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Prebish,0csp1@psuvm.psu.edu  G>/ Board of Advisors:PPRobert Aitken Roshi0Amaro Bhikkhu8 8 D H LCarl Bielefeldt  G> pp(( PPBhikkhu Bodhi00(,0Thubten Chodron8 8 D H LT. Matthew Ciolek  G>9 pp(( PPRoger Corless00(,0Gangcen Tulku Rinpoche LMaha Ghosananda  G> pp(( PPJoseph Goldstein,0Joan Halifax @8 8 D H LAyya Khema  G>C pp(( PPAnne C. Klein00(,0Jack Kornfield @8 8 D H LJacqueline Mandell  G> pp(( PPKen McLeod00(,0Andrew Olendzki8 8 D H LCharles S. Prebish  G>M pp(( PPAlan Senauke00(,0Thanissaro Bhikkhu H Lothers to be announced  W ydddy  _H #NX  Pg9C{P#Gassh is a bimonthly Buddhist journal, published by DharmaNet International, P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley, CA 94704-4951, a notforprofit organization. M  j ydddy##;X  Pg9Cfj,P#M  jM  #XX  Pg9C}P#` +Table of Contents: #NX  Pg9C{P# {1} EDITORIAL: Message from the Editor {2} NEWS: Dharamsala Goes Emailing {3} DHARMANET NEWS: Dharma Book Transcription Project; Electronic Growth in 1993 {4} LETTERS {5} DIALOGUE: The First Precept: Reverence for Life (Thich Nhat Hanh) {6} ARTICLE: The Greatest Gift (John Bullitt) {7} ARTICLE: The Academic Study of Buddhism in America: A Current Analysis (Charles S. Prebish) {8} ARTICLE: Exploring New Approaches: The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (Andrew Olendzki) {9} ARTICLE: The American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting: 1993 {10} PRACTICE: Nothing Special (Ayya Khema) {11} CALENDAR: January March 1994 {12} REVIEWS: "Fundamentalism, Anyone?" (Richard Hayes) {13} RESOURCES: Publishers Book, Audio, Video, Electronic {14} SANGHA: Massachusetts Dharma Centers (USA) {15} A PARTING THOUGHT  _H  {16} ABOUT Gassh ##;X  Pg9Cfj,P#_ bbԌ G> [Ed.: Gassh is currently being published in two formats, in two different mediums. The print version may be abridged, due to the constraints of space. The electronic version has no space limitations,]   ydddy  jM$ #XX  Pg9C}P#Q` .{1} EDITORIAL#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   ydddyM  _Hn This issue of Gassh focuses on the scholarly domain of Buddhist Studies, or Buddhology. When people would ask me where one could study Buddhism, what academic programs exist, what does a Buddhist Studies program study, I had to admit that I really didn't know. So I started asking a few questions and this issue is the result. As these materials will, I hope, make clear, Buddhist Studies encompass a vast terrain and a rich diversity of approaches and subjects. It is my hope that this issue is just a preliminary sketch, a first installment, and that we will continue to explore the field, and the contexts, of Buddhist Studies in future issues. It is my belief that discourses of study (theory/history/analysis) and discourses of practice can inform, and benefit from, each other. Dr. Charles Prebish provides some background about one of the largest and most influential professional organizations for scholars in Buddhist Studies, the  _H) American Academy of Religion (AAR). With the AAR's permission, Gassh has included the full catalog of abstracts of Buddhistrelated presentations from the 1993 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. I hope this is of interest to scholar and nonscholar alike. It demonstrates a fascinating array of inquiry. I hope that some  _H of these presentations may eventually appear in future issues of Gassh, or that they may be added to the holdings of the online libraries of DharmaNet International. Dr. Prebish contributed his presentation from the AAR conference, entitled "The Academic Study of Buddhism in America: A Current Analysis," to this issue of  _H Gassh. This important work provides an objective base from which the field of Buddhist Studies can look at itself. Dr. Prebish will continue collecting data for this ongoing research project, the results of which will eventually be published in hardcopy. While these two articles provide some insights into the academic study of Buddhism, there exist many other forums of Buddhist study as well. Dr. Andrew Olendzki provides a look at another model, that of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Massachusetts, which explores ways of bridging the gaps between the academic study of Buddhism and the practice of Buddhism. Additionally, this issue discusses other new organizational models emerging from  _Hp Buddhist practice, such as Dhamma Dana Publications.  _H Gassh seeks to create and nurture a meeting place where monks, nuns, lay teachers, Buddhologists, and lay practitioners can all share with and learn fromd bb each other. It is my intention to give representation to all these voices in each  _H issue. Gassh seeks to be supportive of both praxis and theory. I call on all of you to help me in this project, to be involved and to contribute to the materials from which this electronic journal is derived. In this way, the collective understanding is elevated.  _H Future issues of Gassh will endeavor to include at least one "refereed" article, in addition to its other features. Scholars interested in serving as "referees" for submitted materials should contact me by email at "dharma@netcom.com", as should contributors. May this work benefit all beings!   y dddy#XX  Pg9C}P#  jM ` -{2} NEWS BRIEFS#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   yOdddyM  jM' #XX  Pg9C}P#` (DHARAMSALA GOES EMAILING  SC #TDX  Pg9CI^P#` )by Bhuchung K. Tsering#NX  Pg9C{P#у After several years of feasibility study, the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala is finally on EMail. The idea of putting Dharamsala on the electronic mail map of the world was conceived in 1989 when a New Yorkbased computer consultant, Ms. Indira Singh, suggested the setting up of TibetNet. Ms. Singh felt TibetNet would provide the Tibetans the technological ability to disseminate the Tibetan story worldwide. She made preliminary trials in collaboration with the Department of Information & International Relations. The then DIIR Kalon Lodi G. Gyari shared Ms. Singh's feelings saying, "TibetNet is the vehicle which will take Tibetans to the twentyfirst century." Despite the unreliable telephone system, an adhoc connection was made in early 1990. As a simple message, "Hello from Dharamsala" made its first journey from a laptop (Indira Singh's) to the computer in Office of Tibet New York, there was jubilation. Reporting on the event, this journal, in its MarchApril 1990 issue, said it was the first tottering steps the Tibetans, cooped as they are in their own little Shangrila, are taking to catch up with what has bypassed them telecommunications. Since then much water has flowed down the Bhagsunath rivulet in Dharamsala. Some problems made the experiment remain as it was: just an experiment. But the Tibetans were given a taste of what was in store for us. Just as the shrewd business sense of a Tibetan does not let an opportunity pass by, this idea of a private electronic mail service became merely placed in the backburner, not totally forgotten.P bbԌMeanwhile, Dharamsala's Planning Council had set up a Common Publishing Center (later rechristened as the Tibetan Computer Resource Center) to provide an organized computerized service to the Tibetan community. Simultaneously, in Canada, the Canada Tibet Committee had taken the initiative to enter Tibet into the EMail world actively. The offices of Tibet in New York and London followed suit. They all had the experience of Tibet Information Network (TIN) in London which had over the years become one of the few independent sources for objective news from Tibet. Dharamsala began to feel the pressure to set up a nodal point here. The TibetNet case was reopened, so to say. Discussions took place among concerned officials as well as with the Canada Tibet Committee which had set up CanTibNet. Welcoming the move, DIIR Kalon Tashi Wangdi, in a letter to Tibetrelated organizations on November 3, 1993, said it would facilitate a fast and reliable exchange of information among all of us. Finally, it was decided to transfer the email project from DIIR to CTRC which would explore all possibilities. The endresult became apparent when yet another simple message went from New Delhi to USA and Canada, via email. Responded Conrad Richter of CanTibNet, "We are happy that the TCRC and the CTA is now able to participate in computer networking." John Maier of the International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet expressed his feelings thus: "Hallelujah! I am elated to see your message today in my email mailbox. This is indeed a huge step toward establishing a consistent, inexpensive communications link with Dharamsala... Let us hope the next link is Lhasa." The technical director of the Institute for Global Communications (IGC), USA, Mr. Steve Fram, who has been instrumental in not only encouraging us to go forward in this project, but also in providing both technical and material support, became overjoyed. Said he, "(I)... cannot fully express my delight this morning [October 22, 1993 ed.], when I received your message from New Delhi....it is a small, but substantial step towards democracy and for the Tibetan struggle." Mr. Fram had made it possible for an official of DIIR, Tendar, to participate in a workshop on email in the USA in August 1993. Mr. Phuntsok Namgyal of TCRC is currently leading the email project in Dharamsala. TCRC has secured a temporary email account. TCRC is in the process of working out the financial implications for getting a permanent account with ernet. For those interested in having email linkages with Tibetrelated organizations, a partial list of numbers follows: 1. Dharamsala (Phuntsok Namgyal): tcrc@unv.ernet.in 2. CTC National Office (Thubten Samdup) fourniel@ere.umontreal.ca 3. CanTibNet Newsletter ctneditors@utcc.utoronto.ca 4. Int'l Committee of Lawyers for Tibet, USA (John Maier): iclt@igc.apc.org 5. International Campaign for Tibet, USA: ict@igc.apc.org, 6. Office of Tibet, New York: otny@igc.apc.org 7. Office of Tibet, London: tibetlondon@gn.apc.org 8. Institute for Global Communications, USA (Steve Fram):z bbԌppsteve@igc.apc.org 9. Tibet Information Network, London (Robbie Barnett): robbie@gn.apc.org 10. Alaska Tibet committee: dpaljor@igc.apc.org Dharamsala going email is a small step for mankind, but a giant step for the Tibetans.  _H [This article originally appeared in Tibetan Bulletin, Nov/Dec 1993. Tibetan Bulletin is the official journal of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and is published by the Department of Information & International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala 176215, H.P. India. Mr.  _H#  Bhuchung K. Tsering is the Editor of Tibetan Bulletin.]   y dddy  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#` +{3} DHARMANET NEWS#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   y>dddyM In 1993, DharmaNet International began its Dharma Book Transcription Project, working with book publishers such as the Buddhist Publication Society in Sri Lanka, and with individual authors and translators such as Phra Thanissaro Bhikkhu of Wat Metta in Southern California, to make electronic editions of published and original texts available for free distribution over computer networks such as DharmaNet and Internet. The books are transcribed into electronic texts ("etexts") through the committed efforts of volunteers who "scan" or manually type the documents, and proof read, edit, format, and catalog, each text. Once an etext has been approved for distribution, the Coordinator of the DharmaNet File Distribution Network begins the process of electronic distribution, transmitting the files via modem to official DharmaNet File Libraries, to other DharmaNet BBS sites, to the Fidonet "Filebone" whether they are further distributed by satellite, and to various online libraries on the Internet. In a very short span of time, the electronic Dharma book has been disseminated throughout many countries. With these various electronic repositories of Buddhist canonical literature, commentaries, dharma talks, essays and articles, existing worldwide, Dharma information is readily, and freely, available to virtually anyone with access to a computer and a modem. In 1993, many of the works published by DharmaNet International were from the Theravada tradition and we hope that in 1994 we will also attract materials and contributors from Zen and Vajrayana traditions as well. Some of the publications of DharmaNet International from 1993 include:  _HL  AJLEE2.ZIP PPKeeping the Breath in Mind, #2 (Ajaan Lee Dhammadaro; pp(( PPThanissaro Bhikkhu, tr.)  _H  ASOKA.ZIP PPReadings Selected by King Asoka (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, tr.) @ bbԌ _H  BIG3.ZIP PP3 Key Discourses: Wheel, NotSelf, Fire Suttas (Thanissaro pp(( PPBhikkhu, tr.)  _HM  BODHI034.ZIP Protection through Satipa.t.th]na (Nyanaponika Thera) Bodhi pp(( PPLeaves B34  _H  BODHI042.ZIP Buddhism: A Method of Mind Training (L. Bullen)  _HA  BODHI111.ZIP Our Real Home (Ajahn Chah) Bodhi Leaf 111  _H  BODHI115.ZIP Anapana Sati: Meditation on Breath (Ariyadhamma)  _H  CONDENSE.ZIP Condensed Breath Meditation (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)  _H6  FUANG.ZIP PPAwareness Itself: Teaching of Ajaan Fuang Jotiko (Thanissaro pp(( PPBhikkhu, tr.)  _H  GASS0101.ZIP Gassh Vol 1 No 1 (Nov/Dec 1993) Maezumi Roshi, Dalai pp(( PPLama, Thich Nhat Hanh, et al.  _H  MNSUMM.ZIP MAJJHIMA NIKAYA summary (Bhikkhu Bodhi)  _Hw  NOTSELF.ZIP The NotSelf Strategy (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, tr.)  _H  PALIBREA.ZIP Breath Meditation: Excerpts from the P]li Canon (Thanissaro pp(( PPBhikkhu, tr.)  _Hk  QUANTUM.ZIP Heart Sutra: Buddhism in the Light of Quantum Reality (Mu pp(( PPSoeng Sunim)  _H  STRAIGHT.ZIP Straight from the Heart (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, tr)  _H_  STRENGTH.ZIP Inner Strength: 16 Talks by Ajahn Lee (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, tr.)  _G  THAI_93.ZIP PPGuide to Buddhist Monasteries & Meditation Centers in Thailand  ^H  pp(( PP(Bill Weir)  _HR  UNBOUND.ZIP Mind Like Fire Unbound (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)  _H  WHEEL014.ZIP Everyman's Ethics: 4 Discourses (Narada Thera)  _H  WHEEL026.ZIP The Five Mental Hindrances (Nyanaponika Thera)  _HG  WHEEL061.ZIP Simile of the Cloth/Discourse on Effacement (Nyanaponika pp(( PPThera) BPS Wheel 61/62  _H  WHEEL065.ZIP Way of Wisdom: The 5 Spiritual Faculties (Conze)  _H;  VINAYA.ZIP PPThe Buddhist Monastic Code (Thanissaro Bhikkhu) These etexts can be retrieved on the Internet by "anonymous ftp" to FTP.NETCOM.COM in the subdirectory /pub/dharma. Eventually, we hope to establish a larger "host" site for our online library, and where we can also create gopher links to these files. If you should have problems accessing these files or would like to contribute texts or help with transcribing texts, please contact Barry Kapke by email at dharma@netcom.com Additionally, these files may be retrieved via "ftpmail" for those without "anonymous ftp" capability. To obtain a listing of available files accessible via email (ftpmail) from ACCESS TO INSIGHT, send an email message addressed to "ftpmail@metta.ci.net". In the message body put "GET ALLFILES.LST". A copy of the file list will then be returned to you by email. You can order any file from the list by ftpmail in this way. Of course, you can also download (retrieve) any of these or other files directly from any DharmaNet file library or participating DharmaNet or Fidonet site. Moreover, if you operate a BBS, you can subscribe to the DharmaNet File Distribution Network file areas and receive the files automatically as they are bb released. These links may be arranged through DharmaNet or Fidonet file hubs. Please contact Barry Kapke for more information by email at dharma@netcom.com or by netmail at 1:125/33 (Fidonet).   y` dddy DharmaNet International's dream of a worldwide web of electronically interlinked Dharma centers, practitioners, and teachers, has begun to manifest. In 1993, DharmaNet established BBS linkages throughout much of the USA and parts of Canada, England, Sweden, Republic of South Africa, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with new growth occurring each week. With the bridging of DharmaNet and Internet, this connectivity expands exponentially. In Massachusetts, ACCESS TO INSIGHT provides electronic linkage to the Insight Meditation Society and to the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and explores  _H ways for the BBS to serve as both bridge and vehicle for Dharma information and practice. Other Dharma centers are beginning to show interest in discovering how this medium might serve their own communities. In past months I've seen electronic footprints suggesting that online resources are being explored by Robert Aitken, John Daido Loori, Joseph Goldstein, Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Ken McLeod, Henepola Gunaratana, and others. Many of the leading Buddhist scholars are online. Tibetan support and service  _H organizations, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Tricycle Magazine, and other Buddhist resources are developing online capabilities. This is wonderful to see unfolding and to be a part of. DharmaNet International has assembled a truly remarkable Board of Advisors, from the spheres of Buddhist practice and scholarship. We are very fortunate and grateful for their guidance and grounding.  _H, Gassh, with this being only its second edition, is now subscribed to electronically by over two hundred individuals and is being distributed to all parts of the world. These numbers are multiplied when taking into account the various copies downloaded by individuals from DharmaNet, Fidonet, and Internet sites. May these electronic "currents" spread the Dharma far and wide in 1994. May this work benefit all beings.  ] ydddy#XX  Pg9C}P#  jM$ /{4} LETTERS#NX  Pg9C{P#M  ^H 4` ydddyM [Ed.: I had expected to present comments to the "Dialogue" feature, or to other articles, here, but none have been forthcoming. Please send letters to the Editor via email to "dharma@netcom.com" with notation in the subject line directing it to the Editor. Thanks.]P bbԌ Tipitaka CDROM  _HL May I firstly compliment you, in your capacity as "Editor in Chief" of Gassh, on a very good first issue. It was both uplifting and informative. I look forward to many more similar.  _H Secondly, it was mentioned in Gassh > Distinguished service awards were presented to Yehan Numata (who could > not be present), and to Mahidol University for its completion of inputting > the entire Pali Tipitaka and Atthakatha onto CDROM. Professor Supachai > demonstrated the database software (BUDSIR) that can be used to search > and retrieve all occurrences of any given word or phrase in the entire 105 > volumes of nowdigitized text. I trust that the next edition of Gassho will tell us more about this, and if meanwhile you know anything about when it will be available, where, etc. I would be very grateful for a brief note. `( BJohn Richards [Ed.: I had intended to reprint an article for this issue detailing the various Buddhist databases and input projects, of which there are many, but was unable  _H to organize it in time. It will appear in a future issue of Gassh. Professor Supachai may be reached at: Mahidol University Computing Center Faculty of Science Tel: (662) 245-5410 Rama 6 Road FAX: (662) 246-7308 Bangkok 10400 THAILAND It is my understanding that the American Academy of Religion, FAX: (404) 727-7959, will be the distributor for the Siamese CDROM edition of the Pali canon.] Kind Words  _H[ A sangha friend forwarded the Nov/Dec93 copy of Gassh and has opened up a new world to me. What a wonderful issue! `;Gabrielle Yensen  _H@ Thank you for sending me a copy of Gassh and for adding me to the mailing list. I have read through the journal once already and I'm sure I will be returning to it for further understanding and insight. I stand in continual awe of the communicative power of the Internet, and this journal has certainly been one of its most interesting fruits for me. Here's to its continuing growth and instruction.  bbԌ`AErika Reiman  _HL I've just received the first issue of Gassh the bimonthly electronic magazine of DharmaNet International. The quality and content are superb beyond my own expectation. `4BJohn Nguyen [Ed.: I've been quite touched by the numerous messages of appreciation and support I've received. Thank YOU!]  # y ddd y  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#W` .{5} DIALOGUE#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   yK ddd yM  jM# #XX  Pg9C}P#$` "THE FIRST PRECEPT: REVERENCE FOR LIFE  SC #TDX  Pg9CI^P#>` +by Thich Nhat Hanh #NX  Pg9C{P#  _Gb Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.  Life is precious. It is everywhere, inside us and all around us; it has so many forms. The First Precept is born from the awareness that lives everywhere are being destroyed. We see the suffering caused by the destruction of life, and we vow to cultivate compassion and use it as a source of energy for the protection of people,  _H animals, plants, and minerals. The First Precept is a precept of compassion, karuna the ability to remove suffering and transform it. When we see suffering, compassion is born in us. It is important for us to stay in touch with the suffering of the world. We need to nourish that awareness through many means sounds, images, direct contact, visits, and so on in order to keep compassion alive in us. But we must be careful not to take in too much. Any remedy must be taken in the proper dosage. We need to stay in touch with suffering only to the extent that we will not forget, so that compassion will flow within us and be a source of energy for our actions. If we use anger at injustice as the source for our energy, we may do something harmful, something that we will later regret. According to Buddhism, compassion is the only source of energy that is useful and safe. With compassion, your energy is born from insight; it is not blind energy.   bbԌWe humans are made entirely of nonhuman elements, such as plants, minerals, earth, clouds, and sunshine. For our practice to be deep and true, we must include the ecosystem. If the environment is destroyed, humans will be destroyed, too. Protecting human life is not possible without also protecting the lives of  _H animals, plants, and minerals. The Diamond Sutra teaches us that it is impossible to distinguish between sentient and nonsentient beings. This is one of many ancient Buddhist texts that teach deep ecology. Every Buddhist practitioner should be a protector of the environment. Minerals have their own lives, too. In Buddhist monasteries, we chant, "Both sentient and nonsentient beings will realize full enlightenment." The First Precept is the practice of protecting all lives, including the lives of minerals.  _H "I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing  _Hp in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life." We cannot support any act of killing; no killing can be justified. But not to kill is not enough. We must also learn ways to prevent others from killing. We cannot say, "I am not responsible. They did it. My hands are clean." If you were in Germany during the time of the Nazis, you could not say, "They did it. I did not." If, during the Gulf War, you did not say or do anything to try to stop the killing, you were not practicing this precept. Even if what you said or did failed to stop the war, what is important is that you tried, using your insight and compassion. It is not just by not killing with your body that you observe the First Precept. If in your thinking you allow the killing to go on, you also break this precept. We must be determined not to condone killing, even in our minds. According to the Buddha, the mind is the base of all actions. It is most dangerous to kill in the mind. When you believe, for example, that yours is the only way for humankind and that everyone who follows another way is your enemy, millions of people could be killed because of that idea. Thinking is at the base of everything. It is important for us to put an eye of awareness into each of our thoughts. Without a correct understanding of a situation or a person, our thoughts can be misleading and create confusion, despair, anger, or hatred. Our most important task is to develop correct insight. If we see deeply into the nature of interbeing, that all things "interare," we will stop blaming, arguing, and killing, and we will become friends with everyone. To practice nonviolence, we must first of all learn ways to deal peacefully with ourselves. If we create true harmony within ourselves, we will know how to deal with family, friends, and associates. When we protest against a war, for example, we may assume that we are a peaceful person, a representative of peace, but this might not be true. If we look deeply, we will observe that the roots of war are in the unmindful ways we have been living. We have not sown enough seeds of peace and understanding in ourselves and others, therefore we are coresponsible: "Because I have been like this, they are like