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Sarvajñādeva was a translator, ca. A.D. 800. He along with Ska ba dpal brtsegs were the first to translate the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' (''Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'') into Tibetan. This was later revised by Dharmaśrībhadra, Rin chen bzang po, and ShAkya blo gros. A second revision was made by Sumatikīrti and Rngog blo ldan shes rab. +
Satish Chandra Vidyabhusan was born in 1870 in Rajbari District, British India. His father, Pitambar Vidyavagish, was a Pandit and astronomer. In 1888, Satish Chandra passed entrance from Nabadwip Hindu School, and in 1892 passed the B.A with Sanskrit Honours from Krishnagar Government College with a gold medal. He was the first Indian who obtain M.A degree in Pali from Calcutta University.<br> Vidyabhushan was known for his distinguished knowledge in Indian logic and Tibetan Buddhist Texts. He, along with Sarat Chandra Das, prepared the Tibetan-English dictionary. Vidyabhusan went to Śri Lanka in 1910 for study and on his return he was appointed the Principal of Sanskrit College, Kolkata. He became the Assistant editor of the Buddhist Text Society. He edited the magazine of Bangiya Sahitya Parisad for 22 years. Vidyabhushan was a linguist having knowledge in Buddhist literature, Chinese, Japanese, German and French language. Vidyabhushan authored a number of books on Buddhist Tibetan culture, logic, Sanskrit and Systems of Indian Philosophy. In 1906 he received the title of Mahamahopadhyaya and got Ph.D. in 1908.
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Chandra_Vidyabhusan Adapted from Source July 3, 2020]) +
Satya P. Agarwal, whose full name is Satya Prakash Agarwal, was a prolific author and scholar focused on spiritual and philosophical texts, particularly those related to Hinduism and Buddhism. He was born on December 14, 1924, in Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India.
Agarwal authored numerous books that delve into the interpretations and applications of ancient texts such as the Bhagavad-Gita and the Mahabharata. Some of his notable works include ''The Social Role of the Gita'', ''Gita for the Twenty-first Century'', ''Vedanta In The Service of Mankind'', and ''Apad - Dharma (Emergency) in the Mahabharata''.
His writings often emphasized the practical and social implications of these texts, highlighting their relevance in modern times. Agarwal's work also explored the broader philosophical and ethical messages of these ancient scriptures, such as the importance of working for the good of all and facing calamities at various levels.
Satya P. Agarwal passed away in 2023, leaving behind a significant body of work that continues to be studied and appreciated by scholars and readers interested in Hindu philosophy and spirituality. +
Saṃghabhadra. (T. 'Dus bzang; C. Zhongxian; J. Shugen; K. Chunghyǒn 衆賢) (c. fifth century CE). In Sanskrit, "Auspicious to the Community"; the proper name of an influential Indian master of the Vaibhāṣika school of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. Historical sources suggest that Saṃghabhadra hailed from Kashmir and was a younger contemporary of his principal rival Vasubandhu. The historical records of Xuanzang and Paramārtha agree that Saṃghabhadra publicly challenged Vasubandhu to debate, but his challenge was never accepted. Saṃghabhadra's most famous works include the *''Nyāyānusāra'', or "Conformity with Correct Principle," and the *''Abhidharmasamayapradīpikā'' (C. Xianzong lun), or "Exposition of Accepted Doctrine." The *''Nyāyānusāra'' is both a clarification of the Abhidharma philosophy of the Vaibhāṣika school and a critical commentary on the presentation found in Vasubandhu's ''Abhidharmakośabhāṣya''. The later ''Samayapradīpikā'' is a shorter explanation of the doctrines of the Vaibhāṣikas, which in large measure summarizes the positions explored in the *''Nyāyānusāra''. Neither of these works survives in their Sanskrit originals but only in their Chinese translations. Saṃghabhadra's defense of Kashmir Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika positions ushered in the neo-Vaibhāṣika period of Sarvāstivāda thought, which took the *''Nyāyānusāra'' and the ''Samayapradīpikā'' as its main texts. (Source: "Saṃghabhadra." