Bibliotheca Buddhica ( Buddhist Library ) is a multi-volume series of translated and original Buddhist texts, founded in 1897 by academician S. F. Oldenburg in St. Petersburg at the Russian Academy of Sciences [1] . Since its foundation, 40 volumes in more than one hundred issues have been published. Until now, it remains one of the most respected publications among the Buddhists of the world [2] .
Content
- 1 History
- 2 See also
- 3 notes
- 4 References
History
The multi-volume series project was developed by academician S.F. Oldenburg and adopted by the Academy of Sciences . The project involved the scientific publication of texts in Sanskrit , Chinese , Tibetan and Mongolian ; from the very beginning it was planned as international. The largest Russian Orientalists F. I. Shcherbatskaya , V. V. Radlov , B. Ya. Vladimirtsov , S. E. Malov , O. O. Rosenberg , A. A. Stal-Holstein , E. E. took part in its implementation . Obermiller and others. Outstanding Western scholars S. Bendall worked with them on the project , S. Levy , L. Fino , L. de la Vale-Poussin , H. Kern and A. Grunwedel , as well as such major Buddhists of Japan as Nanjo Bunyu and Ogihara Unrai [3] [4] .
The publication “Bibliotheca Buddhica” began with the publication of the Cikshasamuccaya monument of Buddhist literature ( Russian Shikshasamuccia ), which was prepared by the English orientalist Cecil Bendall at the request of Oldenburg. In a letter to Oldenburg, Bendall wrote: "I can only express my gratitude to the outstanding Academy, which has done so much for the exploration of the East, for the honor it has shown me by choosing me the publisher of the first volume." Subsequently, a series of volumes of the series were prepared by Oldenburg himself [5] .
The first issue of the series was immediately praised by the scientific community. So, positive reviews already in 1898 were published in the journals of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society "," Journal des savants "and" The Indian Antiquary ”, And the Paris Congress of Orientalists expressed gratitude to the Academy of Sciences for a useful publication [6] .
From 1897 to 1937, a total of thirty volumes of the series were published in more than 100 issues. The editor of the publication was S. F. Oldenburg, about the style of work of which F. I. Scherbatskaya wrote in this capacity: “not a single sheet came out without his careful and sometimes even picky proof-reading” [3] .
In connection with the repressions among Soviet Orientalists, the publication of books in the series was suspended [7] , although by the time the publication was suspended, another 14 volumes were prepared (mainly by a Tibetologist A. I. Vostrikov ) [2] . The last one released before the cessation of the publication of the series was XXX volume, in which in 1936 F. I. Shcherbatskaya published the work “Madhyanta-vibhanga” [8] .
The publication of Madhyanta Vibhanga became the reason for sharp attacks both on F. I. Shcherbatsky personally and on the series as a whole. Some colleagues of F. I. Shcherbatsky at the Institute of Oriental Studies also joined the campaign. So A. A. Petrov and Ya. B. Radul-Zatulovsky in their review of the series “Bibliotheca Buddhica” stated that [9] :
The first is the continuation of the publication of the Buddhist Library series in its present form, it is politically harmful. Serve Buddhists with theological texts, and bourgeois science Kantian - Machian revelations ac. Shcherbatsky does not suit the USSR Academy of Sciences. Hence the second - the publication "Buddhist Library" to stop.
By the decision of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR of 1937, the activities of the scientific and publishing series “Bibliotheca Buddhica” were discontinued [10] .
The first to initiate the renewal of the publication “Bibliotheca Buddhica” was made by Yu. N. Roerich who returned to the USSR in 1957. He managed to get the practical implementation of the initiative started, but then a number of difficulties arose due to the authorities' reluctance to support "propaganda of Buddhism." One of those who helped Roerich to overcome the obstacles was his longtime acquaintance, Professor Malalasekera , who was then the Ambassador of Ceylon to the USSR [11] .
Thanks to Roerich, the text of the aphorisms of Buddha Shakyamuni , a translation of VN Toporov from Pali , “ Dhammapada ” [13] , which is a reference book of southern Buddhists and part of the Pali Theravada canon , was published in 1960 as the XXXI volume of the series. The next, XXXII, volume of the series was the book of A. I. Vostrikov “Tibetan historical literature” [14] .
