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In Unifying Buddhist Philosophical Views The International Association of Buddhist Universities (IABU) Unifying Buddhist Philosophical Views Academic Papers presented at the 2nd IABU Conference Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Main Campus Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand The International Association of Buddhist Universities 2012 IABU Editorial Committee: Ven. Dr. Khammai Dhammasami Prof. Padmasiri de Silva Prof. Sarah Shaw Dr. Dion Peoples Jamie Cresswell (2)(2) Preface Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU) has been privileged to witness and play an instrumental role in developing and hosting successful UNDV and IABU celebrations, annually. As always, we are all very grateful to the Royal Thai Government for its constant support, and thank the Thai Supreme Sangha Council for its blessings, guidance and support. We are indebted, also, to the United Nations for recognizing the thrice-sacred Buddhist holy day. We had to delay the 2nd IABU Conference, due to the extreme fl ooding that shut down MCU for nearly two months. It has been 2600 years since the Enlightenment of our Great Teacher, and we have gathered here from across the globe, from many nations, to again pay tribute to his birth, enlightenment, and death – occurring on the same day in different years. The 2nd IABU Conference is running this year, due to the postponement, with the 9th United Nations Day of Vesak Conference. The IABU Secretariat now plays a major role in our celebrations, particularly in the academic program of the conference. This publication could not have been possible without the persistence, hard work, and dedication of MCU’s scholars and staff. I wish to thank all members of the International Council for The Day of Vesak and the Executive Council of the International Association of Buddhist Universities, and the other members of the Editorial Committee for their devotion. I am also grateful to our many donors, sponsors, and dedicated volunteers who return year after year to support the IABU and United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations. We all truly celebrate the Buddha’s Enlightenment, and hope these words reach the hearts and minds of the readers. The Most Ven. Prof. Dr. PhraDharmakosajarn Rector, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University President, ICDV & IABU (3) Contents Preface Table of Contents Introduction Unifying Buddhist Philosophical Views 1. Ronald Y. Nakasone: Mapping the Ascent to Enlightenment 3 2. Ofosu Jones-Quartey: Skillful Means and the 21st Century Buddhist Artist 13 3. Dr. William Yaryan: “Big Tent” Buddhism: Searching for Common Ground 23 Among Western and Asian “Buddhisms” 4. Justin S. Whitaker: Warnings from the Past, Hope f or the Future: 41 The Ethical-Philosophical Unity of Buddhist Traditions 5. Dr. Jinabodhi Bhikkhu: Theravada and Mahayana: Parallels, 49 Connections and Unifying Concepts 6. Dr. Chaisit Suwanvarangkul: Pratītyasamutpāda and Śūnyatā 55 in Mādhyantavibhāga 7. Christian Thomas Kohl: Pratityasamutpada in Eastern and 64 Western Modes of Thought 8. Prof. Bimalendra Kumar: Problem of Hetu & Paccaya in 80 Abhidharma Philosophy 9. Ven. Dr. Medawachchiye Dhammajothi Thero: The Philosophical Links 89 between ‘Anatta’ to ‘Vijñāna’ 10. Ven.Dr. Thich Nhat Tu: Nature Of Citta, Mano And Viññāṅa 99 11. Dr. Dion Oliver Peoples: A Synchronistic Method of Higher Processes 114 12. Angela Dietrich: The Roots of Interbeing: Buddhist Revival in Vietnam 139 13. Xiaofei Tu: Humanistic Buddhism: The 3.5th Yana? 153 14. Shi Jingpeng: A Critical Study of Triune Vehicle of Mount Lushan Huiyuan 162 15. Dr. Pallavi Jambhale: Buddhist Deccan Inscriptions & Their Philosophical 171 Infl uence: with Special Reference to the Cetika/Cetiya & Aparsaila/Aparseliya Schools (4) 16. Asst. Prof. Hsiao-Lan Hu: Dharmic Views and Dharmic Practices 178 17. Prof. Mrs. K. Sankarnarayan, Dr. Mrs. Parineeta Deshpande: 189 Aśvaghoṣa and Nirvāṇa 18. Prof. Bina Gupta: Ātman (Self) and Anātman (No-Self): 202 A Possible Reconciliation 19. Donna M. Giancola: Buddhist Doctrines of Identity and Impermanence 215 in the Western Mind 20. Ricardo Sasaki: The Dōgen Zenji´s ‘Gakudō Yōjin-shū’ from 223 a Theravada Perspective 21. Peter G. Grossenbacher, Kelly A. Graves and Daphne M. Davis: 234 Cultivating Concord through Inter-Viewing: A New Method for Inter-Lineage Contact 22. Christopher S. Queen: Engaged Buddhism as a Unifying Philosophy 247 23. Asst. Prof. Dr. Dipti Mahanta: From Nāgārjuna to Ajahn Chah: 256 Buddhist deconstruction in theory and practice (5) (6)(6) 2nd IABU Conference: Introduction to the Unifying Buddhist Philosophical Views Volume Welcome to the 2nd International Association of Buddhist Universities Academic Conference on Buddhist Philosophy and Praxis. This conference seems like it has been a long time in the making, due to the extensive