Buddhist Essays 1: Five Titles

Collection of essays written over 50 years by a Buddhist monk and teacher. Topics include aesthetic enjoyment, women in Buddhism, social growth, and death as inspiration. Emphasizes provocative thinking and academic detachment in exploring these subjects.

The essays in this collection have been written over a period of nearly fifty years. During the first forty years of this I was a house-holder. It is only at the age of sixty-nine that I took to the life of a Buddhist monk. From the age of twenty-five I have been a teacher of Buddhism and the P li language at Universities, both here and abroad, and have handled these disciplines all my life for more than forty years.These five essays cover four major areas. Two deal with aesthetic enjoyment and concepts of beauty as envisioned in Buddhism. As one would always discover in my writings, one may see in these two essays some elements of provocative thinking. I am fully conscious of this as I write. But I have also to be sensitive to what I read in the original texts and to come to grips with what they endeavor to communicate. I would rise up even to agree to disagree.Next we take up the very challenging question of the position of women in Buddhism. It is known to be a subject of endless debate. Let us talk about it with a desirable academic detachment and an honest awareness of the purpose of our controversies.Very few people know about Buddhism''s concern for social growth and development. We devote one essay for the analytical and evaluative study of human resources. Why should it lie idle or be recklessly used?Finally, we examine the reality of death in life and use it as a source of inspiration and guidance.