Dear  colleagues,

We, Richard Payne and I, have just published a memorial volume in honor of Frits Staal: "On Meaning and Mantras: Essays on Honor of Frits Staal."  It is published by the Institute of Buddhist Studies and BDK America.  It is comparable in length and substance to the 1997 Festschrift devoted to Frits: "India and Beyond: Aspects of Literature, Meaning, Ritual and Thought."

Richard and I, both former students of Frits at Berkeley, both contributed to that Festschrift, now 20 years ago.  Now we offer a memorial volume to him comparable in length and substance to that Festschrift.  Our new book contains 32 substantial articles amounting to 642 pages, written by eminent Indologists.  I will attach a table of contents to this email, because our colleague and friend, S. Palaniappan, who has contributed a paper to our memorial volume, has asked us to do so. 

I apologize for the mis-spelling of Frits's name in these attachments.  My son, Nik, who knew Frits well when we lived in Berkeley, used the more familiar spelling.  He is my tech person these days.

Now that I have completed this memorial for Frits, I am now doing another one for my wife Susan.

Best to all.

George Thompson