that." A more holistic approach is the way of "interbeing": "This is like this, because that is like that." This is the way of understanding and love. With this insight, we can see clearly and help our government see clearly. Then}  bb we can go to a demonstration and say, "This war is unjust, destructive, and not worthy of our great nation." This is far more effective than angrily condemning others. Anger always accelerates the damage. All of us, even pacifists, have pain inside. We feel angry and frustrated, and we need to find someone willing to listen to us who is capable of understanding our suffering. In Buddhist iconography, there is a bodhisattva named Avalokitesvara who has one thousand arms and one thousand hands, and has an eye in the palm of each hand. One thousand hands represent action, and the eye in each hand represents understanding. When you understand a situation or a person, any action you do will help and will not cause more suffering. When you have an eye in your hand, you will know how to practice true nonviolence. To practice nonviolence, first of all we have to practice it within ourselves. In each of us, there is a certain amount of violence and a certain amount of nonviolence. Depending on our state of being, our response to things will be more or less nonviolent. Even if we take pride in being vegetarian, for example, we have to acknowledge that the water in which we boil our vegetables contains many tiny microorganisms. We cannot be completely nonviolent, but by being vegetarian, we are going in the direction of nonviolence. If we want to head north, we can use the North Star to guide us, but it is impossible to arrive at the North Star. Our effort is only to proceed in that direction. Anyone can practice some nonviolence, even army generals. They may, for example, conduct their operations in ways that avoid killing innocent people. To help soldiers move in the nonviolent direction, we have to be in touch with them. If we divide reality into two camps the violent and the nonviolent and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also work with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact. It never helps to draw a line and dismiss some people as enemies, even those who act violently. We have to approach them with love in our hearts and do our best to help them move in a direction of nonviolence. If we work for peace out of anger, we will never succeed. Peace is not an end. It can never come about through nonpeaceful means.  _HJ Most important is to become nonviolence, so that when a situation presents itself, we will not create more suffering. To practice nonviolence, we need gentleness, loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity directed to our bodies, our feelings, and other people. With mindfulness the practice of peace we can begin by working to transform the wars in ourselves. There are techniques for doing this. Conscious breathing is one. Every time we feel upset, we can stop what we are doing, refrain from saying anything, and breathe in and out several times, aware of each inbreath and each outbreath. If we are still upset, we can go for walking meditation, mindful of each slow step and each breath we take.{  bb By cultivating peace within, we bring about peace in society. It depends on us. To practice peace in ourselves is to minimize the numbers of wars between this and that feeling, or this and that perception, and we can then have real peace with others as well, including the members of our own family. I am often asked, "What if you are practicing nonviolence and someone breaks into your house and tries to kidnap your daughter or kill your husband? What should you do? Should you still act in a nonviolent way?" The answer depends on your state of being. If you are prepared, you may react calmly and intelligently, in the most nonviolent way possible. But to be ready to react with intelligence and nonviolence, you have to train yourself in advance. It may take ten years, or longer. If you wait until the time of crisis to ask the question, it will be too late. A thisorthat kind of answer would be superficial. At that crucial moment, even if you know that nonviolence is better than violence, if your understanding is only intellectual and not in your whole being, you will not act nonviolently. The fear and anger in you will prevent you from acting in the most nonviolent way. We have to look deeply every day to practice this precept well. Every time we buy or consume something, we may be condoning some form of killing. While practicing the protection of humans, animals, plants, and minerals, we know that we are protecting ourselves. We feel in permanent and loving touch with all species on Earth. We are protected by the mindfulness and the loving kindness of the Buddha and many generations of Sanghas who also practice this precept. This energy of loving kindness brings us the feeling of safety, health, and joy, and this becomes real the moment we make the decision to receive and practice the First Precept. Feeling compassion is not enough. We have to learn to express it. That is why love must go together with understanding. Understanding and insight show us how to act. Our real enemy is forgetfulness. If we nourish mindfulness every day and water the seeds of peace in ourselves and those around us, we become alive, and we can help ourselves and others realize peace and compassion. Life is so precious, yet in our daily lives we are usually carried away by our forgetfulness, anger, and worries, lost in the past, unable to touch life in the present moment. When we are truly alive, everything we do or touch is a miracle. To practice mindfulness is to return to life in the present moment. The practice of the First Precept is a celebration of reverence for life. When we appreciate and honor the beauty of life, we will do everything in our power to protect all life.  _H. [Excerpted from For A Future To Be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Wonderful  _H Precepts, by Thich Nhat Hanh, with the kind permission of Parallax Press,  bb Berkeley, CA, 1993, pp. 13-19. The chapters on the remaining four precepts will  _H appear in the subsequent four issues of Gassh.  _H  THICH NHAT HANH is a Zen Buddhist monk, peace activist, scholar, and poet. He is the founder of the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, has taught at Columbia University and the Sorbonne, and now lives in southern France, where he gardens, works to help those in need, and travels internationally teaching "the art of mindful living." Martin Luther King, Jr., nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967, saying, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle monk from Vietnam."]   yN ddd y  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#` /{6} ARTICLE#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ  n y ddd yM  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#e` ,THE GREATEST GIFT  SC #TDX  Pg9CI^P#` -by John Bullitt #NX  Pg9C{P#  _Hc Sabbad]na.m dhammad]na.m jin]ti The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts.  _H  `X(Dhammapada 354) In many Buddhist countries a traditional way of supporting and spreading the Dharma has been to sponsor the publication of Dharma books for free  _HI distribution. This timehonored system offers one the opportunity to practice d]na (freelyoffered generosity), while helping make the teachings available to many others who might not otherwise have access to them. This tradition has been rather slow to catch on here in the West, where the prevailing attitude has often been the rather skeptical: "You can't get something for nothing. After all, if something is offered at no charge, surely there must be a catch somewhere." Yet as we all know, there needn't be a catch. Giving can be its own reward; that reward is magnified all the more when the gift itself is Dharma.  _Hl  I want to note briefly an example of a publishingford]na endeavor recently begun here in the U.S., in the hope that it may encourage others to support the development of publishing and free distribution of Dharma books. Last spring the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (the "Study Center") started a fund the Dhamma Dana Publications Fund to support publication and free distribution of Dharma books. The manuscript selected by the editorial committee for its inaugural publication was "The Mind Like Fire Unbound" by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. In this book the author, an American monk who trained in the forests of Thailand for 12 years, explores the use of fire imagery in the Pali Canon as aC  bb  _H metaphor to describe the nature of clinging (up]d]na) and its cessation (nibb]na). The author provides extensive quotations from the Pali Canon, newly translated, making this a useful sourcebook for anyone wanting to encounter Buddhist teachings in their earliest known context. Over a period of several months a small number of donors came forward to offer their support for this book. There was no fundraising drive in the conventional sense; when these people learned of the project they simply offered to give. Eventually donors contributed enough funds (about $3,500) to print 2,500 copies of this 128page 6" x 9" paperback, complete with a stunning fullcolor cover. Copies of this book are now freely available at the Study Center (see address below).  _Ho  I hope Gassh readers will consider supporting this kind of Dharma publishing in their own communities. The quality of affordable desktop publishing (DTP) continues to improve so rapidly that, even if one cannot afford to print 10,000 professionalquality bound books, a modest home office with a limited budget can easily produce 100 copies of a small booklet. You might then offer a supply of these books or pamphlets to your local meditation center, or to a teacher; they can then in turn offer them to others. This chain of generosity is beautiful to witness,  _H and a delight to experience. With d]na as the motivation, everyone involved shares a happy reward.  _H [ JOHN BULLITT is a vipassana student, computer consultant and sysop for  _H: Access to Insight BBS. He is currently helping Wisdom Publications prepare  _H Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of the Majjhima Nik]ya for publication. When he's not proofreading or debugging, he's sledding in the backyard with his daughter. For more information about Dhamma Dana Publications, write to: Dhamma Dana Publications, c/o Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Lockwood Road, Barre, MA 01005 USA. Email: dana@metta.ci.net]  l ydddy  jM" #XX  Pg9C}P#` /{7} ARTICLE#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   ydddyM  jMl #XX  Pg9C}P#` THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF BUDDHISM IN AMERICA: ` +A CURRENT ANALYSIS  SC #TDX  Pg9CI^P#1` *by Charles S. Prebish #NX  Pg9C{P# Scholarly studies chronicling the academic investigation of Buddhism by Western researchers are extremely sparse in the literature. Since 1950, only a handful of reliable publications has emerged to inform our understanding of the discipline to which we have devoted our professional lives. The most useful of these include: (1) U.N. Ghosal's "Progress in Buddhist Studies in Europe and America,"  _HT in P.V. Bapat's 2500 Years of Buddhism (1956), (2) Edward Conze's "Recent ProgressT bb  _H in Buddhist Studies," in The Middle Way 34 (1959), (3) William Peiris's The Western  _H Contribution to Buddhism (1973), (4) Jan W. de Jong's "A Brief History of Buddhist  _HN Studies in Europe and America" in The Eastern Buddhist NS 7 (1974), de Jong's  _H followup: "Recent Buddhist Studies in Europe and America 1973-83," in The  _H Eastern Buddhist NS 17 (1984), his eventual book A Brief History of Buddhist Studies  _HC in Europe and America (2nd, revised edition; Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1987), and (5) Charles Prebish's "Buddhist Studies American Style: A Shot in the Dark,"  _H in Religious Studies Review 9 (1983). Much of this work has been summarized, and expanded upon, by Russell Webb's "P]li Buddhist Studies in the West," serialized  _H in the now defunct P]li Buddhist Review, and his highly readable "Contemporary  _H European Scholarship on Buddhism," in Tadeusz Skorupski's edited volume The  _H+ Buddhist Heritage (Tring: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1989). What each of the above studies has lacked is a statistical component. The need for such data as a survey might provide, of course, is not without current precedent.  _H Professor Ray Hart, former editor of the Journal of the American Academy of  _Hk Religion, recently was afforded 112 pages of journal space in the Winter 1991 issue  _H of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion for his narrative and survey entitled "Religious and Theological Studies in American Higher Education." Thirtyfive pages of Hart's study were devoted to a presentation of statistical evidence gleaned from a questionnaire distributed to 678 faculty members at eleven types of institutions. The extremely useful findings of Hart's study are already being widely utilized in the discipline, reflecting the perceived importance of selfdefinition and selfrecognition within the broad profession of religious studies. The academic study of Buddhism in America, however, has nothing like Hart's evidence. Nor has it ever had the benefit of a systematic analysis of its collective faculty. Consequently, this paper aims to build upon the results of data collected during the academic year 1992-93. In October 1992, the idea of such an undertaking was proposed to the administration of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion. This subunit of the largest national organization devoted to the study of religion is the most appropriate and extensive network organization of scholars devoted to the study of Buddhism in the United States. Professor Malcolm David Eckel, the American Academy of Religion's external evaluator of the unit, noted in 1991 that "The most important achievement of the Buddhism Group and Section at the AAR in the last ten years has been to create a safe and reliable forum for Buddhist scholars who represent a wide variety of approaches, disciplines, and geographical orientations to exchange views and build bonds of cooperation and understanding that create an active and imaginative scholarly community." With the support of the Buddhism Section's leadership, a list off 125 scholars was collected from a larger sample compiled primarily by Professor Jamie Hubbard of Smith College. The larger sample also included names of scholars of other Asian religions and nonspecialist comparativists, but for this study, only scholars whose primary teaching and research responsibilities were in Buddhist Studies were targeted for study. Requests for data and narrative statements were distributed to these 125 individuals whose major teaching and research work fell into the discipline of bb "Buddhist Studies." The request was repeated at the Annual Business Meeting of the Buddhism Section in November in San Francisco, and a second letter of request was mailed in early January 1993. As of this date, the percentage responding with the requested data is quite consistent with that achieved by Hart's survey (Hart's survey achieved a 64% response rate; Prebish's survey had a response rate of 69.6%). On an individual level, the results collected provide an ample look at the demographics of Buddhist Studies in America. With regard to individual training, I am now able to document the gender, educational background, language facility, and the like for those polled. Institutionally, I have tracked the respective academic rank of the respondents, the type of university in which they teach, and the specific disciplinarity of the department that employs each. I have collected data on memberships in professional organizations, editorships held, geographic area(s) of specialization, grants and fellowships received, professional papers presented, and honors awarded. I have organized information on faculty research productivity into categories reflecting both the type of publication and period of publication, the latter item being subdivided into fiveyear and overall categories. I have also assembled a conglomerate of concern voiced by respondents in the narrative portions of their submissions. As such I have determined a sense of the sample's collective perception of those issues deemed critical to the development and advancement of the discipline. In addition to the individual scholars surveyed, in consultation with colleagues, a list of fifteen universities with well developed undergraduate and/or graduate programs in the study of Buddhism has been generated. These institutions are currently responding to requests for data regarding the history and scope of their respective programs in the study of Buddhism. This information will be in place before the end of the current academic year. Thus, on an institutional level, I will soon be able to document fully the development of the discipline of Buddhist Studies in the United States, a task I began in my above mentioned article "Buddhist Studies American Style: A Shot in the Dark." In that study, I was able to describe the earliest development of Buddhist Studies in those American universities that pioneered the effort to understand the philology, history, doctrine, and practice of Buddhism in its Asian setting. In so doing, I was able to highlight the research and publication of Henry Clark Warren, Charles Rockwell Lanman, Paul Carus, William Dwight Whitney, W.Y. EvansWentz, Winston King, Richard Gard, Kenneth K.S. Ch'en, and others. Moreover, I was able to describe the initial programs of study in Buddhist Studies at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Yale Universities along with the publication series they fostered. My latest work will document the progress of the next three generations of Buddhologists and the expansive spread of Buddhist Studies institutionally into major American universities. Not only will the new avenues of publication in Buddhist Studies be outlined, but the various electronic means of networking and publication be explored. Thus this paper reflects a highly significant research design that is already underway to a timely and expedient conclusion.  bbԌIt is rather noteworthy, I think, that a perusal of the 1993 Directory of Departments and Programs of Religious Studies in North America (edited by David G. Truemper), reveals only two North American universities with more than three fulltime faculty whose work falls exclusively within the discipline of Buddhology (albeit approached from a variety of potential approaches and methodologies): the University of Virginia (Jeffrey Hopkins, Paul Groner, Karen Lang, David Germano, and Professor Senaviratne) and Chicago (Frank Reynolds, Paul Griffiths, Gary Ebersole, and Steven Collins). A number of universities have three fulltime Buddhist Studies faculty: Harvard (Masatoshi Nagatomi, Helen Hardacre, Charles Hallisey), Columbia University (Robert Thurman, Matthew Kapstein, Ryuich Ab)), University of Michigan (Luis G;mez, Donald Lopez, T. Griffith Foulk), Princeton University (Gananath Obeyesekere, Jacqueline Stone, Steven Teiser), and McMaster University (Robert Scharf, Phyllis Granoff, and K. Shinohara). Universities having two fulltime Buddhist Studies faculty include the University of Wisconsin (Minoru Kiyota and Geshe Sope), Stanford University (Bernard Faure and Carl Bielefeldt), U.C.L.A. (Robert Buswell and William Bodiford), the University of California at Berkeley (Lewis Lancaster and Padmanabh Jaini), Northwestern University (George Bond and Isshi Yamada), University of Hawaii (David Chappell and David Kalupahana), Carleton College (Bardwell Smith and Roger Jackson), Pennsylvania State University (Charles Prebish and Steven Heine), University of Calgary (Leslie Kawamura and A.W. Barber), University of Saskatchewan (Braj Sinha and Julian Pas), and McGill University (Richard Hayes and Arvind Sharma). This list is, of course, subject to correction and addition (and I have been rather generous in making these determinations). Further, this does not mean to say that there are not ancillary faculty members in many institutions whose work falls partly under the Buddhist Studies disciplinary umbrella. If the results to be obtained from the study described above are acknowledged to be largely demographic in focus, then it must also be conceded that much of what is to be reported here is both obvious and unexciting. What is not unexciting is the knowledge that those of us engaged in Buddhology now have some hard data which can be compared externally to the field in religious studies and internally to the subdiscipline of Buddhist Studies. Regarding basic demographics, in Hart's survey, 85.4% of the respondents were male, 14.4% female, with .2% nonresponsive. In my sample, 85.1% was male, 14.9% female. As one would expect, the respondents in both surveys presented uniformly outstanding credentials. In Hart's survey, 90% of the respondents had one or more doctoral degrees (9% had no doctoral degree, while 1% were expecting the doctoral degree). In my sample 98.8% (86 of 87) had Ph.D./Th.D. In my sample, the granting year for the terminal degree was 1975.9. This is especially interesting because the average age of those responding to this item was 53.1 years, whereas the average age in Hart's sample was 50.6. Comparing the two samples, we find: z bbԌ ^H pp(( PP xx$Hart Sample  8Prebish Sample  ^HL Age RangePP30-39 xx$00(,16.1%  8 < @8 8 D 7.3%  ^H pp(( PP40-49 xx$00(,31.1%  8 < @8 8 D39.0%  ^H pp(( PP50-59 xx$00(,30.2%  8 < @8 8 D24.4%  ^H> pp(( PP60 & Over00(,22.6%  8 < @8 8 D29.3% Extrapolating backward, we can determine that Buddhological scholars appear to earn their doctorate around an average age of 35. The majority of the respondents in my study earned their doctorates at the following universities:  ^H"  University of Wisconsin00(10  ^H  Harvard University xx$00(10  ^Hn  University of Chicagoxx$00( 8  ^H  University of Virginiaxx$00( 7  ^H  Yale University xx$00( 6  ^H`  Columbia Universityxx$00( 5  ^H  Temple University xx$00( 5  ^H  University of California,00( 4 Berkeley  ^H  Princeton University xx$00( 3  ^H  Northwestern University00( 3 In the Buddhist Studies sample, 44.9% of those responding taught in various public institutions, while 55.1% were employed by private institutions. The vast majority of my sample (65.8%) taught in Departments of Religion/Religious Studies. Another 6.6% taught in Asian Languages and Literatures Departments, with 3.9% teaching in East Asian Languages and Cultures Departments and an equal percentage teaching in Religious Studies Programs. Regarding rank, in the Buddhist Studies sample, 36.0% hold the rank of Full Professor, 31.4% hold the rank of Associate Professor, and 22.1% hold the rank of Assistant Professor. The remainder of the sample holds a variety of positions including Lecturer, Adjunct Professor, Dean, Acting Dean, and Retired (Emeritus). In terms of area of specialization, 37.0% of the sample reported Japan/East Asia. 29.6% reported India/South Asia, while 23.5% reported Tibet/Inner Asia. Other areas cited include China/East Asia (6.2%) and Korea/East Asia (2.5%). In the overall sample, 47 individuals listed Sanskrit among their professional languages, 40 cited Japanese, 31 cited Chinese, 30 cited Pali, and 26 cited Tibetan, with multiple citations, of course, the norm. With regard to membership in Professional and Learned Societies, Hart's study produced surprising results considering the nature of his sample. Of the seven most populated professional organizations, four had traditionally Asian Studies constituencies: The Association for Asian Studies (2nd, 22%), American Oriental Society (4th, 17%), International Association of Buddhist Studies (6th, 8%), and Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (6th, 8%). The American Academyz bb of Religion topped the list with 67%, Society of Biblical Literature was third with 19%, and the American Historical Association was fifth with 14%. In the Buddhist Studies sample, a wide variety of Professional Societies was noted, with eleven gleaning statistically meaningful responses:  ^H> American Academy of Religion0X X 4  8 < @8 8 D75.9%``P(66)  ^H Association for Asian Studies,0X X 4  8 < @8 8 D57.5%``P(50)  ^H International Association of Buddhist Studies8 8 D43.7%``P(38)  ^H0  Society for BuddhistChristian Studies  8 < @8 8 D19.5%``P(17)  ^H  Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy8 8 D17.2%``P(15)  ^H|  American Oriental Society00(,0X X 4  8 < @8 8 D16.1%``P(14)  ^H"  Society for the Study of Japanese Religions @8 8 D10.3%``P (9)  ^H  Society for the Study of Chinese Religions < @8 8 D 8.0% L``P (7)  ^Hn  Tibet SocietyPP xx$00(,0X X 4  8 < @8 8 D 8.0% L``P (7)  ^H  Pali Text Society xx$00(,0X X 4  8 < @8 8 D 6.9% L``P (6)  ^H  International Society of Shin Buddhist Studies8 8 D 6.9% L``P (6) As expected most respondents had reported multiple memberships. In the four most heavily subscribed societies, the Buddhist Studies sample reported significant administrative positions as well. In the American Academy of Religion, twelve individuals served as Unit Chair or Unit CoChair, twentyfour respondents served on various Unit Steering Committees, and one member served on the AAR Board of Directors. In the Association for Asian Studies, the sample produced one officer, one member of the Board of Directors, two Committee Chairs, and two Committee members. In the International Association of Buddhist Studies, the sample yielded three officers and five members of the Board of Directors. Finally, in the Society for BuddhistChristian Studies, there were two officers and five members of the Board of Directors. The sample has shown a remarkably high level of activity in presenting scholarly papers at the annual meetings of these professional societies. For reporting purposes, I have delineated two distinct types of professional paper. In the first category, I have included papers presented at international meetings and papers presented at the annual meeting of a professional society. In the second category, I have included all other professional presentations, especially represented by regional meetings of professional societies and thematic conferences sponsored by various institutions (even though some of these attracted a national audience). In the former category, the Buddhist Studies sample presented an average of 7.0 papers, while in the latter category, they presented 12.8 papers. Thus the average respondent has made 19.8 professional presentations during the expanse of his or her academic career. The Buddhist Studies sample presented a high degree of success in grant acquisition. No less than 57 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities were reported. 