A Hybrid Japan Project event featuring Paul Swanson (Nanzan University).

In this lecture we will look at the many challenges presented by translating this 6th-century Chinese Buddhist text into English: how much attention should be given to explanatory notes, what problems are presented by attempting a "consistent" translation, how much should one rely on traditional commentaries, and so forth. Some of these challenges are common to any translation enterprise, others are specific to this text or translating Chinese into English. We will also look at some specific passages to illustrate these issues and indicate the content and influence of this text.
 

Paul L. Swanson was born and raised in Japan, did graduate work at Sophia University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and began working at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture (Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan) in 1986. He has edited the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies for over 30 years, and recently published Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight, a complete annotated translation and study of T'ien-t'ai Chih-i's Mo-ho chih kuan (University of Hawai'i Press, 3 volumes).

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