Christopher Emms

I propose a study and translation of a text composed for Buddhist novices, Sakyaprabha’s Aryamulasarvastivadisramanerakarika (hereafter Karika). In his treatise, Sakyaprabha (7th–8th c. CE), an Indian specialist in monastic law, outlines his views on proper behaviour for new male recruits to the monastic order. Sakyaprabha also produced a prose commentary upon his treatise, the Aryamulasarvastivadisramanerakarika-vrttiprabhavati, in which he provides over 250 quotations from a Mulasarvastivadin Vinaya. The primary component of my work is an analysis and translation of the Karika, as well as select chapters from the auto-commentary. My work will be the first translation of the Karika into any modern language, and the first systematic study of both the root-text and its commentary.