Buddhadasa
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About this ebook
To commemorate the life and spiritual teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu.
It has been 23 years since he departed this world.
BuddhadasaBhikku(1906-1993)isoneofthemostimportantBuddhistteachersofthetwentiethcentury.
AsthemeditationmasterofSuanMokkhMeditationCenterinChaiya,southernThailand,hepropagated
BuddhistphilosophyandmeditationpracticeamongtensofthousandsofwesternvisitorsfromNorth
America,EuropeandAustralia.
This book is available free of charge.
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Buddhadasa - J. Kumpiranonda
Introduction
Buddhadasa Bhikku (1906-1993) is one of the most important Buddhist teachers of the twentieth century. As the meditation master of Suan Mokkh Meditation Center in Chaiya, southern Thailand, he propagated Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice among tens of thousands of western visitors from North America, Europe and Australia.
When he passed away in 1993, he left behind a massive body of literary works in Thai language, explaining how traditional Buddhist teachings are relevant to the modern world. He inspired generations of teachers, intellectuals, and activists who have spread out across the world, to translate his teachings into practice. He is one of the founders of modern socially engaged Buddhism, and was a key person in the reformation of 20th century Thai Buddhism.
Buddhadasa was interested in -
1) Demythologized Buddhism, and used European rationalist standards emphasizing the rational dimensions of Buddhism; ignoring the metaphysical, cosmological elements of traditional Buddhism. He rejected superstition, magical rituals and ceremonies.
112) Focused on life in this world, action in the present material world, therefore saying Buddhism contributed to personal and social happiness in the present lifetime. This pointed out that Buddhism had economic and political value as part of the struggle for liberation from suffering.
3) He pointed out the centrality of nibbana in Buddha's teaching - nibbana is available to all people, - in the present, everyday life.
4) He applied Buddhist teaching, not only for personal happiness and liberation, but also for social harmony and peace. Buddha's teaching applied to structural violence.
Buddhadasa explained how the Buddha's traditional tenets are compatible with the modern world, and accessible to everyday people, who can attain the highest goals of Buddhist teachings.
During his single-minded career over the course of his long life, he developed a thorough reinterpretation of the entire body of Buddhist doctrine, both for personal liberation and social liberation.
During the first half of his life, Buddhadasa worked to reform Buddhism, strip away the superstitious practices, and make Buddha's teaching intellectually comprehensible by rational and scientific standards of modern scholarship. During the second half of his life, he turned his attention to reform of the decadent modern world according to the standards of Buddhist wisdom and compassion - as the world faced rapid social, economic, and cultural change.
He was interested in making Buddhism relevant and accessible to modern concerns, and to save Buddhism from the attacks of modern educated people who increasingly regarded Buddhism as irrelevant to modern concerns.
Before Buddhadasa, monks in Thailand were often preoccupied with ritual and ceremony that led to widespread alienation of the emerging masses of Thai people, who had been educated according to modern methods of western