142257 UE The Bodhisattva’s Mind in the Vimalakirtinirdesa (2024S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from We 07.02.2024 18:00 to We 28.02.2024 10:00
- Deregistration possible until Su 31.03.2024 10:00
Details
max. 12 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
Time slot negotiable if necessary. Please contact christopher.jones@univie.ac.at .
Thursday
07.03.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
14.03.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
21.03.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
11.04.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
18.04.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
25.04.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
02.05.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
16.05.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
23.05.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
N
Thursday
06.06.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
13.06.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
20.06.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday
27.06.
14:30 - 16:00
Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa(sūtra) is one of the most celebrated discourses (sūtras) of Mahāyāna Buddhism, especially with respect to impact on East Asian Buddhism. It is a relatively early text in the development of Mahāyāna Buddhist literature, likely produced in the second century CE, and one that elucidates many pivotal aspects of Mahāyāna thought, such as the bodhisattva’s need to balance awareness of the illusory character of reality with activities that benefit all sentient beings. The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa has also been celebrated for its literary qualities: it stars the seemingly frail Buddhist devotee Vimalakīrti, who performs miracles and, by superior exposition of the subtleties of Buddhist Dharma, embarrasses some the Buddha’s most famous disciples. In this class we will read the Sanskrit text, a manuscript of which was discovered at the Potala Palace in 1999. We will look also at the surviving Tibetan translation of the text and, as far as time permits, Chinese versions that provide windows onto both its earlier life and transmission to East Asia. Our focus will be chapters 4 and 5 of the Sanskrit text, in which Vimalakīrti addresses some fundamental questions about the correct comprehension and attitude of bodhisattvas with respect to transmigration, liberation and their responsibility to other sentient beings. This course will complement an exploration of the (non-Mahāyāna) bodhisattva in the course “The Bodhisattva’s Lives in Āryaśūra’s Jātakamāla”.
Assessment and permitted materials
Assessment will take into account the following:
Attendance and participation in class, plus weekly preparation (Sanskrit/Tibetan translation; reading prescribed secondary literature): 50%
Written exercise/s (details TBC): 50%
Attendance and participation in class, plus weekly preparation (Sanskrit/Tibetan translation; reading prescribed secondary literature): 50%
Written exercise/s (details TBC): 50%
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Knowledge of Sanskrit is required. Weekly preparation will require translation of Sanskrit materials uploaded to Moodle. Knowledge of Tibetan and/or Chinese will be beneficial.
Examination topics
All materials translated and discussed in class.
Reading list
Our basic text will be the edition of the Vimalakīrtnirdeśa published by the Taishō Study Group, passage of which will be made available on Moodle.
Study Group on Buddhist Sanskrit Literature (2006), Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: Sanskrit Edition Based upon the Manuscript Newly Found at the Potala Palace. Tokyo.A synoptic version of 1) the Sanskrit text, 2) our three Chinese versions, 3) the Tibetan version and 4) Lamotte’s (1962) translation of the Tibetan is provided by the University of Oslo’s Thesaurus Literaturae Buddhicae:
https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&view=fulltext&vid=37&mid=0Other recommended sources are these:
* Felbur, Rafal. 2015. “Vimalakīrtinirdeśa”. In Jonathan Silk et al (eds). Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume I. Leiden: Brill. 274–282. See this for a very thorough bibliography.
* Gómez, Luis and Harrison, Paul. 2022. Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: The Teaching of Vimalakīrti. Translated from the Sanskrit. Berkeley, CA: Mangalam Press.
* Lamotte, Étienne. 1962. L’Enseignement de Vimalakīrti. Louvain: Institute Orientaliste Louvain-la-Neuve. Translated into English as The Teaching of Vimalakīrti, by Sarah Boin (1976). Oxford: Pali Text Society.
* McRae, John R. 2004. The Vimalakīrti Sutra, Translated from the Chinese (Taishō Volume 14, Number 475). Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
Translation of Kumārajīva’s fifth-century Chinese translation, available online: https://www.bdkamerica.org/product/the-sutra-of-queen-srimala-of-the-lions-roar-and-the-vimalakirti-sutra/
* Silk, Jonathan. 2014. “Taking the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Seriously.” Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 12: 167–188.
* Thurman, Robert. 1976. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti: A Mahāyāna Scripture. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.
Study Group on Buddhist Sanskrit Literature (2006), Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: Sanskrit Edition Based upon the Manuscript Newly Found at the Potala Palace. Tokyo.A synoptic version of 1) the Sanskrit text, 2) our three Chinese versions, 3) the Tibetan version and 4) Lamotte’s (1962) translation of the Tibetan is provided by the University of Oslo’s Thesaurus Literaturae Buddhicae:
https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&view=fulltext&vid=37&mid=0Other recommended sources are these:
* Felbur, Rafal. 2015. “Vimalakīrtinirdeśa”. In Jonathan Silk et al (eds). Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume I. Leiden: Brill. 274–282. See this for a very thorough bibliography.
* Gómez, Luis and Harrison, Paul. 2022. Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: The Teaching of Vimalakīrti. Translated from the Sanskrit. Berkeley, CA: Mangalam Press.
* Lamotte, Étienne. 1962. L’Enseignement de Vimalakīrti. Louvain: Institute Orientaliste Louvain-la-Neuve. Translated into English as The Teaching of Vimalakīrti, by Sarah Boin (1976). Oxford: Pali Text Society.
* McRae, John R. 2004. The Vimalakīrti Sutra, Translated from the Chinese (Taishō Volume 14, Number 475). Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
Translation of Kumārajīva’s fifth-century Chinese translation, available online: https://www.bdkamerica.org/product/the-sutra-of-queen-srimala-of-the-lions-roar-and-the-vimalakirti-sutra/
* Silk, Jonathan. 2014. “Taking the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Seriously.” Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 12: 167–188.
* Thurman, Robert. 1976. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti: A Mahāyāna Scripture. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.
Association in the course directory
MATB3
Last modified: Th 29.02.2024 10:06