Now I am going to introduce one of the neighbours, Susan's associate professor in.
It's one of those women and citizens and rightly so on this kind of developments.
Let's just say this almost the decision.
Give me a second. This appears to be considering how many spy on us was.
Waiting for something her. So is it time for me to go or think so?
Yes. Are you? Michael?
Is that's not news. Which one is it?
I would say. Oh, OK. Sorry.
That's great. So first,
I'd like to say thanks to Matthew for putting this conference together and everyone
who is taking part in arranging it and making it so far off to a great start.
It's great to be able to finally resume academic activities after COVID.
This is actually my own first trip outside of my own city centre since March of 2020.
So the title, again, is how many Malians were there? Passages in which Mahayana citrus glorify and promote themselves are one of the
most distinctive and widely studied features of these texts in recent decades,
there have been a primary focus in the study of early on and if serves as the basis for some of the main theories.
Generally overlooked, however, is that Mahayana honest is also often link themselves with an advocate,
the use of other Mahayana surgeries or my honest uterus as a group.
Here, I would like to survey this material and argue that it shows that the authors of these
texts regarded themselves and their followers as participants in a single movement.
Suggesting that the widespread idea that Mahayana emerged separate separately in different communities is misconceived.
Time and again, sometimes almost constantly individual INEC,
which was promised extraordinary benefits to anyone who encounters and becomes involved with them
and even minor ways merely listening to a suitor without rejecting it or memorising a single verse.
The texts tell us we'll bring the devotion and protection of God's produce more merit than offering universe is full of treasure,
lead to rebirth and a so-called pure land, or transform one into an irreversible bodhisattva.
Material of this sort was noticed already in the work of Renouf became a prominent focus in the 1970s and 80s.
One famous theory interpreted a small group of these passages as evidence for so-called cults of the book,
specifically envisioned as one in which my ancestors were worshipped at
permanent cult sites that served as institutional bases for early minded groups.
Another theory connected closely to to it is that these texts were composed primarily in writing and that writing itself
played a central role in the formation and preservation of these texts and the establishment of of modern itself.
As I've tried to show elsewhere, this material or this interpretation was based on a mistrust understanding of the meaning of some basic words
used to refer to textual practises and and that these passages actually focussed mainly on memorisation,
recitation and public preaching. My attitude was also glorify itinerant preachers known as Dharma Barnacles, who revealed,
memorised and transmitted these texts depicting them as the movement's central figures.
A third influential perspective derived primarily from these passages is that Mahajan emerged in different
forms and multiple separate communities and only later came to be identified as a single tradition.
This idea was first presented by Gregory Shope, who suggested that since each text,
this is a quote since each each text placed itself at the centre of its own call early Maidana from a sociological point of view,
rather than being an identifiable single group, was in the beginning a loose federation of a number of distinct but related cults.
All of the same pattern, but each associated with this specific text.
So far, as I'm aware, every sort of main scholar active in the field has advocated this position in one way or another.
Gen Nazir says the communities that formed around my ancestors were multiple forest
trope and rightly contends quote each text placed itself at the centre of its own cult.
Donald Lopez comments that quote Early shooters seem to have functioned at mutual independence,
with each such redeemed by its followers to be complete unto itself.
Jonathan Self proposes, similarly, that we must stop referring, at the very least provisionally to quote the Mahayana in the singular,
we must provisionally suppose each scripture to represent a different community, a different Mahayana.
He argues that this proposition is supported by the fact that quote various early Mahayana shooters
expressed different points of view and often seemed to have been written in response to diverse stimuli.
Well, there are certainly many passages that do seem to advocate exclusive devotion to
individuals texts and suchas do prevent some present some different points of view.
A different picture is suggested by passages that encourage the use of other modern
Sugiura using a number of different names and descriptions to refer to them.
Such passages are found widely in Mahayana suitors,
including versions of most of the earliest known texts, a passage in the Sanskrit version of the Exodus,
the Hazarika fragments of which in an earlier prototypical Gundry version,
currently represent the oldest datable evidence we have for the Mahayana states.
