The twenty-fifth chapter of Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-sūtra (Lotus sūtra) was extremely popular among Buddhist devotees in Central and East Asia and was often published as a separate text. Dunhuang and Khara-khoto textual corpuses contain a significant amount of this text in
Sinitic and Tangut languages. The comparative analysis of bilingual versions of the sūtra suggests that they were closely related but were not a simple word-by-word translation. The
Spring 2022 course “Reading the Tangut Avalokiteśvara-sūtra” is a seminar that focuses on two aspects: acquisition of Tangut reading skills (such as identification of Tangut graphs, typical vocabulary, basic grammar structures) and understanding of Tangut Buddhism. No knowledge of
Tangut (as well Literary Sinitic and Classical Tibetan) is required but would be helpful.
The course starts on 11.03.2022 and will be held online (Zoom) every Friday at 16:00- 17:30 (CET). All the materials will be distributed by the instructor.
The Zoom link is: Join Zoom Meeting https://upenn.zoom.us/j/91512000870?pwd=Slk5RXdsbzdCYVJKbStHUGM0RFA4Zz09
Meeting ID: 915 1200 0870
Passcode: 007517
The time of the first meeting: 11.03.2021 (Friday) at 07:00 (PST) / 10:00 (EST) / 16:00 (CET) / 23:00 (CST).