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Author: Matthew J. Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019063152X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Despite the recent upsurge of interest in comparative political theory, there has been virtually no serious examination of Buddhism by political philosophers in the past five decades. In part, this is because Buddhism is not typically seen as a school of political thought. However, as Matthew Moore argues, Buddhism simultaneously parallels and challenges many core assumptions and arguments in contemporary Western political theory. In brief, Western thinkers not only have a great deal to learn about Buddhism, they have a great deal to learn from it. To both incite and facilitate the process of Western theorists engaging with this neglected tradition, this book provides a detailed, critical reading of the key primary Buddhist texts, from the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha through the present day. It also discusses the relevant secondary literature on Buddhism and political theory (nearly all of it from disciplines other than political theory), as well as the literatures on particular issues addressed in the argument. Moore argues that Buddhist political thought rests on three core premises--that there is no self, that politics is of very limited importance in human life, and that normative beliefs and judgments represent practical advice about how to live a certain way, rather than being obligatory commands about how all persons must act. He compares Buddhist political theory to what he sees as Western analogues--Nietzsche's similar but crucially different theory of the self, Western theories of limited citizenship from Epicurus to John Howard Yoder, and to the Western tradition of immanence theories in ethics. This will be the first comprehensive treatment of Buddhism as political theory.
Author: Matthew J. Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019063152X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book
Book Description
Despite the recent upsurge of interest in comparative political theory, there has been virtually no serious examination of Buddhism by political philosophers in the past five decades. In part, this is because Buddhism is not typically seen as a school of political thought. However, as Matthew Moore argues, Buddhism simultaneously parallels and challenges many core assumptions and arguments in contemporary Western political theory. In brief, Western thinkers not only have a great deal to learn about Buddhism, they have a great deal to learn from it. To both incite and facilitate the process of Western theorists engaging with this neglected tradition, this book provides a detailed, critical reading of the key primary Buddhist texts, from the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha through the present day. It also discusses the relevant secondary literature on Buddhism and political theory (nearly all of it from disciplines other than political theory), as well as the literatures on particular issues addressed in the argument. Moore argues that Buddhist political thought rests on three core premises--that there is no self, that politics is of very limited importance in human life, and that normative beliefs and judgments represent practical advice about how to live a certain way, rather than being obligatory commands about how all persons must act. He compares Buddhist political theory to what he sees as Western analogues--Nietzsche's similar but crucially different theory of the self, Western theories of limited citizenship from Epicurus to John Howard Yoder, and to the Western tradition of immanence theories in ethics. This will be the first comprehensive treatment of Buddhism as political theory.
Author: Piyasena Dissanayake
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Buddhism and politics
Languages : en
Pages : 144
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Book Description
Author: Matthew J. Walton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781849048385
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Popular participation is one of the hallmarks of modern politics. So why have democracy and democratic norms generally failed to take root in the Theravada Buddhist countries of South and Southeast Asia? This book explores traditions of Buddhist political thought in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Matthew Walton considers each country's trajectory towards independence, the controversial issue of monastic political engagement, the influence of other political forces, and persistent attempts to restrict participation, even in contemporary democratic states. He also contextualises this landscape within the Theravada Buddhist arguments for and against greater political participation, probing the dualistic understanding of human nature that questions ability to self-govern while valuing moral improvement through free action. Secular rationales in favour of democracy are unlikely to be effective unless they consider the logic of the Theravada moral universe. To move forward, South Asian democracy supporters must not only heed Walton's assessment of the region's politico-religious nexus, but also engage with the fundamental ambivalence he identifies in Buddhist perspectives on the legitimacy of mass participation.
