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An Indian paṇḍita involved in translating the ''Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra''. +
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W. G. Weeraratne was a prominent Buddhist scholar and editor, best known for his significant contributions to the ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism''. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of the encyclopedia, a monumental project initiated in the 1950s under the leadership of Professor Emeritus G. P. Malalasekera. Weeraratne was associated with the project from 1960, initially as an assistant editor, and later took over as Editor-in-Chief in 1987.
The ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' aimed to provide a comprehensive account of Buddhist doctrine, history, art, and culture across various civilizations. Weeraratne played a crucial role in its compilation, overseeing the release of numerous fascicles and volumes despite challenges such as a depleted editorial staff. His work ensured the project progressed steadily, with plans to complete it by the end of 2008.
In addition to his editorial work, Weeraratne authored ''Individual and Society in Buddhism'', a scholarly work that explores the relationship between the individual and societal structures within Buddhist philosophy. (Generated by Perplexity Mar 6, 2025]) +
Walter Liebenthal (12 June 1886 – 15 November 1982), was a German philosopher and sinologist who specialized in Chinese Buddhism. He translated many philosophical works from Pali, Sanskrit and specially from Chinese into German. Based upon his extensive research in Indian Buddhism and Chinese religion, one of his main conclusions was that early Chinese Buddhism through Ch'an (Zen-) was not a Chinese version of Indian Buddhism, but rather, that it developed from Taoism, a Chinese religion. Indian concepts are present, but at the core it represents a Chinese perspective. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Liebenthal Source Accessed March 31, 2020]) +
Walther Heissig (December 5, 1913 – September 5, 2005) was an Austrian Mongolist. Heissig was born in Vienna. He studied prehistory, ethnology, historical geography, sinology and Mongolian in Berlin and Vienna, and got his doctoral degree in 1941 in Vienna. Afterwards he traveled to China, worked at the Fu-jen University in Beijing and visited China's Inner Mongolia region. In 1945/46 he had to leave China in an affair about alleged espionage for Japan by German nationals. In 1951 he obtained his habilitation at Göttingen, but, on failing to obtain a position there, he undertook to pursue his second habilitation at the Bonn in 1957. In 1964, he was appointed the Chair of the Central Asian seminar at Bonn University.<br><br>
His major fields of study were Mongolian history, literature, and also Mongolian maps. He not only made a number of invaluable contributions in the academic field, but also edited several popular books on Mongolian history and culture, for example ''Ein Volk sucht seine Geschichte''. He also published several books on Mongolian epics, proverbs, and folk tales.<br><br>
He worked extensively on the Epic of King Gesar and other epics circulating in Mongolia. In 1978, he initiated a project for the study of epics. Also, with the help of Heissig, the five-volume series "Folklore mongol" by B. Rinchen was published between 1960–1972, followed by a 13-volume series of epics, ''Mongolische Epen'' by Nicholas Poppe. His scientific research work has been acknowledged by elections into various learned societies i.a. he was elected foreign member of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences which is the highest scientific honour in Mongolia. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Heissig Source Accessed Apr 2, 2021]) +
Walter Schubring (10 December 1881 – 13 April 1969) was a German Indologist who studied Jain canons written in Prakrit and wrote several major translations. Earlier western works on Jainism had mostly examined later texts in Sanskrit.
Schubring was born in Lübeck where his father Julius was headmaster of the Katharineum. He matriculated from the Katharineum in 1900. He discovered a dictionary of Sanskrit in the library of his father which imbued an early interest in oriental languages. He then went to Munich and Strassburg Universities, receiving a doctorate in 1904 under the supervision of Ernst Leumann with a dissertation on the Kalpasutra (rules for Jain monks). He then worked as a librarian at Berlin and habilitated in 1918 with a monograph on the Mahānisīha-Sutta. In 1920 he succeed Sten Konow as professor at the University of Hamburg. He cataloged Jain texts in European libraries, studied Śvetāmbara Jainism and wrote another work on the teaching of the Jainas in 1935 which was translated into English in 1962. Frank-Richard Hamm was one of his students. During World War II, he taught Sanskrit to Louis Dumont who was then a prisoner of war in Hamburg. Schubring edited the ''Journal of the German Oriental Society'' from 1922 and visited India in 1927-28 along with Heinrich Lüders spending time in the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona. He retired in 1951 but continued research until his death from an accident at Hamburg.
In 1933 he was one of the signatories to the Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State.
Writings<br>
Schubring's works include:
*Mahaviras. Kritische Übersetzung aus dem Kanon der Jaina. Verlag Vandenhoeck & Rubrecht, Göttingen 1926.
*Die Jainas. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr 1927
*Die Lehre der Jainas: Nach den alten Quellen. Berlin, Leipzig: de Gruyter 1935
*The Doctrine of the Jainas: Described After the Old Sources. Translated from the revised German edition by Wolfgang Beurlen. Reprint. First published in 1962. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1995. ISBN 81-208-0933-5.
