André Bareau

André Bareau (31 December 1921 – 2 March 1993) was a prominent French Buddhologist and a leader in the establishment of the field of Buddhist Studies in the 20th century. He was a professor at the Collège de France from 1971 to 1991 and Director of the Study of Buddhist Philosophy at L'École Pratique des Hautes Études.

Between 1955 and 1985, he carried out eight missions in Asia, in countries where Buddhism had been practiced for 2,500 years.

He wrote numerous books, 307 articles and reviews between 1951 and 1994, some of which were published posthumously.

Biography André Bareau was born on 31 December 1921 in Saint-Mandé into a modest family. At the age of seventeen, in 1938, he was admitted to the École normale d'instituteurs de Paris (Teacher Training College). In 1941, he began his career as a teacher in La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire (a district of Saint-Mandé). That same year, he began Postgraduate education at the Sorbonne University, which he completed in 1946

Then, while preparing a degree in philosophy at this institution, he discovered languages Sanskrit and Pāli. In 1947, he defended a mémoire under the supervision of Jean Filliozat, on the Pali Buddhist notion of "asaṅkhata" ("the unformed, the unconditioned " ), and joined the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He went on to study Chinese and Tibetan, and in 1951 defended his thesis entitled « L'Absolu en philosophie bouddhique. Évolution de la notion d'asaṃskṛta (The Absolute in Buddhist philosophy. Evolution of the notion of Asaṃskṛta).

His research led him to the conclusion that the birthplace of the Buddha was not Lumbini, as is generally accepted, but Kapilavastu

Here are just a few of them (all texts are in French).

Books L'absolu en philosophie bouddhique : évolution de la notion d'Asmskrta, Paris, Centre de documentation Universitaire, 1951, 307p. Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, Paris, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1955, XII, 188 p. , read online : . Les Sectes bouddhiques du petit véhicule et leurs Abhidharmapiṭaka, PEFEO, 1955, 297p.PDF. Bouddha. Présentation, choix de textes, bibliographie, Seghers, coll. "Philosophes de tous les temps", 1962, 222 p. Recherches sur la biographie du Buddha dans les Sutrapitaka et les Vinayapitaka anciensl : volume I : De la quête de l'Éveil à la conversion de Sâriputra et Maudgalyâyana, EFEO Publications (PEFEO), vol. 53, Paris, 1963, 405 p. volume II, tome 1 : Les derniers mois, le parinirvâna et les funérailles (continued), PEFEO, vol. 77, 1970, 319 p. volume II, tome 2 : Les derniers mois, le parinirvâna et les funérailles 1971, 342 p. . vol. III : Articles complémentaires, PEFEO, 1995, X-540 p. Articles 1962-1963. En suivant Bouddha. Textes choisis et présentés, Éditions Philippe Lebaud, 1985, 307 p. , republished in 2000 by , 301 p.. Les religions de l'Inde, with Walter Schubring, Christoph von Fürer-Halmendorff, (original edition in German, translation by L.Jospin), Lausanne, Payot Éditions: volume 3 : Bouddhisme, jaïnisme, religions archaïques, 1966, 334 p.

Articles La date du Nirvana, Journal Asiatique, vol. 241, p. 27-52, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1953, 150 p Les sectes bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule et leur Abhidharmapitaka, tome 44 n°1, p. 1-11, PEFEO, 1951 La composition et les étapes de formation du Mahâparinirvânasûtra ancien , Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient, vol. LXVI, p. 45-103, 1979 Les origines de la pensée bouddhique, Institut bouddhique Truc lâm, 1987 Lumbinī et la naissance du futur Buddha, Bulletin de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, tome 76, p. 69-81., 1987

Awards