Contributions to Buddhist Studies

Recently I was asked to compile a list of my contributions to Buddhist studies over the years, and I made this list. It is by no means a complete list, but a selection of the main contributions I have made.

The list is very extensive, and I haven’t linked it in, but it is easy enough to go to my Ancient Buddhist Texts website and use the filters on the home page to find any of these works, or the variants that are not listed here. A more complete list occurs on the history page of the website.

Most of the texts listed below are also published in text only versions, often with metrical analysis; and there are often reworked English-only versions, neither of which are listed here. In all the texts the peyyāla sections have been reconstructed, there are often extensive notes on the grammar, metre and doctrine, together with indexes, etc.

The list below is in reverse chronological order, with brief descriptions of content.

2024:

Dhamma Verses Commentary
A New Revised Translation of the Dhammapada Commentary

Canon and Commentaries
The Canon and its Main Commentaries and Sub-commentaries

2023:

The Great Chronicles of the Buddhas
A Revision of the Great Work by Mingun Sayādaw on the Bodhisatta, the 24 Buddhas, our Buddha and his Disciples

2022:

Jātakagāthāvaṇṇanā, 251-300
The Jātaka Verses and their Word Commentaries (251-300, 150 verses)

Jātakagāthāvaṇṇanā, 151-250
The Jātaka Verses and their Word Commentaries (151-250, 200 verses)

Jātakagāthāvaṇṇanā, 1-150
The Jātaka Verses and their Word Commentaries (150 verses)

2021:

The Revised Jātaka Translation
A complete revision of the translation of the Jātaka stories in six books under a team led by Prof Cowell (2,965 pages).

Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā, a revised presentation of the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana edition of the Jātaka, version 2.8 (2,745 pages).
The revision identifies the distinct parts of the Jātaka (Story of the present, past, canonical verses, word commentary on the verses, and concludion, and is completely reformatted to a better standard).

A Complete Retranslation of Five Jātaka Stories (Ja 1, Ja 2, Ja 3, Ja 273, Ja 526).
The first three Jātakas and two others that were censored in the original translation.

2020:

Karma-vibhaṅga, The Analysis of Deeds
A translation of this important early text in Sanskritized Prakrit (181 pages).

A Comparative Edition of the Dhammapada (4th Edition) published hardcopy in Kandy
A text and studies of the MIA parallels to the Dhammapada, with over 1,400 parallels from Pāḷi, Prākṛt, Sanskritized Prākṛt and Sanskrit sources (330 pages, including complete word index).
Also see Parallels to the Dhammapada Verses (4th Edition), which is similar, but in list format.

2019:

A Series of Five Books on the Borobudur Monument, 2015-2019.
Photographs and descriptions of the 1,400 panels on the monument, which illustrate stories from the Avadāna, Gaṇḍavyūha, Jātaka, Karmavibhanga and Lalitavistara (1,564 pages in all) published in hardcopy in Jakarta. There is also a book on the Prambanan Reliefs, awaiting publication, telling the Rāma and Krishna stories. (Unlike the other works listed these are available from my Photo Dharma website)

2018:

Old Javanese Metres.
The only accessible list of the old Javanese metres which extended the range of Indian prosody (72 pages).

2017:

Dharma-Saṅgraha, The Dharma Collection.
A translation of this important Sanskritized Prākṛt text (96 pages).

Patna Dhammapada, Patna Dhamma Verses.
A translation of Margaret Cone’s edition of this Sanskritized Prākṛt text (187 pages).
There is also another document (Patna Dharmapada) with parallels, and analysing the prosody of the verses (219 pages).

2016:

From Buddha-to-be to Teacher, in the Buddha’s own Words.
A collection of texts from the Majjhimanikāya in which the Buddha himself describes his journey to Awakening (46 pages).

Chanting for Meditators.
A chanting book for the Pa-Auk tradition monasteries in Myanmar (191 pages) published hardcopy in Taipei.

Arthaviniścaya, An Analysis of the Topics.
A translation of this important early text in Sanskritized Prākṛt (104 pages).

