Nalanda as a monastic institution in the time of Buddha emerged into the greatest academic and spiritual centre of Asia in the early medieval times. This alludes to successive stages of development in Buddhism from naïve realism of the early monastic order to developed metaphysics of the Prajnaparamita and Yogacara philosophies which revolutionized the capacity of thinking of men.

The Tibetan and Chinese histories aver five sciences taught at the Mahavihara as had been prescribed by Asanga. These have been enumerated as (i) Sabda-vidya (grammar, lexicography); (ii) Silpasthana-vidya (arts); (iii) Cikitsa-vidya (medical science); (iv) Hetu-vidya (logic, meta-physics); and (v) Adhyatma-vidya (the cosmic sciences, philosophy). A mass of secret teaching and modes of worship are contained in Tantric texts.

Nalanda also ushered in a new school of art. It is acceded that Indian art in the earliest stage was based in six centres as Gandhara Mathura, Sanchi, Sarnath, Ajanta and Amaravati. If the Gandhara school has analogies with the antique-Etruscan intermixed with the Greco-Roman, from which the art of Italy flashed in Christian art and similarly other centres flourished with composite features, the Nalanda school like the other five schools, being purely Indian in conception, traces its roots into the sculptures of Sarnath and Mathura. It has its own ethos and historical development.

The book, an outcome of the research papers presented in the International Conference on 'The Heritage of Nalanda' held at Nalanda (February 12 to 14, 2006), a landmark in the field of scholarship, in its six parts with its critical delineation, has a veritable coverage as: (i) History, (ii) Art and Archaeology, (iii) Early Medieval Scholasticism: Logic, Philosophy and Esoterism, (iv) Literature, (v) Monastic Education: Ideals of Nalanda Mahavihara, and (vi) Nalanda Experience.

The strikingly illustrated book is a significant contribution to the field of Buddhist studies and is valuable for a general interest reader as well as an academician.

About the Author

Asoka Mission, founded in Delhi by the eminent Cambodian monk Samdach Prah Vira Bellong Dharmawara Mahathera in 1948 with support from distinguished Indians led by Mata Rameshwari Nehru, aims towards promoting friendly relations, under-standing and peace amongst men through education, health care, social and religious services and economic uplift. Its library contains complete sets of Tripitaka in Pali and Cambodian. Over the years it has been the centre of Buddhist activities and has been visited by dignitaries from across the globe. Asoka Mission, spread over 12.5 acres of land with some old structures was reorganized in 1980s by Ven. Lama Lobzang as President and sustained efforts were made to revitalize it.

Prof. C. Mani (born 1923), a Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Historical Research, is a historian and art historian. He taught history for over twenty years at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath of which he is a founder member. Based in classical studies, he has written over a hundred innovative essays and tracts and translated the works of savants like N.N. Ghosh, C. Rajagopalachari, S.A. Dange and Rustam Masani. Prof. Mani has a number of books on the Buddhist philosophy and art to his credit, some of the titles being The Social Philosophy of Buddhism, Madhyamika Dialectic and the Philosophy of Nagarjuna, Arya Asanga and Vijnanavada, The Basic Rhythms of Buddhist Philosophy, A Biographical Memoir of Acarya Padmasambhava, A Comparative Study of the Iconography of Brahmanical Deities in Buddhist Pantheon, etc. Further, he has edited a new edition of the well-known book, A Manual of Indian Buddhism by H. Kern (New Delhi, 1992).

Foreword

I am privileged to write a foreword to this illustrious volume on the 'Heritage of Nalanda', famous in the world's history of education and liberal arts and held on 12-14 February 2006, which was blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to which I have been closely associated, I am glad to see the Conference material with few additional papers of substantive merit published in the form of a treatise.

The Buddhist literature, both in the northern and southern schools, speaks eulogisingly of the high academic standards and rigorous discipline of the great vihara which were transmitted to other countries as found in accentuated form in the Chinese classics, particularly the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka, compiled by Samuel Beal and Bunjiu Nanjio.

Starting with the Mulasarvastivada and Sarvastivada Vinaya, a large number of works of the four orders, more generally belonging to the Madhyamika and Yogacara philosophies, the Prajna Paramita Sastra of Nagarjuna the Mahayana Sutralankara of Silabhadra with its Chinese translation and a new work on Satyasidhi Sastra by Silabhadra's Chinese disciple Xuanzang are some of the great works of the Nalanda school that were once preserved in its Library, in its three blocks of lofty pavilion and flying buttresses. Esoterism played a dominant part during the rule of the Pala kings, who encouraged the scholars, sculptors and painters to produce some of the best replicas of the Nalanda school.

Turning to the Tantric texts of a superior order we draw on the works of the Mahasiddhas, the Guhyasamaja, the Advayavajra-Sangraha, the Sadhanamala texts, the Tattva Sangraha, the Hevajra Tantras, the Kalacakra Tantra, et al. These works being essential accessories to realization of the deity by meditational practices are supportive of all sciences, which established religious and commercial links in the subcontinent.

Besides aforementioned works there are various recensions of Prajnaparamita, Karandavyuha, Bodhicaryavatara and Pancaraksa manuscripts illustrated with miniature paintings on them. They are most essential parts of iconographic studies. Severally studied are the Buddhist images, stucco figures, bronzes and other metallic icons. The Nalanda School of Art if reckoned to be among the best of the artistic creations coeval with the art of Gandhara, Mathura and Ajanta. Attempts are being made to bring the shadow of this school to art sequences in further India, as far east as Java in Indonesia and Cambodia.

In so far as I know, there is no such other scholarly book on the subject which is capable of taking the Nalanda experience round the world. It is a classic, to be treasured and disseminated.

