ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 31, 2024
Becoming a Student, Remaining a Student, Never Less than a Student: A Special Issue in Honor of Charles Hallisey
Karen Derris, University of Redlands
Natalie Gummer, Beloit College
Maria Heim, Amherst College
This Special Issue in honor of Charles Hallisey is edited by three friends and colleagues who began studying with him in the 1990’s. We asked twenty-four contributors—drawn from Hallisey’s students and colleagues—to reflect in short essays on how Charles Hallisey’s work on “moral anthropology” has influenced their work in Buddhist ethics and literature. Hallisey’s felicitations of two of his own teachers begin the collection, and an Afterword by Wendy Doniger completes it. We also include a consolidated transcript based on two interviews with Hallisey conducted by Natalie Gummer in the Summer and Fall of 2023. This introduction sets out some of the interventions of Hallisey’s work in Buddhist ethics and the major themes of the contributors.
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ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 31, 2024
From Metaphors to Life in Tibetan Settlements and Back Again: Space, an Important Factor for Resilient Response to the Suffering Caused by Armed Conflict
Diane Denis
Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Katmandu University
This paper is concerned with the interface between Buddhism and humanitarian principles in the context of the forced displacement of civilians due to armed conflict. It seeks to highlight how humanitarian activities can be informed by a resilience-oriented language and by its landscape of dignity. At issue are not only the repercussions of wartime violence, but also the problems of how we conceive the harm done and its effects, and how we account (or not) for resilient responses. By drawing on the spiritual, philosophical, and psychological insights of Tibetan Buddhist textual traditions, some effects of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) are addressed. Inspired by Lewis’s ethnographic research in Tibetan settlements, this paper focuses on the metaphor of space and related life-enhancing “technologies.” In so doing, it also contributes to the discussions over some of the potential problems with the trauma/victim narrative as addressed by sociologist Fassin. The main aim is to contribute to scholarly discussions on forced displacement, and to inform aid agencies and policy-makers who can contribute to lessening the suffering of all those who may be involved or unwillingly caught in armed conflict.
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ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 31, 2024
Buddhism and Scepticism: Historical, Philosophical, and Comparative Perspectives. Edited by Oren Hanner. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 13. Bochum/Frieburg: Projekt Verlag, 2020, 183 pages, ISBN 978-3-89733-558-5 (E-Book), ISBN 978-3-89733-518-9 (hardback), $25.00.
Reviewed by Ronald S. Green
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ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 31, 2024
Xuedou’s 100 Odes to Old Cases: A Translation and Commentary. By Steven Heine. New York: Oxford University Press, 2024, ISBN 978-0197676998 (paperback), $29.95.
Reviewed by Dale Wright
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ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 31, 2024
Phases of the Buddhist Approach to the Environment
Johannes Cairns
University of Helsinki
Various typologies of Buddhist ecophilosophies have been proposed but they have overlooked temporal dynamics and the relationship between beliefs and practice. I address this research gap by proposing a three-tier diachronic scheme. The first premodern phase featured a mixed bag of attitudes and behaviors in relation to ecology, with some being supportive of environmental ethics and others subversive. The second phase arose with the early counterculture environmental movement and consisted of ecophilosophies and activism with limited influence. The third phase started in the mid-1990s with political acknowledgement of the ecocrisis and has gained momentum. It consists of global adoption of ecophilosophies and environmental practices, including conservative Asian organizations, and new radical ecology. The dynamics indicate that a tradition of accommodating to prevailing political paradigms may have obstructed Buddhist environmentalism in the past but could facilitate it in the future.
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