Sad announcement: Passing of Prof Tilmann Vetter (1937-2012)

[Dipak Bhattacharya]

Professor Houben's excellent and lively description
of Prof. Vetter and his achievements was most welcome. I only add a less known aspect
-- interest in Śaṅkara that was responsible for Studien zur Lehre und Entwicklung
Śaṅkaras.In
determining date and development Vetter paid great attention to terminology and
form. Somewhat averse to pinpointing ideological change  --  in
that he resembled many Western enquirers -- Vetter seemed to be an unrelenting
idealist to me. Naturally he preferred Radhakrishnan to Dasgupta and loved reading Tagore’s Gitanjali. Soft spoken and drawn into himself Vetter was conscientious. A man of books and vast learning he seemed to me as not interested in administrative enterprise. Fine to some, disappointing to some. I had been missing him for sometime. Now that
is permanent.
DB






________________________________
 From: Jan E.M. Houben <jemhouben at GMAIL.COM>
To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk 
Sent: Monday, 24 December 2012 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Sad announcement: Passing of Prof Tilmann Vetter (1937-2012)
 

Dear Jonathan, 
This is very sad and a great loss for Buddhology and Indian studies. 

Some notes and an anecdote: 

Prof. Tilmann E. Vetter, since 1964 (Erkenntnisprobleme
bei Dharmakirti, Vienna: OeAkWi) known as a scholar in Buddhology having direct
access to the major sources in three classical languages, Sanskrit, Tibetan and
Chinese, has occupied the chair of Buddhology in the then Kern Institute,
Leiden, till 1999. 
Among those who can call Prof. Tillman E. Vetter
their “Doctor Vater” several come to mind  
(apart from Vittorio [Victor] van Bijlert
1987: “The Buddha as a Valid Means of Cognition” already mentioned by Prof.
Bhattacharya): 
Johannes Bronkhorst 1980 “Theoretical
Aspects of Panini’s grammar” (for his second PhD, first PhD 1979 in Pune), 
Peter Verhagen 1991 “Sanskrit grammatical
literature in Tibet”,
Henk Blezer 1997 “Kar gling Zhi khro: A
Tantric Buddhist Concept”, 
Aucke Forsten 2004 “The Second Chapter of
the Lankavatarasutra: A Buddhological and Philosophical Study”
Yuko Ijiri 2005 “The Four Upasaka Chapters
of the Gandavyuha: A Comparative Edition and a Translation” 
 
I remember a discussion with Paul van der
Velde during a reception in autumn 1995. Paul who was in a team around W.A.L.
Stokhof setting up the new International Institute for Asian Studies (planned
in accordance with Frits Staal’s 1991 “Baby Krishna Report” on “minor” language
studies at Dutch universities). Paul was proudly explaining me how, through a memorial plaque (www.muurgedichten.nl/multatuli.html)
and some other activities, he had succeeded in creating a link between the
young institute and the 19th century orientalist Prof. Veth (see
also Paul’s thesis that appeared a few years later: www.paulvandervelde.nl/veth/),
about whom the author Multatuli had once written: 
“Wie niet verbaasd staat over
de kennis van professor Veth heeft geen verstand van kennis.” 
(“The one who is
not astonished at the knowledge of professor Veth does not understand
knowledge.”) 
My reply to Paul: “But WE (the then Kern
Institute) have VetTER.” 
Prof. Vetter, also present at the
reception and standing not far, had unintentionally overheard our discussion and had his well-known ironical smile. 
 

On 20 December 2012 14:48, Michael Witzel <witzel at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:

Dear Jonathan, 
>
>
>Let me add my deep condolences to all at Leiden and Wassenaar at the indeed shocking news of Tilman Vetter's passing. 
>Tilman and I have closely worked together (such as in a joint class on the Brhad Aranyaka Upanisad) during my nearly 9 years at Leiden.
>He also was my close and always helpful neighbor, two houses down, at Wassenaar.
>He will be missed by all serious students of Indian philosophy.
>
>
>Michael Witzel
>
>
>On Dec 20, 2012, at 3:54 AM, Jonathan Silk wrote:
>
>dear Friends,
>>
>>
>>It is with great sadness and shock that I pass along the news that Prof Tilmann Vetter passed away this morning quite suddenly. The funeral will be private. If you would like to send messages to Mrs Vetter, I can collect them and convey them to her (please send them to me privately if they are intended for her, and not to the list). 
>>
>>
>>Jonathan Silk
>>
>>-- 
>>J. Silk
>>Instituut Kern / Universiteit Leiden
>>Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS
>>Johan Huizinga Building, Room 1.37
>>Doelensteeg 16
>>2311 VL Leiden
>>The Netherlands 
>
>============
>>Michael Witzel
>>witzel at fas.harvard.edu
>><www.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm>
>>Wales Prof. of Sanskrit &
>>Director of Graduate Studies,
>>Dept. of South Asian Studies, Harvard University
>>1 Bow Street,
>>Cambridge MA 02138, USA
>>
>>
>>phone: 1- 617 - 495 3295, 496 8570, fax 617 - 496 8571;
>>my direct line:  617- 496 2990
>
>
>
>
-- 
Prof. Dr. Jan E.M. Houben,
Directeur d Etudes « Sources et Histoire de la Tradition Sanskrite »
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, SHP,
A la Sorbonne,45-47, rue des Ecoles,
75005 Paris -- France. 
JEMHouben at gmail.com
www.jyotistoma.nl  


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