Pali in print: a review covering 1870 to 1959

I have compressed this considerably, to make a more rapid reference
out of it; all changes to the text are indicated in square brackets,
including the ellipsis for each omission.

Perhaps someone would undertake a similar article for 1959 to 2009?

E.M.
-----
[Original source:]
V. P. Bapat. 2500 Years of Buddhism. (Delhi: Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1st Ed. 1959), pp. 370-83.

[Digital:]
http://www.buddhismtoday.com/english/world/figure/005-progress.htm

Progress of Buddhist Studies in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia,
Laos, Vietnam, China and Japan
Prof. P.V. Bapat and Dr. J.N. Takasaki


[Sec. 1: SRI LANKA / CEYLON]
[...]
The venerable elders [at he Vidyodaya College, Colombo (founded 1872)
& Vidyalankara College, Kelaniya (founded 1873)] saw the necessity of
having Pali literature printed for the people and books were thus
published both in Pali and Sanskrit. The Publication of the Mahavamsa
and its translation into Simlialese [sic!] were undertaken by the
Venerable H. Sumangala, the Principal of the Vidyodaya College, and
Pandit Batuwantudawe. The Abhidhanappadipika, a Pali lexicon, and the
Namamala were edited by the Venerable Subhuti. At the request of Sir
Robert Chalmers, then Governor of Ceylon, the commentary of the
Majjhima-nikaya was edited by the Venerable Dhammarama, the second
Principal of the Vidyalankara College.
[...]
Simon Hewavitarane, the youngest brother of Anagarika Dharmapala, left
a large legacy which was to be used for the printing and publishing of
Pali books. Over 49 volumes of commentaries on the canonical texts of
the Pali Tripitaka have been published. Among the published texts are
the Cariya-Pitaka (1950), the Parajika the first volume of the
Pinaya-Pitaka [sic!] (1950), the Dhammasangani (1952), and the Jataka
Pali (gatha, 1954).

Stray volumes of the Tripitaka and commentaries were also published at
the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, but most of
these books and commentaries, including those in the Simon
Hewavitarane Series, are now out of print.

The Abhidhammattha-Vibhavani (1933) and the Atthasalinimula Tika
(1938), published in the Vidyodaya Tika Publication Series, may also
be mentioned. In the manatunga Series, too, there appeared three
volumes of the Digha-Nikaya (1929). One very interesting tika on the
Samanta-Pasadika, the Vimati-Vinodani by Coliya Kassapa, was published
with indexes by Dr. H. GabrieI de Silva (1935). It had been preceded
by the Sarattha-Dipani (1914), another tika on the Samanta-Pasadika,
which, however, remained incomplete.

It is now planned to publish afresh the Texts and their Simlialese
[sic!] translations under the direction of Prof. G.P. Malalsekera, who
is well known for his Pali Literature of Ceylon (London, 1928) and for
his Dictionary of Pali Proper Names in two volumes (1937-38). A
complete edition of the Cullavagga and portions of the Digha and the
Samyutta-Nikayas have already been published with Simlialese
translations. At [sic!] the Simlialese [sic!] translations of the Pali
Texts are in great demand, Dr. A.P. de Soyza, a zealous Buddhist, has
published translations of the Digha, the Majjhima and the Samyutta.
With the foundation of the University of Ceylon, particularly since
Ceylon achieved independence, new scholars have begun to enter the
field. N.A. Jaya Vikrama has contributed a fine critical commentary on
the Suttanipata (University of Ceylon Review, 1948-50). Prof. O.H. de
Wijesekera has correlated Pali studies with studies in earlier Vedic
literature and his papers on Yaksa, Gandharva and Indra, as well as
some from his former pupil, Charles Godage (University of Ceylon
Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, November 1943, and Vol. Ill, April 1945),
deserve to be read. In 1946, Dr. Adikaran published his Early History
of Buddhism in Ceylon, followed by W. Rahula's History of Buddhism in
Ceylon (1956) based on original Pali sources.

Old style scholars among the monks have also given us some fine books.
The Rev. Widurapola Piyatissa wrote Mahakassapahcarita (1934) and
Mahanekkhamma Campu (1935), edited the Jataka-Atthakatha in ten
volumes, and edited commentaries on the Netti-Pakarana and the
Samyutla-Nikaya. The commentaries published in the Simon Hewavitarane
Series are also edited by learned Elders.

