The Hobogirin was published in 1912 by the Academy des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres of the Institut de France, under the editorial direction of eminent sinologist Paul Demieville. In 1937 the project was halted, but it was revived in the 1960s. Its use is widely acknowledged, and the book is one of the most popular works in the field outside of China.
Anna Seidel
During the final months of her life, Anna Seidel suffered extreme hardships. Seidel, a Chinese Buddhist, was the editor of a major work on Buddhism, the Hobogirin. Among her many accomplishments is her translation of a classic Chinese work, Xie qian. Seidel’s work is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Eastern philosophy.
Seidel studied at the University of Munich between 1958 and 1960, where she was awarded the prestigious Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes scholarship. In 1961, she traveled to Paris to complete graduate work at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Études at the College de France. In 1969, she was appointed member of the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient in Kyoto, and lived there until her death in 1992. She also studied at the University of Hawai’i and the University of California Santa Barbara.
In 1978, Seidel published her first encyclopedia on Buddhism, called the Hobogirin. She also studied Taoism, and eventually became one of the world’s foremost scholars on the subject. She married Boston scholar Holmes Welch in 1979, co-edited Facets of Taoism, and dedicated herself to the Hobogirin Institute. The scholarly journals in the fields of Eastern religions are rich with her writings, and her obituary in Numen 38, no. 2 (1991) is one of the most detailed scholarly works to date.
In addition to her writing, Seidel is also an experienced short track speed skater. She has participated in the Peking Olympics and is a member of the deutsche short track national team. While she may have enjoyed a wide variety of sports, she has a definite need for speed and has the medals to prove it. She’s certainly one of the fastest athletes in her sport. If you’re looking for a new hobby or an exciting career, Anna Seidel is the right person to contact.
Seidel’s contributions to the field of religion were also part of a radical redefinition of the subject. At the time, she thought of Daoism as having two forms: pure “philosophical Daoism” based on the Laozi and Zhuangzi’s poetic vision of the cosmos, and religious “demon worship.” She argued that the latter was debased and rooted in superstitious practices, while the former was simply a loosely organized popular religion.
Tsong kha pa
In The Book of the Great Compassion, Hobogirin Tsong khapa discusses the works of Wonch’uk, the greatest commentator of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. Tsong kha pa was an astute scholar and indicated in his own work which ideas he deemed valid or invalid. Though he referred to Wonch’uk as a Korean, he did not consider him to be one.
Tsongkhapa’s basic code of conduct governs monks and nuns. It is composed of seven sub-codes. Each sub-code is defined by Tsongkhapa in a descending order. This way, even lawyers and butchers cannot be expected to follow rules that require them to avoid killing and lying. The author avoids a gross devaluation of the basic code by granting it greater weight than other societal groups.
While there is no reliable evidence to prove that Wonch’uk’s main text is the original, it is likely to be an English translation of Hstian-tsang’s version. Although Wonch’uk often comments on Hstian-tsang’s version, it is also likely that he relied on the later Tibetan versions. While this may seem surprising, it does not mean that the text does not have its place in Tibet.
In contrast, Tsongkhapa has no problem explaining the nadi and cakra, which are central points of the body. In the same way, he uses presuppositions that opponents already knew. Thus, his work reflects his own understanding of two truths, the first being illusory and the second being clear. This is the only place where the author acknowledges the illusory body as an arbitrary construct.
Tsongkhapa rejects the notion of essential reality and holds that all datums are labeled through thought construction. The meaning of success and failure is a convention, and the same holds true for the existence of the sense-faculties. Therefore, the existence of the truly real is not in any way essential. In other words, we are not the source of reality. The void is the object of negation.
Anna Seidel’s work on religion
The study of Taoism is in its infancy, and Anna Seidel’s survey of the subject outlines the state of knowledge and the challenges that remain for a historically objective understanding. This work contains extensive bibliographical references and serves as a guide to further study. It is a great starting point for anyone interested in learning more about this enigmatic religion. It is a useful book for anyone who is interested in religion, particularly in Eastern philosophy.
The Hobogirin
The Hobogirin is a major work by Japanese Buddhist scholar Takakusu Junjiro. It is also a popular reference work for Japanese Buddhist scholars. Its focus on the Chinese and Japanese sources in Buddhism makes it one of the most authoritative books on the subject. But even after nearly three centuries, the Hobogirin retains its relevance today. Its perspectives on Buddhism are still highly relevant and it is one of the most popular works of Japanese Buddhist scholarship outside of Japan.
Seidel’s life’s work focused on the compilation of the Hobogirin, a multi-volume Buddhist encyclopedia. However, his research into Taoism was equally important and he became the foremost expert on the subject. He was married briefly to Bostonian scholar Holmes Welch. He also co-edited the book Facets of Taoism. After his retirement, Seidel worked on the Hobogirin Institute
