Mingyuan Gao

Mingyuan Gao of the Buddha Dharma Center of Hong Kong received 2020 KF Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Buddhist Studies.
Mingyuan‘s PhD dissertation, The Buddhist Concept of Vāsanā: From Abhidharma to Early Yogācāra, meticulously presents an in-depth and critical exposition of the development of various connotations of the term vāsanā.

“Since there has not been any monograph that studies comprehensively the issue of vāsanā, and only a very few studies have so far paid attention to this concept, Mingyuan’s dissertation is undoubtedly a significant contribution,“ said Venerable Professor Dhammajoti in his nomination letter. “The dissertation is well documented, based on solid primary Sanskrit, Tibetan, Classical Chinese, and Pāli sources. Some important passages in the dissertation are translated for the first time into English, with considerable annotation. It also critically examines a large number of secondary sources by modern scholars in English, Japanese, French, and Chinese.”