According to Peter Alan Roberts, " . . . Dānaśīla, also known as Mālava, . . . came to Tibet much later [than Jinamitra], in the reign of Ralpachen (''ral pa can'', r. 815–838). Dānaśīla has his name on 167 texts. He is also listed as the author of seven of these, five of which he translated himself, one of which curiously is a text of divination based on the croaks of crows. Of the remaining two texts he authored, Jinamitra translated one, while Rinchen Zangpo (''rin chen bzang po'', 958–1055), the prolific translator of a later generation, translated the other. Dānaśīla was from Kashmir."<br> Roberts continues, "Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, together with a few other Indian scholars, compiled the great Tibetan-Sanskrit concordance entitled ''Mahāvyutpatti'', which was the fruit of decades of work on translation." ([http://www.jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/view/37/35 Source Accessed Aug 18, 2020]) +
Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 19 January 1200– 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.
Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. He remained there for five years, finally training under Tiantong Rujing, an eminent teacher of the Chinese Caodong lineage. Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works such as ''Fukan zazengi'' and ''Bendōwa''.
He eventually broke relations completely with the powerful Tendai School, and, after several years of likely friction between himself and the establishment, left Kyoto for the mountainous countryside where he founded the monastery Eihei-ji, which remains the head temple of the Sōtō school today.
Dōgen is known for his extensive writing including his most famous work, the collection of 95 essays called the ''[[Shōbōgenzō]]'', but also ''Eihei Kōroku'', a collection of his talks, poetry, and commentaries, and ''Eihei Shingi'', the first Zen monastic code written in Japan, among others. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgen Source Accessed Jan 9, 2020]) +
Franz-Karl Ehrhard is a German Tibetologist. He teaches at the University of Munich, where he is a professor at the Institute of Tibetology and Buddhist Studies. His research focuses on religious and literary traditions in Tibet and the Himalayas (Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan). ([https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz-Karl_Ehrhard&prev=search Source Accessed Jun 7, 2019]) +
Artemus B. Engle began studying the Tibetan language in Howell, New Jersey in early 1971 at Labsum Shedrup Ling, the precursor of the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center. In 1972 he became a student of Sera Mey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin Rinpoche, a relationship that spanned more than thirty years. In 1975 he enrolled in the Buddhist Studies program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and received a PhD in 1983. Since the mid-1980s he taught Tibetan language and Buddhist doctrine at the Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Center in Howell, New Jersey. In 2005 he became a Tsadra Foundation Translation Fellow and has worked primarily on the ''Pañcaskandhaprakarana'' and the ''Bodhisattvabhūmi''. +
Lama Tsering Everest was one of the main students of Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, who recognized her as an emanation of Tara and a holder of the Red Tara lineage.
Born in the U.S.A., Lama Tsering has served Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche as his translator for more than 11 years. After completing a three year retreat in 1995, she was ordained as a lama and recognized by Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche as a holder of the Red Tara lineage, authorized to give teachings and empowerments. In the same year she was invited to teach in Brazil where she moved to shortly after.
She teaches and conducts retreats in many cities across Brazil, Chile, New Zealand and Australia as well as returning each year to fulfill the requests of her students in North America.
