An Introduction to the Waharaka Buddhist Movement of Sri Lanka

The traditional Theravada interpretation of the Pali canon has been challenged by a burgeoning Buddhist movement in Sri Lanka that has gained traction in the past decade. Named eponymously after its late originator, the Buddhist monk Waharaka Abhayaratanālaṅkāra (‘Waharaka Thera’), the Waharaka movement claims that they have rediscovered the true teachings of the Buddha that has been corrupted for centuries. Finding legitimacy in the apparent awakened state (arahattā) of the Waharaka Thera, this interpretation rejects established etymologies of key Pali terms and redefines them using novel methods loosely based on contemporary Sinhala translations. Despite coming under intense criticism by traditional Buddhists, the movement continues to thrive especially among the educated urban middle class. This paper offers a brief introduction to the Waharaka movement.

Kathāvatthu (“Points of Controversy”) as a Primary Source of Early Buddhist Philosophy

This article focuses on the under-researched Buddhist text Kathāvatthu (“Points of Controversy”) and aims to better determine its place within Indian philosophy. We consider how the text was compiled, its contents, and main characteristics (such as its genre, its classification lists – mātika). To understand some of those characteristics, we suggest viewing them as shared with the whole Pali Canon (a large body of heterogeneous texts, of which the Kathāvatthu is part). This article also illustrates the issues of translating religious and philosophical texts from the Pāli language. Particularly, we highlight that the Kathāvatthu belongs to the part of Pāli Canon known as the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, and consider how this influences the philosophical discourse presented in this text. We analyze the historical and philosophical content of the Kathāvatthu. We argue that such content of this work is consistently revealed in the discussion of issues controversial for the schools of Early Buddhism. At the beginning of the text, there are the most significant questions for Early Buddhism (about the subject (pudgala), about the one who has reached perfection – arhat). As we get closer to the end of the text, the importance of the issues discussed diminishes. Its final part contains the latest questions. The discussion in each question depends on the logical method of the eight refutations, the use of lists (mātika), and the position of the Theravada school to which the final version of the text belongs. In the article, special attention is paid to the determination of the Kathāvatthu genre. We conclude that the genre of this work can be considered as a unique example of religious and philosophical dialogue in Early Buddhist literature.

The fivefold eye of the Buddha in Pāli Canon and Commentaries

In the early strata of Buddhist literature, the Buddha is depicted as the man perfected, who is sometimes referred as ‘one who endowed with eye’ (cakkhumanta). (Suttanipāta verses 160, 405 & 540; Dīghanikāya II 123, 166, 167 & 256; Dhammapāda verse 273). ‘Endowed with eyes’ could be interpreted as ‘spiritual insight’ or ‘wisdom’. In the later Pāli literature, this concept was allegorically referred to as ‘fivefold’. However, the epithet has not always been associated with the Buddha, and other mendicants were often referred to as cakkumanta (Dīghanikāya II 254; Dhammapāda verse 273). For example, in the Mahāsamaya sutta of Dīghanikāya, it had been used to describe monks in general. In the modern field of the Theravāda Buddhalogy, less attention has been given to the concept of the fivefold eye of the Buddha. An extensive search for scholarly works in this area will startle a serious researcher by its glaring omission. A brief mention is found in Toshiichi Endo’s book on ‘Buddha in Theravāda Buddhism: A Study of the Concept of Buddha in the Pāli Commentaries’ (2002). He touched on the concept as explained in the Pāli commentaries, skipping over the issue of origins and development of the concept. Therefore, my primary goal here is (i) to explore the concept of the fivefold eye of the Buddha in the Pāli commentaries, and (ii) to attempt to trace its origins and development. I argue that the fivefold eyes of the Buddha developed in the process of apotheosis of the Buddha, which was prompted by emerging challenges of different religious and social challenges, particularly devotionalism of Brahmanism. It is a textual study. The main source of this study is Pāli canon and commentaries. It also referred to the Mahāvastu-Avādana in order to show a historical development and a comparative analysis of the fivefold eyes of the Buddha.

Crowned Buddha of Amaravati and the Cakkavatti canonical concept

The article represents a kind of “postscriptum” to the author’s hypothesis about fundamental sources found in Pali canon and early post-canonic literature that gave birth to formation of the crowned Buddha image. This hypothesis underlies this study of early Buddhist iconography, in particular with respect to images belonging to the Amaravati school, which illustrate the relationship between the Buddha and Cakkavatti. The author substantiates the conclusion that the image of the crowned Buddha had emerged almost simultaneously with the anthropomorphic image of the Enlightened One.

Two Series of Kaludayi’s Verses in the Pali Commentaries

The Theragatha of the Khuddakanikaya has only ten stanzas (vv. 527–536) uttered by the Elder Kaludayi. However, the Madhuratthavilasini (Bv-a), the commentary to the Buddhavamsa preserves 64 stanzas ascribed to the Elder while the Visuddhajanavilasini (Ap-a), the commentary to the Apad?na quotes a different series consisting of 48 stanzas ascribed to him. It is probable that these two series contain ancient verses which could not be accommodated within the Pali canon and then continued to be preserved in the commentaries as extra-canonical texts. Yet some of the verses in these two series appear to be later compositions. The present article offers a literal translation of the Bv-a and the Ap-a verses, which have so far received no scholarly attention.

