DOCSLIB.ORG

B25451832.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
B25451832.Pdf ORIENTAL WORKS History ok the Devil. Hy Dr. Pmtl Cams. Large 8vo, 500 pages, 311 illustrations. Cloth, $6.00. AgVAGHOSHA'S DlSCOfRSE ON THE AWAKENING OF FaITH IN THE Mahayana. Translated by Teitaro Suzuki. 176 pages. Cloth, $1.25 net. The Gospel of Buddha. By Dr. Paul Carus. Sixth edition. Pages, xiv, 275. Cloth, gilt top, $1.00 (5s.). German edition, $1.25. Bl'ddhism, and its Christian Critics. By Dr. Paul Carus. 311 pages. Cloth, $1.25 (6s. 6d.). Kakma: a Story of Early Buddhism. By Dr. Paul Carus. Third Japanese art edition. Crepe paper, tied in silk. Quaintly illustrated. 75 cents. Nirvana: A companion story to Karma. By Dr. Paul Carus. Illustrated by Japanese artists and printed in Japan. Crepe paper. $1.00. Lao-Tze's Tao-Teh-King: Chinese-English. V>y Dr. Paul Carus. With Introduction, Transliteration, and Notes. 360 pages. Cloth, $3.00 (15s.). Solomon, and Solomonic Literature. By Dr. Moncure Daniel Comvay. Pages, viii, 243. Cloth, $1.50 net (6s.). History of the People of Israel. By Prof. Carl Heinrich Cor- iiill. Second edition. Pages, vi, 325. Cloth, $1.50 (7s. 6d.). The same in German, 8 marks ($2.00). The Redemption OF the Brahman. A Novel. By Prof. Richard Garbe. 96 pages. Laid paper, veg. parchment binding, gilt top. Price, 75 cents (3s. 6d.). The Philosophy of Ancient India. By Prof. Richard Garbe. Second edition. 90 Pages. Cloth, 50 cents (2s. 6d.). Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China of the Christian Missionaries MM. Hue and Gabet. (1844-1846). 'QyM.Huc. Translated from the French by W. Hazlitt. roo Illustrations. New reprint edition. Two vols. Pages28, 660. $2.00 (los.). i vol., cloth, net, $1.25. Ancient India: Its Language and Religions. By Prof. H. Olden- berg. Second edition. Pages, ix, no. Cloth, 50 cents (2s. 6d.). Chinese Philosophy. By Dr. Paul Carus. Paper, 25c. (is. 6d.). Chinese Fiction. By Dr. George T. Candlin. With illustrations from original Chinese works. 51 pages, paper, 15c. (od.). THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 324 Dearborn Street CHICAGO, ILL. London: Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road. Buddha. Bodliisattva Saiiiaiita Bliadia, J^odhisattva Manjnfri, Representing the principle Representing; tlie i)riiiciple ot partictilai ity or of universality or love. wisdom. Ananda. Mahaka^yapa. A TN I'KAL RKPRESENTAIIOX OK iHK MaHAV.AXA FAITH, AgVAGHOSHA'S DISCOURSE ON THE AWAKENING OF FAITH IN THK MAHAYANA ±mi^iB^^ TRANSLATED FOR THE FIRST TIME FROM THE CHINESE VERSION BY TEITARO SUZUKI CHICAGO THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY LONDON AGENTS Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. 1900 b 1 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. is the philosopher of Bud- ACVAGHOSHAdhism. His treatise on The Awaken- ing of Faith is recognised by all Northern schools and sects as orthodox and used even to-day in Chinese translations as a text-book for the instruction of Buddhist priests. The original Sanskrit text has not been found as yet, and if it should not be discovered somewhere in India or in one of the numerous libraries of the Buddhist viharas, it would be a loss for then our of great ; knowledge A^va- ghosha's philosophy would remain limited to its Chinese translation. Agvaghosha's treatise on The Awakening of Faith is a small booklet, a monograph of the usual size of Chinese fascicles, comprising in its Chinese dress no more than about 10,800 characters, and may be read through in a few hours. But the importance of this monograph stands in no relation to its brev- iv publisher's preface. ity, and it is very strange tliat no translation of it has appeared as yet in any European lan- guage. I was therefore exceedingly glad that Mr. Teitaro Suzuki, a Japanese Buddhist and a disciple of the Rev. Shaku Soyen, the dis- tinguished Abbot of Kamakura, who was one of the delegates of the Parliament of Reli- gions at Chicago in 1893, undertook the work of rendering A9vaghosha's monograph into English form. I watched the progress of his translation and my interest in the work in- creased the more I became familiar with the thoughts of the great philosopher of Bud- dhism. Not only is my own interpretation of Buddhism, as stated in the Gospel of Bud- dha and elsewhere, here fully justified, but there are striking similarities between the very terms of A9vaghosha's system and ex- pressions which I have used in my own phil- osophical writings. The main coincidence is the idea of Suchness, which is pure form, or the purely formal aspect of things, deter- mining their nature according to mathemat- ical and mechanical laws.