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4 EASTERN HORIZON | LEAD ARTICLE
Sarah (second from the right) with her friends and colleagues at an
Abhidhamma conference in Shan State, Burma (November 2019).
Sarah was educated at University of
Manchester where she read Greek and The Art
English. She then pursued her doctorate in
English literature before moving to Oxford
where she studied Pāli and Sanskrit. She is of Listening
currently a faculty member and part-time
lecturer at University of Oxford. She is also By Sarah Shaw
the Honorary fellow of the Oxford Centre
for Buddhist Studies. With her husband, Zhi Yi: I noticed that you were educated in Greek
Charles, she is currently overall editor of and English literature, what inspired you to study
the Abhidhamma section of the Royal Thai Pāli and Sanskrit?
Tipiṭaka Project.
Sarah: I like languages and I love doing Greek. In fact,
Zhi Yi of Eastern Horizon interviewed Greek and Pāli are not unrelated, because they were
Sarah on 22nd June 2023, who shared her both derived from Aryan roots. For instance, the word
motivation in studying Pāli and Sanskrit, “father” in Greek is πατήρ (pronounced as patír) and
in Pāli it is pitu. They share common vocabulary and
achievements and challenges in her
structures of sentences. The rhythm of the verses is also
academic career, her methods of Dharma
similar. In fact, ancient Greek was recited and chanted,
practice, as well as the inspiration behind
as were Pāli and Sanskrit.
her latest book “The Art of Listening”
which was published by Shambala While doing my doctorate in English literature, I started
Publications in 2021. practising Buddhist meditation very seriously and I was
doing a lot of work on Sutta studies and Abhidhamma
with L. S. Cousins. He was a great Buddhist scholar
and he also taught meditation. Gradually, I developed
an interest in Pāli and Sanskrit texts, including
Abhidhamma and stories. It was natural for me to
move from English and Greek literature to Pāli and
Sanskrit, particularly when I became more interested
in Buddhism, I wanted to see what the original texts
Sarah’s latest book on said. Shortly after my doctorate, I got married and had
“The Art of Listening” three children, so I spent the next 12 years looking after
(Shambala Publications)