In order to popularize the study of Pali among school-children, it was
necessary to simplify the teaching of Pali grammar. In 1912 the Rev.
Suriyagoda Sumangala compiled a graduated Pali course, on the model of
13handarkar's [sic!] Sanskrit Readers in India. The Rev. A.P.
Buddhadatta, who was given the title of Agga-Mahapandita by the
Burmese Government in 1954, published New Pali Course, Parts 1(1937)
and 11 [sic!] (1939), Higherpali [sic!] Course, Aid to Pali
Conversation and Concise Pali-English Dictionary (1949). The Rev. A.P.
Buddhadatta has become famous for his edition of the Visuddhimagga
(1914) and of the Apadana (1930) in Simlialese [sic!] characters and
for his editions, for the Pali Text Society, of the
Namarupa-Pariccheda (1914), the Abhidhammavatara (1915), the
Sammoha-Vinodani commentary on the Vibhanga (1923), the
Vinaya-Uttara-Vinicehaya (192.8 [sic?]), the Saddhamma-Pajjotika (3
vols.) and the commentary- on the Niddesa. He has written numerous
scholarly books in the Simlialese [sic!] language and brought out an
English-Pali dictionary (1955). A similar work was prepared by the
Rev. Widurupolapiyatissa in 1949. He also edited the
Visuddhimagga-Ganthi, a small commentary in Simlialese [sic!]
characters explaining intricate points in that work. It was with his
help that a copy of this manuscript in Burmese characters was obtained
from a Burmese monastery near Ambalangoda. [...]

[Venerable Narada Thera] has also written a life of the Buddha along
with the text and translation of Chapter 1 of the
Abhidhammattha-Sangaha. Several editions of the Dhammapada have
appeared and one prepared by B. Siri Sivali (1954) is presented very
attractively, the text being given in the Simlialese [sic!] and Roman
scripts on pages on the left and the translations in Simlialese [sic!]
and English on the right.

The Rev. Nyanatiloka, a German Buddhist monk of the Dodanduwa Island,
gave us a very useful book in his Guide Through the Abhidhamma-Pitaka
(1938). He has also prepared a German translation of the Visuddhimagga
which has so far been printed only in part. The Government of Ceylon
has awakened to the fact that it, too, must encourage Buddhist
studies. Accordingly, the task of publishing the Pali texts and their
Simlialese [sic!] translations has been entrusted to the Vidyalankara
authorities. It has also been decided to bring out a Buddhist
encyclopaedia [AFAIK, this was never completed, but individual
articles can be purchased as off-prints and the project still has
offices in Colombo --E.M.] and arrangements are being made for its
preparation under the general editorship of Prof. G.P. Malalsekera.
[...]

[Sec. 2: BURMA]

[...]
Burma can boast of two or three printing presses like the Hanthawady
Press the P.G. Mundyne Pitaka Press and the Zabu Meet Swe Press where
Pali books, the Atthakathas, and sub-commentaries on the Abhidhamma
are printed.
[...]
At the beginning of this century, [...] Ledi Sayadaw [...] wrote on
the Yamaka and selections from it, as well as his article, 'Philosophy
of Relations', was published by the Pali Text Society in 1914 and in
1916. Recently, two other great scholars passed away. One of them,
Abhidliaja Maha Rattha-Guru Nyaungyan Sayadaw (1874-1955), was elected
Sanghanayak, or the presiding Mahathera. He has to his credit some 150
manuals on Buddhism [?writ in Pali?] among which are Mehasamaya-Sutta,
Brahmanimantanasutta, Hemavata-Sutta, Silakkhandha-Tika and
Namakkara-tika. Another notable scholar was the Venerable Mingun
Sayadaw (1868-1955) of Thaton who wrote Milinda-Atthakatha (1949),
Petakopadesaatthakatha, Kathinaviniccaya and Nibbanakatha [?viz.,
original compositions in Pali?]. He was looked upon with great
disfavour by the ecclesiastical authorities as well as the Government
of Burma for having expressed in his commentary on the Milinda
independent views regarding the possibility of giving women a higher
ordination by the Order of the Buddhist Monks.

