Dr Mun-Keat Choong

Lecturer - Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education; School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Mun-Keat Choong

Phone: +61 2 6773 2087

Email: mchoong@une.edu.au

Biography

Dr. CHOONG Mun-keat (Wei-keat) studied Chinese and Pāli Buddhism in Malaysia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka, before obtaining his Bachelor of Arts (1990) in Buddhist Studies at Komazawa University (Tokyo), and his Master of Arts in Studies in Religion (1994) and PhD (1999) in the area of Buddhist Studies at University of Queensland. His research interests lie in comparative studies of the Pāli and Chinese versions of the early Buddhist canon (including fragmentary Sanskrit texts). He is also interested in contemporary Buddhism in the West and Asian societies. He taught Buddhism courses at University of Queensland (2001-2), prior to taking up his appointment at UNE (2003).

Qualifications

PhD in Studies in Religion (Buddhist Studies) (Queensland), MA in Studies in Religion (Queensland), BA in Buddhist Studies (Komazawa, Tokyo).

Teaching Areas

Buddhism: A History
Chinese and Japanese Religion: A History
Meditation in Eastern Religions
World Religions Today

Primary Research Area/s

Buddhist Studies

Research Interests

  • Early Buddhism in India
  • Contemporary Buddhism in Asian societies and the West
  • Comparative studies of the Pali and Chinese versions of the early Buddhist canon (including fragmentary Sanskrit texts), particularly, the Samyutta/Samyukta collection
    Current Research
  • Early Buddhist teachings in the Pali Samyutta-nikaya and its Chinese counterpart, Samyukta-agama: A comparative study

Publications

Books:

Annotated Translation of Sutras from the Chinese Samyuktāgama relevant to the Early Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness and the Middle Way (2004; second edition, International Buddhist College, Thailand, 2010. PDF version availablehttp://ibc.ac.th/en/)

The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga portion of the Pāli Saṃyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama (Series: Beitrage zur Indologie Band 32; Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2000).

The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism (1995; second revised edition, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1999).

Book chapters:

“Ācāriya Buddhaghosa and Master Yinshun 印順 on the Three-aṅga Structure of Early Buddhist Texts”, Research on the Saṃyukta-āgama (Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, Research Series 8; edited by Dhammadinnā), Taiwan: Dharma Drum Corporation, August 2020, pp. 883-932.

"Problems and Prospects of the Chinese Samyuktāgama: Its structure and content", Translating Buddhist Chinese: Problems and Prospects (= Series: East Asia Intercultural Studies - Interkulturelle Ostasienstudien 3; edited by Konrad Meisig) (Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2010), pp. 53-64.

Articles:

"A comparison of the Pāli and Chinese versions of Jhāna Saṃyutta, Asaṅkhata Saṃyutta, and Abhisamaya Saṃyutta: early Buddhist discourses on concentrative meditation, the uncompounded, and realisation", Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, 2021 (21), pp. 10-43.

“A comparison of the Pāli and Chinese versions of Nāga SaṃyuttaSupaṇṇa Saṃyutta, and Valāhaka Saṃyutta, early Buddhist discourse collections on mythical dragons, birds, and cloud devas”, Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, 2020 (18), pp. 42-65.

“A comparison of the Pāli and Chinese versions of Okkantika Saṃyutta, Uppāda Saṃyutta, Kilesa Saṃyutta and Rāhula Saṃyutta, early Buddhist discourses on entering, arising, affliction, and the Venerable Rāhula”, Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, 2018 (14), pp. 20-36.

"A comparison of the Chinese and Pāli Saṃyukta/Saṃyuttas on the Venerable Mahā-Maudgalyāyana (Mahā-Moggallāna)", Buddhist Studies Review (Journal of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies), v. 34.1 (2017), pp. 67-84.

“A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Kassapa Samyutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on the Venerable Kasyapa”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Cambridge University Press), vol. 27, issue 2 (2017), pp. 295-311.

“A comparison of the Chinese and Pali versions of the Sariputra Samyukta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on the Venerable Sariputra”, in Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, vol.10, May 2016, pp. 27-52.

"A Comparison of the Pāli and Chinese Versions of the Brahma Saṃyutta, a Collection of Early Buddhist Discourses on Brahmās, the Exalted Gods", Buddhist Studies Review (Journal of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies), vol. 31.2, pp. 179-194 (2014)

"A Comparison of the Pāli and Chinese Versions of the Gāmani Samyutta, a Collection of Early Buddhist Discourses to Headmen", Journal of Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, vol. 7, pp. 98-115 (2014)

Review of The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism By Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. pp. 1265 (Princeton and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2014), Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Cambridge University Press), vol. 24 (4), p. 657 (2014)

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Sakka Samyutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on 'Sakra, ruler of the gods' ", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 22, issue 3-4, October 2012 (Cambridge University Press), pp. 561–574.

"A comparison of the Chinese and Pali versions of the Bala Samyukta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on "Powers" (Bala)", in Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, vol.2, May 2012, pp. 84-103.

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Devata Samyutta and Devaputta Samyutta, collections of early Buddhist discourses on devatas "gods" and devaputras "sons of gods" ", Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, vol.1, October 2011, pp. 60-88.

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Mara Samyutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on Mara, the Evil One", The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies', vol.10, 2009, pp. 35-53

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Brahmana Samyutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on the priestly Brahmanas", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 19, issue 03, July 2009 (Cambridge University Press), pp. 371-382.

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Vangisa-thera Samyutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on the Venerable Vangisa", Buddhist Studies Review 24 (1), 2007, pp. 35-45.

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Bhikkhu Samyutta, a collection of early Buddhist discourses on monks", Buddhist Studies Review 23 (1), 2006, pp. 61-70.

"A comparison of the Pali and Chinese versions of the Kosala Samyutta, an early Buddhist discourse on King Pasenadi of Kosala", The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 7, 2006, pp. 21-35.

"The importance of Pali-Chinese comparison in the study of Pali suttas", Khthonios: A Journal for the Study of Religion, vol. II, No. 2 (June 2005), pp. 19-26.

"Definitions of Tanha (Craving) in Early Buddhist Sutras", Annotated Translation of Sutras from the Chinese Samyuktāgama relevant to the Early Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness and the Middle Way (Lu Ye Chan Si, Johor, 2004; second edition, International Buddhist College, Thailand, 2010), pp. 90-96.

"Historical and Textual Background of Buddhism", Annotated Translation of Sutras from the Chinese Samyuktāgama relevant to the Early Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness and the Middle Way (Lu Ye Chan Si, Johor, 2004; second edition, International Buddhist College, Thailand, 2010), pp. 75-89.

"A Discussion on the Determination of the Date of the Historical Buddha", Journal of Indian History, vols. LXXVI-LXXVIII, 1997-1999 (March 2004), pp. 1-6.

"Buddhist Psychotherapy in the Doctrine of No-self in Early Buddhism" (based on Pali and Chinese source texts), The Golden Link, vol. 15 (1996), pp. 43-51.

"Ping Zhang Yuan-chang 'Guanyindashi Bianxing Ji' Yiwen" [Review of Zhang Yuan-chang's article 'Records of the gender-changes of Avalokitesvara'], Chin Jei 淨覺, vol. 1, No. 10 (1980), pp. 24-26.

Further Information

Academic Awards

Dean's Commendation List for Outstanding PhD Theses 1999 (awarded by The University of Queensland Graduate School, 29 June 2000).

Certificate of Scholarly Achievement (scholarship award (1988-1990) from Moriya Foundation, Tokyo, 8 March 1990).