McKeown (2018), Śāriputra and the End of Late Indian Buddhism

Arthur McKeown. 2018/6/30. Guardian of a Dying Flame: Śāriputra (c. 1335–1426) and the End of Late Indian Buddhism. Harvard Oriental Series 89. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 450 pp. ISBN 9780674984356. USD 50.00. [official site]

From the Abstract: This study describes later Indian Buddhism through a detailed examination of the life of Śāriputra (c. 1335–1426), the last known abbot of the Bodhgayā Mahāvihāra, whose very presence extends Indian Buddhism by two centuries. This work also provides a view into the legacy of Indian Buddhism in fifteenth-century Nepal, Tibet, and China. Continue reading “McKeown (2018), Śāriputra and the End of Late Indian Buddhism”

Furger (2017), The Gilded Buddha

Alex R. Furger. 2017. The gilded Buddha: The traditional art of the Newar metal casters in Nepal, with a contribution by Ratna Jyoti Shakya. Basel/Frankfurt a. M.: LIBRUM Publishers & Editors. ISBN: 978-3-906897-06-6. DOI:10.19218/3906897066. [official] [PDF 🔓]

Note: This extraordinary book covers almost every conceivable aspect of metalworked image production in the Newar Buddhist community.

Furger 2017:147 Figs. 258 [Bhairava at the entrance to the BhairavnathTemple in Bhaktapur], 259 [Man Jyoti Shakya (1917–1991) in 1973], 260 [Two pages from a sketchbook (ṭhyāsaphu) for metal craftsmen.]

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The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art (2018)

The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art. Auction, 22 March 2018, 10:00 AM EDT, Sotheby’s New York. Sale Number N09800. (Part of Asia Week New York.) [official site] [PDF]

Note: This extraordinary collection contains Nepalese paintings that have received little attention or that are otherwise significant. For instance, Lot 907 (below) is identified as a painted icon of Buddhakapāla (?), which would make it the only one known in Nepal.

Buddhakapāla couple (? supplied identification) with four yoginīs and donors, Nepal, early 19th c., Sotheby’s Sale N09800 Lot 907

AABS seminar series 1 (2018), Sydney

Australian Association of Buddhist Studies seminar series, Semester 1, 2018. Meditation, Mind, and Healing: From India to Tibet and Beyond. Lecture Theatre S325, John Woolley Building, University of Sydney.

1. Trauma and Time: Tibetan Medical Responses to Nepal’s 2015 Earthquakes
Sienna R. Craig
Dartmouth College, USA
Wednesday 7 March, 6:00-7:30pm

2. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism: Mind, Mahāmudrā and the Rhetoric of Immediacy
Jim Rheingans
University of Sydney
Thursday 15 March, 6:00-7:30pm

3. Facts or Fakes? Reconsidering Śāntideva’s Names, Life, and Works
Akira Saito
International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Tokyo
Thursday 22 March, 6:00-7:30pm

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Moronval (2017), Vitalités chez les Néwar bouddhistes

Frédéric Moronval. 2017. Vitalités linguistique et religieuse chez les Néwar bouddhistes de la vallée de Kathmandu. Thèse de doctorat en Sciences du langage – linguistique, Normandie Université. Français. NNT: 2017NORMR055. <tel-01697607> [PDF]

From the English abstract: Newari, the indigenous language of the Kathmandu valley, is considered by the UNESCO as an endangered language, […] why and to which extent both the mother tongue and Buddhism are decreasing among Newars, and what, if any, is the causal relationship linking the evolution of these two cultural features. […] Continue reading “Moronval (2017), Vitalités chez les Néwar bouddhistes”