhisattvabhūmisūtra''; in ten rolls). He is also said to have made the first Chinese translation of the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'' (C. ''Ru Lengqie jing'', but his rendering had dropped out of circulation at least by 730 CE, when the Tang Buddhist cataloguer Zhisheng (700–786 CE) compiled the Kaiyuan Shijiao Lu. The Northern Wei ruler Tuoba Tao, a rival of Juqu Mengxun's, admired Dharmakṣema's esoteric expertise and requested that the Northern Liang ruler send the Indian monk to his country. Fearing that his rival might seek to employ Dharmakṣema's esoteric expertise against him, Juqu Mengxun had the monk assassinated at the age of forty-nine. Dharmakṣema's translation of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese had a significant impact on Chinese Buddhism; in particular, the doctrine that all beings have the buddha-nature (''foxing''), a teaching appearing in Dharmakṣema's translation of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'', exerted tremendous influence on the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. (Source: "Dharmakṣema." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 247–48. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Dharmarakṣita + (Dharmarakṣita is a c. 9th century Indian B … Dharmarakṣita is a c. 9th century Indian Buddhist credited with composing an important Mahayana text called the ''Wheel of Sharp Weapons'' (Tib. ''blo-sbyong mtshon-cha 'khor-lo''). He was the teacher of Atiśa, who was instrumental in establishing a second wave of Buddhism in Tibet.''Wheel of Sharp Weapons'' is an abbreviated title for ''The Wheel of Sharp Weapons Effectively Striking the Heart of the Foe''. This text is often referenced as a detailed source for how the laws of karma play out in our lives; it reveals many specific effects and their causes. A poetic presentation, the "wheel of sharp weapons" can be visualized as something we throw out or propel, which then comes back to cut us... something like a boomerang. In the same way, Dharmarakṣita explains, the non-virtuous causes we create through our self-interested behavior come back to 'cut us' in future lives as the ripening of the negative karma such actions create. This, he explains, is the source of all our pain and suffering. He admonishes that it is our own selfishness or self-cherishing that leads us to harm others, which in turn creates the negative karma or potential for future suffering. Our suffering is not a punishment, merely a self-created karmic result. In most verses, Dharmarakṣita also offers a suggested alternative virtuous or positive action to substitute for our previous non-virtuous behavior, actions that will create positive karma and future pleasant conditions and happiness.Despite the fact that ''Wheel of Sharp Weapons'' has come to be considered a Mahayana text, Dharmarakṣita is said to have subscribed to the Vaibhāṣika view. His authorship of the text is considered questionable by scholars for various reasons. [(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmarak%E1%B9%A3ita_(9th_century) Source Accessed May 18, 2021])th_century) Source Accessed May 18, 2021]))
Chattopadhyaya, A. + (Dr. Mrs. Alaka Chattopadhyaya obtained her … Dr. Mrs. Alaka Chattopadhyaya obtained her doctorate degrèe of the Calcutta University with her highly acclaimed work based on Tibetan sources published with the title ''Atisa and Tibet''. Byprofession she was until recently the principal of the Vidyasagar College of Women, Calcutta. Her other published works include the translation (in Bengali) of the ''Caturasitisiddha-pravrtti''—life ofthe 84 Siddhacaryas available hithertobefore only in its Tibetan version, besides many other Tibetan studies. She has extensively toured abroad, delivering lectures in [the] USSR, China, Oxford, Cambridge, Budapast and other places. (Source: inside jacket, ''Tāranātha's History of Buddhism in India'')āranātha's History of Buddhism in India''))
'jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros + (Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro was one of … Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro was one of the most influential religious teachers in Kham in the first half of the twentieth century. One of multiple reincarnations of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, he served as head of Dzongsar Monastery, which he enlarged, founding the monastic college, Khamshe, in 1918. Chokyi Lodro fled Kham in 1955 during the Communist takeover of Tibet, settling in Sikkim, where he passed away in 1959. ([http://www.treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Jamyang-Khyentse-Chokyi-Lodro/9990 Source: Treasury of Lives]). Also see his collected works at [https://khyentselineage.tsadra.org/index.php/%27jam_dbyangs_mkhyen_brtse_chos_kyi_blo_gros Tsadra Foundation's Khyentse Lineage webiste] and the translations of his texts at [https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/jamyang-khyentse-chokyi-lodro/ Lotsawa House].ang-khyentse-chokyi-lodro/ Lotsawa House].)
