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Friedrich Weller (born July 22, 1889 in Markneukirchen, † November 19, 1980 in Leipzig) was a German philologist and Indologist. After graduating from high school, Friedrich Weller devoted himself to studying philology at the University of Leipzig before starting his work on ''Zum Lalita'' in 1915. . . .
After completing his habilitation in Indology at the University of Leipzig in 1922, he was appointed private lecturer in Chinese and East Asian religious history at the Philological and Historical Department of the Faculty of Philosophy, which he completed until 1928. Immediately thereafter, Weller received the unscheduled professorship for Sanskrit , Chinese and East Asian religious history, before he took over the chair for Indian philology in 1938, which he held until his retirement in 1958. In 1933 he signed the professors' declaration of Adolf Hitler at German universities and colleges.
Weller was a full member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences from 1943 to 1980. In 1955 he was awarded the GDR's second class national prize for science and technology. In recognition of his services in the field of Indology, the Friedrich Weller Prize, endowed with 2500 euros, was launched in 1985. ([https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Weller_(Philologe) Source Accessed Mar 10, 2021]) +
Fumihiko Sueki, PhD, is a professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo, the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. His research focuses mainly on reconstruction of the intellectual history of Buddhism in Japan from ancient to modern times. He is the author and editor of a number of books, mainly on Japanese Buddhism and the history of Japanese philosophy and religion. ([https://rk-world.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DW18_7-12.pdf Source Accessed Sep 17, 2021]) +
Funayama Toru, born in 1961, is currently a professor of Buddhist studies at Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. His research mainly covers two different areas in the history of Buddhism. One is Chinese Buddhism from the fifth–seventh centuries, a period from the late Six Dynasties period up to early Tang; his focuses are on the formation of Chinese Buddhist translation and apocrypha, spread of the notion of Mahayana precepts, the exegetical tradition on the ''Nirvana Sutra'', and so on. The other is philological and philosophical issues in Buddhist epistemology and logic in India from the fifth–tenth centuries, particularly Kamalaśīla's (the late eighth century) theory of perception. In both areas, he is interested in the concept of saintliness as firmly related with the system of practice. ([https://www.iias.asia/profile/toru-funayama Source Accessed June 16, 2020]) +
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Gapa Khenpo Jamyang Chökyi Gyaltsen or Khenpo Jamgyal (1870-1940) was the third khenpo of Dzongsar shedra. He was a student of Loter Wangpo as well as Khenpo Shenga. He was a teacher of Dezhung Rinpoche and Khenpo Appey. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Jamyang_Gyaltsen Rigpa Wiki]) +
Gabriele Staron is a translator who took part in the Translator Training Program 2006-2008 initiated by Venerable Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche from the Drikung Kagyu Institute, Dehradun. She has translated Ayang Thubten Rinpoche’s ''Rays of Sunlight'', a commentary on Zhedang Dorje's ''The Heart of the Mahāyāna Teachings'', a detailed guide to the stages of the path to awakening. +
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 high
expectations, 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). +
Born in California, [Galen Amstutz] studied foreign languages at UC Davis, and subsequently, living in a variety of places, served in a variety of roles including librarian, ESL teacher, BCA minister, college professor in the US, Germany and Japan, translator, journal editor, and administrator at Harvard University’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, before coming to rest currently as an independent scholar in Massachusetts. ([https://www.shin-ibs.edu/academics/faculty/galen-amstutz/ Source Accessed Aug 8, 2023]) +
The Ninth Gangkar Lama, Karma Shedrub Chokyi Sengge (gangs dkar bla ma 09 karma bshad sgrub chos kyi seng ge) was born in a place called Sade (sa sde) in Minyak (mi nyag). His father was named Draknak Trinle (brag nag 'phrin las) and his mother was named Draknak Drolma (brag nag sgrol ma).
When he was three years old, the Fifteenth Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje (karma pa 15 mkha' khyab rdo rje, 1870-1921) sent a letter from Lhasa recognizing him as the reincarnation of the Eighth Gangkar Lama, Karma Tsering Wangpo (gangs dkar bla ma 08 karma tshe ring dbang po, d.u.). At that time, Khamsum Drakgon Monastery, the seat of the lineage, was not able to accommodate him as it only had a poorly built prayer hall and a deity shrine, so he was placed in a temple near the monastery.
After the recognition procedures, a monk named Lama Norbu (bla ma nor bu), an expert in monastic rituals, was appointed as his private tutor to teach him how to read at the age of five.
During his childhood, he listened to tales told by the elders in the village where the temple was situated, including those drawn from the lives of the saints such as Tangtong Gyelpo (thang stong rgyal po, 1361-1485). He developed a keen interest in Kagyu masters and requested to study in one of the major monasteries of the tradition. His tutor Lama Norbu also told the leaders of the monastery that the young lama had learned all the things he had to teach.
