Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (CJBS)
Not a member yet
127 research outputs found
Sort by
Triune Mind in Buddhism: A Textual Exploration
No full textThere are three terms for ‘mind’ in the Buddhist Canon – Mano, Citta and Viññāna. But there does not seem to be much clarity on them in their Canonical usage. In translating the concepts, contemporary scholars, East and West, do not seem to be much clearer either. Exploring what we eventually come to call the ‘Triune mind’ – i.e., three-in-one mind, this limited research delineates the three minds functionally – Mano as R-Mind (Receiving- Mind), Citta as J-Mind (Judging-Mind) and Viññāna as E-Mind (Executive-Mind). Characterizing this view of mind as a M(ind)-Simplex, each of them, as well as all three taken together, however, come to be seen as a M(ind)-Complex, too, given their multifunctionality and interrelationality. By way of coming out of the confusion relating to the word trio, a general criterion is proposed to be used in seeking clarity – to consider the context. Is it localized or generic? The paper benefits from Western Science and Linguistics, as well as from some creative and unconventional thought on the part of the author. Along these lines are a few new terms and concepts introduced (see end of paper)
The Buddhalaksana and the Gandavyuha Sutra
No full textThis is an examination of the thirty-two auspicious marks of the Buddha with reference to various Pali and Sanskrit texts. Most are simple lists of the characteristics of the mahapurusa, but three – the Pali Lakkana Sutta in Pali and the Lalita Vistara and Gandavyuha Sutras in Sanskrit – offer a more extended description and attempt to explain the origin and/or significance of the laksanas. This paper focuses on a section of the Gandavyuha Sutra (Book 39 of the Avatamsaka Sutra), which lists and frequently explains the Buddhalaka as. The study introduces a new translation of the passage from the original Sanskrit, and compares its descriptions to other relevant Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. In most cases the Gandavyuha Sutra offers the most convincing explanation of the relevance and/or origin of the laksana
La médecine au service du pouvoir angkorien: Universités monastiques, transmission du savoir et formation médicale sous le règne de Jayavarman VII (1181-1220 A.D.)
No full textThis article provides a review of the ancient education system of Angkor under King Jayavarman VII (1180-1220 AD) with a special emphasis on medical education and practices. A review of the religious foundation of monastic universities and hospitals will be followed by an analysis of the royal patronage of educational and medical institutions. The structure and functions of universities and hospitals as they pertain to the training of physicians will be reviewed using epigraphic and archeological sources along with some iconographic evidence (statues and bas-relief). Sources from Cambodia and other ancient Buddhist kingdoms will be explored to discover the medical educational and curricular practices of ancient Angkor. This study may offer new insights on the religious and medical strategies adopted by Jayavarman VII to fight the diseases and epidemics that ravaged his kingdom
The First Ten-Precept Nun of Sri Lanka and the Burmese Thila-Shin Connection
No full textThe Bhikkhuni Order was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3rd c. BCE, by Arhant Sanghamitta, daughter of King Asoka, and sister of Arhant Mahinda, son, who introduced Buddhism, and the Bhikkhu Order, to Sri Lanka (see Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, # 5 for some details). Queen Anula becoming the first Sinhala Bhikkhuni, the Bhikkhuni Order continued to thrive for fifteen centuries, under benevolent Buddhist rulers, until both the male and the female Orders came to be brought to an end by the Hindu South Indian invaders in the 11th c. (for a treatment see K M, de Silva, 1981, A History of Sri Lanka, Oxford University Press). While the Bhikkhuni Order has now (since late 1990’s) come to be revived, filling the vacuum created by the demise of the Bhikkhuni Order in the 11th c., there had emerged, beginning in the 19th c., a precursor - the Ten-Precept Nuns (dasasil mātā). In this issue, we present the personal story of the very first of them, Sister Sudharmàcàrã. The genesis of the Dasasil Màtà Community that we see today in Sri Lanka, however, can be traced to the Thila-Shin nuns’ movement in Burma. During the reign of King Mindon (1853-78), there was a resurgence of Buddhism. The Thila- Shin Order arose during this period. Part II is that story.The material is excerpted with kind permission from The Dasasil Nun (2010) by Bhikkhuni Kusuma, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Cultural Centre.
“Establishing of Mindfulness Meditation” (satipaṭṭhāna bhāvanā): the Creative Interplay of Cognition, Praxis and Affection
No full text“Investigation of Dhamma”, “effort” and “joy” constitute the 2nd to 4th items of the seven bojjhanga “Factors of Awakening” in the satipaṭṭhāna bhāvanā, Establishing of Mindfulness meditation”, the methodology specifically formulated by the Buddha as the “one way” or “direct path” (ekāyano maggo) to liberation, namely, Nibbāna. There is probably no more succinct an example than the placing of the three, in their intended logical sequence, that speaks to the interactive process among cognition, praxis and affection. The practitioner begins in the cognitive (investigation of Dhamma), puts the mind into an active mode based in the cognition, thus engaging in praxis (effort), which in turn comes to impact upon the affective (joy). This paper seeks to establish the intricate and complex web of interrelationships between and among the trio cognition, praxis and affection in relation to the total Discourse
Arhant Mahinda as Redactor of the Buddhapujava and the Panca-, Atthangika- and Dasa-silas in Sinhala Buddhism
No full textBuddha Puja ‘Homage to the Buddha’ is a religious practice found in every Buddhist temple and many a Buddhist household around the world. Over the last two millennia or more, it has taken many a shape and turn. This treatment, however, relates to the Buddha Puja in the particular cultural context of Sinhala Buddhism, writing it as a single word, Buddhapujava (with a -va denoting the Sinhalizing suffix) to distinguish it from the ritual in other cultural contexts. It is as practiced in Sri Lanka, ironically, not in Sinhala but in Pali, Buddhism being introduced in the 3rd c. BCE by Arhant Mahinda during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa in the Anuradhapura period. It is not the Buddhapujava itself, however, that is the topic of this paper, but its authorship. Finding no evidence of its authorship, or origin, in India, it comes to be located in Sri Lanka. Seeking evidence for its Redactor from within the ritual itself, we are led to none other than Arhant Mahinda who introduces the Buddhadhamma to the island. It is also established how, in the very process of creating the Buddhapujava, the panca-, atthangika- and dasa-silas also come to be systematized into a coherent pattern. Two alternative dates for the possible launch of the ceremony are suggested, making it the oldest living Buddhapuja ritual in the world. In a concluding theoretical detour, a distinction is made between an Etic Buddha Puja and an Emic Buddha Puja.
A Metaphysics of Morality: Kant and Buddhism
No full textImmanuel Kant’s deontology seems to present a radically different approach to morality as understood in the Buddhist tradition (generally understood in the Mahāyāna perspective). Kant’s metaphysics relies on the application of pure practical reason, whereas Buddhism’s appeal is to compassion/karuna; thus the first is cognitive and the second affective, at least on a surface reading. I propose that the two can be brought into direct dialogue via an analysis and pragmatic critique of morality’s ideal of universality. First I outline the key components of Kant’s categorical imperative, and show that the kingdom of ends is a “natural development” from this moral command. Next I explore the impetus of the Buddha’s search for the alleviation of suffering/duhkha, and explain that the bodhisattva is a “natural development” from the Buddha’s insight/prajna. In both instances, the criterion of universality is an intrinsic and necessary feature for morality. Given this conclusion, I will endeavour to provide an affective element for Kant’s deontology and a rational aspect for Buddhist compassion, thus bringing both approaches together as a demonstration of emotional rationality