new vision in the research of silk road buddhist art 絲綢之路佛 … · 2015. 7. 3. · p.1 of...

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Tung Lin Kok Yuen Buddhist Art Lecture Series 2015

東蓮覺苑佛教藝術系列講座2015

New Vision in the Research of Silk Road Buddhist Art 絲綢之路佛教藝術研究的新視野

Day 1 - 13

th June, 2015 (Sat) ∣ Venue - Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU - 香港大學黃麗松講堂

Time Topic (Please click on the page no. to view the abstract.) Page

No.

10:00 - 12:00

Envisioning the Buddha: Ideas and Conventions in Making Buddha Images in Early

Indian Buddhism

Professor Juhyung Rhi, Department of Archaeology and Art History, Seoul National

University

P.3

12:00 - 14:00

14:00 - 15:45

Buddhist Art on Site: Context and Purpose

Professor Lewis R. Lancaster, University of California, Berkeley, University of the

West, U.S. P.4

15:45 - 16:15 ~ Coffee break ~

16:15 - 18:00

The Paintings of Ajanta and Early Indian Buddhism

Professor Monika Zin, Institute of Indology and Tibetology, Ludwig Maximilian

University of Munich P.5

18:00 - 19:15

19:15 - 21:00

印度巴弗大塔（I）Bharhut Stūpa in India

(普通話講授 / Conducted in Putonghua)

林保堯教授國立臺北藝術大學名譽教授

P.7

Day 2 - 14th

June, 2015 (Sun) ∣ Venue - Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU - 香港大學黃麗松講堂

Time Topic (Please click on the page no. to view the abstract.) Page

No.

10:00 - 12:00

從宗教到民俗 — 蓮花 · 蓮花化生（化生童子）· 蓮花童子

(粵語講授 / Conducted in Cantonese)

李美賢女士敦煌研究院特別研究員

P.8

12:00 - 14:00

14:00 - 15:45

印度巴弗大塔（II）Bharhut Stūpa in India

(普通話講授 / Conducted in Putonghua)

林保堯教授國立臺北藝術大學名譽教授

P.7

15:45 - 16:15 ~ Coffee break ~

16:15 - 18:00

Reading Dunhuang: Revisiting the basis for iconographic studies

Professor Ho Puay-peng, Professor of the School of Architecture and Honorary

Professor of Fine Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong P.9

18:00 - 19:15

19:15 - 21:00

Sculptures from the Amaravati School, incl. the newly excavated stupa at

Kanaganahalli (Sannati)

Professor Monika Zin, Institute of Indology and Tibetology, Ludwig Maximilian

University of Munich

P.6

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June - August 2015

Venue / Language Time Topic (Please click on the page no. to view the abstract.) Page

No.

Rayson Huang Theatre The University of Hong Kong

Pokfulam

Conducted in English

June 15 (Mon)

19:00 – 21:00

Sanskrit on the Silk Road

– Buddhist paintings in the monasteries of Kucha

Professor Monika Zin, Institute of Indology and

Tibetology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

P.6

香港大學百周年校園

逸夫教學樓 3/F

講堂 3.04

普通話講授

Conducted in Putonghua

6 月 29 日(一)

下午 7-9

近年新疆考古中所見西域佛教文明

王炳華教授中國人民大學國學院特聘教授 P.10

6 月 30 日(二)

下午 7-9

伊斯蘭化進程中的西域佛教

王炳華教授中國人民大學國學院特聘教授 P.10

7 月 4 日(六)

下午 3-5

蓮生兜率、龍華會首 — 敦煌彌勒圖像的淵源與發展

李玉珉教授臺灣大學藝術史學系教授，前台灣國立故

宮博物院書畫處處長

P.11

7 月 5 日(日)

下午 3-5

佛教石窟與教義

李玉珉教授臺灣大學藝術史學系教授，前台灣國立故

宮博物院書畫處處長

P.11

CPD 3.04

3/F

Run Run Shaw Tower Centennial Campus

The University of Hong Kong

Pokfulam


July 8 (Wed)

