Khyentse Foundation has announced Dr Mingyuan Gao, PhD graduate, The Buddha Dharma Center of Hong Kong, as one of the winners of the 2020 Outstanding PhD Dissertations in Buddhist Studies for Asiawith the dissertation entitled, The Buddhist Concept of Vāsanā: From Abhidharma to Early Yogācāra.

“Since there has not been any monograph that studies comprehensively the issue of vāsanā, and only a very few studies have so far paid attention to this concept, Mingyuan’s dissertation is undoubtedly a significant contribution,“ said Venerable Professor Dhammajoti in his nomination letter. “The dissertation is well documented, based on solid primary Sanskrit, Tibetan, Classical Chinese, and Pāli sources. Some important passages in the dissertation are translated for the first time into English, with considerable annotation. It also critically examines a large number of secondary sources by modern scholars in English, Japanese, French, and Chinese.”

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欽哲基金會宣佈2020年度傑出佛學博士論文獎其中一位獲獎人為香港佛法中心博士畢業生。

高明元的博士論文《佛教的「習氣」概念：從阿毘達磨到早期瑜伽行派》寫作嚴謹、內容深入且富有批判性。該文討論了「習氣」一詞各種義項的沿革發展。「鑒於迄今只有少數幾篇研究關注到這一概念，更未有專著全面研究這一問題，明元的論文無疑是一項重大的貢獻。」，法光法師在為明元寫的論文推薦信中寫道，「此論文基於充分的梵、藏、漢、巴利語原始文獻，論證詳實。其文中的一些重要引文亦是首次被譯為英文且附有大量注釋。該文還批判性地審查了大量現代學者所寫的英、日、法、中文二手文獻。」

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Message from Ven. Prof. Dhammajoti on the award:

Dear colleagues, students and friends:

I am extremely pleased to share with you the happy news that our student, Dr Gao Mingyuan, has been awarded the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award by the Khyentse Foundation.

This is the first ever PhD degree successfully and excellently completed at the Buddha-Dharma Centre of Hong Kong (awarded by the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka)

I have my greatest confidence that Mingyuan will contribute tremendously to Buddhist Studies, both as a young scholar and a Buddhist.

May the Buddha Dharma prosper in the world!

KL Dhammajoti