RR ICHARDICHARD GG OMBRICHOMBRICH
Professor Emeritus,Oxford University
Academic Director,Oxford Centre for Buddhist
Studiesand his impact on
PPALIALI BBUDDHISTUDDHIST S S TUDIESTUDIES
A NOTEBy Geoffrey Bamford, (Executive Director, OCBS)
Richard Gombrich was born in London. His mother was an accomplished musician, his father, Sir Ernst Gombrich, the pre-eminent art historian of the 20th century. Ernst Gombrich grew up in Vienna. The psychiatrist Freud, the composer Mahler, and the poet von Hofmannsthal were intimate acquaintances. The philosopher, Sir Karl Popper, became his closest friend.Richard Gombrich’s education was in the best English tradition of classical learning with an empirical bias. Having mastered Greek and Latin literature, he moved on to Sanskrit and Pali. At 39, he was Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford. This was the earliest Chair in Sanskrit to be established in the West (in 1831). Now it was, for the first time, occupied by a scholar whose principal interest was in Buddhism. Gombrich’s first book illustrates his range. It is a work of social anthropology, based on fieldwork in Sri Lanka. It gives a clear, compelling picture of village Buddhism. Then it compares that with the classical (Pali) literature. So it shows how carefully the tradition has been maintained — and also throws light on how lay Buddhist life is likely from the first to have related to doctrinal categories.His later work has explored further the links between textual and social dimensions of Buddhism. On one hand, he has revitalised the close textual study of ancient materials,
revealing new dimensions of early Buddhism (e.g. how it responded to Brahminism). On the other, he has analysed how some modern tendencies diverge from the tradition.In this way, he has validated the authenticity and antiquity of the Pali material (contested elsewhere in academia) and upheld its enduring relevance. The escape from essentialism that the Buddha offers seems to him both very modern (indeed Popperian) and subtly (indeed uniquely) pragmatic.
A CAREERA CAREERA BODY OF WORKA BODY OF WORK
A CONTINUING A CONTINUING IMPACTIMPACT
A CAREER
Name: Richard Francis Gombrich
Address: 11 Barton Lane, Oxford OX3 9JR
Date of birth: 17 July 1937
EEDUCATIONDUCATION
1950-1955 Scholar, St. Paul's School, London
1957-1961 Demy (scholar), Magdalen College, Oxford
1959 Honour Classical Moderations, First Class
1961B.A. Oriental Studies (Sanskrit with
Pali), First Class
1961-1963 Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund
1963 A.M. Harvard University
1963-1965 Treasury Studentship (Scarborough Studentship)
1970 D.Phil. Oxford University
MMEDALSEDALS ANDAND HONORARYHONORARY DEGREESDEGREES
1991 Hon. D.Litt. Kalyani University, Bengal
and Pali Buddhist Studies 1
1993 S.C. Chakraborty Medal, Asiatic Society, Calcutta
1994 Sri Lanka Ranjana (National Award)
1996 Hon. D.Ed. De Montfort University
1997 University Medal, Warsaw University
1997 Vacaspati (= Hon D.Litt.), Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati
AACADEMICCADEMIC A APPOINTMENTSPPOINTMENTS
1965-1976
Lecturer in Sanskrit and PaliOxford University
1966-1976
Governing Body FellowWolfson College, Oxford
1976-2004
Boden Professor of SanskritOxford University;
Professorial Fellow, Balliol College
1977- Emeritus FellowWolfson College
1999- Senior FellowDe Montfort University
1981-1982
Benjamin Meaker Visiting ProfessorUniversity of Bristol
1982Visiting Professor,
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
1986-1987
Stewart Visiting Fellow in the Humanities,
2 Richard Gombrich
Princeton University
1994F.D. Maurice Lecturer in Theology
and Religious Studies, King’s College London
1994Jordan Lecturer in Comparative
Religion, SOAS
1997Gonda Lecturer,
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
1998 Edmond Perry Lecturer, Northwestern University
2003- Academic Director, Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
2004- Emeritus Fellow, Balliol College
OOTHERTHER A APPOINTMENTSPPOINTMENTS
1977 - Member, Association of Social
Anthropologists of the Commonwealth
1978-1983
Advisory Council, Victoria and Albert Museum
1981-1994
Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, Pali Text Society
1994-2002
President and Treasurer, Pali Text Society
1996- Co-editor, and Pali Buddhist Studies 3
2002 Journal of the Pali Text Society
1981-1985
Secretary for Europe, International Association for
Buddhist Studies1974- Fellow
Royal Asiatic SocietyMember of Council, 1989-1991
Member of the Publications Committee, 1991-3
1982-1990
Fellow Royal Society of Arts
1983-1990
Theological and Religious Studies Board
National Council for Academic Awards
