Zwilling, L.

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PeopleZwilling, L.


Leonard Zwilling

Leonard Zwilling was born in New York City in 1945. He studied Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan language with Geshe Wangyal at Labsum Shedrub Ling in Freewood Acres, New Jersey (1967-1969) and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Indian Studies in 1970, going on to receive a masters degree in Hindu Studies (1972), and a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies (1976), also at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His doctoral dissertation, on the theory of apoha in Buddhist logic, was done under the direction of Prof. Geshe Lhundub Sopa. He did pre-doctoral research in Sri Lanka (1973-74) and in Nepal (1975-76), under Ford Foundation and Fulbright-Hayes scholarships respectively.

From 1977-83 Dr. Zwilling taught Asian Religions, Sanskrit and Tibetan at the University of Wisconsin (Madison and Milwaukee), Gustavus Adolphus College, Western Illinois University, and Beloit College. He received a masters in library science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985, and from 1986-2009 was General Editor (and Bibliographer until 2004) at the Dictionary of American Regional English in the Department of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is presently Senior Scientist Emeritus.

Dr. Zwilling has published research in a number of fields, including pioneering work on the history of sexuality in ancient India. Since 2005 his research has centered on Ippolito Desideri and the Catholic missions to Tibet, and he is currently working with Michael Sweet on a new and complete English translation of Desideri’s Notizie Istoriche del Tibet. (Source Accessed May 12, 2020)

Library Items

Book
The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems
The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems, by Thuken Losang Chökyi Nyima (1737–1802), is arguably the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Like most Tibetan texts on philosophical systems, this work covers the major schools of India, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, but then goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyü, Shijé, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bön schools. Not resting there, Thuken goes on to describe the major traditions of China—Confucian, Daoist, and the multiple varieties of Buddhist—as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and even Shambhala. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is unusual, too, in its concern not just to describe and analyze doctrines, but to trace the historical development of the various traditions. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is an eloquent and erudite presentation exploring the religious history and philosophical systems of an array of Asian Cultures—and offering evidence that the serious and sympathetic study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
Sopa, Geshé Lhundub, trans. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought. By Thuken Losang Chökyi Nyima (thu'u bkwan blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma). With E. Ann Chávez and Roger R. Jackson. Special contributions by Michael Sweet and Leonard Zwilling. Edited by Roger R. Jackson. Library of Tibetan Classics 25. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009.
Book
The Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature
The Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature (Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra) was transmitted from the bodhisattva Maitreyanātha to Āryā Āsaṅga, the fourth-century Indian Buddhist scholar-adept. The most foundational of the set of the famous Five Teachings of Maitreya, the Discourse Literature is considered the wellspring of what the Tibetans call the "magnificent deeds trend of the path," the compassion side, which balances the "profound view trend of the path," the wisdom side. The Discourse Literature is also considered to be metaphysically aligned with and foundational for the Idealist (Vijñānavādin) school of Mahāyāna thought. Translated from Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese by Lobsang Jamspal, Robert Thurman, and the AIBS team, the present work contains a fully annotated, critical English rendition of the Discourse Literature along with its commentary (bhāṣya) by Āsaṅga’s brother, Vasubandhu. It also includes an introduction covering essential historical and philosophical topics, a bibliography, and a detailed index. This long-awaited work is the founding cornerstone of the AIBS Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. (Source: AIBS)
Jamspal, L., R. Clark, J. Wilson, L. Zwilling, M. Sweet, and R. Thurman, trans. The Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature (Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra). By Maitreyanātha/Āryāsaṅga. Together with its Commentary (Bhāṣya) by Vasubandhu. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University's Center for Buddhist Studies, and Tibet House US, 2004. https://archive.org/details/mahayanasutralamkarabyaryansanghatheuniversalvehiclediscourseliteraturebhashyaof_902_Y/mode/2up.
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