Jowita Kramer

The proposed project aims to expand and deepen the examination of the scriptural corpus of the 6th century Yogacara scholar Sthiramati. Compared to other Yogacara authors like Asanga or Vasubandhu, academia has so far neglected Sthiramati, possibly because of the erroneous perception that as a commentator he has not been an original author in his own right. However, commentators like Sthiramati have shaped the doctrinal development of Yogacara thought by introducing new concepts and reorganizing previous teachings to a similar extent as “independent” authors. Among the seventeen works attributed to Sthiramati most are commentaries on Yogacara sastras. The proposed project focuses on two works commenting non-Yogacara Mahayana sutras: the Aksayamatinirdesa- and the Kasyapaparivartatika.