Charles Duroiselle made a name for himself through his writings or
various archaeological finds in Burma and also wrote a small book
entitled Practical Grammar.  Z Aung's Compendium of Philosophy (1910),
a masterly treatise, is an annotated translation of the small
Abhidhamma manual, the Abhidhammattha-sangaha. Aung also wrote an
account of Abhidhamma literature in Burma (1912). Later, he translated
the Kathavatthu into English in Points of Controversy (1915). Mrs. C.
Rhys Davids was his collaborator in the first and third of the works
mentioned above. Prof. Maung Tin gave us the English translation of
the Atthasalini in his Expositor (2 vols., 1920-21), and of the
Visuddhimagga in his Path of Purity (3 vols., 1922-31). We may also
mention the names of the late Ledi Pandit U. Maung, Gyi and the late
U. Lin who wrote on subjects relating to the Abhidhamma. Nor must we
forget the Rev. Pannaloka Mahathera who has written on Abhidhamma
subjects in Bengali.

     Since Burma became independent, the Burmese Government has taken
swift measures to bring about the revival of Buddhism and Buddhist
studies. A Buddha Sasana Council was established and under its
auspices [...] the basic text, as recorded in 729 stone slabs ' at the
Kuthodaw temple in Mandalay, was compared and a final text
established. The Sangayana (recital) of such a text was done and the
text as recited was first published in 1956. It is understood that the
whole Pali text in Burmese characters and the Burmese translation of
the whole of the Tripitaka has been published.

  [Sec. 3: THAILAND]

[...]
Thailand has always been in the forefront of Buddhist studies and it
is a matter of gratification that as many as forty-five volumes of the
Pali Tripitaka, at least thirty volumes of the Atthakathas, and ten
volumes of the Pakaranas have been published in Siamese script. A
special feature of Siamese books is that they contain indexes, however
meagre they may be.

It may be noted that the Vajiranana Manuscript Library at Bangkok
[viz., a collection now in the "Mongkut Krao Rare Book Room" at BK's
National Library --E.M.] has a rich collection of manuscripts, some of
which are extremely rare. There is a new commentary on the
Visuddhimagga, the Sankhepattha-jotani which begins with the works
Svasti Buddhaya (Hail to the Buddha!). In Thailand also is preserved a
rare book, the Sangitivamsa, which mentions as many as nine councils.

Pancika-Nama-Atthayojana, a work on the Abhidhammatthavibhavani (which
itself is a tika on the Abhidhammattha-Sangaha), is another rare
printed book in two volumes which have an index. Another book,
Mangalattha-Dipani (1951-53), gives a detailed exposition of the
gathas of the famous Mangala-Sutta and is highly spoken of in
Thailand. Other important new books are Jinakalamalini, and
Samantapasadika-Attha-Yojana.
[...]

[Sec. 4: CAMBODIA]

[...]
In 1914 the Government opened in Phnom-penh, the capital of Cambodia,
a Pali High School where young monks were instructed and given
diplomas after four years' training. The instruction was not confined
to religious subjects but also included subjects useful in the
temporal world. This school has now developed into a college. In 1933,
the authorities began to establish elementary Pali schools where the
monks took a three years' course. Out of these schools have now
developed the schools of Dhamma-Vinaya, where all monks are trained.
This year a Buddhist University named after Preah Sihanu-Raja has also
been started.

To supplement this programme of religious instruction in Phnompenh a
Royal Library was opened in 1925 and a Buddhist Institute in 1930. A
little later, the Government appointed a Tripitaka Board consisting of
eminent scholars, who were. asked to prepare for publication Pali
texts and their Cambodian translations. The literary output of these
institutions is highly creditable. Out of the 110 volumes contemplated
in the bilingual series, 55 have already been published. A copy of all
the- texts of the Pali Canon written by hand was sent to the Sixth
Council (Chattha Sangayana) which was held at Rangoon. Among the other
ten volumes published in Pali (1938-54), are the Abhidhammamatika
(1953), the Chappakarana Abhidhamma (1950), the Abhidhammattha-sangaha
(1938), the Bhikkhupatimokkha (1950), the Visuddhimagga (1946) and the
Mangalattha-Dipani (1952). [NB: four other works in Pali are not
mentioned, for a total of ten; I would hypothesize that the Patimokkha
and Dhammapada editions I've seen are two, and it is likely that the
four are not specified simply because the are, similarly, common
--E.M.]  No fewer than 187 volumes, mostly on religious subjects, have
been published in the Cambodian language by the various libraries and
institutions already mentioned.
[...]

