Sam van Schaik

Sam van Schaik
Sam van Schaik at SOAS University of London in 2013
Alma mater	University of Manchester
Known for	Study of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang
Scientific career
Fields	Tibetology
Institutions	British Library

Sam Julius van Schaik is an English tibetologist.

Education

He obtained a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist literature at the University of Manchester in 2000, with a dissertation on the translations of Dzogchen texts by Jigme Lingpa. ^[1]

Career

Since 1999 van Schaik has worked at the British Library in London, where he is currently the Head of the Endangered Archives Programme ^[2] a position to which he was appointed in February 2019. He was previously a project manager for the International Dunhuang Project, specialising in the study of Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts from Dunhuang. ^[3] He has also taught occasional courses at SOAS, University of London. ^[4]

From 2003 to 2005 van Schaik worked on a project to catalogue Tibetan Tantric manuscripts in the Stein Collection of the British Library, and from 2005 to 2008 he worked on a project to study the palaeography of Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhang, in an attempt to identify individual scribes. ^[5]

Books

Van Schaik is the author or co-author of:

• Approaching the Great Perfection: Simultaneous and Gradual Approaches to Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004). ISBN   0861713702
• Tibetan Tantric Manuscripts from Dunhuang: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Stein Collection at the British Library, co-authored with Jacob Dalton (Leiden: Brill, 2006). ISBN   9789004154223 ^[6]
• Tibet: A History (London: Yale University Press, 2011). ISBN   9780300154047 ^[7]
• Manuscripts and Travellers: The Sino-Tibetan Documents of a Tenth-Century Buddhist Pilgrim, coauthored with Imre Galambos (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2012). ISBN   9783110225648 ^[8]
• Tibetan Zen: Discovering a Lost Tradition (Boston & London: Snow Lion, 2015). ISBN   9781559394468 ^[9]
• The Spirit of Zen (Yale University Press, 2018), ^[10] winner of the 2019 Tianzhu Book Prize for Excellence in Chan Studies ^[11]
• Buddhist Magic: Divination, Healing, and Enchantment Through the Ages (Boulder: Shambhala 2020) ISBN   9781611808254 ^[12]

His edited volumes include:

• Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang: Rites and Teachings for this Life and Beyond, co-edited with Matthew Kapstein (Leiden: Brill, 2010). ISBN   9789004182035 ^[13]

He is also the translator of:

• Dhongthog Rinpoche, The Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism: A History, Translated by Sam van Schaik (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc., 2016).

References

1. "IDP Research Profiles : Sam van Schaik". International Dunhuang Project . Retrieved 5 March 2011.
2. "Sam Van Schaik". The British Library. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
3. "Staff Research Profiles : Dr Sam van Schaik". British Library . Retrieved 5 March 2011.
4. "earlyTibet : The Author" . Retrieved 5 March 2011.
5. "IDP Research Projects". International Dunhuang Project . Retrieved 5 March 2011.
6. Review of Tibetan Tantric Manuscripts from Dunhuang:
   • Wedemeyer, Christian K. (March 2009). Religious Studies Review. 35 (1): 76. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2009.01331_1.x.
7. Reviews of Tibet: A History:
   • Bence, Charlotte (June 2011). "Review". Socialist Review. 359.
   • Bhattacharya, Abanti (19 May 2012). "Exhaustive study of Tibet". Economic and Political Weekly. 47 (20): 37–39. JSTOR   23214624.
   • Bischoff, Jeannine (August 2012). "Rezension". Sehepunkte (in German). 12 (7–8).
   • Hill, Nathan (2012). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 75 (1): 190–192. doi:10.1017/S0041977X11001108. JSTOR   23258923.
   • Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Amy (June 2016). Journal of World History. 27 (2): 373–378. doi:10.1353/jwh.2016.0099. JSTOR   43901867.
   • Jagou, Fabienne (2010–2011). Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient (in French). 97–98: 444–445. JSTOR   43733250.
   • Jansen, Berthe (2012). "Review". Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. 2: 255–258.
   • Joshi, Manoj (1 January 2012). "Tibet: So near yet so far". India Today.
   • Schellhase, John. "Of priests and patrons". The Mantle.
   • Singh, Priyanka (July 2012). Asian Affairs. 43 (2): 310–311. doi:10.1080/03068374.2012.682720. S2CID   162279810.
   • Sudbury, Jill (July 2012). Buddhist Studies Review. 29 (1): 142–144. doi:10.1558/bsrv.v29i1.142.
   • Sullivan, Brenton (November 2012). The Journal of Asian Studies. 71 (4): 1135–1139. doi: 10.1017/S0021911812001489 . JSTOR   23357455.
8. Reviews of Manuscripts and Travellers:
   • Barrett, T. H. (2013). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 76 (2): 339–340. doi:10.1017/S0041977X1300030X. JSTOR   24692833. S2CID   162377688.
   • Maurer, Petra (June 2018). Orientalistische Literaturzeitung (in German). 113 (2): 181–182. doi:10.1515/olzg-2018-0058. S2CID   166199506.
   • Willock, Nicole (November 2012). The Journal of Asian Studies. 71 (4): 1140–1141. doi: 10.1017/S0021911812001490 . JSTOR   23357456.
9. Reviews of Tibetan Zen:
   • Pitkin, Annabella (20 April 2016). "Forgotten Encounters of Tibetan Zen". Lion's Roar.
   • Zigmond, Dan (Winter 2015). "The Lost Tradition of Tibetan Zen". Tricycle.
10. Reviews of The Spirit of Zen:
    • Barrett, T. H. (February 2019). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 82 (1): 193–195. doi:10.1017/s0041977x1900020x. S2CID   194303066.
    • Keyworth, George A. (April 2021). The Journal of Religion. 101 (2): 291–292. doi:10.1086/712955. ISSN   0022-4189. S2CID   236757496.
11. Lee, Carol (19 September 2019). "Tianzhu Book Prize Lecture: The Meanings of Meditation in Early Zen Buddhism, by Sam van Schaik". H-Net .
12. Reviews of Buddhist Magic:
    • Jandáček, Petr (June 2021). Archiv Orientální. 89 (1): 216–218. doi: 10.47979/aror.j.89.1.216-218 .
    • Kern, Erika Harlitz (July–August 2020). "Review". Foreword Reviews.
13. Reviews of Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang:
    • McClellan, Joe (February 2011). The Journal of Asian Studies. 70 (1): 225–227. doi:10.1017/S0021911810003335. JSTOR   41302240. S2CID   162290292.
    • Wedemeyer, Christian K. (June 2012). Religious Studies Review. 38 (2): 122. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2012.01614_4.x.

External links

• Sam van Schaik's academic blog