Jitari: A critical edition, translation and historical-philosophical study on the basis of a new Sanskrit manuscript at the China Tibetology Research Denter (Beijing)
Final Report Abstract
We could make significant progress towards the main goal of the project, namely, to make some 16 new works by the Buddhist philosopher Jitāri available to scholars of Buddhism and Indian philosophy. These, as well as other philosophical works of Jitāri are particularly useful as a representation of Buddhist philosophy in the 10th century, that is, after the towering figures of Dharmottara and Prajñākaragupta and before the last phase of Buddhist philosophy in South Asia represented by Jñānanśrīmitra and Ratnakīrti. It seems that Jitāri’s work was primarily addressing the needs of Buddhist monks wishing to study Buddhist philosophy. This can explain the vast disparity in the manuscripts, which some times contain a single chapter, sometime two, and sometime, as in the precious manuscript of the CTRC, as many as twenty-one. Of special importance is the Bhāvikāraṇavāda (nr. 13 in ms. A, not present in ms. B). It is the only independent work on this fascinating subject, which is completely unknown outside a very small circle of specialists.
Publications
- "Rare Manuscripts of Works by Jitāri". China Tibetology. Vol. 1, 2012: 17-32
Junjie Chu and Eli Franco