*Die Jaina-Handschriften der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek: Neuerwerbungen seit 1891. Leipzig: Harrassowitz 1944
*Der Jainismus. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer 1964
*The Religion of the Jainas. Transl. from the German by Amulyachandra Sen; T. C. Burke. Calcutta: Sanskrit College 1966. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Schubring Source Accessed Dec 7, 2023])
A disciple of Latö Könchok Khar, he became the abbot of Nering. +
Tsering Wangchuk is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco. His areas of specialization include the intellectual history of Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, and history of religions. He has published articles with several peer-reviewed journals. He teaches classes on Buddhism and Himalayan religions and cultures. He is also the Blum Chair in Himalayan Studies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and came to USF in 2011. ([https://www.usfca.edu/faculty/tsering-wangchuk Source Accessed Jan 3, 2018]) +
LAMA DECHEN YESHE WANGMO (1949- )
Lama Yeshe Dechen Wangmo became a lineage holder of The Dakini Heart Essence (''mkha 'gro thug thig''), a treasure teaching of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, when Repkong Lama Tharchin Tsedrup Rinpoche enthroned her in 1992.
Based on thirty-eight years of vajrayana study and practice in Canada and the United States, her knowledge is informed by personal retreats, her competence in literary Tibetan, and personal guidance received from the 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and Lama Tsedrup Tharchin Rinpoche.
As a teacher and sangha leader, Lama places a high value on authenticity, accountability, and connectedness.
In 2002, she established Jnanasukha Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, as a venue for the teachings of Yeshe Tsogyal and the female buddhas. The Foundation has sprouted several initiatives including support for Tsogyal Latso, the birthplace of Yeshe Tsogyal in Tibet and several programs for scholarships, grants and humanitarian aid. www.jnanasukha.org
Since 2009, she has traveled to Central Tibet every year, leading pilgrimages and deepening her connection with her spiritual roots.
Lama's early activities included textile arts, stone sculpture and a career in sociology and body-based psychotherapy. Born in Montreal, Canada, in 1949, she has lived on the Big Island of Hawai'i since 1986.
She is the main author at Vajrayana World blog: https://www.vajrayanaworld.com/ +
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, a lama in the Bön tradition of Tibet, presently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is the founder and director of Ligmincha Institute, an organization dedicated to the study and practice of the teachings of the Bön tradition. He was born in Amritsar, India, after his parents fled the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He received training from both Buddhist and Bön teachers, attaining the degree of Geshe, the highest academic degree of traditional Tibetan culture. He has been in the United States since 1991 and has taught widely in Europe and America. Source: ([https://www.shambhala.com/authors/u-z/tenzin-wangyal-rinpoche.html Shambhala Publications]) +
Dr. Warren Lee Todd gained his MA in Buddhist Studies under Prof. Peter Harvey at Sunderland University, and went on to Lancaster University to complete his PhD in Religious Studies under Prof. Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad. He co-taught the MA in Buddhist Studies at Sunderland, before moving with the course to the University of South Wales, where he is currently Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Philosophy. He also teaches Buddhism at Mahidol University (MUIDS), Thailand. ([https://www.routledge.com/The-Ethics-of-Sankara-and-Santideva-A-Selfless-Response-to-an-Illusory/Todd/p/book/9781138272293 Source Accessed Apr 5, 2021]) +
Weijing was one of the few Chinese monks that figured prominently in the translation activities of the Song, "who never visited India, but was trained in Buddhism and Sanskrit at the Institute for the Transmission of the Dharma in the Song capital" (Tansen Sen, ''Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade'' [Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield 2016], 127). A native of Jinling (present-day Nanjing), "Weijing is noted to have shown tremendous talent in learning and understanding Sanskrit texts. Within a year [after arriving at the Institute], he was ordained and began participating in the translation projects as a translator-scribe" (Sen, 128). Furthermore, "many of Dharmapāla's translations were completed with the help of Weijing. Both Dharmapāla and Weijing are also credited with comiling the Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary ''Jingyou Tianzhu ziyuan'' 景祐天 竺字源 (Phrase Book of Indian Words [Complied during the] Jingyou [Period])" (Sen, 128). +
Lai Wai-lun was born on July 8, 1944 in Canton, People's Republic China. He is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Davis. He was a Fellow of the United Board of Xian Higher Education from 1964–1968 at Harvard University, Yenching, a Kent Fellow from 1969–1974, and he is a member of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions at the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions. ([https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/WhalenLai.html Source Accessed Jan 20, 2020]) +
Wiesiek has been translating Buddhist texts for 84000 as member of the Dharmachakra Translation Committee since 2010; and in 2020 formally joined 84000 as an Associate Translator. Having begun learning Sanskrit in 1975, in his native Poland, Wiesiek continued at the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London. From 2004 to 2010, he taught Sanskrit at Rangjung Yeshe Institute (University of Kathmandu) in Nepal, where he has lived since 2005. His experience with the Dharma began in 1979 and still continues today. ([https://84000.co/about/team Source Accessed June 16, 2021]) +
Adolf Wilhelm Ludwig Rau (Gera 15.2.1922 – Gera 29.12.1999) was a German Indologist and professor in Marburg. He was that son of Rudolf Rau, a schoolteacher, and Johanna Seifarth. He began studying Sanskrit already when 15. From 1940, he began studies at Leipzig under Friedrich Weller, but was soon interrupted by service as an interpreter for the Indian Legion (which gave him practical knowledge of Hindūstānī and contacts with other Indologists). After a brief time as an American war prisoner, he came to the West and continued his studies at Marburg from 1946 (but also kept in contact with Weller until Weller’s death). He earned his Ph.D. in 1949 from Marburg under Nobel. PD 1952 Marburg, then two years in India studying vyākaraṇa under Shantibhikshu Shastri at Santiniketan. From 1955 he was Professor of IE Linguistics at Frankfurt. In 1957 he succeeded Nobel as Professor of Sanskrit Philology at Marburg. He retired in 1988.
