Divine Revelation In Pali Buddhism

[camerata]

Divine Revelation in Pali Buddhism is a book based on a PhD dissertation by Peter Masefield in which he demonstrates that as far as the Pali suttas are concerned, the Buddha's disciples were all initiated into the supramundane Eightfold Path - the beginning of the road to nibbana - by a "progressive talk" from the Buddha himself, and that there's no evidence that his enlightened disciples could initiate others in the same way.

The summary and interview in the link above are long but very interesting, as it goes against what Western Buddhists have been teaching. Asked about what is to be done if no enlightenment is possible without the Buddha, the author says:

"And we must also be careful to remember, when speaking of puthujjana Buddhism, that it need not have the derogatory connotation we might at first suppose — especially in the East, where man has always seen himself against a background of an infinite number of previous births and, unless and until he gets off the wheel, an equally infinite number of future births. We may not be able to gain enlightenment without the Buddha, but another Buddha is on the cosmic horizon, and Buddhism also holds out a way to benefit from him. What I would say, therefore, is that puthujjana Buddhism, at least as it is normally practiced in the East — the cultivation of merit through the practice of charity to monks and adherence to the Five Precepts, i.e., abstaining from destroying living beings, from taking what has not been given, from misconduct amidst the senses, from lying speech and from intoxicants causing negligence — is quite laudable, and something to be encouraged. So the picture is not necessarily as gloomy as we might at first think, and the world would surely be a better place if everyone constantly abided by those precepts."

So, get cracking with the merit-making because Maitreya will be here one day!

[huli]

This sounds just like the direct transmission tradition of Zen, which I consider just another heresy of the Mahayanists.

I don't recall hearing that Buddha ever said such a thing, and he said that he held nothing back.

There is apparently no end to the Buddhist revisionists.

[camerata]

I also thought of the Zen "transmission of mind" - that it might have been inspired by these "progressive talks" given by the Buddha - but it wasn't. The origin is the later Mahayana Flower Sutra, in which the Buddha simply holds up a lotus and one disciple becomes enlightened.

However, the author does mention that his findings might lend some support to criticism in the Lotus Sutra that (Hinayana) arahants had been satisfied with the "inferior goal" of their own nirvana rather than the expanded goal of the bodhisattva..

The author is hardly a revisionist, he's just presenting evidence that he found in the Pali Canon. He has a chart of all the disciples who were established on the supramundane ariya path by the Buddha, what their status was (layman, ascetic, monk), and how they responded. The statistics are all there, but whether the author's conclusions are correct or not is another matter. Needless to say, no one wanted to hear these ideas and there has been little discussion about them until recently (the book was published in 1986).

You have to read the article or the book to fully appreciate what he found. Incidentally, the title of the book was forced on him by the publisher. "Divine" in this case, simply refers to the personal insight made possible by the Buddha's progressive talks.

[bankei]

Excellent book by an excellent Pali scholar. It is a collection of evidence collected from the Pali cannon that only those with direct access to the Buddha were able to attain release. The Buddha's charisma or similar was necessary to get them over the line. Very interesting.

Bankei

[huli]

Excellent book by an excellent Pali scholar. It is a collection of evidence collected from the Pali cannon that only those with direct access to the Buddha were able to attain release. The Buddha's charisma or similar was necessary to get them over the line. Very interesting.

Bankei

The author offers evidence from the Pali cannon to back up his revolutionary claim that Awakening is impossible without actually meeting a Buddha. However, Buddha never said that only people acquainted with him or a future Buddha could obtain release. His teaching was quite different. What he said was to follow the 8-fold Path.

Of course, it is not surprising that Buddha had a profound effect for the better on those people around him. It would be a huge benefit for anyone. But, I think the author takes this too far.

[fabianfred]

The Buddha said that as long as there were people practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Vipassana) that there would be those who attained to Sotapanna (stream-entry)...therefore there would still be the other three states of Ariyahood up to Arahant.which are a natural progression. Only when the practice of mindfulness is lost will there be no more Ariyachon.

I am fortunate to have two teachers who i consider to be Arahant....LP Jaran and Suapawan Green.

If we do not think the goal is reachable in this lifetime there is a tendency to be discouraged and give up the real practice.

Our immediate goal should be stream-entry....aiming higher to Arahant is all very well...but we have to pass throught the first stage anyway.

Ajarn Chah said.....'if you want to meet the next Buddha......then just don't do any practice now....'

[sabaijai]

Buddha's final instructions were clear. He didn't suggest exploring metaphysics nor did he advise waiting for the next Buddha. He beseeched his followers to practice with diligence.,

[huli]

The author's idea is that Awakening is only possible through contact with (a) Buddha.

As previously mentioned, this is similar to the "direct transmission" scenario in Zen.

It occurs to me that it also resembles the Catholic teaching whereby a person can only go to heaven if they hear about and follow Jesus.

Poor guys born in the heart of Africa, no hope for them because they never heard of Jesus.

This topic's Divine Revelation, Zen, and Catholics are big on transmission/salvation through a person, whereas Buddhism, as I understand it, is through a teaching only.

[Several]

There are many Zen masters who gained realisation without transmission. I think what the genuine ones are saying is that realisation is easier if you have a living example to learn from. I don't like the 'you must have a guru' ideology, its far too open to abuse. My brother is a Vajrayana practitioner which is entirely about transmission. But its hard to learn everything from a book so true masters become invaluable to the majority of us. Also I reckon transmission is possible but not necessary.