Jonathan Silk
Professor of Buddhist Studies
- Name
- Prof.dr. J.A. Silk
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2510
- j.a.silk@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-9796-1021
Jonathan Silk is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies. He specializes in Buddhism in its Asian contexts, primarily from a historical point of view. He has a special interest in Buddhist scriptures.
Fields of interest
- Buddhist studies
- Indian studies
- Tibetan studies
- Chinese studies
Research
Silk’s scientific orientation on Buddhism is very broad, in time as well as geographically: his interest covers the oldest primary sources and the rise of Buddhist communities all over Asia, but he is equally interested in the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia. Silk reads Sanskrit, Pāli, , Classic Tibetan, Classic Chinese, and Japanese. He primarily studies Indian Buddhist scriptures, and their translations in Tibetan and Chinese.
Teaching activities and supervision
Silk directs the research MA programs in Asia and the Middle east, and runs the ERC-funded Advanced Project called Open Philology.
Curriculum Vitae
Silk (1960) studied East Asian Studies at the Oberlin College in Ohio and subsequently Buddhist Studies at the University of Michigan. At the latter university he obtained his PhD in 1994 with the thesis: The Origins and Early History of the Mahāratnakūţa Tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhism, With a Study of the Ratnarāśisūtra and Related Materials.
During his studies, Silk spent several years in Japan. After his PhD, he became Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Grinnell College in Iowa and in 1995 at the Department of Comparative Religion of the Western Michigan University. From 1998 until 2002 he taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University, and from 2002 in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Since 2007 he has been Professor in the study of Buddhism at Leiden. In 2010 he was awarded a VICI grant from the NWO (Dutch National Science Foundation) for project: “Buddhism and Social Justice.” In 2016 he was elected as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen [KNAW]).
Grants and awards
ERC Advanced Grant. Member of the Netherlands Royal Academy.
Professor of Buddhist Studies
- Faculty of Humanities
- Leiden Institute for Area Studies
- SAS India en Tibet
- Silk J.A. (2023), Remarks on a Recent Study of the Śrīmālādevīsiṁhanādanirdeśasūtra, Indo-Iranian Journal 67(1): 53-80.
- Silk J. (2023), Review of: Schlosser A. (2022), Three Early Mahayana Treatises from Gandhara: Bajuar Kharosthi Fragments 4, 6, and 11. Gandharan Buddhist Texts. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Religions of South Asia 17(3): 361-363.
- Silk J.A. (2022), Serious play: recent scholarship on the Lalitavistara, Indo-Iranian Journal 65(3): 267–301.
- Silk J.A. (2022), A Dunhuang Tibetan Poem Praising Amitābha and Its Rebirth Among the Gter ma, Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines 64: 516–613.
- Silk J.A. (2022), Review of: Zin M. & Schlingloff D., Saṁsāracakra: the wheel of rebirth in the Indian tradition. Indo-Iranian Journal 65(2): 171-180.
- Silk J.A. & Kuijp L. van der (Eds.) (2022), From Khyung lung to Lhasa, A Festschrift for Dan Martin Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines no. 64: University of Cambridge.
- Silk J.A. (2022), Serious play: recent scholarship on the Lalitavistara, Indo-Iranian Journal 65(3): 267–301.
- Silk J.A. (2022), Thinking about the study of Buddhist texts: ideas from Jerusalem, in more ways than one, Journal of Indian Philosophy 50: 753-769.
- Silk J.A. Nagao Gadjin M. (2022), History of the *Kāśyapaparivarta in Chinese translations and its connection with the Mahāratnakūṭa (Da Baoji jing 大寶積經) collection, Journal of the American Oriental Society 142(3): 671–697.
- Silk J.A. (2022), Review of: Zin M. & Schlingloff D. (2022), Saṁsāracakra: the wheel of rebirth in the Indian tradition . New Delhi: Dev Publishers & Distributor. Indo-Iranian Journal 65: 171-180.