19:00 – 21:00

Indian Cultural Elements in Dunhuang: A Case Study of

Mural Paintings from Yulin Cave 25

Dr. Tsui Chung-hui (崔中慧博士), Lecturer, Tung Lin

Kok Yuen Fellow in Buddhist Art, Centre of Buddhist

Studies, The University of Hong Kong

P.12

CPD 3.28

3/F

The Jockey Club Tower Centennial Campus

The University of Hong Kong Pokfulam


July 11 (Sat)

15:00 – 17:00

Who Composed the Mahāyāna Scriptures? The

Mahāsāṃghikas and Vaitulya Scriptures

Professor Seishi Karashima, Professor of Sino-Indian

Buddhist Philology, Soka University, Tokyo

P.13

July 12 (Sun)

15:00 – 17:00

On Avalokitasvara (觀音) and Avalokiteśvara (觀世音)

Professor Seishi Karashima, Professor of Sino-Indian

Buddhist Philology, Soka University, Tokyo

P.14

Aug 27 (Thur)

19:00 – 21:00

Women Donors in Buddhist Gandhāra

Professor Mariko Namba Walter, Executive Director,

Association for Central Asian Civilizations and Silk Road

Studies (ACANSRS), U.S.A.

P.15

Aug 28 (Fri)

19:00 – 21:00

Greco-Roman Influences on Afghan Buddhism

Professor Mariko Namba Walter, Executive Director,

Association for Central Asian Civilizations and Silk Road

Studies (ACANSRS), U.S.A.

P.16

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Professor Juhyung Rhi is professor of art history at Seoul

National University. He received a PhD at the University of California,

Berkeley, and has been teaching in Seoul since 1992. A renowned

specialist in Buddhist art, he has written extensively on the traditions

in early India (especially Gandhara and Mathura) and Korea.

Envisioning the Buddha:

Ideas and Conventions in Making Buddha Images in Early Indian

Buddhism

Time: 10 - 12 am on 13 June 2015 (Sat)

Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, HK

Language: English

Needless to say, the Buddha is the most important keyword in Buddhist discourses, practices,

and visual culture. From the earliest time in the history of Buddhism, the Buddha was

worshipped with funerary monuments that contained his corporeal relics and was remembered

through diverse symbols related to great moments in his life. However, the desire to see the

Buddha in human form was felt intense and prompted the creation of the iconic image of the

Buddha around the beginning of the Common Era. The making or dedicating of Buddha

images soon became immensely popular for Indian Buddhists and spread to other parts of the

Buddhist world as a dominant practice. Yet what they were meant to signify or function at the

semantic level in early Indian Buddhism is still obscure. This lecture will explore the question,

focusing on the first several centuries of the Common Era.

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Professor Lewis R. Lancaster had directed the Buddhist Studies

Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley for more than

three decades. Following his retirement from UC Berkeley, he served

as the President of the University of the West in Los Angeles and is

currently a Research Professor there. One of his research interests is to

incorporate digital technology into Buddhist Studies. He has been

constructing an electronic Atlas of Chinese Religions over the past

decades. He is now the Director of the Electronic Cultural Atlas

Initiative (ECAI) at UC Berkeley.

Buddhist Art on Site: Context and Purpose

Time: 2:00 - 3:45 pm on 13 June 2015 (Sat)


Language: English

It is often observed that artifacts in a museum are not only separated from the site of

production, but they are removed from the original use made of them. However, the

re-creation of the context that existed at the moment when an object was crafted is a complex

and uncertain effort. Even when objects remain “on site” and can be viewed in that

environment, there is little remaining of the activities that once centered in that spot. For

those who conduct research on the sites and constructions related to Buddhist culture,

interpretation of mounds, ruins, debris, architectural footprints, shards, inscriptions, and

remains of the materials used, can be as inexact as a descriptive posting beside a museum case

thousands of miles distant from the location. Similar objects scattered over a wide area are

sometimes used to define the boundaries of an “empire” or a cultural pattern. This raises the

question of how wide an area must be in order to provide an accurate example of patterns. Is

there a point at which we “draw the line” and state that beyond these bounds of place and time,

the inclusion of data in our study will have undesirable consequences of being irrelevant?