Dhammatthavinicchaya, Dhamma Topics and their Analysis.
An original collection of texts giving some of the more important teachings in Buddhism (150 pages). The idea is the same as the Arthaviniścaya, but with an original selection of texts made by myself.

Vuttodaya, The Composition of Metre.
A critical edition, translation, sannaya, and commentary of this classical Pāḷi prosody (203 pages).

The Uraga Verses (2nd edition, with translation).
An edition of the first of the suttas in Suttanipāta, together with their MIA parallels (49 pages).

During this year I also completed the 36 maps I have made illustrating the Buddha’s life, Buddhist development and other historical maps of ancient India. They are also 5 illustrated videos based on these maps, and around 10 other illustrated video talks on historical matters.

2015:

Aggatherīvatthu, The Stories about the Foremost Elder Nuns.
A translation of part of the commentary to the Anguttaranikāya, giving the stories of the elder nuns (164 pages) published hardcopy in Singapore.

2014:

Safeguard Recitals, Revised and Enlarged 3rd Edition.
A text and translation of most of the main chanting book used in Sri Lanka, the Piruvāna Pot Vahanse (229 pages). Published in Kandy (2005) and Taipei (2014).

Daily Chanting, 3rd Edition.
A text and translation of a chanting book organised on a weekly schedule (also used in IBC) (50 pages). Published in Colombo (2004, 2007) and Taipei (2014).

Numerous other, smaller, texts and translations:

Biographical:
Ariyapariyesanasuttaṁ (MN 26),
The Discourse about the Noble Search.
Bodhirājakumārasuttaṁ (MN 85),
The Discourse to Prince Bodhi.

Doctrinal:
Paṭiccasamuppādavibhaṅga (Vibh. 6),
The Analysis of Conditional Origination,
Chaḷaṅgadāna (AN & AA 6.37)
The Six Factors of Giving.

Concerning nuns:
Cūḷavedallasuttaṁ (MN 44 & Comms.),
The Small Discourse giving an Elaboration,
Khemāsuttaṁ (SN 44.1),
The Discourse about Khemā,
Mahāpajāpatigotamī-tisuttāni (AN 8.51-53),
Three Discourses concerning Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī,
Nandakovāda (MN 146 & MA 146 & AA 1.4.7),
Nandaka’s Advice.

Grammar:
Tisuttanirutti,
A Grammatical Analysis of the Maṅgala, Ratana and Mettā Discourses (35 pages).
A Practical Guide to Pāḷi Grammar,
A very concise guide to the main features of the Pāḷi grammatical system (29 pages).

2013:

An Outline of the Metres in the Pāḷi Canon (3rd Revised Edition).
A concise but thorough explanation of the metres that are found in the Pāli canon, along with examples and glossary (72 pages).

Metre Tables (Chandaḥprasthāra).
A list of all the metres found in the main Indian prosodies: Chandaḥśāstra, Vṛtnaratnākāra and Vuttodaya (105 pages).

2012:

The Connection with Previous Deeds.
A text and translation of this section of the Apadāna explaining the causes for the Buddha’s suffering in his last life (67 pages).

Asoka and the Missions (revised and expanded edition).
A translation of the relevant sections of the Mahāvaṁsa which outline the missionary activities following the 3rd council (86 pages).

2011:

Buddhist Wisdom Verses.
A revised text and translation of Ven Rerukane’s Buddhanītisaṅgaha, a collection of 550 verses from the canon (417 pages). Published in Taipei (2013).

Thematic Discourses about Nuns, SN 5.
A complete text and translation of the nuns struggles with Māra (31 pages).

The Ways of Attending to Mindfulness (DN 22), revised.
A text and translation of this major discourse on meditation, the long version from Dīghanikāya (118 pages).

The Analysis of the Ways of Attending to Mindfulness, revised.
A text and translation of the section of the Vibhaṅga dealing with mindfulness (138 pages).

The Matrix from the Abstract Teaching.
A text and translation of the section which opens the Abhidhamma teachings and lays the framework for what is that collection (37 pages).

Pārāyanavagga, 2nd Revised Edition.
An established edition of the text together with a metrical analysis (114 pages).