Rau is best known for his studies on the material culture of the Vedic period, masterfully combining archaeological evidence to a full discussion of texts, especially the Brāhmaṇas. His other interests include the text tradition of the Vākyapadīya of Bhartṛhari and the history of Indology. Among his students, for example, H. Brückner, G. Ehlers, Sh. Einoo, A. Frenz, D. George, K. Klaus, M. Kraatz, M. Mittwede, R. S. Sarma, D. Schrapel, P. S. Sharma and Ry. Tsuchida completed their Ph.D. under him. His papers are kept in Halle. ([https://whowaswho-indology.info/5138/rau-wilhelm/ Adapted from Source Jan 31, 2014]) +
The Reverend Wilhelm Schiffer, born in 1914 and a member of the Jesuit Order since 1933, studied philosophy, theology and sinology in Germany, China and Japan. Since 1950 he taught Chinese philosophy and comparative religious science at Sophia University in Tokyo. From 1950 until 1963 he was editor-in-chief of ''Monumenta Nipponica'', and he became editor of ''Contemorary Religions in Japan'', a journal published by the International Institute for the Study of Religions, of which he was also director of research. He was senior vice president of the Asiatic Society of Japan and member of many learned societies. He passed away in 1972. (Adapted from the inside jacket of ''Myōhō-Renge-Kyō: The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law'', Aug 12, 2021) +
Christopher Wilkinson began his career in Buddhist literature at the age of fifteen, taking refuge vows from his guru Dezhung Rinpoche. In that same year he began formal study of Tibetan language at the University of Washington under Geshe Ngawang Nornang and Turrell Wylie. He then received many instructions from Kalu Rinpoche, completing the traditional practice of five hundred thousand Mahamudra preliminaries. In his later life he completed several lengthy meditation retreats. He became a Buddhist monk for three years, beginning at the age of eighteen, living in the home of Dezhung Rinpoche while he continued his studies at the University of Washington. He graduated in 1980 with a B.A. degree in Asian Languages and Literature and another B.A. degree in Comparative Religion (College Honors, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). After a two year tour of Buddhist pilgrimage sites throughout Asia he worked for five years in refugee resettlement in Seattle, Washington, then proceeded to the University of Calgary for an M.A. in Buddhist Studies where he wrote a groundbreaking thesis on the Yangti transmission of the Great Perfection tradition titled “Clear Meaning: Studies on a Thirteenth Century rDzog chen Tantra.” He proceeded to work on a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of the 20,000 line Perfection of Wisdom in Berkeley, California, followed by an intensive study of Burmese language in Hawaii. In 1990 he began three years’ service as a visiting professor in English Literature in Sulawesi, Indonesia, exploring the remnants of the ancient Sri Vijaya Empire there. He worked as a research fellow for the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation for several years, playing a part in the early development of the famous Rubin Museum of Art. In the years that followed he became a Research Fellow at the Centre de Recherches sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale, Collège de France, and taught at the University of Calgary as an Adjunct Professor for five years. He is currently completing his doctoral dissertation, a study of the Yoginitantra first translated into Tibetan during the Eighth century of our era, at the University of Leiden’s Institute for Area Studies. Wishing to bring the literature which has inspired him through his many years of Buddhist study and practice into fruition he has spent the years from 2009 to the present translating the works of the Sakya Founders, a portion of which forms the contents of the present volume. (Source = Chris Wilkinson person communication)
Prof. Bollée had a long-standing relationship with the South Asia Institute of the University of Heidelberg, where he habilitated in 1977 under Prof. Berger (studies on Sūyagaḍa 1977, Steiner, Wiesbaden) and taught for over two decades (1975-1997). During this time he also represented Prof. Sontheimer and Prof. Berger.