Lama Tsering is the resident lama and director of Chagdud Gonpa Odsal Ling in São Paulo and is currently coordinating the construction of Odsal Ling's temple in Cotia, Brasil, along with her husband Lama Padma Norbu. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Lama_Tsering_Everest Rigpa Wiki]) +
Susanne Fairclough is an American Buddhist educator and practitioner of long-standing. After working as an editor and a writer for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Magazine, she studied Tibetan Buddhism for over 30 years. ([http://ibc.ac.th/en/node/2978 Source Accessed Apr 21, 2020])
To read a brief interview with Susanne Fairclough at The International Buddhist College [http://ibc.ac.th/en/node/2978 click here]. +
A monk and translator of the Western Jin apparently of unknown origin active between 290–306. A collaborator of Dharmarakṣa, who appears in the colophon of Dharmarakṣa's translation of the ''Lalitavistara'' and the ''Daśabhūmikasūtra''. (Source: Zürcher, ''The Buddhist Conquest of China'', 2007) Twenty-four texts are attributed to him in the Taisho canon. (See [http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/indexes/index-authors-editors-translators.html ''The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue'']) +
Bernard Faure, Kao Professor in Japanese Religion, received his Ph.D. (Doctorat d’Etat) from Paris University (1984). He is interested in various aspects of East Asian Buddhism, with an emphasis on Chan/Zen and Tantric or esoteric Buddhism. His work, influenced by anthropological history and cultural theory, has focused on topics such as the construction of orthodoxy and heterodoxy, the Buddhist cult of relics, iconography, sexuality and gender. His current research deals with the mythico-ritual system of esoteric Buddhism and its relationships with medieval Japanese religion. He has published a number of books in French and English. His English publications include: ''The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism'' (Princeton 1991), ''Chan Insights and Oversights: An Epistemological Critique of the Chan Tradition'' (Princeton 1993), ''Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese Buddhism'' (Princeton 1996), ''The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality'' (Princeton 1998), ''The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender'' (Princeton 2003), and ''Double Exposure'' (Stanford 2004). ([https://religion.columbia.edu/content/bernard-r-faure Source Accessed Jun 10, 2019]).
He recently completed a two-volume work on Japanese Gods and Demons: ''The Fluid Pantheon: Medieval Japanese Gods, Volume I'' and ''Protectors and Predators: Medieval Japanese Gods, Volume 2'' (Both volumes by University of Hawai'i Press, 2015). +
Fazang is Zhiyan’s most accomplished and influential student, and became the third patriarch of Huayan. He is responsible for systematizing and extending Zhiyan’s teaching, and for securing the prominence of Huayan-style Buddhism at the imperial court. He is known especially for his definitive commentaries on the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'' and ''Awakening of Faith in Mahayana'', and for making Huayan doctrines accessible to laity with familiar technologies such as mirror halls and wood-block printing. These contributions support the traditional regard for Fazang as the third patriarch of the Huayan School.
Fazang’s ancestors came from Sogdiana (a center for trade along the Silk Road, located in what is now parts of Uzbekistan and Tajikestan), but he was born in the Tang dynasty capital of Chang’an (now Xi’an), where his family had become culturally Chinese. Fazang was a fervently religious adolescent. Following a then-popular custom that took self-immolation as a sign of religious devotion, Fazang burned his fingers before a stupa at the age of 16. After becoming a monk, he assisted Xuanzang—famous for his pilgrimage to India—in translating Buddhist works from Sanskrit into Chinese. Fazang had doctrinal differences with Xuanzang, though, so he later became a disciple of Zhiyan, probably around 663 CE.
Zhiyan’s access to the imperial court gave Fazang access to Empress Wu, with whom he quickly gained favor. He undertook a variety of public services, such as performing rain-prayer rituals and collaborating in various translation projects. He traveled throughout northern China, teaching the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'' and debating Daoists. He intervened in a 697 military confrontation with the Khitans, gaining further favor when Empress Wu ascribed to his ritual services an instrumental role in suppressing the rebellion. In addition, Fazang provided information to undermine plots by some of the empress’ advisors to secure power after her death. This secured Fazang’s status—and the prominence of Huayan teachings—with subsequent rulers. ([https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buddhism-huayan/#Faza643712 Source Accessed Jan 28, 2020])
Rafal Felbur is Assistant to the Chair of Buddhist Studies at the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies. He received his MA at Leiden University in The Netherlands and his PhD at Stanford University (2018). The title of his dissertation is "Anxiety of Emptiness: Self and Scripture in Early Medieval Chinese Buddhism, With a Focus on Sengrui." Prior to joining the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies, Rafal was a Postdoctoral Researcher in "The Composition of Buddhist Scriptures: Open Philology" project led by Professor Jonathan Silk at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies. ([https://buddhiststudies.stanford.edu/people/rafal-felbur Adapted from Source June 14, 2023]) +
Rev. George Kosho Finch is a Shingon Buddhist minister. Rev. Finch took Tokudo (Initiation) in Shingon Buddhism in 1999. In 2000 he traveled to Japan for the Jukai (Reciept of Precepts on Mt. Koya), and in 2006 he completed Denpo-Kanjo (Final Ordination) on Mt. Koya, Japan. In 2009 Rev. Finch completed the Ichiryu Denju, complete transmission of the teachings.