In 1910 he was sent to Pelpung (dpal spungs) Monastery where his previous incarnation had also studied. There he met with the Eleventh Situ, Pema Wangchok Gyelpo (si tu pad ma dbang mchog rgyal po, 1886-1952), and other leaders of the monastery. He received novice monastic vows from a lama named Dechen Ngedon Tendzin Rabgye (bde chen nges don bstan 'dzin rab rgyas) and studied the Vinaya texts under a lama named Tsewang Peljor (tshe dbang dpal 'byor). He continued his education with Khenpo Zhenga, Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa (mkhan po gzhan dga gzhan phan chos kyi snang ba, 1871-1927), who was then at Pelpung establishing the monastic college.
At the age of twenty-one he was fully ordained by Dechen Ngedon Tendzin Rabgye. He continued to study Buddhist topics, as well as medicine, poetry, and grammar.
He then traveled to U-Tsang to continue his training at Tsurpu (mtshur phu) Monastery. There he received tantric transmissions and teachings from the Fifteenth Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje.
After returning to Pelpung Monastery, he received teachings and transmissions from teachers there, such as Situ Pema Wangchok Gyelpo. For several years he served as summer retreat master at Pelpung. At the request of Pema Wangchuk Gyelpo and Khenpo Zhenga he wrote the Exposition of the Special Praise to the Buddha (khyad par 'phags bstod kyi 'grel pa) and the Answers of the Scholars' Necklace (dris lan mkhas pa'i mgul rgyan) among others works. These do not appear to be extant, although printing blocks for the first work are said to have been carved.
In 1922, at the age of thirty, he returned to Khamsum Drakgon. He expanded the existing monasteries and established new institutions. In 1925 he was invited to Minyak Riku (mi nyag ri khud) Monastery where he started a school and taught modern Tibetan studies for three years. Later, in 1940, he started a school in Khamsum Drakgon Monastery also for modern Tibetan studies. His students included men from various ethnic backgrounds.
In 1930 he was invited to attend the enthronement ceremony of the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rikpai Dorje (karma pa 16 rang byung rig pa'i rdo rje, 1921-1981) and be his private tutor. He taught the Karmapa for about a year. Although he was asked to stay and continue to teach, he insisted that he was more needed in Minyak than in U-Tsang. He also brought many monks studying in U-Tsang back to Minyak with him. In Minyak he worked as a teacher, astrologer, and a traditional physician.
He traveled to China twice before the Communists took over. He first traveled in China from 1936 until 1939 and then again from 1945 until 1949. He gave many teachings in various places including Chengdu, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Beijing. In 1953 he was asked to teach at the Central Nationalities University (中央民族大学) in Beijing and he taught there for three years while also editing official documents translated into Tibetan. He passed away in 1957.
([http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Karma-Shedrub-Chokyi-Sengge/2730 Source: Treasury of Lives])
Known as the first human teacher of Dzogchen (Ati Yoga). Often referred to as Prahevajra or other Sanskrit reconstructions such as Vajraprahe, Pramodavajra, Surativajra, or as argued in the 1986 article by Hanson-Barber, the name Ānandavajra. However, these appear to be academic speculations without substantial textual evidence. This person has complex naming and dating issues, but traditional accounts may have him living in the 500s. Modern scholarship has not found clear manuscript evidence for this person, who may be more a legend or a mythical figure than a historical one. Jean-Luc Achard's comments are instructive:
"....The first human master in the Buddhist lineage of rDzogs chen is known as dGa' rab rdo rje, a very shadowy figure whose legend is filled with allegories and visionary experiences. dGa' rab rdo rje was born to a virgin princess of Oddiyana and at still quite an early age, he received teachings directly from the Sambhogakaya deity Vajrasattva. Later he defeated numerous pandits in a debate held at the court of the King and his keen intelligence gained him fame. He appears to have spent most of his life in charnel grounds (dur khrod) where he gave tantric and rDzogs chen transmissions to non-human beings and where he is said to have compiled all the instructions of the Great Perfection. At the end of his life, he reached the ultimate stage of the path of rDzogs chen, the Rainbow Body ('ja' lus), a sign of his total mastery over the teachings of the Great Perfection. At the time of his parinirvana, he transmitted his ultimate testament (zhal chems, 'das rjes) to Mañjushrimitra, his main disciple." (Source: "The Tibetan Tradition of The Great Perfection", Unpublished Paper.)
See relevant scholarship for more details, such as Jean-Luc Achard's paper "The Tibetan Tradition of The Great Perfection" and other sources:
*Tarthang Tulku. Crystal Mirror Volume V. CA: Dharma Publishing, 1977, page 182-186.