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 751. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Saṅghabhara (460–520/24?) was an Indian monk and translator of Buddhist texts into Chinese who flourished in the 6th century during the Liang Dynasty (502–557). He is recorded as having translated the following texts: ''Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra'' (T233), ''Sarvabuddhaviṣayāvatārajñānalokālaṃkārasūtra'' (T358), ''Aṣṭabuddhaka(sūtra)'' (T430), ''Mahāmāyūri(vidyārājñī)-(sūtra)'' (T984), ''Anantamukhasādhakadhāraṇī(sūtra)'' (T1016), ''Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā(sūtra)'' (T468), ''Karmāvaraṇapratipraśrabdhi(sūtra)'' (T1491), and the ''Chieh t'o tao lun'' (T1648). +
Saṅghavarman (康僧鎧, 3rd century) was supposedly an Indian. His Sanskrit name was translated into Chinese as Saṅgha armor, and he was given the surname Kang in Chinese, which may imply his ethnic origin from Kangjü (康居) nomads in central Asia. He went to Luoyang (洛陽), in 252, the fourth year of the Jiaping (嘉平) years of the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–65). He stayed at the White Horse Temple and translated, from Sanskrit into Chinese, the ''Sūtra of Amitāyus Buddha'' (T12n0360) and the ''Sūtra of the Elder Ugra''. The latter is included in the ''Great Treasure Pile Sūtra'' (T11n0310) as its 19th sūtra, in fascicle 82. Scholars question the consistency in style between these two translations. Still, he has been recognized as the translator of the Sūtra of Amitāyus Buddha.
He is not to be confused with two other Saṅghavarmans. The same Sanskrit name was translated into Chinese as Saṅghabamo (僧伽跋摩) for one from India, who went to China in 433, and as Saṅghapāla (僧伽婆羅) for the other from Funan, who lived from 460 to 524. ([http://www.sutrasmantras.info/translators.html#kumarajiva Source Accessed Aug 19, 2021]) +
Prof. Schapiro studied comparative religion as an undergraduate at Columbia University before pursuing a degree in Buddhist Studies at Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in 2012. His scholarship has primarily focused on Tibetan Buddhist ideas about teachers and teaching, as well as on Tibetan forms of advice writing.
Schapiro teaches a range of courses on Asian Religions at Fordham, including classes on Buddhism, Hinduism, Chinese Religions and Japanese Religions. His classes incorporate semester-long reflections on a variety of themes, including Ethics & Responsibility (Hindu Literature and Ethics), Literary Rhetoric (Classic Buddhist Texts), Aesthetics (Japanese Religions), Becoming (more) Human (Chinese Religions), the Value of Knowledge (Buddhist Meditation), and American Identity (Buddhism in America). ([https://www.fordham.edu/info/23704/theology_faculty/10615/joshua_schapiro Source Accessed Apr 23, 2020]) +
Tensho David Schneider began Zen practice in 1970 and was ordained as a Zen priest in 1977. He held the position of acharya (senior teacher) in the Shambhala International community from 1996 to 2019. He is coeditor with Kazuaki Tanahashi of Essential Zen, and author of Crowded by Beauty: The Life and Zen of Poet Philip Whalen. He lives in Cologne, Germany.
([https://www.shambhala.com/authors/o-t/david-schneider.html Source: Shambhala Publications]) +
Peter Schwieger is professor of Tibetology and the head of the Department of Mongolian and Tibetan Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. His current research focuses on the political and social history of Tibet based on archival material. (Columbia University Press) +
Scott Hurley is an Assistant Professor in Religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. His research interests include new religions of China and Japan, early-mid twentieth century Chinese Buddhism, animal rights, and welfare issues.