This search for the “right” spatial size and extent of time is an important element in our study

of context and purpose.

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Professor Monika Zin studied art history, Indology,

dramatics in Cracow and Munich. She wrote her

dissertation on the Sanskrit plays from Trivandrum 1990.

She finished her habilitation in 2000 on the topic of

Ajanta paintings, and teaches since 1994 at the Institute

for Indology in Munich. She is advisor to the Chemical

Department of the ASI; preservation and reconstruction

of the murals of Ajanta are based on her line drawings of

the paintings. She has contributed monographs regarding Ajanta and the Buddhist tales and

representations and articles dealing with the identification of narrative art and Indian drama.

Her current publication project deals with the Narrative Reliefs from Andhra.

Professor Monika Zin - Lecture 1

The Paintings of Ajanta and Early Indian Buddhism

Time: 4:15 - 6:00 pm on 13 June 2015 (Sat)

Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre

The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, HK

Language: English

Literary texts are the only available testament to the

presence of murals in public buildings, richly

decorated palaces as well as dwellings of commoners

in Ancient India. The only paintings that have

survived are in remote rock-cut sanctuaries, for the

most part Buddhist, which was however not the

religion of the ruling elite; these paintings were

therefore not necessarily of the highest artistic order.

Today, a sufficient number of paintings (dated to 1st c.

BCE and 5th

c. CE) survive only at the ancient

monastic site that goes by the name of “Ajanta”, to

give us an insight into the pan-Indian imagery of

protective deities and auspicious symbols,

dexterously woven into a minutely conceived

programme of Buddhist narratives.

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Sculptures from the Amaravati School, incl.

the newly excavated stupa at Kanaganahalli

(Sannati)

Time: 7:15 - 9:00 pm on 14 June 2015 (Sun)

Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre,


Language: English

From the huge area encompassing present-day Andhra

Pradesh in the south-eastern part of the Indian

Subcontinent, not even a single Buddhist text has

survived; however, hundreds of excavated monasteries

are testimony to a flourishing monastic culture

extending over 500 years (2nd

c. BCE – 4th

c. CE).

Excavations are still in progress, revealing stunning

finds like the stupa of Kanaganahalli, decorated with 60 relief slabs uniformly about three

meters high. The narrative reliefs are of immeasurable value since they provide a link between

the illustrated stories and the scriptures extant today. Contrary to expectations, these early

Andhra reliefs are closer to the ‘northern’ Buddhist tradition.


Sanskrit on the Silk Road – Buddhist paintings in the monasteries of Kucha

Time: 7 - 9 pm on 15 June 2015 (Mon)

Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre


Language: English

In the course of the so-called “Turfan Expeditions”

(1902-14), important research on Indian cultural

influences on Central Asia was undertaken by Germany.

This research pertained to Buddhist cave paintings in the

area of Kucha, where not only art objects but even

Sanskrit manuscripts were discovered. After the Cultural

Revolution, research in this area was taken up in China.

However, due to the language barrier, scholarly works in

German were mostly ignored in favour of interpretations

of the paintings based on Chinese sources. There are still

several open questions which can be resolved only in

conjunction with Chinese research, with Indian

(non-Gandharan) tradition also having to be considered.

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林保堯教授日本筑波大學藝術學博士，國立臺

北藝術大學名譽教授，研究領域包括佛教美術史、

佛教圖像學、藝術學與文化課題。每年寒、暑假帶

領研究生至各地石窟遺址進行田調蒐研資料。暑假

前往中國大陸、日、韓等，寒假則往印度、印尼、

寮國、柬埔寨、斯里蘭卡、尼泊爾等地。2010 年起，

與巴黎東方文化遺圵保護聯盟（APPCA)，推動南

亞佛教遺址等的保護與相關學術研討會。

印度巴弗大塔 Bharhut Stūpa in India

地點 : 薄扶林道香港大學黃麗松講堂

講座語言 : 普通話

講座一

日期 : 2015 年 6 月 13 日 (星期六)

時間 : 下午 7:15 - 9:00

講座二

日期 : 2015 年 6 月 14 日 (星期日)