Numerical lists of foundational knowledge in early Chinese and early Buddhist traditions

In this paper, I compare the material in the Pāli canon of Theravada Buddhism, a textual tradition famous for the abundance of numerical lists, with certain chapters of the Yi Zhou shu 逸周書 and chapter “Hong fan” 洪範 of the Shang shu 尚書, where numerical lists are equally important. I propose a classification of the insufficiently studied numerical lists in the Yi Zhou shu and point out the divergences in them, suggesting that they were produced by competing communities that developed slightly discordant systems of knowledge. I compare the evolution of complex frameworks of numerical lists in the Buddhist traditions and in early China, arguing that both created comprehensive systems of knowledge-practice out of simpler lists. The peculiar form of numerical lists as vehicles of systematised knowledge-practice attested in both cultures may have originated in hierarchical communities with indisputable knowledge authority. Such communities are known to have existed in early Buddhism, and they have convincing parallels in China’s contemporary political practice, where numerical lists are used to unify the patterns of thinking and behaviour in hierarchical groups.

Az aszkézis módjai az Udumbarika-sutta három kínai fordításában

The Udumbarika-sutta is the 25th text of the Dīghanikāya in the Pāli Canon, and has three Chinese translations: 1. Youtanpoluo jing 優曇婆邏經 [T01n0026] (4th c.); 2. Santuona jing 散陀那經 [T01n0001p0047a17–49b25] (5th c.); 3. Nijutuo fanzhi jing 尼拘陀梵志經 [T01n0011p0223a09–p0223b28] (10th c.). In this paper I compare the three versions to show that they offer surprisingly different descriptions of ascetic practices; these differences may be traced back to the school affiliations of the translators.

A JANGADA DO SELF: USOS SOTERIOLÓGICOS DO EU E DO NÃO-EU NO BUDDHISMO ANTIGO

O objetivo deste artigo é sugerir que os ensinamentos Buddhistas sobreanattā(não-eu) não devem ser entendidos como uma negação categórica do eu, mas fazem parte de uma estratégia soteriológica comumente empregada pelo Buddha, de utilizar algo como ferramenta para o seu próprio fim. Tomando o kamma(ação) como o elemento central que estrutura todos os ensinamentos, podemos pensar na identificação do eu como um tipo de ação. Algumas instâncias desta ação serão hábeis e condutoras à libertação, e outras inábeis e condutoras ao sofrimento. Com isso em mente, este artigo irá analisar algumas ações inábeis do eu e do não-eu em suttasselecionados do Cânone Pali, mostrando como se encaixam na estratégia do Buddha de se utilizar de elementos como ferramentas para o abandono desses próprios elementos. Nessa perspectiva, o eu não é negado em absoluto desde o início do caminho, mas aprende-se a usa-lo de forma hábil como um meio de abandoná-lo.THE RAFT OF THE SELF: SOTERIOLOGICAL USES OF SELF AND NOT-SELF IN ANCIENT BUDDHISM ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to suggest that the Buddhist teachings on anattā (not-self) should not be understood as a categorical denial of the self, but constitute a soteriological strategy commonly employed by the Buddha, of using something as tool for its own demise.Taking kamma (action) as the main framework that structure all the other teachings, we can think of self-identification as a kind of action. Some instances of this action will be skillful and will lead to liberation, while others will be unskillful and will lead to suffering.With this in mind, the present article will analyze some skillful actions of self and not-self in selected suttas of the Pali canon, showing how they fit into the Buddha’s overall strategy of using elements as tools for their own demise. In this perspective, the self is not denied from the beginning of the path, but one learns how to use it skillfully in order to let go of it.

“Like a Mother Her Only Child”: Mothering in the Pāli Canon

This paper examines mothers and mothering in the Pāli canon and commentaries and contends that a mothering path emerges when the deeply patriarchal traditional hierarchy of values is challenged and, following Karen Derris, the unthoughts related to mothers and mothering, which this hierarchy of values generates, are also challenged. The article focuses on three main female characters, Māyā, Mahāpajāpatī, and Visākhā, whose paths as mothers or as lay followers of the Buddha who “stand in the position of a mother” constitute a deliberate soteriological path in the Pali Buddhist texts. It draws on contemporary Buddhist Studies feminist scholarship (in particular, the work of Karen Derris (2014) and Liz Wilson (2013)) as well as motherhood studies (in particular, Sara Ruddick’s (1989) work based on Adrienne Rich’s (1976) foundational distinction between motherhood as a patriarchal institution that oppresses women and mothering as women’s lived experience to outline how mothering activities in the Pāli canon can be discerned as a soteriological path that follows the same trajectory as the Buddha’s Bodhisatta path that begins with making a solemn vow (patthanā) and ends with awakening (nibbāna). I conclude that adopting this approach allows us to reenvisage activities and relationships usually understood as “this-worldly” in the canonical and commentarial Pāli texts, and in contemporary feminist scholarship, as the embodiment of a soteriology based on interdependence and compassionate care for others.