Schaeffer, K.

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Kurtis Schaeffer

Kurtis R. Schaeffer received an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Washington in 1995, a Ph.D. in Tibetan and South Asian Religions from Harvard in 2000 and is now is the Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religion and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. He is a student of Buddhist history and culture, with a special interest in the spiritual literature of Tibet and the Himalayas. He is the author or editor of nine books, including the largest anthology of Tibetan literature in English and, most recently, a translation of the life of the Buddha. Schaeffer co-directs the half-century old Tibetan Buddhist studies graduate program at the University of Virginia and, with Martien Halvorson-Taylor, directs the Global Religion Lab at UVA. His books include The Life of the Buddha (2015), Sources of Tibetan Tradition (2013), The Tibetan History Reader (2013), The Culture of the Book in Tibet (2009), An Early Tibetan Catalogue of Buddhist Literature (2009), Dreaming the Great Brahmin, and Himalayan Hermitess (2004). (Source Accessed April 12, 2023)

You can watch Kurtis talk about Jigmé Lingpa's notes from a cave here and learn more about Kavya literature and translation here.

He is also an editor and contributor to The Lives of the Masters Series at Shambhala Publications and you can watch him speak more about Jigme Lingpa here.

Kurtis also contributed to the amazing Life of the Buddha project online with Andrew Quintman.

Library Items

Book
An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature
This volume is a study and edition of Bcom ldan ral gri's (1227–1305) Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi 'od. Likely composed in the last decades of the thirteenth century, this systematic list of Buddhist Sutras, Tantras, Shastras, and related genres translated primarily from Sanskrit and other Indic languages holds an important place in the history of Buddhist literature in Tibet. It affords a glimpse of one Tibetan scholar's efforts to classify more than two thousand titles of Buddhist literature in the decades before the canonical collections known as the Bka' 'gyur and the Bstan 'gyur achieved a relatively stable form. Tibetan historiography traces the origin of the Bka' 'gyur and Bstan 'gyur to Bcom ldan ral gri's efforts, though the unique structure of the Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi 'od, which differs greatly from available Bka' 'gyur and Bstan 'gyur catalogs, shows that the situation is more complex. Known to contemporary scholars of Tibetan literature for some time through mention in other works, Bcom ldan ral gri's survey has recently become available for the first time in two manuscripts. The present work contains a detailed historical introduction, an annotated edition of the two manuscripts, as well as concordances and appendices intended to aid the comparative study of early Tibetan collections of Indic Buddhist literature. (Source: Harvard University Press)
Schaeffer, Kurtis R., and Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp. An Early Survey of Tibetan Buddhist Literature: The Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi 'od of Bcom ldan ral gri. Edited by Michael Witzel. Harvard Oriental Series 64. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
Video
Kurtis Schaeffer at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Kurtis Schaeffer discusses Jikme Lingpa's view and attitude toward buddha-nature as found in his major philosophical work, the Treasury of Precious Qualities, and in various other writings. He shows how Jikme Lingpa maintained an antinomian approach to buddha-nature in the context of Great Perfection thought.
Schaeffer, Kurtis. "Notes from the Cave: 'Jigs med gling pa on Buddha-Nature." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 37:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x32COWVlJ38.
Schaeffer, K.: The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood
This thesis includes a translation of The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's work on Tathāgatagarbha, the Pronouncement on the Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood (De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa) along with notes from the Fifth Shamar, Kongchog Yenlag (1525-1583). Kurtis Schaeffer analyzes the thought and language of the text and presents the key points cogently. Also included is a diplomatic edition of the Tibetan text in Wylie along with seven appendixes, including Jamgon Kongtrul's outline of Rangjung Dorje's text, a song on buddha-nature, and information from the Zab mo nang don related to the heart of Buddhahood.
Schaeffer, Kurtis R. "The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood: A Study and Translation of The Third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje's Work on Tathāgatagarbha, The De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa." MA thesis, University of Washington, 1995.

Affiliations & relations

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