1986-1992
Member of CouncilSociety for South Asian Studies
1990- MemberAcademia Europaea
1992 Member, East and South Asian Studies
Panel, RAE (Chairman for S & SE Asia)
1996 Member, Theology and Religious Studies Panel, RAE
Member of several editorial boards
4 Richard Gombrich
and Pali Buddhist Studies 5
A BODY OF WORK
BOOKS
TITLE
1 Precept and practice: Traditional Buddhism in the rural highlands of Ceylon
Buddhist Precept and Practice (Revised edition)2 The Perfect Generosity of Prince Vessantara
3 On being Sanskritic: A plea for civilized study and the study of civilization
4 Buddhist studies in honour of Walpola Rahula
5 The world of Buddhism: Buddhist monks and nuns in society and culture
6 Buddhist studies in honour of Hammalava Saddhatissa
7 Theravāda Buddhism: A social history from ancient Benares to modern Colombo
8 Buddhism transformed: Religious change in Sri Lanka
9 Indian ritual and its exegesis10
How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings
11
Religious Experience in Early Buddhism? Eighth Annual BASR Lecture, 1997
(British Association for the Study of Religions Occasional Paper 12
Kindness and Compassion as Means to Nirvana (1997 Gonda Lecture)
6 Richard Gombrich
AUTHOR(S)/EDITOR(S) PUBLISHED AT/BY DAT
Richard Gombrich Oxford: Clarendon Press 1971
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas 1991Margaret Cone and Richard
Gombrich Oxford: Clarendon Press 1977
Richard Gombrich Oxford: Clarendon Press 1978
Edited by Balasooriya Somaratna, André Bareau,
Richard Gombrich, Siri Gunasingha, Udaya
London: Gordon Fraser 1980
Edited by Heinz Bechert and Richard Gombrich London: Thames & Hudson 198
4Paperback edition 1991
Edited by Dhammapala Gatare, Richard Gombrich and K.R.
Norman
Nugegoda, Sri Lanka: Hammalava Saddhatissa
Felicitation Volume Committee, University of Sri
1984
Richard Gombrich London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
1988
Richard Gombrich and Gananath Obeyesekere
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
1988
Paperback edition 1990Edited by Richard Gombrich Delhi: Oxford University 198
Richard Gombrich London: The Athlone Press 1996
Richard GombrichPrinted by the University of
Leeds Printing Service, Leeds
1998
Richard Gombrich Amsterdam: Royal Netherlands Academy of
1998
ARTICLES
TITLE
and Pali Buddhist Studies 7
1 The consecration of a Buddhist image2 Food for seven grandmothers:
Stages in the universalization of a Sinhalese ritual3 Sinhalese Buddhism4 “Merit transference” in Sinhalese Buddhism:
A case of the interaction between doctrine and 5 The fifty stanzas of a thief
(Translation of the Caura-pañcāsikā with an 6 Feminine elements in Sinhalese Buddhism7 Le clergé bouddhiste d’une circonscription
kandienne 8 The divine light mission9 Eliade on Buddhism10
A lexical note on Bambhadatta’s story: Obedio and sarisari/saribhari
1 A party for “Hare Krishna”12 Ancient Indian cosmology
Translation into Polish by Marzenna and Krzysztof 1 Buddhist karma and social control1 The case for Sanskrit15 Observations on the Vessantara Jātaka
16 A Sinhalese cloth painting of the Vessantara Jātaka.
17 Kosala-Bimba-Vaṇṇanā.
PUBLICATION DATEJournal of Asian Studies, 26/1: 23-26 1966
Man: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 6/1: 5-17 1971
8 Richard Gombrich
Man, Myth and Magic, 92: 2585-7 1971History of Religions, 11/2: 203-19 1971
Mahfil, 7/3-4: 175-86 1971
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens, vol. 16: 67- 1972Social Compass, 20/2: 257-66 1973
Lycidas (Wolfson College magazine), 2: 24-5 1973-4Religious Studies, 10/2: 225-31 1974
Journal of the Oriental Institute (Baroda), 24/1-2: 145-7 Sept.-Dec.
Lycidas, 3: 24-6 1974-5(In: Ancient Cosmologies. C. Blacker and M. Loewe,
editors. London) Allen & Unwin, 110-42 1975(In: Kwartalnik Filozoficzny XXIII, 3-4) Krakow, 181-212 Comparative Studies in Society and History, 17/2: 212- 1975
The Times Higher Educational Supplement: 3 19/9/19Inde ancienne: Actes du XXIXe Congrès International
des Orientalistes, Paris, Juillet 1973. Paris: L’Asiathèque, 1976
(In: Buddhism in Ceylon and studies on religious syncretism in Buddhist countries: Report on a
symposium in Göttingen. H. Bechert, editor) Göttingen: 1978
(In: Buddhism in Ceylon and studies on religious syncretism in Buddhist countries: Report on a
symposium in Göttingen. H. Bechert, editor) Göttingen: 1978
18 The Buddha’s eye, the evil eye and Dr Ruelius
19 The duty of a Buddhist according to the Pali scriptures.20 Bibliography of South Asian Buddhism.21 Bibliography of Jainism.22 “He cooks softly”: Adverbs in Sanskrit grammar
and Pali Buddhist Studies 9
23
The significance of former Buddhas in Theravādin tradition.
