COMMON BUDDHIST TEXT:
GUIDANCE AND INSIGHT FROM THE BUDDHA
Chief Editor: Venerable Brahmapundit
Editor: Peter Harvey
Translators: Tamás Agócs, Peter Harvey, Dharmacārī Śraddhāpa, P.D.Premasiri, G.ASomaratne, Venerable Thich Tue Sy
Background to this book, and its contributors
This book is a project of the International Council of Vesak, based at Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya University (MCU), Thailand, Vesak being the Buddhist festival celebrating the birth, enlightenment and final nirvana of the Buddha. The project’s aim is to distribute this book for free around the world, especially in hotels, so as to make widely available the rich resources found in the texts of the main Buddhist traditions relating to fundamental issues facing human beings. Through this, its objectives are to increase awareness among Buddhists of their own rich heritage of religious and ethical thinking as well as to increase understanding among non-Buddhists of the fundamental values and principles of Buddhism. It seeks to strike a balance between what is common to the Buddhist traditions and the diversity of perspectives among them.
The book consists of selected translations from Pāli, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan, using a common terminology in English of key Buddhist terms, and maintaining strict scholarly standards. It is to be published first in English and then into the other official UN languages as well as other languages of Buddhist countries. The Rector of Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya University, Most Venerable Professor Dr. Brahmapundit, is the guiding Chief Editor of the project, president of its advisory board, and MCU has provided the resources needed for the project.
The proposer and co-ordinator of the project is Cand.philol. Egil Lothe, President of the Buddhist Federation of Norway.
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The editor and translators
P.H. Peter Harvey: Professor Emeritus of Buddhist Studies, University of Sunderland, U.K., cofounder of the U.K. Association for Buddhist Studies, editor of Buddhist Studies Review, and author of An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues (Cambridge University Press, 2000) and An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, 2013) – editor of the text, and translator of some passages in The Life of the Historical Buddha and Theravāda sections. Meditation teacher in Samatha Trust tradition. G.A.S. G.A.Somaratne: Assistant Professor, Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Hong Kong, formerly Co-director of the Dhammachai Tipitaka Project (DTP) and Rector of the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA) – main translator of passages in The Life of the Historical Buddha and Theravāda Sangha sections.
P.D.P. P.D.Premasiri: Professor Emeritus of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, Department of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, co-founder of the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy and President of Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy Sri Lanka – main translator of the passages in the Theravāda Dhamma section.
T.T.S. Most Venerable Thich Tue Sy: Professor Emeritus of Buddhist Studies at Van Hanh University, Vietnam – translator of many of the passages in the Mahāyāna sections.
D.S. Dharmacārī Śraddhāpa: Graduate Researcher, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, Norway – co-translator/translator of the passages in the Mahāyāna sections. Member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. He would like to thank Bhikṣuṇī Jianrong, Guttorm Gundersen, and Dr Antonia Ruppel for their invaluable advice and assistance with difficult points in the translation.
T.A. Tamás Agócs: Professor in Tibetan Studies, Dharma Gate Buddhist College, Budapest, Hungary – translator of the passages in the Vajrayāna sections.
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Compiling Committee
Chair: Venerable Dr Khammai Dhammasami, Executive Secretary, International Association of Buddhist Universities; Trustee & Fellow, Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Oxford, Professor, ITBMU, Myanmar.
Cand.philol. Egil Lothe, President of the Buddhist Federation of Norway.
Prof. Dr. Le Mahn That, Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs, Vietnam Buddhist University , Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Ven. Prof. Dr Thich Nhat Tu, Vice Rector, Vietnam Buddhist University, Ho Chi Minh City.
Ven. Prof. Dr Jinwol Lee, Dongguk University, Republic of Korea.
Ven. Prof. Dr Yuanci, Dean of Post-Graduate Studies, Buddhist Academy of China.
Prof. Dr B. Labh, Head of Dept. of Buddhist Studies, University of Jammu. Co-founder and Secretary of the Indian Society for Buddhist Studies.
Prof. Dr D. Phillip Stanley, Naropa University, USA, and Head of the Union Catalogue of Buddhist Texts of the International Association of Buddhist Universities.
Scott Wellenbach, Senior Editor and Translator, Nalanda Translation Committee, Canada.
Ven. Associate Prof. Dr Phra Srigambhirayana (Somjin Sammapanno), Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs of MCU.