Who would laugh about both Christianity and Buddhism, about cancer and the Academia?
Helmut Krasser!
Helmut Krasser!
Mary and the Bat
5 hours ago
Showing posts with label philology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philology. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
Text, performance and “entextualization”
What is a text? Is a text opposed to a performance? Or are performances performances of a text? Is there a rigid opposition between written (i.e., closed, fixed) texts and performances?
Read the rest at my new blog, here.
Read the rest at my new blog, here.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Citations, Citationality and the philosophy of textual re-use
A recent essay by Constantin V. Nakassis focuses on a contemporary reading of the eternal phenomenon of textual re-use. As a passionate reader and interpreter of the history and philosophy of textual re-use, here are my personal highlights I selected from the paper:
Further info on my volume on textual re-use can be read here. For my other projects on this topic, see this post. On textual re-use, follow the links from this post.
- —Nakassis relates citation as a philosophical reality with the Fregean separation of sense and reference: once Frege had opened the door for something different than sheer states of affairs, he also opened the door for decentering and suspending the referent-anchorage of a sign.
- —Nakassis thinks (following Derrida) that there is an interesting parallel between citation acts and illocutionary speech acts (such as "I promise", "I baptize"…). In fact, Nakassis interprets the latter as being a type of acts which simultaneously "cite" themselves as a token of the same type (they "reflexively cite themselves as tokens of particular performative types while effacing that token-type relationship at that very moment", p. 63).
- —textual re-use (my terminology, Nakassis speaks instead only of citations) include two contrasting forces, i.e., iconism and indexicality. In other words, they on the one hand reproduce a previous text (iconism) and on the other they refer to it as something "other" (indexicality). In this way, sameness is marked by difference.
- —citing appropriates a previous text, but not without risk, as testified by taboo linguistic expressions, i.e., words or sentences which do not let themselves be bracketed within a citation. An example (by me), in many European cultures, are curses, which are not allowed even when reporting someone else's sentences (Nakassis mentions the Tamil belief that evoking the word for 'snake' will make it appear, even if one is citing the word in someone else's sentence).
- —citing is a creative act: "[Derrida's] Deconstruction is one such example, a method of critical reading that opens 'the crevice through which the yet unnameable glimmer beyond the closure can be glimpsed' (Derrida 1976, 14), that is, that through citational practice can decenter Western metaphysics and open up new ways of doign philosophy. This creative potential of citation is, as I take it, Derrida's most important point. Citation conjures something new into the world by deconstructin the intelligibility and legibility of the social forms that it reanimates, introducing an alterity through repetition (Derrida 1988a, 40). Citations focalise new qualities, eliciting and entaling them out of what is cited" (p. 71).
Further info on my volume on textual re-use can be read here. For my other projects on this topic, see this post. On textual re-use, follow the links from this post.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Adaptive Reuse in Texts, Ideas and Images
At the 32nd Deutscher Orientalisten Tag (DOT) I will host together with Philipp Maas a panel on devices and significance of reuse in texts and images. After my first project on textual reuse, this second one does no longer focus on the form of textual reuse and no longer restricts itself to philosophical texts. Rather, it focusses on the dialectics of reuse and originality and, thus, it steps beyond the field of śāstra to reach other realms of Sanskrit thought and art.The whole text of the Panel's presentation can be read here.
Further info on my first volume on textual re-use (independent from this project and with a different focus) can be read here. For my other projects on this topic, see this post. On textual re-use, follow the links from this post.
Do you plan to come to the DOT? Have you ever been to one?
Friday, July 26, 2013
How to be an excellent Tibetologist and land in a Marie Curie Fellowship: an Interview with Michela Clemente
I met Michela Clemente because we both studied at the faculty of Oriental Studies at "La Sapienza" in Rome and most of all because we studied together Tibetan at the IsIAO. She wrote her MA thesis on a 17th century religious master, Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen, by translating his life-story, which was an uncommon type of biography and, to her knowledge, the only preserved copy of this text. The inner typology is so far the less-studied and least known among Tibetan biographies. She is thus the first scholar who translated a Tibetan “inner biography” into a European language (for further details on this genre of biographies and on Michela’s work in particular, see Clemente 2008).
Then, she wrote her PhD thesis on lHa btsun Rin chen rnam rgyal (1473-1557) a master who had a leading role in Tibetan printing history. Beside her interest for the contents of the works she has been dealing with, and for the genre of biographies in general, she has also been researching on their form, i.e., on Tibetan xylographies. These are woodblock prints and have been used since the beginning of the 15th Century in Tibet. Against in the case of modern printing with movable characters, the whole page was engraved in wood and then used as a stamp. Michela has been outlining some key elements for a philology of Tibetan xylographies (printing school, colophons, etc.). You can find, e.g., an abstract of her contribution on this topic to the first Coffee Break Conference here; the full article has been published on RSO 2011. She is now in Cambridge with a Marie Curie fellowship.
EF: What is your current project about?