24 A new Theravādin liturgy
2 Buddhists and death26 A Buddhist Pilgrimage in Sri Lanka
27
Richard Gombrich chooses ‘Conjectures and Refutations’ by Karl Popper
28
From monastery to meditation centre: Lay meditation in modern Sri Lanka.
29
Another view of widow-burning and womanliness in Indian public culture (with Sanjukta Gupta)
30 Introduction: The Buddhist way.
31 Buddhism in ancient India: The evolution of the Sangha.
3 Buddhist sacred writings
33 Notes on the brahminical background to Buddhist ethics.
(In: Buddhism in Ceylon and studies on religious syncretism in Buddhist countries: Report on a
symposium in Göttingen. H. Bechert, editor) Göttingen: 1978
(In: The concept of duty in South Asia. W. O’Flaherty and J. Derrett, editors) London: Vikas, 107-18 1978
(In: South Asian bibliography: A handbook and guide. J. Pearson, editor) Sussex: Harvester Press, 119-20 1979
(In: South Asian bibliography: A handbook and guide. J. Pearson, editor) Sussex: Harvester Press, 121-23 1979
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 42/2: 244-56 1979
(In: Buddhist studies in honour of Walpola Rahula. S. Balasooriya, et al., editors) London: Gordon Fraser, 62- 1980
10 Richard Gombrich
Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. 9: 47-73Shorter version in: The life of Buddhism. Frank E.
Reynolds & Jason A. Carbine, editors. Berkeley etc: 1981
Shap Mailing 1982. W. Cole, editor. 5-6 1982Shap Mailing 1983. M. Hayward, editor 12-13
Reprinted in Religions and education: Shap Working Party 1969-89. A. Wood, editor. Isleworth: Shap Working
1983
The Times Higher Educational Supplement, “Milestones” series, #13, (27th May) 1983
(In: Buddhist studies ancient and modern. P. Denwood and A. Piatigorsky, editors.) London: Curzon Press, 20- 1983
The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 1984(In: The world of Buddhism: Buddhist monks and nuns in
society and culture. H. Bechert and R. Gombrich, editors)
1984
(In: The world of Buddhism: Buddhist monks and nuns in society and culture. H. Bechert and R. Gombrich, editor) 1984
Shap Mailing 1984. M. Hayward, editor. 1-5 1984(In: Buddhist studies in honour of Hammalava
Saddhatissa, edited by G. Dhammapala, R. Gombrich and K.R. Norman)
Nugegoda, Sri Lanka: Hammalava Saddhatissa 1984
3 Temporary ordination in Sri Lanka35 Foreword36
The Vessantara Jātaka, the Rāmāyana and the Dasaratha Jātaka
37 The state of indological studies in the U.K. today
3 Buddhist festivals.3 Kings, power and the goddess (with Sanjukta Gupta)4 Indology is in a very bad way4 Most Indians know next to nothing of their cultural past4 Obituary of Prof. Thomas Burrow, Sanskrit and Dravidian 4 Brahmins and barbarians4 Old bodies like carts
and Pali Buddhist Studies 11
45 Buddhist cultic life in Southeast Asia
4 Three souls, one or none: The vagaries of a Pali pericope47 What kind of thing is religion? 48 A Selection of Resources: Buddhism. 49 The Buddha and Buddhists. 50
Comment une réligion se définit elle-même: Le Bouddhisme.
51 Dieu, les dieux, le divin: Le bouddhisme 52
The history of early Buddhism: Major advances since 1950.
5 Two notes on Visuddhimagga IXThe Journal of the International Association of Buddhist 1984(In: The Group of Discourses (Sutta-Nipāta), Vol. 1. K.R.
Norman, translator) Pali Text Society: London 1984
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 105/3: 427-37 1985(South Asian Studies; Papers presented at a colloquium 24-26 April 1985) British Library Occasional Papers #7, edited by Albertine Gaur. London: British Library, 57-62
1986
(In: Festivals in world religions. A. Brown, editor) 1986South Asia Research, 6: 123-37 1986The Telegraph, Calcutta: p. 6, 3/4/198
The Telegraph, Calcutta 4/4/198The Times, London 18/6/19
Oxford Magazine, 20: 3-4 1987Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. 11: 1-4 1987
(In: The Encyclopedia of Religion. M. Eliade, editor) New York: Macmillan, 5: 463-67 1987
Reprinted in Buddhism and Asian history: Readings from The Encyclopedia of Religion. M. Kitagawa and M.
