ISSN 1076-9005 Volume 29, 2022 Buddhist Ethics: A Philosophical Exploration. By Jay L. Garfield. Buddhist Philosophy for Philosophers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021, xiv + 231 pages, ISBN 978-0-19-090763-1 (hardback), $99/978-0-19-090764-8 (paperback), $24.95/978-0-19-090766-2 (e-book), $16.99. Reviewed by Amod Lele Read article.
ISSN 1076-9005 Volume 26, 2019 Disengaged Buddhism Amod Lele Boston University Contemporary engaged Buddhist scholars typically claim either that Buddhism always endorsed social activism, or that its non-endorsement of such activism represented an unwitting lack of progress. This article examines several classical South Asian Buddhist texts that explicitly reject social and political activism. These texts … Continue reading Disengaged Buddhism
ISSN 1076-9005 Volume 22, 2015 The Metaphysical Basis of Śāntideva’s Ethics Amod Lele Boston University Western Buddhists often believe and proclaim that metaphysical speculation is irrelevant to Buddhist ethics or practice. This view is problematic even with respect to early Buddhism, and cannot be sustained regarding later Indian Buddhists. In Śāntideva’s famous Bodhicaryāvatāra, multiple claims … Continue reading The Metaphysical Basis of Śāntideva’s Ethics
ISSN 1076-9005 Volume 20, 2013 The Compassionate Gift of Vice: Śāntideva on Gifts, Altruism, and Poverty Amod Lele Boston University The Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker Śāntideva tells his audience to give out alcohol, weapons and sex for reasons of Buddhist compassion, though he repeatedly warns of the dangers of all these three. The article shows how … Continue reading Śāntideva on Gifts, Altruism, and Poverty