Indian philosophy
In this major course, students study various Indian thoughts and religions, including Buddhism. Specifically, students read works written in Sanskrit and Pali (the language stemmed from Sanskrit). Although Sanskrit appears to be difficult for beginners, it is actually an extremely "clear" language. The Indian philosophy that uses such language of definite meanings is therefore very logical.
Reading Buddhist sutras in their original languages, students understand that the Buddhism immediately after its origination in India is much different from the Buddhism now prevailing in Japan. Even though learning several languages (in addition to Sanskrit, modern languages must be mastered <German, English, and French in order of priority> in order to read related works and use dictionaries and grammar books) entails untiring effort, students interested in tackling challenging tasks will surely find their efforts to be truly rewarding.
Professor
- ENOMOTO, Fumio (Ph.D.)
- Indology including Buddhist Studies; Study of Fundamental Ideas in Early Buddhism and Early Jainism, Critical Edition of Buddhist Texts from Sanskrit Manuscripts, Study of Sanskrit Texts Corresponding to the Chinese Samyuktagama
Associate Professor
- DOYAMA, Eijiro (Ph.D.)
- Indology, Historical Comparative Linguistics; Grammatical Study on Indo-Iranian Languages (Vedic, Avestan, Old Persian etc.)