Shayne Clarke: "Select Readings in the Bhikṣu-vinayakārikā-kusuma-sraj"

Abstract:

In this seminar/workshop, we will read selections from Viśākha(deva)’s Flower Garland, a poetical composition digesting the enormous Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya into approximately 62 palm-leaf folios, 14 of which were found in 1936 by Rāhula Sāṅkṛtyāyana in Sa skya monastery in Tibet. The complete text is extant only in Tibetan and Chinese. The Chinese translation was made while Yijing was still in Nālandā, suggesting the importance of this Vinaya digest to the monastic tradition known to him. The Tibetan translation was revised by Rong ston, who also composed a commentary on the text. We will pay particular attention to the choices made in digesting elaborate prose narratives into simple verse, the script, metre, and translation choices into Tibetan and Chinese.

Bio:

Shayne Clarke is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University, where he has taught since completing his PhD at UCLA in 2006. Recent publications include Family Matters in Indian Buddhist Monasticisms (2014), Vinaya Texts. Gilgit Manuscripts in the National Archives of India: Facsimile Edition (2014), “The ’Dul bar byed pa (Vinītaka) Case-Law Section of the Mūlasarvāstivādin Uttaragrantha: Sources for Guṇaprabha’s Vinayasūtra and Indian Buddhist Attitudes towards Sex and Sexuality” (2016), and “Lost in Tibet, Found in Bhutan: The Unique Nature of the Mūlasarvāstivādin Law Code for Nuns” (2018)