This research delves into the rich history of Buddhist textual transmission and preservation, tracing the journey of ancient Buddhist texts from their origin in manuscripts to their modern-day digital formats. The study explores the various challenges involved in preserving these texts over centuries, including political and social upheavals, language barriers, and issues of translation and interpretation. This study explores the transmission and preservation of Buddhist texts from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining historical and ethnographic research methods to reveal the intricate and often unpredictable paths that these texts have taken. Drawing on a range of sources, including primary texts, interviews with scholars and practitioners, and field observations, the study illuminates the cultural, social, and political factors that have shaped the transmission of Buddhist texts over time. As an anthropologist of Buddhism, Orville Schell writes, "Buddhist texts have been transmitted across centuries and continents, with each iteration leaving its mark on the text and the cultures that received it" (Schell, 1997, p. 10). Ultimately, this study offers a nuanced and multifaceted understanding of the dynamic and ongoing process of textual transmission and the ways in which it reflects broader cultural and social transformations.
