DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Is modern "Buddhism" moving away from the teachings of the Buddha ?

**qd0vhq4f** · 06-20-2010, 11:24 AM

stuka: As someone who has a lot of trouble with the supernatural flavor of Buddhism as I've encountered it, I would be really interested in getting more detail about your position. I think it'd help me sort myself out, in addition to just plain being interesting.

Hi, Cobalt.

I think the best place you might start is a book by Phra Prayudh A (P.A.) Payutto called Buddhadhamma: Natural Laws and Values for Life. I see there is a copy available on Ebay for about $20 including shipping at the moment, the item number is 330438411964 . You may find some excerpts from the book at http://www.buddhanet.net/cmdsg/payutto.htm .

Phra Payutto's book is a translation of the first version , shorter of what later became a much larger (1150 page) textbook, that he wrote while he was an administrator at Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist university. It was intended to be an authoritative work on the Buddha's teachings, and it clearly is exactly that. I highly recommend it. It is comprehensive and well-cited as well.

You might also take a look at Buddhadasa Bhikkhu's Handbook for Mankind, which is available in many places on the internet.

If you are not familiar with Buddhist meditation, what it is really for and about, and how to do it right, take a look at Henepola Gunaratana's Mindfulness in Plain English, also available in many places on the net. When I was first investigating the Buddha's teachings, I could find nothing that explained the why's and wherefore's of meditation until I ran into this work, and this work made it very clear.

Another good source is the emptyuniverse essay at http://emptyuniverse.110mb.com/ -- very nicely done adn without reference to superstition.

Will expand more on my understanding of the Buddha's teachings as I get time here. Hope this helps

06-20-2010, 11:24 AM	#10
qd0vhq4f Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 585 Senior Member	stuka: As someone who has a lot of trouble with the supernatural flavor of Buddhism as I've encountered it, I would be really interested in getting more detail about your position. I think it'd help me sort myself out, in addition to just plain being interesting. Hi, Cobalt. I think the best place you might start is a book by Phra Prayudh A (P.A.) Payutto called Buddhadhamma: Natural Laws and Values for Life. I see there is a copy available on Ebay for about $20 including shipping at the moment, the item number is 330438411964 . You may find some excerpts from the book at http://www.buddhanet.net/cmdsg/payutto.htm . Phra Payutto's book is a translation of the first version , shorter of what later became a much larger (1150 page) textbook, that he wrote while he was an administrator at Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist university. It was intended to be an authoritative work on the Buddha's teachings, and it clearly is exactly that. I highly recommend it. It is comprehensive and well-cited as well. You might also take a look at Buddhadasa Bhikkhu's Handbook for Mankind, which is available in many places on the internet. If you are not familiar with Buddhist meditation, what it is really for and about, and how to do it right, take a look at Henepola Gunaratana's Mindfulness in Plain English, also available in many places on the net. When I was first investigating the Buddha's teachings, I could find nothing that explained the why's and wherefore's of meditation until I ran into this work, and this work made it very clear. Another good source is the emptyuniverse essay at http://emptyuniverse.110mb.com/ -- very nicely done adn without reference to superstition. Will expand more on my understanding of the Buddha's teachings as I get time here. Hope this helps
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