Prof Max Deeg
Selected Publications
Books
- Die Strahlende Lehre – Die Stele von Xi’an (Übersetzung und Kommentar) („The Radiant Teaching – The Stele of Xi’an (Translation and Commentary)“), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, forthcoming (2013), ca. 420 pages.
- Miscellanae Nepalicae: Early Chinese Reports on Nepal – The Foundation Legend of Nepal in its Trans-Himalayan Context, Lumbinī: Lumbinī International Research Institute, forthcoming (2013), ca. 450 pages.
- Das Lotos Sutra („The Lotus Sutra“), Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2007 (second edition 2009), 364 pages.
- Das Gaoseng-Faxian-zhuan als religionsgeschichtliche Quelle. Der älteste Bericht eines chinesischen buddhistischen Pilgermönchs über seine Reise nach Indien mit Übersetzung des Textes („The Gaoseng-Faxian-zhuan as a source for the history of religion. The oldest report of a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim on his journey to India – with a translation of the text“), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2005 (Studies in Oriental Religions 52), 740 pages and 5 maps.
- The Places where Siddhārtha Trod: Lumbinī and Kapilavastu, Lumbini (Nepal): The Lumbinī Internation Research Institute, 2004, 84 pages.
- Die altindische Etymologie nach dem Verständnis Yāska’s und seiner Vorgänger. Eine Untersuchung über ihre Praktiken, ihre literarische Verbreitung und ihr Verhältnis zur dichterischen Gestaltung und Sprachmagie („The Old-Indian etymology according to Yāska and his predecessors. A study of its practices, spread in literature and relation to poetics and word magic“), Dettelbach: Verlag J.H. Röll, 1995 (Würzburger Studien zur Sprache & Kultur, Vol. 2), 436 pages.
Research Interests
Prof Deeg is specialising in Buddhist history and the spread of Buddhism from India to Central Asia and East Asia. He has a special interest in Buddhist narratives and their role and function for the construction of historical identities in Buddhist communities. He is also interested in other religions in the wider Asian context (Hinduism, Jainism, Daoism, Manichaeism, Eastern Christianity) and in the history of research and its impact on academic narratives about Asian religions. His latest monographs to be published will be one on Buddhist foundation myths and a German annotated translation of the Sino-Christian inscription of Xi’an from the 8th century. He is currently working on an new English translation and an extensive commentary of the Xiyu ji, the “Records of the Western Regions”, by the Chinese monk Xuanzang (7th century). Prof. Deeg is member of several academic and editorial boards.
Teaching
Undergraduate
Religion, Culture and Society II (Introduction to Buddhism)
Life of the Buddha
Introductions to Sanskrit and Pali
Buddhist Sanskrit Texts
Mahayana Buddhism (planned for 2013)
Postgraduate
I accept PhD students with an interest in a wide range of topics from Buddhist studies with the respective language skills (Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, Japanese).