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Responsable: Gregory Kourilski

Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
20 Borommaratchachonnani Road
Bangkok 10170
Thailand
Tel: +66 2 433 12 68
Fax: +66 2 880 93 32 gregory.kourilsky@efeo.net
efeo@sac.or.th


PRESENTATION
Peter Skilling @ University of California, Berkeley
17 APRIL 14
Between 14th and 18th April 2014, Peter Skilling will participate in seminars on Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana. On April 17th, he will give a lecture "Early Indian Mahayana: Thoughts and Questions" at University of California, Berkeley.

"The evolution of early Mahāyāna is a topic that perennially fascinates, perhaps because there are more questions than answers. The recent publication and ongoing study of newly discovered manuscripts from Gandhāra have already radically transformed our picture of early Mahāyāna. We now have physical evidence for the development of Buddhist practice and metaphysics in the Northwest of the Indian subcontinent from about Buddhist Era 400 or the beginning of the Christian Era. The manuscripts include a Prakrit Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā) and an unknown sutra from Bajaur (Pakistan), as well as fragments of several other Mahāyāna sutras like the Fortunate Aeon (Bhadrakalpika) and the Meditation on the Buddhas of the Present (Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra). In addition, excavations in India in recent decades have uncovered numerous new Buddhist sites, including major stupa complexes like Deorkothar (Rewa, MP), Bhon (Maharashtra), Phanigiri (AP), and Kanaganahalli (Karnataka). These discoveries completely revise the archaeological map of Indian Buddhism. In short, the old theories and the old textbooks are now very much out of date. With this situation - which I term the "revolution in Buddhist Studies" - in mind, I will discuss some of the new finds and their implications for the history of Buddhist thought."


http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/events/

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