Hermeneutics and Tradition in the Samadhinirmocana-Sutra

‘…le texte porte tout l’essentiel des problemes permanents du bouddhisme.’ J.M., Nouvelle Revue Theologique, 1994. The main strength of this study is not only the author’s balanced explanation of the sutra’s hermeneutical position, but also the way it is explained in terms the socio-political context in which it operated….This study deserves a wider audience because it shows that religious texts cannot be understood apart from their author’s intentions and the political and social milieu in which they were written. Peter Hill, South Asia 1995.
Hermeneutics tradition in the Samdhinirmocana-sutra deals with the complex interrelatioship between theories of scriptural interpretation and buddhist notions of tradition and authority with respect to the Samdhinirmocana-sutra, the main scriptural source of the yogacara school of Indian Buddhism. This study examines the text from many perspectives, including historical considerations, philological analyses, and current methodological models. This approach provides a multi-faceted analysis on this complex work.