That quote suture is associated with the six perfections will spread after the Buddhist death,
and that the Buddha will sustain those who memorised, spread and keep them.
Another passage in the text states that Buddhist authors who have searched for the parameter and past lives
will obtain it in the present along with sutras other than it which welcome this very poor from Utah.
Further along, this passage describes these texts as quote very cumbre profound structures associated
with emptiness associated with not apprehension and associated with the six perfections.
In another passage, the Buddha predicts the diligent students will be averse to Dharma Vonnegut's preachers,
who do not know the Suchas Thani through training. That's plural.
They wish to study passage in the course of preparing,
ATA warns against rejecting a sutras and Tibetan 8.10am to plural that one has not heard before and
states that one should search for what has been properly transmitted in one's quest for the body self.
A Pentagon, the basket of body for related texts, presumably of the six perfection.
This passage is found already in lower chambers 2nd century Chinese version of the text translated by by Friedrich.
Passage in the US state that those who teach the quote excellent, suchas and that's given home dirty duck.
Which also describes the text also describes as BURA or Zap,
will obtain the upon it and that one should teach the project punter to those who memorised the by Pouliot or extensive text and Tibetan.
That's to give us another passage criticises those who doubt the recent appearance in the world of quote sutures of this kind of Tibetan.
It's not a D.W duck. Sanskrit would be Evinrude passages.
Andrew claimed that these attacks are quote fabrications, poetic inventions not spoken by the Buddha,
nor authorised by the look extremist version of the text includes a third of these passages,
referring to the shooters in question in Paul Harrison's translation as quote profound, which was probably Gabiro in Sanskrit,
along with many other passages depicting or encouraging the use of multiple surgeries.
It also advocates finding happiness in the profound sutures, which are forever and forever inexhaustible,
which are infinite, whereby one leaves the darkness, enters the light in which all obscurities are eliminated.
The Sanskrit larger second, you have stage the coaches. The body doctrines turn back from the pursuit of widowhood because they failed to cure.
Quote these dharma discourses of this time. So that's a shame.
Group on Dharma Party Iona, the Tibetan version of the Buttercup, advocates listening to these who trust in the plural.
In the Gilgit version of the society, Rajah the Buddha tells two stories in which monks rejected suitors of this kind
ever rhubarb search to her during the decline of a previous Buddhist dharma,
and encourages the acceptance of these various suitors to get in the plural familiar cures in audacious defiance.
Worship of the Dharma, which is Dharma Puja as the teaching, illumination retention and memory and so forth of Gambier's through trust,
which it describes as in part as being of this kind heaven roopa contained in
the bodies of the Pentagon and in born from or pervaded by the six perfections.
In both passages, the text encourages beginner Buddhist staffers not to reject conspiracy theories that they have not heard before.
The former party preacher Fridtjof tells the story of monks who gave up religious practise
during the decline of a previous Buddhist dharma and abandoned his business suitors.
It also tells a similar story in which people abandoned conspiracy theories of this kind and advocated devotion to such resolve this time.
Senator MacLean, Rica or Lotus or Truss states that after the Buddhist,
that no one will teach or retain in memory these futures of this kind if a Groupon down so Toronto now.
On the same tax, the border states that he speaks by Pugliese, who trust to those who have served coaches put as in past lives.
And that the future should only be taught to those who are, quote, intent on the acquisition of by police who sutro's.
And to those who quote, retain the bipolar sutures and memory in the full length paper, I quote a lot more examples.
But sure, I'll just say that, you know, this is something that's pervasive this kind of references.
Although it eventually became standard in Indian tradition, the term Mahayana Sutra did not emerge until quite late in the study of early translation.
Chinese translation catalogues she she Sheema shows that it was apparently not used in titles of Sea,
which was translated into Chinese until the early 5th century,
leading him to suggest that that the term a sutra probably emerged sometime during the 4th century.
I myself went through Shasta's, and what I found is that the term Mahayana suture does not incur an early genomic attacks texts that are,
you know, more or less generally attributed to Nagarjuna or your Davor.