MC: My current project is about Tibetan printings. It is entitled Tibetan Book Evolution and Technology. This is correlated to an international project entitled Transforming Technologies and Buddhist Book Culture: the Introduction of Printing and Digital Text Reproduction in Tibetan Societies, organized by the University of Cambridge (MIASU) in collaboration with the British Library and funded by the British Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which started in 2010 and in which I am involved. My project will study extant early Tibetan prints from the South Western area, where the first printing houses of Tibet were set up, in order to understand the introduction of xylography as a complex process involving technical, economic, political and religious factors. The project will focus on the 15th–early 16th century xylographs from various libraries in the UK (Cambridge University Library, Bodleian Library, British Library, Liverpool Library) as well as other prints from the National Archives of Kathmandu, numerous libraries in Tibet and from the Tucci Tibetan Collection of the IsIAO Library in Rome. By focusing on the study of these early prints a great deal of codicological information will be produced. This will be used to supplement the historical information from the texts and provide the starting point for a new method of identification of early prints based on book features. I will examine the texts according to codicological standards and in co-operation with experts from different disciplines thus obtaining the fullest understanding of all aspects of the texts through:
EF: Do you interact with colleagues working on similar topics but with South Asian and/or Western materials?
MC: I am interacting with colleagues at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in Cambridge, who are working on a AHRC project which focuses on Sanskrit Manuscripts preserved at the Cambridge University Library. Within the AHRC project on Tibetan book, we are also organizing a workshop on printing as an agent of change in Tibet and beyond, which will involve experts of Japanese, Chinese and Indian prints as well.
EF: Which topics do you envision as the more urgent priorities in your field of study? What would you recommend as a topic for, e.g., a young graduate student looking for a theme for his/her PhD thesis?
MC: Tibetan culture is plenty of topics to deepen and I can’t say which one has the highest priority. Furthermore, I think that each young student should choose something fascinating to him/her. Passion is what leads a scholar to continue his studies despite difficulties. It is not easy to carry on research, especially in Italy, and especially in this field. There are numerous texts that have not been translated yet and that are now available. There are collaborative projects that are investigating different facets of Tibetan culture. If students who are interested in Tibetan culture would like to contact me, they can write me at this address.
EF: You managed to get a prestigious scholarship. Apart from your expertise on this field, what was the key of this success? What would you recommend to colleagues and readers?
MC: It is necessary to find the right institution which will host you. It must have an experienced and well-trained staff. The credibility of the institution is extremely relevant. The presentation of the project is also really important. The topic of the project must be comprehensible for anybody and it should be presented in a fascinating way. Do not write the application as a scientific article. Try to write as simple as possible. Do not use Tibetan or Sanskrit terms. People that evaluate these applications are researchers of all disciplines and also managers, publicists, and so on. Graphs and charts are appreciated as well as pictures. Take into consideration outreach activities for a wider audience. It is important that the project is useful not only to deepen one or more aspects of your field, but also for the community. Before submitting the application, ask someone who is not a specialist in your field to read it. If it is comprehensible to him/her, then you can submit it. You also need someone who help you with the preparation of the application. Many faculties have people who do this as part of their job. Your curriculum is another important part of the application, especially publications. If you manage to create a collaborative project, it would be something particularly interesting. Try to start the preparation of the application some months before the deadline or you will be forced to do it as a full-time job! Good luck!
EF: More in general, what would you recommend to prospective scholars/younger colleagues?
MC: I would recommend graduate students to publish as soon as possible and as much as possible, to participate in conferences, workshops etc, to interact with colleagues and scholars across the world, to collaborate to any kind of initiative or project of universities, cultural associations and institutions.
Then, she wrote her PhD thesis on lHa btsun Rin chen rnam rgyal (1473-1557) a master who had a leading role in Tibetan printing history. Beside her interest for the contents of the works she has been dealing with, and for the genre of biographies in general, she has also been researching on their form, i.e., on Tibetan xylographies. These are woodblock prints and have been used since the beginning of the 15th Century in Tibet. Against in the case of modern printing with movable characters, the whole page was engraved in wood and then used as a stamp. Michela has been outlining some key elements for a philology of Tibetan xylographies (printing school, colophons, etc.). You can find, e.g., an abstract of her contribution on this topic to the first Coffee Break Conference here; the full article has been published on RSO 2011. She is now in Cambridge with a Marie Curie fellowship.
EF: What is your current project about?
MC: My current project is about Tibetan printings. It is entitled Tibetan Book Evolution and Technology. This is correlated to an international project entitled Transforming Technologies and Buddhist Book Culture: the Introduction of Printing and Digital Text Reproduction in Tibetan Societies, organized by the University of Cambridge (MIASU) in collaboration with the British Library and funded by the British Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which started in 2010 and in which I am involved. My project will study extant early Tibetan prints from the South Western area, where the first printing houses of Tibet were set up, in order to understand the introduction of xylography as a complex process involving technical, economic, political and religious factors. The project will focus on the 15th–early 16th century xylographs from various libraries in the UK (Cambridge University Library, Bodleian Library, British Library, Liverpool Library) as well as other prints from the National Archives of Kathmandu, numerous libraries in Tibet and from the Tucci Tibetan Collection of the IsIAO Library in Rome. By focusing on the study of these early prints a great deal of codicological information will be produced. This will be used to supplement the historical information from the texts and provide the starting point for a new method of identification of early prints based on book features. I will examine the texts according to codicological standards and in co-operation with experts from different disciplines thus obtaining the fullest understanding of all aspects of the texts through:
- 1) materials analysis [paper, ink, pigments];
- 2) the style of the edition [front page, layout, ductus, orthographic peculiarities, woodcut representations];
- 3) book cover typology (if present);
- 4) the study of the colophon.