^ ^ This coincidence of some salient points need of course not exclude disagreements in other important matters. publisher's preface. V SucHness, according to Agvaghoslia, is the of tHe world cosmic order or Gesetzniassigkeit ; it is tHe sum total of all those factors which shape the universe and determine the desti- nies of its creatures. It is the norm of exist- ence and is compared to a womb in which all things take shape and from which they are born. It is Plato's realm of ideas and Goethe's '^ Mothers" of the second part of Fatist, Suchness which in its absolute sense means the total system of the abstractly formal laws, including the moral order of the universe, is contrasted with the realm of Birth and Death. This realm of Birth and Death, is the material world of concrete objects. While Suchness is the domain of the universal, the realm of Birth and Death is the domain of the particular; and it is characteristic of the Mahayana school that the bodily, the particular, the concrete is not rejected as a state of sin, but only char- acterised as impure or defiled, imperfect, and implicated with sorrow and pain, on account of its limitedness and the illusions which na- turally attach to it. Suchness and the realm of Birth and Death vi publisher's preface. are not two hostile empires but two names of the same thing. There is but one world with two aspects describing two opposed phases of one and the same existence. These two as- pects form a contrast, not a contradiction. Suchness (or the good law, the normative fac- tor) dominates the realm of Birth and Death, which latter therefore, in a certain sense, be- longs to Suchness throughout in its entirety as well as in its details. But sentient beings are apt to overlook the significance of the universal, for the senses depict only the particular. Thus to a superfi- cial consideration of sensual beings, the world presents itself as a conglomeration of isolated objects and beings, and the unity that consists in the oneness of law which dominates all, is lost sight of. It is the mind (or spiritual in- sight into the nature of things) which traces the unity of being and learns to appreciate the significance of the universal. Universals, i. e., those factors which con- stitute the suchness of things are not sub- stances, not entities, but relations, pure forms, or determinants, i. e., general laws. Thus publisher's preface. vii are not but ideas they things, ; and the most important one among them, the suchness of man or his soul, is not a concrete self, an at- man, but ^'name and form.'' It is well known what an important role the denial of the existence of the atman plays in the Abhidharma, and we need not repeat here that it is the least understood and most misrepresented doctrine of Buddhism. Thus the essential feature of existence, of that which presents itself to the senses, is not the material, but the formal; not that which makes it concrete and particular, but that which constitutes its nature and applies gen- not that which to be so erally ; happens here, that it is this, but that which makes it to be thus; not its Thisness, but its Suchness. Particularity is not denounced as evil, but it is set forth as limited and ; we might add (an idea which is not expressed in the Maha- yana, but implied) that the universal would be unmeaning if it were not realised in the particular. Absolute Suchness] without ref- erence to the world of concrete Particularity is like a Pratyekabuddha, and the Pratyeka- viii publisher's preface. buddha, a sage whose wisdom does not go out into tlie world to seek and to save, is regarded as inferior to the Bodhisattvas, who with in- ferior knowledge combine a greater love and do practical work that is of help to their fellow beings. How highly Particularity is considered ap- pears from the Mahayana picture in which it stands contrasted to Universality on perfectly equal terms.' The world-process starts in ignorance, perhaps through ignorance or at least through some commotion void of enlightenment, but from the start it is enveloped by the good law of cosmic order. Suchness, the norm of being, guides its steps. It is shaped in the womb of the Tathagata and is in the progress of evolu- tion more and more tinged, or, as Agvaghosha says, perfumed, with the cognition of Such- ness. Thus life will necessarily march onward to Buddhahood, actualising in the course of its development the eternal in the transient, the omnipresent in the special, the universal in the concrete and particular, and unchange- ^ See the frontispiece. publisher's preface. ix able perfection in tHe imperfect hapHazards of the kaleidoscopic world of changes, in which things originate by being compounded, and perish according to the law that all compounds are doomed to dissolution. Hence it becomes apparent that the realm of Birth and Death is the realisation only of that which in itself is immortal; it is the appearance in time and space, the actualisation, the materialisation, the incarnation, of that which is everlasting and permanent in the absolute sense.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Proquest Dissertations