It's not found in the Sri Lanka Bhoomi, nor is it found in the body of which are the earliest texts of the Yogyakarta tradition.
But it is used in other early attacks, which also suggests the fourth century date.
Which would sort of confirm a Christmas kind of suggestion.
Even though they do not use the term Muhanna in a suture, however,
the authors of even the earliest known examples of these texts depict them as belonging to a specific class and advocate their use in the plural.
Sometimes texts use specific descriptions, such as the after house,
because quote very profound suture is associated with emptiness associated with not apprehension associated with the six perfections or the project.
Upon its description, profound structures which are forever, forever, inexhaustible, which are infinite and so forth.
Authors also commonly referred to these texts by Coulier. Or extensive searches, Kashima has shown that in place of the Sanskrit by puja,
early Mahayana sutras translated into Chinese use Gundry Ebola or Sanskrit by two year olds,
and that they will be Voula by Tujia or by Pouliot was used instead of Mahayana in the titles of early Chinese
translations of these texts and later this these two this term was was replaced with the term Mahayana.
Early, Mahayana supporters, also common, doesn't commonly designate these texts as Kamura or profound futurist usage,
which is linked to passages found in nicoya or arguments to trust that predict the future neglect and loss of Canberra,
such as associated with emptiness.
And interestingly, the the the poly version of the passage is very similar to to the passage that the health sector uses to describe itself.
So, so the Polly Passage is. I guess I didn't write the Polish here, but I translated it.
The Buddha predicts that future spoken by the two targeted that are profound come BURA with profound meaning.
Super Monday and associated with emptiness will be lost. And yet,
it seems likely that Malian researchers refer to themselves as conspiracy theorists in reference
to these sutras that the Buddha predicted in an organised rituals that they would be lost,
not the whom he actually has a Sanskrit exact Sanskrit parallel to this holy passage and uses that
passage directly to refer to in search of some sort of confirming that suspicion to a certain extent.
Let's see. Where am I?
Some citrus make reference to citrus belonging to the body Pittock, a term which occurs in a number of different meanings and Buddhist texts,
but here seems to refer to Mahayana citrus as a as a corpus by far.
Most commonly, however, these texts refer to other Maheu in a future as simply as AVM Rupa sirtuins sutures of this guy,
a term that simultaneously delineates a class of text and identifies the text in which it occurs as belonging to that class.
Some of the most interesting passages that mention multiple Mahayana suitors predict their
revelation and use in future times and the pressure upon the Buddha states that after his death,
the suitor will quote Go into a cave in the ground.
And when the last five hundred years, the last time, the last age when the ruin of the dharma occurs,
beings who have served former Buddhas, people who have been Buddhist office for many lifetimes will appear to spread it.
They've already set up a budget, Paula. The body's main interlocutor in the text and seven other body suffers,
then weep over the future destruction of the true diamond and vowed to memorise,
learn, copy, retain a memory, recite, teach widely and cultivate quote these two truths of this kind.
Five other goodies then also weep over the future demise of the Dharma promise to memorise and preach,
quote these sutures of this kind during the last time.
And additionally promise that they will serve under Paula and the other seven public servants.
In the introduction to his translation of the Tibetan version of the project,
partner Paul Harrison makes the important observation that this scenario constitute.
This is a quote constitutes an authenticating device that both explains the sudden appearance of
the future in the world and vindicates those who champion it by identifying them with budget.
Paula and his five hundred followers. So that's the end of the quote.
We may perhaps imagine that the Dharma barnacles were initially revealed that the Sutra presented themselves as reincarnation,
so under Apollo and the Southern primary companions,
and that they depicted their audience members as having been amongst their five hundred followers and in the time of the Buddha.
By doing so, they were simultaneously able to present their text as authentic,
but about China and themselves and their audience members as body staffers who have been present when
the text was originally taught and who are filling the Buddhist promised prophecy in the present.
Key for our purposes, however, is the Buddha. Paula and his followers vow to reveal and spread not only the project Panopto, but sutures of this kind.
That's a quote or quote that by courier.