EF: Do you interact with colleagues working on similar topics but with South Asian and/or Western materials?
MC: I am interacting with colleagues at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in Cambridge, who are working on a AHRC project which focuses on Sanskrit Manuscripts preserved at the Cambridge University Library. Within the AHRC project on Tibetan book, we are also organizing a workshop on printing as an agent of change in Tibet and beyond, which will involve experts of Japanese, Chinese and Indian prints as well.
EF: Which topics do you envision as the more urgent priorities in your field of study? What would you recommend as a topic for, e.g., a young graduate student looking for a theme for his/her PhD thesis?
MC: Tibetan culture is plenty of topics to deepen and I can’t say which one has the highest priority. Furthermore, I think that each young student should choose something fascinating to him/her. Passion is what leads a scholar to continue his studies despite difficulties. It is not easy to carry on research, especially in Italy, and especially in this field. There are numerous texts that have not been translated yet and that are now available. There are collaborative projects that are investigating different facets of Tibetan culture. If students who are interested in Tibetan culture would like to contact me, they can write me at this address.
EF: You managed to get a prestigious scholarship. Apart from your expertise on this field, what was the key of this success? What would you recommend to colleagues and readers?
MC: It is necessary to find the right institution which will host you. It must have an experienced and well-trained staff. The credibility of the institution is extremely relevant. The presentation of the project is also really important. The topic of the project must be comprehensible for anybody and it should be presented in a fascinating way. Do not write the application as a scientific article. Try to write as simple as possible. Do not use Tibetan or Sanskrit terms. People that evaluate these applications are researchers of all disciplines and also managers, publicists, and so on. Graphs and charts are appreciated as well as pictures. Take into consideration outreach activities for a wider audience. It is important that the project is useful not only to deepen one or more aspects of your field, but also for the community. Before submitting the application, ask someone who is not a specialist in your field to read it. If it is comprehensible to him/her, then you can submit it. You also need someone who help you with the preparation of the application. Many faculties have people who do this as part of their job. Your curriculum is another important part of the application, especially publications. If you manage to create a collaborative project, it would be something particularly interesting. Try to start the preparation of the application some months before the deadline or you will be forced to do it as a full-time job! Good luck!
EF: More in general, what would you recommend to prospective scholars/younger colleagues?
MC: I would recommend graduate students to publish as soon as possible and as much as possible, to participate in conferences, workshops etc, to interact with colleagues and scholars across the world, to collaborate to any kind of initiative or project of universities, cultural associations and institutions.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Last Updates about my volume on quotations
This is the provisional Table of Content of the forthcoming volume on
the analysis of the reuse in Indian philosophical texts. Beside each
title you can find its state of advancement.
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [as usual, I still need to finish my own introduction, but I have a good excuse, since I am linking to the articles]
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College) [ready]
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna) [1st draft]
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo) [ready]
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai) [ready]
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge) [ready]
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [waiting for the author's answers to herself…]
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb) [ready]
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers and for the English revision to be completed]
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE PĀLI COMMENTARIAL LITERATURE
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza") [ready]
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Pāli commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL) [in my hands for a final check]
1.2 BUDDHIST EPISTEMOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY IN TIBETAN
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna) [1st draft]
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW) [ready]
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste) [3rd draft, waiting for the author's answers]
"As it is said in a Sūtra": Liberty and Variation in Tibetan quotations from the Buddhist scriptures, by Ulrike Rösler (Oxford) [ready]
2. RE-USE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS: RE-ADAPTATION TO NEW HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
The verb vijñāyate as a quotation mark from the śruti in the Āśvalāyanaśrautasūtra, by Pietro Chierichetti (Turin) [almost ready, English still needs to be reviewed]
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow) [in my hands for a final check]
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari) [ready]
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.? (I am grateful to Elena Mucciarelli for discussing the topic with me and helping me in assembling the papers in this partly new way).
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [as usual, I still need to finish my own introduction, but I have a good excuse, since I am linking to the articles]
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College) [ready]
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna) [1st draft]
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo) [ready]
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai) [ready]
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge) [ready]
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [waiting for the author's answers to herself…]
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb) [ready]
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers and for the English revision to be completed]
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE PĀLI COMMENTARIAL LITERATURE
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza") [ready]
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Pāli commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL) [in my hands for a final check]
1.2 BUDDHIST EPISTEMOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY IN TIBETAN
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna) [1st draft]
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW) [ready]
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste) [3rd draft, waiting for the author's answers]
"As it is said in a Sūtra": Liberty and Variation in Tibetan quotations from the Buddhist scriptures, by Ulrike Rösler (Oxford) [ready]
2. RE-USE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS: RE-ADAPTATION TO NEW HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
The verb vijñāyate as a quotation mark from the śruti in the Āśvalāyanaśrautasūtra, by Pietro Chierichetti (Turin) [almost ready, English still needs to be reviewed]
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow) [in my hands for a final check]
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari) [ready]
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.? (I am grateful to Elena Mucciarelli for discussing the topic with me and helping me in assembling the papers in this partly new way).
Friday, May 3, 2013
Update on my volume on textual re-use
This is the provisional Table of Content of the forthcoming volume on the analysis of the reuse in Indian philosophical texts. Beside each title you can find its state of advancement.
