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Understanding Buddhism Through the Lives of Practitioners Praise for Buddhists: Understanding Buddhism Through the Lives of Practitioners “This volume invites readers to understand what it can mean to be Buddhist in manifold ways. Rather than approaching Buddhism as an abstract entity by means of investigating ideas and practices that form a coherent and fixed system, these humanistic accounts enable one to situate and to comprehend variouswaysinwhichpeoplehaveactuallylived and thereby impacted Buddhist tradition. One comes away from reading this book with a knowledge of how Buddhism is a force that is fluid, diverse, and distinctive in its countless iterations.” John Holt, Bowdoin College “In the past there has been a tendency in Western books to approach Buddhism through its doctrines, in particular some of its more intellectually elite and perhaps more controversial philosophical doc- trines. On the other hand, in the Western ‘popular’ press and culture Buddhism is sometimes seen as a fairly loose collection of ‘new-agey’ ideas and attitudes about compassion and reincarnation often pre- sented with little potential for radical transformative impact on lives. Todd Lewis has for many years been in the forefront of a contemporary approach to Buddhism among scholars that seeks to reori- ent our understanding of Buddhism around what Buddhists do: the way in which Buddhist doctrines and experiences themselves interact with Buddhist lives and actual living Buddhism. The present com- prehensive collection looks at the interface between what Buddhists do and Buddhist biographies, the specific way of living Buddhism expressed in the lives of a wide range of ‘eminent’ and also (until now) perhaps less well-known Buddhists, past and present. I know of no other book in Buddhists Studies quite like this, and it should make fascinating reading for those who really want to understand what makes Buddhists and Buddhism ‘tick,’ not as a collection of abstract ideas but as an actual lived way of being in the world and looking forward to the world(s) to come. Great stuff – this book is highly recommended!” Paul Williams, University of Bristol, author of Mahay¯ ana¯ Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations Buddhists Understanding Buddhism Through the Lives of Practitioners Edited by Todd Lewis This edition first published 2014 ©2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Fordetailsofourglobaleditorialoffices,forcustomerservices,andforinformationabouthowtoapplyfor permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Todd Lewis to be identified as the author of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LimitofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty:Whilethepublisherandeditorhaveusedtheirbesteffortsin preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness fora particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for Hardback ISBN: 978-0-470-65817-8 Paperback ISBN: 978-0-470-65818-5 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover image: Ts’ampa Nawang. Photograph by Nicolas Sihlé. Reprinted with permission. Asian woman praying with incense sticks © szefei/iStock, Little Tibetan monks © beemore/iStock Set in 9.5/11.5pt Minion by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, India 1 2014 Contents Notes on Contributors ix Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 Todd Lewis Part I Buddhists in the Earliest and Medieval Eras 11 1 The Female Householder Mallika 13 Kristin Scheible 2 Bhadda Kundalakesa: The Ex-Jain 21 Alice Collett 3 TwoNotedHouseholdersoftheBuddha’sTime:Upasika Vishakha and Upasaka Anathapindika 29 Todd Lewis 4Nagarjuna:TheGreatPhilosopher 39 Joseph Walser 5WhoIsUncleDonpa? 52 David J. Cooper 6 Ma-chig Lab-dron: Mother of Tibetan Buddhist Chod 62 Michelle J. Sorensen Part II Buddhist Lives in the West 71 7 I.B. Horner and the Twentieth-Century Development of Buddhism in the West 73 Grace G. Burford 8 Takyu: A Young Buddhist Nun at a Ch’an Temple in the English Midlands 80 George D. Chryssides 9 Refuge and Reconnection: One Lao Woman’s Story 87 Stewart Jobrack vi Contents 10 Conversion, Devotion, and (Trans-)Mission: Understanding Ole Nydahl 96 Burkhard Scherer 11 Noah Levine: Punk Rocker and Buddhist Meditation Teacher 107 Brooke Schedneck 12 Legendary Beat Poet: Allen Ginsberg 115 Tony Trigilio 13 Dr. Stephen John Fulder: Founder of