Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Peter Kirby · 10-13-2002, 08:35 PM

Where can I find a list of ancient and medieval Buddhist writings? Where can I find the text of these writings -- online or off? More complete is better.

thanks,
Peter Kirby

Proxima Centauri · 10-14-2002, 08:21 AM

Peter Kirby, you can find a list of Buddhist writings here. <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/" target="_blank">Buddhanet</a> is the most comprehensive list if Buddhist teachings on the Internet which I know of. The link will take you to the opening page of this website. There is an internal search engine on the top right hand corner of the page. Into the search engine type the word, sutra. This is the Buddhist term for their scriptures.

[ October 14, 2002: Message edited by: B.Shack ]

kalamasutta · 10-14-2002, 10:05 AM

Peter,

You can find a good selection of Theravada teachings/texts here......<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/" target="_blank">Accesstoinsight</a>

Proxima Centauri · 10-14-2002, 10:40 AM

'Access to Insight' might frighten you with the Buddhist equivalent of hell. Its called Niraya. This and the other woeful states where Buddhists believe you can be reborn are not eternal but last for an unimaginably long, frighteningly long finite time.

You can try web site. Its from a Buddhist group in my home town of Birmingham.

<a href="http://www.nandawon.demon.co.uk/vihara/intro00.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nandawon.demon.co.uk/vihara/intro00.htm</a>

There is a slight problem with studying it. This web site uses the language of Pali. Others sometimes use Sanskrit. For example, 'kamma' in Pali is, 'karma' in Sanskrit. Usually its possible to tell what the authors mean.

[ October 14, 2002: Message edited by: B.Shack ]

Answerer · 10-14-2002, 11:18 PM

Well, I recommend the book called 'Buddhist cosmology' written by two Japanese professors, Akira and Hajime. It is the best book which I had seen so far that give a great description of ancient Buddhism mythology. It is written in English, so I'm sure you have no difficulty in understanding it.

kalamasutta · 10-15-2002, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by B.Shack:
'Access to Insight' might frighten you with the Buddhist equivalent of hell. Its called Niraya. This and the other woeful states where Buddhists believe you can be reborn are not eternal but last for an unimaginably long, frighteningly long finite time.

The Theravada texts may also lead you astray regarding how the weather comes about........

"There are, bhikkhu, what are called wind-cloud devas. When it occurs to them 'let us revel in our own kind of delight', in accordance with their wish, it becomes windy. This, bhikkhu, is the cause and reason why it sometimes becomes windy." (Samyutta Nikaya, from the Theravada Pali canon) The same is repeated for various kinds of weather.

Yet the Theravada texts contain some of the most fundamental discourses/teachings of the Buddha for those who would seek for the ending of suffering. Those given on Access to Insight are worthy of attention........perhaps Peter Kirby can overcome any possible "fear of Niraya" and concentrate instead upon the heartwood of the dharma!

P.S. Despite my rather pretentious name, drawn from the famous sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya, I have no particular allegiance to Theravada.........I lean more towards the Pure Land, the "easy" path.

Proxima Centauri · 10-23-2002, 10:11 AM

I've decided to give you two more British/European websites dealing with Buddhism.
The first is a responsible, long established society, <a href="http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Buddhist Society UK</a>with its website.
You can e-mail them and ask them for the writings you want.
The second needs a warning. The FWBO is widely considered a harmful cult.

Responsible Buddhists say that they are not real Buddhists. Do not consider them representative of Buddhism.
Here is a .<a href="http://www.fwbo-files.com/" target="_blank">Buddhist Website</a> which warns about them.
Here is an <a href="http://www.fwbo-files.com/guardian_article_v2.htm" target="_blank">article</a> from the "Guardian" newspaper which warns about them.
The "Guardian" is a newspaper with a high reputation for reliability and liberal views.
I've read your papers, Peter Kirby. I know you're sensible. You should get on OK

[ October 23, 2002: Message edited by: B.Shack ]

Toto · 10-25-2002, 11:40 PM

I caught this review of a new book on Buddhism:

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/26/national/26BELI.html" target="_blank">The Roots of Today's Buddhism</a>

Quote:

Nontheistic, nondogmatic, nonviolent, emphasizing individual practice rather than institutional membership or obligations, the Buddhism expounded by, say, the Dalai Lama fits nicely with a modern, largely Western world view based on science and respect for the individual. Maybe that explains why it seems to attract so many physicists and psychotherapists.

Is this modernity surprising? Not really, because this Buddhism is itself a modern creation, a late-19th-century development deeply influenced by Western ideas even while emerging as a counterweight to Western colonial domination.

