Roots of secular Buddhism: Thailand
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ค. 2018
- Some of the roots of secular Buddhism go back to Thailand. We'll look at two of the fascinating characters that were instrumental in modernizing elements of Thai belief and practice, even as some of that modernization remains controversial to this day.
Check out my Patreon page at / dougsseculardharma
Some source material:
Peter Jackson 1986 PhD diss: “Buddhadasa and Doctrinal Modernisation in Contemporary Thai Buddhism: A Social and Philosophical Analysis”. openresearch-repository.anu.e...
vividness.live/2011/07/05/the...
Thanks to Patrons:
Matthew Smith
Kathy Voldstad
Photo of King Mongkut from Wiki, copyright the Wellcome Images: wellcome.ac.uk/press-release/...
Photo of Buddhadasa from Wiki, courtesy of Santikaro, Liberation Park
#dougsseculardharma #buddhism #secularbuddhism
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Please visit the Secular Buddhist Association webpage!
secularbuddhism.org/
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I spent 6 months with
Ajahn Buddhadasa in 1981. However, I spent all my time in a Kuti (small wood shack on stilts for meditation) doing vipassana meditation. But, there was an atmosphere of openness in the forest monastery that allowed one to inquire more deeply. My monk neighbour was heavily into Krishnamurti and often brought me books to read. He was a bit lonely. Your video certainly brought back memories. Buddhadasa was very much like my Zen teacher, Roshi Robert Aitken. Your perspective of secular Buddhism which is a new concept for me perfectly describes my teachers and a new way for me to understand the transmissions I received. Later, I studied with Papaji, and Robert Adams, Advaita teachers who fit into the same category...
Interesting Ari V! One of my old Zen teachers for a short time came from Robert Aitken's Diamond Sangha, and somewhere I have one of his books on Zen that I enjoyed very much.
Though intuition I’ve found my way to the Thai Forest tradition which really resonates with me. As such I’ve just started studying Ajahn Buddhadasa’s teachings and I’m finding his teachings are very pragmatic just like the Buddha. As an independent Upasika I’m always looking for the essence of the teachings and so far I feel like Ajahn Buddhadasa is providing this. 🙏🏼
Buddhism therawadha never believed that the world is flat. The configuration of the world is not important for us as well as who creates it. The most thing to consider is how to attain the nirvana
Indeed so Vadel, the practice is most important. 🙏
In my younger years I was struggling with grasping Buddhist teachings. My mom gave me Aj. Buddhadasa’s Handbook on Mankind, which greatly laid out Buddhist teachings in a way that was accessible, and allowed for many themes to be explored in my own terms.
Interesting, thanks Trip!
Thank you for this. I think it's very important for all religions and religious people to understand their place in the more rational or academic world. The part about putting aside speculation is very interesting!
Yes, you're very welcome Mobey!
Rama IV was quite pivotal in Thailand's 'modernization'. In earlier times, when ascension to the throne meant the elimination of potential rivals (often brothers), those threats often chose the sanctuary of the monastery. While a bit late in time for that to have been a real possibility for Mongkut, it is an interesting thing to consider. Ironically Mongkut died after acquiring malaria while viewing an eclipse using modern scientific equipment near modern day HuaHin. Thanks for this info, has piqued my interest in finding any written commentaries/translations by Mongkut and Ajarn Buddhadhasa.
Interesting! 🙏
Ajahn Buddhadasa is indeed very non-traditional. I love that you mention him.
Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed. 🙂
Greetings from Thailand Doug!
Thanks a lot for making this video. Ajahn Buddhadasa teaching is not that well accepted here in Thailand as this country is dominated by a religion that is a mix of Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Tai folk and his teaching are very contradicts that kind of belief which I don't even know how to call it. However, I found it to be very interesting and useful for my practice.
I believe Ajahn Buddhadasa's teaching on the "Dharma Language vs Human Language" is influenced by a Zen Buddhism teaching and I'm really interested to learn more about the Zen practice but a bit struggling to find more information as in Thailand, we rarely got the Zen monastery and people here are really against this kind of Buddhism. Try to reach out online but most likely they will all recommend that I go meet a teacher face to face because it's crucial for the practice.
If you could help guide me on this will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Vee
Yes, particularly in Rinzai Zen having a teacher is essential. I think it's somewhat less essential in Sōtō Zen, but still important. I'm not sure what to suggest, since it depends on what you can find locally and I don't know that. There are of course many Zen temples worldwide that are online; I know a few in New York such as these: zmm.org/ , brooklynzen.org/ ... but they aren't very close to you.
