Research Article

Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony

Volume: 2 Number: 2 December 31, 2020
TR EN

Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony

Abstract

Bilingual texts in Old Uyghur and Sanskrit in Brāhmī script are essential for the understanding of how the Indian Buddhist tradition came to be appropriated by the Uyghurs in general, but especially during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE). Some manuscripts represent Vinaya related materials which are missing altogether in monolingual Old Uyghur texts. The article introduces a bilingual fragment (Sanskrit and Old Uyghur) in Uyghur script housed in the Turfan Collection in Berlin which belongs to the Karmavācanā literature and deals with the pravāraṇā ceremony. This monastic ritual was celebrated after the annual retreat of three months during the rainy season (Skt. varṣā). In the Sanskrit part the fragment corresponds well with the Sanskrit Karmavācanā literature from Central Asia, whereas the Uyghur instructions on the recto are quite unique.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Göttingen)

Thanks

I would like to thank the following two institutions for giving me the permission to publish the fragment discussed below: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung. Hans Nugteren, Hirotoshi Ogihara, and Peter Zieme have read a draft of the article. I would like to express my thanks for their remarks and suggestions.

References

  1. Broomhead, J. W. 1962: A Textual Edition of the British Hoernle, Stein and Weber Kuchean Manuscripts. With Transliteration, Translation, Grammatical Commentary and Vocabulary. 2 volumes. PhD Diss. Trinity College, Cambridge.
  2. Ching Chao-jung 2016: “On the Names of Cereals in Tocharian B”. In: Tocharian and Indo-European Studies 17, 29–64.
  3. Chung, Jin-Il (1998): Die Pravāraṇā in den kanonischen Vinaya-Texten der Mūlasarvāstivādin und der Sarvāstivādin. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht (Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden; Beiheft 7).
  4. Clarke, Shayne (2015): “Vinaya”. In: Jonathan A. Silk (ed.), Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Vol. 1. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 60–87.
  5. Clauson, Sir Gerard (1972): An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-Century Turkish. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  6. Couvreur, Walter 1957: Review of Härtel 1956. In: Indo-Iranian Journal 1/4, 315–317.
  7. Härtel, Herbert (1956): Karmavācanā: Formulare für den Gebrauch im buddhistischen Gemeindeleben aus ostturkestanischen Sanskrit-Handschriften. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag (Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden III).
  8. Hartmann, Jens-Uwe / Klaus Wille / Peter Zieme (1996): “Indrasenas Beichte”. In: Berliner Indologische Studien 9/10, 203–216.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Language Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Publication Date

December 31, 2020

Submission Date

November 29, 2020

Acceptance Date

December 21, 2020

Published in Issue

Year 2020 Volume: 2 Number: 2

APA
Wilkens, J. (2020). Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony. International Journal of Old Uyghur Studies, 2(2), 137-152. https://doi.org/10.46614/ijous.833152
AMA
1.Wilkens J. Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony. IJOUS. 2020;2(2):137-152. doi:10.46614/ijous.833152
Chicago
Wilkens, Jens. 2020. “Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony”. International Journal of Old Uyghur Studies 2 (2): 137-52. https://doi.org/10.46614/ijous.833152.
EndNote
Wilkens J (December 1, 2020) Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony. International Journal of Old Uyghur Studies 2 2 137–152.
IEEE
[1]J. Wilkens, “Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony”, IJOUS, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 137–152, Dec. 2020, doi: 10.46614/ijous.833152.
ISNAD
Wilkens, Jens. “Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony”. International Journal of Old Uyghur Studies 2/2 (December 1, 2020): 137-152. https://doi.org/10.46614/ijous.833152.
JAMA
1.Wilkens J. Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony. IJOUS. 2020;2:137–152.
MLA
Wilkens, Jens. “Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony”. International Journal of Old Uyghur Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, Dec. 2020, pp. 137-52, doi:10.46614/ijous.833152.
Vancouver
1.Jens Wilkens. Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony. IJOUS. 2020 Dec. 1;2(2):137-52. doi:10.46614/ijous.833152

Cited By

Uluslararası Eski Uygurca Çalışmaları