That, at any rate, is the intriguing point made by Donald S. Lopez Jr., a leading scholar of Buddhism, in his introduction to "A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West," just published by Beacon Press and excerpted in the fall issue of the Buddhist review Tricycle.

Professor Lopez, who teaches Buddhist and Tibetan studies at the University of Michigan, describes how a handful of cosmopolitan Buddhist intellectuals from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), China and Japan created this modern Buddhism. They were aided, curiously enough, by an American, Col. Henry Steel Olcott.

. . .

Toto · 10-26-2002, 09:23 AM

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0807012432/internetinfidelsA" target="_blank">A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West</a> by Donald S. Lopez

10-27-2002, 04:51 PM

"Professor Lopez, who teaches Buddhist and Tibetan studies at the University of Michigan, describes how a handful of cosmopolitan Buddhist intellectuals from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), China and Japan created this modern Buddhism. They were aided, curiously enough, by an American, Col. Henry Steel Olcott. "

My reply : Interesting ... it seems something finally managed to bring you Humans together afterall ... Maybe there is SOME glimpse of Hope left.

10-13-2002, 08:35 PM	#1
Peter Kirby Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: the reliquary of Ockham's razor Posts: 4,035	Buddhist Writings Where can I find a list of ancient and medieval Buddhist writings? Where can I find the text of these writings -- online or off? More complete is better. thanks, Peter Kirby

10-14-2002, 08:21 AM	#2
Proxima Centauri Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: England, the EU. Posts: 2,403	Peter Kirby, you can find a list of Buddhist writings here. <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/" target="_blank">Buddhanet</a> is the most comprehensive list if Buddhist teachings on the Internet which I know of. The link will take you to the opening page of this website. There is an internal search engine on the top right hand corner of the page. Into the search engine type the word, sutra. This is the Buddhist term for their scriptures. [ October 14, 2002: Message edited by: B.Shack ]</p>

10-14-2002, 10:40 AM	#4
Proxima Centauri Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: England, the EU. Posts: 2,403	'Access to Insight' might frighten you with the Buddhist equivalent of hell. Its called Niraya. This and the other woeful states where Buddhists believe you can be reborn are not eternal but last for an unimaginably long, frighteningly long finite time. You can try web site. Its from a Buddhist group in my home town of Birmingham. <a href="http://www.nandawon.demon.co.uk/vihara/intro00.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nandawon.demon.co.uk/vihara/intro00.htm</a> There is a slight problem with studying it. This web site uses the language of Pali. Others sometimes use Sanskrit. For example, 'kamma' in Pali is, 'karma' in Sanskrit. Usually its possible to tell what the authors mean. [ October 14, 2002: Message edited by: B.Shack ]</p>

10-23-2002, 10:11 AM	#7
Proxima Centauri Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: England, the EU. Posts: 2,403	I've decided to give you two more British/European websites dealing with Buddhism. The first is a responsible, long established society, <a href="http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Buddhist Society UK</a>with its website. You can e-mail them and ask them for the writings you want. The second needs a warning. The FWBO is widely considered a harmful cult. Responsible Buddhists say that they are not real Buddhists. Do not consider them representative of Buddhism. Here is a .<a href="http://www.fwbo-files.com/" target="_blank">Buddhist Website</a> which warns about them. Here is an <a href="http://www.fwbo-files.com/guardian_article_v2.htm" target="_blank">article</a> from the "Guardian" newspaper which warns about them. The "Guardian" is a newspaper with a high reputation for reliability and liberal views. I've read your papers, Peter Kirby. I know you're sensible. You should get on OK [ October 23, 2002: Message edited by: B.Shack ]</p>

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10-14-2002, 10:05 AM	#3
kalamasutta Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: England Posts: 34	Peter, You can find a good selection of Theravada teachings/texts here......<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/" target="_blank">Accesstoinsight</a>

10-14-2002, 11:18 PM	#5
Answerer Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 3,956	Well, I recommend the book called 'Buddhist cosmology' written by two Japanese professors, Akira and Hajime. It is the best book which I had seen so far that give a great description of ancient Buddhism mythology. It is written in English, so I'm sure you have no difficulty in understanding it.

10-26-2002, 09:23 AM	#9
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0807012432/internetinfidelsA" target="_blank">A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West</a> by Donald S. Lopez

10-27-2002, 04:51 PM	#10
Seraphim Guest Posts: n/a	"Professor Lopez, who teaches Buddhist and Tibetan studies at the University of Michigan, describes how a handful of cosmopolitan Buddhist intellectuals from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), China and Japan created this modern Buddhism. They were aided, curiously enough, by an American, Col. Henry Steel Olcott. " My reply : Interesting ... it seems something finally managed to bring you Humans together afterall ... Maybe there is SOME glimpse of Hope left.

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