These passages with does seem to represent not only in authenticating device for the project partner, but for my industry trust in general.
Similar passages occur and other early structures as well, and the after the House.
Continuing on from the passage in which he predicts the spread of quote sutures associated with the six perfections, which I mentioned above earlier,
the Buddha predicts that there will be some more resources devoted to the army to quote in the last time in the last period and states quote,
I myself have delivered this very discourse associated with omniscience to those sons and daughters of good family.
Even having departed from this life, that is to say their life during the time of the Buddha.
They will have these various tendencies associated with omniscience associated with the not from Utah, and they will deliver this very discourse.
They will rejoice at this very much like the passages in the project upon this passage
identifies the dealers and users of the text and presumably also of the other suitor as a quote,
other suitors associated with the six perfections.
But it mentions of Buddhist office who had been entrusted with revealing the text by the Buddha himself.
And the Tibetan version of the Butter, the political ticker the is up from Roger Raja and 30000 other bodies, it was about to copy and spread.
Quote this suit. This sutures of this kind at the time of the destruction of the diamond in the Himalayas, your generation.
My trailer promises the Buddha that he will give quote these sutures of this kind to
body softness in the future and provide them with memory by which they will memorise,
learn, retain and memory. A copy and teach them in the Super to be crummy appropriate to a group of body staffers vows to reveal quote these
teachings of this kind in the last five hundred years and the Sanskrit version of the larger issue of comity view her.
The letter predicts that in the future, up to the time of the destruction of a true dharma,
those who are able to hear quote these excellent dharma discourses of this
kind praised by all Buddhas lauded by all Buddhas authorised by all Buddhas.
Rapid bringers of the great knowledge initiate one will already have served previous Buddhas and past lives.
And that those who memorise, recite, preach or worship these sects will acquire a vast amount of merit, a verse in the text states those who,
having heard excellent teachings of this time, obtain joy remembering the Sujatha an epithet for the Buddha.
They were our friends in our former time, many other suitors,
most of which also contained passages recommending the use of other Malians to use similar scenarios to explain their own origin,
including versions of the look on a arjona tharanga, Mr. Modi, Drew McIntyre or Appropriation Somebody Raja Porta-Potty,
Preacher Sadaam to Rica, Australia, Indonesia and A.S. Giancana.
Overall, this material makes it clear that despite muhanna suitors,
frequent self-praise and self-promotion and the fact that they sometimes present different points of view on certain issues,
their authors neither envisioned nor advocated exclusive devotion to individual texts.
Instead, these texts show a general pattern of alternating between advocacy for their own texts.
And for my industry watchers more broadly. They thus seem to display two separate but related concerns.
To legitimate their own compositions as authentic, important examples of a new class of text.
And to legitimate the new class of text itself, which was often perhaps typically rejected in toto by Buddhists of their day.
Considered from a different point of view, maybe we may perhaps also see in these alternating concerns an instance of a
distinctive tendency found widely in Indian religious texts in his Tamil Temple myths.
For instance, David Schulman observed that although the temples they are associated with were and often are visited by the same pilgrims,
still a corona's vortex to kind of give the history and mythology associated with individual
temples typically depict their particular temple as being more safer than all others.
And kind of lengthy quote, I think is helpful here.
Nearly always, the home shrine, the subject of the Perata, is glorified at the expense of all others.
Each shrine claims to be the site of creation, the centre of the universe, and the one spot where salvation is most readily obtainable.
These claims are typical of the pilgrims literature. They might also be seen as the pilgrims equivalent of what has been termed theism.
That is, the worship in the context of a plurality of acknowledged gods of each God.
In turn. And he italicise in turn supreme the denigration of other gods or shrines is the simple corollary of praising the momentary favourite.
The same principle operates in relation to praised Prashasti offered to kings, patrons and gurus.
So that's the end of quote.
But I add this Tennessee is found in the classical piranhas as well and goes as far back in Indian tradition as the rig beater,
which served as the basis for Max Mueller's initial application of the term theism to Indian religion, rather than ignorance, neglect or opposition.
