scholarly books on buddhist ethics published in the 1990s

7/28/2019 Scholarly Books on Buddhist Ethics Published in the 1990s

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SCHOLARLY BOOKS ON BUDDHI ST ETHI CS AND ETHI CS- RELATED TOPI CSPUBLI SHED I N THE 1990s

Bat chel or , Mar t i ne and Br own, Kerr y ( eds. ) . _Buddhi sm and Ecol ogy_( London: Cassel l , 1992) .

I n thi s book Buddhi st s f r om J apan, Thai l and, Sr i Lanka,Vi etnam, Ti bet and the West of f er t hei r appr oaches t oecol ogy and t el l of pr act i cal act i vi t i es as wel l as Buddhi stt eachi ngs and phi l osophy. St ori es, pi ct ur es and poems add tot he pi ct ur e of Buddhi sm and ecol ogy and t he book f i ni sheswi t h a message f r omt he Dal ai Lama. A r esour ce f or gr oupdi scussi ons and st udy i n col l eges and school s. [ Descr i pt i ont aken f r omt he book cover ]

Bur f ord, Gr ace. _Desi r e, Deat h, and Goodness: The Conf l i ct ofUl t i mate Val ue i n Theravaada Buddhi sm_ ( New York: Pet er Land,1991) .

Thi s vol ume pr ovi des a car ef ul anal ysi s of t he/ / A. t . t hakavagga/ / secti ons of t he anci ent / / Sut t a- ni pat a/ / .She t hen ut i l i zes t wo comment ar i es, t he / / Mahaani ddesa/ / andt he / / Par amat t haj ot i kaa I I / / , compar i ng t he t hr ee t ext s i n

quest i on. She concl udes t hat t he / / A. t . t hakavagga/ / pr esent swhat she cal l s " a coherent normat i ve val ue theor y t hat assi gnsul t i mat e val ue t o a l i f e- af f i r mi ng, i mmanent i dea anddescr i bes a path of gr adual sel f - i mprovement by whi ch anyper son mi ght at t ai n t hi s i deal " ( p. 13) . Bur f or d al sor econst r uct s, l i ke ot her s bef or e her , an or i gi nal Buddhi smt hat i s somewhat cont r adi ct ory t o t he pi ct ur e of Buddhi sm t hatemerges i n t he comment ar i al l i t er at ur e.

Fu, Char l es Wei - Hsun and Wawr yt ko, Sandr a (eds. ) . _Buddhi st Ethi csand Modern Soci et y: A Symposi um_ ( West por t , Ct . : Gr eenwood Pr ess,1991) .

Thi s vol ume pr esent s t went y- ni ne paper s col l ect ed f r omt he

f i r st Chung- Hwa I nt ernat i onal Conf erence on Buddhi sm, hel d atTai pei ' s Nat i onal Cent r al Li br ar y i n 1990. Pr edi cat ed on thepr esumpt i on t hat "pur el y academi c di scussi on of Buddhi sm doesnot damage t he di gni t y of Buddhi st bel i ef " ( p. xi i i ) , mor et han one hundr ed schol ars, sel ected around t he t heme of t heconf er ence and i r r espect i ve of t hei r per sonal r el i gi ouscommi t ment or academi c backgr ound, par t i ci pat ed i n t heconf erence. The papers were or gani zed i nt o Chi nese, J apanese,and Engl i sh l anguage sect i ons. The f i r st sect i on of t he booki s cal l ed "The Past : Tr adi t i onal Root s" ( ni ne paper s) . Thesecond (and l ongest ) sect i on i s cal l ed "The Pr esent : Cur r entI ssues" ( f i f t een paper s) . The t hi r d and f i nal secti on i scal l ed "The Fut ur e: Buddhi st Et hi cs i n a Pl ur al i st i c Wor l d"( f i ve paper s) . The vol ume al so i ncl udes a gl ossar y, i ndex, and

bi ogr aphi cal sket ch of each edi t or and cont r i but or .

Keown, Dami en. _The Nat ure of Buddhi st Ethi cs_ ( New Yor k: St .Mar t i n' s Press; London: Macmi l l an, 1992) .