He currently teaches "Living Religions," "Religions of East Asia," and a course entitled "Enduring Questions." ([https://www.luther.edu/religion/faculty/ Source Accessed July 22, 2020])
[https://www.luther.edu/hurlsc01/assets/ScottHurleyCV.pdf CV and List of Publications] +
Dr. Scott Pacey is an Assistant Professor in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. +
Scott Snibbe is a new media artist, author, and meditation teacher whose work dissolves the illusion of separateness—between self and other, art and audience, body and nature. His pioneering interactive art, held in the collections of New York MoMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art, has been exhibited worldwide in museums, public spaces, concert tours, and immersive installations. He has collaborated with Björk, Philip Glass, Beck, and James Cameron, creating innovative intersections of art, music, and technology.
Snibbe has received the Webby and Ars Electronica awards and grants from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. He holds over thirty patents and has served as an advisor to The Institute for the Future and The Sundance Institute. He has held teaching and research positions at UC Berkeley, NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematics, San Francisco Art Institute, and California Institute for the Arts.
As a leading figure in digital interactivity, Snibbe produced several groundbreaking art apps, including Gravilux, a number one app in Apple’s app store named “Best App of the Year”; and the world’s first “app album,” Björk: Biophilia. He was an early developer of Adobe After Effects and spent years at Paul Allen’s Interval Research Corporation researching interactive music, video, computer vision, and haptics.
A longtime student and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, Snibbe is the executive director of the nonprofit ''Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment'' and hosts its widely followed meditation podcast. In 2024, he released his first book, ''How to Train a Happy Mind'', featuring a foreword by the Dalai Lama. His work bridges ancient wisdom with cutting-edge technology, shaping new forms of engagement with consciousness, ritual, and community. ([https://www.snibbe.com/about Source Accessed Dec 4, 2025]) +
Jim Scott, who has been a student and translator for Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche for over 25 years, is well known for both his translation work and his musical compositions of the songs of Milarepa. He lives in Denmark, where he founded a Buddhist society inspired by both the 16th Karmapa and Kalu Rinpoche, and he teaches annually at Pullahari Monastery in Nepal, and in Europe and the USA. ([http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Jim_Scott Source Accessed Sept 17, 2020]) +
Desi Sangyé Gyatso (1653–1705), the heart disciple of the Fifth Dalai Lama, became the ruler of Tibet at age twenty-six and held sway over the country for over twenty-five years before his tragic death in a power struggle with the Mongol chieftain Lhasang Khan. A layman his entire life, he was a thorough administrator, overhauling the structure and regulations of the major Geluk monasteries and setting up many new institutions, such as the renowned Tibetan Medical Institute in Lhasa. He famously commissioned a set of seventy-nine medical paintings, and he composed ''White Beryl'', an authoritative work on all aspects of astronomical calculation and divination practiced in Tibet at his time. (Source: [https://wisdomexperience.org/product/mirror-beryl/ Wisdom Publications]) +
Sean Gaffney was awarded a BA in history and philosophy by Middlesex University in 1983, an MA in Buddhist philosophy, Ancient Indian philosophy and Buddhist Art and Architecture by SOAS, University of London, in 1985, and a PhD in Buddhist Studies by SOAS in 2003. He studied Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan and Prākrit at SOAS between 1985—2019. He also studied Tibetan philosophy and textual studies under Prof. D. Seyfort-Ruegg, 1989—98. From 1997—2007 he was an assistant editor to Dr. T. Skorupski on the Tibetan-English Dictionary Project at SOAS. He has been a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS from 1996 to the present on courses relating to various historical and doctrinal aspects of Buddhism, Pāli, pre-Classical and Classical Tibetan. Currently he is a Research Associate at SOAS, with interests including Tibetan translations of Indian texts, Buddhist narrative literature, and the comparative study of Pāli, Prākrit and Tibetan textual traditions.