Vipassana in Israel 124 Joseph Loss 14 Amala Sensei: Zen Priest 133 Sally McAra Part III Buddhist Lives in South and Southeast Asia 145 15 Pawinee Bunkhun: The Life of a Thai Buddhist Upasika 147 Rachelle M. Scott 16 Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma 157 Bradley S. Clough 17 Corporal Monk: Venerable Sudinna’s Journey from the Sri Lankan Army to the Buddhist Sangha 165 Daniel W. Kent 18 The Lure of Renunciation and the Ways of the World: Maechii Wabi of Thailand 172 Sid Brown 19 Becoming a Theravada Modernist Buddhist in Contemporary Nepal 179 Lauren Leve Part IV Buddhist Lives in the Himalayan Region 191 20 Tenpe Gyaltsen: The Fifth Jamyang Zhepa 193 Paul K. Nietupski 21 A Female Tibetan Buddhist Diviner in Darjeeling 201 Tanya M. Zivkovic 22 Tsultrim Zangmo: A Twenty-First-Century Tibetan Buddhist Woman in South Asia 209 Tsultrim Zangmo and Michelle J. Sorensen 23 Bakula Arhat’s Journeys to the North: The Life and Work of the 19th Kushok Bakula in Russia and Mongolia 218 Vesna A. Wallace 24 Hunger, Hard Work, and Uncertainty: Tashi Dondrup Reminisces on Life and Death in a Tibetan Village 228 Geoff Childs 25 Benefiting the Doctrine and Sentient Beings: The Life of a Tibetan Lineage Master and the Ethos of Altruistic Action 236 Nicolas Sihlé 26 Living Practical Dharma: Chomo Khandru and the Himalayan Bon Tradition 246 Sara Shneiderman Contents vii 27 Excavating the Stories of Border-Crossing Women Masters in Modern Buddhism: The Oral Biography of Pelling Ani Wangdzin and Her Family 257 Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa Part V Buddhist Lives in East Asia 265 28 The Life of a Contemporary Japanese Buddhist Priest: Protecting the Dharma and EnsuringItsFlowwithAllofOne’sStrength 267 Naoyuki Ogi 29 Toshihide Numata: Igniting the Flame of the Dharma 274 Naoyuki Ogi 30 Seno’o Giro: The Life and Thought of a Radical Buddhist 280 James Mark Shields 31 Building a Culture of Social Engagement: Nichiren Buddhism and Soka Gakkai Buddhists in Japan 289 Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen 32 Blood and Teardrops: The Life and Travels of Venerable Fazun 296 Brenton Sullivan 33 A Modern Chinese Laywoman: Dumplings, Dharani, and Dedication–Honest Auntie Li Tries to Be a Good Buddhist 305 Alison Denton Jones Index 317 For an alternative table of contents that, for the purposes of teaching, arranges the biographies into the various schools of Buddhism, please go to www.wiley.com/go/lewisbuddhism. Notes on Contributors George D. Chryssides is Honorary Research Geoff Childs holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Fellow in Contemporary Religion at the Univer- Tibetan Studies from Indiana University and is sity of Birmingham, UK, and was formerly Head an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Wash- of Religious Studies at the University of Wolver- ington University in St. Louis who specializes in hampton, UK. He has published extensively on studying the interconnections between demo- new religious movements and has a particular graphic processes, economic changes, and family interest in new expressions of Christianity and transformations in the highlands of Nepal and Buddhism. the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. His recent Sid Brown,ProfessoratSewanee,theUniversity collaborations with physical anthropologists of the South in Tennessee, focuses on the lived aim to document out-migration and population experience of Buddhism. Her first book, The decline in Himalayan communities of Nepal, Journey of One Buddhist Nun (2001), is a biog- investigate the links between genetic adaptation raphy of a modern Thai female renunciant, and to high altitude and reproductive outcomes, and her second, A Buddhist in the Classroom (2009), examine the association between adaptation to views classroom teaching through a Buddhist high altitude, mother’s milk, and infant growth. lens, exploring the ethical quandaries, lived expe- Bradley S. Clough teaches about Asian religions riences, and intimacy of teaching. Brown has (with a focus on Buddhism) at the University of been studying Buddhism since being introduced Montana, USA. He has written many articles on to it by the Antioch Buddhist Studies Program different facets of Buddhism and has a forthcom- in 1982. During her years earning her B.A. from ing book from Cambria Press titled Noble Persons’ Emory, her M.A.
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