Issues in indian esoteric buddhism spring 2012 2 week five 23 april 2012. The principles of buddhist psychology light within. Swearer sutra on the merit of bathing the buddha daniel boucher reading others minds carl bielefeldt the prayer of the original buddha matthew kapstein myoes letter to the island george j. The presence of such manifoldness within hermeneutics contradicts the fact that hermeneutics always has sought to attain universal value. There are tales of the buddhas past lives, a discussion of qualities and qualifications for a monk, and an exploration of the many meanings of. A new buddha appears in the world only when the teachings of the previous buddha have been completely forgotten, with no remnanta text, a statue, the ruins of a pagoda, or even a reference in a dictionaryremaining. Lopez, on the interpretation of the mahayana sutras, in buddhist. The lord buddha himself was an eminent philosopher. The anthology brings together classic pieces in the field that previously were widely scattered and includes articles that shed light on issues in contemporary hermeneutics. Centralto the various methods of interpretation employed by these texts is the concept of the gradual path to nibbdnaas a hermeneuticaldevice or strategy to explain the logic and.
An analytical study of hermeneutics in the theravada buddhist texts, is to search for hermeneutical theories in buddhism for the purpose of solving the conflicts among religions in general and especially. While interpreters of religion, as those in all other fields, are doomed to perform their work. Buddhist hermeneutics buddhism oxford bibliographies. Japanese philosophy a sourcebook edited by james w. Pdf buddhist hermeneutics research summary veerachart. A companion to rawls, edited by jon mandle and david reidy a companion to foucault, edited by chris falzon, timothy oleary, and jana sawicki a companion to derrida, edited by leonard lawlor and zeynep direk. This new edition contains many texts presented in english for the first time, as well as new translations of some wellknown works, and also includes an informative introduction and prefaces to each chapter by scholar of buddhism donals s. Lamotte pays little attention to the role of tradition, custom, and buddhist notions of authority in this process. In order that a text be accepted as the word of the. Reading koans from the blue cliff record caifang zhu despite the fact that chan, especially koan chan is highly unconventional and perplexing, there are still some principles with which to interpret and appreciate the practice. Essays originally presented at a conference held at the kuroda institute for the study of. A ccording to buddhist doctrine, there can be only one buddha for each historical age.
Searching for a possibility of buddhist hermeneutics. The present volume of essays by leading western buddhologists surveys the rich variety of strategies employed by buddhist thinkers of india, tibet, china, and japan to interpret their sacred texts. A companion to buddhist philosophy a handful of leaves. Japanese philosophy a sourcebook nanzan university. While buddhism has no central text such as the bible or the koran, there is a powerful body of scripture from across asia that encompasses the dharma, or the t. The middle way the blessed one began by condemning each of two extremes, saying sensual indulgence is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and useless, whereas selftorture is painful. Another important issue in buddhist hermeneutics is the problem of which sutras are to be taken to be buddhavacana, the word of the buddha and also which sutras contain the correct teachings. The buddhist concept of upaya skillful means is another common theme in buddhist hermeneutics, and holds that the buddha sometimes taught things that were not literally true as a skillful teaching strategy, and also taught many different things to different people, depending on their ability to understand. For over two millennium the discourses of the buddha have nourished the spiritual lives of countless millions of people in india, sri lanka, burma and thailand. I start from the observation that in tracing an arc from the existential human.
Contents acknowledgments page ix epigraph x preface xiii part i a sketch of the buddha and the dhamma 1 1 the life of siddhattha gotama 3 2 the contexts for the. Buddhist ethics and morality buddhist path way of life. Buddhist hermeneutics, nagarjuna, madhyamaka, emptiness. Mar 25, 2004 donald lopez is professsor of buddhist and tibetan studies in the department of asian languages and cultures, university of michigan. Bhante gunaratana was born in 1927 in a small village in sri lanka and was ordained at the age of 12 as a buddhist monk. Together they provide a vivid picture of the buddha and of the vast nature of the buddhist tradition.
Hermeneutics as a philosophical discipline of rational interpretation of a traditional canon of. According to lopez, there is hermeneutics in buddhism and buddhist hermeneutics started with the buddhas instruction to. The purpose of the conference was to assemble a group of buddhologists to assess the development of buddhist hermeneutics as formulated by the major donald s. Pdf nagarjunas challenge to ancient buddhist hermeneutics. Thus one who keeps the five precepts is an asset to oneself and others. Pdf the present article aims at setting the issue of the relationship between. Link distinguished university professor of buddhist and tibetan studies at the university of michigan, in the department of asian languages and cultures. On attaining buddhahood in this lifetime wnd i nichiren. Page 12 buddhist thinkers seeking to decide what can legitimately be considered the word of the buddha.
That is why the sutra states, after i have passed into extinction, one should accept and uphold this sutra. Son of the deputy director of the smithsonian national air and space museum donald s. Such a person assuredly and without doubt will attain the buddha way. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Thurman abstract hermeneutics as a philosophical discipline of rational interpretation of a traditional canon of sacred scriptures authoritative for a religious community has usually been considered peculiar to the west. Tibetan buddhist master dzongsar jamyang khyentse, one of the most creative and innovative lamas teaching today, throws down the gauntlet to the buddhist world, challenging common misconceptions, stereotypes, and fantasies. Includes index a hymn of praise to the buddhas good qualities paul j. As the buddhist hermeneutics of zen experiencing upon beholding the buddhist nature. Buddhist hermeneutics studies in east asian buddhism.
Five precepts 149 in the case of the fifth precept, although the partaking of intoxicants appears to involve oneself only, it is the most dangerous because it can lead to the violation of all the precepts thereby causing more harm to oneself and others. Description of the book what makes you not a buddhist. In this lecture, donald lopez provided a history of the various associations of buddhism with science, beginning with the polemical responses of buddhist monks to christian missionaries in. Much of what we hear about buddhism today in the west focuses on its philosophy, and how it can change ones life. Exegesis and hermeneutics in the buddhist tradition the practice and theory of scriptural interpretation faced conflicting sources and concepts of authority, a voluminous canon of relatively late compilation, and a complex history of interpretations that may be described as hermeneutic pluralism. According to donald lopez in his introduction, for the purposes of this volume, hermeneutics. A companion to buddhist philosophy edited by steven m. By endeavoring to break the circularity of the knowledge process, by which we recognize as buddhist only what we already think of as buddhist, lopez has opened a new course for a self. In this paper i lay out the ground for a creative dialogue between buddhist thought and contemporary nursing. Jul 26, 20 in this lecture, donald lopez provided a history of the various associations of buddhism with science, beginning with the polemical responses of buddhist monks to christian missionaries in the. Buddhist scriptural exegesis has always been driven by the soteriological needs of the tradition to find the true meaning artha of buddhist scriptures.
Buddhist hermeneutics refers to the interpretative frameworks historical buddhists have used to. Hermeneutics and modern philosophy is a collection of interpretive and critical essays on philosophical hermeneutics, focusing on the seminal work of heidegger and gadamer. If you chant myohorengekyo with deep faith in this principle, you are certain to attain buddhahood in this lifetime. In response to that problem, buddhist commentators developed sophisticated systems of interpretation, buddhist hermeneutics. Buy buddhist hermeneutics studies in east asian buddhism reprint by donald s. The gradual path as a hermeneutical approach to the dhamma in lopez, buddhist.
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