Light on Pāḷi Pronunciation.
A translation of the opening section of the Niruttidīpanī by Ledi Sayadaw, which is a modern explanation of the aphorisms of the grammar by Ven Moggallāna (16 pages).

2009:

Texts and translations of various suttas:

Pāḷi:
Titthāyatanasuttaṁ (Aṅg. 3.62),
The Discourse about the Belief Systems.
Paṭhamakathāvatthusuttaṁ (Aṅg. 10.69),
The First Discourse on the Bases for Talk.
Pattakammasuttaṁ (Aṅg 4.61),
The Discourse about Suitable Deeds.

Sanskritised Prākṛt:
Utpadyananirudhyanasūtram (from Mahāvastu),
The Discourse on Arising and Ceasing (The Fourth Discourse of the Buddha).
Pratītyasamutpādādivibhaṅganirdeśasūtram,
The Explanation and Analysis of Conditional Origination from the Beginning.
Uruvilvāto Ṛṣipatanaṁ Gamanaṁ (from Mahāvastu),
The Journey from Uruvilvā to Ṛṣipatana.
Dharmacakrapravartanasūtram (from Lalitavistara),
The Discourse that Set the Dharma-Wheel Rolling.

2008:

Mahāparinibbānasuttaṁ, The Discourse about the Great Emancipation (DN 16).
A text and translation of this major sutta concerning the last year of the Buddha’s life (246 pages).

Ānāpānasatisuttaṁ, The Discourse about Mindfulness while Breathing (MN 118).
A text and translation of this meditation guide, Majjhimanikāya 118 (45 pages).

Kāyagatāsatisuttaṁ – The Discourse about Mindfulness related to the Body (MN 119).
A text and translation of a major sutta on meditation, Majjhimanikāya 119 (40 pages).

2007:

Satipaṭṭhānavibhaṅga, Analysis of the Ways of Attending to Mindfulness (Vibh. 7).
A text and translation of this section of the Vibhaṅga (138 pages).

Pārāyanavagga – The Way to the Beyond (Revised Translation) (Snp 5).
A text and translation of the final section of the Suttanipāta (50 pages).

2006:

Jinacaritaṁ: The Life of the Victorious Buddha.
A text, translation, vyākhyā of the medieval poem on the Life of the Buddha (50 pages).

Navapadamañjarī, A New Collection of Sentences.
A revised version of Padamañjarī by Ven. Devamitta showing the declension tables for the nouns, together with tables of the abstracts (188 pages).

2005:

Studies in Ven. Buddhadatta’s Prosody (Vinayavinicchaya; Uttaravinicchaya; Abhidhāvatāra; Madhuratthavilāsinī).
An analysis and study of the metres in Ven Buddhadatta’s four main commentaries (98 pages).

2004:

Udāna, Exalted Utterances.
A text and translation of this book from the Khuddakanikāya (299 pages).

Vṛttaratnākara.
A new critical edition and metrical analysis of one of the most influential of the Sanskrit prosodies, which was the model for the Pāli Vuttodaya (56 pages).

Śrī Piṁgala’s, Chandaḥśāstram.
A transcription of the root prosody in the Sanskrit tradition, with a metrical analysis of the text, and notes to further understanding (38 pages).

2002:

Examples of Classical Metres from Mahāvaṁsa & Cūlavaṁsa.
The end verses of all the chapters of the Mahāvaṁsa together with an analysis of their metres (29 pages).

Transcriptions of Important Buddhist Works

Besides the above I have also transcribed and published online many important works in Buddhist Studies, including the following:

Syntax of the Cases in the Pali Nikayas
by O. H. de A. Wijesekera

Geography of Early Buddhism
by Bimala Churn Law

The Theravāda Lineage
(Nikāya Saṅgrahaya)

On the Chronicles of Ceylon
Bimala Churn Law

A Summary of the Mahāvastu
Bimala Churn Law

The Beginnings of Buddhist Art
by A. Foucher

From the Living Fountains of Buddhism
Ananda W.P. Guruge

Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism
J. K. Nariman

The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai
by the Merchant Śāttaṉār

Buddhakhetta and Buddhāpadāna
by Mr. Dwijendralal Barua