Thomas, F. + (Frederick William Thomas CIE FBA (21 March … Frederick William Thomas CIE FBA (21 March 1867 – 6 May 1956), usually cited as F. W. Thomas, was an English Indologist and Tibetologist.Thomas was born on 21 March 1867 in Tamworth, Staffordshire. After schooling at King Edward's School, Birmingham, he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1885, graduating with a first class degree in both classics and Indian languages and being awarded a Browne medal in both 1888 and 1889. At Cambridge he studied Sanskrit under the influential Orientalist Edward Byles Cowell.He was a librarian at the India Office Library (now subsumed into the British Library) between 1898 and 1927. Simultaneously he was lecturer in comparative philology at University College, London from 1908 to 1935, Reader in Tibetan at London University from 1909 to 1937 and the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University between 1927 and 1937, in which capacity he became a fellow of Balliol College. His students at Oxford included Harold Walter Bailey.Thomas became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1927. He died on 6 May 1956.Thomas collaborated with Jacques Bacot in publishing a collection of Old Tibetan historical texts. In addition he studied many Old Tibetan texts himself which were collected in his four-volume Tibetan literary texts and documents concerning Chinese Turkestan and Ancient folk-literature from North-Eastern Tibet. He also published a monograph on the Nam language, and wrote an unpublished work on the Zhangzhung language.His catalogues of the Tibetan manuscripts from Central Asia brought to the India Office Library by Marc Aurel Stein remained unpublished until 2007, when his catalogue of Tibetan manuscripts from Stein's third expedition was published on the website of the International Dunhuang Project. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William_Thomas_(philologist) Source Accessed Apr 22, 2022])hilologist) Source Accessed Apr 22, 2022]))
Müller, M. + (Friedrich Max Müller (1823-1900), Sanskrit … Friedrich Max Müller (1823-1900), Sanskrit scholar and philologist, was a pioneer in the fields of Vedic studies, comparative philosophy, comparative mythology and comparative religion. Müller was born on 6 December 1823 in Dessau, Germany, to the popular lyric poet Willhelm Müller and his wife Adelheid, the eldest daughter of Präsident von Basedow, the prime minister of the Anhalt-Dessau duchy. [...] Müller won a scholarship allowing him to attend the University of Leipzig.In 1841, Müller entered the University of Leipzig, concentrating on the study of Latin and Greek and reading Philosophy – in particular the thought of G. F. W. Hegel. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1843, at the age of 19, for his dissertation, ‘On the Third Book of Spinoza’s Ethics, De Affectibus.’ Müller travelled to Berlin in 1844 to study with Friedrich Schelling, whose lectures proved to be very influential to his intellectual development. Whilst in Berlin, he was also given access to the Chambers collection of Sanskrit manuscripts. At Schelling’s request, Müller translated some of the most important passages of the Upanishads, which he understood to be the greatest outcome of Vedic literature. He emphasised the necessity of studying the ancient hymns of the Veda in order to be able to appreciate the historical growth of the Indian mind during the Vedic age. Müller was convinced that all mythological and religious theories would remain without a solid foundation until the whole of the Rig Veda had been published.Müller arrived in Paris in 1845 where he studied with the famous French Sanskrit scholar Eugene Burnouff, with whom he remained friends for many years. Burnouff encouraged Müller to undertake the preparation and publication of a full edition of the Rig Veda; this project proved to be his most significant and lasting contribution to scholarship. To further his work on the Rig Veda, Müller came to London in June 1846 to work with manuscripts in the library of the East India Company, which eventually underwrote much of the expense of printing Müller’s Rig Veda. While Müller initially came to England to spend three weeks in Oxford, he stayed in England, making it his home for the remainder of his life. He became a close friend of William Howard Russell, the famous Times correspondent, and Baron von Bunsen, the Prussian ambassador in London. Müller was visiting Paris in early 1848 when the revolution began, but he and his valuable manuscripts were able to return unscathed to England. In 1849 Oxford University Press published Müller’s first volume of the Rig Veda, the sixth and final volume of which was not published until 1874. In 1851 he was appointed Professor of Modern European Languages at Oxford and was made full professor in 1854. He became a naturalized British citizen in 1855, and he married Georgina Adelaide on 3 August 1859; their marriage produced four children.In 1860, Müller was considered for Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford. The chair has been left vacant due to the death of the previous professor, and Müller was by far the most eligible candidate. However, at this time in Oxford, candidates for professorships were elected by all those holding MA degrees from the University (mostly clergymen), and much more attention was paid to a candidate’s political and religious view than to his academic qualifications. Müller’s Christianity, which was of a liberal Lutheran variety, was brought under considerable scrutiny, and the supporters of Müller’s evangelical competitor even waged a defamation campaign against him in the press. Their efforts were successful, for the post went to