Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (CJBS)
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A Review of Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada
No full textBook Review: Wild Geese (Edited by John S. Harding, Victor Sōgen Hori, and Alexander Soucy. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010. 460 pp., $29.95. ISBN: 9780773536678
Mahayana Buddhist Attitudes Towards Animals
No full textThe purpose of the following article is not to put forward an argument in favor of a particular position on the question of Mahayana Buddhist practices towards animals. Rather, the aim is simply to present a broad portrait of the context within which any such argument should be framed. Towards this end I am providing a translation of a small section of the first Bhāvanākramah (The Process of Meditation; Tib., bsgom pa'irim pa), a well-known Mahayana meditation manual written by Kamalasila (740-795 CE). This passage, appearing early in the text, allows us to gain a good sense of the context within which Mahayana concern for the well-being of animals arises
A discourse of the Buddha: Cūlahatthipadopama-sutta ‘The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint’
No full textWhile this Sutta has its historical significance forthe Sinhalas of Sri Lanka - as the one that set the tone for the conversion of a whole people over some 2300 years ago, it is reproduced here, in this paṭivedha (Insight) section of the Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies for a different reason. It shows a structural approach to the Dhamma: saddhā ‘faith’ serving as a foundation for sīla ‘[self-]discipline’, leading to samādhi ‘concentration’ and to eventual paññā ‘wisdom’ and liberation
Oral Dimensions of Pali Discourses: Pericopes, other Mnemonic Techniques and the Oral Performance Context
No full textThe present paper examines the form and function of Pali discourses as orally transmitted material. The first part takes up formal elements, such as "sound similarities", the "principal of waxing syllables", the frequent use of "repetition", and "pericopes". The second part turns to functional aspects of the Pali oral tradition, examining its "purposes" and the "reciters" responsible for its performance
Dzong-ka-ba on Candrakīrti's Assertion of “non-dependence on another” as the Object to Be Negated in the View of Emptiness
No full textGeluk presentations of Mdhyamika contend that innate ignorance erroneously superimposes a certain look and feel onto reality. This illusory impression is called “the object to be negated” (dgag bya, pratiedya) and, in the Prsaïgika-Mdhyamika School, “inherent existence” or “own-being” (rang bzhin, svabhva). This article examines both Candra- krti's (6th–7th C.E.) identification of the object to be negated—“non-dependence on another”—and Dzong-ka-ba’s claim that this is the same as “established by way of own entity” (rang gi ngo bos grub pa). Also discussed are six separate definitions of “dependence” allowed in Dzong-ka-ba’s Geluk system. Finally, in an appendix following the body of this work, I present my translation of an annotation from Nga-wang-bel-den’s Annotations for (Jam- yang-shay-ba’s) “Great Exposition of Tenets,” which addresses these issues
The Installation of the First Buddhist Chaplain at Dalhousie University
No full text“Buddhism in Nova Scotia” describes the current Buddhist landscape in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Buddhist ‘community’ in Nova Scotia is, not surprisingly, made up of distinct communities. This became apparent in 2003 when the Chaplaincy Office at Dalhousie University, in the interest of nurturing diversity on campus, tried to recruit a Buddhist Chaplain for the students. After a lengthy meeting, no agreement could be reached among the various groups on how to proceed with the chaplaincy appointment. The difficulty may be illustrated by the following example. Whereas the Shambhala Centre is managed by predominantly lay Euro-Canadians who offer free weekly hour-long Open House introductions to the Centre and a host of programs for young and old, Yunfeng of the Chan Temple, who speaks Putonghua, Cantonese and Vietnamese, is away from Halifax for at least nine months out of the year. When he was invited to speak to students in class at Dalhousie University, he declined and invited the students to visit the temple instead. He noted that his primary work was to practice and not to build a large sa?gha. This paper explores the diversity in the understanding of mission and its practical implementation in the Buddhist community of Dalhousie University and the city of Halifax