時間 : 下午 2:00 - 3:45

巴弗大塔與山奇（ Sanchi ）大塔、阿瑪拉瓦提

（Amaravati），是馳名印度的三座早期大塔，其中以

紀元前三世紀的巴弗大塔為最早，故是今天探討亞洲

佛教藝術的重要源頭。1871 年康寧漢（A.Cunningham）

初次發現時，已傾倒如廢塔，化成如土堆般，1873 年

展開徹底挖掘，知大塔四周欄楯幾乎已消逝，僅有四

分之一埋沒於土堆中。其後經整理後，搬運於今加爾

各答博物館特展室中。

從康寧漢1879年首出報告知，其圖像內容，以禮拜圖、

本生圖、佛像圖、夜叉及天神等題材為主。其中，不

少珍貴的本生圖，幾乎不見於他處。例如，〈大墜道

本生故事圖〉、〈比豆黎賢者本生圖〉等。

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李美賢老師從事中國文化教育及推廣工作三十多年。研究範圍

包括中國少數民族（民族史與服飾）、佛像藝術、敦煌文化與藝術、

絲綢與刺繡（歷史與賞析）。曾任香港大學專業進修學院之導師

(2000-2010)，現任敦煌研究院特別研究員、中國敦煌石窟保護研究

基金會理事、香港中華文化促進中心之學術顧問(民族文化) 、香

港敦煌之友副主席、香港博物館之專家顧問(中國古代文物)。

從宗教到民俗 — 蓮花 · 蓮花化生(化生童子) · 蓮花童子

日期 : 2015 年 6 月 14 日 (星期日)

時間 : 上午 10:00 – 12:00

地點 : 薄扶林道香港大學黃麗松講堂

講座語言 : 粵語

蓮花與佛教有着密不可分的關係。蓮花作為藝術圖像可追溯到三、四千年前的古埃及; 相

傳太陽神就是在蓮花中誕生的。在一千三百多年前的印度古文獻《梨俱吠陀》中已有蓮

花的記載。公元前二世紀左右的山奇和巴胡特大塔佛教浮雕上也出現許多蓮花圖案。

蓮花，除了代表佛陀誕生外，也被視為印度其他宗教諸神誕生的象徵。佛教傳入中國

後，從蓮花中化生更是往生西方浄土的途徑。在唐代的淨土經變圖中，許多活潑可愛的

化生童子出現，給莊嚴浄土增添了無限趣意。宋代以降至明清，蓮花與童子的結合又衍

生出民俗的「蓮生貴子」等吉祥意義。本講座將探討和介紹在歷史演變中，蓮花與化生、

童子的文化意涵和圖像。

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Professor Ho Puay Peng is currently Professor of the School

of Architecture and Honorary Professor of Fine Art in the

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). His research

interests and major publications are in Chinese architectural

history, vernacular architecture, Buddhist art and architecture,

architectural theory and Chinese art history. Professor Ho is the

Director of the Centre for Architectural Heritage Research

(CAHR). The centre specializes in academic and research work

including conservation and consultancy services for historic

buildings in Hong Kong. Currently, Professor Ho is the Chairman

of Lord Wilson Heritage Trust, Honorary Adviser of Hong Kong Museum of History and

member of Town Planning Board and Antiquities Advisory Board.

Reading Dunhuang: Revisiting the basis for iconographic studies

Time: 4:15 – 6:00 pm on 14 June 2015 (Sun)


Language: English

Dunhuang studies had been the consuming interest for scholars from all fields of Chinese

studies for a good part of a century, and continue unabated today. What more can we say

about the expression of the society through the cave interior and manuscripts that were

discovered at the site? Broadly speaking, the caves at Dunhuang are a vivid manifestation of

the religious, communal and artistic life of the people in both the garrison town as well as

those passing through on the ancient trade route. To restrict the reading of the site materials

either as pure art, Buddhist practices or a reflection of the society at the time would be putting

unnecessary limit to the reading of this vast and extremely significant depository of the

Buddhist establishment in this border town. In this paper, I would like to contextualize the

reading of Dunhuang materials presented through wall paintings, sculpture, silk paintings, and

architectural form, in order to provide a rethink on the materials and postulations of the

iconographic reading of Dunhuang materials. It will focus on the broad image of the society

in development at Dunhuang and more profoundly, uncover the meaning of these materials to

the devotees of the time. I would ask some fundamental questions and attempt to discuss the

evidence available that might result in a more holistic reading of the Buddhist materials at

Dunhuang.