the less qualified candidate. [Monier-Williams] After Müller’s bitter disappointment at being passed over for the professorship, the focus of his career shifted slightly. He continued to work on his monumental Rig Veda, but most of his time was devoted to the preparation of books and lectures on comparative philosophy and mythology written with the public in mind. He delivered a series of very popular lectures at the Royal Institution, London, on the science of language in 1861 and 1863, which were quickly published and reprinted fifteen times between 1861 and 1899. His contributions to such public discourse brought a level of recognition that considerably made up for his aforementioned disappointment, and he was generally thought to be a leading figure of public life in Victorian England.In 1868 the University of Oxford created a new Chair of Comparative Philology, and Müller became its first occupant. This new post was accompanied by a decrease of lecturing responsibilities and an increase in salary, both of which were welcome changes. After twenty-five years of service at Oxford, he formed a small society of the best Oriental scholars from Europe and India, and they began to publish a series of translations of the Sacred Books of the East. Müller devoted the last thirty years of his life to writing and lecturing on comparative religion. In 1873 he published Introduction to the Science of Religion, and he delivered lectures on the subject at the Royal Institution (1870) and Westminster Abbey (1873). In 1878 Müller inaugurated the annual Hibbert lectures on the science of religion at Westminster Abbey, and he was invited to deliver the Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology at the University of Glasgow. [...]Müller’s other important project during those years was founding and editing of a series of English translations of Indian, Arabic, Chinese and Iranian religious texts. Müller translated selections from the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada, a Buddhist text and also contributed to The Sacred Books of the East published by Oxford University Press. By 1900, at the time of Müller’s death, forty-eight translated volumes had been published in the series, with only one volume remaining to be published. [...] [https://www.giffordlectures.org/lecturers/friedrich-max-müller Source: Gifford Lectures]ordlectures.org/lecturers/friedrich-max-müller Source: Gifford Lectures])
Nagao, G. + (Gadjin Masato Nagao was a long-time profes … Gadjin Masato Nagao was a long-time professor of Buddhist Studies at Kyoto University, and arguably the most insightful,profound and positively influential Japanese scholar of Buddhism in the twentieth century. His scholarship, characterized by its philosophical penetration, sympathy with its object, restraint and breadth, his teaching, characterized by its rigor and highexpectations, and his service, characterized by its generosity and enthusiasm, combined to make him an almost legendary figure. (Adapted from the obituary by Jonathan A. Silk in ''The Eastern Buddhist'' 36, no. 1/2 (2004): 243-51).rn Buddhist'' 36, no. 1/2 (2004): 243-51).)
Gruber, H. + (Hans Gruber was born on January 5, 1959 in … Hans Gruber was born on January 5, 1959 in Ingolstadt. After graduating from high school, he came into contact with the perspectives and meditative practice of Tibetan Buddhism and in particular with many contemporary teachers and schools of early Buddhism in South Asia and Europe through various trips to Asia. He studied Indology in Hamburg with a focus on Buddhist studies, Tibetology and European history and then completed further training in journalism and public relations. Hans wrote the guide "Vipassana course book - ways and teachers of insight meditation" and practiced Vipassana and Anapanasati meditation for many decades. His website and blog focuses primarily on the early Buddhist meditations and what Buddhism means to the West today. Above all, he was in close contact with the English Vipassana teacher Christopher Titmuss for decades and was actively involved in his “Dharma Facilitator Program”. Hans interprets for various Dharma teachers at lectures and retreats, in particular the Malay-Chinese Vipassana teacher Bhante Sujiva, whose book "The Buddhist Heart Meditations" he translated into German. At the Hamburg Mindfulness Congress in 2011, he gave a widely acclaimed lecture on the early Buddhist mindfulness practice Vipassana. He dealt extensively with Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka teachings - the Middle Way - and the various physical and sensory Anapanasati training methods of Burmese and Thai Dhamma teachers such as S. N. Goenka, Ajahn Lee Dhammadaro and Buddhadasa Bikkhu. Hans was a passionate debater, sharp thinker and loved clarifying philosophical arguments. This sometimes led to challenging encounters, which often pushed the other person to their own limits. Some of us felt very alienated by his political and ideological drafts of the last few years, so that some broke off contact. His sudden, early and unexpected death brought a great deal of gratitude to many of us, and we remembered the generosity with which he shared his understanding of the Dhamma teachings and the opportunity for clarifying discussions on philosophical and practical questions of Buddhist teachings to lead him. In everyday life, Hans was an open, lovable, warm-hearted and helpful friend for many years. ([https://buddhismus-deutschland.de/nachruf-hans-gruber/ Source Accessed Oct. 20, 2022])—Alexandra Reif, Paul Stammeier0, 2022]) —Alexandra Reif, Paul Stammeier)