Does Thai people really against Zen buddhism? I've never heard that before
@@mamishi6509 From my experience, yes.
Thank you, Doug!
My pleasure!
For somebody completely new to Buddhism, where would you recommend one start learning?
I have some playlists that might be helpful. For example, this one called "New to Buddhism": th-cam.com/play/PL0akoU_OszRjpRP1nwugCGAJF15oPbBLv.html
@@DougsDharma Thank you!
Informative
🙏😊
Ajahn Buddhadas does not believe in rebirth, here is a short from one of his writting. "For those people the doctrine of rebirth is the better option, because it discourages
wrong-doing and encourages the opposite - but it’s not the truth. If we use the
language of ultimate truth, then there isn’t anything that could be called a ‘self,’ a
‘person,’ there’s only the concocting of elements, of causes and conditions in
accordance with the law of nature. But when we mention this people tend to
misunderstand it, so we need to be careful, be reserved even with the ultimate truth,
and we should talk about such things only when it’s appropriate, only when the mind
of the listener is elevated enough to understand properly."
Yes I also read those kinds of paragraphs from Buddhadasa. I haven't read all his writings though, and I've seen other secondary source materials saying that it isn't 100% clear what he thought about rebirth. So I wanted at least not to be too dogmatic about his opinion. You may well be right though. 🙂
th-cam.com/video/inMAm5Qm-6Q/w-d-xo.html
i think it's not that easy to say he did not believe in rebirth. In short, he said it depended.
from the clip, he said people blamed him for saying 'die-then-no-bore' which he denied. but at the ultimate level, i think his saying was correspondent with, say, the quote above.
I live in Thailand and I see people praying to idols everywhere here.
Yes, it's a central part of a lot of traditional practice.
Nice sir
Thanks Santosh!
Hello from Thailand. Just found this video. I've read much text from many great teachers that sound secular although they do not specifically state that. If you interested maybe I will scan some of them that are in English and mail them to you.
Interesting! But no need to go to the trouble, maybe they are available on the internet somewhere.
@@DougsDharma www.watnyanaves.net
Found!!
On a side note.Although, Ajhan Bhuddhadasa work are focused on present and treats heaven and hell as a metaphor for a state of mind rather than literal interpretation. But I believe he stated explicitly in many of his work that he believe in literal rebirth.
Yes, Buddhism is science of life, not a sect or religion. Based firm on Vipassanaa: mindfulness of Body & mind.
🙏
This video is inaccurate. Buddhadasa did not reinterpret sutta. He explained the true meaning of sutta.
Thanks for your thoughts Dhammadhatu. 🙏
Completely agree. His articulation of awaking was explaining the text, this isn't some secular branch off. Its ironic the very misinterpretation he's warning against is being represented as "secular".
Dharma or Dhammam is Nature/Laws of mind body and world as well, can be felt in body, esp when 1 is moral and sits down quietly...
I love Buddhadasa. He is a mensch.
Namo buddhay
🙏😊
Don’t want to be a pedant, but it is now Myanmar.
Myanmar is the old Burma, not Thailand. 🙂
Doug's Dharma my bad I should have been clearer, I was referencing the fact you used the name Burma not Myanmar. 😁
Wierd. I thought Bhuddists believe that we are in hell now, the physical world. And reaching enlightenment is the way to escape the endless cycle of death and reincarnation.
Hi Zack, traditional Buddhists don't believe we are in hell; that is a lower plane of deprivation than the human realm. All of existence though (hell, heaven, etc.) are samsara. I have an earlier video on the traditional Buddhist cosmology you can see here: th-cam.com/video/JEwQvlfMUf8/w-d-xo.html
The buddha didnt believe in rebirth? Dude, what are you talking about? Have you read the Lotus Sutra?
I’m sorry? I don’t really understand your question. I’ve never claimed the Buddha didn’t believe in rebirth in any of my videos. Indeed, I’ve claimed the opposite. And the Lotus Sutra was composed in the centuries around the turn of the Common Era, so several centuries after the historical Buddha’s lifetime. So I’m not sure what bearing it would have on this question.
I believe It’s not to say he didn’t believe in rebirth, but that fixation on reincarnation does not contribute much to the practice of the Dharma.
I would imagine Buddha asking “should reincarnation be true or not true, how does knowledge of that help you on your spiritual path? Does it really make a difference on how you live your life in the present? How? Why?”
I personally believe the answer to reincarnation is something that is nice to know, but doesn’t really matter either way.
Obviously, buddhism, belongs to buddha,and his teachings- move away from that, - then it is something else, definetaly not buddhism.