OHTS Interview with Ernst Steinkellner

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Oral History of Tibetan Studies project. This video is part of The Oral History of Tibetan Studies Project at Oxford University. Find out more about the project @ 0:00 Ernst Steinkellner Intro 0:43 Where do you come from? 2:59 Beginning of his studies 15:24 How do you remember Austrian and Viennese academia and the university environment when you were a student? 17:49 Why did you become interested in philosophy? 19:10 Did you have some other important teachers? 22:51 How did the classes look like at the university? 23:36 How were the studies organised at that time? 26:08 How did you choose the topic of your PhD thesis? 30:28 What happened then? 37:16 Could you say something about the PhD exam? 40:22 How do you remember the University of Pennsylvania and American academia in the 70s? 47:26 How did it look like back in Vienna? 54:34 Where and when did you learn with Dorje Yuthok? 58:35 What did you have to do practically to set up a department? 1:01:58 How did you develop the concept and organise the curriculum you created? 1:08:40 Which subjects did you decide should be taught as a part of the program? 1:12:05 You also included the study of spoken Tibetan? 1:21:32 Was this the first time you travelled to Tibet? 1:28:27 Difficulties of working with scholars in China and Tibet 1:33:47 Could you say something about your travels to Tibetan places? 1:38:42 How do you remember Tibet from the 80s? 1:45:34 Which places of Tibetan culture in general have you been able to visit? 1:50:05 How do remember Nepal from those times? 1:59:12 Were there some other foreigners around in the 80s? 2:01:16 Were you somehow in contact with the hippie community? 2:02:09 Were you able to visit Tibetan exile communities in India? 2:03:04 You have also worked in Japan and Oxford - can you say something about it? 2:11:28 Could you say something about your engagement in the Csoma de Körös symposiums? 2:18:29 What was the concept behind establishing the International Tibetological Tennis Society? 2:20:54 How many members did the club have? 2:22:02 For how long did the club continue? 2:23:20 Could you say something about the Csoma de Körös Symposium in Vienna? 2:31:04 Could you say something more about the collection of Sanskrit manuscripts? 2:44:32 Could you say something about the Tibetan material and texts that were already in Vienna when you were studying? How did it get there? 2:49:46 Did the texts collected by Gene Smith for American libraries have some influence here? 2:53:39 Have you ever worked on Tshad ma or philosophy in general with Tibetan scholars? 2:57:10 Could you say something about how your research interests have been developing over time? 3:04:44 How do you remember working on the Tabo project in the field? 3:06:41 Could you say something about establishing a centre of Tibetan Studies at the Austrian Academy of Sciences? 3:12:22 About the founding of the publication series focused on Tibet and Buddhist Studies in Vienna 3:17:23 How have you observed the development of the IATS over the years? 3:19:01 How did you observe the development of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies in general? 3:20:49 Why do you think Dharmakirti has been so fascinating for you? 3:23:07 What do you think are the reasons why Tibetan and Buddhist Studies in Vienna have been so successful? 3:34:27 Do you still have your own team for the search for the yeti in the Alps? 3:39:46 Receipt of awards and prizes 3:45:52 What has your career given to you personally? 3:49:02 What do you like about mountains? 3:50:50 During your work - what did you find the most interesting and the most challenging? 3:52:46 What do you regard to be your most significant academic contributions and why? 3:53:48 Are there still topics and interests you would like to pursue? 3:55:59 Would you have a message for future students in Tibetan and Buddhist Studies?