Pranâmalekhâ: Essays in honour of Ven. Dr. Medagama Vajiragnana.

Edited by Ven. Wilaoye Wimalajothi, Ven. Mawathagama Pemaloka, Ven. Uduhawara Ananda and Sanath Nanayakkara. London Buddhist Vihara, 2003. xi, 383 pp. ISBN 955 98229 1 8.

As the title indicates, the volume is intended to felicitate the most Venerable Medagama Vajiragnana Mahânâyaka Thera, the chief priest of the London Buddhist Vihâra, on his 75th birthday. The volume contains a collection of miscellaneous articles on various aspects of Buddhism. It consists of both high quality academic papers as well as those which addressed to the general public, written by both the academics and the practitioners of Buddhism.

The volume has two sections. Part I (pp. 1-116) contains five articles of which the first (pp. 1-72) is a detailed biography of Ven. Dr. Vajiragnana, put together by Ven. Wilaoye Wimalajothi. The other four articles in this section are of Ven. Dr. Vajiragnana himself, written under the titles of “Dhamma as the absolute and as the guide of men,” “A Buddhist view of humankind and the world,” “Buddhism in the new century,” and “A Western approach to Buddhism.”

Part II (pp.119 - 383) contains 23 articles written by 23 authors. Among the contributors are found several well-known writers of Buddhism today such as Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Prof. D.J. Kalupahana, Dr. Ananda Guruge, and Prof. Peter Harvey. In this brief review, what I attempt to do is merely to introduce the volume’s various articles for the benefit of those who want to select and read.

Prof. D.J. Kalupahana’s article is on “A new theory of knowledge for a new conception of the universe: A perspective from the Buddha” (145-168) and it examines both the theory of knowledge and the conception of the universe presented by the Buddha. This is a well-researched article with 60 footnotes, many of which are references given to the texts of the Suttapitaka. The author examines in detail the Buddha’s alternative to modern scientific thinking. According to the author, it is the “conception of dependent origination, an antidote, not only to the theory of permanence, but also to the belief in selfishness” (p. 164). The article also contains a Buddha’s description of the universe as found in the Suttas. In his concluding remarks, Prof. Kalupahana states: “While the moral concerns were the foundation of the theory of knowledge as well as the conception of time, causality and space, and therefore of the universe, the Buddha utilized the very conception of dependent arising, or his version of causality, to explain the moral life.” (p. 164).

Mr. Sanath Nayakkara’s “Shift of emphasis from anatta to s´ûnya” (pp. 191-197) examines the Mâdhyamika emphasis on the emptiness concept in relation to the history and development of Buddhist thought. The author shows his agreement with both Prof. W.S. Karunaratne and Prof. D.J. Kalupahana who had concluded in their writings that the emptiness concept is not revolutionary at all when considering the teachings of early Buddhism, and that Nagarjuna is not a Mahayanist in the popular sense and that what he really tried to do was to bring out the original teachings of the Buddha, respectively.

“The early canonical conception of the Buddha: an antinomy of historical relations” is the title of Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi’s article (pp.288-304) in the volume. The author examines why the Theravadins prescribe the attainment of arahantship while the Mahayanists the attainment of Buddhahood. As usual, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi shows his outstanding understanding of the Pali canonical suttas through that well-researched and well-written article on the subject. The article provides several interesting and important new insights on the issue. By presenting the canonical view with regard to the accumulation of requisite qualities in past lives, the author says, “The emphasis in the old canon, with respect to one’s karmic destiny, is on what we might call the retributive aspect of karma rather than on its cumulative aspect: that is, on how good and bad deeds bring pleasant and painful results, fortunate or unfortunate rebirth; not on how our actions build up our characters across successive lives” (p. 292).

Peter Harvey’s article has the title, “The ennoble realities of pain and its origin: Reflections on the first two ariyasaccas and their translations” (pp. 305-321). The author, based on the canonical contexts, describes the four truths as advanced teaching intended for those who have been spiritually prepared to hear them. Ven. Prof. Dhammavihari’s essay is on “Death: Let it be thy guide through life” (pp. 134-140). The author refers also to a confused point in the textual traditions with regard to the identification of Kisâgotami and Patâcârâ. According to the author the Dhammapadatthakathâ makes Patâcârâ play Kisâgotami’s role of being the victim of a multiple tragedy of losing two infants, her husband, her mother, father and brother, but according to the Therigâthâ, it is Kisâgotami who is the victim of this multiple tragedy. In the volume Ven. B. Seelawimala writes on the topic, “The navigator of the middle path: the meaning and function of sammâ ditthi” (pp. 322-332). The author examines the topic in relation to various other Buddhist concepts.

