http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=journal&journal_code=JIABS Recent articles poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294218 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294218 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:48:52 +0000 Obituary poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294219 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294219 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:50:10 +0000 poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294220 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294220 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:53:48 +0000 poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294221 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294221 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:55:06 +0000 This article explores the magical power of writing in the context of early Buddhist textual amulets. In various Buddhist traditions, protective texts, known as <i>rak??</i> texts, were inscribed on amulets to safeguard the wearer from illness, danger, and misfortune. These apotropaic manuscripts were written on materials such as birch bark, cloth, or paper, then rolled or folded and enclosed in containers to be carried. Particularly in early Buddhism, they played a crucial role in the daily lives of monks, laypeople, and travellers. Research indicates that these amulets were not only preserved but actively used. Epigraphic and archaeological findings from Central Asia, India, and China provide evidence of their widespread application and ritual use. The article further examines the interplay between text, form, and function, as well as the production and ritual practice surrounding these protective scriptures. poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294222 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294222 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:56:06 +0000 poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294223 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294223 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:59:42 +0000 Among Indian Mah?y?na <i>s?tras</i> that scholars have classified as being concerned with <i>tath?gatagarbha</i>, or teachings about 'buddha-nature', is the <i>Mah?meghas?tra</i>. This paper addresses how justified it is to classify this text as such. The first matter is whether or not versions of the <i>Mah?meghas?tra</i> teach us anything about to what the expression <i>tath?gatagarbha</i> refers, and the second is what they have to say about 'buddha-nature' more broadly. Investigating these matters reveals striking differences between, on the one hand, the fifth century Chinese translation of the <i>Mah?meghas?tra</i> (T.387), of Dharmak?ema, and, on the other, the Tibetan canonical translation and a mostly intact Sanskrit manuscript. A close examination of these differences, cross-referenced with doctrinal features unique to other translations attributed to Dharmak?ema, suggests his hand in producing a Chinese <i>Mah?meghas?tra</i> aligned closely with the ideas and terminology of his highly influential <i>Da banniepan jing</i> (T.374). It also invites us to rethink the Indian <i>Mah?meghas?tra</i> as a source not of fully formed buddha-nature teaching so much as a range of ideas adjacent to it. poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294224 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294224 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:00:36 +0000 not available poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294225 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294225 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:03:35 +0000 poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294226 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294226 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:06:38 +0000 poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294227 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294227 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:09:10 +0000 poj@peeters-leuven.be http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.47.0.3294228 http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3294228 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:09:43 +0000 Contributors