WALLESER, Max Gebhard Lebrecht. Mannheim 18.6.1874 — Wiesloch (Baden) 15.4.1954. German Indologist, specialist of Buddhism. Professor in Heidelberg. Son of a schoolteacher (gymn.professor) Jacob Martin Walleser and Maria Magdalene Lend.Gymnasium in Mannheim.From 1891 studies at Heidelberg, Freiburg i. Br. and Geneva. In 1895/96 passed the Staatsexamen and started working as schoolteacher. Ph.D. 1902 Erlangen (in Philosophy). He never ceased the work as schoolteacher: 1903-09 in Säckingen, 1909-10 in Kehl, 1910-11 in Mannheim and in 1911- c. 1939 as Professor in a gymnasium in Heidelberg. PD 1911 Heidelberg. From 1918 ao. Professor für indische Philologie at Heidelberg. In April 1936 he was deprived the right to teach, officially because of “Nichtanzeige von Vorlesungen und Übungen”, but it has been suggested that it was part of disguised persecution of Roman Catholics. But he also suffered of mental health problems. Married 1914 Mathilde Weber (d. 1939), one daughter and one son.
Walleser was a well known specialist of Buddhist (esp. Mādhyamika) and Indian philosophy, who also made much to make the Russian school known in Germany. Among his students were E. Wolff (diss. 1930), H. Kopp and M. Schott (both 1935).
Publications: Diss. Das Problem des Ich. 8+88 p. Erlangen 1902.
– Die buddhistische Philosophie in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung: 1. Die philosophische Grundlage des älteren Buddhismus. 10+148 p. Heidelberg 1904, 2nd ed. 1925; 2. Die mittlere Lehre (“Madhyamika Shastra”) des Nagarjuna. 8+188 p. H. 1911; 3. Die Sekten des alten Buddhismus. Heidelberg 1927.
– Der ältere Vedānta. Geschichte, Kritik und Lehre. 8+82 p. Heidelberg 1910.
– Transl. from Tibetan: Die Mittlere Lehre (Mādhyamikaśāstra) des Nāgārjuna. 2+188 p. Heidelberg 1911; edited in Tibetan: Parts of Buddhapālita’s Mūlamādhyamakavṛtti. 1-2. 96+96 p. St.Petersburg 1913-14; Bhāvaviveka’s Prajñāpradīpa. 96 p. Calcutta 1914.
– Die Vollkommenheit der Erkenntnis. 8+164 p. Quellen der Religionsgeschichte 7:6. Göttingen & Lp. 1914 (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, transl.).
– Aparimitāyur-jñāna-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtram, nach einer nepalesischen Sanskrit-Handschrift mit der tibetischen und chinesischen Version hrsg. & übers. 42 p. 5 pl. SHeidAW 1916:12; Die Streitlosigkeit des Subhūti. Ein Beitrag zur buddhistischen Legendendichtung. 51 p. SHeidAW 8, 1917:13.
– Das Edikt von Bhabra. Zur Kritik und Geschichte. 20 p. Materialien zur Kunde des Buddhismus 1. Lp. 1923; edited several numbers of the same series.
– “The Life of Nāgārjuna from Tibetan and Chinese Sources”, AM Probeband (Fs. Hirth) 1923, 421-455; Sprache und Heimat des Pali-Kanons. Materialien zur Kunde des Buddhismus 2. Lp. 1924.
– Manorathapūraṇī. Buddhaghosas’s commentary on the Aṅguttara-Nikāya. After the MS. of E. Hardy edited by M. Walleser and H. Kopp. 1-5. L. 1924-57 (P.T.S. text series 64-68).
– “Zur heteroklitischen Deklination im Indogermanischen”, W&S 14, 1932, 152-177, and other articles.
Sources: D. Drüll, Heidelberger Gelehrtenlexikon 1803–1932. 1986; *V. V. Gokhale, ABORI 35, 1954 [1955], 293f.; Stache-Rosen 1990, 180f.; briefly in German Wikipedia. Photo in Rau 96.
Franz Peschke: Der Heidelberger Indologe und Buddhologe Prof. Dr. Walleser und das Problem seines Ich. Eine Biographie. Downloadbuch (PDF) bei der Uni Heidelberg, 2590 Seiten mit vielen Auszügen aus Briefwechseln. 2017 – I have checked some details from this, but cannot include it fully.
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