Cummings, editors. New York: Macmillan, 309-315, 12 Richard Gombrich
Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. 11: 73-8 1987(In: The Shap handbook on world religions in education.
A. Brown, editor) London: The Commission for Racial 1987(In: The Shap handbook on world religions in education.
A. Brown, editor) London: The Commission for Racial 1987(In: Experiencing Buddhism: The report of the sixth
“York Shap” conference) York: York Religious Education 1988(In: Le grand atlas des réligions. C. Baladier, editor)
Paris: Encyclopaedia Universalis, 36-7 1988(In: Le grand atlas des réligions. C. Baladier, editor)
Paris: Encyclopaedia Universalis, 176-7 1988(In: Indological studies and South Asia bibliography: A conference 1986. A. Das, editor.) Calcutta: National 1988
Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. 12: 169-71 1988
5 How the Mahāyāna began
Translation into Spanish55 Recovering the Buddha’s message
5 A note on Ambapālī’s wit5 Making mountains without molehills: The case of the 5 How might we educate our students?59 Reflections of an indologist
60 Pātimokkha: Purgative
6 Obituary of Professor B. K. Matilal62 Can we know or control our futures?
6 The Buddha’s Book of Genesis?and Pali Buddhist Studies 13
64 Why six former Buddhas?
65 Dating the Buddha: A Red Herring Revealed
6 Why is a khattiya called a khattiya? The Aggaññasutta 67
A momentous effect of translation: The “vehicles” of Buddhism.
Journal of Pali and Buddhist Studies (Nagoya), 1: 29-46 1988Reprinted in The Buddhist Forum: Seminar papers 1987-
1988. T. Skorupski, editor. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1: 21-30, (In: Revista de Estudios Budistas, no. 9, 24-41) 1995
(In: Earliest Buddhism and Madhyamaka. D. Ruegg and L. Schmithausen, editors) Leiden: E.J. Brill, 5-23 1990
Reprinted in The Buddhist Forum: Seminar papers 1987-1988. T. Skorupski, editor. London: School of Oriental
and African Studies, University of London, 1: 5-20, 1990Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. 15: 139-40 1990Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. 15: 141-3 1990
Oxford Magazine, 9-10 1990(In: Religious pluralism and unbelief: Studies critical and comparative. I. Hamnett, editor) London and New York: 1990
(In: Studies in Buddhism and culture in honour of Professor Dr. Egaku Mayeda on his sixty-fifth birthday. The Editorial Committee of the Felicitation Volume for Professor Dr. Egaku Mayeda, editors) Tokyo: Sankibo
1991
The Times, London 12/6/19(In: Buddhist essays: A miscellany. G. Piyatissa Thera, L.
Perera and K. Goonesena, editors) London: Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre,
1992
Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 35: 159-78 1992(In: The Journal of Oriental Research)
Madras: The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, 326- 1992
14 Richard Gombrich
(In: The Dating of the Historical Buddha/Die Datierung des historischen Buddha. Part 2. (Symposien zur
Buddhismusforschung, IV,2) Heinz Bechert, editor.) 1992
Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. XVII: 213-14 1992(In: Apodosis: Essays presented to Dr. W.W. Cruickshank to mark his 80th birthday) St. Paul’s School, London; 34- 1992
68 Buddhist prediction: How open is the future?
Translation into Italian
Translation into Spanish
69
Buddhism in the modern world: Secularization or protestantization?
70 Understanding Early Buddhist Terminology in its Context71 What is Pali?
72 Asoka, the great Upāsaka
73 A Buddhologist’s Impression of Japanese Buddhism7 The Buddha and the Jains: A Reply to Professor 7 Teaching Buddhism in the Primary School (with Hyon 7 The Monk in the Pāli Vinaya: Priest or Wedding Guest?77 Thomas Burrow78 Conflict and Reconciliation in Buddhism79 Freedom and authority in Buddhism80 Il Buddhismo: etica senza anima81 The earliest brahmanical reference to Buddhism?8 Is dharma a good thing?
and Pali Buddhist Studies 15
8 Obituary of the Venerable Dr Walpola Rahula84 Introduction
(In: Predicting the Future. Leo Howe, Alan Wain, editors) Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 144-68 1993
(In: Predire il futuro, translation Marina Astrologo) Edizioni Dedalo srl, Bari, 131-150. 1994
(In: Predecir el futuro, trsln Daniel Manzanares, Ángel Luis Sanz and Jesús Un turbe) Alianza Editorial S.A., 1994
(In: Secularization, rationalism and sectarianism. Essays in honour of Bryan R. Wilson. Eileen Barker, James A.
