Hisao Inagaki

Hisao Inagaki ( Japanese 稲 垣 久 雄 , Inagaki Hisao ; * 1929 in Kobe ) is a Japanese Buddhologist and priest of the Jōdo-Shinshū - with the religious name Zuiō Inagaki ( 稲 垣 瑞 雄 ) - who has emerged particularly through studies of Amitabha Buddhism .

Live and act

Inagaki earned a bachelor's degree from Kobe University and a master’s degree from Ryūkoku University in Kyoto . He then went to England , where he obtained a doctorate in Buddhist studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 1968 with a study of the Anantamukhanirhāradhāranīsūtra and its commentary by Jñānagarbha.

From 1969 to 1981 he stayed as a teacher of Japanese Buddhism at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In 1981 he was appointed professor at Ryūkoku University, where he taught from 1982 to 1998. Visiting professorships took him to the University of California at Berkeley in 1985, to the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in 1989 and to the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1992 . Inagaki was instrumental in founding the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies, of which he was president from 1993 to 2005. Today he is honorary president of this scientific society.

Together with Jack Austin , Inagaki founded an association for the study of Amitabha Buddhism . With Austin and Ruth Tabrah , Inagaki was also significantly involved in the preparation for the foundation of Komyoji in Vienna .

Inagaki presented translations of essential works of Indian and Japanese Buddhism. Among them are the central canonical texts of Pure Land Buddhism, which the philosopher Nāgārjuna comment, attributed to Daśabhūmikasūtra and Shinran major work Kyōgyōshinshō

Inagaki has also published reference books on Japanese Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Chinese Buddhist terminology.

As part of the Jōdo Mandala Study Group , founded by Inagaki in 1993 , he also studied Buddhist art.

Works (selection)

• Index to the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. A Tibetan Glossary with Sanskrit and Chinese equivalents . Nagata Bunshodo 1978
• Glossary of Zen Terms . Kyoto Nagata Bunshodo 1991
• 真宗 用語 英 訳 グ ロ ッ サ リ ー. 龍谷 大学 仏 教 文化 研究所 1995
• The Way of Nembutsu-faith. A Commentary on Shinran's Shoshinge Hymn of True Faith and Nembutsu . Kobe: Horai Association 1996

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Key data according to Horai Association: Hisao Inagaki, Biography ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ The work did not appear in book form until years later: Amida dhāraṇī sūtra and Jñānagarbha's commentary. An annotated Translation from Tibetan of the Anantamukha-nirhāra-dhāraṇi Sūtra and ṭikā. Ryukoku Gakkai 1999
3. ^ John Snelling: The Buddhist Handbook. A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co 1991 ( ISBN 9780892813193 ), p. 218
4. ↑ Inagaki's role is highlighted in Volker Zotz : Vom Überqueren der Brücke. Ceremonial address for the establishment of Komyoji on August 7, 1994. In: Damaru 26 (1994) ( ISSN  2225-4803 )
5. ^ The Three Pure Land Sutras: A Study and Translation from Chinese. Nagata Bunshodo 2000 (3rd edition)
6. ↑ Nāgārjuna's Discourse on the Ten Stages (Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā): A Study and Translation from Chinese. Ryukoku Gakkai 1998
7. ↑ Kyōgyōshinshō: on teaching, practice, faith, and enlightenment . Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2003 ( ISBN 9781886439160 )
8. ^ A Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Terms: Based on References in Japanese Literature . Nagata Bunshodo 1985
9. ^ A dictionary of Chinese English-Japanese Buddhist terms . Kyoto 1984
10. ↑ The Amida Sutra Mandala. An Iconography with the text of the Amida Sutra . Nagata Bunshodo 1995