*H. Guenther, “Early Forms of Tibetan Buddhism”, p. 86
*Hanson-Barber, A. W. "The Identification of dGa' rab rdo rje." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 9, no. 2 (1986): 55-63.
*Germano, David Francis. "Poetic Thought, the Intelligent Universe, and the Mystery of Self: The Tantric Synthesis of rDzogs Chen in Fourteenth Century Tibet." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992.
*Achard, L'Essence Perlée du Secret, pp. 31-33. Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études Section des Sciences Religieuses 107. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 1999.
*Valby, J. The Great History of Garab Dorje, Manjushrimitra, Shri Singha, Jnanasutra and Vimalamitra, pp. 15-21. Shang Shung Edizioni, 2002.
*Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems, pp. 37-38. Translated by Richard Barron. Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing, 2005.
Garchen Rinpoche, Konchog Gyaltsen (mgar chen dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, b. 1949), is a master of the Drigung Kagyu tradition. By the time he finally left Tibet in the 1990s, he had spent twenty-three years imprisoned by the Chinese. Of his time in prison, twenty years were spent in the company of his teacher, Khenpo Munsel (mkhan po mun sel, 1916-1994). Since coming out of Tibet, he has been tirelessly teaching throughout the world. (Source: Enlightened Vagabond) +
Gareth Sparham was a monk for more than twenty years and an oral interpreter for many learned lamas while living in India. He holds a PhD in Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia. The author and translator of numerous works, many focusing on the writings of Tsongkhapa, he has taught Tibetan language at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of California at Berkeley. He lives with his wife in Walnut Creek, California. (Source: [https://wisdomexperience.org/content-author/gareth-sparham/ Wisdom Experience]) +
Garma Chen-Chi Chang was Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State University and a renowned Buddhist scholar. His books include ''The Buddhist Teaching of Totality'' and ''The Practice of Zen'', as well as his English translation of the Tibetan classic, ''The 100,000 Songs of Milarepa''. ([https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-00341-3.html Source Accessed May 20, 2021]) +
Gary Donnelly is an academic advisor at the University of Manchester, and lectures in Indic Religious Traditions at Liverpool Hope University. He holds a PhD in Indian Philosophy, specializing in Theravada, Madhyamaka, Yogacara, and Vedanta traditions. ([https://www.lionsroar.com/author/gary-donnelly/ Source Accessed April 25, 2024]) +
Gautama Prajñāruci (Jutan Boreliuzhi 瞿曇般若流支, fl. 538–543) was a translator of Indian texts into Chinese and is said to have reached China in 516. Among the texts he translated include Vasubandhu's ''Viṃśatikā'', Nāgārjuna's ''Vigrahavyāvartanī'' (co-translated with *Vimokṣa Prajñārṣi 毘目智仙), and the ''Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra'' (T721) ca. A.D. 538–541.
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Gavin Kilty has been a full-time translator for the Institute of Tibetan Classics since 2001. Before that he lived in Dharamsala, India, for fourteen years, where he spent eight years training in the traditional Geluk monastic curriculum through the medium of class and debate at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. He has also taught Tibetan language courses in India, Nepal, and elsewhere, and is a translation reviewer for the organization 84000, Translating the Words of the Buddha. He received the 2017 Shantarakshita Award from Tsadra Foundation for his translation of ''A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages''. Other published translations are ''The Fourteenth Dalai Lama's Stages of the Path, Volume 1'' (2022), ''The Life of My Teacher'' (2017), ''Mirror of Beryl'' (2010), ''Ornament of Stainless Light'' (2004), and '' The Splendor of an Autumn Moon'' (2001). ([https://conference.tsadra.org/session/special-address-2017-shantarakshita-award/ Source: Tsadra Foundation]) +
Gaynor Sekimori is presently Research Associate in the Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions, SOAS, London, and a Visiting Professor at Kôkugakuin University, Tôkyô. She is also a Council member of the Association for the Study of Japanese Mountain Religion and Shugendô. She was Associate Professor and Managing Editor of the ''International Journal of Asian Studies'', University of Tôkyô, 2001-2007, and continues to work professionally as an academic editor and translator. Her research interests include Shugendô history, ritual study (Haguro Shugendô), female exclusion from sacred sites, and Edo popular cults (Otake Dainichi Nyorai) and she has published numerous articles on these topics. She translated and edited Miyake Hitoshi's ''Mandala of the Mountain: Shugendô and Folk Religion'' (Tôkyô, 2005). ([https://publications.efeo.fr/en/author/1100_gaynor-sekimori Source Accessed Apr 23, 2021]) +
Great Dzogchen yogi and practitioner of the Ratna Lingpa (Rat+na gling pa) transmissions. A disciple of Drupwang Tsoknyi and rebirth of both Lingje Repa (Gling rje ras pa) and Guru Thugse Gyalwa Chogyang (Guru thugs sras rgyal ba mchog dbyangs). +
Sherab Drime contributed content to [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/SherabDrime&limit=500&target=SherabDrime RYWiki] from 2005 to 2016.
