Brian A. Cutillo (1945–2006) was an American scholar and translator in the field of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also an accomplished neuro-cognitive scientist, musician, anthropologist and textile weaver.

Studies at MIT

Cutillo was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in physics (1967).

While at MIT, Cutillo wrote the music for a 1967 production of At the Hawk’s Well by William Butler Yeats for An Evening of One Act Plays presented October 14–15, 1966.[1]

Cutillo provided the cultural background and translations for the recording "The Music of Tibet". The recordings were made by Huston Smith, then Professor of Philosophy at MIT, in 1964. Smith provided an interpretation. The recording was reviewed in the journal Ethnomusicology in 1972.[2]

Studies with Geshe Wangyal

Cutillo was introduced to Ngawang Wangyal while a student at MIT. He became one of his earliest American students. Ngawang Wangyal wrote the book The Door of Liberation published by Maurice Girodias Associates, Inc., (1973). Among the acknowledgments in the original edition are:

In connection with the Buddhist Studies Institute, I must acknowledge the efforts of two of my students, Dr. Christopher George and Dr. Robert Thurman, who are now coordinating the activities of the Institute.

Also, I appreciate very much Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins' many years of dedicated service to the Lamaist Buddhist Monastery of America.

And last but not least, I extend my thanks to my students: to Brian Cutillo, for his devotion and effort in our work of translation.[3]

Ngawang Wangyal and Cutillo also translated the Illuminations of Sakya Pandita.[4]

Cutillo writes in the preface to Illuminations:

The work of translation began in 1970 with a reading of the text by the late Geshe Wangyal to close students at his retreat house in Washington, NJ...In the fall of 1985 I once again turned to the translation, but felt that the manner of presentation was too formal for its intended audience in America. Recalling Geshe Wangyal's exhortation to 'Do it PROPERLY' [...] Illuminations attempts to (provide) a practical manual of essential Buddhist practices in a clear and direct style. This was also Sakya Pandita's purpose in the thirteenth century, and the book has been translated with his aim in mind.[5]

Milarepa translations

Cutillo's best known work includes two books of Milarepa poems translated with Kunga Rinpoche, Drinking the Mountain Stream and Miraculous Journey.[6]

When starting the Lotsawa publishing company to publish these two collections of songs, Cutillo was also instrumental in publishing important works by H.V. Guenther (The Creative Vision) and Longchenpa (You Are the Eyes of the World).

The Turquoise Bee

Cutillo translated The Turquoise Bee with Rick Fields. These were the love songs of the 6th Dalai Lama.[7] The book includes Ume calligraphy by Cutillo and a drawing by Mayumi Oda.

Tibetan translations

Cutillo translated scholarly Tibetan Buddhism Abhidharma texts that remained unpublished at his death. Some of these translations are now being completed for publication under the auspices, among others, of the Infinity Foundation. They were started some 35 years ago in collaboration with Dr. Robert Thurman.

The following texts in rough draft form needing further work for publication in the mid-future: [...] Abhidharma-samuccaya by Asanga (Thurman and Cutillo); Samdhinirmocana-sutra (Thurman and Cutillo).[8]

Research in human cognitive neuroscience

Cutillo worked with his MIT classmate, Dr. Alan Gevins,[9] in the early days of the EEG Systems Lab in San Francisco. Cutillo co-authored with Dr. Gevins, and others, numerous scientific research papers including 3 papers published in Science, the Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Along with a paper from the EEG Systems Lab in Science in 1979, these 3 papers helped usher in the modern era of cognitive neuroscience by reporting advanced computerized methods of measuring the electrical signals in the human brain reflecting fundamental cognitive processes of attention.

  • Gevins, A.S., Morgan, N.H., Bressler, S.L., Cutillo, B.A., White, R.M., Illes, J., Greer, D.S., Doyle, J.C. & Zeitlin, G.M. (1987). Human neuroelectric patterns predict performance accuracy. Science, 235, 580–585.
  • Gevins, A.S., Schaffer, R.E., Doyle, J.C., Cutillo, B.A., Tannehill, R.L. & Bressler, S.L. (1983). Shadows of thought: Shifting lateralization of human brain electrical patterns during brief visuomotor task. Science, 220, 97–99.
  • Gevins, A.S., Doyle, J.C., Cutillo, B.A., Schaffer, R.E., Tannehill, R.S., Ghannam, J.H., Gilcrease, V.A. & Yeager, C.L. (1981). Electrical potentials in human brain during cognition: New method reveals dynamic patterns of correlation. Science, 213, 918–922.

Textile endeavors

Cutillo wove textiles on a manual floor loom based on early American heirloom patterns. Many of those weavings, including those in the photographs, are in private collections.

Death

Cutillo died January 4, 2006, in Tulare, California.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Everingham, Joseph D.; Brumby, Helen B.; Darna, Edward S. (October 14–15, 1966). "One act Plays at MIT". MIT.edu. Archived from the original on 2004-12-21.
  2. ↑ Helffer, Mireille (January 1972). "The Music of Tibet: The Tantric Rituals by Huston Smith, Peter Crossley-Holland, Kenneth H. Stevens, Brian Cutillo, Nga Wang Lek Den". Ethnomusicology. 16 (1): 152–154.
  3. ↑ Ngawang Wangyal (1995). The Door of Liberation: Essential Teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition (Rev. ed.). Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0861710324.
  4. ↑ sa skya paṇḍita kun dga' rgyal mtshan & Thupten Wangyal 1988.
  5. ↑ sa skya paṇḍita kun dga' rgyal mtshan & Thupten Wangyal 1988, Preface.
  6. ↑ Jetsun Milarepa 2013.
  7. ↑ Sixth Dalai Lama (1994). The Turquoise Bee. Translated by Rick Fields and Brian Cutillo. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-250310-3.
  8. ↑ "Global Renaissance Institute/Tibet House". Infinity Foundation. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011.
  9. ↑ "San Francisco Brain Research Institute & SAM Technology". SAM Technology, Inc. 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ Tulare Advance-Register. January 10, 2006. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Works cited

  • Jetsun Milarepa (2013). Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet's Beloved Saint, Milarepa. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0-86171-837-5.
  • sa skya paṇḍita kun dga' rgyal mtshan; Thupten Wangyal (1988). Illuminations: A Guide to Essential Buddhist Practices. Lotsawa. ISBN 978-0-932156-05-1.
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