buddhist ethics: a bibliographical essay

40 1 Religious Studies Review Vol. 5, No. 11 January 1979

resentative of the other (x), he might at least have been expected to respond to Pannenberg’s recent critique of existentialist hermeneutics (Pannenberg, 1976, 162-79).

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197 1 ET Eberhard Bethge. Macmillan.

FREI, HANS W. 1957 “The Academic Tradition in Nineteenth-Century Pro- testant Theology.” In Paul Ramsey (ed.), Faith and Ethics: The Theology of H . Richard Niebuhr, 16-40. Harper 8c Row. 1974 The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative: A Study in Eighteenth and

Nineteenth Centuly Hermeneutics. Yale University Press.

‘1962, ‘1972 Paulus und Jesus: Eine Untersuchung zur Prazisier- ung der Frage nach dem Ursp-ung der Christologie. Hermeneu tische Untersuchungen zur Theologie, 2. Tubingen: Mohr (Siebeck). 1966, 1976 Gottes Sein ist im Werden: Verantwortliche Rede vom

Sein Gottes bei Karl Barth: Eine Paraphrase. Tubingen: Mohr

Evangelical Theology: An Introduction. Holt, Rinehart

BONHOEFFER, DIETRICH L.etters and Papers from Prison. Enlarged ed. Edited by

JONGEL, EBERHARD

(Siebeck). E T 1976a, The Doctrine of the Trinity: God’s Being is in Becoming. Eerdmans. 1971a Tod. Berlin and Stuttgart: Kreuz-Verlag. E T 1974, Death: The Riddle and the Mystely. Westminster. 1971b ET “God-as a Word of Our Language.” In Frederick Herzog (ed.), Theology of the Liberating Word, 25-45. Abingdon. 1972 Untenuegs zur Sache: Theologische Bemrkungen. Beitrage zur evangelischen Theologie, 61. Munich: Kaiser. 1974 ET See 1971a. 1976a ET See ‘1966. 1976b E T “The Relationship between ‘Economic’ and ‘Imma- nent’ Trinity” (summary). Theology Digest 24, 179-84. 1976c ET “The Truth of Life: Observations on Truth as the Interruption of the Continuity of Life.” In Richard W. A. McKinney (ed.), Creation, Christ and Culture: Studies in Honor of T . F. Torrance, 231-36. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. 1977 Gott als Geheimnis der Welt: Zur Begrundung der Theologie des Gekreuzigten im Streit zwischen Theismus und Atheismus. Tubingen: Mohr (Siebeck).

1974 ET and Criticism of Christian Theology. Harper 8c Row.

1976 ET Francis McDonagh. Westminster.

MOLTMANN, JURGEN

PANNENBERG, WOLFHART

The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foumiatwn

Theology and the Philosophy of Science. Translated by

Bibliography ~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~ ~~~

BUDDHIST ETHICS: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY Frank E . Reynolds, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637

Unfortunately, modern scholars have devoted relatively little attention to the study of Buddhist ethics. T h e works on the topic a re neither very extensive nor, for the most part, very impressive. Nevertheless, a body of relevant literature has been built u p over the years, and a number of the more important primary sources have been identified and translated. In the present essay I will survey these materials, concentrating on those which have appeared in English, but including references to a few French and German items. I will group these materials under four general headings: “Introductions and Comprehensive Studies,” “Ethics, Doc- trine, and Mythology,” “Ethics, Monasticism, and Society,” and “Selected Texts in Translation.”

INTRODUCTIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE STUDIES

A variety of scholars with different perspectives have at- tempted to provide succinct characterizations of Buddhist ethics. For the most part these short accounts have focused on the Buddhism of South and Southeast Asia and have been based primarily on the scriptures of the so-called Hinayana branch of the tradition (in our usage the term Hinayana, or Lesser Vehicle, covers the whole range of more conservative Buddhis t schools including the Theravada branch which has persisted in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia). Among these, David Kalupahana’s chapter

on “Morality and Ethics” in his Buddhist Philosophy: A Histori- cal Analysis (East-West Center Book; Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1976) and Richard Gombrich’s essay on “The Duty of a Buddhist According to the Pali Scriptures” in Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty and J. Duncan M. Derrett (eds.), The Concept of Duty in South Asia (School of Oriental and African Studies: Vekas Publishing House, 1978), 107- 18, provide sound orientations. T h e section on ethical discourses directed to the laity in Dipak K. Barua’s Analytical Study of the Four Nikaym (Calcutta: Rabindra Bharati Univer- sity, 1971), 55-78, and Gananath Obeysekere’s contribution on “Theodicy, Sin, and Salvation in a Sociology of Bud- dhism” in Edmund Leach (ed.), Dialectics in Practical Religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968), add dimensions that are sometimes neglected.

Other short studies which seek to typify the Buddhist ethical tradition include some written by outside scholars and some by spokesmen for the Theravada position. T h e former includeessays by E. J. Thomas entitled “The Basis of Buddhist Ethics,” Quest (London) 6 (1914-15); by Joel Kup- perman on “The Supramoral in Religious Ethics,”Journalof ReligiousEthics 1 (Fall 1973), 65-72; by I. C. Sharmaon “The Ethics of Buddhism,” Ethical Philosophies of India (2nd ed., ed. and rev. by S. M. Daugert; New York: Harper Torch- books, 1965); by N. H. Samtani on “The Conception of the Ideal in Man in the Pali Canon” in Ramchandra Pardeya

Vol. 5, No. 1 /January 1979 Religious Studies Review / 41

(ed.), Buddhist Studies in India (Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1975); and by David Bastrow on “Buddhist Ethics,” Religious Studies 5 (1969-70), 195-205. (In this connection see also Chris Gudmunsen’s critical response to Bastrow’s interpretation in an article entitled “Ethics Gets in the Way,” Reli- gious Studies 8/4 [December 19723, 311-18.) The more apologetic presentations include 0. H. DeA. Wijesekera, “Buddhist Ethics,” in Thera Nyanaponika (ed.), Pathways of Buddhist Thought (London: Allen and Unwin, 1971), 49-67; G. P. Maleasekera, “The Status of the Individual in Theravada Buddhism,” Philosophy East and West (hereafter PEW ) 14/2 (July 1964), 145-56; Shanti Bhikshu Shastri, “Buddhist Ethics and Social Ideals,” in Buddhism (Pantiala, India: Pujabi University, 1969); and K. N. Jayatilleke in a pamphlet, Ethics in Buddhist Perspective (Wheel Publication 175/76; Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1972).