Since that time he has led meditation groups in Portland Oregon, and served as assistant minister with the Koyasan Shingon Mission of Hawaii. Rev. Finch earned his Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and his Juris Doctorate from Willamette University College of Law.
Rev. Finch’s goal, and the purpose of the [Shingon Buddhist] Foundation, is to maintain the lineage and traditional Shingon practice, while finding new and innovative ways to share the teachings (such as through yoga and qigong) with those are who are new to Buddhism, and those who may have practiced their whole lives.
In 2019, Rev. Finch began leading Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple in Portland, Oregon. Henjyoji Temple has been in its current location since 1951. Ensuring the temple continues to offer opportunities for spiritual growth and development into a new millennia. ([https://www.shingonbuddhism.org/about-us-2/ Adapted from Source Nov 19, 2020]) +
Zoketsu Norman Fischer is an American poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest, teaching and practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Fischer served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995–2000, after which he founded the Everyday Zen Foundation in 2000, a network of Buddhist practice group and related projects in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Fischer has published more than twenty-five books of poetry and non-fiction, as well as numerous poems, essays and articles in Buddhist magazines and poetry journals. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoketsu_Norman_Fischer Source Accessed Jul 21, 2020]) +
Wulstan Fletcher holds degrees in Modern Languages and Theology (Oxford and Rome) and is a teacher of modern languages. He completed a three-year retreat at Chanteloube France from 1986–1989. He is a member of the Padmakara Translation Group and has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2001.
'''Current Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow (with Helena Blankleder):'''
* ''Lion Speech, The Life of Jamgön Mipham'', Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
'''Completed Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow (with Helena Blankleder):'''
* ''Treasury of Precious Qualities'' (Sutra Section), Jigme Lingpa, commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche
* ''Counsels from My Heart'', Dudjom Rinpoche
* ''Introduction to the Middle Way'', Chandrakirti, commentary by Jamgön Mipham
* ''The Adornment of the Middle Way'', Shantarakshita, commentary by Jamgön Mipham
* ''Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat'', Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol
* ''The Way of the Bodhisattva'', Shantideva (rev. ed.)
