Excerpt of the book:
Based on a talk given at the
Nilambe Meditation Center on the 4th anniversary of his passing away
Godwin Samararatna was born on the 6th of September 1932 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. His father … Read the rest
When, in about 1455, Gutenberg printed his Bible it was hailed as a major technological and cultural achievement and for centuries after was considered to be one of the pivotal moments in human history. Before the invention of printing all … Read the rest
During the last hundred years it has increasingly been said that all religions are actually pointing to the same reality. Now there are numerous books claiming that the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha are just different versions of the … Read the rest
Before starting it will be necessary to make it clear what is meant by Buddhism in this article. As with other religions, Buddhism has a long history during which it has developed and evolved, branched into divergent schools and sects, … Read the rest
Between 2008 and 2017, Bhante Dhammika maintained a blog commenting Buddhist doctrine, Buddhist culture and art, and current affairs from a Buddhist and sometimes a personal perspective. At its height it got some 12,000 visits a day. This eBook has … Read the rest
A precept (sikkhapada) is a self-imposed rule or discipline. The moral rules that all Buddhists commit themselves to and try to live by are called the five Precepts (panca sila). They are (1) not to harm … Read the rest
The first Buddhists regarded life (jiva) as a process of consciousness moving through a succession of bodies, death being only a momentary event to this process. This phenomenon is sometimes called ‘moving from womb to womb’ (Sn.278) or more precisely, … Read the rest
When the British took over Ceylon and Burma they used at first robust but gradually more subtle means to weaken the traditional religions; Hinduism but more so Buddhism, believing that the Anglicization of the subject peoples would make them more … Read the rest
The life of the Buddha is more than an account of one man’s quest for and realization of the truth; it is also about the people who encountered that man during his forty five year career and how their encounter … Read the rest
When I published my book The Broken Buddha in 1990, I hoped it would stimulate debate and discussion amongst Western Buddhists about the course Western Buddhism should take, or not take. I received a few emails and letters about it … Read the rest