- Silk J.A. (2021), The Heart Sūtra as Dhāraṇī, Acta Asiatica 121: 99-125.
- Silk J.A. (2021), A brief introduction to recent Chinese studies on Sanskrit and Khotanese (Chiefly Buddhist) literature, Indo-Iranian Journal 64: 51–64.
- Silk J.A. (2021), Editing without an Ur-text: Buddhist sūtras, Rabbinic text criticism, and the Open Philology Digital Humanities project, Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 24: 147-163.
- Silk J.A. (2021), Review of: Von Hinüber O. , The Saṃghāṭasūtra: a popular devotional buddhist Sanskrit text: editio maior. Annual report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the academic year 2020. Indo-Iranian Journal 64(4): 392-402.
- Silk J.A. (2021), Review of: Hidas G., Powers of protection: the Buddhist tradition of spells in the Dhāraṇīsaṁgraha collections. Beyond Boundaries no. 9. Berlin/Boston. Indo-Iranian Journal 64(4): 377-386.
- Zacchetti S., Silk J.A. & Radich M. (Eds.) (2021), The Da zhidu lun 大智度論 (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa) and the History of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā: Patterns of Textual Variation in Mahāyāna Sūtra Literature Hamburg Buddhist Studies no. 14. Hamburg: projekt verlag.
- Silk J.A. (2021), Review of: von Hinüber O. (2021), The Saṃghāṭasūtra: A Popular Devotional Buddhist Sanskrit Text: editio maior. Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2020 no. Vol. XXIV. Indo-Iranian Journal 64: 392-402.
- Silk J.A. (2021), Powers of protection: the Buddhist tradition of spells in the Dhāraṇīsaṁgraha collections, by Gergely Hidas, Indo-Iranian Journal 64: 377-386.
- Silk J.A. (2020), A Resurgent Interest in ‘Hindu Fiction’: On and around the Kathāsaritsāgara, with Special Attention to Buddhism, Indo-Iranian Journal 63(3): 263-306.
- Silk J.A. (2020), A Trust Rooted in Ignorance: Why Ānanda’s Lack of Understanding Makes Him a Reliable Witness to the Buddha’s Teachings. In: Kroll Paul W. & Silk J.A. (Eds.), At the Shores of the Sky”: Asian Studies for Albert Hoffstädt. . Sinica Leidensia no. 151. Leiden: Brill. 23-37.
- Silk J.A. (2020), A Dunhuang Tibetan Aspirational Prayer for Rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sōka Daigaku Kokusai Bukkyōgaku Kōtō Kenkyūjo Nenpō 23: 65-87.
- Silk J.A. (2020), Indian Buddhist Attitudes toward Outcastes: Rhetoric around caṇḍālas, Indo-Iranian Journal 63(2): 128-187.
- Silk J.A. (2020), “Tekisuto sokei no nai kōtei: Bukkyō kyōten to yudayakyō rabi bunken kenkyū ni okeru honbun hihan, soshite ‘Hirakareta bunkengaku’ dejitaru hyūmanitīzu purojekuto” テキスト祖型のない校訂: 佛敎經典とユダヤ敎ラビ文獻硏究における本文批評、 そして「開かれた文獻學」デジタルヒューマニティーズ プロジェクト [Editing without an Ur-text: Buddhist Sūtras, Rabbinic Text Criticism, and the Open Philology Digital Humanities Project]. Translated by Notake Miyako 野武美彌子. , Tōyō no Shisō to Shūkyō = Thought and Religion of Asia 37: 22-58.
- Silk J.A. (2020), Origins of the Mahāyāna, Indo-Iranian Journal 63(4): 371–394.
- Silk J.A. (2020), Review of: Kellner B. (2019), Buddhism and the dynamics of transculturality: new approaches. Religion and Society no. 64. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Indo-Iranian Journal 63(1): 94-101.
- Silk J.A. (2020), Review of: Hidas G. (2019), A Buddhist ritual manual on agriculture: Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja—critical edition and translation. Language and the State no. 3. Berlin/Boston. Indo-Iranian Journal 63(1): 78-93.
