Contents
Editor's Preface xiii A Biographical Sketch of Sangharakshita 1
PART ONE: THE ESSENTIALS
1 Who Is the Buddha? 9 1 The Buddha's Journey to Enlightenment 9 2 The Symbolic Meaning of the Four Sights 27 3 The Characteristics of Existence 29 4 Dufcfcfoa as an Example of Conditionality 43 5 The Buddha's Victory 44 6 Archetypal Symbolism in the Biography of the Buddha 61 7 Inspiration from the Buddha's Life 74
2 Going for Refuge 79 1 "Coming Home" to Buddhism 79 2 What Going for Refuge Is 81 3 Going for Refuge and the Concept of Escape 85
3 The Path to Enlightenment 1 "What Is Your Dharma?": The Buddha's Answer to Mahapajapati Gotami 91 2 The Arising of Vision 96 VI - THE ESSENTIAL SANGHARAKSHITA
3 The Connection between Philosophy and Practice 99 4 The Essence of the Dharma 102 5 The Path as a Symbol 107 6 Spiritual Growth: Developmental or Immanent? 109 7 What Is Nirvana? 113
4 Buddhism—One or Many? 123 1 Variety and Unity in the Buddhist Tradition 123 2 The Forms of Eastern Buddhism 134 3 The Ideal Approach to Buddhism 140 4 What Do All the Schools of Buddhism Have in Common? 143
PART TWO: BUDDHISM AND THE MIND
1 Thinking Clearly 149 1 "The Impossibility of Retracting an Opinion I Believe to Be True" 149 2 The Voice Within 150 3 Getting a Clear Idea of Buddhism 153 4 Learning to Think 155 5 More and More of Less and Less 158 2 Mind Reactive and Creative 163 1 Sonnet 163 2 The Path of Regular Steps and the Path of Irregular Steps 164 3 What Do We Really Know? 174 4 Mind Reactive, Mind Creative 179 5 The Perfection of Wisdom—The Flavor of Irrelevance 186 6 The Shattering Nature of Reality 187 7 "Above me broods..." 189
3 Views and Truths 191 1 Wrong Views, Right Views, and Perfect Vision 191 CONTENTS - Vll
2 No "Ready-made" Buddhist Answers 194 3 The Anatta Doctrine 196 4 Breaking the Fetters 198
5 Life Is King 202
6 The Buddhist Attitude to Death 202
7 Reflections on Impermanence 204
8 How to Reflect 205
9 Karma and Rebirth 208
10 Is It Necessary for a Buddhist to Believe in Rebirth? 219
4 Buddhism among -isms and -ologies 227 l Religion as Revelation or Discovery 227 2 The Buddha's Attitude toward the Teachings of His Time 230 3 The Transcendental Critique of Religion 234 4 The Individual and the Group 237 5 The Ideal Student of Buddhism 248 6 Formulations of the Buddhist Path 250 7 Buddhism and Evolution 255
PART THREE: ART, BEAUTY, AND MYTH IN THE BUDDHIST TRADITION
1 The Place of Beauty in the Spiritual Life 263 1 Sangharakshita I and Sangharakshita II 263 2 Beauty as a Characteristic of Life 264 3 Learning to See 267 4 Bamboos 269 5 The Greater Mandala of Aesthetic Appreciation 270 6 Learning to Stand Still 274 7 Pauses and Empty Spaces 275 8 The Simple Life 277 Vlii - THE ESSENTIAL SANGHARAKSHITA
2 Buddhism and Art 281 1 The Transformative Power of Art 281 2 Art as an Integral Part of Spiritual Life 284 3 Buddhism and Western Culture 287 4 The Dharma in Western Poetry 289 5 Stretching the Mind through Art 290
3 The Creative Life 293 1 After Rilke 293 2 Entering a Spiritual Dimension through Writing 294 3 A Creative Relationship with the World 299 4 Should Buddhists Have a Sense of Humor? 300 5 The Playful Arts 302
4 A "Buddhist Bible"?—Buddhist Scriptures and Where They Come From 307 1 The Sea of Buddhist Literature 307 2 The Origin of the Buddhist Scriptures 308 3 How to Read Buddhist Texts 310 4 Buddhist S