Developments in Buddhist Thought

Description

Nine Canadian scholars of Buddhism consider philosophical and cultural issues in Buddhist thought. Part I, “On Being,” discusses the philosophical problem of Being in the school of the Middle Way, Mādhyamika Buddhism, and in the Tantric School of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Part II, “On the Indian Milieu,” surveys Hindu views of Buddhism and explores Buddhism’s relationship with other Indian religious and philosophical traditions. Part III, “On the Chinese Milieu,” analyzes developments in Buddhist thought in China.

Informations

• Publié par: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Date de parution: 30 octobre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780889207011
• Langue: English

Extrait

Developments in Buddhist Thought: Canadian Contributions to Buddhist Studies
edited by Roy C. Amore

Published for the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion / Corporation Canadienne des Sciences Religieuses by Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Developments in Buddhist thought
(SR supplements ; 9)
ISBN 0-919812-11-2 pa.
I. Buddhism. I. Amore, Roy C., 1942- II. Series.
BQ4012.D48 294.3 C79-094734-X
1979 Corporation Canadienne des Sciences Religieuses / Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion
No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche,or any other means, without written permission from the publisher.
Cover design by Michael Baldwin, MSIAD
Order from: Wilfrid Laurier University Press Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5
DEVELOPMENTS IN BUDDHIST THOUGHT: CANADIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO BUDDHIST STUDIES
Edited by Roy C. Amore
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
I. ON BEING
1. Sprung, Mervyn The Problem of Being in Buddhism
2. Mehta, Mahesh and : The View of Inner Reality
3. Guenther, H.V. The Experience of Being: The Idea in its Tibetan Interpretation
II. ON THE INDIAN MILIEU
4. Klostermaier, Klaus Hindu Views of Buddhism
5. Matilal, Bimal K. Transmigration and the Causal Chain in and Buddhism
6. Amore, Roy C. Giving and Harming: Buddhist Symbols of Good and Evil
7. Younger, Paul Buddhism and the Indian Religious Tradition
III. ON THE CHINESE MILIEU
8. Hurvitz, Leon The Mind of the Early Chinese Buddhist
9. JAN, Y n-hua Li P ing-Shan and his Refutation of Neo-Confucian Criticism of Buddhism
The Contributors
FOREWORD
The occasion of welcoming Professor Amore s book into the series SR Supplements provides the opportunity for familiarizing the reader with the intentions of the somewhat unusual publishing consortium behind this book and for several thank you s.
Five major Canadian professional societies in the field of the scientific study of religion and theology and representing the scholarship of both the national language groups of Canada established this Corporation in order to promote the publication of academic studies in religion in this country. The first aim was to launch a Journal which would respond to the needs of scholars in Canada, working in either of her national languages. Studies in religion/Sciences Religieuses emerged; it is now in its eighth year of publication. Still, there was a gap between a journal and the full-scale book which is made available through the established publishing houses and university-presses. The Corporation seeks to meet the needs of scholars in the field of religion and theology with publication series such as SR Supplements, the production costs of which are substantially lower, whose press-runs are smaller initially and whose sale and advertising methods are somewhat different than those of books produced by other established commercial publishers. Very short production-periods and low sale price, but still a quality product is what the Corporation aims for.
The Corporation is pleased that Professor Amore and his very distinguished colleagues chose to make this collection which represents the very edge of their research available through us. It is a noteworthy fact that Canada can boast of a concentration of leading Buddhologists not easily matched elsewhere. Their work has claimed attention for a number of years; this collection of articles hitherto unpublished will continue that tradition. We thank the authors and the editor for honouring the Corporation which, in its turn, is proud to present this book to scholars - teachers and students - and those to whom studies in religion and theology in Canada is a matter of general concern.
The book has been published with the help of a grant from the Social Science Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. To these granting agencies the Corporation expresses its deep gratitude.
Martin Rumscheidt, President CANADIAN CORPORATION FOR STUDIES IN RELIGION/ CORPORATION CANADIENNE DES SCIENCES RELIGIEUSES
INTRODUCTION
The essays brought together here represent the current scholarship of some of Canada s eminent Buddhologists. The essays discuss developments in Buddhist thought which occurred as Buddhists faced the philosophical problem of Being (part I) and the cultural problem of relating to the milieus of India (part II) and China (part III).