- Silk J.A. (2020), Review of: Falk H., Von Hinüber H.H. & Slaje W. (2019), Oskar von Hinüber. Kleine Schriften III. Veröffentlichungen der Helmuth von Glasenapp-Stiftung no. 49. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. Indo-Iranian Journal 63(1): 76-77.
- Silk J.A. & Kroll P.W. (Eds.) (2020), “At the Shores of the Sky”: Asian Studies for Albert Hoffstädt. Sinica Leidensia no. 151. Leiden: Brill.
- Silk J.A., Bowering R., McBride R. & Miyaji A. (2019), Maitreya. In: Silk J.A., Bowring R., Eltschinger V. & Radich M. (Eds.), Brill’s encyclopedia of Buddhism no. 2: Brill. 302-324.
- Silk J.A. (2019), Mahādeva. In: , Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Volume II: Lives no. 2: Brill. 298-301.
- Silk J.A. (2019), Chinese sūtras in Tibetan translation: a preliminary survey, Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 22: 227-246.
- Silk J.A. (2019), In praise of his mighty name: a Tibetan poem on Amitābha from Dunhuang. In: Halkias G.T. & Payne R.K. (Eds.), Pure lands in Asian texts and contexts: University of Hawaii Press. 496-539.
- Silk J.A. & Szántó P.D. (2019), Trans-sectual identity materials for the study of the Prasnottararatnamalika, a Hindu/Jaina/Buddhist catechism (I), Indo-Iranian Journal 62(2): 103-161.
- Silk J.A. (2019), Review of: Hanneder J. (2015), To edit or not to edit: on textual criticism of Sanskrit works. Pune: Savitribai Phule Pune University. Indo-Iranian Journal 62(3): 280-291.
- Silk J.A. (2019), Review of: Salomon R. (2018), The Buddhist literature of ancient Gandhāra: an introduction with selected translations. Indo-Iranian Journal 62(3): 269-279.
- Silk J.A. (2018), A present future foretold: the ten dreams of king Kṛkin in Pelliot tibétain 977. In: , Saddharmāmr̥tam: Festschrift für Jens-Uwe Harmann zum 65. Geburtstag. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde no. 93: Arbeitskreis für tibetische und buddhistische Studien Universität Wien. 427-439.
- Silk J.A. & Galambos I. (2018), An early manuscript fragment of Dharmarakṣa’s translation of the *Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana. In: Edzard L., Borgland Jens W. & Hüsken U. (Eds.), Reading Slowly: A Festschrift for Jens E. Braarvig. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 409-431.
- Silk J.A. (2018), Materials Toward the Study of Vasubandhu’s Viṁśikā (I): Sanskrit and Tibetan Critical Editions of the Verses and Autocommentary; An English Translation and Annotations. Harvard Oriental Series no. 81. Cambridge MA: Department of South Asian Studies, Harvard University.
- Silk J.A. (2017), The ten virtues of loudly invoking the name of Amitabha: Stein Tibetan 724 and an aspect of Chinese nianfo practice in Tibetan Dunhuang, Journal of the American Oriental Society 137(3): 473-482.
- Silk J.A. (2016), “Guan Wuliangshoufo jing de goucheng: Ji xushi jiegou de ruogan Fojiao yu qinajiao pingxingben” 《觀無量壽佛經》的構成: 其敘事結構的若干佛教與耆那教平行本, singaporean journal of buddhist studies 3: 111–199.
- Silk J.A. (2016), A Tibetan Grammatical Construction: verb + na go, Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines 2016(35): 309–334.
- Silk J.A. (2016), Materials Toward the Study of Vasubandhu’s Viṁśikā (I): Sanskrit and Tibetan Critical Editions of the Verses and Autocommentary; An English Translation and Annotations. Harvard Oriental Series no. 81. Cambridge MA: Department of South Asian Studies, Harvard University.