([https://order.indica-et-buddhica.com/?product=gaffney-skyes-pa-rabs-kyi-gle%e1%b9%85-gzi-english-translation Source: Indica et Buddhica]) +
Sean Price became a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in 1994 and has since studied at various monastic institutes in India and Nepal; he has resided at Shechen Monastery, Nepal, since 1999. He has translated numerous Mahamudra and Dzogchen texts and has worked at the Tsadra Foundation as Director of Tibetan Publications since 2009. +
Seiji Kumagai was born in 1980 in Hiroshima (Japan). He studied Buddhist philosophy and received his Ph.D. in 2009 from Kyoto University. In 2011, he became an assistant professor at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research of Kyoto University. Since 2013, he has been Uehiro Associate Professor at Kokoro Research Center of Kyoto University from then until the present. Since 2017, he has been a divisional director of the Department of Bhutanese Studies at Kokoro Research Center. He was invited by the University of Vienna as Numata Professor in 2018. His field of research is Buddhist Madhyamaka philosophy in India, Tibet, and Bhutan, and also that of Bon religion. He has also conducted research on the history of Tibetan and Bhutanese Buddhism. His most notable publications include books such as The Two Truths in Bon (Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, 2011), Bhutanese Buddhism and Its Culture (Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, 2014), and Buddhism, Culture and Society in Bhutan (Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, 2018), as well as numerous academic articles on Indo-Himalayan Buddhism and Bon.
See his [https://researchmap.jp/7000009416?lang=en Research Portal here.]
and [https://ifohs.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/archives/member/seiji-kumagai official university website here.] +
Professor Seishi Karashima was appointed assistant professor at Soka University’s International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology in April 1997 upon the establishment of the institute, becoming a full professor two years later. After taking on the role of director in April 2011, he continued to make significant contributions to the development of the institute.<br> Specializing in Buddhist philosophy, Professor Karashima applied his vast knowledge of Sanskrit, Tibetan, Pāḷi, Middle Indo-Aryan, and ancient Chinese to conduct detailed analyses of early Chinese Buddhist Translations. Among his many publications, he compiled A glossary of Dharmaraksa's translation of the Lotus Sutra, A Glossary of Kumārajīva's translation of the Lotus Sutra, and A glossary of Lokakṣema's translation of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā. He studied the formation of early Mahayana Buddhism and was a leading light of the Buddhist academic community in Japan and abroad. Professor Karashima was invited to work at various institutions in Japan and abroad, including the University of California, Berkeley; the School of Literary Studies at Renmin University of China; and Institut de France. During his time at these institutions, he did not limit himself to simply giving lectures on Buddhist studies. He also set up initiatives to support research, such as creating a worldwide network of Buddhist researchers.<br> Numerous published papers and books bear the hand of Professor Karashima, either as author or editor. These include Vessantara-jātaka Yakuchū (included in The Jātaka, Vol. 10 by Hajime Nakamura, Shunjūsha, 1988); A Textual Study of the Chinese Versions of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra (Sankibo Busshorin, 1992); A Study of the Underlying Language of the Chinese Translation of the Dīrgha-āgama (Hirakawa Shuppan Inc., 1994); Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia: The British Library Sanskrit Fragments, (author and editor of three volumes in five books; International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, 2006, 2009, 2015); Abhisamācārika- Dharma (three volumes, German language publication, International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, 2012); Languages and Transmission of Buddhist Scriptures (Chinese language publication, Nakanishi Shokyoku, 2016). (Source: [https://www.soka.ac.jp/en/news/2019/07/10324/ Soka University])
Sem Andre Claudine Vermeersch (born 1968 in Blankenberge) is a Belgian academician, editor, author, administrator and professor of Buddhism at Seoul National University.
Vermeersch's undergraduate experience at the University of Ghent was followed by further studies at Anhui Normal University in China. In 1992, Vermeersch studied Korean at the Jungsin Cultural Research Center (now The Academy of Korean Studies) in Seoul. His PhD was conferred by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. His 2001 doctoral thesis was entitled "The Power of Buddha." +
Rev. Senchu Murano was born in 1908. He was Head Priest of the Myochoji Temple of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, a graduate of Rissho University and the University of Washington, and former Bishop of Nichiren Mission of Hawaii. Rev. Murano passed away on Jan. 22, 2001. ([https://sacramentonichirenchurch.org/home/about-nichiren-shu/nichiren-shu-brochures/the-gohonzon-by-senchu-murano/ Adapted from Source Aug 2, 2021]) +
