Maitreyaparipṛcchā: Reading session IV
The Maitreyaparipṛcchā (“Inquiry of Maitreya,”abb. Mp), a chapter of the Mahāratnakūṭa, is a Mahāyāna sūtra that focuses on the future buddha Maitreya and his bodhisattva ideal. While the bodhisattva Maitreya is best known as residing at present in the Tuṣita heaven awaiting his future birth, the Mp rather highlights his past lives and contrasts his bodhisattva path with that of Śākyamuni Buddha. Therefore, it is a unique source for studying the Maitreya cult. The sūtra is extant in four divergent historical translations. These are in Chinese (T. 310, T. 349) and Tibetan (D. 85, Pelliot tibétain 89), and date from between the 4th and 9th centuries CE. Of the sūtra’s original Sanskrit, only a short fragment from one folio has been identified thus far. Based on close reading and textual analysis of all four ancient translations of the Mp, the primary aim of this reading workshop is to produce critical editions of each, as well as a new understanding of the textual relationship among the existing versions. This will be accompanied by scholarly annotated English translations. Together, these textual studies are expected to yield a more precise and nuanced understanding of the composition, growth, and diffusion of this Buddhist text.
Reading session III
Guest researcher: Prof. Saerji (Peking University)
Primary objectives: (1) to compare Pelliot tibetain 89 (ca. 9th cent.) with its Chinese source T. 310 (8th cent.), to shed light to the value of the Dunhuang Tibetan version as a significant witness to the Chinese version; (2) to compare the canonical (D. 85) and the Dunhuang (Pelliot tibétain 89) Tibetan versions, to illuminate their distinct translation principles and different choices of translation terms; (3) to compare the variant readings of over 20 recensions of the Tibetan canonical version (D. 85), and decide the best readings.
Schedule
Tuesday, 01.10.2024
| 13:30–15:00 | Session 1 |
| Coffee break | |
| 15:20–16:20 | Session 2 |
Wednesday, 02.10.2024
| 9:30–10:30 | Session 3 |
| Coffee break | |
| 11:00–12:00 | Session 4 |
| Lunch break | |
| 13:45–15:00 | Session 5 |
| Coffee break | |
| 15:20–16:00 | Session 6 |
Thursday, 03.10.2024
| 9:30–10:30 | Session 7 |
| Coffee break | |
| 11:00–12:00 | Session 8 |
| Lunch break | |
| 13:45–15:00 | Session 9 |
| Coffee break | |
| 15:20–16:00 | Session 10 |
| 17:00–19:00 | Lecture |
| Project dinner |
Friday, 04.10.2024
| 9:30–10:30 | Session 11 |
| Coffee break | |
| 11:00–12:00 | Session 12 |
| Lunch break | |
| 13:30–15:00 | Session 13 |
This workshop is sponsored by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), project ESP 125.