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [as usual, I still need to finish my own introduction, but I have a good excuse, since I am linking to the articles]
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College) [ready]
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna) [1st draft]
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo) [ready]
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai) [ready]
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [waiting for the author's answers to herself…]
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb) [ready]
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin) [minor things still to be settled, now in my hands]
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE PĀLI COMMENTARIAL LITERATURE
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza") [ready]
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Pāli commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL) [in my hands for a final check]
1.2 BUDDHIST EPISTEMOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY IN TIBETAN
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna) [1st draft]
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW) [ready]
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste) [3rd draft, waiting for the author's answers]
"As it is said in a Sūtra": Liberty and Variation in Tibetan quotations from the Buddhist scriptures, by Ulrike Rösler (Oxford) [1st draft]
2. RE-USE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS: RE-ADAPTATION TO NEW HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen) [almost ready, English is currently being reviewed]
The verb vijñāyate as a quotation mark from the śruti in the Āśvalāyanaśrautasūtra, by Pietro Chierichetti (Turin) [almost ready, English still needs to be reviewed]
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow) [in my hands for a final check]
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin) [2nd draft, waiting for the author's answers]
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari) [almost ready, English is currently being reviewed]
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.? (I am grateful to Elena Mucciarelli for discussing the topic with me and helping me in assembling the papers in this partly new way).
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [as usual, I still need to finish my own introduction, but I have a good excuse, since I am linking to the articles]
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College) [ready]
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna) [1st draft]
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo) [ready]
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai) [ready]
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW) [waiting for the author's answers to herself…]
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb) [ready]
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin) [minor things still to be settled, now in my hands]
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE PĀLI COMMENTARIAL LITERATURE
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza") [ready]
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge) [minor things still to be settled, waiting for the author's answers]
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Pāli commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL) [in my hands for a final check]
1.2 BUDDHIST EPISTEMOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY IN TIBETAN
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna) [1st draft]
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW) [ready]
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste) [3rd draft, waiting for the author's answers]
"As it is said in a Sūtra": Liberty and Variation in Tibetan quotations from the Buddhist scriptures, by Ulrike Rösler (Oxford) [1st draft]
2. RE-USE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS: RE-ADAPTATION TO NEW HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen) [almost ready, English is currently being reviewed]
The verb vijñāyate as a quotation mark from the śruti in the Āśvalāyanaśrautasūtra, by Pietro Chierichetti (Turin) [almost ready, English still needs to be reviewed]
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow) [in my hands for a final check]
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin) [2nd draft, waiting for the author's answers]
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari) [almost ready, English is currently being reviewed]
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.? (I am grateful to Elena Mucciarelli for discussing the topic with me and helping me in assembling the papers in this partly new way).
Monday, April 22, 2013
Jayanta's Nyāyakalikā: a new edition by Kei Kataoka
Apart from his major work, the Nyāyamañjarī, and of a lost Nyāyapallava, Jayanta dedicated to Nyāya also a short handbook, the Nyāyakalikā. This has the main advantage of being a handy and comprehensive summary of Nyāya topics, and often also of the Nyāyamañjarī itself, with which it has frequent parallels. I have used the Nyāyakalikā to make sense of difficult passages in the last chapters of the Nyāyabhāṣya (see here).
However, until now, the Nyāyakalikā has only been once edited by G. Jhā. After this usual pioneer of Nyāya study (and many other fields of Indian philosophy), the Japanese professor Hiroshi Marui has dedicated to the Nyāyakalikā two studies. Now, Kei Kataoka has finished a critical edition of the first part of the Nyāyakalikā. It is published on The Memoirs of Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, No. 163 (2013) and you can find it here.
As usual with Kei Kataoka's editions (about which, see here), this one has the additional value of two apparatuses of parallel passages, one dedicated to the parallels within the Nyāyamañjarī and the other to parallels within Nyāya in general. I especially appreciate this feature, since it collocates the text within its history (and makes sure that the edition does not only rely on stemmatics or similar criteria).
What do you put/like to read in a critical edition? Do you also value secondary witnesses?
For other posts on Kataoka's editions and methodology see, among others, here (on his edition of Nyāyamañjarī on apoha), here (on his usage of commentaries, which might seem slightly unexpected if one thinks of the importance of the apparatus of secondary witness), here (on his translation technique).
However, until now, the Nyāyakalikā has only been once edited by G. Jhā. After this usual pioneer of Nyāya study (and many other fields of Indian philosophy), the Japanese professor Hiroshi Marui has dedicated to the Nyāyakalikā two studies. Now, Kei Kataoka has finished a critical edition of the first part of the Nyāyakalikā. It is published on The Memoirs of Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, No. 163 (2013) and you can find it here.
As usual with Kei Kataoka's editions (about which, see here), this one has the additional value of two apparatuses of parallel passages, one dedicated to the parallels within the Nyāyamañjarī and the other to parallels within Nyāya in general. I especially appreciate this feature, since it collocates the text within its history (and makes sure that the edition does not only rely on stemmatics or similar criteria).
What do you put/like to read in a critical edition? Do you also value secondary witnesses?
For other posts on Kataoka's editions and methodology see, among others, here (on his edition of Nyāyamañjarī on apoha), here (on his usage of commentaries, which might seem slightly unexpected if one thinks of the importance of the apparatus of secondary witness), here (on his translation technique).