Characterizations of Buddhist ethics have also been provided in studies which develop comparisons with other ethical traditions in India and the West. Richard Bush’s doctoral dissertation, “Foundations for Ethics in the Sacred Scriptures of Ancient Hinduism and Early Buddhism” (University of Chicago, 1960), and Orlan Lee’s excellent article, “From Acts of Non-Action to Acts: The Dialectical Basis for Social Withdrawal or Commitment to this World in the Buddhist Reformation,” History of Religwns 6/4 (May 1967), 273-302, consider Buddhist ethics in the context of Vedic-Hindu developments. Kashi Nath Upadhyaya has incorporated a chapter on ethics in his study of Early Bud- dhism and the Bhagavadgita (Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 197 I), and K. N. Jayatilleke has addressed similar issues in “Some Aspects of the Gita and Buddhist Ethics” (reprinted in Aspects of Buddhist Social Philosophy [Wheel Publication 128/29; Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 19691). Com- parisons with contemporary Western traditions have been undertaken by David Kalupahana, “The Notion of Suffer- ing in Early Buddhism Compared with Some Reflections of Early Wittgenstein,” PEW 1714 (October 1977), 423-32, and by Chris Gudmunsen in his book, Wittgenstein and Buddhism (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1977).

In addition to these Hinayana-oriented accounts there are also a few introductory characterizations that take Mahayana (Great Vehicle) developments more seriously into account. These include the rather lightweight discussions of Y. Krishnan in “Buddhism and Ethics,” East and West 6/4 (January 1956), 329-37; and Arthur Danto’s chapter on “Therapy and Theology in Buddhist Thought” in Mysticism and Morality (New York and London: Basic Books, 1972). However, there are a number of more substantial overviews of this type, including Mahasaru Anasaki’s entry, “Ethics and Morality,” in the Hustings Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 5; Surama Das Gupta’s three chapters on Buddhism in her Development of Moral Philosophy in India (Bombay: Orient Longmans, 196 l), 150-88; George Rupp’s study of “The Relationship between Nirvana and Samsara: An Essay in the Evolution of Buddhist Ethics,” PEW 21/1 (January 1971), 55-68; and Shoshen Miyamoto’s essay, “Freedom, Independence, and Peace in Buddhism,” PEW 1/4 (January 1952) and 213 (October 1952), 208-25.

Among the more lengthy and substantive studies we can identify a number of works based primarily on the early Hinayana texts. During the early decades of the twentieth century four books of this kind were produced: Louis de La

Vallee Poussin’s Le Morale Bouddhique (Paris: Nouvelle Li- brarie Nationale, 1927), which may be supplemented by his earlier series of lectures published as The Way to Nirvana (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 19 17); S. Tachi- bana’s Ethics of Buddhism (London: Oxford, 1926); W. Bohn’s Psychologie undEthik des Buddhismus (Grenzfragen des Nerven- und Seelenleben, 110; Munich: F. Bergmann, 1921); and Isaline B. Horner, The Early Buddhist Theory of Man Perfected (London: Williams and Norgate, 1936). More recently, three additional books have appeared: H. Sad- dhatissa’s Buddhist Ethics: Essence of Buddhism (New York: George Braziller, 1970); Winston King’s In Hope ofNibbana: An Essay on Theravada Ethics (LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 1964), which remains the best entree into Buddhist ethics for the English-language reader; and Richard Gombrich’s fascinating field study, Precept and Practice: Traditional Bud- dhzim in the Rural Highlands of Ceylon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971).

Unfortunately, none of these books gives serious attention to Mahayana ethics, and there are no works of equal scope or quality that do so. However, a few Mahayana- oriented studies provide a more complete picture. Probably the best single source is Har Dayal’s classic study, The Bodhisatva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature (Delhi: Moti- lal Barnasidass, 1932, reprinted 1970), especially 165-269. The ethical adaptations that took place as Buddhism developed its Chinese Mahayana forms are explored in Hajime Nakamura’s article, “The Influence of Confucian Ethics upon Chinese Translations of Buddhist Sutras,” Sino-Zndiun Studies 5 (1957), 156-70, and Kenneth Chen’s book, The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), especially the first chapter, “Ethical Life.” The particular kind of approach developed in the East Asian Chan-Zen tradition is discussed by D. T. Suzuki in “Ethics and Zen Buddhism,” in Ruth Nanda Anshen (ed.), Moral Principles of Action (New York: Harper, 1952), 606-16; by A. D. Brear in an article, “The Nature and Status of Moral Behavior in Zen Buddhist Tradition,” PEW 2414 (October 1974), 429-41; and by Douglas Fox in his short study, “Zen and Ethics: Dogen’s Synthesis,” PEW 21 (January 1971), 33-41. Sally Wang gives a superficial de- scription of a Tibetan tradition in “Can Man Go Beyond Ethics? The System of Padmasambhava,” Journal of Religious Ethics 3 (Spring 1975), 144-56.

ETHICS, DOCTRINE, AND MYTHOLOGY

Those who wish to pursue the study of Buddhist ethics in greater depth have at their disposal a number of studies on various aspects of the Buddhist teachings. In this section I will deal with works on the ethical relevance of basic Bud- dhist affirmations concerning the nature of reality, works that examine teachings concerned with specific modes of ethical activity, and studies devoted to the symbolic repre- sentations of good and evil.

From the earliest period of Buddhist history the doctrine of anatmun (no self) was a crucial component in Bud- dhist thought; and as the Mahayana tradition developed, this emphasis was supplemented by the doctrine of sunyata according to which emptiness or voidness is the basic charac- teristic of all phenomena. Moreover, Buddhists have consis- tently maintained that these teachings do not undercut ethi-

Vol. 5, No. 1 /January 1979 42 / Religious Studies Review

cal action, as their critics have claimed, but provide the only adequate basis for it. This matter has been broached by A. B. Jayasundra and Arya Dharma in two articles entitled “Anatta and Moral Responsibility,” in volumes 40 and 41 (1932, 1933) of Mahabodhi (Calcutta), 504-10,93-100. Paul Mus has provided crucial insights in the last section of his erudite and complex article, “The Thousand Armed Kan- non,” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies (Tokyo) 12/1 (January 1964), 1-3 1; Louis Gomez has taken up the question from a different perspective in “Emptiness and Moral Perfection,” PEW 23/3 (July 1973), 361-73; William La Fleur has considered the views of a modern Japanese philosopher in his article on “Buddhist Emptiness in the Ethics and Aesthetics of Watsuji Tatsuro,” Religious Studies 14 (1978), 237-50; and Alfred Bloom has explored some positive implications of the doctrine for contemporary society in “Nature and Environment,” Eastern Buddhist, n.s. 1/1 (May 1952), 115-29.

A second ethical conception to which Buddhists have attached great importance has been the doctrine of karma (moral action and its fruits). This doctrine has been presented by several modern scholars directly involved in Bud- dhist (especially Theravada) life; see, for example, Thera Narada, The Buddhist Doctrine of Rebirth (Colombo, 1936), and Thera Nyanaponika, Karma and Rebirth (Wheel Publica- tion, 9; Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1959). More distanced interpretations have been provided by Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids in Buddhism: A Study of the Buddhist Norm (Home University Library; London: Williams and Norgate, 1914), 107-49; by Vishwanath P. Varma in “Origins and Sociology of the Early Buddhist Philosophy of Moral De- terminism,” PEW 13/1 (1963), 25-47; by Bimala C. Law in the entry on “Karma” in The Cultural History ofIndia (2nd ed. rev. and enl.; 4 vols.; Calcutta: Ramakrishna Mission, 1953-62), Vol. 1, 537-46; by David Kalupahana in Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis (op. cit.), 44-55; and by James P. McDermott in “Developments in the Early Bud- dhist Concept of Kamma/Karma” (doctoral dissertation, Princeton University, 1970).

