[INDOLOGY] New York Times Magazine feature on Buddhism

[Gaia Pintucci]

Dear Professor Silk,

I am afraid they are referencing this book:
WebOPAC Local書誌詳細
<https://lib-opac.jim.nanzan-u.ac.jp/webopac/catdbl.do?pkey=BB00650441&formkeyno=138025336pvTaAWBRKS&startpos=3&hitcnt=12&tab_num=0>

(Nakamura Hajime (1977) Gotama Buddha.
Los Angeles, Buddhist Books International)
which is very slim indeed (and riddled with typos).

Best wishes,

Gaia Pintucci

On Fri, May 15, 2026 at 3:06 PM Jonathan Silk via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> What I sent yesterday to the "corrections" email of the NYT with the
> subject line "does anyone fact check even basic things?":
>
> “Monk, Householder and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of
> Ritual” (1992) by David Gellhorn
>
> Please, please: look up the author's name....
>
> “Gotama Buddha: A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts” (1977) by
> Hajime Nakamura
> A slim, subtle meditation on the Awakened One and his doctrine coming from
> the Eastern edge of the Buddhist world.
>
> Are we talking about the same book? this is a two volume work, the first
> of which is 528 pages, the second 350; slim?
>
> I am not surprised that there has been no response so far...
>
> Jonathan
>
>
> On Fri, May 15, 2026 at 5:58 AM Samuel Grimes via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> The editors at the New York Times should perhaps do even minor fact
>> checking before publishing so much misinformation on Newar Buddhism.
>> Acknowledging its existence is perhaps a step in the right direction, even
>> while saying things like it is “inextricably linked with Hinduism” and a
>> “prison of secrecy.” All while mentioning people like Birat Raj Bajracharya
>> and Swostu Kayastha who would be appalled having their names appear beside
>> such nonsense.
>>
>> On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 11:40 PM Patricia SAUTHOFF via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>>> A nice feature on Buddhism that may be useful for students. (link should
>>> be unpaywalled)
>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/t-magazine/nepal-buddha-kathmandu-buddhism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ilA.KF-0.G4wb2XMKrHz5&smid=url-share
>>>
>>>
>>> Patricia Sauthoff
>>> 司徒 雛菊
>>> Assistant Professor
>>> Department of History
>>> Hong Kong Baptist University
>>>
>>> Current project: Mineral and Metal Anti-Aging Recipes in Rasaśāstra
>>> <https://scholars.hkbu.edu.hk/en/projects/mineral-and-metal-anti-aging-recipes-in-rasa%C5%9B%C4%81stra?fbclid=IwY2xjawHiG9pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUJxgz4cHyE1vOTta2DAXpX3ebsW1z580v2c0JyEtN_FSvR-my9IXf2akA_aem_Ie62WfFUu3OguPpZCjEbDg>
>>>
>>> Author: Illness and Immortality
>>> <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/illness-and-immortality-9780197553268>
>>>
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>
>
> --
> Prof. dr. J.A. Silk
> Professor in the study of Buddhism
> Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS
> Herta Mohr building 2.142
> Witte Singel 27A
> 2311 BG Leiden
> The Netherlands
>
> Guest Professor, PI of ERC-Project BEST
> Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
> Department für Asienstudien, Institut für Indologie und Tibetologie
> Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
> 80539 München
> Deutschland
>
> website: www.OpenPhilology.eu
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> https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/JASilk
>
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