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王炳华教授 1960 年畢業於北京大學歷史學系

考古專業，同年至新疆，致力於新疆考古 40 餘年，

參與並主持多項新疆地區重要考古發掘，對於新疆

古代文明以及新疆佛教文化之興衰有深入觀察與

研究。曾任新疆考古研究所所長、研究員，被評為

新疆有突出貢獻優秀專家。新疆退休後，任中國人

民大學國學院特聘教授丶博士生導師。主要著作有

《吐魯番古代文明》、《烏孫研究》(合著)、《絲

綢之路考古研究》《滄桑樓蘭》等多部專著。

講座一近年新疆考古中所見西域佛教文明

日期 : 2015 年 6 月 29 日 (星期一)

時間 : 下午 7 – 9

地點 : 薄扶林道香港大學百周年校園逸夫教學樓 3/F 講堂 3.04

講座語言 : 普通話近二十年新疆考古，獲见多量佛教遗存。表明自公元二世纪至十世纪间，新疆南部地区

(环塔里木盆地、罗布淖尔荒原、吐鲁番丶哈宻）天山北麓北庭故城等处,佛教文化，已

是居主体地位的观念。所有綠洲居民点，无不是寺院林立，佛幡高懸。从统治上层至芸

芸众生，无不以佛學精神為依归。从佛寺、塑画，可觅見贵霜文化的深重影响。但在发

展途程中，又关注与本地传统文化的结合。以龟兹、高昌为例，就各具特点,也彼此影响。

波斯文化艺术，在龟兹地区也㫫见迹痕。唐王朝统治時段，弥勒信仰大盛，大云寺多见。

佛教信仰紧宻呼应着唐代的政治风云。

講座二伊斯蘭化進程中的西域佛教

日期 : 2015 年 6 月 30 日 (星期二)

時間 : 下午 7 – 9

地點 : 薄扶林道香港大學百周年校園逸夫教學樓 3/F 講堂 3.04

講座語言 : 普通話公元十世纪末丶十一世紀，伊斯兰教進入新疆。直至公元十六世纪,新疆东部哈宻地区伊

斯兰化，西域大地，成为了伊斯兰教佔统治地位的世界。

六百多年时光，这一转化过程中，曾经过十分惨烈的冲突、抗争。

1、佛寺被毁灭：如乌帕尔后山、三仙洞、佛脱勒克，等等。

2、心理受摧残：策勒阿兹寺和、喀什噶里陵、和田王族墓地，等。

3、抗争难止息：如交河地下寺院、沙漠中的苏菲派祭祀点丶佛寺转成伊斯兰玛扎，等。

文明冲突、信仰更替，会存在十分艰难的抗争。这是值得深入分析的文化命题。

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李玉珉教授美國俄亥俄大學博士，前台灣國立故宮博物院書畫處

處長，現兼任臺灣大學藝術史學系教授與敦煌研究院研究員。專門

從事佛教藝術圖像之研究與教育推廣，出版專著有《佛陀形影》、

《中國佛教美術史》、《觀音特展》與 Le Bouddha de Compassion:

Images de Guanyin, Paris: Edition Les Gregoriennes，以及多篇學術論

文等。

講座一蓮生兜率、龍華會首—敦煌彌勒圖像的淵源與發展日期 : 2015 年 7 月 4 日 (星期六)

