Ebook: Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God

Review

"This book displays 'state of the art' scholarship on the mythology, literature, iconography, and practice surrounding Ganaa. No single scholar could take on the range of traditions, texts, languages, and practices that are represented here. It is a case of strength through diversities of scholarly background and interests with each study thoroughly grounded in original sources." - Paul B. Courtright, Emory University

"I liked the wide-range of information presented about Ganaa from a variety of Asian countries, the depth of detail it makes available, the translations of texts otherwise not available, the data on actual rituals, and the data it gives on Tantrism. The book will be useful to those who want to explore a single theme that has run through South, Southeast, and East Asia. It is especially significant for the insight it provides into Tantric practices in Tibet and Japan." -- Dennis Hudson, Smith College

"It provides a great deal of original and unpublished material which will be of much interest to scholars in the field. It will be an indispensable reference work on the subject." -Pratataditya Pal, Senior Curator, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

About the Authors

Robert L. Brown is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Adjunct Curator of the Pacific Asia Museum.

Christopher Wilkinson began his career in Buddhist literature in 1972 at the age of fifteen, taking refuge vows from his guru Dezhung Rinpoche. In that same year, he began formal study of Tibetan language at the University of Washington under Geshe Ngawang Nornang and Turrell Wylie. He then received many instructions from Kalu Rinpoche, completing the traditional practice of five hundred thousand Mahamudra preliminaries. He became a Buddhist monk at the age of eighteen, living in the home of Dezhung Rinpoche while he continued his studies at the University of Washington. He graduated in 1980 with a B.A. degree in Asian Languages and Literature and another B.A. degree in Comparative Religion (College Honors, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). After a two-year tour of Buddhist pilgrimage sites throughout Asia, he worked for five years in refugee resettlement in Seattle, Washington, then proceeded to the University of Calgary for an M.A. in Buddhist Studies where he wrote a groundbreaking thesis on the Yangtik transmission of the Great Perfection tradition titled “Clear Meaning: Studies on a Thirteenth Century rDzog chen Tantra.” He proceeded to work on a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of the 20,000 line Perfection of Wisdom in Berkeley, California, followed by an intensive study of the Burmese language in Hawaii. In 1990 he began three years of service as a visiting professor in English Literature in Sulawesi, Indonesia, exploring the remnants of the ancient Sri Vijaya Empire there. He worked as a research fellow for the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation for several years, playing a part in the early development of the Rubin Museum of Art. In the years that followed he became a Research Fellow at the Centre de Recherches sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale, Collège de France, and taught at the University of Calgary as an Adjunct Professor for five years. He has published many volumes of translations and continues with this effort.