    Daoxuan's vision of Jetavana: Imagining a utopian monastery in early Tang Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Tan, Ai-Choo Zhi-Hui Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 25/09/2021 09:09:41 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/280212 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are In typewriter face, while others may be from any type of connputer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overiaps. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 DAOXUAN'S VISION OF JETAVANA: IMAGINING A UTOPIAN MONASTERY IN EARLY TANG by Zhihui Tan Copyright © Zhihui Tan 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2002 UMI Number: 3073263 Copyright 2002 by Tan, Zhihui Ai-Choo All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mission Accomplished
    TheThe MissionMission AccomplishedAccomplished Ven. Pategama Gnanarama Ph.D. HAN DD ET U 'S B B O RY eOK LIBRA E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.buddhanet.net Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. The Mission Accomplished A historical analysis of the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya of the Pali Canon. by Ven. Pategama Gnanarama Ph. D. The Mission Accomplished is undoubtedly an eye opening contribution to Bud- dhist analytical Pali studies. In this analytical and critical work Ven. Dr. Pate- gama Gnanarama enlightens us in many areas of subjects hitherto unexplored by scholars. His views on the beginnings of the Bhikkhuni Order are interesting and refreshing. They might even be provocative to traditional readers, yet be challenging to the feminists to adopt a most positive attitude to the problem. Prof. Chandima Wijebandara University of Sri Jayawardhanapura Sri Lanka. A masterly treatment of a cluster of Buddhist themes in print Senarat Wijayasundara Buddhist and Pali College Singapore Published by Ti-Sarana Buddhist Association 90, Duku Road. Singapore 429254 Tel: 345 6741 First published in Singapore, 1997 Published by Ti-Sarana Buddhist Association ISBN: 981–00–9087–0 © Pategama Gnanarama 1997 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems or technologies now known or later developed, without per- mission in writing from the publisher. Cover: Mahaparinibbana; an ancient stone carving from Gandhara — Loriyan Tangai. Photograph reproduced by Mr K. C. Wong. Contents Introductory . 8 Chapter 1: The Mahaparinibbana Sutta & its Different Versions .
    [Show full text]
  • A RECORD of BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMS (C. 400 CE; Pub. 1886) Translated and Annotated by James Leggee
    A RECORD OF BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMS (c. 400 CE; pub. 1886) Translated and annotated by James Leggee Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline PREFACE Several times during my long residence in Hong Kong I endeavoured to read through the “Narrative of Fa-hien;” but though interested with the graphic details of much of the work, its columns bristled so constantly--now with his phonetic representations of Sanskrit words, and now with his substitution for them of their meanings in Chinese characters, and I was, moreover, so much occupied with my own special labours on the Confucian Classics, that my success was far from satisfactory. When Dr. Eitel’s “Handbook for the Student of Chinese Buddhism” appeared in 1870, the difficulty occasioned by the Sanskrit words and names was removed, but the other difficulty remained; and I was not able to look into the book again for several years. Nor had I much inducement to do so in the two copies of it which I had been able to procure, on poor paper, and printed from blocks badly cut at first, and so worn with use as to yield books the reverse of attractive in their appearance to the student. In the meantime I kept studying the subject of Buddhism from various sources; and in 1878 began to lecture, here in Oxford, on the Travels with my Davis Chinese scholar, who was at the same time Boden Sanskrit scholar. As we went on, I wrote out a translation in English for my own satisfaction of nearly half the narrative.