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Do you happen to be in Rome? A conference and workshop by Philipp Maas
Thursday the 11th of April is a busy day for Indologists. Apart from the Buddhist Manuscript Seminar in Cambridge, they should be able to be in Rome for a full-day with Dr. Philipp Maas. Philipp has esited the first pāda of the Pātañjala Yogaśāstra (i.e., the text formerly distinguished into Yogasūtra and Yogabhāṣya, but which probably came into being as such). He is also a talented reader of manuscript and has, among other things, written a fundamental article on the application of computer-aided stemmatics to text criticism.
On 11 am he will deliver a lecture Once again on the authorship of the Pātanjala-Yogaśāstra.
Then, at 4 pm he will lead a workshop on text criticism using as an example The classification of yogis and their spiritual progress in Pātanjala Yogaśāstra 3.51 and 2.27. The nice thing about the seminar is that he will present the collation of various manuscripts and discuss about which reading needs to be chosen.
If you manage to attend the lecture/workshop or to know Philipp Maas' work, don't forget to leave your comment here.
On 11 am he will deliver a lecture Once again on the authorship of the Pātanjala-Yogaśāstra.
Then, at 4 pm he will lead a workshop on text criticism using as an example The classification of yogis and their spiritual progress in Pātanjala Yogaśāstra 3.51 and 2.27. The nice thing about the seminar is that he will present the collation of various manuscripts and discuss about which reading needs to be chosen.
If you manage to attend the lecture/workshop or to know Philipp Maas' work, don't forget to leave your comment here.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Sanskrit punctuation and related matters
How to punctuate a Sanskrit text?
If you use an Indian script, such as devanāgarī, you can stick to the conventions of this script.
If you have to transliterate into Roman alphabet, then, these are my rules of thumb:
- 1. You need to distinguish between what is typical of devanāgarī (or other Indian scripts) and what is typical of Sanskrit as a language. Skip the first and keep the second. E.g., writing sambandhaśca instead of sambandhaś ca does not make sense in Roman alphabet (although it makes much sense in devanāgarī, where a beautiful grapheme for श्च is available). By contrast, writing ceti instead of ca iti makes sense, insofar as it corresponds to a feature of Sanskrit as a language, namely the use of sandhi.
- 2. For the same reason, before using daṇḍas in your transliterated text, ask yourself what they should mean. If they indicate a pause, use full stops (and commas, if you like), which have in fact the purpose of indicating a pause in Roman alphabet. There is no point in using a devanāgarī punctuation within a Romanised text. If, by contrast, you are using daṇḍas to indicate a metrical structure, then you could consider using slashes (//) which are commonly used in English (etc.) texts to indicate verses. However, a strong convention among Indologists suggests the use of daṇḍas for indicating verses (| at the end of the first hemistich and || at the end of a verse).
- 3. Remember that Sanskrit texts as we received them usually express through words what we would express through punctuation. This makes the use of additional punctuation redundant. For instance, if a sentence begins with kaḥ, kadā, kutra, kim, etc., there is no need to add a question mark at the end (unless you are preparing a text for beginners, who might need additional help).
- 4. More important: be consistent. Don't use first full stops in verses, then slashes and last daṇḍas.
What are your rules of thumb? Do you transliterate Sanskrit? Do readers expert in Pāli (or other classical Indian languages) have something to add?
On a related topic (translation of Sanskrit texts), see this post.
Friday, March 8, 2013
TOC of my forthcoming volume on reuse of texts in Indian Philosophy: UPDATE
This is the provisional Table of Content of the forthcoming volume on the analysis of the reuse in Indian philosophical texts.
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College)
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna)
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai)
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge)
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb)
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin)
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE BUDDHIST MILIEU: IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC?
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza")
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge)
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Pāli commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL)
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo)
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna)
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW)
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste)
"As it is said in a Sūtra": Liberty and Variation in Tibetan quotations from the Buddhist scriptures, by Ulrike Rösler (Oxford)
2. WIDENING THE PICTURE: RE-USE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or
the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen)
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow)
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin)
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari)
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.?
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College)
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna)
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai)
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge)
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb)
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin)
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE BUDDHIST MILIEU: IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC?
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza")
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge)
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Pāli commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL)
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo)
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna)
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW)
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste)
"As it is said in a Sūtra": Liberty and Variation in Tibetan quotations from the Buddhist scriptures, by Ulrike Rösler (Oxford)
2. WIDENING THE PICTURE: RE-USE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or
the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen)
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow)
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin)
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari)
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.?
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Can we trust our Sanskrit authors when they criticise someone else?
Can we trust the representation of a Sāṅkhya idea found in a Buddhist text? Or of a Cārvāka point of view in a Vedānta one (and so on)?
In favour of the reliability of such representations runs the following argument by Ernst Steinkellner (in his paper of the forthcoming Proceedings volume of the Fragments conference, 2012):
This appears like a sound and cogent argument, however:
This does not mean that Steinkellner's argument does not hold. It probably holds within the context of Steinkellner's article, i.e., within the Pramāṇavāda school and especially as regards Jinendrabuddhi's quotations of Sāṅkhya. But it might need some additions if applied to the whole of Indian Philosophy.