[Sec. 5: LAOS]

[...]
It appears, however, that there exist in Laos many texts which are
word-to-word commentaries or Nissayas of the Pali texts. In
Luangbrabang, the capital, in a small temple on the hill, there is a
library of manuscripts in which we find a Laotian Nissaya of the
Visuddhimagga. It begins with the words Namo tassa (Bhagavato) atthu
instead of the usual formula of Namo tassa Bhagavato Arhato
Samma-sambuddhassa (Bow to the Blessed, the Deserving and Fully
Enlightened Buddha).

In this country, the Jatakas enjoy great popularity and separate
collections of ten and of fifty Jatakas are available. The order of
the ten Jatakas, however, differs from that in Fausboll's edition.
There is also a collection of fifty Jatakas which is current in other
countries in South-East Asia, such as Siam, Cambodia and Burma. What
is peculiar to the independent Laotian version, however, is that it
contains 27 stories which are not found in any other collection (see,
Henri Deydier, Introduction a la Connaissance du Laos, Saigon: 1952,
p. 29). Lists of the Jatakas in the collection of the ten and fifty
are given below [here omitted --E.M.].

[...]There is also a sutta called the Jambupattisutta, which is
peculiar to this country and is portrayed in the wall paintings of the
Library building on Val Pha Ouak, the hill in Luangprabang. King
Jambupatti, wishing to dazzle the Buddha, visited him in great state,
but saw the latter sitting on his throne, beautiful as a god and
dressed in the shining apparel of a King of Kings (Rajadhiraja). This
represents the conception of the Buddha as the equal of a Cakravarti
monarch. In a scene depicted in a wall painting in this temple, the
Buddha is represented as pointing to Jambupatti the torments he must
suffer if does not follow the principles of the Vinaya.

[Sec. 6 = Vienam, here omitted]

[Sec. 7 = China, here omitted]

[Sec. 8 = JAPAN]

[...]
The work of the Pali Text Society in London greatly influenced the
outlook of Japanese scholars. Following its example, the gigantic task
of translating the Pali Canon into Japanese was undertaken and
completed in 65 volumes under the supervision of J. Takakusu, a former
professor of Tokyo University, and M. Nagai, also a retired professor
of Tokyo University. Japanese scholars have shown remarkable zeal and
a special capacity for the comparative study of Pali texts and Tibetan
and Chinese translations of Buddhist canons, which has gone a long way
in correctly interpreting early Buddhism and its development. C.
Akanuma, a Professor of Otani University, was one of the most
outstanding scholars of Pali Buddhism. His Dictionary of Pali Proper
Names (Nagoya, 1931), and Comparative Catalogue of the Pali Canon and
its Chinese Versions have been hailed as works of great learning. The
Samanta-Pasadika was edited by J. Takakusu and M. Nagai, while Ethics
of Buddhism was published by S. Tachibana of Koinazawa University.
Anesaki's The Four Buddhist Agamas in Chinese is also a famous work.

The study of Pali Buddhism has now developed into that of the Agama,
the Abhidhamma and the Vinaya. Each of these branches is under the
supervision of a competent scholar. Funahashi, of Otani University, is
working on the Agama, R. Higata, of Kyushu University, on the Jataka,
K. Mizunu, of Kornazawa University, and G. Sasaki, of Otani
University, on the Abhidhamma and M, Nagai on the Vinaya.
[...]

[END]

     Notes and References

     [1] The author is indebted to the Rev. A.P. Buddhadatta of
Ambalangoda, Ceylon, for much of the information in this account.

     [2] The author is indebted to Shri Devaprasad Guha of the pali
Department of the University of Rangoon for certain details in this
account.

     [3] The author is grateful to the Ven. Brah Gru Sanghasattha of
the Buddhist College at Phnom-penh for the material on which this
account is based. Thanks are also due to His Wminence Samdach
Choun-nath Chief of the Mahanikaya in Cambodia through whose courtesy
the material was made available.

     [4] The material for this account was kindly supplied by Mr Mai
Tho. Truye^`n, president of the Association of Buddhist Studies, South
Vietnam, Saigon through the courtesy of monsieur Louis Mallret,
Director, Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, Saigon.

     [5] This article is based on Chou Hsiang Kuang's Indo-Chinese
Relations, and History of Chinese Buddhism 1955).