* ''The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva’s "Way of the Bodhisattva,"'' Kunzang Pelden
* ''The Root Stanzas on the Middle Way'', Nagarjuna
* ''White Lotus: An Explanation of the Seven-line Prayer to Guru Padmasambhava'', Jamgön Mipham
* ''Treasury of Precious Qualities'' (Tantra Section), Jigme Lingpa, commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche
* ''The Purifying Jewel and Light of the Day Star'' by Mipham Rinpoche
* ''Trilogy of Resting at Ease'', Longchenpa
(Source: [http://www.tsadra.org/translators/wulstan-fletcher/ Tsadra.org]) +
Dr. Gregory Forgues is Director of Research at Tsadra Foundation. Before joining the foundation, Gregory was part of the Open Philology research project with Professor Jonathan Silk at the University of Leiden. He also worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Heidelberg and a Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Bochum. Gregory has published on a wide variety of topics including Mahāyāna sūtra translations, Tibetan tantric rituals, Dzogchen teachings, and digital humanities methods. His PhD dissertation on Jamgon Mipham’s interpretation of the two truths under Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes' supervision was reviewed by Professor Birgit Kellner and Professor Matthew Kapstein, receiving a distinction from the University of Vienna. +
T. Griffith Foulk trained in Zen monasteries in Japan. He is active in Buddhist studies, with research interests in philosophical, literary, social, and historical aspects of East Asian Buddhism, especially the Ch’an/Zen tradition. He is co-editor in chief of the Soto Zen Text Project (Tokyo). He is a member of the American Academy of Religion Buddhism Section steering committee (1987–1994, 2003–) and a board member for the Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values. ([https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/faculty/foulk-t.-griffith.html Source Accessed Jun 11, 2019]) +
Eli Franco (born June 19, 1953 in Tel Aviv ) is an Israeli Indologist. He received his BA in Philosophy and Jewish Philosophy from the University of Tel Aviv in 1976, the Diplôme de l' Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in 1978, Paris, and the Doctorat 3e cycle from the Université de Paris X and L'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in 1980. Since 2004 he has held the chair for Indology at the Institute for Indology and Central Asian Studies at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Among his writings include: ''Perception, Knowledge and Disbelief: A Study of Jayarāśi's Skepticism'' (Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden, 1987), ''Dharmakīrti on Compassion and Rebirth'' (Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien, 1997), ''The Spitzer Manuscript: The Oldest Philosophical Manuscript in Sanskrit'' (Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2004), and (with Miyako Notake) ''Dharmakīrti on the Duality of the Object: Pramāṇavārttika III, 1 - 63'' (Lit Verlag, 2014). ([https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Franco Adapted from Source July 20, 2019]) +
Koun Franz is a Soto Zen priest. He leads practice at Thousand Harbours Zen in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he also works as editor of Buddhadharma. His writing and teachings on Zen can be found at nyoho.com and on the Thousand Harbours Zen podcast. ([https://www.lionsroar.com/author/koun-franz/ Source: Lion's Roar]) +
Erich Frauwallner studied classical philology and Sanskrit philology in Vienna. He taught Indology from 1928-29 at the University of Vienna. His primary interest was Buddhist logic and epistemology, and later Indian Brahmanic philosophy, with close attention to primary source texts.
In 1938 Frauwallner joined the Department of Indian and Iranian philosophy at the Oriental Institute after its Jewish director, Bernhard Geiger, was forced out. Frauwallner became director in 1942. He was called up for military service in 1943 but did not serve, continuing to teach until 1945 when he lost his position due to his Nazi Party membership (dating to 1932). In 1951, after a review, he was reinstated. In 1955 the Institute for Indology founded, which he chaired, becoming a full professor in 1960.
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, called Frauwallner "one of the great Buddhist scholars of this [the twentieth] century." ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Frauwallner Source Accessed Jun 11, 2019]) +
Rosemarie Fuchs (1950-2010) studied and practiced with eminent lamas of the Karma Kagyu tradition and spent much of her life translating Tibetan texts to German and interpreting for Tibetan Lamas in Germany. She is a member of the Marpa Translation Committee and has been a devoted student of the Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche since 1978. Fuchs translated the ''Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra'' upon Khenpo Rinpoche’s advice. ([https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/author/?authorid=167711 Adapted from Source Jul 22, 2020]) +
Funayama Toru, born in 1961, is currently a professor of Buddhist studies at Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. His research mainly covers two different areas in the history of Buddhism. One is Chinese Buddhism from the fifth–seventh centuries, a period from the late Six Dynasties period up to early Tang; his focuses are on the formation of Chinese Buddhist translation and apocrypha, spread of the notion of Mahayana precepts, the exegetical tradition on the ''Nirvana Sutra'', and so on. The other is philological and philosophical issues in Buddhist epistemology and logic in India from the fifth–tenth centuries, particularly Kamalaśīla's (the late eighth century) theory of perception. In both areas, he is interested in the concept of saintliness as firmly related with the system of practice. ([https://www.iias.asia/profile/toru-funayama Source Accessed June 16, 2020]) +