New Evidence for a Gāndhārī Origin of the Arapacana Syllabary

Salomon, Richard

doi:10.2307/604529

Cited by 9 publications

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“…The analogy seems to suggest that just as all wordsand therefore linguistic marks of distinctionarise from the implicit vowel 'a', all arising distinctions derive from and are contained in the hidden confines of the unobstructed and unlimited, which can only be approximated through the gate of negation. The letter for the vowel 'a' also stands at the beginning of the Buddhist arapacana syllabaries that spread to China from northwest India, in which this first letter was also explicitly associated with the negative prefix (see Brough 1977;Salomon 1990). In Tantric Buddhism, the co-occurence of the first letter and vowel with the negative prefix later resulted in the shortest version of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra, which was condensed into the single letter 'A' (cf.…”

Section: 藏/臧 -Turning a Personal Name Into A Philosophical Term: Possible Buddhist Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

12. Buddhist Murmurs? – Another Look at the Composition of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ

Suter¹,

Indraccolo²,

Behr³

2020

The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts

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This chapter follows the research of A. C. Graham (1919Graham ( -1991 and ShěnYǒudǐng 沈有鼎 (1908-1993) on the textual history of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ 公孫龍子 (hereafter GSLZ). After a few introductory remarks in the first section, the second section illustrates the secondary nature of the GSLZ by giving a concise overview of the various ways its compilers drew on the "dialectical chapters" of the Mòzǐ (Mohist 'Canons'). In the third section, I gather evidence for the medieval renaissance of Mohist dialectics, which was closely associated with the figure of Gōngsūn Lóng from its beginning, in order to suggest that it was in the light of this renewed interest in language and argument that the extant GSLZ was composed. If the GSLZ is indeed as late as this, its compilation would coincide with a period during which Buddhist scholastics enjoyed increasing influence in China. Thus the main part of the chapter is dedicated to disclosing traces of a Buddhist impact on the argument, structure, and compilation of the GSLZ,o r some of its parts. Even if the GSLZ lacks manifest traces of Buddhist influence, such as quotations of Buddhist works or explicitly Buddhist terminology, there is evidence to suggest that a strong Buddhist background informed the compiler(s) of the work. In section four, I show that the argument in the 'Discourse on Hard and White' (Jiānbái lùn 堅白論, hereafter JBL) closely resembles a line of reasoning in a Buddhist work translated in the early fifth century CE. In section five, I demonstrate how certain Buddhist discourses about the nature of causation, time, and language provide the very rationale that structures the 'Discourse on Penetrating Change' (Tōngbiàn lùn 通變論, hereafter TBL) and the 'Discourse on Names and Substances' (Míngshí lùn 名實論, hereafter MSL). The sixth section explores the composition of JBL and its pivotal role in the compilation of the entire GSLZ from the perspective of three of its crucial terms and their probable Buddhist implications. Section seven returns to Graham'sa n dS h ěn's arguments for dating the composition of the received GSLZ as late as in the second half of the seventh century CE. On the basis of various Buddhist references, this section attempts to gain additional insights into the possible history of compilation of the GSLZ. The peculiar nature of the parallels in Buddhist texts, along with internal evidence in JBL and TBL, suggest that the GSLZand especially these two chapterspossibly assumed their present shape through two different stages of editorial activity, in the fifth and the late seventh centuries CE, respectively.

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Section: 藏/臧 -Turning a Personal Name Into A Philosophical Term: Possible Buddhist Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

12. Buddhist Murmurs? – Another Look at the Composition of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ

Suter¹,

Indraccolo²,

Behr³

2020

The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The analogy seems to suggest that as all wordsand therefore linguistic marks of distinctionarise from the implicit vowel 'a', all arising distinctions derive from and are contained in the hidden confines of the unobstructed and unlimited, which can only be approximated through the gate of negation. The letter the vowel 'a' also stands at the beginning of the Buddhist syllabaries that spread to China from northwest India, in which this letter was also explicitly associated with the negative prefix (see Brough 1977;Salomon 1990). In Tantric Buddhism, the co-occurence of the first letter and vowel with the negative prefix later resulted in the shortest version of the which was condensed into the single letter 'A' (cf.…”

Section: 藏/臧 -Turning a Personal Name Into Philosophicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts

Suter¹,

Indraccolo²,

Behr³

2020

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“…Significantly, the syllabary, or at least its mystical importance, is reinforced in Gāndhāra art, of which at least three pieces have been discovered where the young prince Siddharth is being taught the Arapacana syllabary of the Buddhist alphabet (Salomon 1990, 255–73). This so-called ‘mystical alphabet of the Buddhists’, which derives its name from its first five letters ( a ra pa ca na ), is widespread in Buddhist tradition, being attested in numerous texts and other sources in several languages.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It occurs in several texts of the Prajna Paramita class, both in the Sanskrit originals and in Chinese and Tibetan translations. There are, according to Saloman, strong indications that the Arapacana syllabary was originally formulated in the Gandhāri language and recorded in the Kharosthi Script (Salomon 1990, 272).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cross-Cultural Exchange of Visual and Material Cultures: Case Studies from the North Indian Terracotta Figures

Bawa

2024

Studies in People's History

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This article offers an investigation into sculptural artefacts from the early historic period. Most of the objects under study are small in size and are often found dismembered or in pieces. This is partly because of the fragility of the material—baked clay—but more often, because of the techniques of manufacture—whether owing to a weak armature (where used), incomplete baking or/and the pressing together of elements in the mould that has yielded to the passage of time and rough handling. The following analysis seeks to locate these fragments by contextualising them in the spaces/regions they were found in, as well as in the estimated time periods. This contextualisation is specifically attempted through some typologically categorised case studies pursued through the lens of ‘transculturality’ and ‘materiality’.

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New Evidence for a Gāndhārī Origin of the Arapacana Syllabary

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

12. Buddhist Murmurs? – Another Look at the Composition of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ

12. Buddhist Murmurs? – Another Look at the Composition of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ

The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts

Cross-Cultural Exchange of Visual and Material Cultures: Case Studies from the North Indian Terracotta Figures

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