In addition to these studies, which provide a general orientation to the doctrine of karma, interested students may consult other articles devoted to particular karma-related issues such as Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids’ article, “On the Will in Buddhism,” HibbertJoumal38 (1939-40), 47-60; A. Kropatsch’s essay, “Thirst and the Question of Free Will,” in Mahabodhi 63 (1955), 325-32; and James McDer- mott’s article on the question “Is there Group Karma in Theravada Buddhism?” in Numen 23/1 (April 1976), 67-80. They may also consult the discussions which explore the relationship between the doctrine of karma and the teachings concerning anatman. These include Louis de La VallCe Poussin’s article, “La Negation de 1’2me et la doctrine de I’acte,” Journal Asiatique, 9th ser., Vol. 20 (September/Oc- tober 1902), 237-306, and continued in the same journal, 10th ser., Vol. 2 (November/December 1903), 357-449, as well as his other works previously cited. These discussions also include Maryla Falk‘s essay on “Nairatmya and Kar- man: The Life-long Problem of Louis de La Vallee Poussin,”

in Narendra Nath Law (ed.), Louis de La Vdle‘e Powsin Memo- rial Volume (Calcutta: Calcutta Oriental Press, 1940), 429-64, and Genjun K. Sasaki’s interpretation of “The Concept of Kamma in Buddhist Philosophy,” Oriens Extremus 3 (1956),

The ethical relevance of other aspects of the Buddhist analysis of existence has been treated in a variety of different contexts. David Kalupahana has discussed the ethical dimensions of the Buddhist teachings concerning causality in Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1975), especially pp. 125-32; and Hajime Nakamura has focused on a very different aspect of the subject in his discussion of pratityasamupada (codependent origination) in his article on “Interrelational Existence,” PEW 17 (1 967), 107-1 2. Herbert Guenther has discussed the ethical implications of the Buddhist analysis of the mental components of existence in chapter two of his Philosophy and Psychology in the Abhidharma (Berkeley: Sham- bala, 1976), 4-96; and Y. Karunadasa has achapter on “The Ethico-Philosophical Basis” in his very technical exploration of The Buddhist Analysis of Matter (Colombo: Department of Cultural Affairs, 1967), 165-77. Finally, two ethically oriented studies of the klesas (defilements or passions) have been provided by Reimon Yuki in an article entitled “The Construction of Fundamental Evil in Mahayana,” in Pro- ceedings of the IXth International Congress for the History of Religions-Tokyo and Kyoto I958 (Tokyo: Maruzen, 1960), and by Etienne Lamotte in an essay on the “Passions and Impregnation of Passions” contributed to Buddhist Studies in Honour of I . B. Horner, ed. by L. Cousins, A. Kunst, and K. Norman (Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1974).

Alongside their interpretation of the elements and dynamics of existence, Buddhists have advocated specific modes of ethical action. Among these modes of action, the moral precepts known as sila have always been of central importance. The discussions of sila which are presented in the comprehensive works on Buddhist ethics may be supplemented by the relevant section of Dipak K. Barua’s Analytical Study of the Four Nikayas (op. cit.), 121-42; by Bimala C. Law, “The Concept of Morality in Buddhism and Jainism,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay, n.s. 34-35 (1959-60), 1-21; and by Isaline B. Horner, The Basic Position of Sila (Colombo: Bauddha Sahitya Sabha, 1950). In addition, a number of studies have been focused on the first of the five basic precepts, the injunction to refrain from killing or inflicting injury. The subject has been treated in an article by Isaline B. Horner on “Early Buddhism and the Taking of Life” in the B.C. Law Commm- oration Volume, Part 1 (Calcutta, 1945); it has also been discussed in the context of books devoted to the study of the topic in the Indian tradition as a whole; see, for example, the chapters on “Buddhism” in Kshelya Walli, Ahimsa in Indian Thought (Varanasi: Bharata Manisha, 1974), 79-92, and the chapters on “The Buddha,” “Emperor Asoka,” and “The Progress of Buddhist Ahimsa” in George Kotturan, Ahimsa: Gautuma to Gandhi (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1973), 14-63. For interesting discussions of closely related topics see the excellent essay by Paul Demieville on “Le Boud- dhisme et le guerre,” Mdanges @bliks par l’lnstitut des Hautes Etudes Chinois 1 (1957), 347-85, as well as the articles by Jean Filliozat and Jan Yun-Hua, “Le Mort voluntaire par le feu et la tradition bouddhique indienne,” Journal Asiatique 25 1

185-204.


(1963), 2 1-5 1, and “Buddhist Self-Immolation in Medieval China,” History of Religions 4 (1965), 243-68.

Within the Buddhist tradition adherence to sila has generally been considered one of the primary means for acquiring merit and thereby assuring oneself a better condi- tion in this and future lives, while violations of sila have been considered a preeminent cause of increased suffering in this and future lives (all of this being worked out in accordance with karmic retribution). However, the topics of punya (merit) and papa (roughly rendered as demerit or sin) are by no means exhausted by the study of sila. The early teachings concerning the broader aspects of merit-making are considered by Roy Amore in his doctoral dissertation on “The Concept and Practice of Doing Merit in Early Theravada Buddhism” (Columbia University, 1970); later developments are discussed by John Strong in his original and creative doctoral dissertation on “Making Merit in the Asokavadana” (University of Chicago, 1977); by G. P. Malalasekera in his article on “Transfer of Merit in Ceylon- ese Buddhism,” PEW 17 (1967), 85-90; and by Richard Gombrich in a related essay, “Merit Transference in Sinha- lese Buddhism: A Case Study in the Interaction between Doctrine and Practice,” History of Religzons 11/2 (1971), 203-21. The negative aspect is highlighted by K. Kino in “The Problem of Sin in Indian Buddhism,” Journal oflndian and Buddhist Studies 6/1 (1958), 62-72; by Daigan and Alicia Matsunaga, The Buddhist Concept of Hell (New York: Philosophical Library, 1972); and by Wolfram Eberhart in his distinctive study of Guilt and Sin in Traditional China (Berkeley: University of California, 1967). Those who are seriously interested in the development of conceptions of merit and sin and their results will also want to consult an important but extremely difficult work by Paul Mus, La Lumihe sur les sk voies, tableau de la transmigration bouddhique (Traveaux et Memoires de 1’Institut d’Ethnologie, 35; Paris: University of Paris, 1939).