fl ooding that ravished Thailand, and certainly left Mahachulalongkorn rajavidyalaya University, our gracious and great host, inundated with almost 2 meters of water. The university, where the IABU Secretariat is currently headquartered, has overcome this diffi cult situation, and we are now ready to hold this conference. The conference was originally scheduled for 16-18 December 2011, but to make this happen seemed like an impossibility. We are now here for the rescheduled date: 31 May – 02 June 2012. We have noticed that our 2nd IABU Conference coincides with the 9th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations – but our aims are different for this occasion. It’s quite fascinating that a single university can host two large international conferences at the same time. We further give our humble respects to the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and to the Thai Sangha Supreme Council for enabling this conference to proceed. When this conference was in its planning stages, we had initial discussions on the main theme: Buddhist Philosophy – but we did not want papers that just gave idealistic proposals. Instead we aspired to gain papers that demonstrated philosophy in action, or the conversion of an idea into an actuality – and thus we wanted to implement or emphasize the aspect of praxis, into the conference. We had scheduled a practical meditation session, where elected Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana masters would hold a meditation session along with a question and answer period; but due to the merging of the two conferences: the 2ndIABU Conference and the 9th UNDV Conference – there was no longer enough allotted time for the meditation sessions, so it was regretfully eliminated. We hope that the gathering of academics took advantage of this expertise that availed themselves for this august gathering. As all the scholars can surmise, there are several formats or applications of Buddhism, some are living-systems, and some have become either extinct or have merged with existing systems. Buddhist Philosophy is a vast topic that fi lls many bookshelves. Most of us have read texts on early-Indian or Vedic-philosophy and have seen the emergence into what we are discussing: Buddhism – but by no means are we holding a singular view of a Buddhism. The overwhelming amount of scholars present here surmise that dependent-origination is probably the supreme-teaching of the Buddha, or the one doctrine that gathers the most attention. The term: ‘praxis’ has caused some confusion amongst our scholars. If the term was defi ned: we could determine that praxis is the application or process through which the philosophical or doctrinal point becomes actualized or put into place (practiced) – it’s about the endeavor. We might have taken the term from international-socialistic literature, which emphasizes that besides just having philosophy – the point of all of us studying the Buddha’s preserved words is for the sake of improving our world – to eliminate suffering from the social experience. How have we actually done this? Approximately 160 articles were received the 2nd IABU Conference from around the world. We have selected about 110 of them for presentation at the conference. There are articles from (7) different levels of scholars, ranging from the most senior of professors and on downward to undergraduates. Each of the articles have merits of interest within them. We decided on four programs (sub-themes). This is the volume for the session on Buddhist Psychotherapy. PANEL SUMMARYSUMMARY - UUNIFYINGNIFYING BBUDDHISTUDDHIST PHILPHILOSOPHICALOSOPHICAL VIEWS:VIEWS: Papers that were accepted into this panel session were to include advanced studies for searching the diverse Buddhist traditions and philosophical views (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) for possible common grounds. The suggested areas of research were to include one or more of the following: where are the connections, possibilities and/or methods to actualize the possibility of unifying them; any evidence of such endeavors; the role and the implications of such exercise for the advancement of Buddhist studies; and how university students can benefi t from such conception or research. This session has twenty-three (23) presentations; 13 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. The subjects discussed are profoundly philosophical, ethical and practical, and those related to engaged Buddhism. Each paper has its own viewpoint and contributes to the general theme of this session to search for common grounds for a possible unifi cation of diverse Buddhist traditions and philosophical views. Dr. Ronald Y. Nakasone in his paper “Mapping the Ascent to Enlightenment” discusses how one experiences the fi nal stages of enlightenment experience by examining Gautama Buddha’s own attainment of Enlightenment
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