On Buddhism being a simply a religion, and on its use of rational analysis as a
methoology:
"To understand Buddhism on its own terms, it is imperative that we in the West
recognize the cultural specificity of our terms _religion, philosophy, and
science_ and not assume from the outset that Buddhism will somehow naturally
conform to our linguistic categories and ideologies and ideological
assumptions. Buddhism clearly includes profoundly religious elements, as
outlined by Harvey, as well as strong philosophical themes and reasoning from
its inception. Most important for the theme of this volume, it has also, from
its very origins, established rigorous methods for experientially exploring the
personal and impersonal phenomena that make up the natural world. Such
techniques, many of which are designated by the English term meditation,
frequently entail careful observation followed by rational analysis. In short,
there are elements of Buddhist theory and practice that may be deemed
scientific, but in flatly classifying Buddhism as a religion both its
philosophical a
nd scientific features are simply overlooked.
(Wallace, Alan,'Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground',p.5)
So many wonderful books and so little time...
I include Harvey's description of religion which is also interesting:
"According to Van Harvey, we deem a system of belief and practice to be
religious if it expresses a dominant interest in certain universal and
elemental features of human existence as those features bear on the human
desire for liberation and authentic existence."
(Wallace, Alan,'Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground',p.4)
___
Moq_Discuss mailing list
Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
Archives:
http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
http://moq.org/md/archives.html