Buddhist conceptions of ethical activity expressed by such terms as metta (love) and karuna (compassion) have also been a focal point of interest among Buddhologists. The Theravada form of such conceptions has been studied by Harvey Aronson in his doctoral dissertation, “Love, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity in Theravada Buddhism” (University of Wisconsin, 1975), and by Phra Kantipalo in Tolerance: A Study from Buddhist Scrip- tures (London: Rider, 1964). Similar conceptions in the Mahayana tradition have been explored by Clarence Hamil- ton and Herbert Guenther in articles on “The Idea of Com- passion in Mahayana Buddhism,” Journal of the American Oriental Socie~y 70 (1950), 145-5 1, and “Buddhist sunyata and karuna,” Alyan Path 22 (1951), 406ff. A Tibetan perspective is presented by Natalie Maxwell in her doctoral dissertation, “Great Compassion: The Chief Cause of Bodhisatvas” (Uni- versity of Wisconsin, 1970).

Finally, a few Buddhist scholars have added still another dimension to the study of ethically relevant concepts by focusing their attention on certain aspects of Bud- dhist mythology and hagiography. In this connection considerable effort has been expended on descriptions and interpretations of figures who have positively exemplified Buddhist norms. For example, Larry McClung has highlighted the exemplary character of the Buddha’s last life prior to his final life as Gautama (see his doctoral disserta-

tion on the Mahavessantara Jataka, submitted to Princeton University, 1975); David Pierce has considered the broader corpus of stories concerning the Buddha’s previous lives in his essay, “The Middle Way Ethic in the Jatakas” (paper presented to the Faculty Seminar on Buddhism, Carleton College, 1968); and Robert Spencer has published an article, “Ethical Expression in a Burmese Jataka,” in American Folklore 79 (1966), 278-301. The ethical component in the broader bodhisatva (future Buddha) tradition has been highlighted in Walpole Rahula’s article on “L’ideal du Bodhisattva dans le Theravada et le Mahayana,” Journal Asiatique 259 (1971), 63-70; and the morally exemplary dimensions of the Mahayana bodhisatvas are more fully elaborated in the “Bosatsukai” entry in Hobogirin: Diction- naire Encyclopidique du Bouddhisme (Tokyo, 1930- ). As a kind of counterpoint to these studies of the exemplary morality of the Buddha and bodhisatvas, several scholars have focused attention on figures in the tradition who represent the epitome of evil and evildoing. The preeminent mythic embodiment of evil and temptation in the Buddhist context has been described by Ernst Windisch in his important but now-dated work, Maraund Buddha (Leipzig: S . Hirzel, 1895); by Trevor Ling in Buddhism and the Mythology of Evil (Lon- don: Allen and Unwin, 1962); and by James Boyd in Satan and Mara: Christian and Buddhist Symbols of Evil, which appeared as volume 27 of the Studies in the History of Reli- gions Series (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975); some of the key ideas in this book were previously presented by Boyd in “Symbols of Evil in Buddhism,” Journal of Asian Studies 3 1/1 (November 1971), 63-76. For a study of a more “historical” figure who came to serve as a Buddhist paradigm for a certain kind of evildoer see Biswadeb Mukerjee, Die Uber- lieferung von Devadatta, den Widersacher des Buddha in den kanonischen Schriften (Munich: Munchner Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, 1966).

ETHICS, MONASTICISM, AND SOCIETY

In the area of monastic and social ethics, the bibliographic problems are more acute. For the most part, the relevant discussions are not explicitly labeled by their authors as studies of ethics or morality, but appear rather in the context of studies of social and political philosophy or as a part of religiohistorical and anthropological interpretations. However, these discussions cannot be ignored by any scholar who seeks a reasonably comprehensive understanding of Buddhist ethics. Among the materials available I will first of all cite several selected studies that provide a basic overview of the major issues and perspectives; second, I will take note of some of the research that has been done on a variety of specialized topics; and third, I will refer to a number of discussions that focus on the interaction of Buddhist ethics with more recent historical developments.

In order to gain an overview of the ethical dimensions inherent in the Buddhist ideals of monastic and social life, a reader may consult works that deal with the two matters separately. The basic study on the ethical dimensions of the monastic community is John Holt’s as yet unpublished doctoral dissertation on “Bhikkhu Discipline: Salvation and Community in the Vinayapitaka” (University of Chicago, 1977), which may be supplemented by Melford Spiro’s chapter, “Monasticism I. The Normative Structure,” in

44 / Religious Studies Review Vol. 5, No. 1 /January 1979

Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and its Burmese Vicis- situdes (New York: Harper & Row, 1970), and Holmes Welch’s chapter, “Observance of the Rules,” in The Practice of Chinese Buddhism: 1900-1 950 (Cambridge: Harvard Uni- versity, 1967). The most accessible surveys highlighting the ethical ideals inherent in the early Buddhist views of society as a whole are Trevor Ling’s chapter on “The New Society” in The Buddha: Buddhist Civilization in India and Ceylon (New York: Charles Scribner, 1973), and Anthony K. Warder’s more substantial treatment in the chapter “Buddhism and Society” in Indian Buddhism (Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1970). Later developments in the area of societal ethics are explored in very different ways by Emanuel Sarkisyanz, Buddhist Backgrounds of the Burmese Revolution (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1965); by Melford Spiro in the concluding section of Buddhism and Society (op. cit.), 425-68; and by Cristoph von Furer Haimendorf in a chapter on the Sherpas (a tribal group in the Himalayan region of Nepal) and the Sinhalese in Morals and Merit: A Study of Values and Control in South Asian Societies (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,

However, despite the usefulness of considering monastic and social ideals and practice separately, the two are, in fact, intimately connected. This relationship has been explored by Frank E. Reynolds in the lead article in Reynolds, Obeyesekere, and Smith (eds.), Two Wheels of Dhamma: Es- says in the Theravada Tradition in India and Ceylon (AAR Monograph Series, 3; Chambersburg, PA: American Academy of Religion, 1972), 6-30; this line of interpretation is further refined and extended in an article by Reynolds and Regina T. Clifford, “Samgha, Society and National Inte- gration: Case Studies in Burma and Thailand,” which will appear in Theodore Ludwig and Frank E. Reynolds (eds.), Transitions and Transformations in the History of Religions (Leiden: E. J. Brill, forthcoming 1979). A closely related way of interpreting the ethical ideals involved in the interaction between the monastic community and society has been developed by Stanley J. Tambiah in World Conqueror and World Renouncer: A Study of Buddhism and Polity against a Historical Backdrop (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976) and critically evaluated in Reynolds’ lengthy review which will appear in the February 1979 issue of History of Religions.