- Silk J.A. (2016), Peering Through a Funhouse Mirror: Trying to Read Indic Texts Through Tibetan and Chinese Translations. In: Wangchuk D. (Ed.), Cross-Cultural Transmission of Buddhist Texts: Theories and Practices of Translation. Indian and Tibetan Studies no. 5. Hamburg: Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Universität Hamburg. 287–311.
- Silk J.A. (2015), Buddhist Cosmic Unity: An Edition, Translation and Study of the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa–parivarta,. Hamburg Buddhist Studies no. 4. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press.
- Silk J.A. (2015), “Canonicity.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Volume I: Literature and Languages. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section Two, India no. 29/1 5-37.
- Silk J.A. (Ed.) (2015), Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Volume I: Literature and Languages. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section Two, India no. 29/1.
- Silk J.A. (2015), Review of: Bronkhorst Johannes (2011), Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism. [Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2, South Asia 24]. Leiden: Brill. Indo-Iranian Journal 58: 163-201.
- Silk J.A. (2015), Review of: Bronkhorst J. (2011), Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism. Handbook of oriental studies. section 2 South Asia no. 24. Leiden: Brill. Indo-Iranian Journal 58(2): 163–169.
- Silk J.A. (2014), Establishing / Interpreting / Translating: Is It Just That Easy?, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 36(37): 205-225.
- Silk J.A. (2014), Keeping up with the Joneses: from William Jones to John James Jones, Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 17: 427-441.
- Silk J.A. (2014), Out of the east: Tibetan scripture translations from Chinese , Journal of Tibetology 9: 29-36.
- Silk J.A. (2014), Taking the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa seriously, Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 17: 157-188.
- Silk J.A. (2013) The proof is in the pudding: what is involved in editing and translating a Mahayana sutra?. Review of: Jamspal L., The range of the bodhisattva, a Mahāyāna sūtra (Ārya-Bodhisattva-gocara): the teachings of the Nirgrantha Satyaka. Introduction and translation. Indo-Iranian Journal 56(2): 157-178.
- Bisschop P.C. & Silk J.A. (2013), Editorial, Indo-Iranian Journal 56(1): 1-2.
- Silk J.A. (2013), The nature of the verses of the Kāśyapaparivarta, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 23: 181-190.
- Silk J.A. & Zürcher E. (Eds.) (2013), Buddhism in China: Collected Papers of Erik Zürcher. Leiden: Brill.
- Bisschop P.C. & Silk J.A. (2013), Editorial, Indo-Iranian Journal 56(1): 1-2.
- Silk J.A. (2013), Kern and the Study of Indian Buddhism: With a Speculative Note on the Ceylonese Dhammarucikas, Journal of the Pali Text Society 31: 125-154.
- Silk J.A. (2013), Review of Anālayo, The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal, Indo-Iranian Journal 56(2): 193-199.
- Silk J.A. (2013), Review article: Buddhist sutras in Sanskrit from the Potala, Indo-Iranian Journal 56(1): 61-87.
- Silk J.A. (2012), Review of Jin-il Chung, A Survey of the Sanskrit fragments Corresponding to the Chinese Samyuktagama, Indo-Iranian Journal 55(1): 92-96.
- Silk J.A. (2012) A Survey of the Sanskrit fragments Corresponding to the Chinese Samyuktāgama [Zōagonkyō sōtō bonbun danpen ichiran] (雜阿含經相當梵文斷片一覽). Review of: , A Survey of the Sanskrit fragments Corresponding to the Chinese. Indo-Iranian Journal 55: 92-96.
- Silk J.A. (2012) “A missed opportunity” . Review of: Burnouf E. (2010), Introduction to the history of Indian Buddhism. History of Religions 51(3): 262-272.
- Silk J.A. (2012), Review of: Falk Harry & Slaje Walter (2009), Oskar von Hinüber: Kleine Schriften. Teil I-II. Veröffentlichungen der Hellmuth von Glasenapp-Stiftung 47.. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 54(2011-2012): 233-235.