時間 : 下午 3 – 5

地點 : 薄扶林道香港大學百周年校園

逸夫教學樓 3/F 講堂 3.04


約於西元一世紀，印度便已出現了彌勒造像。

敦煌是絲路上的重鎮，中西交通的重要門戶，

在該地出土的北涼（397-439）寫經上，就

曾發現「將來之世，值遇彌勒」、「捨身彌

勒菩薩前」等字句；莫高窟的北涼窟裡也發現了多尊彌勒造像，直至十一世紀，敦煌仍

有彌勒淨土變的繪製。此講旨在介紹敦煌彌勒圖像的特色、源流以及發展脈絡，一方面

從圖像的解析說明彌勒信仰的要旨；另一方面從敦煌彌勒圖像的源流探討，管窺該地豐

富的中西文化元素。

講座二佛教石窟與教義日期 : 2015 年 7 月 5 日 (星期日)

時間 : 下午 3 – 5

地點 : 薄扶林道香港大學百周年校園

逸夫教學樓 3/F 講堂 3.04


佛教石窟是印度、中亞、中國佛教文化的重要瑰

寶，分佈甚廣，西至印度的德干高原，東至中國

的山東、江蘇都可以發現它的蹤跡。印度阿姜塔石窟第 26 窟、新疆克孜爾石窟第 38 窟

以及中國敦煌莫高窟第 254 窟，都開鑿於五世紀下半葉。三窟的石窟形制相關，開鑿年

代相近，但窟內的圖像安排卻迥然不同，反映了當地不同的佛教信仰內涵。此講將介紹

這三個石窟的圖像內容、配置狀況，並探討這三個石窟設計的思想與教義。

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Dr. TSUI Chunghui (崔中慧博士)

MA(University of London), PhD(University of Hong Kong)

Lecturer, Tung Lin Kok Yuen Fellow in Buddhist Art of the

Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong. Her

research interests include history of Chinese Buddhist Art

(Dunhuang & Silk Road), Buddhist manuscripts from Dunhuang

and Turfan, Chinese Art & Archaeology and Chinese Calligraphy.

Indian Cultural Elements in Dunhuang :

A Case Study of Mural Paintings from Yulin Cave 25

Time: 7 - 9 pm on 8 July 2015 (Wed)

Venue: CPD 3.04, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong

CPD 2.58, 2/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong

Language: English

One of the best Tang dynasty’s large mural paintings on the north wall of Yulin cave 25 near

Dunhuang is a depiction of Maitreya paradise. Modern scholars declare that the mural is a

jingbian transformation of the sutra “Buddha Pronounces the Sūtra of Maitreya

Bodhisattva’s Attainment of Buddhahood” which was translated by Kumārajīva in the 5th

century. According to the sūtra, it describes several auspicious features in the Maitreya

paradise, one of them is a farewell custom of families sending elderly people to a mud hut in

the forest for them to meditate for the rest of their lives. It is illustrated in one of the scenes in

the mural painting of Yulin cave 25. This is a very unique farewell-retreat custom depicted in

Dunhuang which is different from the traditional Chinese customs. On the basis of both

literary sources and archaeological findings in India and China, and by comparing various

images of Buddhist artefacts, we traced cultural elements from Indian antecedents. Indian

culture was integrated into the Buddhist culture and influenced Chinese thought.

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Professor Seishi Karashima is Professor of Sino-Indian

Buddhist Philology at The International Research Institute for

Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, Tokyo. 1976-1994 studied

Indology, Buddhist Studies and Sinology at the University of Tokyo

(B.A, and M.A.), Cambridge University, Beijing University (Ph.D.)

and at Freiburg University. Areas of publication and research:

philological studies of early Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, early Chinese

Buddhist translations and early Mahayana Buddhism.

Professor Seishi Karashima - Lecture 1

Who Composed the Mahāyāna Scriptures?––– The Mahāsāṃghikas and

Vaitulya Scriptures Time: 3 - 5 pm on 11 July 2015 (Sat)

Venue: CPD 3.28, 3/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong


Language: English In this paper, I demonstrated that the earlier composers of the so-called Mahāyāna sūtras

had named their texts vevulla / vaitulya / vaipulya (cf. Pāli vedalla), and only later were these

titles changed to mahāyānasūtra. By investigating the earlier Chinese translations as well as the

Chinese Buddhist catalogues, I also demonstrated the transition from vevulla (2nd century C.E.)

to vaitulya (3rd century ~ 616 C.E.), and then to vaipulya (5th century onwards) and finally to mahāyānasūtra (5th century onwards).