Beckford, Karel Dobbelaere, editors) Oxford; Clarendon 1993
Seoul Pali Daejangkang Urimal Olmgim Nonmon Moum II / “A Korean Translation of Pali Tripitaka Vol. II”, 74- 1993
(In: A Pali Grammar, W.Geiger, trsln. B.Ghosh, revised & edited by K.R.Norman) Pali Text Society, Oxford, 1994
(In: King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical and Literary Studies, edited by Anuradha Seneviratna)
Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy (Reprint from book 1994
(In: Japanese New Religions in the West, editors Peter Clarke and Jeffrey Somers) Folkestone: Japan 1994
Asiatische Studien XLVIII 4, 1069-1096 1994Resource vol 17:2 6-9 1995
Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. XXI, 193-197 1995(In: The Dictionary of National Biography 1986–1990,
edited by C.S. Nicholls) Oxford: OUP, 54–5 1996(In: World Religions in Education 1996/1997) SHAP
Working Party on World Religions in Education. 1996(In: Freedom and Authority in Religions and Religious
Education, edited by Brian Gates) London; Cassell 1996(In: Vie alla Salvezza, Ciclo di conferenze, 1996. Collana
<Torino Incontra>) Torino: Centro Congressi, 94-114 1996(In: Relativism, Suffering and Beyond. Essays in
memory of Bimal K. Matilal, edited by P. Bilimoria and J. 1997Dialogue and Universalism no. 11-12, 147-163 1997
The Middle Way, vol. 73, no. 2, 115-119 1998(In: Sir William Jones 1746–1794, A Commemoration,
edited by Alexander Murray) Oxford: OUP, 3-15 1998
16 Richard Gombrich
85
Organized Bodhisattvas: A Blind Alley in Buddhist Historiography
86 Discovering the Buddha’s Date
87 Buddhist Studies in Britain
8 A visit to Brahmā the heron89
Wir sind stets die Erben unserer Taten: Karma und menschliche Selbstbestimmung im
90 Living community: the Buddhist order91 Another Buddhist criticism of Yājñavalkya
92
Buddhist Fundamentalism? Buddhist Violence? The War in Sri Lanka
93
“Obsession with origins”: attitudes to Buddhist studies in the old world and the new
94
Merit detached from volition: how a Buddhist doctrine came to wear a Jain aspect
9 India’s gift to the world: ahimsa96 Vedānta stood on its head: sakkaaya and sakkaaya-diṭṭhi
97 Religious experience in early Buddhism?
(In: Sūryacandrāya: Essays in Honour of Akira Yuyama, Paul Harrison and Gregory Schopen, editors) Swisttal- 1998
Śrī Laṅkāve yuddhayaṭa heṭuva bauddha muladharmavādayak da? Pracaṇḍdatvayak da?
and Pali Buddhist Studies 17
Reprinted in Studies in Hindu and Buddhist Art, edited by P. K. Mishra. New Delhi, Abhinav Publications, 1999
(In: Buddhism for the New Millennium, edited by Lakshman S. Perera) London; World Buddhist 2000
(In: The State of Buddhist Studies in the World 1972-1997, edited by Donald K. Swearer and Somparn Promta) Bangkok: Center for Buddhist Studies,
2000
Journal of Indian Philosophy, v.29, April 2001, 95-108 2001Religionen Unterwegs, vol. 7, no. 2, May 2001, 4-9 2001
(In: World Religions in Education 2001/2002) London: SHAP Working Party on World Religions in Education, 2001
(In: Buddhist and Indian Studies in Honour of Professor Sodo Mori, Hammatsu) Kokusai Bukkyoto Kyokai, 21–23 2002(Paper presented at the conference on Fundamentalism
in South Asia, Heidelberg 2000 Published in Sinhala translation in ‘The Buddhist Community and the Civil
War in Sri Lanka’ edited by Mahinda Deegalle) 2003
(In: Approaching the Dhamma: Buddhist texts and practices in South and Southeast Asia, eds. Anne M. Blackburn & Jeffrey Samuels) Seattle: BPS Pariyatti
2003
(In: Jainism and Early Buddhism: essays in honor of Padmanabh S. Jaini, edited by Olle Qvarnström) 2003
Jain Spirit, no. 18, March–May 2004, 26–27 2004(In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Indian Studies, edited by Renata Czekalska & Halina
Marlewicz, — Cracow Indolological series; IV–V227–38) 2003
(Reprint of book 13 above. In: Religion: Empirical Studies, edited by Steven J. Sutcliffe, 123–47) Aldershot: 2004
REVIEWS
1 H. Mode, Die buddhistische Plastik Ceylons2 P. Pott, Yoga and Yantra3 C. Reynolds, editor, An anthology of Sinhalese literature
up to 18154 Melford E. Spiro, Burmese Supernaturalism and Buddhism
and Society: a Great Tradition and Its Burmese Budusamaya saha Śrī Laṅkāve janavārgika ghaṭṭanaya
18 Richard Gombrich
5 R. Roy, editor, Suvarnavarnāvadāna: Decipherment and historical study of a palm-leaf Sanskrit
manuscript — an unknown Mahāyāna (avadāna) text 6 J. F. Stāl, editor, A reader on the Sanskrit grammarians7 V. Dehejia, Early Buddhist rock temples8 G. Parrinder, The indestructible soul9 Kataragama (film)10
