1990 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Philological Studies of Gandavyuhasutra
| Project/Area Number |
01510011
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
印度哲学(含仏教学)
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| Research Institution | Hiroshima University |
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Principal Investigator |
KATSURA Shoryu Hiroshima University Faculty of Letters Professor, 文学部, 教授 (50097903)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1989 – 1990
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| Keywords | Avataimsaka / Gandavyuha |
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| Research Abstract |
The aim of this research project is to try to produce a truly critical edition of one of the most important Buddhist Mahayana scripture, Gandavyuha-sutra. As a preliminary work, I have put both Sanskrit and Tibetn version of the text into a word processing program. I have compared them with the three available Chinese translations of the text. Then I translated most portions of the text into Japanese. On the basis of these works, I intend to re-edit the whole text, which still needs more time and efforts to complete. In the meantime, I would like to point out a few things as a result of my research projects.
(1) The three Chinese translations differ greatly from the present sanskrit version. Although they present a clear understanding of the text, we are often in doubt as to whether it is correct or not. The succeeding Chinese translations seem to have consulted the preceding ones very well, adopting whatever they agreed and correcting whatever they did not. The latest translation by Prajna corresponds best with the Sanskrit version, yet it sometimes interpolates a long passage which is not found either in Sanskrit or Tibetan Version.
(2) Unlike Tibetan translations of the other Buddhist texts, the Tibetan version presents a lot of missing words especially in the case of a long compound word, characteristic to Gaddavyu4ha. Still it gives a lot of good suggestions when we re-edit the Sanskrit text.
(3) In the future, I would like to grasp such difficult words as samavasarana in the whole context of the text and to understand them correctly in the development of Mahayana Buddhist thought.
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