Yampolsky, P.

Philip B. Yampolsky(1920 - 1996)

Philip Boas Yampolsky (October 20, 1920 – July 28, 1996) was an eminent translator and scholar of Zen Buddhism and a former Director of the C. V. Starr East Asian Library of Columbia University. A scholar of Chinese and Japanese religious traditions and a specialist in Zen studies, Yampolsky was known for his translations of canonical Zen writings, which were used as textbooks in both graduate and undergraduate Asian studies courses in American universities. His style was regarded as highly analytical.

Yampolsky’s translations included the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (1967) and The Zen Master Hakuin: Selected Writings (1971), both published by Columbia University Press. Yampolsky's last books before his death, Selected Writings of Nichiren and Letters of Nichiren, translated and elucidated the writings of the 13th century Buddhist intellectual and reformer whose thoughts inspired religious and political movements that remain active in Japan to this day. These books were published by Columbia University Press in 1990 and 1996. (Source Accessed July 14, 2021)

Library Items

Book

Early Ch'an in China and Tibet

---

Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism was popularized in the West by writers such as D.T. Suzuki and Alan Watts as a kind of 'romantic abstraction' outside of history. The papers in this volume, originally presented at a unique conference sponsored by U.C. Berkeley and the San Francisco Zen Center, go a long way

towards revealing the complex historical development of Ch'an theory and practice both in China and Tibet.
      The papers on China reveal Ch' an not as a single line of transmission from Bodhidharma, but as a complex of contending and even hostile factions. Furthermore, the view which sees Ch'an as the sinicization of Buddhism through Taoism is questioned through an examination of the Taoism that was actually prevalent during the establishment of Ch' an in China.
      The papers on Tibet take us to the heart of the controversies surrounding the origins of Buddhism in that country, based on exciting research into the Tunhuang materials, the indigenous rDzogs-chen system, and the 'Sudden vs. Gradual Enlightenment' controversy.
      Of particular note in this volume is the inclusion of several translations of papers by noted Japanese scholars who have led the way in this type of research,

made available to the Western reader for the first time. (Source: inside jacket)

Lai, Whalen, and Lewis R. Lancaster, eds. Early Ch’an in China and Tibet. Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series 5. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1983.

Lai, Whalen, and Lewis R. Lancaster, eds. Early Ch’an in China and Tibet. Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series 5. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1983.;Early Ch'an in China and Tibet;Zen - Chan;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Early Ch'an in China and Tibet

Book

The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Yampolsky)

---

The Platform Sutra records the teachings of Hui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch, who is revered as one of the two great figures in the founding of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. This translation is the definitive English version of the eighth-century Ch'an classic.

Phillip B. Yampolsky has based his translation on the Tun-huang manuscript, the earliest extant version of the work. A critical edition of the Chinese text is given at the end of the volume.

Dr. Yampolsky also furnishes a lengthy and detailed historical introduction which contains much information hitherto unavailable even to scholars, and provides the context essential to an understanding of Hui-neng's work. He gives an account of the history and legends of Ch'an Buddhism, with particular attention to the traditions associated with Hui-neng, quoting or summarizing the most important narratives. He then discusses the various texts of the Platform Sutra, and analyzes its contents. (Source: Columbia University Press)

Yampolsky, Philip B., trans. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-huang Manuscript. Records of Civilization: Sources and Studies 76. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.

Yampolsky, Philip B., trans. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-huang Manuscript. Records of Civilization: Sources and Studies 76. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.;The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Yampolsky);The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Huineng;;;;;;;The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-Huang Manuscript with Translations, Introduction, and Notes by Philip B. Yampolsky

Affiliations & relations

• Columbia University · workplace affiliation
• https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Yampolsky.html · websites