However, after the publication of two volumes, the publication of the series again ceased. Only much later, already in the 1980s, the series, with the assistance of G. M. Bongard-Levin, continued to exist. At this stage, Bibliotheca Buddhica began to be published as part of the series of books “ Monuments of the written language of the East ”, and the output information indicated both the number of the volume of the series “Monuments of the written language of the East” and the number of the volume “Bibliotheca Buddhica” [2] . The first published after the break was Volume XXXIII, “Monuments of Indian Writing from Central Asia”, released in 1985, prepared by G. M. Bongard-Levin and M. I. Vorobyeva-Desyatovskaya . At that time, interest in Buddhism and its sources grew in society and the books of the series contributed to its satisfaction.
In total, over the time elapsed since its foundation, 40 volumes have been prepared and published as part of the series. Volume XL - “Monuments of Indian Writing from Central Asia. Vol. 3 ”- was published in 2004 [15] . The books of the series not only reproduce the original texts and publish their translations, but also provide a scientific apparatus, including introductory articles, commentaries on texts, dictionaries, etc.
The series has always enjoyed wide international recognition by specialists. So, for example, the first 30 volumes were repeatedly reprinted in India [2] . The reprinting of the series was undertaken by the Indian publishing concern Motilal Banarsidass in 1997.
See also
- Writing Monuments of the East
Notes
- ↑ Full name: "Bibliotheca Buddhica. A collection of original and translated Buddhist texts. ”
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Androsov V.P. Library of the Buddhist (Bibliotheca Buddhica) // Philosophy of Buddhism / Otv. ed. M.T. Stepanyants . - M .: Publishing company "Oriental literature", 2011. - S. 156.
- ↑ 1 2 Kaganovich B.S. Sergey Fedorovich Oldenburg. Experience biography. - St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya, 2013. - S. 36-37. - 252 p. - ISBN 978-5-4469-0082-6 .
- ↑ Ermakova T.V. Japanese scientists - participants in scientific and publishing projects of the St. Petersburg Buddhist School // Fifth Oriental Readings in Memory of O. O. Rosenberg . - 2012 .-- S. 20–44 .
- ↑ “Bibliotheca Buddhica” - St. Petersburg edition . St. Petersburg through the ages . Date of treatment February 10, 2016.
- ↑ Shcherbatskaya F.I. Selected Works on Buddhism / Ed. N.I. Konrad and G.M. Bogard-Levin . - M .: "Science . " The main edition of oriental literature , 1988. - S. 38.
- ↑ Abaeva L. L., Androsov V. P. Bakaev E. P. et al. Buddhism: Dictionary / Under the general. ed. N. L. Zhukovskaya et al. - M .: "Republic" , 1992. - S. 45. - 257 p. - ISBN 5-250-01657-X .
- ↑ Fyodor Ippolitovich Shcherbatskaya . Personalia . Institute of Oriental Manuscripts RAS . Date of treatment February 11, 2016.
- ↑ Andreev A.I. Buddhist studies of academician F.I.Sherbatsky and Tibet // Bulletin of the Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy . - 2008. - T. 9 , No. 1 . - S. 168 .
- ↑ Ostrovskaya E.P. Leningrad Buddhology in the early 1930s // Written Monuments of the East . - 2010. - No. 2 (13) . - S. 231 .
- ↑ Vasilkov Ya. V. Yu. N. Roerich and the revival of classical Indology in the USSR . Proceedings of the international scientific-practical conference "Roerich heritage". T. 2. "New Russia on the way to the unity of mankind . " Irida-pros (September 6, 2006). Date of treatment February 17, 2016.
- ↑ Collection of images of 300 Burkhan. Part one. / S.F. Oldenburg. - Bibliotheca Buddhica. A collection of Buddhist texts. - SPb. : Imperial Academy of Sciences , 1908. - T. V.
- ↑ Dhammapada / Otv. ed. Yu. N. Roerich. - Translation from Pali , introduction and comments by V. N. Toporov. - M .: Academy of Sciences of the USSR . Institute of Oriental Studies , 1960. - T. III. - 158 p. - (Bibliotheca Buddhica, XXXI). - 4,000 copies.
- ↑ Vostrikov A.I. Tibetan historical literature / Otv. ed. Yu. N. Roerich. - M .: Publishing house of oriental literature , 1962. - 428 p. - (Bibliotheca Buddhica, XXXII).
- ↑ Monuments of Indian writing from Central Asia. Vol. 3. Ed. texts, research., per. and comment. G. M. Bongard-Levin, M.I. Vorobieva-Desyatovskaya and E.N. Temkina. M .: 2004. (Monuments of the written language of the East, LXXIII, 3. Bibliotheca Buddhica, XL). - 534 s.