Those who wish to pursue specific issues in the area of Buddhist social ethics have numerous resource- There are a variety of studies that refer to the ethical dimensions inherent in various Buddhist views of society, the state, and kingship. Relevant presentations of early Buddhist posi- tions on such matters are provided by 0. H. DeA. Wijesek- era in Buddhism and Society (Colombo: Bauddha Sahitya Sabha, 1951); by Vishwanath P. Varma in Studies in Hindu Political Thought and its Metaphysical Foundations (2nd rev. ed.; Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1959); see especially the chapters, “The Buddhist Metaphysics of Dharma,” “Psychological Foundations of the Buddhist Theory of’ Kingship,” and “The Sociology of Early Buddhist Ethics”; and by Balkrishna Gokhale in a series of short articles, “Dharma as a Political Concept in Early Buddhism,” Journal of Indian History 64/1 (November 1966), “The Early Bud- dhist View of the State,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 89/4 (October-December 1969), 731-38, and “Early Buddhist Kingship,” Journal of Asian Studies 2611 (Novem-

1967), 180-206.

ber 1966), 15-22. (A monograph by Siddi Butr-Indr entitled The Social Philosophy of Buddhism was published by Mahamakut University in 1973. However, I have not had an opportunity to see the book and therefore cannot be certain of its contents.) In addition, the historical life and ethical philosophy of King Asoka, the great Indian monarch who was converted to Buddhism during the third century B.C., have been investigated in older studies such as Vincent Smith’s Asoka (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920) and in more recent ones such as Balkrishna Gokhale’s Asoka Maurya (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1966).

The later development of ethically significant conceptions of society, state, and kingship has been surveyed by Richard Gard in his discussion of “Buddhism and Political Authority,” in Harold Laswell and Harlan Cleveland (eds.), The Ethic of Power (Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in Relation to the Democratic Way of Life, 16; New York: Harper, 1962), and by Joseph Kitagawa in his article on “Buddhism and Asian Politics” in Asian Survey 215 (July 1962), 1-11. The hagiographic paradigm of Asoka as the ideal king and maker of merit has been examined by John Strong in “Making Merit in the Asokavadana” (op. cit.). The structure and gradual transformations of the canonical and Asokan paradigms of kingship and society have been explored by a number of leading scholars in two books edited by Bardwell Smith, Buddhism and Legitimation of Power in Sri Lanka (see especially the articles by Regina Clifford and Smith, 36-72) and Buddhism and Legitimation of Power in Thailand, Laos, and Burma, both published in Chambers- burg, PA, by Anima Books in 1978. Similar transformations in different Mahayana contexts have been discussed by Paul Mus in a short but fascinating article on “Angkor vu du Japon,” FranceAsk 18 (1962), 521-30, and by Antonio Forte in an excellent but highly technical study of Political Propa- ganda and Ideology in China at the End of the 7th Century (Naples: Institute Universitario Orientale, 1976). The special problem of monastic involvement with the socio- political order is discussed in relation to Sri Lanka in Wal- pole Rahula’s rather polemic statement on The Heritageof the Bhikkhu (New York: Grove Press, 1974) and in relation to Chinese developments in Leon Hurvitz, “Render unto Caesar,” Sino-Indian Studies 513-4 (1957), 96-1 14.

Buddhist conceptions of law have received considerable attention from scholars sensitive to ethical issues. The area of law and political order was explored by U. N. Ghos- hal in History of Indian Political Ideas (Bombay: Oxford Uni- versity Press, 1959), especially 69-73, 263-65, 342-47, and 535, and in his article, “The Principle of the King’s Righ- teousness in the Pali Canon and the Jataka Commentary,” Indian Historical Quarterly 2312-3 (June-September 1956), 196-204; by Balkrishna Gokhale, “Dhammiko Dham- maraja: A Study of Buddhist Constitutional Concepts,” Silver Jubilee Commemoration Volume (Bombay: Indian Histor- ical Research Institute, 1953); by D. Mackenzie Brown, “Di- dactic Themes of Political Thought in the Jatakas,” Journal


of Onmtal Literature 6/2 (April 1955), 3-7; and by Ratilal Mehta, “Crime and Punishment in the Jatakas,” Indian His- torical Quarterly 1213 (September 1936), 432-42. Other aspects of Buddhist ethics related to law are taken up by K. N. Jayatilleke in the very substantial essay, “The Principle of International Law in Buddhist Doctrine,” Acadimie de Droit Internationale, Receuil des Cows 120 (1967), 441-567; by Hajime Nakamura in a discussion of “Indian and Buddhist Conceptions of Law” that is included in Edward Jurji (ed.), Religious Pluralism and World Community (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1969); and by Robert Lingat in “Evolution of the Concep- tion of Law in Burma and Siam,” Journal of the Siam Society 38 (January 1950), 9-31.

Topics of a more strictly sociological and economic character have also been studied with ethical issues in mind. For example, the very central Indian and Sinhalese prob- lematics of race and caste have been examined from the ideological point of view by G. P. Malalasekera and K. N. Jayatilleke in a monograph on Buddhism and the Race Ques- tion (Paris: UNESCO, 1958) and analyzed from an anthropological perspective by Stephen Kemper in his doctoral dissertation, “The Social Order of the Sinhalese Bud- dhist Sangha” (University of Chicago, 1973). To cite another sociological example, the questions of abortion and birth control have been dealt with in entries under those headings in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Colombo, 1961 - ) written by H. A. S. Van Zeyst and W. S. Karunaratne, and studied in a more empirical way by Trevor Ling in his article, “Buddhist Factors in Population Growth and Con- trol: A Survey Based on Thailand and Ceylon,” Population Studies 23/1 (March 1967), 53-60. In the economic sphere is E. F. Schumacher’s essay, “Buddhist Economics,” in Guy Wint (ed.), Asia: A Handbook (London: Anthony Blond, 1965), and Robert Miller has discussed the mechanism by which gifts are transformed into merit in a technical article, “Buddhist Monastic Economy: The Jisa Mechanism,” Com- parative Studies in Society and History 3 (1960-Sl), 427-38 (see also the supplementary comments by George Murphy and AndrC Bareau in the same issue, 439-49).’

Alongside the studies of traditional Buddhist orientations in social ethics, there is a considerable body of research that focuses on the interaction between these orientations and recent historical changes. Perhaps the most helpful overview of recent developments (including developments involving ethics) is provided by Heinrich Dumoulin and John C. Maraldo (eds.), BuddhismandtheModern World (New York: Macmillan, 1976). Other broad-ranging books which can be helpful in this respect are Ernst Benz, Buddhism or Communism: Which Holdr the Future of Asia?, translated by Richard and Clara Winston (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965); Donald Swearer, The Samghu in Transition (Philadel- phia: Westminster, 1970), and Jerold Schechter, The New Face of Buddha (New York: Coward-McCann, 1967). More topical studies which take a very broad perspective include Stanley J. Tambiah’s article on “Buddhism and This- Worldly Activity,” Modern Asian Studies 7/1 (1973), 1-20; an essay on “Buddhism and Revolution” by R. Puligandla and K. Puhakkha in PEW 20/4 (October 1970), 345-54; a normative statement by K. N. Jayatilleke on “Buddhist Relativ- ity and the One World Concept” in Edward Jurji (ed.), Religious Pluralism and World Community (op. cit.); and Joseph Kitagawa’s more historical and descriptive account, “Bud-

dhist Ethics and International Relations,” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 7 (1960), 779-67.

