Center for Khmer Studies Library

Theravada literature after "Roads taken and not taken" : Reflections on recent textual studies Trent Walker.

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Material type: ArticleArticlePublication details: 21 April 2021Description: 11 pagesSubject(s): DDC classification:
  • 294.3 WAL
Online resources: Summary: This article sketches the study of Theravada Buddhist literature over the past twenty-five years. Drawing on Charles Hallisey’s influential essay, “Roads Taken and Not Taken in the Study of Theravāda Buddhism,”I survey the ways in which scholars have heeded his calls to study texts beyond the canon, to attend to issues of translation, and to examine the local production of meaning. I show how these calls correspond to three recent trends: increased emphasis on non-canonical Pali and vernacular texts; a renewed interest in multilingual texts and the cultures of translation that shaped them; and new models for charting intellectual histories of Theravada Buddhist societies beyond local confines.

Journal of Global Buddhism 2021, Vol.22 (1): 199–209

S y m p o s i u m : N e w R o a d s i n T h e r a v a d a S t u d i e s

This article sketches the study of Theravada Buddhist literature over the past twenty-five years. Drawing on Charles Hallisey’s influential essay, “Roads Taken and Not Taken in the Study of Theravāda Buddhism,”I survey the ways in which scholars have heeded his calls to study texts beyond the canon, to attend to issues of translation, and to examine the local production of meaning. I show how these calls correspond to three recent trends: increased emphasis on non-canonical Pali and vernacular texts; a renewed interest in multilingual texts and the cultures of translation that shaped them; and new models for charting intellectual histories of Theravada Buddhist societies beyond local confines.

English