J. Bunnag, Buddhist monk, Buddhist layman: A study of urban monastic organization in Central
11 K.R. Norman translator, The Elders’ Verses. II Therīgāthā1 W. O’Flaherty, Asceticism and eroticism in the mythology 13
M. Marasinghe, Gods in early Buddhism: A study in their social & mythological milieu as depicted in the Nikāyas of
14
L. Cousins, A. Kunst and K.R. Norman editors, Buddhist studies in honour of I. B. Horner
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B. Smith editor, Tradition and change in Theravāda Buddhism:
16
G. Dumézil, Les dieux souverains des Indo-européens(Published under the title: “Dyads, Triads and Aryans”)
17
W. O’Flaherty, Hindu myths: A sourcebook. Translated from the Sanskrit with an introduction
1 K. Bhattacharya, L’Atman-Brahman dans le bouddhisme 19
K. Malalgoda, Buddhism in Sinhalese society, 1750-1900: A study of religious revival and change
20
S. Tambiah, World conqueror and world renouncer: A study of Buddhism and polity in Thailand against a
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University of London, vol. 34: 623-4 1971Modern Asian Studies, 6,4: 483-96
(Review article: Buddhism and Society:) 1972
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South Asia Review, 6/3: 261-3 1973and Pali Buddhist Studies 19
Religious Studies, 10/1: 110-12 1973Religious Studies, 10/2: 240-1 1974
Royal Anthropological Institute Newsletter, 3: 8-9 1974Religion, 4/2: 165-7 1974
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 37/3: 703-5 1974
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1975 No. 1: 76-7 1975Journal of Asian Studies, 36/1: 175-6 1976
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1977 No. 1: 132-3 1977
Orientalische Literaturzeitung, 73/3: 290-1 1978
Times Literary Supplement: p. 144, 25th January 1978 1978
Religious Studies, vol. 14: 273-4 1978Archives Internationales d’Histoire des Sciences: 128-9 1978
Journal of Asian Studies, 37/2: 393-5 1978Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London, 41/2: 410-2 1978
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E. Mendelson, Sangha and state in Burma: A study of monastic sectarianism and leadership
(Published under the title “The Fissiparous Monks”)22
R. Kloppenborg, The Paccekabuddha: A Buddhist Ascetic. A study of the concept of the
paccekabuddha in Pāli canonical and commentarial 2 H. Seneviratne, Rituals of the Kandyan state2 H. Wood, Third class ticket2 Ergardt, Jan T. Faith and knowledge in Early 26
W. O’Flaherty, editor, Karma and rebirth in classical Indian traditions (Published under the title “On Pain
2 Pollock, Sheldon Ivan, Aspects of versification in 28
A. Dallapiccola, editor, The stupa: Its religious, historical, and architectural significance
29
J. Masson, The oceanic feeling: The origins of religious sentiment in ancient India
20 Richard Gombrich
30
M. Goonatilleke, Masks and mask systems of Sri Lanka
31
C. Reynolds, editor, Catalogue of the Sinhalese manuscripts in the India
3 M. Cummings, The lives of the Buddha in the art and 3 Carrithers, Michael, The Buddha34
K.R. Norman, Pali literature, including the canonical literature
3 Sharma, Damodar, Hindu Belief and Practice3 R. Zydenbos, Moksa in Jainism according to Umāsvāti37
M. CarrithersThe forest monks of Sri Lanka: An anthropological
37
S. Tambiah, The Buddhist saints of the forest and the cult of amulets: A study in charisma, hagiography,
sectarianism, and millenial Buddhism; and M. Southwold, Buddhism in life; The anthropological
study of religion and the Sinhalese practice of Buddhism (Review article: Knowledge of the
Times Literary Supplement: p. 896, 4th September 1978 1978
Orientalische Literaturzeitung, 74/1: 78-80 1978
Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, 10/2: 1979Journal of the Oxford India Society, 1/2: 19-21 1980
Numen. Vol. XXVI, Fasc. 2: 267-70 1980/8Times Literary Supplement, 4092: pp. 995-6, 4th
September 1981 1981Indo-Iranian Journal: 51-54 1981
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1982 No. 1: 65-8 1982
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1982 No. 1: 75-8 1982Kalyani: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
of the University of Kelaniya, 1: 228-9 1982
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1983 No. 1: 144-5 1983
and Pali Buddhist Studies 21
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1983 No. 2: 316 19831983
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1984 No. 1: 164-6 19841984
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1985 No. 2: 213-4 1985History of Religions, 24: 378 1985