I assume that the original form of these variants could have been *vedulla, a Middle

Indic form corresponding to vaitulya (> vetulla > *vedulla), which might mean “not” (vi) “of the same kind”, i.e. “unusual, irregular”. This name *vedulla (Pā. vedalla) was used to

designate “unusual” scriptures consisting of repeated questions and answers between an

inferior and a superior person, such as between Indra and the Buddha or between disciples.

Probably, those who had composed the new scriptures, thought that they were composing

unique texts, whose contents and forms were not found in orthodox scriptures, named these

texts as *vevulla, vaitulya, meaning as “incomparable, peerless”.

The 大方等大集經(*Mahāvaitulya-Mahāsannipāta), which was compiled in 586 C.E, is

apparently a collection of the vaitulya-cum-mahāyāna-scriptures. In this collection, there is

passages which describe the various Buddhist schools, among which the description concerning

the Mahāsāṃghikas is expressed in a positive way, while other schools are described negatively.

We may assume that the composer of this vaitulya-scripture belonged to the school of the

Mahāsāṃghikas.

The close relationship between the Mahāsāṃghikas and the Aṣṭasāhasrikā

prajñāpāramitā, Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, Samādhirājasūtra, Mahāparinirvāṇa mahāsūtra

and Daśabhūmikasūtra have been already pointed out. The close relationship between the

Mahāsāṃghikas and Mahāyāna in Pāṭaliputra is also recorded. Also, Nāgārjuna, Candrakīrti,

Śāntideva and Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna, who quoted Mahāyāna scriptures in their texts, are assumed

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to have been monks of the Mahāsāṃghikas. Vasubandhu, who was a monk of the Sarvāstivāda

school and wrote the Abhidharmakośa, a compendium of its doctrines, but later also wrote

commentaries on some Mahāyāna scriptures, was criticised as “a dropout from the Sarvāstivāda

school” in the Abhidharmadīpa of the same school. I also pointed out none of Mahāyāna

scriptures are referred to in the whole Abhidharma texts, which were composed by the Indian

Sarvāstivādins. Thus, the Sarvāstivādins were originally antagonistic to Mahāyāna Buddhism.

In conclusion, I assume that members of the Mahāsāṃghikas composed new scriptures,

often consisting of questions and answers, thus condemning the conservative thoughts on

Buddhist doctrines, and called these newly-composed texts as vedulla / vaitulya, in the meaning

of their being “irregular” as Buddha’s scripture but “incomparable, peerless”. Later, they came

to be called in a more positive way as vaipulya “full development, abundance, plenty, fullness”. Much later still, they came to be called mahāyāna-sūtra as well. Those who composed, copied,

read, recited, proclaimed these “new scriptures”, did not call themselves “mahāyanists” at the

beginning. They were after all members of the Mahāsāṃghikas and therefore, it is quite natural

that the name mahāyāna does not occur in early Indian inscriptions. Much later on, when the

Mahāyāna scriptures and doctrine became much more popular, members of other schools

acknowledged them and absorbed them as well. Professor Seishi Karashima - Lecture 2

On Avalokitasvara (觀音) and Avalokiteśvara (觀世音) Time: 3 - 5 pm on 12 July 2015 (Sun)



The name of the popular Mahāyāna Bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara, appears as Avalokitasvara

(One Who Surveys Sound?) in the older Sanskrit fragments of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra

from Central Asia, dating probably to the 5th

or 6th

century. In the corresponding portions of the

Gilgit manuscripts, dating probably to the 7th

century, the so-called “Kashagar” manuscript

(actually from Khotan), dating probably to the 8th

century and the Nepalese manuscripts, dating

from the 11th

century onwards, we find the form Avalokiteśvara instead. When we turn to the

Chinese translations of this Bodhisattva’s name, we can, in fact, trace the change from

Avalokitasvara to Avalokiteśvara. I shall examine the history of the interpretations of this

Bodhisattva’s name and attempt to find its original meaning. I shall also introduce my own

interpretation of the famous inscription on the relief of a Gandhāran sculpture, at present in the

collection of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, namely my

response to the question whether the names Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara are referred to in this

inscription or not.