One of the most important dimensions of the interaction between Buddhist ethics and recent historical developments has been the effort of many Buddhists to articu- late a clearer and more effective ethical position. Various examples of this kind of endeavor in Sri Lanka have been considered by Gananath Obeyesekere in his essay on Anagarika Dharmapala in Frank E. Reynolds and Donald Capps (eds.), The Biographical Process: Essays in the History of Psychology of Religion (Religion and Reason Series, 1 1 ; The Hague: Mouton, 1976), 221-52; by Bardwell Smith in two articles entitled “Toward a Buddhist Anthropology: The Problem of the Secular,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 34/3 (September 1966), 203-13, and “Sinhalese Buddhism and the Dilemmas of Reinterpretation,” in Smith (ed.), Two Wheels ofDhamma (op. cit.); by Donald Swearer in an article on “Lay Buddhism and the Buddhist Revival in Ceylon,” Journal of the American A c d m y of Religion 3813 (September 1970), 255-75; and by Stephen Kemper in an essay on “Buddhism without Bhikkhus: The Sri Lanka Vin- aya Vardena Society,” in Bardwell Smith (ed.), Religion and Legztimation of Power in Sri Lanka (op. cit.), 2 12-35. Studies of similar efforts in other parts of Asia include Trevor Ling’s Buddha, Mum, and God (New York: St. Martin’s, 1966), especially 87-172, and George Totten’s important article, “Bud- dhism and Socialism in Japan and Burma,” Comparative Studies of Society and History 2 (1959-60), 293-304. Other examples include more narrowly focused studies such as Emanuel Sarkisyanz’ essay “On the Place of U Nu’s Socialism in Burma’s History of Ideas,” in Robert Sakai (ed.), Studies on Asia (Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1961); Bruce Morgan’s discussion of “Vocation of Monk and Layman: Signs of Change in Thai Buddhist Ethics,” in Bardwell Smith (ed.), Tradition and Change in Theravada Buddhism: Essays on Ceylon and Thailand in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Contributions to Asia Studies, 4; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1974); Holmes Welch’s chapter on “Interpreting Buddhist Doctrine” in Buddhism under M m (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972); and Werner Kohler’s study of Die Lotus-Lehre und die modernen Religionen in Japan (Zurich: Atlantis Verlag, 1962).

However, even more atte&on has been given to another aspect of the interaction between Buddhist ethics and recent historical changes, namely, the ways in which Buddhist ethical beliefs and values have influenced Bud- dhist societies, and particularly the ways in which they have facilitated or inhibited the achievement of national integra- tion and national development. Heinz Bechert provides a major study of the various Theravada countries in the first two volumes of his Buddhismus, S t a t und Gesellschaft in den Landern des Theravada Buddhismus (Schriften des Instituts fur Asienkunde in Hamburg, 18/1-2; Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1966, 1967); in the third volume (1973) he makes available a comprehensive bibliography which must be consulted by every serious researcher. Emanuel Sar- kisyanz has two articles, “The Social Ethics of Buddhism and the Socio-Economic Order of Southeast Asia,” Asian and African Studies (Jerusalem) 6 (1970), 7-21, and “Social Ethics of Theravada Buddhism in Relation to Socio-Economic De- velopment Problems in Southeast Asia,” in Bernhard Grossman (ed.), Southeast Asia in the Modern World (Schriften


des lnstituts fur Asienkunde in Hamburg, 33; Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1972). David Pfanner and Jasper Inger- sol1 have an essay on “Theravada Buddhism and Village Economic Behavior in Burma and Thailand” in the Journal ofAsian Studies 21 (1961-62), 341-61; and Eliezer Ayal com- pares “Value Systems and Economic Development in Thai- land and Japan,” in Robert Tilman (ed.), Man, State, and Society in Contemporary Southeast Asia (New York: Praeger, 1969).

Studies of this type have also been made of developments in particular Buddhist countries. Sri Lanka is examined in Michael Ames’s two articles on “Ideological and Social Change in Ceylon,” in Human Organization 13/1 (Spring 1963), and “Religion, Politics, and Economic De- velopment in Ceylon: An Interpretation of the Weber Thesis,” in Melford Spiro (ed.), Symposium on New Approaches to the Study of Religwn (Proceedings of the Annual Spring Meeting of the American Ethnological Society, Seattle, 1964); in Ediweera Sarachandra’s essay on “Traditional Values and the Modernization of a Buddhist Society: The Case of Ceylon,” in Robert Bellah (ed.), Religion and Progress in Modem Asia (New York: Free Press, 1965); and in the essay by Gananath Obeyesekere on “Religious Symbolism and Political Change in Ceylon,” in Smith (ed.), Two Wheels ofDhamma (op. cit.), 58-78. The Burmese situation is explored by Manning Nash, “Buddhist Revitalization in the Nation State: T h e Burmese Experience,” in Robert F. Spencer (ed.), Religion and Change in Contemporary Asia (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971), 105-22; by Melford Spiro, “Buddhism and Economic Saving in Burma,” American Anthropologzst 58 (1966), 1163-73; by Mya Muang, “Cultural Values and Economic Change in Burma,” in Robert Tilman (ed.), Man, State, and Society in Contempo- rary Southeast Asia (op. cit.); and by Trevor Ling, “Buddhist Values and the Burmese Economy,” Buddhist Studies in Hon- our of I . B . Homer (op. cit.), 105-18. Two excellent studies that deal with such issues in the Thai context are Stanley J. Tambiah’s essay on “The Persistence and Transformation of Tradition in Southeast Asia, with Special Reference to Thailand,” Daedalus 102/1 (Winter 1973), 55-84, and A. Thomas Kirsch’s analysis of “Economy, Polity, and Reli- gion in Thailand,” in Kirsch and Skinner (eds.), Change and Persistence in Thai Society (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975), 172-96. For a discussion of the very different relationship between the Buddhist ethos and modern developments in Japan see Robert Bellah’s important study, To- kugawa Religion: The Values of Pre-Industrial Japan (Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1957), which should be supplemented by Hajime Nakamura’s fascinating article on “Suzuki Shosan and the Spirit of Capitalism in Japanese Buddhism,” Monumenta Nipponica (Tokyo) 22/1 (1967), 1-14.

