Theravada Studies

Description

1. Theravada Buddhism: An Outline of History, Doctrines and Practice................................................................................. 1 2. Three ‘Endangered Species’ in Theravada Buddhist Studies 34 3. Personality Differences of Arahants and the Origins of Theravada; A Study of Two Great Elders of the Theravada Tradition: Mahakassapa and Ananda.................... 55 4. Authentication of the Scripture: A Study in the Theravada Hermeneutics......................................................... 82 5. Hermeneutics in Buddhism: A Historical and Philosophical Approach......................................................... 104 6. Saṅgīti and Sāmaggi: Communal Recitation and the Unity of the Sangha................................................................ 119 7. Buddhist Heritage of Sri Lanka: Two Lasting Contributions to World Buddhism....................................... 136 8. Explaining the Absence of One Single Revered Text in Theravada................................................................................ 152 9. The Buddha and Sangha: A Study of Their Inter-relation in Theravada Tradition........................................................... 162 10. The Mahasi Sayadaw Method of Vipassanā Meditation: An Abbreviated Path to Nirvana or a Misunderstanding? 179 11. ‘Return to lower state’ (hīnāyāvattana) and ‘straying’ (vibbhamana): A Study of the Practice of Leaving Monastic Life in Theravada Tradition................................... 203 12. Donation of Children and Wives and Related Matters in the Theravada Buddhist Ethics.............................................. 218 13. The Theravada Standpoint on Meat Eating.......................... 236 14. Socio-historical Approach to Buddhism, Buddhist Social Theory/Philosophy and Buddhist Social Activism: Towards Clarification of Some Theoretical Issues................ 252 15. Xuan Zang and Fa Hsien on the History and Religion of Sri Lanka ................................................................................. 268 16. Traditional Theravada Meditation and Its Modern-Era Suppression............................................................................. 278 17. Sermon Studies and Buddhism: A Case Study of Sri Lankan Preaching................................................................... 290 18. Merit in Buddhism: Concept and Adaptation in Ritual Buddhism................................................................................ 299