Buddhist Revival Research Articles

Buddhist Revival in India: Aspects of the Sociology of Buddhism

Buddhist Revival in India: Aspects of the Sociology of Buddhism

The Life and Thought of the Korean Sŏn Master Kyŏnghŏ

During most of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910), Buddhism was suppressed, both politically and spiritually, by the Confucian government. Partly through the anti-Buddhist measures and partly through the internal deterioration of the sangha, Buddhism entered a long period of decline that was especially marked during the last two hundred years of the Yi dynasty. However, at the end of the nineteenth century, a great personality emerged among Korean Buddhist monks. This was Kyŏnghŏ Sŏng'u who was born into a poor peasant family in 1849. After losing his father at an early age, Kyŏnghŏ joined the sangha, where he received instruction in traditional Buddhism and classical Confucianism. By age twenty-three his mastery of the scriptures had earned him high ecclesiastical rank, but he eventually became disillusioned with the limited understanding he had acquired through study and decided to seek a practical realization of the innermost truth of Buddhism through intensive Sŏn meditation. After a long and grueling retreat, he had a major spiritual awakening in the autumn of 1879, at age thirty-one. Following his awakening he taught widely across the country, successfully contributing to the revival of Buddhism in Korea. Kyŏnghŏ's thought as revealed in his extant writings and recorded dharma talks follow traditional Sŏn doctrines, highlighted by his thorough knowledge of the Mahāyāna scriptures. He appears to have been particularly fond of the great Chinese Ch'an masters Hui-neng (638-713) and Kuei-feng Tsung-mi (780-841), as well as the Koryŏ Sŏn master, Pojo Kuksa (1158-1210). Viewed from a doctrinal standpoint, Kyŏnghŏ's Buddhism contains nothing new or extraordinary. That he was a powerful spiritual teacher, however, can be seen in his more informal addresses and mundap exchanges with his disciples. Precisely because he followed a well-trod path, Kyŏnghŏ was able to reassert the Buddhist roots of Korea and bring fresh impetus to an old and weak, but still living, Korean tradition.

Buddhist Revival in India: Aspects of the Sociology of Buddhism. By Trevor Ling. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. vii, 134 pp. Notes, Bibliographical References, Index. $22.50 (cloth).

Buddhist Revival in India: Aspects of the Sociology of Buddhism. By Trevor Ling. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. vii, 134 pp. Notes, Bibliographical References, Index. $22.50 (cloth). - Volume 42 Issue 1

Trevor Ling. Buddhist Revival in India, Aspects of the Sociology of Buddhism. Pp. 151. (London: Macmillan, 1980.)

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The Revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka-a Review of the Thesis on V. Saranankara by the late K. Wachissara

The Revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka-a Review of the Thesis on V. Saranankara by the late K. Wachissara

The Buddhist Revival in China

The Buddhist Revival in China

Lay Buddhism and the Buddhist Revival in Ceylon

WITH the arrival of Ceylon's independence in 1948 and the election of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) eight years later, Theravada Buddhism in Ceylon experienced a noticeable revival. The nature of this revival is, however, a matter of dispute. Some observers insist that revival has not been accompanied by reformation nor has it resolved numerous problems inherited from a long colonial past. Yet, even such pessimists would agree that a significant resurgence of Buddhism has occurred with Buddhist laymen making one of the most prominent contributions. For this reason a study of the role of the laity in the revival of Buddhism in Ceylon deserves our attention. In this study after describing two turning points in the history of the modern revival of Buddhism in Ceylon we shall analyze the character of lay Buddhism and the types of relationships existing between layman and bhikkhu (monk). Then we shall describe the forms of the lay Buddhist revival and, in conclusion, indicate some of the greatest problems and promises of the revival.

The Buddhist Revival in China

The Buddhist Revival in China

The Buddhist Revival in China.

The Buddhist Revival in China.

The Dilemmas of Education in Ceylon

school they become focused on the question of the language through which instruction will take place. This language issue is tied up with ethnic group rivalry, antiwestern feeling, and Buddhist revivalism. Inequality in educational opportunity has played an important part in stimulating each of these underlying forces. The island of Ceylon was colonized 2500 years ago by North Indian invaders. This Aryan-speaking people established the early Anuradhapura civilization based on irrigated rice culture, a feudal-caste social structure, and Buddhism. This society became the Sinhalese nation. From early times, however, Ceylon was subject to invasions from South India. The northern and to some extent the eastern parts of the island became Hindu Tamil strongholds. Here, especially in the northerly Jaffna Peninsula, the civilization of Tamilnad was transplanted. As the centuries rolled by the Sinhalese came to occupy the central, southern, and western parts of the island. The ancient capital of Anuradhapura stands today on the frontier of Tamil and Sinhalese settlements.

An Examination of the Revival of Buddhism in Cho-Sung Dynasty

An Examination of the Revival of Buddhism in Cho-Sung Dynasty

Is There a Revival of Buddhism?

Is There a Revival of Buddhism?