SELECTED TEXTS I N TRANSLATION

No survey of the resources available for the study of Bud- dhist ethics would be adequate without some reference to primary texts. Fortunately, there are four anthologies of translated passages which provide a preliminary overview of some of the most directly relevant material. The first two, compiled by Stephan Beyer (The Buddhist Experience: Sources and Interpretations [Belmont, CA: Dickenson, 19741) and by

Edward Conze (Buddhist Scriptures [Baltimore: Penguin, 1959]), cover the whole range of Buddhist traditions and have specific sections devoted to “Virtue” and “Morality,” respectively; the third, by Henry Clark Warren (Buddhism in Translation, republished in New York by Atheneum Books, 1963), is a collection of Theravada passages with relevant sections on “Karma and Rebirth” and “The Order”; and the fourth, by Samuel Bed ( A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese [London: Trubner, 1871]), includes a Mahayana version of the Pratimoksha, or monastic rule, as well as the ethically oriented “Sutra of Forty-Two Sections.” In addition, there is a variety of translations of full texts from the early centuries of Buddhist history, from the following two millennia of Buddhist flowering, and from the modern period.

The basic ethical ideals embedded in the early tradition can be discerned in a number of different sections selected from the canonical Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas. The crucial Pratimoksha segment of the Vinaya has been translated by Thera Nanamoli (Bangkok: Social Science Press, 1966); the Dhammapada has been translated by Irving Babbitt (New York: New Directions, reprinted 1965); and the lay- oriented “Sigalovada Sutta” has been translated by Thomas W. and Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids in Dialogues of the Buddha 3 (Sacred Books of the Buddhists, 4; London: Oxford University Press, 1921). Other texts which provide insight into the more personal side of early Buddhist ethics include the “Lesser Analysis of Deeds Sutta” and the “Great- er Analysis of Deeds Sutta,” translated by Isaline B. Horner in Middle Length Sayings 3 (Pali Text Society Translation Series [hereafter PTSTS], 31; London: Luzac, 1959); the “Boon of Boons Sutta” and “Dhammika’s Inquiry Sutta,” translated by Lord Chalmers in Buddha’s Teachings: Being the Sutta Nipata or Discourses Collection (Harvard Oriental Series, 37; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1932); and the “Greater Discourse at Assapura Sutta,” translated by Isaline B. Horner in Middle Length Sayings 1 (PTSTS, 29; London: Luzac, 1974). Those interested in the early Bud- dhist ideals of society and kingship should consult the “Ag- ganna Sutta” and the “Chakkwvatti Sihanada Sutta,” translated by Thomas W. and Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids in Dialogues of the Buddha 3 (op. cit.); and the Edicts of Asoka, translated by N. A. Nikom and Richard McKeon (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958, later reissued as a Phoenix paperback).

As Buddhism developed into a great pan-Asian religion, the emphasis on the ethical dimensions of the Buddha and bodhisatva ideals was greatly elaborated and enriched. In the TheravadaiPali tradition emphasis was placed on the accounts of the previous lives of the Gautama Buddha, such as the late canonical “Chronicles of Buddhas” and “Basket of Conduct,” translated by Isaline B. Horner in Minor An- thologies of the Pali Canon 3 (Sacred Books of the Buddhists, 3 1 ; London: Pali Text Society, 1975) and the later, famous


Mahavessantara Jutuka, translated by Richard Gombrich and Margaret Cone as The Pefect Generoszty of Prince Vessantara: A Buddhist Epic (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977). In the Mahayana tradition the attainment of Buddhahood became the accepted goal for everyone, and a vast body of relevant literature was generated. Perhaps the best single source is Santideva’s renowned and poetic Entering the Path of En- lightenment, translated by Marion Matics (New York: Mac- millan, 1970). However, this work can be usefully supplemented by the Vinaya-viniscaya-Upali-paripccha: EnquPte d‘Upali pour une extfgkse & la discipline (translated by Pierre Python and published in Paris by Adrien Maisonneuve, 1973) which lays out a distinctive patimoksha for those seek- ing to follow the bodhisatva path, and by chapters 18-30 of Le Traitk de la grande vertu & sagesse & Nagarjuna 2 (Louvain: Bibliothkque du Muskon, reprinted 1967), which provides a detailed discussion of the six perfections cultivated by bodhisutvas.

At the same time that the Buddha and bodhisatva ideals were developing, the ethical dimensions of Buddhist doctrine were also being elaborated and enriched. For example, in the Theravada/Pali tradition highly technical psycho- ethical analyses were pursued in texts such as those translated by Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids, A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics (3rd ed.; PTSTS, 41; London: Luzac, 1974); these analyses were carried further in such later commentaries and manuals as TheExpositor, translated by Pe Maung Tin (PTSTS, 8 and 9; London: Oxford University Press, 1920, 1921), and Buddhagosha’s famous Path of Purqication, translated by Thera Nanamoli (Berkeley: Shambala, 1976). The Theravadins have presented the more popular aspects of their ethical teachings in didactic texts such as the late canonical Stories of the Departed and Stories of the Mansions, translated by Isaline B. Horner in Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon 4 (2nd ed.; Sacred Books of the Buddhists, 30; London: Pali Text Society, 1974), and also in such later compendia as the fascinating, comprehensive Thai treatise on cosmology and ethics, The Three Worlds According to King Ruang (translated by Mani and Frank Rey- nolds, to be published by Berkeley Buddhist Publications, 1979). In addition, the Theravadins have depicted their version of the Buddhist social ideal in historiographic works such as the Mahuvamsa: The Great Chronicb of Ceylon, translated by Wilhelm Geiger (PTSTS, 3; London: Oxford Uni- versity Press, reprinted 1950) and also in cosmological accounts such as The Three Worlds According to King Ruang (previously cited; see especially chapter five on “The Realm of Men”).

In the Sanskrit and Mahayana traditions similar types of texts were produced. The tradition of psycho-ethical analysis was developed in a later Hinayana form in L‘Abhidhurmukosa de Vasubandhu, translated by Louis de La Vallee Poussin and republished as volume 16 of Mdanges ChinoisetBouddhigue by the Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinois (Brussels, 1971; see especially volumes 3 and 4 which contain chapters five and six on “Karma” and the “Anusayas”) and in Mahayana form in Hsuan Tsang’s The Doctrine of Mere Consciousness, translated by Wei Tat and published by Ch’eng Wei-shih Lun Publication Committee (Hong Kong, 1973) (see especially the section on causality).’ The Sanskrit and Mahayana tradition of more popular literature produced a wide variety of ethically relevant works,

including Asvagosha’s Sutrala7ltkara, translated by Eduard Huber (Paris: E. Leroux, 1908), Le Sactra &s Causes et des Effets du Bien et du Mal, translated by Robert Gauthiot and Paul Pelliot (2 vols. in 3; Paris: Paul Guenther, 1920-28), and the Tibetan Treasuly of Aphoristic Jewels, translated by E. James (Bloomington: University of Indiana, 1968). The socio-political element in the Mahayana ethic is exemplified in the “Sutra on Perfect Wisdom which Explains How Benevolent Kings May Protect their Country,” translated by Edward Conze, Richard Robinson, and Lewis Lancaster in Edward Conze (ed.), The Short Prajnafiaramita Texts (Lon- don: Luzac, 1974), 165-83, which should be read in conjunc- tion with the account of the text given in M. W. De Visser, Ancient Buddhism in Japan (2 vols.; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1935),