35 Fulbright/FulbrightHays grants were also noted. In the National Defense Education Act, Title VI Program, 31 grants were awarded. In decreasing order, respondents reported 14 grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, 13 grants from the Japan Foundation, 11 grants from thez bb American Institute of Indian Studies, 10 from the Social Science Research Council, 8 Ford Foundation grants, 6 Mellon Faculty Fellowships in the Humanities, and a number of others from the Danforth Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and the like, as well as literally hundreds of grants internally administered by the respondents' host institutions. Just as the Buddhist Studies sample presented success in grant acquisition, it also demonstrated a high degree of accomplishment in securing editorial positions with leading journals and presses. No less than eight individuals reported  _H editorial positions with BuddhistChristian Studies, six with Pacific World, five with  _H} the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, four with Religious  _H$ Studies Review, four with Buddhist Text Information/Buddhist Research Information,  _H three with the Journal of Religious Ethics, and two each with the Journal of the  _Hr American Academy of Religion, Journal of Buddhist Philosophy, and History of Religions. Other editorial positions were reported in no less than twentytwo other journals,  _H ranging from Philosophy East and West to the Journal of the Pali Text Society. Five respondents have served on the editorial board of the University of Hawaii Press and two on the editorial board of the University of California Press. Other editorial board citations are numerous, including, for example, Asian Humanities Press and the State University of New York Press. Additionally, fourteen individuals have functioned as Series Editor for various publication ventures by these major presses. Although it has never been altogether clear precisely how to report publication data, Hart's study utilizes three categories: (1) Books, (2) Articles, Essays, Chapters, and (3) Book Reviews. For these categories, he reports publication rates for the immediately past five year period. The categories are at once somewhat problematic in that Hart's delineation does not distinguish between refereed and nonrefereed publications, a distinction that virtually all colleges and universities are necessarily, if ungraciously, requiring. Equally, Hart makes no distinction between books authored and books edited, another distinction that is part of the politically correct protocol of the American system of higher education evaluation. Nonetheless, Hart's sample yield's the following result:  ^H BooksPP xx$00(1.1  ^H Articles, Essays, Chapters00(7.6  ^H^ Book ReviewsPP xx$00(5.6. In the immediately past five year period, the Buddhist Studies sample reports:  ^H BooksPP xx$00(,0 1.6  ^H Articles, Essays, Chapters00(,0 7.6  ^HB Book ReviewsPP xx$00(,0 2.5. In an attempt to be more responsive to the exigencies of the system in which we labor, I have sought to redefine Hart's categories somewhat in favor of presenting more meaningful statistics. In so doing, I have separated the book category into two categories: (a) books authored/coauthored and (b) books edited/coedited. bb I have also separated Hart's articles, essays, chapters category into (a) refereed articles and chapters (taking the bold stand, not shared in all university evaluations, that chapters are indeed refereed, often bringing to bear a higher standard than many refereed journals) and (b) other publications (essentially including essays, encyclopedia articles, dictionary articles, and the like). In so doing, I can thus present:  ^H Books Authored/Coauthored0 1.0  ^H0 Books Edited/Coedited00(,0 0.6  8(Total8 8 D 1.6)  ^H| Refereed Articles and Chapters0 5.2  ^H" Other Publications xx$00(,0 2.4  8(Total8 8 D 7.6)  ^Hn Book ReviewsPP xx$00(,0 2.5  8(Total8 8 D 2.5). Hart's study presents no career publication data, a statistic which may well be more revealing than his five year information. I, however, have collected career figures which are instrumental in evaluating professional productivity. In my schema, the following career results can be reported:  ^H Books Authored/Coauthored0 2.4  ^H Books Edited/Coedited00(,0 1.7  8(Total8 8 D 4.1)  ^H Refereed Articles and Chapters016.8  ^H Other Publications xx$00(,0 7.9  8(Total8 8 D24.7)  ^H Book ReviewsPP xx$00(,012.7  8(Total8 8 D12.7). In working with the Buddhist Studies sample, it was also possible to delineate and rank those scholarly journals and book publishers most often utilized as publication avenues for Buddhist Studies. The ranked list of journals includes, in order:  _Hf  1. Philosophy East and West  _H   2. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies  _H  3. History of Religions  _H[  4. The Eastern Buddhist (tie)  _H  4. Journal of BuddhistChristian Studies (tie)  _H  6. Journal of Chinese Philosophy (tie)  _HP  6. Journal of the American Oriental Society (tie)  _H  6. Journal of the American Academy of Religion (tie)  _H  9. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies  _HE  10. Pacific World  _H  11. Cahiers d'Extr+meOrient (tie)  _H  11. Tibet Journal (tie)  _H:  11. Monumenta Nipponica (tie)  _H  14. Journal of Asian Studies (tie)  _H  14. Numen (tie). bbԌThe ranked list of university presses includes, in order: 1. University of Hawaii Press 2. State University of New York Press 3. Princeton University Press 4. Cambridge University Press (tie) 4. Oxford University Press (tie) 6. Pennsylvania State University Press (tie) 6. University of Chicago Press (tie). The ranked list of other, commercial publishers includes, in order: 1. Snow Lion 2. Wisdom Publications 3. Asian Humanities Press (tie) 3. Motilal Banarsidass (tie) 5. Harper & Row (tie) 5. Shambhala (tie). While Ray Hart concludes that the data forming the basis for his generalizations "cannot be reported in a form that is statistically meaningful" (p. 763), I would argue that the data is nevertheless meaningful in evaluating the productivity of those scholars in the discipline of Buddhist Studies, and in demonstrating how the field defines itself. In this regard, the narrative statements submitted by many individuals have provided additional shape to the raw data collected. If there is any one consistent and abiding sentiment that emerges from the prose comments offered by various respondents in this study, it would be an overwhelming reaction against the "pressures of accountability and competitiveness" that are dominating the humanities in general and comparatively smaller departments of religion. This does not mean to say that Buddhist Studies as an academic discipline is not without its own reflective critique. One scholar suggested that "I find the Buddhist Studies academic world, with some notable exceptions, alienating and disaffecting (these two words chosen for all their reverberating qualities), and I do not really identify with it, although I am certainly a constituent element." In terms of major emphases, two shifts were repeatedly cited. The first, rather obvious I think, reflects the number of colleagues who have come to the study of Buddhism, and hence to academe, as a result of their "strong personal commitment" to Buddhism as a religious tradition. For many, this has created a tension between scholarship and religious commitment, between Buddhology and personal faith. The second shift is a movement away from Buddhist texts and philosophy (the Buddhist "theology" which some of us have been unaffectionately accused of propagating) to an investigation of Buddhism's contextual relationship with culture. Along with this latter shift is a renewed interest in Buddhist social institutions in the wider perspective of Buddhism as a genuinely world religion. In light of these two shifts, we are faced with ongoing methodological questions, ones that must be resolved if we are to avoid the assessment of one respondent that "My perceptionz bb is that most Buddhologists would prefer to ignore the problems raised by culture criticism and remain a hermetically sealed and rather elitist discipline."  _H [ CHARLES S. PREBISH is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at  _H? Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of Buddhist Monastic Discipline,  _H American Buddhism, Historical Dictionary of Buddhism, and A Survey of Vinaya  _H Literature (forthcoming).] Editor's note: Dr. Prebish has announced his intention to continue collecting data for the study described above. If you would like to assist in this project, please send a copy of your uptodate vitaes to him. His primary interest is in North American scholars in Buddhist Studies, but he will also collect data from European and Asian Buddhologists as well. Dr. Charles S. Prebish Pennsylvania State University EMail: csp1@psuvm.psu.edu Religious Studies Program Voice Mail: 814/865-1121 108 Weaver Building Fax: 814/863-7840 University Park, Pa 16802   yrdddy  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#` /{8} ARTICLE#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   ydddyM  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#` 'EXPLORING NEW APPROACHES: ` "THE BARRE CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES  SC\ #TDX  Pg9CI^P#3` +by Andrew Olendzki #NX  Pg9C{P# How many ways are there to...how do I put it? Study Buddhism? Understand the  _H Dharma? Train in the sasana? Explore the Buddhist tradition? Follow the path? Engage in Buddhist Studies? Inquire into the nature of reality? You see the problem already. There are a lot of ways of going about doing whateveryoucallit, and what you call it makes a significant difference to what you actually wind up doing. The word "Buddhism" itself, as we are all no doubt aware, is a modern word. It is an abstract noun created in English to situate a vast range of phenomena in a Western tradition of intellectual inquiry. "Study," too, has a specific meaning in the Western academic community. It refers to a special kind of focused investigation that tends to take place in classrooms, offices, studies and libraries, the fruits of which are shared and communicated in books, papers, articles, lectures and conferences. To "study Buddhism," then, is a uniquely modern and bb Western enterprise, one that takes as its object, for the most part, something ancient and Eastern. All this, of course, is something quite alien to the 2500 year Buddhist tradition  _H itself. The teaching of the Buddha was generally referred to as the dharma or  _H? dhamma, and the closest ancient word we can find to denote the larger movement  _H set off by this teaching is the sasana, the "religion" or "dispensation" or "tradition"  _H founded by the Buddha. Training in the sasana seems always to have entailed a good deal of "study," at least to the extent that a fairly large and complex curriculum needs to be addressed, memorized, crossreferenced and investigated. This is especially true for the monks and nuns, who not only had to know the 227 rules of the monastic order, but who presumably also were expected to have mastered a prodigious amount of doctrinal material. