ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 27, 2020
Violent Karma Stories in Contemporary Sinhala Buddhism
James Stewart
Deakin University
Buddhism is a religion normally respected for its message of non-violence. In this article I will discuss how images of violence are used as a means to compel Buddhists to act in accordance with Buddhist ethical principles. This will be shown through the examination of a contemporary newspaper series from the popular Sinhala language Lankādīpa Irida periodical. In it, we find a series of karma stories that illustrate how examples of violence can be found in modern Buddhistic narratives, both in written and pictorial forms. In this article it will be argued that these modern narratives have a precedent in much earlier, and in some cases ancient, Buddhist writings and art. I will argue that these modern narratives deviate from canonical karma stories in that they focus on the maturation of karma in this life while the former focus on the afterlife. The purpose of these modern stories is to assure the reader of the reality of karma and to entertain the reader with gruesome stories that feature the death of moral transgressors. Read article
ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 15, 2008
Did King Ajātasattu Confess to the Buddha, and did the Buddha Forgive Him?
Jayarava Michael Attwood
Cambridge Buddhist Centre
Is it possible to counteract the consequences of a moral transgression by publicly acknowledging it? When he reveals to the Buddha that he has killed his father, King Ajātasattu is said to “yathādhammaṃ paṭikaroti.” This has been interpreted as “making amends,” or as seeking (and receiving) “forgiveness” for his crime. Successfully translating this phrase into English requires that we reexamine etymology and dictionary definitions, question assumptions made by previous translators, and study the way that yathādhammaṃ paṭikaroti is used in context. We can better understand confession as a practice by locating it within the general Indian concern for ritual purity—ethicized by the Buddha—and showing that the early Buddhist doctrine of kamma allows for mitigation, though not eradication, of the consequences of actions under some circumstances.
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ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 12, 2005
Papers from the JBE Online conference
on “Revisioning Karma”
Honorary Chairman and Convener: Dale Wright
Occidental College, Los Angeles
Dale Wright
Occidental College
Martin Adam
University of Victoria
Barbra Clayton
Mt. Allison University
Bradford Cokelet
Northwestern University
Christian Coseru
College of Charleston
James Deitrick
University of Central Arkansas
Peter Hershock
East-West Center
Whitley Kaufman
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Damien Keown
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Jessica Main
McGill University
Eric Nelson
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Abraham Velez
Georgetown University
Brian Victoria
University of Adelaide
ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 1 1994
A Buddhist Ethic Without Karmic Rebirth?
Winston L. King
Vanderbilt University
Is a viable and authentic Buddhist ethic possible without the prospect of rebirth governed by one’s karmic past? This paper explores traditional and contemporary views on karma with a view to determining the importance of this doctrine for practical ethics in the West. The Theravāda emphasis on the personal nature of karma is discussed first, followed by a consideration of the evolution of a social dimension to the doctrine in the Mahāyāna. The latter development is attributed to the twin influences of the Bodhisattva ideal and the metaphysics of Nāgārjuna and Hua Yen. Following this survey of traditional perspectives, attention is turned for the greater part of the paper to a consideration of the relevance of the notion of karmic rebirth for Buddhist ethics in the West. The notion of “social kamma” advanced by Ken Jones in The Social Face of Buddhism is given critical consideration. The conclusion is that a doctrine of karmic rebirth is not essential to a viable and authentic Buddhist ethic in the West.
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