In addition to these classical Buddhist sources there are also accessible writings by twentieth-century Buddhists with strong ethical or moral dimensions. In India the twentieth- century revival of Buddhism has produced two very different but equally interesting documents that present an ethical perspective: P. Narasu Lakshmi’s discussion of The Es- sence of Buddhism (Madras: Srinivasa Varadchari, 1907) and B. K. Ambedker’s retelling of the life of the Buddha, The Buddha and his Dhamma (Bombay: People’s Education Soci- ety, 1957). The militant spirit and social orientation of the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka is vividly depicted in D. C. VQayavardhana, Revolt in the Temple (Colombo: Sinha, 1953); the more restrained, conservative tenor of the Thai Buddhist community is reflected in a sermon delivered by the head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy to King RamaVI (The Buddhist Attitude toward National Defence, translated by King Rama VI, published in Bangkok in 1916), and by the more recent writings of Bhikkhu Buddhadasa translated by Donald Swearer in Towards the Truth (Philadelphia: West- minster, 1971); the ethos of the lay-oriented Buddhist groups that have prospered in postwar Japan is reflected in the chapter on “A Humane Way to Live” in Daisaku Ikeda, Dzalogues on Lqe: Vol. &Buddhist Perspectives on Lqe and the Universe (Tokyo: Nachiren Shoshu International Center, 1976) and in Kimiko Okano, The Heart of a Bodhisatva (Yokahama, 1970).3 In addition to these separately published works, numerous articles of ethical relevance have appeared in various Buddhist periodicals, such as the Wheel series put out by the Buddhist Publication Society of Sri Lanka, the Mahabodhi journal of the Mahabodhi Society, and Young East, published in Tokyo (other periodicals with similar contents are listed in section 2.8.1 of Reynolds’ Guide to the Buddhist Religion previously cited).

Vol. 1, 1 16-89.

~~~ ~ ~

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

Although we have identified a number of secondary and primary sources for the study of Buddhist ethics, progress in the area has been rather limited. For the most part, Western scholars engaged in the historical or systematic study of ethics have virtually ignored the Buddhist tradition. And, from their side, Buddhologists have devoted relatively little attention to the study of the ethical dimensions of Buddhist expressions. However, there are indica- tions that this situation is beginning to change (to cite just two examples, there was a panel on Buddhist ethics at the November 1978 meeting of the American Academy of Reli-


gion, and several papers on the subject are being prepared for an upcoming issue of the Journal of Religzous Ethics). It is hoped that this bibliographic review will provide not only some assistance for those who have already taken up the task but also a way of access for others who may wish to become involved.

NOTES

There are a number of excellent empirical studies of Bud- dhism and the economic order in various historical contexts (see the references in Section 6.2.7 on “Buddhism and Economic Activ- ity” in Frank E. Reynolds, Guide to the Buddhist Religion, to be published by G. K. Hall in 1979). However, most of the available studies pay little or no attention to the ethical norms relevant to the economic activities they describe.

Those who read French should substitute the translation of Louis de La Vallee Poussin in Buddhica: Documents et Traveawc pour L’Etude du Bouddhisme, First Series: Me‘moires-Vol. I, 1928-29 (see especially 319-432 in fascicles 3 and 4).

The Okano volume is mentioned with some trepidation since I have not been able to examine it personally.

PERSON ALIA ~~

The full listing of scholars customarily published in this issue of the Review will appear in a subsequent issue.

Additions to the list include David L. Peterson, Univer- sity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, for the area of Prophecy and Prophetic Literature, and Sandra Berg, Uni- versity of Northern Iowa, for Exilic and Post-Exilic Litera- ture, both in the general area of Biblical and Related Studies. Frederick Denny, University of Colorado, will provide coverage in Islamic Ethics. Gillian Lindt, Columbia University, will be responsible for coverage of publications in the area Social-Scientific Study of Religion.

Notes on Recent Ftibfications

Primitive Religions IFA: AN EXPOSITION OF IFA LITERARY CORPUS. By Wande Abimbola. Ibadan: Oxford University Press, 1976. Pp. ix + 256. f6.75.

This study, together with the author’s Zfa Divination Poetry (New York: Nok Publishers, 1977; see RSR 3/4 [1977], 239), com- pletes the publication of the author’s excellent two-volume Ph.D. dissertation on the Ifa divination system among the Yoruba of western Nigeria. As Abimbola rightly observes, “Ifa is the Yoruba traditional thought system par excellence.” Abimbola’s authoritative analysis concentrates both upon the literary style of the texts and upon the ritual and metaphysical ideas contained within them. Probably the most sophisticated system of divination in the world, Ifa also needs to be examined in the context of its use in everyday life.

Benjamin Ray, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 22903

AFRICANS OF TWO WORLDS: THE DINKA IN AFRO-ARAB SUDAN. By Francis Mading Deng. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978. Pp. xx + 244. $15.00.

Those familiar with the classic anthropological works by E. E. Evans-Pritchard and Godfrey Lienhardt on Nuer and Dunka religions, will be interested in Francis Deng’s presentation of the Dinka’s “own view of their heritage and contemporary situation.” The book‘s central chapter deals with Dinka myths of creation which differ from those collected by Lienhardt. According to the author, they show that “Dinka mythology and philosophy bear a surprisingly close kinship with the universalizing scriptures of the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,” something the author ascribes to common cultural roots. In large part, the book shows how mythology reflects changing historical and political circumstances. Deng writes as a native son, and his eloquent ac-

count gives welcome insight “behind” the anthropological realities of Dinka life.

Benjamin Ray, University of Virgznia Charlottesuille, VA 22903

CHRISTIANITY AND IGBO CULTURE: A STUDY OF THE INTERACTION OF CHRISTIANITY AND IGBO CULTURE. By Edmund Ilogu. New York: Nok Publishers, 1974. Pp. xvi + 262. N.p.

As the author rightly maintains, “The future of Christianity in any part of Africa, will largely depend on how well we can graft the realities of this our [African] religious cultural past onto the vitality of the Christian present.” Canon Ilogu is concerned to show how some of the traditional religious and moral values of the Ibo of western Nigeria may be usefully joined to the Christian life. Like most other African churchmen, Canon Ilogu realizes that indi- genization is Christianity’s most urgent task in sub-Sahara Africa.


THE IMAGE OF GOD AMONG THE SOTHO-TSWANA. By Gabriel M. Setiloane. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema (distributed in the U.S. by ISBS, Inc., PO Box 555, Forest Grove, OR 97116), 1976. Pp. x + 298. $12.00.

The Sotho-Tswana, like most African Christians, interpret Christianity in substantially African terms. After describing the elements of traditional Sotho-Tswana religion, the author reviews with devastating effect the introduction of Christianity among the Sotho-Tswana. His argument for the “remythologizing” of Chris- tianity in African terms and for the serious theological considera- tion of Africanized Christianity will find a receptive audience in Africa and should be of importance to Western Christians as well.
