The author is an acknowledged Indologist, from Sri Lanka to win international recognition for his scholarly contributions to Vedic Studies and Buddhism. In the essays brought together in this volume, he discusses various aspects of the Philosophy and Psychology of `Early Buddhism', as well as its Social Philosophy and Ethical Teachings, and brings out their singular contributions to the history of human thought and ideas. The essays on Vedic topics are no less original and brilliant, and cannot but fascinate the discerning reader. If any one impression is conveyed by these essays, it is that in the history of Indian (and Buddhist) thought, ideas, concepts and formulations can best be understood if they are studies in their historical perspectives. Students of comparative religion, sociologists and anthropologists will find these essays to be refreshingly original and stimulating. Oliver Hector De Alwis Wijesekera was a prolific researcher in Early Buddhism and Vedic Studies. He travelled widely both in Asia and in Western countries as a guest Professor in Buddhist and Vedic studies. He was one of the six panel speakers at the XIth Conference of the International Congress for the History of Religions held at Claremont, U.S.A. His important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in these fields are reproduced in this volume.
目次
PART ONE 1. The Buddha and Metaphysics 3 2. Buddhist Evidence for the Early Existence of Drama 13 3. Buddhism and the Moral Problem 25 4. Contribution of Buddhism to Indian Life and Thought 43 5. Buddhism and Society 53 6. The Three Signata 71 7. The Buddhist Concept of Mind 85 8. The Concept of Peace as the Central Notion of Buddhist Social Philosophy 93 9. The Concept of Viññāņa in Theravada Buddhism 103 10. Theravāda Buddhism Under Modern Cultures 113
PART TWO Vedism 129 11. The Philosophical Import of Vedic Yakşa and Pali Yakkha 131 12. Vitalism and Becoming: A Comparative Study 143 13. Upaniṣadic Terms for Sense-Functions 155 14. Pali 'Vado Vedeyyo' and Upaniṣadic 'Aväki-Anādarah" 167 15. Vedic Gandharva and Pali Gandhabba 175 16. Rgvedic River-Goddesses and an Indus Valley Seal 213 17. A New Interpretation of the Națarāja Concept 225 18. Tagore and Indian Culture 233 19. Rgvedic Bharata: A Survival From Aryan Prehistory 245 20. An Aspect of Upaniṣadic Ātman and Buddhist 'Anatta' 257 21. The Symbolism of the Wheel in the Cakravartin Concept 267 22. A Pali Reference to Brahmana-Caranas 276 23. Some Prehistoric Survivals in the Rgveda 285 24. Discoid Weapons in Ancient India: Vedic Cakra, Pavi and Kşurapavi 293 25. New Orientations in the Study of World Religions 305 26. A Socio-Semantic Analysis of Sanskrit kalp- 315 27. The Etymology and Significance of Rgvedic 'Khadi' 327 28. Kşatra-Dharma and Rāja-Dharma 339 Index 355