Author: Sin-wai Chan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042969797X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204
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Book Description
This book is a revised version of the doctoral thesis I presented to the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in 1977. It is basically an attempt to study the religious, cultural and political significance of Buddhism in late Ch'ing intellectual thought through an examination of the writings of a few influential figures like liang Ch'i-ch'ao, K'ang Yu-wei, Chang Ping-lin, and particularly T'an Ssu-t'ung. My findings reveal that Buddhism came to play a part in these reformers' thought as a result of several factors: the rekindled interest in Buddhism brought about through the efforts of laymen such as Yang Wen-hui, the need to find a counter-balance to Christianity, the search for a new unifying ideology for China as Confucianism crumbled before the challenge from the West, and the immense potentiality of Buddhism to cater for the intellectuals' diverse cultural and political purposes. The masterpiece of T'an Ssu-t'ung, entitled An Exposition of Benevolence (Jen-hsiieh), is chosen here to exemplify the use of Buddhism in late Ch'ing political thought. Buddhism not only served as the all-embracing school of his eclectic synthesis, it also formed the foundation of the major concepts in the treatise, and was closely related to his radical thinking.
Author: Matthew J. Walton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110715569X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243
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Book Description
Walton explains political dynamics in Myanmar through Buddhist thought, providing a conceptual framework for understanding Myanmar's ongoing political transition.
Author: Ian Harris
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134129467
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 481
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Book Description
Weber's claim that Buddhism is an otherworldly religion is only partially true. Early sources indicate that the Buddha was sometimes diverted from supramundane interests to dwell on a variety of politically-related matters. The significance of Asoka Maurya as a paradigm for later traditions of Buddhist kingship is also well-attested. However, there has been little scholarly effort to integrate findings on the extent to which Buddhism interacted with the political order in the classical and modern states of Theravada Asia into a wider, comparative study. This volume brings together the brightest minds in the study of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Their contributions create a more coherent account of the relations between Buddhism and political order in the late pre-modern and modern period by questioning the contested relationship between monastic and secular power. In doing so, they expand the very nature of what is known as the 'Theravada'. Buddhism, Power and Political Order offers new insights for scholars of Buddhism, and it will stimulate new debates.
Author: Kancha Ilaiah
Publisher: Popular Prakashan
ISBN: 9788185604442
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 268
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Book Description
It Is A Thought Provoking Work That Propounds A View Of Gautama Buddha And His Sangha That Will Change The Way We Think Of Both. The Authors Restore Buddha To His Positions As India`S Social Revolutionary.
Author: William J. Long
Publisher: Studies in Comparative Politic
ISBN: 019084339X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249
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Book Description
"Today, the majority of sovereign states can be described as 'democracies' in that they possess elected political leadership and some measure of commitment to the protection and promotion of individual rights and equality under law. Likewise, the economies of most democracies revolve around free trade, integrated into wider regional and global markets. Virtually all are organized around Western liberal principles and values. For some, these philosophical commitments are indigenous and longstanding, and for others they were imported later, often through colonization. This book asks how democratic governance and economic development differ when founded on Eastern, Buddhist principles, rather than Western, liberal, and Enlightenment values and beliefs. The small, remote country of Bhutan is the only democratic, market-based state that is rooted constitutionally and culturally in Mahayana Buddhist principles and ethics. In this book, it provides an alternate vision for what democratic states built on Eastern philosophy might look like. William Long argues that the differences in democratic and development systems between Western and Eastern approaches are profound and important. Bhutan's approach to democracy and development is based on the idea of 'Gross National Happiness' and offers a unique approach to the challenges of political polarization, economic inequality, and declining public trust in political institutions"--
Author: Melvin McLeod
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861712986
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
Mindful Politics goes beyond right and left to get to the heart of what matters, and how everyone can participate in real political change. Mindful Politics is not a typical political book. It's not written at fever pitch, it doesn’t employ the usual good vs. bad binary, it doesn't get hung up on specific issues or policies, and it's not even specifically "American." Instead, this timely book addresses the less-discussed but more important aspects of politics, such as whether religion — any religion, including Buddhism — has something to offer politics. It also discusses how dealing with emotional issues can help the activist move beyond the particulars of legislation and policy, so that personal growth and effective advocacy can occur together. Noted editor Melvin McLeod offers a brief, contextualizing introduction for each of these essays.
Author: Robert Wright
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439195471
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 336
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Book Description
From one of America’s most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer—and the reason we make other people suffer—is that we don’t see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness. In this “sublime” (The New Yorker), pathbreaking book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life—how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright’s landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world’s most skilled meditators. The result is a story that is “provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding” (The New York Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
