Early Buddhism And The Bhagavadg T

This is a critical and philosophical analysis and assessment of the teachings of Buddha as Found in the Early Stratum of the Pali Canon and those of Lord Krsna as embodied in the Bhagvadgita. It is the first time that the foundational works of the two most important traditions of Indian thought have been brought together for comperative treatment.The Widely prevalent openion among scholars that Hindu thought did not have any significant contact with Pali Buddhism, might perhaps be one of the reasons why no attempt has previously been made to undertake a comparative study of Bhagwadgita and early Buddhism. The author covers the whole field of epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics in detail and depth, and bases his conclusions throughout on the original texts, making careful examinations of, and paing due attention, to the commentatiorialexegeses and scholarly interpretations.

Can you be an atheist and still believe in God? Can you be a true believer and still doubt? Can Zen give us a way past our constant fighting about God? Brad Warner was initially interested in Buddhism because he wanted to find God, but Buddhism is usually thought of as godless. In the three decades since Warner began studying Zen, he has grappled with paradoxical questions about God and managed to come up with some answers. In this fascinating search for a way beyond the usual arguments between fundamentalists and skeptics, Warner offers a profoundly engaging and idiosyncratic take on the ineffable power of the “ground of all being.”

What is the Bhagavad-Gita? Is it just a religious text? When was it composed? How relevant is it to the modern world? This book answers these foundational questions and goes beyond. It critically examines the Bhagavad-Gita in terms of its liberal, humanist and inclusive appeal, bringing out its significance for the present times and novel applications. The author elaborates the philosophy underlying the text as also its ethical, spiritual and moral implications. He also responds to criticisms that have been levelled against the text by Ambedkar, D. D. Kosambi, and more recently, Amartya Sen. The volume proposes unique bearings of the text in diverse fields such as business & management and scientific research. Eclectic and accessible, this work will be of interest to scholars of philosophy, religion, history, business & management studies as well as the general reader.

Professor de Nicolas presents the reader with actualized possibilities of knowing other cultures as they knew themselves. In his work, philosophy becomes an ongoing synthesis of knowledge and sensation. This new translation of The Bhagavad Gita, with its easy and beautiful reading, is a major philosophical attempt to read a most important text of a culture in it's own context.

The present work is a new perspective on the Bhagavad-Gita, supported by through research, for it focuses attention on the social relevance of this famous Hindu scripture. Part 1 provides a penetrating analysis of how new interpretations of the Gita palyed a significant role in the social history of India during the ninteenth and twentieth centuries. The illustrative material consists of five case studies relating to : Raja Rammohun Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo Ghose and Mahatma Gandhi. Part II expalins how the social applications of the Gita are linked with its most important teaching for the modern age, viz.,Loksamgraha- the good of the society. Lokasamgraha is a sanskrit term occurring in the Gita but not in Upanishads and a modern interpretation of the lokasamgraha-approach is the inculcation of social values and a sense of social responsibility in each individual.

The exploratory volume in the new field of comparative ethics serves the diverse goals of groups variously interested in International law and morality, in comparative religious ethical ideals, or simply in cross-cultural literature and drama. The author draws moral ideals from primary Hindu sources--popular and formal, literary and spiritual. The same method is applied for Buddhist moral texts. Introducing method in comparative ethics with a synopsis of Hindu mystical tradition, the author diiscusses in detail ethics in the Rgveda, Upaniisads, Laws of Manu, Ramayana, Gita, other popular classics, poetry, drama, philosophers, and reformers. After summarizing pluralism in Hindu ethiics, the author sketches ethical thought in Mahayana Buddhiist texts. The book contains elaborate notes, two appendices, critical textual matter, a diagram of topical parallels, a bibliography, and an index.