Yun, H. + (Hsing Yun (Chinese: 星雲; pinyin: Xīng Yún) … Hsing Yun (Chinese: 星雲; pinyin: Xīng Yún) (born August 19, 1927) is a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order as well as the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association in Taiwan. Hsing Yun is considered to be one of the most prominent proponents of Humanistic Buddhism and is considered to be one of the most influential teachers of modern Taiwanese Buddhism. In Taiwan, he is popularly referred to as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Taiwanese Buddhism, along with his contemporaries: Master Sheng-yen of Dharma Drum Mountain, Master Cheng Yen of Tzu Chi and Master Wei Chueh of Chung Tai Shan. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsing_Yun Source Accessed Aug 10, 2021])i/Hsing_Yun Source Accessed Aug 10, 2021]))
Smith, Huston + (Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – Dece … Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was a leading scholar of religious studies in the United States. He was widely regarded as one of the world's most influential figures in religious studies. He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book ''The World's Religions'' (originally titled ''The Religions of Man'') sold over three million copies as of 2017 and remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.Born and raised in Suzhou, China in a Methodist missionary family, Huston Smith moved back to the United States at the age of 17 and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1945 with a PhD in philosophy. He spent the majority of his academic career as a professor at Washington University in St. Louis (1947-1958), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1958-1973) and Syracuse University (1973-1983). In 1983, he retired from Syracuse and moved to Berkeley, California, where he was a visiting professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Berkeley until his death. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston_Smith Source Accessed Nov 23, 2020])uston_Smith Source Accessed Nov 23, 2020]))
Guṇabhadra + (Indian scholiast and major translator of B … Indian scholiast and major translator of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese during the Liu Song period (420–479). Born in central India to a brāhmaṇa family, he is said to have studied in his youth the five traditional Indian sciences, as well as astronomy, calligraphy, mathematics, medicine, and magic. He was converted to Buddhism and began systematically to study Buddhist texts, starting with the Abhidharma and proceeding through the most influential Mahāyāna texts, such as the ''Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra'' and ''Avataṃsakasūtra''. Around 435, he departed from Sri Lanka for China, arriving in Guangzhou by sea. In China, he devoted himself to teaching and translating Buddhist scriptures, carrying out most of his translations of Mahāyāna and mainstream Buddhist texts while residing in Qiyuansi in Jiankang and Xinsi in Jingzhou. He translated a total of fifty-two scriptures in 134 rolls, including the ''Saṃyuktāgama'' and the ''Prakaranapāda'' [śāstra], both associated with the Sarvāstivāda school, such seminal Mahāyāna texts as the ''[[Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra]]'' and the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra''. In the ''Lengqie shizi ji'', a Chan genealogical history associated with the Northern school (Bei zong) of the early Chan tradition, Guṇabhadra is placed before Bodhidharma in the Chan patriarchal lineage, perhaps because of his role in translating the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'', an important scriptural influence in the early Chan school. (Source: "Guṇabhadra." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 336. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27)ttp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27))
Westerhoff, J. + (Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a philosopher … Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a philosopher and orientalist with specific interests in metaphysics and the philosophy of language. He is currently Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the Faculty of Theology and Religion of the University of Oxford.Westerhoff was educated at the Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff Gymnasium, a Gymnasium in Düsseldorf, Germany. He studied philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1999. He continued his studies of philosophy at Trinity and completed a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 2000. He undertook postgraduate research at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge; his doctoral supervisor was Michael Potter. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2003, with a doctoral thesis titled "An Inquiry into the Notion of an Ontological Category". He undertook research for a second doctorate, this time in Oriental studies, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS). He completed his second PhD in 2007 with a doctoral thesis titled "Nāgārjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Investigation".He is a specialist in metaphysics and Indo-Tibetan philosophy. In particular, his research focuses on the philosophy of the early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, Nāgārjuna, with comprehensive books such as ''Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka''. His research interests also include the history of ideas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His most recent research interests focus on the history of solipsism. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Westerhoff Source Accessed May 12, 2021])_Westerhoff Source Accessed May 12, 2021]))

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