This volume discusses contemporary Buddhist responses to religious diversity from Theravādin and Tibetan Buddhist perspectives. Buddhist attitudes toward other religious traditions (and its own) are unquestionably diverse, and have undergone changes throughout historical eras and geographic spaces, as Buddhists, and traditions Buddhists have encountered, continue to change (after all, all conditioned things are impermanent). The present time is a particularly dynamic moment to take stock of Buddhist attitudes toward religious others, as Buddhist identities are being renegotiated in unprecedented ways in our increasingly globalized age. Is it true that Buddhists are tolerant of other religions? To what extent are Buddhists tolerant? Is nirvana held to be attainable through Buddhism alone? If so, through which Buddhist tradition? This volume approaches these questions and others from perspectives representing Theravādin and Tibetan traditions of Buddhism. The chapters herein bring together a spectrum of views that are not often found side-by-side in a single volume or in a meaningful dialogue with each other, needless to mention with other religions. This volume seeks to remedy this situation, and break new ground to enable further dialogue, understanding, and constructive encounters across Buddhist traditions and between other religious traditions and Buddhists.
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements vii, Douglas Duckworth, Abraham Vélez de Cea , Elizabeth J. Harris
Abbreviations viii, Douglas Duckworth, Abraham Vélez de Cea , Elizabeth J. Harris
Introduction
Introduction 1-4, Douglas Duckworth,Abraham Vélez de Cea ,Elizabeth J. Harris
Section One: Buddhist Paths: One or Many?
1. The Buddha and the Diversity of Spiritual Paths 5-22, Bhikkhu Bodhi
2. Was the Buddha an Exclusivist? 23-45, Abraham Vélez de Cea
3. Paths of Liberation? Theravāda Buddhist Approaches to Religious Diversity 46-62, Perry Schmidt-Leuikel
4. Openness towards the Religious Other in Buddhism 63-96, Carola Roloff
Section Two: Buddhist Identity Politics
5. Buddhism and the Religious Other: Twenty-First Century Dambulla and the Presence of Buddhist Exclusivism in Sri Lanka 97-114, Elizabeth J. Harris
6. The Contemporary Tibetan Buddhism Rimé Response to Religious Diversity 115-128, Rachel H. Pang
7. How Nonsectarian is “Nonsectarian”?: Jorge Ferrer’s Pluralist Alternative to Tibetan Buddhist Inclusivism 129-141, Douglas Duckworth
8. Buddhism and Beyond: The Question of Pluralism 142-154, Douglas Duckworth
Section Three: Constructive Dialogue with Other Religions
9. The Dalai Lama and Religious Diversity 155-166, Abraham Vélez de Cea
10. Thoughts on Why, How and What Buddhists Can Learn from Christian Theologians 167-186, John Makransky
11. Suffering and Its Relief: A Buddhist Approach to Religious Pluralism 187-196, Christopher Ives
12. Religious Diversity and Dialogue: A Buddhist Perspective 197-211, Asanga Tilakaratne
13. Finding the Right Questions about Religious Diversity: What Buddhism Could Contribute to Discussions of Religious Diversity 212-222, Rita Gross
End Matter
Index 223-237, Douglas Duckworth,Abraham Vélez de Cea ,Elizabeth J. Harris
About the Author :
Douglas Duckworth is Associate Professor at Temple University and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Religion. Abraham Velez de Cea is professor of Buddhism and World Religions at Eastern Kentucky University. Elizabeth Harris is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow within the Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, University of Birmingham.