    [Show full text]
  • Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I
    Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. Charles Eliot Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. Table of Contents Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I.........................................................................................................................1 Charles Eliot............................................................................................................................................1 PREFACE................................................................................................................................................2 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. The following are the principal abbreviations used:..............................3 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................3 BOOK II. EARLY INDIAN RELIGION. A GENERAL VIEW.......................................................................47 CHAPTER I. RELIGIONS OP INDIA AND EASTERN ASIA..........................................................47 CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL................................................................................................................52 CHAPTER III. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN RELIGION.....................................60 CHAPTER IV. VEDIC DEITIES AND SACRIFICES........................................................................68 CHAPTER V. ASCETICISM AND KNOWLEDGE...........................................................................78 CHAPTER VI. RELIGIOUS LIFE IN PRE−BUDDHIST INDIA.......................................................84
    [Show full text]
  • Mantra Mahabrahma Vihara Vajra Bhumi Sriwijaya 四面佛(大梵天王) Mantra Mahabrahma
    Mantra Mahabrahma Vihara Vajra Bhumi Sriwijaya 四面佛(大梵天王) Mantra Mahabrahma 满 一 足 切 成 衆 就 生 佛 無 陀 上 智 福 慧 田 Page 1 www.shenlun.org Mantra Mahabrahma Vihara Vajra Bhumi Sriwijaya Maha Mula Acarya Lian Sheng Maha Guru Lian Sheng (Lu Sheng-Yen) adalah perintis Zhen Fo Zong (True Buddha School) yang dilahirkan pada tahun 1945 (Imlek tanggal 18 bulan 5) di Chiayi, Taiwan. Beliau juga di kenal sebagai Maha guru mula/mulacarya/ grandmaster dan juga guru silsilah oleh umat Zhen Fo Zong. Maha guru lian sheng memiliki 4 silsilah guru yaitu: Biksu Liao Ming.- sekte Nyingmapa, sakya Zheng Kong Lama - sekte Sakyapa, Maha Ratna Dharma Raja Karmapa ke-16 - sekte Kargyupa, Tuten Dhargay Rinpoche - sekte Gelugpa. Zhen Fo Zong ( 真 佛 宗 ) adalah sekte yang berkembang paling cepat di seluruh dunia dalam dua dekade terakhir ini, dewasa ini terdapat 5 juta lebih murid diseluruh dunia yang bersarana dgn beliau, lebih dari dari 400 lokasi cetiya cabang dan pusat pembabaran Dharma terbesar merata di setiap pelosok dunia, telah berdiri lebih dari 30 Maha Vihara. Semua ini dijalankan oleh murid sendiri secara sukarela, dan juga telah banyak Rinpoche lain yang berguru pada beliau seperti: mantan ketua parlemen Tibet, Kasur Jigme L.Rinpoche, Tuten Gyatso Rinpoche, Tsampa Rinpoche, dan lain-lain. Sejak tahun 1989, beliau selalu membabarkan Dharma dan menolong para insan di berbagai pelosok dunia. Maha guru lian sheng juga telah menulis lebih dari 200 buku ( tercatat di tahun 2009). Buku-buku yang di tulis beliau mencakup topic tentang agama budha tantra, Budha Zen, Tao dan Feng Sui.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhist Perspectives and World Peace
    BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVES AND WORLD PEACE Suddipong Srivichai Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand. Received May 15, 2017; Revised May 18, 2017; Accepted June 28, 2017 Abstract Malala Yousafzai’s saying “if you want to end war, then instead of sending gens, send books. Instead of sending tanks, send pens. Instead of sending soldiers, send teachers.” Is still in human beings’ souls nowadays. In Thailand, Veerachart Nimanong said that mere reconciliation is not enough for solving the conflict in the world especially in the Deep South of Thailand between Thai Buddhists and Thai Muslims, because reconciliation aims at doing a compromise, which has its limitation only on some particular purposes, whereas the harmony has more scope than the reconciliation. Non-attachment is the essential condition of harmony in Buddhism, which justice based on forgivingness is in Islam. Non-attachment and forgiveness as the essence of sustainable harmony can be conducted through the method of interreligious dialogue of life, action, religious doctrine, and religious experience. According to Buddhist perspectives, all things depend on cause and effect, because of conflict made the war and because of Buddha’s teaching made the peace too. This article aims at showing the origins or causes of war and how to solve the problem of war into the perfect peace following the Buddhist perspectives. Introduction There should be known about definition of Buddhism, War and World Peace; Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha, commonly known as the Buddha ("the awakened one"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha lived and taught in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE in the ancient Magadha kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
    SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 80. NUMBER 6 YAKSAS (With 23 Plates) BY ANANDA K. GOOMARASWAMY Keeper of Indian, Persian, and Muhammadan Art Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Publication 2926) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MAY 8, 1928 ZU Boxi) (^afttmore (preee BALTIMORE, MD., C. S. A. YAKSAS By ANANDA K. COOMARASWAMY (With Twenty-three Pi.ates) I. INTRODUCTION In centuries preceding the Christian era, when the fusion of races in India had already far advanced, the religion of India passed through its greatest crises and underwent the most profound changes. Vedic ritual, indeed, has survived in part up to the present day ; but the religious outlook of medieval and modern India is so profoundly different from that of the Vedic period, as known to us from the extant literature, that we cannot apply to both a common designation ; medieval and modern Hinduism is one thing, Vedic Brahmanism another. The change is twofold, at once inward and spiritual, and outward and formal. No doubt we are sufificiently aware of the spiritual revolution indi- cated in the Upanisads and Buddhism, whereby the emphasis was shifted from the outer world to the inner life, salvation became the highest goal, and knowledge the means of attainment. But while this philosophic development and spiritual coming of age have gradually perfumed (to use a characteristically Indian phrase) the whole of Indian civilization, there are here a background and ultimate signifi- cance given to the social order, rather than the means of its actual integration ; the philosophy of the Upanisads, the psychology of Buddhism, indeed, were originally means only for those who had left behind them the life of a householder, and thus in their immediate application anti-social.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ultimate Mahayana Treatise on the Changeless Continuity of the True Nature
    1 "The Ultimate Mahayana Treatise on The Changeless Continuity of the True Nature" The Changeless Nature (the mahayanottaratantrasastra) by Arya Maitreya and Acarya Asanga translated from the Tibetan under the guidance of Khenchen the IXth Trangu Rinpoche and Khempo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche by Kenneth Holmes and Katia Holmes M.A., M.Sc with the kind assistance of Dharmacarya Tenpa Negi KARMA DRUBGYUD DARJAY LING 2 The Changeless Nature Introduction In Sanskrit the MahayanottaratantraSastra, In Tibetan the thek.pa.chen.po'.rgyud.bla.ma'.bsten.bchos, In English the "Ultimate Mahayana Treatise on the Changeless Continuity" Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. 1 The entire body of this treatise can be condensed into the following seven vajra points: buddha, dharma, sangha, buddha-nature, enlightenment, qualities and activity. 2 These are in a natural order and one should know the first three as deriving from the introductory and the latter four from the 'Wise and Victors' Qualities' chapters of the dharanisvararajasutra 3 From the buddha, the dharma, from the dharma, the realised sangha, from the sangha, the presence of the jnana-nature - the essence; when this jnana is ultimately made manifest there is supreme enlightenment, powers and so on, endowed with every ability to accomplish the good of each and everyone. 3 Part One: The Goal to be Achieved The Three Jewels A. The First Vajra Point: The Buddha 4 I bow down to the beginningless, to the centreless and infinite, to peace, to buddhahood, fully self-awakened and self-blossomed which, once purified and made manifest, shows the fearless, permanent path which will bring realisation to those with no realisation and which, wielding the supreme sword and vajra of knowledge and compassionate love hews down the seedlings of sufferings and destroys the walls of doubt surrounded by dense mistaken views.
    [Show full text]
  • New Buddhist Movements in Thailand: Towards an Understanding of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke
    NEW BUDDHIST MOVEMENTS IN THAILAND This book examines two new Buddhist movements in Thailand, namely the Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke. These movements represent two distinctive trends within contemporary Buddhism in Thailand. Vastly different in belief and practice, they emerged in Thailand in the 1970s at a time of political uncertainty, social change and increasing dissatisfaction with the Thai Sakgha and its leadership. Rory Mackenzie explains why these movements have come into being, what they have reacted against and what they offer to their members. The Wat Phra Dhammakaya tradition views itself as a large, modern movement structured for growth, convenience and efficiency. It has spread to eleven different countries and Westerners are increasingly being attracted to the movement through the practice of Dhammakaya meditation. The author argues that there is some justification in describing this highly progressive movement as fundamentalist and millenarian due to their strong focus on meditation, and the belief that some members have in their leader a saviour figure. Santi Asoke members view the communities in which they live as places where they experience justice and support for living morally upright lives. They also view their communities as a locus for their liberation from suffering. The author suggests that Santi Asoke may best be described as an ascetic/prophetic, utopian movement with legalistic tendencies. This book should appeal to those interested in Buddhism’s confrontation with modernity, and its responses to evolving social issues in Thailand, as well as to those interested in new religions in the broader context of religious studies. Rory Mackenzie teaches Buddhism and Practical Theology at the International Christian College, Glasgow.