What do you think? Do you have further elements in favour or against it? Instances in favour of its application?
On quotations see, among many others, this post.
In favour of the reliability of such representations runs the following argument by Ernst Steinkellner (in his paper of the forthcoming Proceedings volume of the Fragments conference, 2012):
For the simple reason that citing an opponent's words or meaning incorrectly would be contrary to the very purpose of quoting in the first place. If the educated people were to recognize an error, a distortion, or even an ill intention in a citation or reference, a subsequent refutation would be considered thrashing empty straw and futile.
This appears like a sound and cogent argument, however:
- 1) it only works in case of current debates. I would not trust in a similar way Buddhist objections embedded in a late Mīmāṃsā text at a time when Buddhism had already vanished from India. In such cases, stock objections are repeated and might even be simplified.
- 2) it only works in case of up to date authors. Some authors might have been living at the periphery of the philosophical debate and have missed some of its nuances. This might be the case of Śabara when he addresses the sphoṭa theory if it is true that he lived after Bhartṛhari had developed a more complex version of it.
- 3) it only works where we can presuppose an up to date audience. If an author is addressing an objection only in order to, e.g., keep his fellow believers content with their faith, he might just attack a simpler version of the objection. I have encountered this sort of cases in contemporary Indian philosophy and have no ground for thinking that it has never been the case in Classical philosophy.
- 4) it only works in case of intelligent and honest authors, who have understood the objection in the first place and are not trying an easy way out of a difficult objection. I am not an expert on apoha, but during the apoha workshop in Vienna, Spring 2012, a learned participant was quite convincing in claiming that Jayanta had misrepresented (either on purpose or because he did not understand it) Dharmottara's theory of apoha.
This does not mean that Steinkellner's argument does not hold. It probably holds within the context of Steinkellner's article, i.e., within the Pramāṇavāda school and especially as regards Jinendrabuddhi's quotations of Sāṅkhya. But it might need some additions if applied to the whole of Indian Philosophy.
What do you think? Do you have further elements in favour or against it? Instances in favour of its application?
On quotations see, among many others, this post.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Kiyokazu Okita, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and textual reuse by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
In a recent volume of Religions of South Asia (6.2. 2011, appeared in December 2012), K. Okita focuses on a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava author, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa (c. 1700-1793), who —first in his school— wrote a commentary on the Brahmasūtras. Since the Gauḍīya school was the last one to write a commentary thereon, Baladeva had before him some major predecessors. Okita takes into account the commentaries by Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja and Madhva.
As could be expected, Baladeva often re-uses Madhva's commentary. This is logical, because the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇavism developed out of a branch of Madhva's school and because Baladeva himself used to be a Madhvaite.
Nonetheless, Okita shows how Baladeva also re-uses Rāmānuja's commentary, due to the fact that their schools tend often to converge, notwithstanding their distinct origin.
Furthermore, elements of Śaṅkara's commentary are also reused by Baladeva, especially as prima facie views.
This leads Okita to the development of a threefold scheme for Baladeva's "quotations" (I would prefer "textual reuse"), including:
One notices that this scheme embeds two points of view:
On a different taxonomy of quotations, see this post. On the topic of textual reuse, see this post (among many others). On another article in the same issue of Religions of South Asia, see this post.
As could be expected, Baladeva often re-uses Madhva's commentary. This is logical, because the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇavism developed out of a branch of Madhva's school and because Baladeva himself used to be a Madhvaite.
Nonetheless, Okita shows how Baladeva also re-uses Rāmānuja's commentary, due to the fact that their schools tend often to converge, notwithstanding their distinct origin.
Furthermore, elements of Śaṅkara's commentary are also reused by Baladeva, especially as prima facie views.
This leads Okita to the development of a threefold scheme for Baladeva's "quotations" (I would prefer "textual reuse"), including:
- 1. "when he cites from the śrutis and smṛtis,
- 2. when he quotes a previous Vedāntin in a way which is different from the original author's application;
- 3. when he copies a previous Vedāntin following the original author's use" (p. 209).
One notices that this scheme embeds two points of view:
- A. the type of source (śruti-smṛti vs. a follow Vedāntin)
- B. the kind of reuse (as an objection or in the same spirit as in the original text)
On a different taxonomy of quotations, see this post. On the topic of textual reuse, see this post (among many others). On another article in the same issue of Religions of South Asia, see this post.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Final Balance on my 2012 projects: quotations and textual reuse
Textual reuse in Indian philosophy
Participants: E. Freschi
The
project aims at reconsidering concepts such as "authoritality'',
"originality'', "innovation'', "plagiarism'', through an analysis of the
form of textual reuse within Indian philosophy. This analysis shows how
such concepts need to be re-defined in the Sanskrit koiné and often
also in other contexts, including the Western one. The final goal of the
project is the publication of a volume, edited by E. Freschi,
collecting essays on the reuse of texts, analysing different Indian
philosophical and śāstric traditions.
Retrospect of 2012
(September-December): In December 2012, the participants of the volume
met for a Coffee Break meeting in Rome (21--22 December 2012), where they compared
their results and the methodologies they implemented. Almost all the
papers due for the volume had already been finished before the
conference, and a preliminary agreement for the publication of the
volume as a special issue of the Journal of Indian Philosophy has been
decided.