I congratulate my esteemed friend Venerable Lama Lobzang to have envisioned the work and publish it with the editorial expertise of Professor C. Mani. I have deep appreciation for the perceptive essays of the scholars.

With obeisance to the Three Gems and the Dalai Lama's blessing, I wish happiness to all living beings.

	Foreword	v
	Preface	vii
	Acknowledgements	xv
	The Nalanda Tradition	xxiii
	A Dialogue with Buddha	xxvii
	Bridging the Past, Present and Future	xxix
	List of Illustrations	xxxi
	Contributors	xxxv
	PART I HISTORY
1	Historical Background (Excerpts from ASI Guidebook on Nalanda)	3
	-A. Ghosh
	PART II ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY
2	Excavations of Stupa Site No. 3 at Nalanda and Early Chronological Evidence	13
	-B.R. Mani
3	The Mystery Goddesses of Nalanda: Visualisations and Empowerment	23
	-C. Mani
4	The Buddhist Art at Mainamati: A Parallel to Nalanda	27
	-Enamul Haque
5	A Portable Stupa in Magadha Style	38
	-Amarendra Nath
6	Influence of Nalanda Bronzes on the Bronzes of Bangladesh, Orissa, Nepal and Java	42
	-G.C. Chauley
7	Fusion of Nalanda School of Art in Indonesian Sculptures	45
	-G.K. Lama
8	Nalanda Metal Icons Speak what Nalanda Mahavihara Was	48
	-S.K. Pathak
9	Mandala Elements in Tantric Buddhist Architecture in India, Tibet, and Indonesia	52
	-Adelheid Herrmann-Pfandt
10	The Nalanda Stone Inscription of Yasovarmadeva	68
	-Naina Pandey
11	The Nalanda Copper-Plate of Devapaladeva	71
	-Archana Sharma
12	Management of Nalanda Mahavihara from Epigraphical Material	74
	-Arpita Chatterjee
13	Nalanda from the Chinese and Tibetan Sources	78
	-Anandamayee Ghosh
	PART III EARLY MEDIEVAL SCHOLASTICISM: LOGIC, PHILOSOPHY AND ESOTERISM
14	The Doctrine of Apoha with Reference to Dharmakirti	85
	-Lobzang Tsewang
15	Nalanda as a Centre of Esoteric Buddhism	93
	-Kimiaki Tanaka
16	Santaraksita and Modern Philosophy	96
	-Marie-Louise Friquegnon
17	Contribution of Acarya Dharmapala of Nalanda	103
	-Bimalendra Kumar
18	Nalanda and Santaraksita: His Madhyamakalankara Sastra in Tibetan Version	106
	-Manotosh Mandal
19	Nagardzhuna and Partition of Madhyamika Technology	111
	-Damba Ayasheev
20	Nalanda and the Mulasarvastivadins: Yi'jing's Accounts with Further Consideration	114
	-Wang Bangwei
21	Quotations from Mahayana Sutras in the Works of Thinkers of Nalanda	118
	Linnart Mall
22	Nalanda: Stronghold of Ancient Scholarly Debates	120
	-Lozang Jamspal
23	Debate between Acarya Candrakirti and Candragomi over Vijnanavada and Madhyamika Philosophy	128
	Tashi Paljor
24	The Doctrine of the Pramanabhuta-Buddha	131
	Nawang Tsering
25	Relics of the Budddha: Body, Essence, Text	136
26	Yogic Tradition of Naropa and Its Uninterrupted Continuity in Tibet, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh	143
	-Ramesh Chandra Tewari
	PART IV LITERATURE
27	The Chinese Buddhacarita	155
	-Charles Willemen
28	Beginnings of the Apabhramsa Poetry: The Contribution of Nalanda	158
	-Chandra Dhar Tripathi
	PART V MONASTIC EDUCATION: IDEALS OF NALANDA MAHAVIHARA
29	The Vihara in Buddhist Tradition and Nalanda	167
	-K. Sankarnarayan
30	The Influence of Master Silabhadra on Master Xuanzang's Thought	173
31	Nalanda: Its Significance	183
	-B. B. Kumar
32	Master Xuanzang Brings the Buddha's Wisdom to Tang China	187
	-Rev. Heng Sure
33	The Educational System of Nalanda from Chinese Records	189
	-S-C Shiu and H-O Chien
34	Genjo-sanzo E: The Biographical Story of Hsuan-chuang in Japan	199
	-Yayoi Tachibana
35	The Ideal Educational System of Ancient Nalanda Mahavihara	202
	-Angraj Chaudhary
36	Nalanda as an International Centre of Learning	206
	J. Sitaramamma
37	Xuanzang Legacy as Inspiration to Higher Education	212
	-Cheng, Wei-Yi
38	Nalanda as a Centre of World Learning	217
	-Satya Dev Kaushik
	PART VI NALANDA EXPERIENCE
39	The Spirit of Nalanda	223
	-Ven. Dhammadipa
40	Revitalizing the Spirit of Nalanda	231
	-Ven. Fa Qing and Ven. Wei Wu
41	Recovering the Nalanda Legacy	235
	-Joseph Loizzo
42	Nalanda University: Its Influences on the Development of Buddhist Learning (Buddhist Studies in Taiwan and the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order)	246
	-Ven. Bhiksuni Chuehmen
43	Dharma in Brazil: A Nalanda-Inspired Experience	267
	-Ricardo Sasaki
44	Buddhist Interrelationship between Korea and India	272
	-Lee Ki Woon
45	Buddhist in Asia	277
	-Sulak Sivaraksa
	Bibliography	283
	Index	291

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