I have inactive in this groups for a few years on account of various
circumstances. Now I think I may make time to do contributions again.
I have uploaded 2 research papers concerning Pali studies, especially Vinaya
(monastic law) in the Pali tradition. These two papers are critiques of some
points in Dr. Juo-Hsüeh's work titled "Controversies over Buddhist Nuns"
published in 2000 by the PTS.
Actually I sent these to the JPTS more than one year ago, and I have gone
through detailed correspondence with Prof. Gethin and Dr. Pruitt for
copy-editing the first paper subtitled "Did Buddhaghosa Misinterpret
Anupasampanno in the Duṭṭhullārocana Precept?". But it cannot be in the
forthcoming issue of JPTS because there is no time left for further detailed
correspondence. So I have no choice but to wait.
But I cannot really wait any more. Perhaps this is because, beside being a
Palicist, I am also a computer geek (By geekiness I mean being obsessed with
computers without being a real expert). I believe in the Linux philosophy of
"release early, release often" (that is, your work should be published as
soon as possible; any mistakes therein can be corrected in subsequent
updates), and in the maxim of "Given enough eye-balls, all bugs become
shallow" (that is, the greater the number of peers reviewing your work, the
more mistakes they will discover in it and the easier for you to improve
your work). I would like to see peers' comments as soon as possible. So I
have uploaded the original 2 articles that I sent to the JPTS.
But it does not mean that I have withdrawn my submission of the papers to
the JPTS (Of course, it would be up to their editors what to do with my
papers. For me, print and web are different mediums). So I reserve all the
rights to these 2 papers, and I should also warn you that the final print
versions, if published in the JPTS or anywhere else, may be different from
what I have uploaded here.
I haven't included the changes to the first paper made on account of my
email discussion with the JPTS editors---these changes are only concerned
with the style and presentation while the content is perfectly safe. As for
the second paper, we have not had time to touch it.
The summarised contents of the papers are as follows:
1. "Did Buddhaghosa Misinterpret Anupasampanno in the Duṭṭhullārocana
Precept?" (anupasampanno.pdf) --- points out Dr. Juo-Hsüeh has misunderstood
Buddhaghosa when she criticizes Buddhaghosa over the interpretation of the
term "anupasampanno" in the Duṭṭhullārocana precept of Bhikkhu Pātimokkha.
2. "The Concept and Reality of Ehibhikkhunī Nunhood" (ehibhikkhu.pdf) ---
argues that Pali sources have no conclusive evidence for the ancient
existence of ehibhikkhunī nuns despite Dr. Juo-Hsüeh and some other
scholars' argument to the contrary.
Even though these papers are of the Vinaya field per se, these are
essentially arguments about interpreting Pali texts. So I hope that some
members can also be benefited by reading these papers. Comments are heartily
welcome.
with metta
Ven. Pandita
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