Quest of Buddhist Paradigms- In Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China and Japan

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Back of the Book The book narrates the interwovenness of culture between India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China and Japan. It begins with Nepal with its history alive on the waysides and homes, its rich preservation of Buddhist sutras in Sanskrit, esp. the Tattvasangraha which lives in the Shingon denomination in Japan, in the icons of Alchi and in the grandeur of the Borobudur. The second chapter deals with Tibetan studies, edition of the Vinayavastu, the anachronism of Jesus Christ being in the Hemis monastery which was founded as late as the 17th century, the total destruction of Tibetan culture in a long letter of Prof. A.W. Macdonald, saving the Derge monastery and printery by seven encirclements of devotees under the supervision of Ven. Pewar Tulku at the risk of his life, and the Sven Hedin collection in Stockholm. The fourth chapter concerns Mongolian studies: Emperor Ch'ien-lung's edition of the Mongolian Kanjur, and dialogues with Prof. Rinchen on the total cultural genocidein Mongolia. The fifth chapter on China has observations on Chinese poems on ahimsa, Tun-huang, Li-yen's Sanskrit Chinese lexicon and the complexities of the evolution of Kuan-yin. The sixth chapter on Japan narrates discussions with professors like Suenaga, Chikyo Yamamoto and Hajime Nakamura on the Mahabharata, Buddhist art of India, Siddham script, and the reproduction of 60 Sanskrit opuscules from the Kokiji monastery. The development of the Kana alphabet reflects the sequence of the Tamil alphabet. Japan is unique in preserving the calligraphy of Siddham and Sanskrit music in the notation of the 8th century. Basho's poem on the shadows of a dream among 'these' stones lived in the will of Prof. Hajime Nakamura that his ashes be flown in the sacred waters of the Ganga. This book is a communication with cultural developments over centuries in the lands of northern and eastern Asia.

Preface This volume is a fragment of the journey of my father Prof Raplin Vira, myself, our colleagues and disciples to find the 'word from the long-forgotten that rises up in us as the meaning of life and the realization of the intangible.

The seer and poet, singer and saint have been the deep stream of life in various lands sharing the etemity of Dharma with India. From the snowy north of Buryatia and Mongolia, to Nepal and Tibet in the lap of the Himalayas, and going up to East Asia there is an interwovenness of culture with India. It is a thread that weaves its way through the fabric of history and of individual lives to our day. In the words of Milarepa the great cotton-clad yogi of Tibet the radiant rays of Dharma and the glory of Life open wide the petals of the lotus of the heart.

The volume begins with Nepal the abode of Pasupati Siva whence Prof. Raghu Vira got the photostats of an 11th century manuscript of the Ramayana. In 1961 he went to Kathmandu to discuss his new concept of microplanning. Father got the Tibetan Astasahasrika with its rich pantheon from Kathmandu.

**Contents and Sample Pages**