Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (CJBS)
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The Meditative Dynamics of the Early Buddhist Appamāas
No full textWith this article I review distinctive aspects of the early Buddhist practice of the appamāas, the boundless states of benevolence (mettā), compassion (karuā), sympathetic joy (muditā) and equanimity (upekkhā). My concern is specifically the function and potential of the appamāas in relation to the unfolding of the spiritual path of the individual. Quite apart from their beneficial relational and social effects, how are they meant to support the path to liberation? Since I focus on the early phases of Buddhist thought, and its position vis-à-vis the contemporary ancient Indian context, I employ the early Buddhist textual material as my main source, generally leaving aside commentaries and later developments. A close reading of the texts ndicates that the specifics of appamāa meditation in the context of the early Buddhist soteriological scheme are the prescription to develop it in dependence on the factors of awakening (sambojjhagas) and the use of this practice as a platform for insight (vipassanā) and thereby for the realisation of awakening
Ontological Minimalism: Dharmakirti's Buddhist Critique of Relations
No full textIn the history of Buddhism, philosophical speculation has seldom been conceived as either an end in itself, or simply an attempt to satisfy intellectual curiosity. Buddhist Philosophy is an instrument to overcome wrong views and to justify the right view. Its persuasive and curative task is, in certain texts and in some historical phases, explicitly polemical, but remains grounded in the soteriological telos of Buddhism. The Buddha, himself, sets the example by refraining from metaphysical speculation; that he declines to answer Malunkyaputta’s earnest but speculative questions is a case in point. What we see in the Culamalunkyasutta is indicative of a constant theme in Buddhist texts, namely, a pragmatic approach to philosophical activity. It is certainly not the case that Buddhism is committed simply to the assertion of dogma, nor that it does not involve philosophical nuances. The philosophical preoccupations of the Buddhists, however, remain both anchored in their teleological commitment to nirvana and directed toward the path to achieving it
A Pioneer in the Canadian Buddhist Landscape: Remembering Rev. Dr. Leslie Kawamura
No full textMemorial notice for Rev. Dr. Leslie Kawamura
Buddhism in Ottawa
No full textAccording to the 2001 census, close to 10,000 people in the Ottawa-Hull region of Canada identify themselves as Buddhist. At a glance, one can identify communities that represent all the major traditions of Buddhism – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Yet, links between them, as well as between the individual groups belonging to each major tradition, are minimal. The purpose of this study is twofold: to provide a profile of the various Buddhist groups in the Ottawa-Hull region; and to explore the benefits, challenges, and the general feasibility of establishing an umbrella organization that could draw on the talents and serve the interests of those who consider themselves members of the Ottawa’s Buddhist community. The scope of this study includes not only those dharma centres and temples that are formally organized, but also the smaller, more informal meditation groups that affiliate themselves with Buddhism, even though they may maintain a more eclectic practice. In other words, the Buddhist ‘community’ of Ottawa may well include many more than those who formally identify themselves as Buddhist
An Indirect Unity: Merleau-Ponty and Nāgārjuna on the Human and the Non-human
No full textThe nature of the non-human assumes an understanding of the nature of the human, which we may claim, having our experience as from within this latter realm, but this leaves the operant term, nature, at a distance. This essay will investigate this problem through Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s musings on human being and nature, and will compare these with Nāgārjuna’s Mulamadhyamikakārikā (The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way), particularly drawing upon the experiential notion of pratītya-samutpāda (relational origination). The comparative approach herein will explain aspects of the Merleau-Pontyean ideas about Gestalt, reversibility and wild-being, and Nāgārjuna’s treatment of the Buddhist tetralemma, nirvāna and śūnyatā, ranging them against each other, counter-pointing similarities and differences, and then finally demonstrating that through their shared perspectives there exists, what Merleau-Ponty calls, an indirect unity between these philosophers
The Yogacara Doctrine of Buddha-Nature: Paramartha vs. the Fa-hsiang School
No full textThere were two main streams in Yogacara Buddhism. On the one hand, there was the Old School of Sthiramati and Paramartha. On the other hand, there was the New School of Dharmapala and Hsuan Tsang. Due to the work of Yoshifumi Ueda and Gadjin Nagao in Japan, the distinction between Paramartha and the Fahsiang School has been to a large extent clarified. The difference between their doctrines on Buddha-nature has been, however, relatively neglected by modern scholarship. This paper aims to clarify the distinction between Paramartha and the Fa-hsiang’s doctrines of Buddha-nature. Following Ueda, this paper will also differentiate Paramartha’s doctrine of Buddha-nature from the doctrine of the tathagatagarbha presented in the Awakening of Faith. Especially, we will see that Buddha-nature in the Awakening of Faith and the Fa-hsiang School are committed to a version of essentialism. Finally, it will discern some interesting parallels between Paramartha’s doctrine and the perfect teachings of T’ien T’ai Buddhism
‘Asoulity’ as Translation of Anattā: Absence, not Negation
No full textThis paper seeks how best to capture in English the Buddha’s concept of anattā. First, the Brahmanic concepts of anātman and ātman are contrasted with the concepts of anattā and attā in Buddhism. Pointing out that the prefix a- in anattā is used by the Buddha in the sense of ‘absence’ rather than ‘negation’, the term ‘asoulity’ is proposed as best capturing the sense of the term, in the contexts of both sentience and dhammā (phenomena). In a theoretical thrust, distinguishing between anātman 1 and 2 in Brahmanism and attā 1 and 2 in Buddhism, a linguistic concept, zero-seme is introduced. The autonomous nervous system that responds to stimuli without an inherent centre is posited as an analogy of anattā