Any suggestion/subscription concerning the Preview of 2013 are welcome!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Michael Williams on Philology, Tradition and Madhva
It is a pity that one can read book-discussions but only very rarely article-discussions. It is for this reason that from time to time I post my comment on articles I have been reading. This time, I will focus on "Problems and Perspectives in Interpreting the Texts of the Mādhva Tradition", by Michael Williams, in Religions of South Asia 6.2. 2011 [but in fact just released], pp. 191--205.
Williams discusses along the lines of the polemics between Roque Mesquita and Deepak Sarma (and refers also to an article by Olivelle, 1998) about the best approach to Madhva's text.
On the one hand, one might read directly Madhva, on the other, one might rely on Madhva's paramparā. In favour of the "philological" approach, Williams acknowledges the fact that Madhva wrote 37 works and that "themes are repeated, terminology is reused, arguments are elaborated" (p. 195). However, Williams writes, the
As for the historical reconstruction of Madhva's thought, Williams final stance is "compatibilist". But Williams hints also at the possibility of a "philosophical reconstruction", done by a
A last remark: the article is followed by a dense appendix, including nominally an "Extract from the Nyāyāmṛta [by Vyāsatīrtha] with two commentaries", but in fact also Madhusūdana Sarasvatī's Advaita Siddhi's refutation of the Nyāyāmṛta. The text (a discussion about the first definition of mithyātva) is very interesting, but it is offered to the reader without any exegetical tool and displays no connection to the preceding article. It is, for instance, not shown, how philological or traditional learning can co-operate (or supersede each other) in understanding such texts. Thus, a reader is left with the question: Why adding an appendix which cannot be understood and has little link to the text to which it is appended?
What is your balance between traditional learning and "philological" approach?
On Olivelle vs. Böhtlingk, see this post. On Kataoka's use of commentaries, see this post.
Williams discusses along the lines of the polemics between Roque Mesquita and Deepak Sarma (and refers also to an article by Olivelle, 1998) about the best approach to Madhva's text.
On the one hand, one might read directly Madhva, on the other, one might rely on Madhva's paramparā. In favour of the "philological" approach, Williams acknowledges the fact that Madhva wrote 37 works and that "themes are repeated, terminology is reused, arguments are elaborated" (p. 195). However, Williams writes, the
marginalization [of Jayatīrtha and the traditional commentators of Madhva] is apparent, for instance, in Mesquita (2000) and elsewhere in his studies of Madhva's texts. Under this approach, Jayatīrtha's works would still retain their value as independent philosophcail treatises of course, but as far as reconstructing Madhva's thought goes, they would be redundant (p. 197).I do not think that this last adjective is the right one. Rather, as explained for instance in the Introduction to the critical edition of the Śābarabhāṣya in Kataoka 2012, commentaries should be used faute de mieux, and their use should be signalled to the readers.
As for the historical reconstruction of Madhva's thought, Williams final stance is "compatibilist". But Williams hints also at the possibility of a "philosophical reconstruction", done by a
philosopher whose horizons of interest coincide with those of the Indian authors. Such a researcher seeks systematically and critically to reconstruct their arguments with an eye to rendering them intelligible and relevant to modern practitioners of philosophy. […] This approach deals primarily with arguments rather than doctrines (pp. 198--9).In order to make such a mediation possible, Jayatīrtha's work is even more useful, Williams maintains. And, why waste one's time trying to understand the intricacies of Vyāsatīrtha "when traditional scholars already jave an excellent understanding of them and are happy to impart their learning to us" (p. 201)?
A last remark: the article is followed by a dense appendix, including nominally an "Extract from the Nyāyāmṛta [by Vyāsatīrtha] with two commentaries", but in fact also Madhusūdana Sarasvatī's Advaita Siddhi's refutation of the Nyāyāmṛta. The text (a discussion about the first definition of mithyātva) is very interesting, but it is offered to the reader without any exegetical tool and displays no connection to the preceding article. It is, for instance, not shown, how philological or traditional learning can co-operate (or supersede each other) in understanding such texts. Thus, a reader is left with the question: Why adding an appendix which cannot be understood and has little link to the text to which it is appended?
What is your balance between traditional learning and "philological" approach?
On Olivelle vs. Böhtlingk, see this post. On Kataoka's use of commentaries, see this post.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Final Balance on my 2012 projects: Veṅkaṭanātha
The following is the final balance I had to write about my first months (September 2012--end of the year) in the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
On Veṅkaṭanātha, see, e.g., this post.
Sacred Texts’ Epistemology in Veṅkaṭanātha’s Seśvaramīmāṃsā
Participants: E. Freschi
The purpose of the project is the study of the dialectics of the conflicting epistemologies and world-views of Pūrva Mīmāṃsā and Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta as represented in Veṅkaṭanātha's Seśvaramīmāṃsā (SM). How can its author, for instance, be at the same time faithful to the Mīmāṃsā atheism and the Viśiṣṭādvaita devotion for Viṣṇu? How can he harmonise the Mīmāṃsā claim that the Sacred Texts are reliable insofar as they have no author with the Viśiṣṭādvaita one that the Sacred Texts have been authored by Viṣṇu? How can he make sense of the conflict between the Mīmāṃsā idea of permanence of the world and the theistic account of its creation? The project will explore the way in which Veṅkaṭanātha produced a new synthesis of these conflicting claims, by reinterpreting some of them and by organizing hierarchically the others.
