Tocharian A; Old Uyghur; Maitreyasamitināṭaka; Maitrisimit; Central Asian Buddhism; Xīnjiāng
摘要
The Tocharian A Maitreyasamitināṭaka, a long dramatic text about the future Buddha Maitreya that is translated into Old Uyghur prose as the Maitrisimit, is one of the most important texts of Tocharian and Old Uyghur Buddhism. It is of crucial importance for Tocharian studies because even smaller fragments can often be interpreted successfully with the help of the better preserved Old Uyghur parallels. In this paper, the beginning of the 11th act about the birth of Maitreya is studied, comparing the Tocharian A and Old Uyghur fragments which are in part parallel and in part complementary.
