I apologize Eisel for saying nice things about other scholars
and their work.
However, Please do not "drop" little nuggets of rumors when
they have no basis in fact. What you say about Peter Skilling
is incorrect on every count. I have been a friend and student
of his for many years. I have worked in the manuscript
library. I have written on these manuscripts. Peter Skilling,
who I will have dinner with on Friday (I will be in BKK for a
few days
for a funeral and a talk), has no legal relationship with the
Burmese junta. If it wasn't for him, thousands of manuscript
would have broken up, stolen, sold, and scattered. He has
preserved a massive collection for future scholars. Many
Burmese scholars work with him there and visit often. They
appreciate his efforts.
Moving capitals? Skilling's temerity? You
really have no idea what you are talking about here. I
apologize for being harsh here, but you have no business
slandering someone whose work, work history, and life you do
not know. You have no business reporting rumors or opinions of
another scholar that cannot be cross-checked. Speak for
yourself, not others. Let them speak for themselves. Please
refrain from this and only report what is published or what
can be checked.
Peter has published over 120 articles, several books, has been
a visiting professor in Paris, Harvard, Berkeley, Tokyo, and
Bangkok. He is a member (recent) of the EFEO, Lumbini Research
Institute, Pali text Society, and has started a non-profit
oprganization to help fund scholars to do manuscript research.
He has lived in Thailand for 30+ years. He lived in India for
several years. He was a monk for three years. He is funding
the scanning and free access to thousands of manuscripts. I
think he is doing his part for the field. He deserves better
than being the subject of groundless rumors on a listserve. If
you are going to criticize him, than criticize his arguments
in articles or his writing or his methodology. That is
scholarly debate. Trading in misinformation is not what this
forum should be for. Peter does not need me to defend him though,
so I will stop here.
Furthermore, the reason many scholars have problems in working
with manuscript archives in Thailand, this includes SRI, CPAC,
BNL, etc., is because they do not get the proper approval
letters or practice patience. Thai archivists and those at the
National Research Council do not like it when foreign (or
domestic) scholars and students simply walk in and ask to see
manuscripts without filling out the proper forms and
describing their research agenda, getting letters of
recommendation, etc. This takes time, but is a perfectly
transparent process. Treating people with common courtesy and
respect also helps. Bureaucratically it can be difficult, but
I have found it no more difficult than using the archives in
Aix, Paris, London, Washington DC, Dublin, Cornell, Berkeley,
Ann Arbor, and Vientiane. There are people who steal
manuscripts, the archives should be skeptical of visiting
scholars and students. They should have good security.
Many Thai archivists have lamented
to me that foreign scholars often get frustrated that they
can't "get" their copies of manuscripts in a day or two. Some
archivists have told me that foreign scholars have yelled at
them and demanded they be given preferential treatment (not
get in line with everyone else). Their advice -- be nice. Its
not so hard.
I am going to discontinue participating on this listserve. I
have work to do and do not have time to respond to baseless
misinformation. If any member would like to contact me off
list, please feel free. I have learned a great deal from the
debates, questions, and exchanges. I have learned a great deal
from you Eisel. Good luck with your studies and work. I look
forward to reading your material as it develops. I appreciate
all the
helpful criticism and advice I have received on this site.
If anyone would like to be a member of the Thai, Lao, Cambodia
Studies Group listserv I manage or be listed on the
tlc.ucr.edu memberlist, please tell me. Its still a work in
progress, but at least its free and open. I send out reports
on new publications, conferences, research resources, etc.
Sincerely,
justin
---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2006 19:57:59 +0700
>From: "Eisel Mazard" <Parajanaka@...>
>Subject: Re: [palistudy] manuscripts
>To: palistudy@yahoogroups.com
>
>Re: Skilling's MS,
>
>I'm a "secondary source" on this, and reporting what
Filliozat explained to me.
>
>She is aware of the legal details of his "holding" the MS, and
>indicated to me that the pressing (legal) need for him to
return them
>to Burma had only be delayed because of the recent relocation
of the
>capital; had that not happened (and it was a surprise to many
when it
>did occur), the MS might already have been returned.
>
>She was quite insistent that Skilling gives everyone the wrong
>impression by behaving as if he owned the MS: he doesn't, and
both
>under his own mandate and various legal requirements, he is
bound to
>return them as soon as the Burmese Junta is ready to receive
them.
>
>She may be wrong, but I would surmise that the only possible
error on
>her part would be in estimating Skilling's temerity.
>
>I am not going to repeat other information that has been
shared with
>me by various scholars, I feel, in confidence, but there
seems to be
>good reason for cynicism about the project.
>
>Justin: you tend to assume that your positive experiences are
>universal, or universally open to anyone and everyone. Something
>similar arose when you insisted that seeing MS at Bangkok's
National
>Library is "no problem"; for several scholars I have spoken
to (and
>myself as well) dealing with the Bk Nat'l Library does indeed
entail
>many serious problems --some of them heart-breaking.
>
>I believe you when you say that you have had various positive
>experiences with these institutions (Bkk, Skilling, etc.)
--but you
>should listen to the miseries of other scholars with an open
mind,
>and, perhaps, appreciate the extent to which your positive
experiences
>may be the exception to the rule --or may be because people
have made
>exceptions to the rules for your benefit.
>
>Even where I had positive experiences accessing MS in Sri
Lanka, I was
>critically aware that almost any other scholar arriving with
anything
>less than a Sinhalese-fluent monk as his emissary (and, NB, *his*
>emissary, as the situation would be demonstrably worse for a
woman,
>etc.) would not have been able to have an experience in any way
>comparable. I try to be aware of the limits, even when they
do not
>impede my own scholarship directly.
>
>E.M.
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm@...