Isaline Blew Horner
Encyclopedia
Dr. I.B. Horner (March 30, 1896 - April 25, 1981) was a leading scholar of Pali literature
, late president of the Pali Text Society
(1959-1981) and recipient of the Order of the British Empire
(1980).
's women's college Newnham College
, Horner was awarded the title of a B.A.
in "moral studies."
After her undergraduate studies, Horner remained at Newnham College, becoming in 1918 an assistant librarian and then, in 1920, acting librarian. In 1921, Horner traveled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India and Burma where she was first introduced to Buddhism
, its literature and related languages. In 1923, Horner returned to England where she accepted a Fellowship at Newnham College and became its librarian. In 1928, she became the first Sarah Smithson Research Fellow in Pali
Studies. In 1930, she published her first book, Women Under Primitive Buddhism. In 1933, she edited her first volume of Pali text, the third volume of the Papancasudani (Majjhima Nikaya
commentary
). In 1934, Horner was awarded the title of an M.A. from Cambridge. From 1939 to 1949, she served on Cambridge's Governing Body.
From 1926 to 1959, Horner lived and traveled with her companion Eliza "Elsie" Marian Butler (1885-1959).
Horner was a cousin of the British Theravada
monk Ajahn Amaro.
. There, Horner completed the fourth volume of the Papancasudani (published 1937). In 1938, she published the first volume of a translation of the Vinaya Pitaka
. (She was to publish a translation of the last Vinaya Pitaka volume in 1966.)
In 1942, Horner became the Honorary Secretary of the Pali Text Society (PTS). In 1943, in response to her parents' needs and greater PTS involvement, Horner moved to London
where she lived until her death. In 1959, she became the Society's President and Honorary Treasurer.
by Ceylon University.
In 1977, Horner received a second honorary Ph.D from Nava Nalanda Mahavihara.
In 1980, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Horner the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) for her lifelong contribution to Buddhist literature.
Pali literature
Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language.- India :Main article: Pali CanonThe earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravada...
, late president of the Pali Text Society
Pali Text Society
The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by T.W. Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved...
(1959-1981) and recipient of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1980).
Cambridge years
In 1917, at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
's women's college Newnham College
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
, Horner was awarded the title of a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in "moral studies."
After her undergraduate studies, Horner remained at Newnham College, becoming in 1918 an assistant librarian and then, in 1920, acting librarian. In 1921, Horner traveled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India and Burma where she was first introduced to Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, its literature and related languages. In 1923, Horner returned to England where she accepted a Fellowship at Newnham College and became its librarian. In 1928, she became the first Sarah Smithson Research Fellow in Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
Studies. In 1930, she published her first book, Women Under Primitive Buddhism. In 1933, she edited her first volume of Pali text, the third volume of the Papancasudani (Majjhima Nikaya
Majjhima Nikaya
The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
commentary
Atthakatha
Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
). In 1934, Horner was awarded the title of an M.A. from Cambridge. From 1939 to 1949, she served on Cambridge's Governing Body.
From 1926 to 1959, Horner lived and traveled with her companion Eliza "Elsie" Marian Butler (1885-1959).
Horner was a cousin of the British Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
monk Ajahn Amaro.
PTS years
In 1936, due to Butler's accepting a position at Manchester University, Horner left Newnham to live in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. There, Horner completed the fourth volume of the Papancasudani (published 1937). In 1938, she published the first volume of a translation of the Vinaya Pitaka
Vinaya Pitaka
The ' is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns...
. (She was to publish a translation of the last Vinaya Pitaka volume in 1966.)
In 1942, Horner became the Honorary Secretary of the Pali Text Society (PTS). In 1943, in response to her parents' needs and greater PTS involvement, Horner moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where she lived until her death. In 1959, she became the Society's President and Honorary Treasurer.
Honors
In 1964, in recognition of her contributions to Pali literature, Horner was awarded an honorary Ph.DDoctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
by Ceylon University.
In 1977, Horner received a second honorary Ph.D from Nava Nalanda Mahavihara.
In 1980, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Horner the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) for her lifelong contribution to Buddhist literature.