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path were only the beginning. Between aggregates and elements, body parts and other objects of meditation, powers and absorptions and perfections, and on and on there was a lot to learn. Even layfollowers had a few things to keep track of besides the precepts. School children in Sri Lanka  _H today, for example, still learn the Dhammapada by heart. How divergent are the traditional monastic and the Western academic ways of going about training or study? At first glance, they can seem quite similar in some of their more doctrinal inquiries. Both, for example, have a strong interest in the texts and their interpretation. A sound knowledge of the canonical languages primarily Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese and of the vast literatures composed in these languages, is a shared area of concentration. Beyond this, however, the two approaches appear to go significantly separate ways. For traditional Buddhists, the texts, treatises and commentaries are only a part of something much greater. The whole point to the teaching, and presumably of its study, is to bring about freedom from suffering for oneself and others to achieve liberation. Study can be a very useful tool for dispelling delusions, for inducing right view, and for augmenting wisdom. But it is only one of several tools, the others including such things as the practice of meditation, morality, renunciation and service. Study in isolation of practice, or study that is not itself a form of practice, is limited and many Buddhists would say a somewhat shallow and limited pursuit. The Western scholar of Buddhism, I think, would also agree that textual study is only a piece of a much larger picture, but quite a different picture. The study of Buddhism does include a strong component of trying to decipher what the Buddha and his followers through the centuries taught, but it also goes far beyond this to include whole realms of the human situation covered by such disciplines as history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, archaeology, mythology, art, architecture, and many, many others. All of these can be brought to bear on the Buddhist tradition, but do not inherently emerge from it. The Western academic tradition, from its Greek origins, Renaissance rejuvenation and astounding proliferation in the 19th and 20th centuries, is essentially a study of mankind and the human condition. From this perspective, the study of Buddhism bb is both worthwhile in itself, insofar as it is an exercise in fathoming a unique human world view, and valuable to the much larger endeavor of providing data for the disciplines. But the academic study of any religion comes with its own special dangers. A common view is that for the study to be truly academic it must at least suspend belief and possibly even disbelieve statements of religious truth. Otherwise, it stands to lose the precious (though perhaps imaginary) perspective of objectivity. When disciplined intellectual activity is put into the service of the converted, the argument goes, then we have not the study of religion but the practice of religion. For many academics, maintaining a clear distinction between study and practice is crucial. So here we come to a fundamental divergence. For the Buddhist, study should be a form of practice if it is to be at all worthwhile; while for the academic, if study crosses over into practice it becomes greatly diminished in value. But how clear is this distinction? Must the two approaches remain forever at odds? There are a few places in the world that are trying to find a new approach to the subject, one that draws upon the strengths of each perspective and attempts to bring them a bit closer together. Whether or not this can be done remains to be seen. I for one am quite optimistic. As a product of the academy, with a degree in Religious Studies and a specialization in Buddhism, I am basically very sympathetic of the larger ideal of studying the human situation by drawing on a number of disciplines and maintaining some academic "objectivity." As the current director of the Insight  _H Meditation Society and a practitioner of vipassana meditation, I have also come to appreciate the indispensability of meditation as a tool for Buddhist Studies. And yet I don't find myself fitting easily or fully into either camp I sometimes find much of what is written in Buddhism scholarship to be limited, somehow missing the point, and yet also have a lot of trouble describing myself to anyone as "Buddhist." Perhaps that is why I feel so comfortable at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. A relatively new institution, the Study Center (as it is informally called) has emerged from the Insight Meditation Society and still stays closely associated with this wellestablished meditation retreat center. Yet its mission extends well beyond either just the preservation and propagation of Theravada Buddhism or the purely academic study of Buddhism. The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is trying to form a meaningful bridge between study and practice, between the communities of scholars and meditators, between the ancient orthodox tradition and the modern spirit of critical inquiry. There is a whole generation today of brilliant scholars who have more than dabbled in the practice of meditation without losing their critical faculties. There is also a growing corps of experienced practitioners who have an eager appetite for learning more about the tradition that has helped bring so much generosity,{ bb compassion and wisdom to their lives. The Study Center is for both these groups of people, and for many others who are in the forefront of changing paradigms that no longer fit into inherited dichotomies. From long time meditators who are forming study sessions to meet the interests of their sitting groups, to therapists and professional caregivers who use meditation to help their patients out of various difficulties, to college professors who more and more are including meditation practice as part of their courses in religion or psychology, to monks  _H who have been Westerneducated or who have left the sangha and are trying to  _H1 find new ways of serving the dhamma in lay life the list goes on and on. Many people today, like myself, are more interested in learning about the moon than the finger pointing it out, and yet are not so bound by tradition to shy away from asking awkward questions or trying out bold new perspectives. The ancient Buddhist tradition brings to its subject a deep respect and an appreciation of its profundity and transformative significance that is often overlooked by some scholars. The modern academic tradition brings an attitude of critical examination and comparative perspective that is often lacking in the more orthodox monastic approaches. The encounter of these two ways of doing whateveryoucallit in Barre is exciting and alive with possibilities. What I find so exciting is that we do not really know what we are doing. There is no set plan, no particular way that we expect things to go. It is all a great experiment, one that relies on the creative participation of practitioners and scholars alike. If you have ideas, or if you have any interest in helping us explore this interface between study and practice, then please give us a call or stop by for a visit.  _H* [ ANDREW OLENDZKI holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Lancaster. He has served as Executive Director of the Insight Meditation Society since 1989, and as Executive Director of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies for the past year.]   ydddy  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#` /{9} ARTICLE#NX  Pg9C{P#MЃ   y7dddyM  jM #XX  Pg9C}P#` THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION ANNUAL MEETING: 1993 ` ,A Summary Report  SC} #TDX  Pg9CI^P#1` *by Charles S. Prebish #NX  Pg9C{P# A variety of scholarly, professional organizations exist in North America that include the study of Buddhism as an integral part of their mission. However, in recent years, none has been more instrumental in offering a forum for Buddhist Studies as the American Academy of Religion.Q bbԌEach year the American Academy of Religion holds a joint annual meeting with the Society of Biblical Literature. It has grown to become one of the largest professional meetings in the United States, with attendance often exceeding 5,000. This year's meeting, in Washington, D.C., was no exception. The Buddhism "Section" of AAR is one of fourteen units so named. A "Section" is the largest Program Unit, followed in decreasing order (of size) by "Groups," "Seminars," and "Consultations." The history of the Buddhism Section is rather exemplary of the growth of interest in Buddhist Studies in the United States over the last fifteen years. Originally constituted as the "Indian Buddhism Consultation" by Arvind Sharma in the late 1970's, in 1981 the unit was elevated to "Group" status with George Bond of Northwestern University and Charles Prebish of Penn State University as CoChairs. This status elevation allowed the unit to present two yearly panels devoted to Buddhism. In 1986, at the culmination of its five year term, the unit was again upgraded to its current status as "Section" with Collett Cox of the University of Washington and Leslie Kawamura of the University of Calgary as Co Chairs. This new status allowed for five yearly panels on Buddhism at the annual meeting. In 1991, the unit was renewed for another five year term under its current CoChairs: Jan Nattier of Indiana University and John McRae of Cornell University. What follows is a listing of all activities related to the study of Buddhism at this year's annual meeting. I have first listed all panels sponsored solely by the Buddhism Section. Then, panels jointly sponsored by the Buddhism Section and another unit are listed. Following the joint panels, I have listed other panels devoted to topics of Buddhist interest, and finally, individual papers devoted to Buddhism. Additionally, the Society for BuddhistChristian Studies held two panels and a Business Meeting, there was a tour on the Arts of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam at the Freer Gallery, and there was a Buddhism Section Reception sponsored by the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley. Finally, there was an incredible diversity of things Buddhist at AAR. The quality of papers was outstanding, and the directions taken at the Section's annual Business Meeting encouraging in view of the diversity of opinions expressed as well as the willingness to work together for the cooperative advancement of the discipline. =========================================================== f` (BUDDHISM SECTION PANELS =========================================================== BUDDHISM SECTION PANEL NUMBER 1  _H  John Makransky, Boston College, Presiding Theme: The Rebirth Doctrine and Buddhist Practice in Asia =========================================================== "Rebirth and the Sense of Community in Thai Buddhism"  _H  Charles Hallisey, Harvard University | bbԌWe get a misleading impression of the role of the doctrine of rebirth in Buddhist cultures if we limit our considerations only to questions about the continuity of individuals over time. In this paper, I will show how the doctrine of rebirth has contributed to the social morality found traditionally among Thai Buddhists. The paper has two parts. First, I look at the role that the doctrine of rebirth plays in Theravadin cosmological thinking, and how these traditional cosmologies defined and justified the structures of Thai society. Second, the paper looks at the way that concepts and rituals connected with rebirth stand in a relation of reciprocity with various "nonBuddhist" concepts and rituals associated with the spirit cults of Thailand. These patterns of structural complementarity between Buddhist and nonBuddhist rituals allow us to see how the doctrine of rebirth has played an integral role in maintaining the complex and stable systems of social ethics found in Theravadin societies. "Rebirth and Justice: Medieval Japanese Views and Their Continuing Societal Impact"  _H  William R. LaFleur, University of Pennsylvania The relatively few references to trajectories of rebirth in contemporary Japan belies the importance of this concept in the medieval period. My paper will cite specific uses of rebirth narrative in the medieval epoch to argue that this period, one of great importance for Japanese thinking about society and politics even today, was deeply impacted by this notion. I will focus on how the rebirth concept functioned in public discourse about justice with results that appear to have been both positive and negative. Narratives about the rebirth of rulers publicly justified their rule even when by other criteria they might have been rejected. The large role of this concept meant that competing views, especially the Chinese notions about "the mandate of heaven" (as articulated by Mencius) were gradually excluded. The nexus between this and the long tradition of "conservative" that nonrevolutionary shape of sociopolitical thinking in Japan deserves close examination and, perhaps, some basic rethinking about a variety of things. "New Bodies for the Ancestors: Rebirth and the Practice of Medieval Chinese Buddhism"  _H  Stephen F. Teiser, Princeton University It has long been recognized that the influx of Buddhism occasioned many changes in the Chinese understanding of the afterlife. This paper examines one particular problem in the assimilation of Indian ideas of rebirth in the Chinese context, namely, how the notion of rebirth in the six paths was joined to preBuddhist ideas of existence after death. The paper focuses on one of the most widespread practices of Chinese religion, death ritual and memorialization. It utilizes a wide variety of texts, both canonical and noncanonical, including liturgies and other texts related to ritual, vernacular literature, apologetic writings, and essays by middlebrow monks.