The HCBSS currently supports four ongoing research projects:
Buddhist Manuscript Project
This project fosters international collaboration and understanding of the different Buddhist manuscript finds worldwide by regularly hosting workshops and conferences. One of the project's first goals was to publish a state-of-the-field survey of recent research on Buddhist manuscripts; to this end, the HCBSS held a major conference at Stanford in June of 2009. Papers from this conference are published in Paul Harrison and Jens-Uwe Hartmann, eds., From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research; Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field, Stanford, June 15–19 2009; Beiträge zur Kultur-und Geistesgeschichte Asiens, 80; Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse, 460. Vienna: Österreichische Academie der Wissenschaften, 2014.
Ongoing activities include continuing HCBSS support for the Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection project, and occasionally hosting editorial meetings and working sessions.
More recently, the HCBSS has begun to support an international project devoted to a new collection of Gāndhārī manuscripts which are believed to date from the first century BCE to the second century CE, putting them amongst the oldest known Indian manuscripts. The project is led by Mark Allon of the University of Sydney, Australia, and Richard Salomon of the University of Washington, Seattle. The collection contains various types of texts, including early discourses of the Buddha, among them a Gāndhārī version of the work known in Pāli as the Aṭṭhakavagga, considered to be one of the oldest Buddhist texts in existence. The collection also contains previously unknown Gāndhārī versions of Mahāyāna sūtras, such as the Samādhirājasūtra and the Pratyutpannabuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhisūtra, both currently being studied by international teams of scholars, including HCBSS Co-Director Paul Harrison. Part of the research involves radiocarbon dating of the birch bark on which the texts are written in order to more securely date this material. The HCBSS provides funding to assist this scientific testing.
Kamalaśīla’s Vajracchedikāṭīkā Project
This project is led by ed by Professors Paul Harrison (Stanford University) and Birgit Kellner (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna), designed to bring together an international group of scholars working on Kamalaśīla’s Vajracchedikāṭīkā and related texts. The first workshop of the project was held at Stanford during Winter 2024 and the second workshop will be held during summer 2025 in Vienna.
Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra Project
This project will provide a varied set of opportunities for scholars to explore the texts, teachings, and history, of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra. The first workshop of the project was held at Stanford during summer 2008. A second workshop took place at Munich in summer 2010.
Sōtō Zen Text Project
The website for this project has been closed by the Soto Zen Text Project (SZTP).
The SZTP translation of the Shōbōgenzō 正法眼藏, entitled Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō (8 volumes), was published in March 2023 by the Soto Administrative Headquarters, Tokyo. For further information, contact the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center at: info [at] stotozen.com (info[at]stotozen[dot]com).
The SZTP translation of the Denkōroku 傳光録, entitled Record of the Transmission of Illumination (2 volumes), published 2021, is available from the University of Hawai'i Press.
For information on the SZTP translations of the Sōtōshū gyōji kihan 曹洞宗行事規範, entitled Standard Observances of the Soto Zen School, and Sōtōshū nikka gongyō seiten 曹洞宗日課勤行聖典, entitled Soto School Scriptures for Daily Services and Practice, contact the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center at: info [at] sotozen.com (info[at]stotozen[dot]com).
Please do not direct inquiries to The Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford.
