Guest lecture by Dr. Christiane Schäfer
Radiance and Buddha 'Dignity'
The Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig cordially invites you to attend an exciting guest lecture by Dr. Christiane Schäfer (Dept. of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University) on 28 May 2024, 3 pm, in Straße des 17. Juni 2, room 126, on the topic "Radiance and Buddha 'Dignity'".
Please note that the lecture will be held in German.
Abstract
The semantically complex Tocharian TB perne/TA paräṃ 'splendour, radiance, glory; rank, (Buddha)dignity, status' is a loanword belonging to the oldest strand of Iranian loanwords to the Tocharian language. It is attested in Buddhist Sogdian prn [parn] 'fortune; glory; high rank' and in Khotansak phārra 'rank of Buddha; splendour'. In Old Iranian, the Zoroastrian-connoted, semantically challenging Avestan xᵛarənah- 'splendour, radiance, (ruler's) luck, success, prosperity' and Old Persian ᵒfarnah- (cf. PN Vindafarnah-) correspond. The subject of my lecture will be twofold: firstly, the light appearance aspects in the broad spectrum of meaning of the Tocharian terms, and secondly, the question of how a primarily Zoroastrian concept could find its way into Buddhist terminology and imagination.