- Silk J.A. (2011), Review of Stephen C. Berkwitz, South Asian Buddhism: A Survey, Indo-Iranian Journal 54(3): 275-285.
- Silk J.A. (2010), Review of Anton Schiefner, Übersetzungen aus dem tibetischen Kanjur: Beiträge zur Buddhismuskunde und zur zentralasiatischen Märchenforschung, Indo-Iranian Journal 53(1): 65-70.
- Silk J.A. (2010), “Bouddhisme.”. In: Pétré-Grenouilleau Oliver (Ed.), Dictionnaire des esclavages. Paris 123-125.
- Silk J.A. (2010), Test Sailing the Ship of the Teachings: Hesitant Notes on Kāśyapaparivarta §153-154. In: Franco E. & Zin M. (Eds.), From Turfan to Ajanta: Festschrift for Dieter Schlingloff on the Occasion of his Eighteeth Birthday 897-924.
- Silk J.A. (2010), Review of Buddhist Manuscript Cultures: Knowledge, Ritual, and Art, Indo-Iranian Journal 53(3): 285-296.
- Colzato L.S. & Silk J.A. (2010), Imag(in)ing the Buddhist brain: Editorial introduction, Zygon 45: 591-595.
- Silk J.A. (2010), The Jifayue sheku tuoluoni jing—Translation, Non-translation, Both or Neither?, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 2008/31(1/2): 369-420.
- Silk J.A. (2009), A small problem of tense and person: Dhammapada 306 and its parallels, Journal of the Pali Text Society 30: 161-176.
- Silk J.A. (2009), Remarks on the Kāśyapaparivarta Commentary. In: Straube M., Steiner R., Soni J., Hahn M. & Demoto M. (Eds.), Pāsādikadānaṃ : Festschrift für Bhikkhu Pāsādika. Marburg: Indica et Tibetica Verlag. 381-397.
- Bakker H. & Silk J.A. (2009), Editorial, Indo-Iranian Journal 52(2-3): 97-100.
- Silk J.A. (2009), Review of: Ludvik Catherine (2006), Sarasvatī: Riverine Goddess of Knowledge: from the manu¬script-carrying Vīṇā-player to the weapon-wielding defender of the Dharma. Brill’s Indological Library 27. Leiden/Boston, Mass.: Brill, 2007, and Recontextualizing the Praises of a Goddess: From the Harivaṁśa to Yijing’s Chinese Translation of the Sutra of Golden Light. Italian School of East Asian Studies Occasional Papers 10. Kyoto: Scuola Italiana di Studi sull’Asia Orientale. Asiatische Studien / Études Asiatiques 63(4): 991–996.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Incestuous Ancestries: On the Family Origins of Gautama Siddhārtha, Interpretations of Genesis 20.12, and the Status of Scripture in Buddhism, History of Religions 47(4): 253-281.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Managing Monks: Administrators and Administrative Roles in Indian Buddhist Monasticism. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Riven by Lust: Incest and Schism in Indian Buddhist Legend and Historiography. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Forbidden Women: A Peculiar Buddhist Reference. Turnhout: Brepols.
- Silk J.A. (2008), The Indian Buddhist Mahādeva in Tibetan Sources, インド哲学仏教学研究 [Indo Tetsugaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū] (Studies in Indian Philosophy and Buddhism) 15: 27-55.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Maternity Homes and Abandoned Children in Buddhist India, 127(3): 297-314.
- Silk J.A. (2008), *Parikarṣati Reconsidered, Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka 11: 61-69.
- Silk J.A. (2008), The Story of Dharmaruci: In the Divyāvadāna and Kṣemendra’s Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā, Indo-Iranian Journal 51: 137-185.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Review of Yasuhiro Sueki, Bibliographical Sources for Buddhist Studies: from the Viewpoint of Buddhist Philology, 2nd edition, Indo-Iranian Journal 51(2): 195-203.
- Silk J.A. (2008), Putative Persian Perversities: Buddhist Condemnations of Zoroastrian Close-Kin Marriage in Context, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 71(3): 433-464.
