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| Ancient Tradition, Modern Cultures | ||
| 作者 | Ajahn Maha Laow Panyasiri |
|---|---|
| 出處題名 | The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist Society |
| 卷期 | v.78 n.4 |
| 出版日期 | 2004.02 |
| 頁次 | 235 - 237 |
| 出版者 | The Buddhist Society |
| 出版者網址 | http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/ |
| 出版地 | London, England, UK [倫敦, 英格蘭, 英國] |
| 資料類型 | 期刊論文=Journal Article |
| 使用語言 | 英文=English |
| 摘要 | The British have known of Buddhism for many years, but they have been interested in only one or two specific aspects. The philosophy of Buddhism, the theory of Buddhism and certain aspects of meditation practice are what mostly have interested them. They certainly have received some of the benefits that the Theravada tradition can give, but they do not really wish to immerse themselves completely, as is common in Eastern culture. Also they have a different understanding of the practice of Buddhism than in the East. They often practise the Dhamma with their intellect, but do not have the same feeling for it and are not able to respect master practitioners as lay people do in the East. This underlies the way the British have adapted the Sangha tradition to their culture. There are not many British Theravada monks in Britain. The British prefer to remain lay people. They reason that if Buddhism is accessible to all and you can reach Englishtenment as a lay person, then why bother to become a monk? In practical terms, it is not easy for them to become a monk either. In the Forest tradition, as practised at Amaravati Monastery, you have to remain a resident lay person for one year before becoming a novice. You then have to be a novice for at least another year. After that, you may ordain. It seems to British people that there is a huge gap between lay life and monastic life. They think that the Forest tradition is the only kind of Theravada Buddhism there is. In fact, the life of urban monks, even in South-East Asia, diverges greatly from the Forest tradition, as it is much more in the midst of the community which supports it. Nevertheless, British people are to be found among the supporters of Thai, Burmese and Sri Lankan temples. It has to be said that some Westerners ordain in Thailand as monks for the wrong reason. Perhaps they are looking for a photo opportunity. Or perhaps they know that if they go to urban monasteries they can live like Thai monks, being fed, looked after and respected by lay people. But there should be much more to ordination than this. Thai monks learn to chant, to understand the Dhamma and to understand the monk's code of discipline, the Vinaya, and they learn how to comport themselves in society. The original tradition of the teachings, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path has been practised for millennia in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. In the West the teachings are available for study, but the way in whcih they are adapted to daily life sometimes leaves one wondering just how much of their original meaning is still left. THE NATURE OF THE BRITISH People in South and South-East Asia have a long history of their own culture. That culture has become very closely related to the Buddhist belief system, and Buddhism, combined with their own local beliefs, has become a part of their human nature and way of life. It suits them. Their Buddhist practice merges easily with their everyday reality. It seems to me that the British people, on the other hand, have long had a rather dry culture, full of doubt, full of questions but lacking a framework within which to phrase those questions. Today they have so much doubt about their culture and religion. Some deny their own faith; some pay only lip-service. There is also a dire history of suffering caused by the actions of people calling themselves Christians. This seems to make the British guilty and worried about their indigenous culture and its religious roots. Perhaps this is why British scholars and travellers and the middle classes, when they had the opportunity to meet people in distant lands and to encounter foreign cultures and religions, were so ready to bring back those religions to Britain. There is a danger that the process of religious transplanting may lack healthy roots and that people with no faith in their own god may have no room in their hearts for belief in any religio |
| ISSN | 00263214 (P) |
| 點閱次數 | 624 |
| 建檔日期 | 2009.09.30 |
| 更新日期 | 2020.11.04 |
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