The attitude toward other Mahayana sutras that we find in these texts is strongly inclusive.
Indeed, several suitors even encourage and present methods for obtaining the revelation of further news.
The fact that these attacks sometimes present different points of view on certain
issues is never mentioned in early suchas and was apparently not a matter of concern.
Early modernists likely regarded it as no greater an issue than did later shastra authors and apologists.
Who drew freely on a wide range of searchers or early translators of sutures into Chinese who almost always translated multiple texts.
Buddhists have always been able to account for inconsistencies in sutra text with the idea that the Buddhist
that different things to different people in accordance with their individual capacities and needs.
Well, some minor surgeries,
neglect to mother mentioned other surgeries there does not seem to be any reason to imagine that their followers held themselves apart.
Indeed, no evidence has come to light from any Mahayana suture or shots to any Chinese pilgrims report or any other source
that suggests the existence of any person or group that accepted the legitimacy of one or some Mahayana sutras,
but not that of my honest uterus.
In general, though, certain surgeries or groups of sutures undoubtedly became more influential than others in certain areas and time periods,
and some text must have been rejected as inauthentic or considered unworthy of preservation.
My honesty, which would seem to have been regarded as a coherent corpus from the earliest point from
which we have evidence of this passage is predicting the future embolisation I'm sorry,
future revelation of multiple. My industry watchers are especially interesting because they suggest a sense of shared identity.
They seem to indicate that the authors and users of these texts,
broadly identified as an elect group of body satellites from the Buddha entrusted with the corpus of his most
profound texts and appointed with the task of returning to this world 500 years later to reveal spread and use them.
Importantly,
these seem to be the only passages in these texts that reflect an awareness of a movement coalescing around more than individuals who trust.
Suggesting that they depict the broadest Mahajot movement their authors were familiar with.
If this is correct,
we may perhaps see in them exactly what we have long been searching for a depiction of early Mahayana as it was known to early modernists themselves.
A brief glimpse of the movement's self understanding in the mirror of its attempt to legitimate itself.
Key to making historical sense of this self understanding is that Mahayana
authors show no awareness of any sort of schismatic institution or institutions,
any sort of established Mahajot community or communities,
any movement of people deciding to become body suffers in this life or allay or forest aesthetic revival.
The Mahayana, they knew, was a movement of people who understood themselves as having already been body for us for many lifetimes.
And who are dedicated above anything else to the task of revealing spreading and using these texts as a corpus.
Considering the matter.
In this light may help us to make sense of what has long been arguably the most difficult problem faced by scholars of early modern.
The fact that we have a vast corpus of Mahayana sutras,
the creation and preservation of which unquestionably required a vast outlay of organised effort over a period of centuries.
But no evidence for any distinct Mahayana Buddhism still left Mahayana Buddhism to connect it to.
Mahayana monks and nuns continue to take ordination in the lineages,
and Chinese pilgrims and minor sutures themselves make reference to monks who
studied Mahayana sutras and lived in the same monasteries as those who did not.
As late as the 7th century, the Chinese pilgrim E.J. stated that the Nicolaas could not be classified as either Mahayana or Haryana.
And defined my simply as the quote, those who worship the body ciphers and read the Mahayana sutras.
Shifting focus to guard Mahayana sutras as the movement's central focus also fits in well with the fact that
the practise practises these text advocate most frequently and enthusiastically are all suitor oriented.
Which was the primary basis for the original cult of the book theory,
moving away from the idea that these practise focussed primarily on suitors in written form.
As I suggested toward the beginning of this essay,
and bringing in a recognition of the central importance of oral practises, especially public preaching rituals,
along with the central role accorded to ordinary itinerant dharma barnacles, we may perhaps best envision early Mahayana as a cohesive.
Controversial. Primarily textual tradition.
That emerged in Buddhist preoeding preaching circles and spread widely through Buddhist communities associated with various Nicholas.
Clearly enjoying considerable success without necessarily being based in any particular community or communities and
without being the sort of movement that would form an institutionally distinct tradition or traditions of its own.
Thank you.