Mark Blum

Professor Mark Blum has been awarded the 2015 Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation. Professor Blum holds the Shinjo Ito Distinguished Chair in Japanese Studies, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, at the University of California, Berkeley. He translated Volume I of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra from Dharmaksema’s 5th-century Chinese version. This is the first translation into English of this important sutra, an exposition of Buddha nature (tathagatagarbha). Professor Peter Skilling noted the tremendous significance of this sutra, saying, “The Nirvana sutra is encyclopedic, drawing on traditional sutras, narratives of the life of the Buddha, jatakas, and avadanas, to weave complex metaphysical dialogs on key questions that Indian Buddhists faced as they moved inexorably towards new frontiers of thought. The Buddha, great monks like Sariputra, bodhisattvas like Manjushri, and the bodhisattva Kasyapa engage in spirited discussions using similes and debate to explore the dynamics of liberation.”