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Professor Mariko Namba Walter is Executive Director of

ACANSRS, Association for Central Asian Civilizations and Silk

Road Studies based in Cambridge (USA) and London (UK) since

2011. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in Inner

Asian and Altaic Studies and postgraduate degree in Social

Anthropology at the University of Kent at Canterbury. She taught

Asian Studies at the University of New England (MA) and Asian

religions at Bucknell University (PA). She co-edited The Silk Road:

Interwoven History, vol.1 Long-distance Trade, Culture, and

Society (2015); Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs,

Practices, and Culture (2005), and Death and the Afterlife in Japanese Buddhism (2008). Her

other publications include “Tokharian Buddhism: Buddhism of Indo-European Centum

Speakers in Chinese Turkestan” (1998) and “Sogdians and Buddhism” (2008) in

Sino-Platonic Papers.

Professor Mariko Namba Walter - Lecture 1

Women Donors in Buddhist Gandhāra Time: 7 - 9 pm on 27 August 2015 (Thur)



Language: English

Women in northwest India and the region currently

called Afghanistan under the Kushān Empire were very

active Buddhist donors according to the Kharosthī donor

inscriptions dated around the first or second century CE.

They owned some properties and financial means in order

to donate a Buddhist statue or lion capitals for a Buddhist

stūpa, for example. These women are daughters, wives,

mothers, elderly nuns [therī], ordained women [samanikī],

Bhiksunī, as well as women disciples of well-known

scholar monks. They are concerned with their family

members, as well as satisfying their own Buddhist

aspirations, and hence donate goods to Buddhist

monasteries and stūpas in order to accumulate merits for

the wellbeing of their family members.

Thus overall impression on women’s position in north

India and Afghanistan is quite positive according to the

inscriptions. Women not only had their own wealth, but

also were actors of their own religious decisions such as for

Buddhist donations. These women’s active participations

in religious acts are very different from the typical negative

views we get from the Brahmanical tradition or early

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Buddhist texts, which often emphasize passiveness, greediness, and evil nature of women.

Instead Kharosthī inscriptions seem to indicate relative gender equality and Buddhist

women’s freedom in religious participation in Gandhāra around second century CE.

Professor Mariko Namba Walter - Lecture 2

Greco-Roman Influences on Afghan Buddhism

Time: 7 - 9 pm on 28 August 2015 (Fri)

Venue: CPD 3.28, 3/F, The Jockey Club Tower,

Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong

CPD 2.58, 2/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial

Campus, The University of Hong Kong

Language: English

Many Greeks settled in Central Asia after Alexander the Great’ s expedition (329-325 BCE)

in the region. One of them, Diodotus, built a Greek Kingdom called Bactria (c. 250-125

BCE) along the both sides of the Oxus River in North Afghanistan. Buddhism in the region

was flourished during the second century under Kanishka, the third emperor of the Kushan

Empire, who inherited Greco-Roman culture from Bactrian Kingdom. Thus there were

definite interactions between Greek culture and Buddhism in Afghanistan.

The most well-known Buddhist site in the region is Hadda, near Jelalabad in south

Afghanistan, which was totally destroyed by the Taliban recently. It is surprising that the

Greco-Roman influences depicted in the Buddhist statues and on the stūpas there seem to be

much stronger than the Buddhist objects/cites found in the North Afghanistan or even those in

Gandhāra proper.

Moreover Buddhist Bactrian documents were recently found in the Samangan region.

Bactrian was a language of the Kushans, which has been widely known throughout the empire,

in Afghanistan, Northern India and Central Asia for over seven centuries from the second

century CE. Bactrian Buddhist documents are only Buddhist documents written in Greek

script in the ancient world. We only have a couple of examples of them dated around the fifth

and eighth centuries CE before and around the time of Islamization.

This paper is to examine the nature of the Buddhism in Afghanistan and delineate the extent

of multi-faceted Greek cultural influences in Afghan Buddhism.

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