An article of mine, under the title “Theravada Buddhist rituals in Sri Lanka: a ladder to heaven” (pp.169-178), also appears in the volume and it discusses the aims of performing Buddhist rituals. Mr. Sunil Kariyakarawana’s article on “Meritorious deeds: puñña or kusala?” (pp. 212-217) examines the difference between meritorious and wholesome acts based on the Pali canon. The author claims that the practicing Buddhists have misunderstood these two concepts. Rusell Webb in his article on “The bases of meritorious actions” describes the ten meritorious deeds of Buddhism.

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana, the consultant editor of the volume, writes on “Art and architecture of Nalanda” (pp. 126-133). The author begins by introducing Nalanda’s high time during Gupta and Pala dynasties and also its fall at the hands of Muslims in the 12th century, A.D. The author describes several artifacts found at the sites of Nalanda, including images of the Buddha and of bodhisattvas. Dr. Marianne Wachs writes on “Women in Buddhism” (pp. 259-277) and the article treats various aspects of the topic such as the position of women in pre-Buddhist India, the situation of women in Asia today, Buddha’s attitude to women, permission for a nun’s order, the place of women in the past, and the reestablishment of nuns’ order.

Ven. Boralesgamuwe Pemaratana’s “Buddhism and wealth” (pp. 185-190) discusses Buddhist ways and means of acquiring a wealth and use of it for the benefit of the many. Rev. Radha, under the title, “The four bridges to love” (pp. 218-224), writes on the four brahma-vihâras: loving kindness, active compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Alfred Well titles his article, originally written in German, as “Universal consciousness and immeasurable mind” (pp. 238-246). Paul Seto writes on “There is a bodhisattva walking among us” (pp. 248- 258). This article is another biographical note on Ven. Dr. Medagama Vajiragnana Nayaka Thera, and the author, however, in the process of writing, colors the biography with Tibetan Buddhist ideas.

Dr. Gemunu Siri Gamage writes on “How the brahmanic oral education system evolved in Buddhist monasticism” (pp. 198-211) and he concludes that the pirith chanting ceremony prevalent in Sri Lanka is a product of rote learning practice by the Buddhist monks. This is an insightful article on the subject, even though its documentation is poor. Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma’s article is on “Traditional wisdom and modern knowledge” (pp. 225-232). It compares the traditional religious wisdom with modern scientific knowledge. Dr. Ananda W.P. Guruge’s “How the Buddha taught” (pp.333-383) elicits several Buddhist educational techniques and concepts as found in the Pali canon. While discussing the effectiveness of the Buddha as a teacher, the author states that “The Buddha believed strongly in the power of the spoken word to convince people to change their way of life, adopt new values, and seek new goals” (p.343). In his conclusion, the author states that the topic that he investigated will remain as a challenging research project (p.382).

Ven. Dr. Mahinda Deegalle’s “Buddhist heretics?” (pp.141-144) asks the questions: Can a Buddhist be a heretic? Are there any heresies in Buddhism? The author examines whether there are any heresies in Buddhism in the sense the term heresy is understood and used in the Christian tradition. Ven. Homagama Dhammananda’s article has the title of “What kind of relation is there between religion and morality?” (pp. 281-287). The author uses a definition of religion from an unknown person and tries to show that despite there is no belief in God, Buddhism is still a religion. In the conclusion the author states that morality has meaning and significance without religion but religion has no meaning and significance without morality (p. 287).

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana’s article on “Do it yourself” (pp. 119-125) is a really a dhamma-talk on meditation. Ven. Bhikkhu T. Seelananda’s article is on “Interrelation of breath and the fourfold satipatthâna” (pp. 179-184) a similar kind. Dr. Inigo Deunne, in his article on “Faculties and powers in dhamma practice” (pp. 278-280) examines the five spiritual faculties which the author defines as the mental factors to be developed and kept in balance in practicing the Buddhist path.

While commending and saluting the editors for the work done, I do not hesitate to note here that even though the outward appearance of the volume seems to give the impression of a high quality work, this is another felicitation volume where editors have poorly performed. Considering the types of articles that it contains editors could have done better, at least, if they thought of classifying the articles according to the subject matter or at least thought of the types of audiences that they intended to present the volume. It is evident that editors’ job is not merely to put together the articles given to them. The volume contains some printing mistakes too; for example, on page 232, we find Viriya for kiriya, Attasalini for Atthasâlini. Consistency in filing the bibliographies or references is also lacking. Compare the page 232 with page 257. Some articles contain footnotes, some others endnotes or no notes. However, as I have noted above, the volume contains several high quality articles which must be read by both the scholars and practitioners of Theravâda Buddhism. Particularly I will highly recommend the reading of the articles written by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi and Prof. D.J. Kalupahana in particular.

G.A. Somaratne
Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies
University of Peradeniya