| bbԌ "Rebirth in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism"  _HL  Taitetsu Unno, Smith College In Japanese Buddhism the notion of rebirth has been understood on two levels: literal and symbolic. The literal focuses on the material dimension and the symbolic on its transformational powers (not to be confused with the metaphorical or psychological). The latter may be classified into three categories. First, the general worldview summed up in a popular saying, "Even the brushing of sleeves is due to connections in past lives," suggesting that no human encounter should be treated lightly and in fact should be cherished. Second, the working of Great Compassion which embraces the timeless past and timeless future. Third, the understanding of rebirth as empirical reality but devoid of ontological status, the Pure Land being symbolic of both liberation from the cycle of rebirths and the source of salvific power for those carrying this infinite burden. =========================================================== BUDDHISM SECTION PANEL NUMBER 2  _H  Janet Gyatso, Amherst College, Presiding Theme: Topics in Buddhist Studies =========================================================== "'Social Engagement' in Buddhist Ethics: Heritage or Heresy?"  _H  Christopher S. Queen, Harvard University In the context of the Western presentation of Buddhism as "a specifically unpolitical ad antipolitical status religion" (Max Weber) which harbors a "deep distrust of physicalaction good will and social service" in its quest for solitary enlightenment (Winston King), the essay examines the debate over Buddhist political action and social service which accompanied the publication of Walpola  _Hw Rahula's The Heritage of the Bhikkhu in 1946. Beginning with the words "Buddhism is based on service to others," Rahula presented a highly original account of Buddhist social teachings and monastic practice from the time of the Buddha to his own era of postindependence Sri Lanka. Following a discussion of the rise of Western scholarly interest in Buddhist ethics and the concomitant rise of Buddhist social activism in the Theravada countries of South and Southeast Asia, we evaluate the reception of Rahula's work as a political tract, as an historical reconstruction, and as a manifesto for Buddhist "social engagement" today. "Changing Patterns of Authority in Buddhism"  _H@  Paul Kocot Nietupski, John Carroll University This paper describes ancient patterns of Buddhist authority and how they were  _H3 adapted by Gunaprabha, a preeminent Later Gupta Vinaya specialist. ]kyamuni Buddha's enlightenment experience, and his subsequent formulation of rules for personal and social behavior modification provided the basic behavioral bb paradigms for later Buddhists. Gunaprabha acknowledges Buddha's experience as the source for his ideas, and proceeds to formulate rules appropriate for Later Gupta social, religious, political, and economic realities. The process is made clear in Gunaprabha's writings, as discussed in detail in this paper. Further, Gunaprabha's works are recognized as a major source of Buddhist monasticism in Tibet, where the process is repeated. That is, the Tibetans considered Buddha's enlightenment as the primary authority, and adapted their social and monastic structures to accord with Tibetan society, using Gunaprabha's works as guidelines.  _H"  "Buddhist Inscriptions and Images: Yiyi as Patrons in the Longmen Guyang Cave"  _Ho  Stanley K. Abe, Dartmouth College Among the patrons of Chinese Buddhist art under the Northern Wei dynasty  _Hb (386-534) was a type of religious association known as yiyi. This paper will be a  _H discussion of the four earliest image inscriptions dedicated by yiyi at the Longmen cave site just south of the Northern Wei capital of Luoyang. The inscriptions, dated to 502 and 503 C.E., are among a dozen or so of the earliest dedications at the Longmen site, which are all located in the Guyang Cave. The inscriptions and their accompanying images allow us to situate the concurrent activities of  _HH different kinds of yiyi at the Longmen site. In the paper I will compare and  _H contrast the yiyi in terms of their lay or clerical leadership, class composition and  _H religious goals. The evidence indicates that yiyi were organized by members of the elite as well as common classes around a variety of religious, social and political interests. "Padmasambhava and the Hermeneutics of Conversion"  _H{  Richard Kohn, University of California, Berkeley In 775 AD, Padmasambhava cam to Tibet as a guest of King Trisong Detsen. Four years later, Buddhism was proclaimed the state religion of Tibet. Tibetans consider Padmasambhava the father of their tantric Buddhist tradition. Western scholarship, however, has doubted his importance in the early period. One of the functions tradition assigns Padmasambhava is the conversion of Tibet's indigenous deities. A critical examination of ritual texts dedicated to these deities throws new light on Padmasambhava's role. "The Academic Study of Buddhism in America: A Current Analysis"  _HD  Charles S. Prebish, University of Calgary Scholarly studies chronicling the academic investigation of Buddhism by Western researchers are extremely sparse in the literature, the most recent of which was published in 1989. A further complication can be noted in that each of the existing studies lacks a statistical component. This paper reports the findings of an bb extremely preliminary pilot study undertaken in Fall 1992 with the support of th Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion. The data included in the paper is based on the compiled responses to 125 requests distributed to scholars actively engaged in the study of Buddhism. The paper provides not only a look at the demographics of the academic study of Buddhism in America, but also a summary of the voiced concerns of the responding sample with regard to the future of the discipline in its academic setting. =========================================================== BUDDHISM SECTION PANEL NUMBER 3  _H|  Jacqueline I. Stone, Princeton University, Presiding Theme: New Voices in Buddhist Studies =========================================================== "Maranasati: Textual Interpretation and Modern Practice" Mathieu Boisvert, Universit) du Qu)bec ! Montr)al  _H This paper will introduce the discipline of maranasati as one of the many important forms of Buddhist meditation, and will aim at circumscribing its soteriological implications. The first part of the paper will analyze pertinent  _H canonical and postcanonical literature (primarily the Visuddhimagga) in order to  _H help us understand the origins and the prescribed procedure of maranasati. The second and major part of the paper will offer an anthropological account of such practice in modern Sri Lanka. Monks and nuns may attend autopsies in hospitals with the precise intention of contemplating cadavers. After witnessing such an event in Sri Lanka, and having the opportunity to converse extensively with  _H certain maranasati yogis, I will present an objective description of this peculiar  _H practice. I will conclude by establishing a parallel between maranasati and the  _H. more prevalent Theravada meditation practices of aniccasati and vipassan]. "Translation as a Cross Cultural Event: A Look at the Third Century Translator Dharmaraksa"  _Hm  Daniel Boucher, University of Pennsylvania In light of recent, more holistic approaches to translation studies, my paper will examine the translation idiom of one of the most prolific figures in the transmission of Buddhism from India to China. Dharmaraksa, a third century IndoScythian monk from Tunhuang, translated over 150 texts into Chinese over a forty year period. Despite the enormity of his corpus, his translations have largely been ignored, due in large part to the difficulties of his language. It is my contention however that the specific features of his literary style encapsulate the congruences and fissures of a particular juxtaposition of the Indian and Chinese Buddhist worlds. By unlocking such a goldmine of data, we should be able to gain not only a clearer picture of the processes involved in the Chinese consumption of Buddhism, but also a tentative glimpse at contemporary Indian Buddhism centuries before our first Indic manuscripts.  bbԌ "Domestic Help: The Monastic Cult of H]rt in Context"  _HL  Richard S. Cohen, University of Michigan This paper explores the 'domestication' of the fifthcentury Buddhist community at Ajanta through the examination of a particular ritual: the diurnal feeding of the yaksi H]rt. A demoness domesticated in the Dharma's service, a bringer of death who grants life: the conflicting symbolisms that H]rt attracted to herself as a cult object in turn attracted support for the samgha, which, through performing this daily feeding rite, provided immediate boons for the local population in general (warding off disease) and the king in particular (legitimating his rule, since a healthy realm is indexical of a virtuous king). Investigating the mechanisms by which this rite transformed and advanced the social standing of Ajant]'s samgha, I focus upon the significance of this ritual as a response to certain challenges  _H posed by the theory of causation found in Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakoa. "In the Absence of the Buddha: The Authority of the Teacher in the Indo Tibetan Buddhist Traditions"  _HT  David Need, University of Virginia The Buddhist tradition is often characterized as placing considerable value on independent selfcertification of doctrine, thereby evincing a program of free  _H critical inquiry. In particular, the Gelukba (dge lugs pa) tradition in Tibet represents the Buddha as advocating a reasoned, empirical approach to his teaching, one that brooks no authority other than the standard of reasoned proof. This approach to the Buddhist Doctrine downplays or conceals the considerable role authority and tradition have had in the authorization of interpretations of Buddha's word. In this paper, I will discuss (1) evidence pointing to the early and  _H ever growing importance of the teacher as a source of authoritative instruction within the disparate Buddhist communities in India, and (2) th specific case of the Gelukba tradition where the advocacy of reasoned inquiry goes handinhand with a tantric ethos in which one is directly enjoined to accept the instructions of one's teacher without question. =========================================================== BUDDHISM SECTION PANEL NUMBER 4  _H  "A Discussion of M. David Eckel's To See the Buddha: A Philosopher's Quest for the  _H  Meaning of Emptiness"  _HQ  Collett Cox, University of Washington, Presiding ===========================================================  _HD M. David Eckel's To See the Buddha (Harper San Francisco, 1992) is a study and annotated translation of a section discussing the nature of the Buddha from  _H Bh]vaviveka's Madhyamakahrdayak]rik] (3.266360, with autocommentary, the  _H8 Tarkajv]l]). In addition, this book offers "an attempt to revision the Buddha through the eyes of a classical Indian philosopher," that is, "to see again what it meant for an Indian intellectual...to gaze on the figure of the Buddha and examine  bb its meaning." The author argues that we must not simply follow Bhavaviveka's analysis but also be attentive to his use of metaphor, irony, an narrative device, as integral parts of his vision of Buddhism. This "revisioning" work, in which Eckel questions many traditional assumptions and disciplinary boundaries, will be the subject of a panel discussion by scholars from different fields of Buddhist Studies. =========================================================== BUDDHISM SECTION PANEL NUMBER 5 "Teaching Zen in the University Classroom: Major Approaches"  _H|  Miriam Levering, University of Tennessee, Presiding =========================================================== This panel, in terms of the academic teaching of religion, consists of specialists with distinct expertise in such major approaches to the study of Ch'an and Zen, as art and literature, biography and text, conceptual expression, monastic existence, and practice as soteriology. Each participant has applied such expertise to create a unique university course. Panel members will have exchanged, carefully examined, and reacted to these course materials in advance, to present a wideranging discussion for a broad audience that covers the important ways to teach Ch'an and Zen in various classroom situations. All panel members' course materials will be made available o disk, and using the "handson" classroom experience of panel members, such issues as goals, themes, formats, models, student assignments, bibliographies, approaches, viability, etc., will be examined. =========================================================== JOINT PANEL WITH THE CHINESE RELIGIONS GROUP  _H)  Stanley Weinstein, Yale University, Presiding Theme: Living Words: Scriptural Transformation and Meaning in Tiantai =========================================================== "The Tiantai Vision: Reclamation and Reorientation in Siming Zhili (960-1028)"  _Hh  Daniel Getz, Bradley University In the history of the Tiantai school Siming Zhili (Chihli; 960-1028) stands as one of the three great formulators of the tradition. Together with Zhanran (Chanjan) he was responsible for rearticulating and clarifying what he believed to be the original and unique Tiantai vision as proposed by the school's founder Zhiyi (Chihi). Zhili was further responsible for thoroughly incorporating Pure Land Buddhism into the Tiantai system of thought and practice. In this paper I propose to explore how these two themes, of Zhili insistence on the unique nature of Tiantai doctrine and his identification of Pure Land practice with Tiantai  _H teaching, are dealt with in one of his most important works, the Miaozong chao  _H (his subcommentary on the Guanjing shu, putatively composed by Zhiyi). These themes will be discussed within the context of the issue of authority as determined through the complex relationship between personal vision and sacred text.! bbԌ "Making and Remaking Tradition: Chanjan and the T'ang T'ient'ai Agenda"  _HL  Linda Penkower, University of Pittsburgh The classification of the teachings schemes (p'anchiao) and the doctrinal issue of who, and ultimately, what, possesses Buddhanature are arguably the two greatest contributions to the signification of Buddhism. In the case of T'iant'ai, these two concerns first came together in the writings of Chanjan (711-782) who broke a near two hundred year literary silence to produce the first major commentaries on Chihi (538-597), and who stands as the spokesperson for T'ang T'ient'ai. As a product of a general atmosphere dominated by sectarian polemics, Chanjan employed these two issues in tandem to redefine and reinterpret T'ient'ai structure and content. This paper explores the nature and function of textual authority and seeks to define the balance between tradition and innovation grounded in contemporary dialogue. It focuses upon Chanjan's introduction to the idea of Buddhanature of the insentient as an example of using, ignoring and/or redefining scripture in the service of new ideas, and the importance of language in promoting these ideas. "Ritual Text, Tradition, and Performance in Sung T'ient'ai"  _H  Daniel B. Stevenson, University of Kansas The four forms of samadhi were central practices within the exhaustive ritual and meditative literature produced by the T'ient'ai founders, Huissu (515-577) and Chihi (528-597). While the four samadhis endured as a defining practice within T'ient'ai, their ritual and literary paradigms were adapted to accommodate any number of new forms of devotion. This paper will consider the issue of paradigm and authority in the ritual tradition of the four samadhis. First T'ient'ai ritual will be examined to see the conventions it establishes, and the way in which these conventions inform the continuing production of ritual texts through later periods. Second, the function of ritual texts of the four samadhis (and other meditative literature) will be explored within the context of T'ient'ai monastic life to see how these texts were configured into ritual performances, which texts were used, and their role in shaping the rhetoric of T'ient'ai religious practice and experience. "Say What!? Chihi's Use (and Abuse) of Scripture"  _HL  Paul Swanson, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nagoya, Japan The doctrinal treatises of Chihi, the founder of the T'ient'ai Buddhist tradition, rely heavily of the argumentative device of prooftexts. There are many passages, however, that seem misrepresentations of the original source. These passages suggest a number of problems. Which texts does Chihi rely on most frequently, and why? If these texts seem to be misquoted, can this be attributed to deliberate misrepresentation? If so, what is the significance of the passage, and what does" bb this imply? What broader implications can be drawn concerning the question of authority and the role of scripture in East Asian Buddhism?  _HL  My paper examines specific passages from Fa hua hsGan i and Mo ho chih kuan and attempts to reach some conclusions concerning Chihi's use of scripture and the implications for an understanding of T'ient'ai philosophy. =========================================================== JOINT PANEL WITH THE JAPANESE RELIGIONS GROUP  _H1  Sallie King, James Madison University, Presiding Theme: "Critical Buddhism" (Hihan Bukky): Issues and Responses to a New Methodological Movement =========================================================== "Critical Buddhism and the Debate Concerning the 75Fascicle and the 12  _H  Fascicle Sh=b=genz= Texts"  _H  Steven Heine, Pennsylvania State University The hallmark of Critical Buddhism has been several farranging and rather controversial conclusions that are aimed at undermining the status quo in East Asian Buddhist orthodoxy and conventional scholarship of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The aim of this paper is to examine the view of Critical Buddhism in  _H relation to Dogen's Sh=b=genz= text, its perspective on original enlightenment thought, and the contemporary significance of D=gen Zen in light of the way conventional Buddhist scholars interpret these issues and have responded to the Critical Buddhist exponents. The claims of Critical Buddhism that the later, more instructional 12fascicle text rather than the earlier, more philosophical 75fascicle  _H text represents the authentic Sh=b=genz= will be framed and evaluated in a larger context of understanding Buddhist scholasticism and hermeneutics; that is, how the tradition interprets its medieval sources from a foundational standpoint and in terms of distinctively modern concerns. "A Critical Appraisal of Critical Buddhism"  _Hl  Jamie Hubbard, Smith College This paper examines the socially critical aspect of Hakamaya's Critical Buddhism approach. Clearly moving from the descriptive to the prescriptive, Hakamaya is not at all reticent in using his notion of what te truth of Buddhism is as a yardstick by which to judge cultural constructs and their ideological origins. In this regard he has singled out indigenous Japanese ideas and their Buddhist conflations as contributing to social injustice, a process that he sees at work particularly in the development of the idea of "original enlightenment," the  _HC Japanese notion of wa or "harmony," the Kyoto school of philosophy, and the  _H ethnocentrism of the nihonjinron thesis. The aim of my presentation will be to introduce Hakamaya's notion of "Critical Buddhism" in relation to th targets of his critique, and to offer comments (and criticism) about how such a methodology fits into the current discussions of doctrine, the issue of belief vs. practice in# bb Japanese religiosity, and the emerging (largely Western) mode of "engaged Buddhism." "Critical Buddhism: Returning to the Sources"  _H>  Dan Lusthaus, Bates College This paper will outline some of the historical issues involved in the "sinification" process, give a brief overview of the spectrum of concerns of Critical Buddhism, and then discuss comparable developments elsewhere in Asia. The paper consists of three parts: (1) a brief discussion of some of the issues that have been used by East Asian Buddhists to define themselves while examining the extent to which these positions distance them from their Indian roots; (2) a brief overview of the scope of concerns raised by Critical Buddhism including a critique of substrative transcendentalism, a social critique, exhortations to think critically, and an encouragement to rediscover "authentic" Buddhist positions; (3) an examination of comparable developments elsewhere in Asia, particularly recent Taiwanese interest in Tibetan and Early Buddhism as well as some current Indian critiques of neoVedantin ideology that raise many issues in a context that parallel the concerns of Critical Buddhism's view of East Asia. "The Critique of 'Dh]tuV]da' in Critical Buddhism"  _H  Nobuyoshi Yamabe, Yale University This paper analyzes the arguments of Critical Buddhism concerning the  _H problematics of tath]gatagarbha theory. According to Critical Buddhism, authentic  _H Buddhism should be based on the notion of prattyasamutp]da, and  _H, prattyasamutp]da consists of causally linked momentary and insubstantial individual dharmas without any solid basis. But the basic structure of the  _Hy tath]gatagarbha theory, which is shared by Yog]c]ra Buddhism as well, is defined by the Critical Buddhists as "dh]tuv]da." In this dh]tuv]da structure, a  _H universal "locus" (dh]tu) is introduced under the names of tathat], or buddhadh]tu  _Hm (literally "Buddha Nature," but in their opinion dh]tu means "locus," not "nature"), as a substantial basis from which all the dharmas ("superlocus") arise. Although the "dh]tu" is one and the same, the dharmas are manifold, yet the apparently profound universal "locus" in theory serves only to obscure discrimination in actuality. =========================================================== ` -OTHER PANELS: =========================================================== HIMALAYAN AND TIBETAN RELIGIONS CONSULTATION  _H  Todd T. Lewis, College of the Holy Cross, Presiding Theme: Tibetan Cultural Identities =========================================================== "Nomadic Religiosity and the Myth of Legality: Early Tantric Thought,$ bbԌ Narratives of the Past and Cultural Identity in Tibet"  _H  David Germano, University of Virginia  _H While the Great Perfection (rDzogsChen) tradition of Tantric Buddhism has been frequently referred to in 20th century Western scholarship for its supposed nonscholastic bent and rhetorical recourse to the simplicity of contemplative experience, it is in fact characterized by an intricate scholastic tradition little understood in the West, either in its own structure or in its contextualization within Tibetan civilization from the 10th to 14th centuries. This paper will discuss the nature and structure of this immense scholastic literature concerning the Great Perfection, and in particular focus on its religious revalorization of mediated experience in conjunction with its stylistic emphasis on the