The Three Similes Wolf, Chris
Buddhist studies review,
03/2024, Volume:
40, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
In accounts of the Bodhisattva’s search for enlightenment, three similes come to his mind. In them, the requirement for physical and mental seclusion in the attainment of enlightenment is compared to ...a man who wants to light a fire by three different means. However, when comparing the different versions of these similes, one finds that they serve different and opposing purposes. The task of the current paper is to shed some light on the numerous variations in different occurrences of these three similes, to determine their purpose and their most appropriate place within the Buddha’s biographical narrative. I attempt this through a text-critical analysis and comparison of all versions available in their original Indian languages. The analysis shows that the similes do not fit best in the context of teaching about self-mortification in which they usually appear, but in the context of the Bodhisattva’s discovery of the path to enlightenment.
Two Dimensions of a Bodhisattva Duckworth, Douglas
International journal of transpersonal studies,
02/2024, Volume:
42, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This paper presents two dimensions of a bodhisattva, the ideal of Mahayana Buddhism. One dimension involves contemplative practices that disclose a pure nature that is always already present; this ...reality is unveiled after the obscurations that cloud it are removed. I refer to this as a "top-down" approach because it is based on qualities of awakening that are already there, yet lie beyond an ordinary being's comprehension. The second dimension, which I refer to as a "bottom-up" approach, involves directed training and discipline. Unlike the top-down approach, this is not about "going with the flow" or simply letting the innate qualities of mind express themselves. In contrast, the bottom-up approach is better described as "breaking the cycle" of suffering. That is to say, this orientation toward a bodhisattva's practice involves restraint and discipline to train the mind by turning it away from habitual, destructive patterns to shape it into spontaneous and skillful responses and expressions. This paper will discuss both of these orientations and will show how they are complementary aspects of a bodhisattva's practice. Keywords: bodhisattva, Santideva, Tibet, Buddhism, Mahamudra, mind-training, bodhicitta, buddha-nature, meditation, Gampopa
Buddhist Perspectives on Death Gokhale, Pradeep P.
Vestnik Rossiĭskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Serii͡a︡ Filosofii͡a,
03/2024, Volume:
28, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The study deals with some of the central issues concerning the notion of death as discussed in Theravāda (Pāli Buddhism) as well as Mahāyāna Buddhism. What is the sense that death is regarded as an ...instance of duḥkha (Sanskrit) or dukkha (Pāli)? The research claims that here, firstly, the word duḥkha/dukkha is used as an adjective (which means ‘unsatisfactory’) rather than a noun (which means 'pain' or 'suffering'). Secondly, by death, the Buddha did not mean the act of dying but the experience of someone's death or the idea of death. The Buddha also talked about deathlessness as the goal. Here, deathlessness does not amount to accepting something eternal but developing a proper perspective towards death by meditations such as that on impurity ( аśubhabhāvanā ) and contemplation on death ( maraṇānussati ). If the cessation of the cycle of rebirths and re-deaths ( punarmṛtyu ) is the ultimate goal that the arhat (Sanskrit), or arahant (Pāli), achieves, then the same should apply to Tathāgata. In that case, the problem suggests itself: how could the question of Tathāgata’s existence after death be accounted for as an unanswerable ( avyākṛta )? The study opines that the reason behind this is the profound, immeasurable, unfathomable nature attributed to Tathāgata. The research also discusses the basic difference between the attitudes on death in Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna. Lastly, it deals with the question of whether termination of one’s own life is permissible in Buddhism under certain conditions.
Buddhism comes in many forms, but in Japan it stands apart from all the rest in one most striking way--the monks get married. In Neither Monk nor Layman, the most comprehensive study of this topic in ...any language, Richard Jaffe addresses the emergence of an openly married clergy as a momentous change in the history of modern Japanese Buddhism. He demonstrates, in clear and engaging prose, that this shift was not an easy one for Japanese Buddhists. Yet the transformation that began in the early Meiji period (1868-1912)--when monks were ordered by government authorities to adopt common surnames and allowed to marry, to have children, and to eat meat--today extends to all the country's Buddhist denominations. Jaffe traces the gradual acceptance of clerical marriage by Japanese Buddhists from the premodern emergence of the "clerical marriage problem" in the Edo period to its widespread practice by the start of the Second World War. In doing so he considers related issues such as the dissolution of clerical status and the growing domestication of Japanese temple life. This book reveals the deep contradictions between sectarian teachings that continue to idealize renunciation and a clergy whose lives closely resemble those of their parishioners in modern Japanese society. It will attract not only scholars of religion and of Japanese history, but all those interested in the encounter- conflict between regimes of modernization and religious institutions and the fate of celibate religious practices in the twentieth century.
This research delves into the intricacies of the “Buddha Story Stele” in Cave 133 of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes, China, examining the sculptural combinations and conceptual nuances rooted in ...Buddhist culture from the 5th to the 6th centuries CE. The research focuses on discerning the identities of the “Two Adjacent-Seated Buddhas” and the Cross-Legged Bodhisattva carved on the stele, concurrently delving into the embedded symbolic significance within its structural composition. Our investigation posits that the upper, middle, and lower segments of the “Buddha Story Stele” respectively symbolize the post-Nirvana Dharmakāya Shakyamuni, the Bodhisattva Shakyamuni, and the Buddha Shakyamuni of Sumedha. Advancing scholarly discourse, it reevaluates the Cross-Legged Bodhisattva’s identity and the configuration of the “Two Adjacent-Seated Buddhas”, elucidating the interplay of imagery and conceptual themes. This study provides pivotal insights into the sculptural arrangement and religious thought transmission in the Maiji Mountain Grottoes, contributing significant academic and cultural value to preserve this unique heritage.
The Way of the Bodhisattva Tassi, Marguerite A
Critical survey (Oxford, England),
06/2023, Volume:
35, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
What can Buddhism offer contemporary religious understandings of King Lear? Shakespeare's great wisdom play has been viewed, more often than not, as pessimistic, even nihilistic, in its tragic ...rendering of the human condition. A Buddhist perspective challenges the premises of such a bleak reading by offering profound insight into how suffering gives rise to compassion, empathy and wisdom, rather than despair. Focusing particularly on the enigmatic spirituality and moral function of Edgar, this article illuminates his character through the revered teachings of a classic Indian text of Mahayana Buddhism, Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva. Edgar appears in the heroic light of a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who seeks to alleviate the suffering of others. His journey exemplifies the human potential for moral transformation, selflessness and universal love in his responsiveness to the suffering of others who wander in a samsaric world of ignorance, attachment and aversion.
Although the portrayal of Zhunti Daoren (Cundī Daoist 準提道人) in the Canonization of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi 封神演義) is relatively subdued, it has garnered considerable scholarly interest owing to the ...pivotal role he fulfills in advancing the narrative and the profound cultural connotations encapsulated within the character. Scholars have put forward three distinct hypotheses: “Zhunti Daoren as a Buddhist deity”, “Zhunti Daoren as a Daoist deity”, and “Zhunti Daoren as the Panchen Lama”. Based on the theory that the figures in the novels of gods and demons (Shenmo xiaoshuo 神魔小說) embody symbolic characteristics, as well as the sociocultural background of Ming–Qing times, this study uses literary image analysis to investigate these three different interpretations. A basic examination is also performed to explore the correlation between Zhunti Daoren and Jieyin Daoren (Welcoming Daoist接引道人), with the aim of illustrating the relationship between the cult of Zhunti and Pure Land Buddhism in late imperial China.