- Silk J.A. (2007), Bodhisattva” and “Mahāyāna Buddhism, Encyclopaedia Britannica : .
- Silk J.A. (2007), Good and Evil in Indian Buddhism: The Five Sins of Immediate Retribution, Journal of Indian Philosophy 35(3): 253-286.
- Silk J.A. (2007), Garlanding as Sexual Invitation: Indian Buddhist Evidence, Indo-Iranian Journal 50: 5-10.
- Silk J.A. (2007), Bauddhavacana: Notes on Buddhist Vocabulary, Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka 10: 171-179.
- Silk J.A. (2006), Body Language: Indic Śarīra and Chinese shèlì in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra and Saddharma¬puṇḍarīka. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies.
- Silk J.A. (2006), Xuanzang’s portrayal of the Buddhist Mahādeva. In: Mochizuki K. (Ed.), 法華経と大乗経典の研究 = Hokekyō to Daijō Kyōten no Kenkyū . Tokyo: 山喜房佛書林 = Sankibō busshorin. 193-213.
- Silk J.A. (2006), Review of: Eimer Helmut & Germano David, The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: PIATS 2000: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 2/10. 125(2): 341-342.
- Silk J.A. (2006), Review of: Shoun Hino & Toshiro Wada (2004), Three Mountains and Seven Rivers: Prof. Musashi Tachikawa’s Felicitation Volume. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 125(2): 341.
- Silk J.A. (2005), Review of Three Mountains and Seven Rivers: Prof. Musashi Tachikawa’s Felicitation Volume, 125(2): 341-341.
- Silk J.A. (2004), “Dressed for Success: The Monk Kāśyapa and Strategies of Legitimation in Earlier Mahāyāna Buddhist Scriptures.”, Journal Asiatique 291/1-2: 173-219.
- Silk J.A. (2004), A sūtra for long life. In: Lopez D.S. (Ed.), Buddhist scriptures. London: Penguin Books.
- Silk J.A. (2004), Gadjin Masato Nagao (1907-2005) - Obituary, The Eastern Buddhist 36(1-2): 243-251.
- Silk J.A. (2004), “Buddhist Studies” and “Slavery.”. In: Buswell Robert Jr. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Buddhism no. Vol. 1-2 94-101 780-781.
- Silk J.A. (2003), The fruits of paradox: on the religious architecture of the Buddha’s life story, Journal of the American Academy of Religion 71(4): 863-881.
- Silk J.A. (2002), “Cui bono? or Follow the Money: Identifying the Sophist in a Pāli Commentary.”. In: , Buddhist and Indian Studies in Honour of Professor Sodō Mori. Hamamatsu: Kokusai Bukkyoto Kyokai.
- Silk J.A. (2002), “Naze Kashō wa Daijō kyōten no shuyō tōjō jinbutsu ni natta no ka” 何故迦葉は大乗経典の主要登場人物になったのか [Why did Kāśyapa become a prominent figure in Mahāyāna scriptures?]. In: , Early Buddhism and Abhidharma Thought: In Honor of Doctor Hajime Sakurabe on His Seventy-seventh Birthday. Kyoto: Heirakuji shoten.
- Silk J.A. (2002), “Possible Indian Sources for the Term Tshad ma’i skyes bu as Pramāṇapuruṣa.”, Journal of Indian Philosophy 30(2): 111-160.
- Silk J.A. (2002), “What, If Anything, is Mahāyāna Buddhism? Problems of Definitions and Classifications.”, Numen : International Review for the History of Religions 49(4): 355-405.
- Silk J.A. (2001), "Contributions to the Study of the Philosophical Vocabulary of Mahāyāna Buddhism.", The Eastern Buddhist 33(1): 144-168.
- Silk J.A. (2001), The place of the Lotus Sūtra in Indian Buddhism, Journal of Oriental Philosophy 11: 89-107.
- Silk J.A. (2000), “Indo ni okeru Hokekyō no ichi” インドにおける『法華経』の位置 [The place of the Lotus Sūtra in Indian Buddhism], Tōyō Gakujutsu Kenkyū 39(2): 220-198.
