The aim of the dissertation is to challenge perceptions of Kafka’s work as negative by developing more constructive readings of the accounts of suffering and abandonment which form an undeniable feature of his writing. The term ‘Kafkaesque’ is now in widespread use to indicate a situation or event characterised by frustration and torment, but this designation paints an unnecessarily bleak picture of Kafka’s fictional landscapes. One path towards a brighter view of his art is offered by Buddhism, which puts suffering at the centre of its philosophy and yet develops a positive spiritual outlook on life. It does so by giving clear reasons for suffering based on natural causes, leaving no room for mysterious or irresistible forces. From a Buddhist standpoint, the most formidable barrier to alleviating suffering is not presented by a powerful Court or an impregnable Castle, but by the human self or – more precisely – attachment to self. The Buddhist approach to Kafka reads his works in two complementary ways, for content (information) and form (expression). The first examines the close parallels between key Buddhist teachings (such as on suffering and emptiness) and predominant themes from Kafka’s writing (such as futile quests after recognition and justice); the second explores the gaps and paradoxes that confront Kafka’s characters and readers, and measures them against the absurd, nonsensical utterances (koans) used by Zen masters to nonplus their students and loosen their dependency on conventional modes of thinking. In this way, it will be shown that the suffering Kafka describes so relentlessly can be traced back to personal attachments rather than intervention by external agencies.

Dharmapradipikava(Dhpd) of Gurulugomi claims a most outstanding place in Sinhalese literature both in its subject matter and linguistic content. The other name given to this work by its author is MAHÄBODHIVAMSA-PARIKATHAVA as may be seen from the colophon. Dhpd (a torch of religious truths) is the special name of this work given eulogistically by its author as an estimate of its value in expounding Buddhist Doctrine, and Mahabodhi-vamsaparikathava is the ordinary name explanatory of its nature as it is based on the Pali prose work Mahabodhivamsa (MBV).

The intention of this thesis is to make a critical examination of the life of Välivita Saranankara and the revival of Buddhism during his time. As a background to the main theme, a short account of the political history of the Kandyan Kingdom (1473-1815. A. C. ) is given. The most striking phenomenon of this period is the rapid decline of the Buddhist Order in spite of the efforts made by Vikramabähu I and Vimaladharmad-urya I and II to revive it. The degeneration of both Fraternities, Grämaväsa and Vanaväsa, was so great that the upasampad3, twice introduced from Arakan, disappeared and subsequently there remained only a group of immoral monks. The causes for this decline - the political unrest, hostilities of Rajasimha I. the Roman Catholic influence, the caste system and the social upheaval caused by the Tamil immigrants who introduced various cults and occult practices - are discussed here in detail. Although Välivita Saranankara's life is generally known through the Sa1garäjavata and the SanOharäiasädhucariyä, many facts hitherto unknown about his life have been revealed here with the aid of reliable manuscripts and historical documents, Whereas thebiographies of Saranankara, mentioned above glorify his personality, here in this thesis, it is critically examined. The death of Gascon and of Saranainkara' s teacher, and the role played by Gonzalvez in connection with that incident, not clearly understood up to now, have been explained in detail. The cultural relation between Siam and Ceylon is also discussed as it was at this time that the Upasampadä was re-introduced by the Siamese monks headed by Upäli Thera, at the request of Saranankara. The religious and literary revival brought about by Saranankara and his chief disciples, how it spread throughout Ceylon and how far he was successful in his attempts to wipe out the rigid caste system, cults and occult practices and bring about a complete social and religious reformation, have been finally dealt with.

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This thesis investigates the Eighth Karmapa (1507-1554) and his Great Seal instructions. It demonstrates that the Eighth Karmapa was not only one of the most significant scholars of his school, but one who mastered and taught its highest meditational precepts. The thesis argues that analysing his Great Seal teachings through studying instruction-related genres in their historical, doctrinal, and literary contexts reveals a pedagogical pragmatism. It is more useful to view the Great Seal as an independent key instruction that the guru adapts to the students' needs, rather than a fixed doctrine. The thesis contributes significantly to the religious history of Tibet by interpreting a number of previously unstudied Tibetan sources. The main textual sources are selected spiritual biographies (rnam thar), question and answer texts (dris lari), meditation instructions (khrid), esoteric precepts (man ngag), and advices (slab byd) from the Collected Works of the Eighth Karmapa (2000-2004).