Religion, 15: 411-3 1985
Times Literary Supplement, 4278: p. 359-60, 29th March 1985 1985
38
M. Wijayaratne, Le moine bouddhiste selon les textes du Theravāda
3 Marrett, Paul, Jainism Explained40
H. Bechert, editor On the school affiliation of works of Hīnayāna literature
41
A. Wickremeratne, The genesis of an orientalist: Thomas William Rhys Davids and Buddhism in Sri Lanka
42
G. Bond, The Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka: Religious tradition, reinterpretation and response
43
P. Connolly, editor, Perspectives on Indian religion: Papers in honour of Karel Werner
44
H. Bechert, Die Lebenszeit des Buddha — das älteste feststehende Datum der indischen
4 W. Geiger, Culture of Ceylon in mediaeval times4 T. Vetter, The ideas and meditative practices of early 47
H. Nakatani, Udānavarga de Subasi: Critical edition of the Sanskrit manuscript written on poplar wood slats in the Pelliot Collection in the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris
4 R. Lingat, Royautés bouddhiques: Asoka et la fonction 4 P. Khoroche,: Once the Buddha was a monkey: Arya 50
K. Wille, Die Handschriftliche Überlieferung des Vinayavastu der Mūlasarvāstivādin
22 Richard Gombrich
5 L. Grey, A Concordance of Buddhist Birth Stories52
Caillat, C., editor, Middle Indo-Aryan and Jaina Studies; and de Casparis, J.G. editor, Sanskrit outside India (Panels
of the VIIth World Sanskrit Conference, Kern Institute, 53
Strong, John S. The Legend and Cult of Upagupta: Sanskrit Buddhism in North India and Southeast Asia,
54
Gaston, Anne-Marie, Siva in Dance, Myth and Iconography,
55
Bechert, Heinz, The Dating of the Historical Buddha. / Die Datierung des historischen Buddha Teil 1 (Symposium zur Buddhismusforschung IV, 1, Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Philologisch-historische
Printed in incomplete form in World Fellowship of Buddhists Review, 22: 33-4
1985
Religion, 16: 387-9 198The Jain, Year 9 Issue 1: 13-14, January 1986 198
Mundus, 22/4: 265-6 1986
Indian Economic and Social History Review, 23/1: 121-4 1986
Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 109: 661-4 1989
World Religions in Education 1989: Book Reviews, 7-8 `
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1989 No. 2: 348-50 1989
Orientalische Literaturzeitung, 85: 83 199Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1990 No. 2: 405-7 199
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1990 No. 2: 407-8 1990
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1991 Vol. 1 Pt. 2: 199Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1992 Vol. 2 Pt. 1: 199
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1993 Vol. 3 Pt. 1: 142-143
1993
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1993 Vol. 3 Pt. 1: 199Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1993
Vol. 3 Pt. 2: 288-2901993
and Pali Buddhist Studies 23
South Asian Studies, Vol.9: 174-6 1993
Oriental Art, Autumn 1993: 94 1993
Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 1991, Göttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen, 246. Jahrgang, Heft 1/2, 86-96,
Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht1994
56 Norman, K.R., Collected Papers, vols I & II57
Bartholomeusz, Tessa J., Women under the Bo tree. Buddhist Nuns in Sri Lanka
58
Ananda W.P. Gurugé, Aśoka, the righteous: a definitive biography
59
Trainor, Kevin, Relics, ritual, and representation in Buddhism: rematerializing the Sri Lankan Theravada
tradition, 60
Schmithausen, Lambert, Maitrī and magic: aspects of the Buddhist attitude toward the dangerous in
nature, 61
Gothóni, René, Attitutdes and interpretations in comparative religion., (Helsinki: Suomalainen
62
Graham, Gordon, Universities: the recovery of an idea,
63
Omvedt, Gail, Buddhism in India: challenging brahmanism and caste, (London: Sage, 2003)
24 Richard Gombrich
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1994 Vol. 4 Pt. 1: 113-114
1994
Anthropos, 91, 1/3: 241-4 1996
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1996 Vol 6 Pt 1: 117-9
1996
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1999 Vol. 9 Pt. 1: 186-8
1999
Indo-Iranian Journal, Autumn 2000 Vol. 43 No. 3: 301-2 2000
Anthropos, 97, 2002/1, 254-256 2002
The Philosophical Quarterly, v.53 (213), Oct 2003, 630–32 2003
Middle Way, v.79 (1), May-Jul 2004, 51–5 2004
and Pali Buddhist Studies 25
A CONTINUING IMPACT
SOME RECENT STUDENTS’ THESESRichard Gombrich has supervised many doctoral theses; so many that it is difficult to keep a complete count. The total is around 50. Here are some recent examples.