    [Show full text]
  • The Buddhist Perspective
    The Human Right to Peace, Security and Prosperity: The Buddhist Perspective By Ananda W.P. Guruge ABSTRACT An important aspect omitted, though implied, when Fundamental Human Rights were dentified for universal acceptance half a century ago is the basic Human Right to Peace, Security and Prosperity. Even as violence gains ground and terrorism ascends to be the most daunting danger facing humanity, the importance of transforming the prevailing culture of armed conflict and multiple forms of violence to a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding becomes patent. This paper commences with a brief overview of mechanisms in force and efforts made in different quarters to ensure peace, security and prosperity to every human being. ft then proceeds to look for inspiration, insights and guidance, which the teachings of the Buddha and twenty-six centuries of Buddhist history can give us. The Buddha's most eloquently and comprehensively expressed views are examined along with his active interventions in conflict prevention and resolution The Buddha's absolute path to peace is undoubtedly his unequivocal soteriological or salvific message of self-cultivation and mental perfection leading to the ultimate goal of peace and happiness in Nibbana - the end of suffering. But the Buddha was also conscious of the need of humanity for peace, security and prosperity here and now in this world. How the traditional Buddhist ideals, wisdom and values continue to apply to this modern age is further illustrated with copious quotes from Grand Master Hsing Yun 's insights on peace and equality. The conclusion of this analysis is that the Buddhist perspective so expressed is not only relevant but also most urgently needed as a corrective to current international and national efforts to ensure peace, security and prosperity through socioeconomic, educational, spiritual, moral and cultural regeneration of humanity.
    [Show full text]
  • Samyutta Nikaya Suttas Summary
    Samyutta Nikaya (The Connected Discourses) Scott Foglesong Commentaries from Sutra Study NOTE: I have studied the Theravada suttas (sutras) as part of a study group for some years now. During one year, we devoted ourselves to the Connected Discourses (Samyutta Nikaya). These documents are my notes from that study period. There isn't commentary on every single sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya, to say the least, or even on every samyutta (note that IV is altogether missing), but here's what I have. We used Bhikkhu Bodhi's magnificent translation (here's a link to it), which contains reams of commentary as well. There's also a fine set of online translations (not quite complete) by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, to be found at the Access to Insight website. This is the link to the section on the Samyutta Nikaya. http://www.scottfoglesong.com/buddhism/sn_commentary/sn_top.htm http://web.archive.org/web/20060616013208/http://www.scottfoglesong.com/buddhism/sn_commentary/sn_top .htm Samyutta nikaya suttas summary Sagatha vagga 1 Devatasamyutta 1: Cross the flood. The four floods which keep us submerged in the round of existence: a. Flood of sensuality b. Flood of existence c. Flood of views d. Flood of ignorance. 45:171 on these floods: “This Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for direct knowledge of these four floods, for the full understanding of them, for their utter destruction, for their abandoning.” Flood of views: D I 12-38, the Brahmajala Sutta, lists the sixty-two kinds of wrong views. I won’t list them all there, but some are: eternity of the self eternity of the world eternalists (there’s a story about a being who is a Brahma) corruption in mind – envy infinite world self after death In short, it’s a cornucopia of the various viewpoints which abounded in northern India in the B’s day.
    [Show full text]
  • 17 · Cosmography in Southeast Asia
    17 · Cosmography in Southeast Asia JOSEPH E. SCHWARTZBERG INTRODUCTION ecclesiastical, and political. Although I do not suggest that my presentation provides a representative, much less The diversity of cosmographic conceptions encountered a complete, exposition of the wealth of surviving graphic in Southeast Asia reflects the ethnic and religious diversity cosmographies, I do dare to hope it conveys a sense of of the region's inhabitants. Alongside Southeast Asia's the remarkable range of relevant artifacts and suggests principal religious traditions of Buddhism and Islam and lines along which future attempts might be made to its locally dominant Christian and Hindu traditions, one obtain a more comprehensive view of the subject.! encounters a bewildering variety of animistic beliefs. The distinction between tribal and nontribal societies Each tradition, of course, has its own way of envisaging in Southeast Asia is often far from clear. In general, schol­ the cosmos, and some have given graphic expression to ars tend to consider as tribal all those groups whose reli­ their cosmographic views in strikingly distinctive forms, gious beliefs might be described as animistic, as well as while others seemingly have not. Of the myriad tribal and other groups who have only recently converted to one other ethnic groups who inhabit Southeast Asia, a great of the major world faiths: groups whose environments many have received only scant scholarly attention. Even are only weakly linked with those of the dominant ethnic so, the corpus of anthropological and related literature groups of the states they inhabit and who speak languages that might provide visual evidence of the indigenous cos­ different from that of the politically dominant majority; mographies of the region is exceedingly large, and we groups whose populations are small (sometimes only in have only scratched its surface.
    [Show full text]