Peter Skilling

Twenty translations from the vast corpus of Buddhist literature come alive in this full-color anthology of ancient wisdom for turbulent times, as a master scholar uncovers their sources and significance. Change and loss have always been part of the human condition, but in today's world, the pace and intensity of uncertainty has reached new extremes. The Buddha observed the truth of impermanence more than 2,500 years ago and diagnosed the source of the anxiety it engenders so incisively that his prescription still resonates and heals here and now. In Buddha's Words for Tough Times, Peter Skilling, one of the world's foremost authorities on Buddhist scripture, brings the reader face to face with the wealth of Buddhist literature, from a teaching in a single word, to a seminal collection of verses on impermanence, to narrations of the Buddha's teaching journeys across the Gangetic Plain. Translating from sources in Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Pali, he uncovers the complex history of the vast writings of the Buddhist canons, and his skill in revealing the meaning of twenty gems from within those riches brings them alive for English readers. We could have no better guide for this exploration, an exploration whose value is more urgent than ever.

An important new book unlocking the words of the Buddha contained in the vast Tibetan canon, one of the main scriptural resources of Buddhism. In the forty-five years the Buddha spent traversing northern India, he shared his wisdom with everyone from beggar women to kings. Hundreds of his discourses, or sutras, were preserved by his followers, first orally and later in written form. Around thirteen hundred years after the Buddha's enlightenment, the sutras were translated into the Tibetan language, where they have been preserved ever since. To date, only a fraction of these have been made available in English. Questioning the Buddha brings the reader directly into the literary treasure of the Tibetan canon with thoroughly annotated translations of twenty-five different sutras. Often these texts, many translated here in full for the first time, begin with an encounter in which someone poses a question to the Buddha. Peter Skilling, an authority on early Buddhist epigraphy, archaeology, and textual traditions, has been immersed in the Buddhist scriptures of diverse traditions for nearly half a century. In this volume, he draws on his deep and extensive research to render these ancient teachings in a fresh and precise language. His introduction is a fascinating history of the Buddhist sutras, including the transition from oral to written form, the rise of Mahayana literature, the transmission to Tibet, the development of canons, and a look at some of the pioneers of sutra study in the West.

Recent studies of intra-Asian trade and Buddhist networks have brought fresh perspectives to the understanding of the pre-modern interaction between South and Southeast Asia. This collection of essays, based on a conference held in conjunction with an exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, is a re-exploration of Buddhist art, archaeology, and epigraphy.

A Catalogue Based on the Sap Songkhro

"Pali and Vernacular Literature Transmitted in Central and Northern Siam" is a preliminary survey of the pre-modern literature of Central and Northern Siam. Based on old records, it inventories both Pali and vernacular literature, classed under 27 categories, dealing with Buddhism, grammar, history, narrative, and folklore. It records the titles of texts inscribed on palm-leaf and paper and from journals in the early period of printing. It includes descriptions of the complete contents of the pioneering translations published in the journals "Dharmacaksu" and "Dharmasampati", which issued in new translation styles. The introduction discusses the sources of the book and the genres it describes. The book is accompanied by indexes of titles, persons, and place-names.