D.PHIL. THESES
1996 Joel Tatelman Bhadrakalpāvadāna 2-5: introduction, edition and translation.
1997 Andrew Skilton
The Samādhirāja Sūtra: a study incorporating a critical edition
and translation of chapter 17
1998 Paola TintiBetween two civilisations: history and
self-representation of Bangladeshi Buddhism
1998 Y-G AnBuddhology in the Mahāparinibbāna-
Suttanta and its commentary, with an annotated translation of
Buddhaghosa’s commentary
1998S-Y Chen (Ven. Juo-
hsüeh Shih)Problems in the Pali Bhikkhunī-Vinaya:
a thematic study in comparative perspective
1999 Torkel BrekkeThe politics of religious identity in South Asia in the late nineteenth
century
2000Wan-doo Kim (Ven. Hyon-
kwang Sunim)The Theravādin doctrine of
momentariness: a survey of its origins and development
2000 Kate CrosbyStudies in the medieval Pali literature of Sri Lanka with special reference to
the esoteric Yogācāra tradition
2001Ho-yu Tseng (Ven. Vinita
Tseng)The Nidānavagga of the
Sāratthappakāsinī
26 Richard Gombrich
2001 Peter Roberts The biographies of Ras-Chung-pa: the evolution of a Tibetan hagiography
2002 William Douglas Newar Buddhism 1250-1600
2002 Karma Phuntsho The Madhyamaka of Mipham
2203 Isabelle Onians Tantric Buddhist apologetics
2003Pathompong
Bodhi-prasiddhinand
Word Order in Pali
2003 Noa Gal Metaphysical development in the early Pali Buddhist tradition.
2004 Alex Wynne Meditation as the path to salvation in early Buddhism
2004 Justin Meiland Buddhist values in the Pali Jātakas
2004 Soon-il Hwang The metaphorical structure of nirvana and its evolution in early Buddhism
2004 Tse-fu KuanSatipaṭṭhāna
in the Pali and Chinese canonical traditions
2005 Linda Covill A literary study of the Saundarananda of Aśvaghoṣa
2005Cheonghwan
Park (Ven. Jungduk Sunim)
A translation and study of selected avadānas of the Mūlasarvāstivādin
Vinaya
2005 Ven. Khammai Dhammasami
Historical development of monastic education in Burma and Thailand
M. LITT THESIS
1999 Sumana Ratnayaka
A critical edition, annotated translation
and discussion of the Saṅgītisuttavaṇṇanā in
the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, (PTS pp.971-1033)
and Pali Buddhist Studies 27
FORMER STUDENTS’ POSITIONS Richard Gombrich’s former students are present across the academic world. That will be apparent even from the list of doctoral supervisees above. Apart from those more recent graduates, his ex-students hold positions (mostly professorships) at the following institutions:
In the UK: Oriental Studies Faculty, Oxford
University Institute of Social Anthropology,
Oxford University Dept of Religion and Theology.
King’s College, London University Goldsmiths College, London
University University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of Durham University of Lancaster University of Wales at Cardiff De Montfort University, Leicester The British Library, London
Elsewhere Institut français de Pondichéry, India Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi,
India Tribhuvan Unversity, Nepal Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka University of Oslo, Norway Institute of Oriental Studies (ISMEO),
Naples, Italy28 Richard Gombrich
University of Chicago, U.S.A. University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A. University of Hawaii, U.S.A. Dongguk University, Korea
THE THAI CONNECTIONRichard Gombrich is well known figure among academics across the world. That includes Thailand. Dr Peter Skilling, Special Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, is a personal friend. So is the Professor of Sanskrit at Chulalongkorn, Dr Prapod Assavavirulhakan.The Venerable P. A. Payutto, universally acknowledged as Thailand’s foremost Buddhist scholar, makes extensive use of Gombrich’s work in his refutation of the Dhammakaya position. The Venerable Payutto points out that early western Buddhist scholars created many confusions, which have tended to become ingrained; Gombrich he sees as the great corrective for such fallacies. Here is a man who exhibits in equal measure the best of modern western scholarship and immense familiarity with — and respect for — the Pali tradition. Gombrich’s scholarship also links in to the Thai scholarly tradition indirectly, through his students. Leading contemporary Korean scholars, who are translating the Pali Nikayas into Korean, studied with him.
and Pali Buddhist Studies 29
30 Richard Gombrich
and Pali Buddhist Studies 31