Thi s book exami nes dat a f r om/ / Ther avaada/ / and/ / Mahaayaana/ / sour ces i n or der t o pr ovi de a t heoret i cal modeli n terms of whi ch Buddhi st ethi cs can be underst ood.Ut i l i t ar i ani smi s consi der ed and r ej ected, and Ar i stotel i ani smi s of f er ed as t he cl osest West er n par al l el t o Buddhi sm. I t i ssuggest ed t hat Buddhi sm i s best unders t ood as a tel eol ogi calvi r t ue et hi c i n t er ms of whi ch per f ecti on ( / / ni r vaa. na/ / ) i st he resul t of a cumul at i ve pr ocess of sel f - t r ansf or mat i on.

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Thi s t r ansf or mat i on i nvol ves bot h t he i nt el l ect and theemoti ons. cor r espondi ng t o t he t r adi t i onal concept i on ofenl i ght enment as t he cul t i vat i on of both under st andi ng( / / pr aj ~naa/ / ) and mor al concer n ( / / kar u. naa/ / ) .

Kr af t , Kenneth ( ed. ) . _I nner Peace, Worl d Peace: Essays onBuddhi sm and Nonvi ol ence_ ( Al bany: St at e Uni ver si t y of New Yor kPress, 1992) .

Soci al l y engaged Buddhi sm has become an ext r emel y i mpor t ant

t opi c f or Buddhi sm i n the 1990s. Fuel ed by t he awar di ng oft he Nobel peace Pr i ze to t he Dal ai Lama, Kr af t and othershave begun to quest i on whet her t he ear l y i nt er pr et at i on ofBuddhi sm as a r el i gi on t hat "of t en appear s t o pr omote personalt r ansf ormat i on at t he expense of soci al concer n" ( p. 3)pr esent ed at best a quest i onabl e expl anat i on of Buddhi stdoctr i ne. Fol l owi ng Kr af t ' s l i vel y and anecdot al I nt r oducti on,t he book i ncl udes ei ght essays, t he f i r st of whi ch ( "Pr ospect sf or a Soci al l y Engaged Buddhi sm") i s wr i t t en by Kr af t hi msel f .I ncl uded i n the vol ume ar e addi t i onal essays by Lui s Gomez( "Nonvi ol ence and t he Sel f i n Ear l y Buddhi sm") , Chr i st opherChappl e ( "Nonvi ol ence to Ani mal s i n Buddhi sm") , Donal d Swear er( "Exempl ar s of Nonvi ol ence i n / / Ther avada/ / Buddhi sm") , RobertThurman ( "Ti bet and t he Monast i c Ar my of Peace") , Cynt hi a

El l er ( "The I mpact of Chr i st i ani t y on Buddhi st Nonvi ol ence i nt he West " ) , Gene Shar p ( "Nonvi ol ent St r uggl e: An Ef f ect i veAl t er nat i ve" ) , and Sul ak Si var aksa ( "Buddhi sm and Cont emporar yI nt er nat i onal Tr ends") .

LaFl eur , Wi l l i am. _Li qui d Li f e: Abor t i on and Buddhi sm i n J apan_( Pr i ncet on: Pr i ncet on Uni ver si t y Pr ess, 1992) .

Thi s book expl ores how Buddhi st at t i t udes t o abort i on i n J apanhave been i nf l uenced by t r adi t i onal J apanese bel i ef s about t henat ur e of t he f et us. J apan has a hi gh abor t i on r at e, whi ch canbe expl ai ned i n par t by the f act t hat cont r acept i on i s notr eadi l y avai l abl e. Thi s i s due i n par t t o t he f act t hatphysi ci ans ear n l ar ge i ncomes f r om t he l ucr at i ve abor t i on

i ndust r y. Anot her expl anat i on f or t he hi gh abor t i on rate i st he f ol k bel i ef t hat t he f et us occupi es a posi t i on mi dwaybet ween human soci ety and t he wor l d of t he gods and spi r i t s( / / kami / / ) . To t er mi nat e a pr egnancy, accor di ngl y, can be seenas mor al l y l ess ser i ous t han t he ki l l i ng of a "f ul l " humanbei ng. The book al so exami nes t he phenomenon of / / mi zukokuyo/ / , t he r i t ual whi ch i s per f or med af t er an abor t i on hast aken pl ace, whi ch has become ext r emel y i mpor t ant i n r ecentyears.

Nakasone, Ronal d Y. _Et hi cs of Enl i ght enment : Essays and Sermons i nSear ch of a Buddhi st Ethi c_ ( Fr eemont , Ca. : Dhar ma Cl oudPubl i sher s, 1990) .

