The author of this article considers herself to be philosophically a Buddhist, culturally a Christian and religiously unaffi liated.1 This self-perception has its minuses and pluses. A minus lays in the fact that despite many years of my interest and study of Buddhism, I still do not see myself to be an expert in Buddhism. A plus is, in my opinion, that my expertize of a diplomatic historian could allow me to bring some Buddhist ideas into a fi eld where we usually do not seek them or do not fi nd them, and to contribute to an enrichment of the social sciences area. This large academic sphere may benefi t from Buddhist philosophy and wisdom extraordinarily. My article Buddhism and Transcending towards New Identity Perceptions in 21st Century focuses on the two fi rst Dharma Seals– impermanence and non-self –, and on Fife Precepts of Buddhism. These selected basic principles of Buddhism will be compared and contrasted with some selected phenomena of present Western world.2 Their selection was infl uenced mainly, but not exclusively, by connected themes of identity, culture, historical memory and narrative of national histories and they will be introduced in the fi rst part of the article. These topics are currently experiencing a renewed interest and search for new approaches, as there is a considerable uncertainty of Western society about its own values and orientation.
目次
Pressures and tensions of chaotic character in Digital era 56 First Dharma Seal: Impermanence and Western perception of impermanence 59 Second Dharma Seal: Non Self 61 Buddhist Precepts 64 Conclusion 67
