Some remarks on research on gender roles in the textual sources of Buddhism

The presented paper reflects on the perspective of the field of Buddhist studies/Buddhology relating to research on gender roles, especially female roles in Buddhist traditions within the scope of textual study of sources. After briefly introducing the discipline and the history of research on gender within Buddhist studies, the article concentrates on the main shortcomings and also the current perspectives and postulates of contemporary research on gender roles in Buddhism

Lee Gi-Young on Buddhism and Modern Korean Buddhist Studies

This paper introduces Lee Gi-Young (李箕永, 1922-1996), Korea\u27s pre-eminent modern Buddhist scholar, who studied Buddhist research methodologies under Étienne Lamotte (1903-1983) at Leuven University in Belgium in the 1950s. Bul-Yeon reestablished research methodologies for Korean Buddhist studies in the modern era; he is the leading scholar on Won-hyo (元暁, 617-686), a famous high priest in the seventh century. Bul-Yeon devoted himself to the creative interpretation of the Sutras and practical Buddhist activities; "piety and seeking the truth," which is considered contrary to "historical empirical studies focusing on objectified literature," and yet which is fused in Bul-Yeon. The paper addresses the introspective nature of Buddhist studies today, the lack of practice and faith in Buddhism worldwide, and implications for Buddhist studies and the practices of Bul-Yeon Lee Gi-Young

The Blind Arhat and the Old Baby: Liberation by Wisdom, the Dry-Insight Practitioner, and the Pairing of Calm and Insight

The distinction between “calm” (Pāli: samatha; Sanskrit: śamatha) and “insight” (P: vipassanā; Skt: vipaśyanā) is one of several ostensibly related dichotomies that have exerted a significant influence on classical and contemporary understandings of Buddhist practices, institutions, and history, as well as of the Buddhist path(s) to and conception(s) of awakening. However, scholars continue to debate whether Buddhists ever conceptualized two (or more) different paths or conceptions of this goal. Much of the debate has been based on the interpretation of doctrinal and theoretical materials. This essay takes as its starting point the concept of “liberation by wisdom” (P: paññāvimutti; Skt: prajñāvimukti) and the figure of the “dry-insight practitioner” (P: sukkhavipassaka), and asks how Buddhist narratives, in particular, characterize these key ideas, as well as the relationship between calm and insight. It focuses primarily on two narratives: the story of Cakkhupāla, the first story of the Pāli Dhammapada commentary, and the story of Sthavira in the Sanskrit Avadānaśataka. It argues that these stories do not support a clear opposition between calm and insight as competing forms of life, but rather point to their combination on the path to awakening, or to the possibility that insight meditation can sometimes stand for the notion of intense practice. Both stories reflect an overarching “ascetic” ethos or lifestyle, but as stories they also project narrative worlds and invite us, the audience, to consider what it would mean to take such worlds seriously as our real world of lived human experience. In this way, the essay tries to bridge a divide that has often been maintained between doctrine and narrative, and thereby offers a fresh look at an influential distinction (or set of distinctions) in the history and theory of Buddhist practice

On Buddhism, Divination and the Worldly Arts: Textual Evidence from the Theravāda Tradition

This essay attends to the sticky web of indigenous terminology concerning divination and other so-called “mundane” or “worldly” arts, focusing primarily upon Buddhist canonical texts preserved in Pāli, augmented by references to commentarial and exegetical literature. It asks: How have some Buddhists, as evinced in this canonical and exegetical literature, understood the broader category of “worldly arts,” which includes techniques we call divinatory? Are Buddhists discouraged from engaging with such practices, as has been commonly asserted? If so, then for whom, specifically, are such words of discouragement primarily meant? And why, specifically, are such practices discouraged? Are the penalties for practicing them severe or lenient? Are there any exceptions or instances when practicing worldly arts is tolerated or encouraged? And what might we conclude, more broadly, from the textual evidence? These tricky questions bear particularly upon the complex, legalistic body of Buddhist monastic rules and their interpretation, as well as the interpretation of a few passages from Buddhist canonical literature that are arguably less straightforward than has sometimes been assumed or asserted

The Dhāraṇī of Mahāvyutpatti #748: Origin and Formation

This paper aims to identify the sources of a list of twelve dhāraṇīs included in Rubric 748 of the Mahāvyutpatti. It produces evidence connecting this group with three similar dhāraṇī enumerations transmittted in the Ratnamegha, Tathāgataguṇajñānācintyaviṣayāvatāranirdeśa and Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa. The exposition of the Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa is particularly valuable since it preserves one of the earliest and most detailed discussions of dhāraṇī practice in Mahāyāna sūtras. The Ratnamegha is closest to the Mahāvyutpatti and thus the most likely source for its list