Books
Horner's books (ordered by first identified publication date) include:- Women under primitive Buddhism : laywomen and almswomen (1930/1975)
- Papañcasūdanī: Majjhimanikāyaṭṭhakathā of BuddhaghosâcariyaBuddhaghosaBhadantācariya Buddhaghoṣa（Chinese: 覺音）was a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His best-known work is the Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, a comprehensive summary and analysis of the Theravada understanding of the Buddha's path to liberation...
(1933) - Early Buddhist theory of man perfected : a study of the Arahan concept and of the implications of the aim to perfection in religious life, traced in early canonical and post-canonical Pali literature (1936/1975)
- Book of the discipline (Vinaya-pitaka) (1938), translated by I. B. Horner.
- Alice M. Cooke, a memoir (1940)
- Madhuratthavilāsinī nāma Buddhavaṃsaṭṭhakathā of Bhadantâcariya Buddhadatta Mahāthera (1946/1978), ed. by I.B. Horner.
- Living thoughts of Gotama the Buddha (1948/2001), by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and I.B. Horner.
- Collection of the Middle Length SayingsMajjhima NikayaThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(1954) - Ten JātakaJatakaThe Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
stories (1957) - Early Buddhist poetry (1963)
- Milinda's questionsMilinda PanhaThe Milinda Panha is a Buddhist text which dates from approximately 100 BCE. It is included in the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism as a book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, however, it does not appear in the Thai or Sri Lankan versions.It purports to record a dialogue in which the...
(1963), translated by I. B. Horner. - Buddhist texts through the ages (1964/1990), translated and edited by Edward ConzeEdward ConzeEberhart Julius Dietrich Conze was an Anglo-German scholar probably best known for his pioneering translations of Buddhist texts.-Life and work:...
in collaboration with I.B. Horner, David Snellgrove, Arthur Waley. - Minor anthologies of the Pali Canon (vol. 4): VimanavatthuVimanavatthuThe Vimanavatthu is a Buddhist scripture, the sixth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Its name is Pali for "Vimana Stories". The Vimanavatthu is an anthology of 85 short stories written in verse...
and PetavatthuPetavatthuThe Petavatthu is a Theravada Buddhist scripture, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon's Sutta Pitaka. It is composed of 51 verse narratives describing specifically how the effects of bad acts can lead to rebirth into the unhappy world of petas in the doctrine of karma...
(1974), translated by I. B. Horner. - Minor anthologies of the Pali Canon (vol. 3): BuddhavamsaBuddhavamsaThe Buddhavamsa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is a fairly short work in verse, in 28 chapters, detailing aspects of the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-four preceding Buddhas...
and CariyapitakaCariyapitakaThe Cariyapitaka is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya, usually as the last of fifteen books...
(1975), translated by I. B. Horner. - Apocryphal birth-stories (Paññāsa-Jātaka) (1985), translated by I.B. Horner and Padmanabh S. Jaini.
Sources
- Boucher, Sandy (2007). "Appreciating the Lineage of Buddhist Feminist Scholars," in Rosemary Radford Ruether (ed.) Feminist Theologies (2007). Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 0-8006-3894-8. Retrieved 2008-08-21 from "Google Book Search" at http://books.google.com/books?id=lOFBColkprkC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=Isaline+%2BHorner+%2B%22Elsie+Butler%22&source=web&ots=LdtYjkqFG4&sig=c9sah_wz7NtEy-f90w1bFx6wzGo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result.
- Burford, Grace (2005). "Newnham Biographies: Isaline B. Horner (1896-1981)." Retrieved 2008-08-21 from "Newnham College" at http://www.newn.cam.ac.uk/about/bio_isalinehorner.shtml.
- Jayetilleke, Rohan L. (2007). "The pioneer Pali scholar of the West." Retrieved 2008-08-20 from "Associated Newspapers of Ceylon" at http://www.lakehouse.lk/budusarana/2007/03/25/Budu15.pdf.
- University of Cambridge (2007). "Isaline Blew Horner (1896-1981), Pali scholar." Retrieved 2008-08-20 from "University of Cambridge" at http://www.ames.cam.ac.uk/faclib/archive/horner.html.
- Watts, Sheila (2006). "Newnham Biographies: Eliza Marian (Elsie) Butler (1885 – 1959)." Retrieved 2008-08-21 from "Newnham College" at http://www.newnham.cam.ac.uk/about/bio_elsiebutler.shtml.