Thomas Roth, or rather (Karma) Sherab Drime as he prefers to be called again since having been re-ordained, born in 1963, is a former Radio Operator (the only "proper" profession he ever learned) and became a monk in 1981. He took refuge in February 1977 from Lama Gendun Rinpoche and has been a student of Ven. Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche since February 1979. In 1989, following H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's advice, he returned his ordination to Lama Gendun Rinpoche and continued to practice as a lay-person until March 2012. He never intended to be a "interpreter or translator" as such and actually only learned Tibetan because in the late 70's and early 80's there were so few translators around, that it was at times difficult to find one when needed. Still a bit at odds with being called a translator by some, he used to interpret mainly for H.E. Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and the late Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche during their annual spring courses in Kathmandu and their summer courses in Germany and Belgium. Since the passing of Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche in March 2012, and H.E. Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche's English having improved so much that he doesn't require an interpreter any longer, he considers himself semi-retired and spends most of his time in retreat either in [[Yolmo]] or [[Lapchi]]. Rather than being called a translator, he prefers to be known as a simple practitioner. His main interest, apart from anything Mahamudra, is Tibetan history, particularly the histories of the various Dagpo Kagyu lineages, the Shangpa Kagyu lineage in particular and how it suffused virtually all lineages of Buddhism in Tibet, and the Jonang school. In 2012 he took full Gelong ordination from [[Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche]] and, technically, now answers to the name Karma Lodrö Samphel. ([http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Sherab_Drime Source Accessed March 1, 2021])
Ani Migme as she was known to anyone who met her during her long tenure at Gampo Abbey for many she embodied what it was to be a western Buddhist monastic. Her commitment to monasticism was unwavering and her influence on life at Gampo Abbey was all pervasive. In 2008 a short biography and interview with Ani Migme The Fortunate Life of Ani Migme was included in the Abbey’s newsletter The Lionsroar. https://gampoabbey.org/files/2016/10/Ani-Migme-a-Fortunate-Life.pdf.
In addition to her unwavering commitment to the monastic tradition Migme Chödrön worked tirelessly to make the dharma available to others through her work as a transcriber, editor and translator of Buddhist teachings. Gampo Abbey has had the privilege to host many prominent Buddhist teachers over the years most of whom would give teachings to the community. Ani Migme transcribed and edited all of these teachings which amounted to dozens of talks, most in the early years were done with a manual typewriter. Many of these talks became the basis for some of the earliest published teachings of their kind available to western students including Acharya Pema Chödrön’s first book. In later years working in conjunction with Lodro Sangpo under the mandate of the Chökyi Gyatso Translation Committee, Ani Migme translated many scholarly Buddhist texts from French into English. For more details on her translation work visit [https://www.kccl.ca/committees-projects-2/ the Karma Changchub Ling website].
Gelongma Migme Chödrön has produced translations of the following texts:
Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra. Translated by Étienne Lamotte.<br>
Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi. Translated by Louis de La Vallée Poussin.<br>
Mahāyānasaṃgraha. Translated by Étienne Lamotte.<br>
Les Sectes Bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule. By André Bareau.<br>
La Saveur de l’Immortel (Amṛtarasa). Translated by Van den Broeck.<br>
Vie et chants de ‘Brug-pa Kun-legs le yogin (The Life and Songs of Drugpa Kunlegs). Translated by R.A. Stein. (Note that Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was said to be an incarnation of Drugpa Kunlegs, who was known as the Madman of Bhutan.)
Bhikṣuṇī Lakṣmī, or Gelongma Palmo as she is known in the Tibetan world, was the originator of the practice of nyungne (''smyung gnas''). While some Tibetan sources identify her as a princess of Oḍḍiyana who later became a nun, the Adinath temple in the small hilltop village of Chobhar on the outskirts of Kathmandu is believed to have been either her family home or the original site in which she engaged in this practice. Based on the thousand-armed form of the deity Avalokiteśvara, nyungne involves a typically three day cycle of practice that combines long periods of prostrations with intermittent fasting and the strict observance of vows. The practice was developed by Bhikṣuṇī Lakṣmī and through it she is reported to have cured herself of leprosy. The practice continues to be popular among Himalayan Buddhists, especially among older lay people for whom it is often an annual event that they practice collectively in groups. It is also traditional to repeat the three day cycle eight times in a row. +