For this purpose the text of SM 1 (i.e., the epistemological part of the SM, corresponding to approximately 2/3 of the whole SM) will be translated and its edition improved through an unedited manuscript found at Adyar Library.
Retrospect of 2012 (September-December): During the first four months of the project, the first folia of the Adyar Library manuscript of the SM have been collated and the first third of SM 1 has been translated and analysed on the basis especially of its principal model, a discussion on the unity of the Sacred Texts and their analysis in Rāmānuja's Śrī Bhāṣya. Interestingly, Veṅkaṭanātha follows closely the structure of Rāmānuja's argumentation, but brings to completely new results, i.e., to the inclusion of Pūrva Mīmāṃsā within the Canon of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta.
Preview of 2013: The SM 1 will be completely translated. The comparison with Rāmānuja's text and with other texts by Veṅkaṭanātha, especially the Mīmāṃsāpādukā, will be continued. The collation of the Adyar Library manuscript of the SM will be continued. An article will be written on the topic of the innovations to Rāmānuja's position brought forth by Veṅkaṭanātha and a contribution on this topic will be presented at the DOT in Münster, September 2013. Prof. Lawrence McCrea will be in Vienna for one week in June 2013 for a reading session of the SM together with E. Freschi, M. Rastelli, M. Schmücker. A panel on epistemology will be hosted by E. Freschi (together with M. Cuono and P. Mindus) at the Symposium ''There is no Orient: 4th Coffee Break Conference", Turin, 5--7 September 2013.
Any suggestion concerning the Preview of 2013 are welcome!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
TOC of my forthcoming volume on reuse of texts in Indian Philosophy
This is the provisional Table of Content of the forthcoming volume on the analysis of the reuse in Indian philosophical texts.
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College)
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna)
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai)
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge)
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb)
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin)
Evaluation and classification of intertextual elements in a philosophical Jaina Sanskrit work, by Himal Trikha (Vienna, ÖAW)
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE BUDDHIST MILIEU: IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC?
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza")
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge)
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo)
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna)
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW)
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste)
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Paali commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL)
2. WIDENING THE PICTURE: RE-USE OUTSIDE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or
the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen)
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow)
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin)
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari)
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.?
Preface, by Raffaele Torella
The re-use of texts in Indian Philosophy, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
1. REUSE IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations, References, and the Re-Use of texts in the Early Nyāya Tradition, by Payal Doctor (CUNY-LaGuardia Community College)
Types of quotations as connected to the types of siddhānta in the Nyāyamañjarī 6, by Alessandro Graheli (Vienna)
Quotations of the Kāśikāvṛtti in Grammatical texts and the manuscript transmission of the Kāśikāvṛtti, by Malhar Kulkarni (IIT Mumbai)
Āgamārthānusāribhiḥ. Helārāja’s use of quotations and other referential devices in his commentary on the Vākyapadīya, by Vincenzo Vergiani (Cambridge)
Quotations, References, etc. A glance on a late Mīmāṃsaka's writing habits, by Elisa Freschi (Vienna, ÖAW)
Quotations and (lost) commentaries in Advaita Vedānta: Some philological notes on the 'Fragments' of Bhartr̥prapañca, by Ivan Andrijanić (Zagreb)
“Old is Gold!” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī’s way of referring to earlier textual tradition, by Gianni Pellegrini (Turin)
Evaluation and classification of intertextual elements in a philosophical Jaina Sanskrit work, by Himal Trikha (Vienna, ÖAW)
1.1 SUBFOCUS ON THE BUDDHIST MILIEU: IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC?
The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha. Reflections on the Reuse of Texts In Medieval Singalese Pāli Literature, by Chiara Neri (Rome "Sapienza")
The creative erudition of Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla, a 15th-century grammarian and philosopher from Burma, by Aleix Ruiz-Falqués (Cambridge)
Dharmottara’s Re-Use of Arguments from the Kṣaṇabhaṅgasiddhi in the Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā, by Masamichi Sakai (Cambridge, Massachusetts / Tokyo)
Commenting by quoting. The case of Manorathanandin's Pramāṇavārttikavr̥tti, by Cristina Pecchia (Vienna)
Text re-use in early Tibetan epistemological treatises, by Pascale Hugon (Vienna, ÖAW)
A discussion of some problems related to the Madhyamakaratnapradīpa with particular attention to the quotation from Saraha’s Dohākośagīti, by Krishna Del Toso (Trieste)
The introduction of canonical and non canonical quotations in Paali commentarial literature, by Petra Kieffer-Pülz (Mainz, AWL)
2. WIDENING THE PICTURE: RE-USE OUTSIDE IN NON-PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS
Quotations in Vedic Literature: is the changing of a mantra a stylistic device or
the degeneration of a “beautiful mind?, by Elena Mucciarelli (Tübingen)
To borrow or not to borrow? The case of "vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa" within the scope of Pāñcarātra literature, by Ewa Debicka-Borek (Krakow)
Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas, by Florinda De Simini (Naples/Turin)
Re-use in artistic field: the iconography of Yakṣī, by Cristina Bignami (Cagliari)
Any suggestion concerning the sections' titles, their sequence, their internal organization, etc.?
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