Bocking, Brian

Professor Brian Bocking holds degrees of BA (Religious Studies) from Lancaster University and MA (Religious Studies) and PhD from the University of Leeds, UK. He has taught in the universities of Stirling (Scotland), Tsukuba (Japan), Bath Spa (UK) and most recently (1999-2007) at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where he was Professor of the Study of Religions and Head of Department. He became Professor of the Study of Religions and Head of the newly established Study of Religions Department at UCC in January 2008. He is currently acting Head of the School of Asian Studies at UCC.

NAGARJUNA IN CHINA: A Translation of the Middle Treatise

1995 0-7734-8981-9
The great Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna's writings on emptiness (sunyata) have profoundly influenced Indian, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism for nearly 2000 years. The central statement of his thought is found in his Middle Stanzas. The Middle Treatise (T. 1564) here translated in full into English for the first time, is Kumarajiva's Chinese version of Nagarjuna's Middle Stanzas with the commentary attributed to the monk 'Blue Eyes' (Pingala, Vimalaksa) that exists only in the Chinese Buddhist canon. The introductory chapters set the Treatise in context within the Sino-Japanese Buddhist tradition, introduce Madhyamika ideas found in the Middle Treatise, and provide a detailed commentary on the Treatise for the modern reader, discussing each chapter and clarifying the argument of the Treatise. The Translation of all 27 chapters of the Middle Treatise forms the heart of the work, while the extensive Notes to the translation contain more discussion and specialized information including many of the Chinese terms found in the Treatise. The authorship of the Middle Treatise is considered in an Appendix. This is a significant addition to the small but growing body of translated texts of Sino-Japanese Buddhism, a tradition that remains relatively under-represented in modern Buddhist studies.