1st Edition
Chinese Buddhist Texts An Introductory Reader
The influence of Buddhism on the Chinese language, on Chinese literature and on Chinese culture in general cannot be overstated, and the language of most Chinese Buddhist texts differs considerably from both Classical and Modern Chinese.
This reader aims to help students develop familiarity with features of Buddhist texts in Chinese, including patterns of organization, grammatical features and specialized vocabulary. It also aims to familiarize students with the use of a range of resources necessary for becoming independent readers of such texts.
Chinese Buddhist Texts is suitable for students who have completed the equivalent of at least one year’s college level study of Modern Chinese and are familiar with roughly one thousand of the commonest Chinese characters. Previous study of Classical Chinese would be an advantage, but is not assumed. It is an ideal textbook for students taking relevant courses in Chinese studies programs and in Buddhist studies programs. However, it is also possible for a student to work through the reader on his or her own.
Further online resources are available at: lockgraham.com
Unit One: The Heart Sutra (心經) Unit Two: The Agamas (阿含經) Unit Three: The Diamond Sutra (金剛經) Unit Four: The Lotus Sutra (妙法蓮華經) Unit Five: The Sutra on the Ten Wholesome Ways of Action (十善業道經) Unit Six: Biographies of Eminent Monks (高僧傳) Unit Seven: The Essentials for Practicing Calming-and-Insight and Chan Meditation (修習止觀坐禪法要) Unit Eight: The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (六祖壇經) Unit Nine: The Song of Enlightenment (證道歌) Unit Ten: The Blue Cliff Record (碧巖錄) Unit Eleven: Yuan Liao Fan’s Four Lessons (了凡四訓) Unit Twelve: Zhugui’s Commentary on the Heart Sutra (朱圭: 心經注解)
Biography
Graham Lock has a BA in Chinese from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Sydney. He taught for many years at the City University of Hong Kong and is currently retired.
Gary S. Linebarger has a BA and MA in Chinese language and literature from San Francisco State University, a MA in translation from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a PhD in Buddhist Studies and Practices from Dharma Realm Buddhist University. He is a founding member of the Buddhist Text Translation Society and currently is the assistant chair of the School of English Studies at Wenzhou-Kean University in Wenzhou, China.
"Graham Lock and Gary S. Linebarger have now introduced the first textbook for Chinese Buddhist writings to be published by a major press, complete with a sampling of a variety of types of texts, glossaries, and explanations of difficult terms and grammar … overall the material is admirably clear and accessible." -- John Kieschnick, Stanford University
"Chinese Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader (hereafter CBT) is an excellent resource that will serve anyone committed to studying Chinese classical language, and especially those interested in the vast literature of Chinese Buddhism. With a dozen selections from a wide range of texts, unique vocabulary lists, and extensive notes that will help a student understand both the language of literary Chinese and the content of Chinese Buddhism ... it provides clear and effective tools for improving one’s Chinese language capacities." -- Joshua Mason in Chinese as a Second Language | 漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報 54:1 (2019), pp. 79–83