- Silk J.A. (2000), The Yogācāra Bhikṣu. In: , Wisdom, Compassion, and the Search for Understanding: The Buddhist Studies Legacy of Gadjin M. Nagao.. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. 265-314.
- Silk J.A. (2000), “Kanmuryōjukyō no seiritsu ni kansuru mondai: Jyainakyō seiten o tegakari toshite” 観無量寿経の成立に関する問題: ジャイナ教聖典を手がかりとして [The Composition of the Guan Wuliangshoufo-jing]. In: Meiji Yamada (Ed.), Yamada Meiji Kyōju Kanreki Kinen Ronbunshū: Sekai Bunka to Bukkyō 山田明爾教授還暦記念論文集『世界文化と仏教』. Kyoto: Nagata Bunshōdō 永田文昌堂. 131-155.
- Silk J.A. (Ed.) (2000), Wisdom, Compassion, and the Search for Understanding: The Buddhist Studies Legacy of Gadjin M. Nagao. Honolulu: Univer¬sity of Hawai‘i Press.
- Silk J.A. (1999), “Marginal Notes on a Study of Buddhism, Economy and Society in China.”, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 22(2): 359-396.
- Silk J.A. (1999), Introduction to Alexander von Staël-Holstein’s article ''On a Peking Edition of the Tibetan Kanjur Which Seems to be Unknown in the West'', Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 22(1): 211-214.
- Silk J.A. (1999), Review of: Hara Minoru & Wright J.C., John Brough: Collected Papers. Indo-Iranian Journal 42(2): 188-196.
- Silk J.A. (1998), Review of: Pagel Ulrich & Gaffney Séan, Location list to the texts in the micro¬fiche edition of the Íel dkar (London) Manuscript bKa’ ’gyur (Or. 6724). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 61(2): 388-390.
- Silk J.A. (1997), “The Composition of the Guan Wuliangshoufo-jing: Some Buddhist and Jaina Parallels to its Narrative Frame.”, Journal of Indian Philosophy 25(2): 181-256.
- Silk J.A. (1997), Further remarks on the yogācāra bhikṣu. In: Pāsādika B. & Tampalawela Dhammaratana B. (Eds.), Dharmadūta: Mélanges offerts au Vénérable Thích Huyên-Vi à l’occasion de son soixante-dixième anniversaire. Paris: Éditions You Feng. 233-250.
- Silk J.A. (1996), Notes on the history of the Yongle Kanjur. In: Hahn M., Hartmann J.-U. & Steiner R. (Eds.), Suhr̥llekha: Festgabe für Helmut Eimer no. 28. Swisttal-Odendorf, Germany: Indica et Tibetica Verlag. 153-200.
- Silk J.A. (1994), The Victorian creation of Buddhism, Journal of Indian Philosophy 22: 171-196.
- Silk J.A. (1994), The Heart Sutra in Tibetan: A Critical Edition of the Two Recensions Contained in the Kanjur. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien.
- Silk J.A. (1993), “The Virtues of Amitābha: A Tibetan Poem from Dunhuang.”, Ryūkoku Daigaku Bukkyō Bunka Kenkyūjo Kiyō 32: 1-109.
- Silk J.A. (1992), A Bibliography on Ancient Indian Slavery, Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik 16/17: 277–285.
- Silk J.A. (1990) Translated (from Japanese), with additional notes and references: Gen’ichi Yamazaki, “The Legend of the Foundation of Khotan.” Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko 48: 55–80. Review of: .
- Silk J.A. (1989), A note on the opening formula of Buddhist sūtras, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 12(1): 158-163.
- Silk J.A. & Gomez L.O. (Eds.) (1989), Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahāyāna Buddhist Texts. Ann Arbor: Collegiate Insti¬tute for the Study of Buddhist Literature and Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, The University of Michigan.
- Editor, Brills Encyclopedia of Buddhism
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