I n addi t i on t o bei ng a schol ar , Ronal d Nakasone i s al so aPur e Land pr i est ( i n t he Hongwanj i sect ) . As such, hi s ethi calbasi s i s t he per spect i ve of t he / / bodhi sat t va/ / Dhar maakar a.

The book expl i cat es a number of t hemes cur r ent l y bei ngcaref ul l y consi dered i n modern Pur e Land communi t i es, such asmedi cal et hi cs i n Buddhi st per spect i ve, sui ci de, t he deat h ofchi l dr en, and si mi l ar i ssues. I t consi der s t he way i n whi cht hese i mport ant ethi cal concer ns ar e r ef l ect ed i n t he conductof t he i ndi vi dual and the communi t y.

Pr ebi sh, Char l es ( ed. ) . _Buddhi st Et hi cs: A Cr oss- Cul t ur alAppr oach_ ( Dubuque, I owa: Kendal l / Hunt Publ i shi ng Company, 1992) .


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Thi s book i s an ant hol ogy of ni ne essays on t he Buddhi stet hi cal t r adi t i on. I n col l ecti ng t he essays on a cross-cul t ur al and cross- t r adi t i onal scope, t he edi t or has pr esent eda sur vey of t he cl assi cal and moder n Buddhi st et hi call andscapes, i nt ended t o meet t he needs of both t he schol ar l yand pr act i ci ng Buddhi st communi t i es. I t i ncl udes t hr ee essayson t he / / Theravaada/ / t r adi t i on ( by Phr a Raaj avar amuni , Davi dLi t t l e and Sumner Twi ss, and Ri chard Gombr i ch) , one essay ont he I ndi an / / Mahaayaana/ / t r adi t i on (by Lal Mani J oshi ) , oneessay on t he / / bodhi sat t va/ / t r adi t i on i n Ti bet an Buddhi sm,

one essay on et hi cal l i f e i n Chi nese Buddhi sm ( by Kennet hCh' en) , one essay on Zen et hi cs ( by J ames Whi t ehi l l ) , oneessay on ethi cs i n Nor t h Amer i can Buddhi sm ( by Char l esPrebi sh) , and an essay on soci al l y engaged Buddhi sm ( by KenJ ones) .

Pr ebi sh, Char l es S. _A Sur vey of / / Vi naya/ / Li t er at ur e_ ( Tai pei :J i n Luen Publ i shi ng House, 1994) .

Thi s vol ume, t he f i r st i n t he Dharma Lamp Ser i es of books onBuddhi sm i n Sout h Asi a, was compl eted dur i ng Prof essorPrebi sh' s t enur e as Numat a Pr of essor of Buddhi st St udi es att he Uni ver si t y of Cal gar y i n 1993, and cont i nues hi s quar t er -cent ur y l ong i nvest i gat i on of t he I ndi an Buddhi st monast i ct r adi t i on and i t s gover ni ng l i t er at ur e. I n t hi s st udy, Pr ebi sh

pr esent s an extended expl anat i on of t he or gani zat i onalst r ucture of t he syst em of monast i c di sci pl i nar y l i t er at ur e,known as / / Vi naya/ / , as wel l as a consi der at i on of i t sappl i cat i on as an f unct i onal i nst r ument desi gned t o ensure t heet hi cal pr opr i et y of t he monks and nuns l i vi ng i n t he monast i cset t i ng. I n addi t i on, Pr ebi sh devel ops a cl assi f i cat i onmet hodol ogy by whi ch i t i s possi bl e to cat egor i ze al ll i t er at ur e i n t hi s ar ea by sect , t ext t ype, and pr i mar yl anguage. He i ncl udes a sur vey of al l pr i mar y t exts i nSanskri t , Pal i , Chi nese, and Ti bet an, as wel l as West er nl anguage t r ansl at i ons of t hese t exts i n Engl i sh, French,Ger man, I t al i an, and J apanese. The sur vey al so i dent i f i es amaj or i t y of t he secondar y l i t er at ur e i n t hi s ar ea. Fol l owi ngt he body of t he vol ume, aut hor , ar t i cl e t i t l e, and book t i t l e

i ndexes ar e pr ovi ded, al ong wi t h i ndexes f or Sanskr i t , Pal i ,Chi nese, and Ti bet an t ext t i t l es.

