Contenu du sommaire : Traduction et transmission de la Doctrine dans l'histoire du bouddhisme

This article aims to investigate the history of the interpretation of the relationship between The Ornament of Realizations and the s?tras of Perfect Wisdom in India. It shows four stages in this evolution: The Ornament itself, the commentaries of the two Vimuktisenas, Haribhadra, and Dharmamitra. This inquiry reveals that The Ornament should first be compared with non-Buddhist philosophical s?tras. These show a similar ambiguous relationship with the original texts they are supposed to explain. Such an ambiguity has given rise to an exegetical tradition displaying a continuous effort to de-textualize Perfect Wisdom, which results in Dharmamitra considering The Ornament to be equal to m?dhyamika treatises and consequently in a general reevaluation of Buddhist hermeneutics.

In the course of the last decades, research on partial or complete biographies of the Buddha and on Indian and Central Asian Buddhist art have permitted a better understanding of how the figure of the founder of Buddhism was constructed. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to study each of the episodes which make them up and to re-establish their redaction history. The visit of the young Prince Siddh?rtha Gautama to the scriptorium lends itself all the more readily to historical reconstruction in so far as it has been compared to that of the child Jesus to the schoolmaster which, according to exegetes, inspired Buddhist biographers. A comparative study of different textual sources and of bas-reliefs shows that on the contrary this Buddhist episode was already recorded in its fully fledged form from the first half of the second century A.D.

?The Korean document Myob?b ry?nhhwa'gy?ng contains the first complete Korean translation of two Chinese texts, the famous Miaofalianhuajing by Kum?raj?va (344-413) and the Miaofalianhuajing yaojie, an associated commentary by Jiehuan, a Chan monk from the Song period. This publication was initiated by King Sejo of the Chos?n dynasty (1392-1910), who intended to revitalize Buddhism in order to weaken his neo-Confucian political opponents. This document, largely unknown outside Korea, reflects some essential aspects of Korean Buddhism in the 15th century which continue to this day, notably the almost systematic reception of the Chinese Buddhist terminology, the predominance of the ecumenical spirit, and the primacy of the Zen way.?

On the occasion of the publication of a book written by Bal Gopal Shrestha on the Newar town of Sankhu, the author of this article comments on the series of research recently carried out on traditional urban spaces in the Kathmandu Valley. He analyses the role of religion and of Hindu cosmogonical models in these towns. The relevance of rituals and ceremonies is central to these issues. However, studies focusing on symbolism often overshadow the role of social dynamics and individual trajectories. Hence new lines for future research are proposed.