Thrills beyond words...

Just to let people know - the United Kingdom Association for Buddhist Studies has, on its website, made available (free!) the back copies (vol. 1-22) of the journal Buddhist Studies Review.

http://www.ukabs.org.uk/ukabs/resources/journal-archives/buddhist-studies-review-vols-1-22/ is the link. Enjoy, and let me know if there are any technical problems...

Dave.

Thai Buddhist Sect - photo essay

Many thanks to my good friend Dr Paul Fuller, for pointing me in the direction of THIS article at Foreign Policy Magazine.

It is about the Dhammakaya movement (this is the link to their official website - some interesting pics HERE too),and the piece uses the word 'cult' rather easily. The movement (read a little HERE about it) has had controversy in the past, but remains hugely popular in Thailand and beyond. What is more striking about the Foreign Policy article is the truly amazing photos: they are copyrighted - so I won't re-post - but well worth it...


You can see a Dhammakaya Promotional Video below if you're interested.... (a clearly an 'insider' perspective from the organisation -  with some cheesy music - but interesting)


Cheers,
Dave

Excellent Buddhist Podcast

Taken from http://www.cbs.columbia.edu/weblog/2009/05/cbss-podcast-fredrick-m-smith.html :

"Fredrick M. Smith from the University of Iowa presented his talk on "Indian Buddhist Sociolinguistics and Buddhist Notions of Possession: A Fragment from the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa" on April 30, 2009 as part of the Columbia University Buddhist Studies Seminar series."

The podcast is at http://www.cbs.columbia.edu/files/cbss_podcast_smith.mp3

The Centre for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University (New York) has some excellent material online - start at its blog at http://www.cbs.columbia.edu/weblog/

enjoy..
d.

Buddhist Art

The Telegraph reviews a new Gallery at the Victoria and Albert museum, devoted to Buddhist art.
The review [click HERE] raises some issues about detachment, and the nature of the images, and whether the gallery actively promotes Buddhist values - so may well be of interest...

Also see http://www.rhfamilyfoundation.org/manyfaces for the Many Faces of Buddhism webpages, for events in London at present..

D.

Easter reflections

Thought our readers might be interested in reading the following reflections on Easter from a Buddhist perspective:

http://www.xploreheartlinks.com/buddhism.htm#A%20Buddhist%20View%20of%20Easter

RPE208 wiki

Please visit http://rpe208.wikispaces.com/ to see (and register to edit) the Indian Religions module wiki for what will be a student-written glossary of terms for that module (mainly Hindu and Buddhist terms).

Cheers,
Dave

UK Association for Buddhist Studies: Conference 6-8 July 2007

The Teaching of Buddhism in Higher Education

St Anne's College, Oxford

In association with the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies ( http://www.ocbs.org )

Conference 6-8 July 2007

Details at http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/~os0dwe/bs2.html

Cheers, Dave

Buddhism, Philosophy as therapy - some thoughts..

Some thoughts over Easter: I know many students are away for the break – perhaps you may have more time than normal to think? so some thoughts....

Many of you are doing the Buddhism modules (RPE202), and there also seems to be a ‘craze’ for seeing philosophy as, in some sense, therapeutic (see http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/5914/) . I was thinking of these two things in tandem this afternoon, and it struck me that we have been discussing themes pertinent here in class.

These have come out of our discussion as to whether Buddhism (esp in its early phase) counts as a religion. Well – I welcome comments on that topic – but also: can philosophy count as therapy?

Buddhism seems to count as therapeutic: –it includes the philosophy and a particular targeted practice (though we might, of course, dispute the accuracy pf the former and the efficacy of the latter).

Indeed Buddhism is if anything more sceptical of a certain philosophical ‘view holding’ (though after the very early phase scholasticism becomes a key part of Buddhist tradition), as we see in the Sisupacala Sutta, (trans from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn05/sn05.008.than.html, SN 5.8):

At Savatthi. Then, early in the morning, Sisupacala the nun put on her robes and, taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. When she had gone for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day. Having gone deep into the Grove of the Blind, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day's abiding.

Then Mara the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall from solitude, approached her & said, "Whose philosophy do you approve of, nun?"

"I don't approve of anyone's
philosophy, my friend."

[Mara:]
For whose sake
have you shaved your head?
You look like a contemplative
but don't approve
of a philosophy,
so why are you wandering here
confused?

[Sister Sisupacala:]
Outside philosophers place
their confidence in views.
I don't approve
of their teaching.
They're not adept in the
Dhamma.

But there is
the Awakened One,
born in the Sakyan clan,
a person without peer:
all-conquering,
Mara's subduer,
everywhere undefeated,
everywhere freed,
independent;
endowed with an
Eye all-seeing, reaching the end
of all kamma —
with the ending of
acquisitions, released.

He, that Blessed
One, is my teacher.
It's in his Dhamma
that I delight.

Then Mara the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing,
"Sisupacala the nun knows me" — vanished right there.

Is the Nun here rejecting all views? We often get the view in Buddhism that the practice consists of the three elements found in the 8-fold path: wisdom (insight, maybe), morality (or virtue) and meditation practice.

Can Western philosophical traditions be considered as in any sense therapeutic without this kind of holistic approach?

Further, can Buddhism really be said to reject ‘views’ – and still propagate a position on as
many issues as it seems to?

Dave

Buddhism podcast 4

Yes, here is the latest Buddhism (RPE202) podcast. This is on 'views' - and is limited by my being a bit full of cold - but hopefully still makes some kind of sense..

It follows up on the some of the discussions we have had in class regarding the way in which it might be not just the content of religious beliefs and ideas that matter in Buddhist thought, but also the manner in which the views are held...

Download from http://www.archive.org/details/DrDavidWebsterBuddhismpodcast4-views/

Cheers,

Dave

Buddhism podcast 3

Hi, the Buddhism podcast 3 is now on-line.

It is short, and about Not-Self (Anatta) - and is really just a reading of the start of the Buddhist text Questions of King Milinda - which uses the idea of a chariot...

The text - to read along - is at: http://web.singnet.com.sg/~rjp31831/nagasena.htm

The podcast itself is at: http://www.archive.org/details/DaveWebsterPOdcastonNot-Self/

The picture is me 'podcasting', as some have said it is hard to listen without a mental image - not sure if this will make it worse or better...

Dave

Buddhism Podcast 2: The Four Noble Truths

Hi, the second podcast for RPE (Religion, Philosophy & Ethics) 202 Buddhism is now available. This is a longer piece - so is hosted in a different location to the other podcasts for RPE.

This podcast is a reading (by me) of the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, on the Buddhist notion of the Four Noble Truths, with comments and explanations. While I will give a handout to you in class, the sutta is also at http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/mahasati.htm

The podcast download is at http://www.archive.org/details/DavidWebsterFourNobleTruthslecture/ or on the Higher Education section of iTunes.

As ever - do let me know if there are technical problems (it is a 27MB file, so you may need the patience of a Buddha...)

Dave