Dr. Skilling,
Thank you very much for your reply --I recognise that you have other
priorities to attend to, and appreciate your taking the time to
address the issues raised.
I do agree with your repeated statement that there is more than one
(legitimate, rational, and defensible) point of view of this issue
--and I would not pretend otherwise.
My own perspective is partially informed by my prior work in the
"den of thieves" of the Museum trade --but, however black the pot may
call the kettle, I do regard your project as fundamentally less
morally odious than major European museums (viz., imperial
collections) that have alienated huge chunks of cultural patrimony
from Asia, with no intention of (ever) returning them. The Fragile
Palm Leaves project is, at least, keeping Asian manuscripts in Asia,
for the benefit of (and providing access for) Asian scholars.
By contrast, the Mus‚‚ee Guimet in Paris is a black hole.
I did not have any particular plan or intention to write an
indictment of the project, but was rather dragooned into doing so
after a lengthy denunication of a passing comment from Dr Justin
McDaniel, whose screed insisted not only that I was entirely wrong,
but that I had no right to state an opinion on the matter --and,
moreover, he seemed to infer that my stated opinion on MS acquisition
policies necessarily entails that I have failed to appreciate your
contribution to the field of Pali studies, etc. etc.
I do not "fail to appreciate", but rather very much appreciate the
value of your numerous articles, and I have commented many times that
two of them in particular have had a decisive influence on directions
taken in my own studies (viz., your detailing the Oc-Eo inscriptions,
and your issue dedicated to the Mon).
I regard a difference of opinion on acquisition policies as simply
that --and I am not inclined to adopting a shrill tone on the issue,
as I think I regard it in its correct perspective. To paraphrase a
Pali source, I choose to regard those difference of opinion that are
profound as profound, and those that are worldly as merely worldly.
As I mentioned in my prior note, there are numerous issues that I do
adopt a more trenchant tone about (e.g., my recent article on aid
agencies in Laos engaging in child prostition, etc.) --my vantage on
all of these issues, as a perennial outsider, makes it rather too easy
to pass judgement from a presumed position of moral purity. However,
if I do not take it upon myself to opine, who will?
The world is worn,
'Twould be better were we never born,
E.M.
On 12/6/06, Peter Skilling <peski@...> wrote:
> Dear Eisel Hazard,
>
> Here are some notes on your communiqué of 11/10/06.
>
> > If we're going to talk about Skilling in earnest, then, here is a
> > summary of what little I know, and if Skilling himself or anyone else
> > would be so kind as to contradict my one-sided understanding, I am
> > indeed willing and eager to learn that I may be wrong.
> >
> I am afraid most of what you have written is inaccurate, so I offer some
> corrections. I wonder where you picked up many of the ideas.
>
>
> 1) The purchase of manuscripts stopped by the year 2000 at the latest.
> Fragile Palm Leaves has not bought manuscripts since that year. We stopped
> for a number of reasons, the main one being that the crisis as we perceived
> it - the flood of manuscripts - had ceased.
>
>
> 2)
>
> >Over the past five years I have spoken with many scholars about Peter
> > Skilling's "Fragile Palm Leaves" Project, and virtually every one of
> > them has expressed some form of moral reservation about it --along
> > with raising speculations as to its legality.
>
> The project has been supported by many people, including scholars and monks.
> I also know several scholars who have questioned or opposed it. We have
> discussed the matter with good will and agreed to differ.
>
>
> 3)
>
> > At its most basic, the Project *does* buy manuscripts from "dealers"
> > and "smugglers", and has built up its inventory in what could be
> > called an ethical and legislative grey area.
>
> As noted above, the Project no longer buys manuscripts, and has not done so
> for over six years. Those that were collected were bought from merchants and
> shop-keepers on the open market. It is a bit of a dramatization to say they
> were bought from "smugglers".
>
> 4)
>
> > Fundamentally, the project's money *is* directly encouraging the
> > illegal trade in Pali MS flowing out of Burma and into Thailand.
>
> When the project began, and as it continued, we were aware of and regularly
> discussed this problem. We decided to accept the risk for what we considered
> a worthy cause.
>
> 5)
>
> > The indirect effects are also significant: there is now a large
> > collection of MS in Taiwan that was acquired (reportedly) entirely by
> > Taiwanese private collectors buying what Skilling passed over or
> > rejected in his own shopping for "his" collection.
>
> I do not think there is any evidence or foundation at all for this report.
> When Fragile Palm Leaves entered the scene, there was already a booming
> market with its own momentum - that was what prompted us to act. The
> merchants said from the very beginning that the main buyers were from
> Taiwan. I know of two collections in Taiwan. One, purchased in one lot by a
> Buddhist institute, claims to go back many years, perhaps decades. Another,
> belonging to a private individual, I know only by hearsay - it appears to
> have its own origins.
>
> 6) Fragile Palm Leaves has never set itself up as an example. It did what it
> did at the time out of a sincere belief that it was necessary. Others
> disagree, and it is their right to do so.
>
> I have personally discouraged several people in several countries from
> following the example, or have at least pointed out to them the problems,
> which are those you mention.
>
> 7)
> > It seems to me that there is a complex balancing act so far as the
> > legal and financial backing of the project is concerned, with various
> > promises having been made to (and by) the PTS, the Thai authorities,
> > and (directly or indirectly) the Myanmar Junta in Pyinmana --who still
> > have some hypothetical legal right to their cultural patrimony under
> > international and national law, as the Fragile Palm Leaves project
> > explicitly recognises.
>
> We are not in touch with and have not made any promises to any of the
> authorities you mention. As a small project we have worked quietly on the
> personal level with concerned Buddhists.
>
> 8)
>
> > This is indeed a subject that has stirred up rumour and innuendo among
> > many scholars, and it may well be that I am the victim of a common
> > misperception of the facts.
>
> Thank you for recognizing this possibility. I hope you can see from the
> above that this is the case.
>
> You are right in describing the purchase of manuscripts as an ethical and
> legal grey area. From my perspective, this means an area in which there is
> bound to be a wide spectrum of views.
>
> SUMMARY
>
> For a certain period, in the 1990s, a group of people began a project called
> Fragile Palm Leaves in response to what they perceived as a crisis: a flood
> of Buddhist manuscripts onto open markets. The project established a
> Foundation in 2001. For various reasons, one of the primary being that the
> flood seemed to have abated and the crisis passed, we stopped any new
> purchases by the year 2000. The present concern of the project is to
> preserve and catalogue the manuscripts and to make them available digitally
> to international institutions and scholars. This goes slowly because of a
> severe lack of funds and staff. The project does, however, continue to
> receive the support of concerned scholars and Buddhist groups.
>
> The manuscript collection is not the only, or even the main, concern of the
> Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to the
> preservation and study of Buddhist literature in general. It has published
> three volumes of the series 'Materials for the Study of the Triptiaka' to
> date (2202-2004),and at least five more volumes are nearly ready and should
> be published in the year 2007.
>
> Fragile Palm Leaves published a Newsletter from January 2540/1997 to
> December 2545/2002, a total of seven issues. Regrettably we have been unable
> to produce the Newsletter since, after the departure of the person who
> helped with the layout.
>
> Attempts to set up a website since the year 2000 have been unsuccessful,
> owing to lack of time and of requisite skills. We hope to set up a site in
> 2007.
>
> With best regards,
>
> Peter Skilling.
>
>
>
>