Part I begins with two essays on the important school of the Middle Way ( ) founded by the most famous Buddhist thinker, . Mervyn Sprung discusses The Problem of Being in Buddhism mainly through an analysis of the notion of self-existence . He notes that self-existence embraces both the essentialist and existentialist positions of Western thought, and that Kant s concept of Reason is somewhat comparable to the s. Finally his approach leads to conclusions about the nature of the middle way (in this school) as the proper approach to reality as well as to philosophical concepts-an approach which goes beyond simple affirmation and negation.
Mahesh Mehta also considers the position on reality, but he does so through an analysis of two other important concepts, and . His explanation of the difference between beings which exist only because of other beings and those which exist on their own opens an area of discussion, concerning the nature of ultimate reality, which the following essay treats in detail.
A quite different approach to Reality emerges in Herbert Guenther s essay on the Tantric school of Buddhism. His treatment of The Experience of Being: The Idea in its Tibetan Interpretation argues that the usual, literal translation of as three bodies (of the Buddha) is very misleading because the term refers to three ways of experiencing being; or in his words, three existential values. He then introduces us to the complexities of Tibetan thought on and the intended realization of Being-as-such behind beings.
In part II on the Indian Milieu Klaus Klostermaier sets the scene by surveying various Hindu Views of Buddhism. He finds evidence of both hostile and peaceful relations between Hinduism and Buddhism and notes that each tradition has distinguished itself from the other more on doctrinal than practical ground. Also, both the nature and intensity of the relations have varied greatly from era to era, with interesting developments among recent Indians including Gandhi and Vivekananda.
Bimal Matilal suggests that the Buddhist understanding of the causal chain that links one birth with another is quite similar to the view of the school of Indian philosophy, a school famous for philosophy of language and logic. His contribution, Transmigration and the Causal Chain in and Buddhism calls to our attention the fact that Hindu and Buddhist thought did not develop in isolation but rather within a common Indian milieu.
My own essay, Giving and Harming: Buddhist Symbols of Good and Evil, discusses the way Buddhist thought appropriated the ideals of non-violence and giving from the Indian milieu and used them in formulating an ethic compatible with the tradition s suppositions. This historical analysis provides a way of understanding the great importance given to making merit among lay Buddhists today.
In the final essay in part II, Buddhism and the Indian Religious Tradition , Paul Younger addresses the question of how Buddhist Studies relates to Religious Studies and suggests that the former can be a very fruitful partner to the latter. He discusses three of the areas in which Buddhologists can contribute to our knowledge of the Indian religious tradition; namely on the questions of the mood of Indian spirituality, of the motivational pattern of Indian religion, and of the real nature of the religious beliefs and practices which Buddhists took beyond India.
Part III, dealing with developments in Buddhist thought within China, opens with a double length essay on The Mind of Early Chinese Buddhism by Leon Hurvitz. He discusses the ways in which early Chinese Buddhists struggled to be both Chinese and Buddhist. He focuses on the thought in situ of four Chinese of the fourth and early fifth centuries. We are told of the problems of translating the Sanskrit texts into Chinese, of the Chinese appropriation of technical terms such as from Indian Buddhist thought (as Mehta and Sprung discuss), of the relation of being to non-being, of the nature of the soul and its state, if any, after death, of the degree of veneration which Buddhist monks should show to the emperor, et al.
JAN Y n-hua continues the description of developments in China with a discussion of the life and thought of a thirteenth century gentleman scholar, Li P ing-shan, who defended Buddhist thought and counselled tolerance in an era of neo-Confucian patriotism. JAN gives a translation of Li s Collected Plaints , which raises and refutes various complaints against Buddhism voiced by his neo-Confucian contemporaries. Again we see a Buddhist intellectual struggling to interpret Buddhism on issues such as ( emptiness ), afterlife and Reality as well as issues of particular concern in his era.
Much more could be written about developments in India and China, not to mention Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Southeast Asia, yet it is hoped that these essays will indeed contribute to the understanding of Buddhist thought and its relation to the cultures in which it has existed.
The Canadian Corporation for Studies in religion is to be thanked for their initiative in encouraging publications in all areas of Religious Studies, including