His teaching and research focused on Jainism and early Buddhism, with a special interest in Central Indian texts that had not yet been translated. In search of such texts, he also repeatedly went on research trips to South and Southeast Asia, for example to (present-day) Myanmar and Thailand in the early 1960s. He was happy to share this rich wealth of experience with his students in order to awaken their enthusiasm for South and Southeast Asian cultures and religions, in addition to providing a sound philological education.
Beginning with his dissertation on Ṣaḍviṃśa-brāhmaṇa (Utrecht, 1956), Prof. Bollée published numerous editions, translations, and indexes, including ''Vyavahāra bhāṣya pīṭhikā'' (2006, Hindi Granth Karyalay, Mumbai), Samantabhadra Deva's ''Ratnakaraṇḍaka Śrāvakācāra'' (2010, Sundara Prakashana, Bangalore) and ''A Cultural Encyclopaedia of the Kathāsaritsāgara in Keywords'' (2015, Universitätsverlag Halle-Wittenberg).
As a tireless academic, Prof. Bollée was scientifically active until the last day. Two of his works: ''Stylistic Repetition in Bāṇaʼs Harṣacaritam and Kādambarī'' (Feb. 2020) and the revised 2nd edition of his monograph ''Gone to the Dogs in Ancient India'' (Mar. 2020) are published this year by CrossAsia-Repository . . .
Prof. Dr. Willem Bollée received the prestigious Acārya Hemacandra Sūrī Award in recognition of his achievements and merits in the field of Jainism (2004) and [the] Prakrit Jñānabhāratī International Award (2005). ([https://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=158094 Source Accessed July 24, 2023]) +
Prof. Dr. Charles Willemen studied Latin, Greek, Chinese, Japanese and Sanskrit. He obtained his Ph.D. in the field of East-Asian Studies (University of Gent, Belgium). Willemen was the head of the Department of Languages and Cultures of East Asia at Ghent University since January 1 ,1970. His focus was primarily on Indian Buddhism and Asian Buddhist philology .
He was an assistant, guest professor and professor at different universities in Belgium, China, Canada, Japan and Thailand. +
William M. Bodiford is a professor in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he teaches courses on religion in the cultures of Japan and East Asia, and Buddhist Studies. In addition to UCLA, he also has taught at Davidson College (Davidson, North Carolina), the University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), Meiji Gakuin University (Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan), and ICU (International Christian University; Tokyo, Japan).
He received his Ph.D. from Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) in the Department of Religious Studies, where he specialized in Buddhist Studies under the direction of Professor Stanley Weinstein. In addition to Yale, he also received graduate training at the Institute of Health and Sport Science (Taiiku Kagaku Kenkyuka), Tsukuba University (Tsukuba, Japan), where he studied the intellectual history of martial arts in Japan under the direction of Professor Watanabe Ichiro, and at the Graduate School of Buddhist Studies, Komazawa University (Tokyo, Japan), where he studied Asian Religions under the direction of Professors Kagamishima Genryu and Ishikawa Rikizan.
His research spans the medieval, early modern, and contemporary periods of Japanese history. Currently he is investigating religion during the Tokugawa period, especially those aspects of Japanese culture associated with manuscripts, printing, secrecy, education, and proselytizing. Although many of his publications focus on Zen Buddhism (especially Soto Zen), he also researches Tendai and Vinaya Buddhist traditions, Shinto, folklore and popular religions, as well as Japanese martial arts and traditional approaches to health and physical culture.
He is a member of the editorial boards of "Cursor Mundi: Viator Studies of the Medieval and Early Modern World" (UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies), "Studies in East Asian Buddhism" and "Classics in East Asian Buddhism" (Kuroda Institute). ([https://www.alc.ucla.edu/person/william-m-bodiford/ Source Accessed June 30, 2021])
William Bushell, PhD, has been researching and lecturing on the health-enhancing and anti-aging effects of meditation and yoga for many years at Harvard, MIT, and Columbia, as a Fulbright Scholar and at the Salk Institute. He has collaborated with Robert Thurman and His Holiness the Dalai Lama on conferences and research projects.
Dr. William Bushell is at the forefront of research into the mental and physical effects of advanced yogic practice of the Indo-Tibetan and other traditions. His wide-ranging work seeks to integrate western scientific models with traditional Tibetan tantric systems, and has been presented at many venues and institutions, including recently at the Meetings of the Society for Neuroscience, MIT & the Salk Institute. ([https://thus.org/faculty-friends/william-bushell-ph-d/ Source Accessed Dec 1, 2023]) +