Schmi t hausen, Lambert . _Buddhi sm and Nature_. Vol ume VI I of _St udi aPhi l ol ogi ca Buddhi ca Occasi onal Paper Ser i es_ ( Tokyo: TheI nt er nat i onal I nst i t ut e f or Buddhi st St udi es, 1991) .

Thi s vol ume i s a t hor ough and ext r emel y wel l document eddi scour se on Buddhi sm' s at t i t ude towar d Nat ur e. I t i s anexpansi on of a paper or i gi nal l y r ead on Sept ember 26, 1990.The f i r st t hr ee ( or i gi nal ) shor t chapt er s di scuss"Progr ammat i c and Theor et i cal Consi der at i on, " " The Buddhi stAt t i t ude Towar ds Nat ur e, " and "Post f ace: Pr act i cal Suggest i onsf or t he Pr esent Si t uat i on. " To t he or i gi nal , f our mor e

chapt er s are added on "Tradi t i onal Buddhi st Et hi cs andEnvi r onment al Et hi cs: Some Pr obl emat i c Aspect s, " "The Fi vePrecept s i n t he Cont ext of a Communi t y of Al l Li vi ng Bei ngs, ""Speci f i c At t i t udes of / / Mahaayaana/ / Et hi cs i n Connect i onwi t h the At t i t ude Towards Nature, " and "Remarks on N.Hakamaya' s Vi ew of t he Pr obl em of ' Buddhi sm and Nat ur e. ' " Anext r emel y usef ul bi bl i ogr aphy f ol l ows.

Schmi t hausen, Lamber t . _The Pr obl em of t he Sent i ence of Pl ant s i nEar l i est Buddhi sm_. Vol ume VI of _St udi a Phi l ol ogi ca Buddhi caMonogr aph Ser i es_ ( Tokyo: The I nt er nat i onal I nst i t ut e f or Buddhi stSt udi es, 1991) .


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Longer t han hi s _Buddhi sm and Nature_, her e Lamber tSchmi t hausen provi des a comprehensi ve st udy of Buddhi sm' sat t i t ude t owar d pl ant s. Chapt er I , "The Pr obl em and I t sCont ent , " cont extual l y l ocat es t he i ssue at hand. Chapt er I I ,"Gener al pr ohi bi t i on to I nj ur e Seeds and Pl ant s, " exami nes t het extual bases f or t he exami nat i on. Chapt er I I I pr ovi desf ur t her / / Vi naya/ / mat er i al s on pl ant s, f r ui t s, r aw gr ai n, andgar l i c, as wel l as a consi der at i on of ear t h, wat er , and f i r e.Chapt er I V pr ovi des, "Fur t her / / Sut t api . t aka/ / Mat er i al , "whi l e t he nest t hr ee chapt er s consi der "Eval uat i on of t he

Evi dence, " "Later Devel opment s, " and "Lat er Ar gument s Agai nstPl ant Sent i ence. " The f i nal chapt er , "Post f ace, " provi des aver y shor t concl usi on. The books i ncl udes an i ndex and anexhaust i ve bi bl i ogr aphy. Extensi ve not es are al so i ncl uded.

Si zemor e, Russel l F. and Swear er , Donal d K. ( eds. ) . _Et hi cs,Weal t h, and Sal vat i on: A St udy i n Buddhi st Soci al Et hi cs_( Col umbi a, S. C. : Uni ver si t y of Sout h Car ol i na Pr ess, 1990) .

Thi s vol ume i s a publ i cat i on i n t he "St udi es i n Compar at i veRel i gi on" ser i es and emerged f r oma conf erence sponsor ed byt he Nat i onal Endowment f or t he Humani t i es and t he Henr y LuceFoundat i on. The over al l vol ume hi ghl i ght s t he t ensi on betweensal vat i on f or i ndi vi dual s and t he ef f or t f or soci al good i n