This thesis explores the living tradition of Abhidhamma in Burmese Buddhism, examining its pervasive role across all dimensions of Buddhist practice in Burma. Until very recently, little attention has been paid to Theravāda Abhidhamma in Western scholarship, and virtually none has been written on it as a living tradition. In this thesis I focus on the Paṭṭhāna, the seventh text of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, which deals with the functioning of causality and uses the mathematics of enumeration and combinatorics to do so. This is the first thesis to undertake a critical, in-depth study of Paṭṭhāna both as an analytical system and a living practice. This thesis applies multiple research methods to analyse the theoretical aspects of Abhidhamma and its study, and to explore the living expressions of Abhidhamma, revealing its ongoing and multidimensional significance in Burmese Buddhism. Chapter One draws together different ways of explaining causality in Theravāda, exploring how the Paṭṭhāna provides a more complex and comprehensive explanation than found in the more familiar, more studied doctrines of kamma and dependent origination. Chapter Two explores the fundamental and pervasive importance of Abhidhamma within Burmese Buddhism historically and in the present, relating its significance to the sociopolitical context of Burma. Chapter Three traces a long history of extensive composition of Abhidhamma and Paṭṭhāna literature in Burma, paying attention to specific works by well known abhidhamma teachers and different branches of Abhidhamma learning and teaching. Chapter Four analyses the pedagogical methods and memorisation techniques applied in Paṭṭhāna study and gives detailed explanation of the individual conditions themselves. Chapter Five examines the Paṭṭhāna through analysis of the mathematics, demonstrating not only the types of mathematics being used to further understand the nature and depths of causality, but also close parallels between the mathematics of the Paṭṭhāna and the mathematics of ‘combinatorics’.

This dissertation examines how changes at the beginning of the twentieth century in China affected the discourse around Buddhist meditation practices. It has been argued that such changes led to a move from Buddhism as 'religion' to Buddhism as 'philosophy' but also that Buddhist householders emphasised meditative experience as a source of authority. This dissertation seeks to clarify the position of a number of key Chinese Buddhist figures of the Republican period in order to add further detail to the debate. The figures examined include the monks Taixu, Yuanying, Xuyun, and Laiguo, and the Buddhist householders Fan Gunong and Jiang Weiqiao, all of whom were influential figures during the period in question.

No description available.

Self and No Self: Buddhism as Pedagogy in Contemporary Performance Art is a practice-based investigation into the development of an autobiographical performance art practice based on Buddhist meditation. Specifically, the performance work, entitled Sutra: Five Works for Performance, is a response to trauma testimony and the performance art event as a catalyst for transformation. The performance projects are examined alongside literary and performance theory in order to further understand the ways in which Buddhism is absorbed and expressed in contemporary Western performance culture. The practical work asks the question, What is the role of Buddhist practice in the creation and performance of autobiography? The thesis investigates this further through an examination of literary theory that pertains to Sutra such as trauma and affect theory. Specifically, the work of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick contributes to an understanding of the workings of the genre through her notion of the ‘beside.’ Contemporary artists whose work is directly influenced by Buddhist philosophy and/or practice is also examined as a way of foregrounding the intertextuality of the genre. Beginning with John Cage as the ‘father’ of Buddhist-influenced performance art, artists include the Happenings and Fluxus movements, Marina Abramović, Meredith Monk and Ann Hamilton as exemplars in the field. To the degree that contemporary Western Buddhist art can be said to reflect as well as influence new expressions of religious faith, it can also be said that they question fixed views of institutionalized religion and foster inter-religious as well as secular dialogue on shared humanitarian principles which are the key components of Buddhistinfluenced arts praxis. It makes the conclusion that the framing of Buddhistinfluenced performance art within the context of contemporary Western society takes on an implicit pedagogical value beyond mere entertainment or commodified experience.

This thesis presents a sustained engagement with the notion of postsecularism. While increasingly influential, this idea remains conceptually underdeveloped and empirically untested. The interpretation developed herein explores postsecularism as an ethos of awakening to the persistence of certain widely purported anxieties of the secular age, and to the possibility of their transcendence. On this understanding 'postsecularism' signifies something genuinely distinctive: irreducible to either the 'revival' or the 'privatization' of religion, or to the perpetuation of secularization. Whether or not it will thrive as a conceptual contribution remains to be seen, but what of its traction for developing forms of spiritual vision and commitment in an era of 'fragilized' meanings and identities? An exploration of 'Modern' or 'Western' Buddhism - traditionally the religion of 'awakening' - is particularly suited to such an enquiry. The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) provides a pertinent case, given its overtly adaptive approach to Western modernity but continued emphasis on community. Fieldwork was carried out at one of its major urban centres - the Bristol Buddhist Centre. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals who were typically moving from largely secular positions, into various levels of engagement with Buddhism, ranging from relative beginners to ordained Order Members. The theoretical and empirical analysis of the thesis moves beyond the popular paradigm of 'self- spirituality' and explores the significance of social practices on changing sensibilities of the self. Buddhism is found to provide a context for the embodied, collective learning of praxes - both emotional and cognitive - that gradually loosen attachment to certain central principles/anxieties of the secular age (e.g., rationalist suspicion, possessive individualism, and ethical emotivism). It thereby opens up space for the emergence of 'practical faith,' identity commitment, and resolute engagement with ethical values, pursued according to a principle of 'exemplification' rather than 'proselytisation.' Transformation is typically gradual, often disjointed, and involves the negotiation of considerable ambivalences, but does tend in a coherent and essentially postsecular direction. It is therefore argued that contemporary Buddhism can provide a useful, working example of postsecularism, the wider social significance of which nevertheless remains an open question.