/ / Ther avaada/ / Buddhi sm. The mai n t ext i s organi zed i nt o f i vepar t s: ( 1) Buddhi sm and Et hi cs, ( 2) Soci al Et hi cs andSal vat i on, ( 3) Weal t h and Char i t y, ( 4) Cont exts of Buddhi stMoral and Rel i gi ous Val ues, and ( 5) Buddhi sm and Beyond- TheUni ver sal i t y of t he Pr obl em of Di st r i but i ve J ust i ce. Al t hougham ant hol ogy of conf er ence papers , t he vol ume al so i ncl udes ahi ghl y cr eat i ve I nt r oduct i on t hat addr ess t he si x maj or t hemesr unni ng t hr ough t he var i ous par t s of t he book: ( 1) non-at t achment i n the cont ext of t he possessi on of mat eri alweal t h, ( 2) et hi cal gui dance i n t he cont ext of i nst r uct i onf or sal vat i on, ( 3) i ndi vi dual vi r t ue i n t er ms of soci alef f ect, ( 4) / / daana/ / or r el i gi ous gi vi ng, ( 5) t he / / Sangha/ /i n i t s r ol e as soci al power , and ( 6) uni ver sal i t y, di scussedi n t er ms of equal i t y, j ust i ce, and i ndi vi dual i sm. The vol ume

al so i ncl udes not es and bi bl i ogr aphi c r ef er ences f or eachpaper , as wel l as an comprehensi ve I ndex.

Vyanj ana, K. _/ / Ther avaada/ / Buddhi st Et hi cs Wi t h Speci al Ref er encet o Vi suddhi magga_ ( Cal cut t a: Punt hi Pust ak, 1992) .

[ Aut hor ' s Thesi s] . The t hesi s consi st s of si x chapt er s. Thef i r st chapt er i s i nt r oductory and st ar t s wi t h t he r el at i onshi pbet ween et hi cs and r el i gi on. . . The second chapt er deal sbr i ef l y wi t h t he ori gi n and devel opment of Buddhi sm. . . Thet hi r d chapt er deal s wi t h t he concept of t he ul t i mat e goal i nl i f e, whi ch i s / / Ni r vaa. na/ / . The ot her t enet s l i ke/ / Prat i i t ya Samut paada/ / , / / Anaat mavaada/ / and/ / K. sa. ni kavaada/ / have al so been di scussed i n t hi s cont ext.

The f our t h chapt er cont ai ns a descr i pt i on of t he nat ur e ofmoral conduct f or monks and househol der s. The f i f t h chapt er i sconcerned wi t h the di scussi on of t he meani ng, i mpor t ance andt he pl ace of / / Vi suddhi magga/ / i n / / Ther avaada/ / Buddhi stEt hi cs. . . The si xt h and l ast chapt er i s a br i ef concl usi on.[ Descri pt i on taken f r om t he Pr ef ace]

Wayman, Al ex. _The Et hi cs of Ti bet : / / Bodhi sat t va/ / Sect i on ofTsong- kha- pa' s / / Lam Ri m Chen Mo/ / _ ( Al bany: St at e Uni ver si t y ofNew Yor k Pr ess, 1991) .

Thi s r ecent vol ume f r om Al ex Wayman i s a t r ansl at i on of t het hi r d of t he f i ve sect i ons of Tsong- kha- pa' s f amous / / Lam r i m


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chen mo/ / . The book begi ns wi t h a shor t i nt r oduct i on t hatcont ext ual l y pl aces t he vol ume i n the mai nst r eam of Mahaayaanaet hi cs. The tr ansl at i on i s pr esent ed i n t wo chapt er s, f ol l owedby Not es t o the I nt r oduct i on, Not es t o t he Tr ansl at i on, andt wo appendi ces: Bi bl i ogr aphy f or t he Sanskr i t Passages, andSanskri t Passages f or t he Ci t at i ons i n Thei r Or der ofOccur r ence. An I ndex i s al so pr ovi ded. Char l es Hal l i sey, i nhi s bi bl i ogr aphi c essay on Buddhi st et hi cs, i n _Rel i gi ousSt udi es Revi ew_, 18, 4 ( Oct ober 1992) , r ef er s t o thi s as a"second- or der , met a- et hi cal Buddhi st t ext , one that gi ves

somewhat more at t ent i on t han t he f i r st - order works t osyst emat i cal l y expl ai ni ng why one shoul d do cert ai n act i on orr ef r ai n f r om ot her s" ( p. 277) . Wayman makes qui t e cl ear i n hi sI nt r oduct i on that Tsong- kha- pa was i nt er est ed not onl y i nt radi t i onal / / Vi naya/ / and / / "s i i l a/ / , but al so i n t hedevel opment of / / Vaj r ayaana/ / et hi cs.

I NDI VI DUALS I NTERESTED I N REVI EWI NG ANY OF THE ABOVE BOOKS SHOULDCONTACT THE EDI TORS AT J BE- ED@PSU. EDU


scholarly books on buddhist ethics published in the 1990s

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