殘疾=Disability; 身心障礙=Ableism; 苦=Suffering; 業=Action; 慈悲=Compassion; 慈濟萬華靜思堂=Tzu Chi Jing Si branch temple; 香港失明人佛教會=Hong Kong Buddhist Society for the Blind; 聾=Deaf; 盲=Blind; 失明=Dukkha
Despite disability being a universal experience among all human beings, there is little study on Buddhism and Disability. This thesis addresses this topic using a combination of textual and empirical studies both in “theory” and in “practice” to identify the discourse of disability in Buddhism.
A foundational understanding of terms like disability and various disability models will be laid down in both Chapters 1 and 2 to see how disability and ableism are viewed in disability studies. By looking at the perceptions of disability in ancient Hindu and Chinese cultures, as well as contemporary Taiwanese and Hong Kong societies, a multivocality of views can be seen.
A textual study of the English translations of Buddhist texts in the Pāli Canon will be made to form the core “theory” in Buddhism and Disability in this paper. It will be followed by the study of three Buddhist doctrines: suffering (dukkha), action (kamma) and compassion (karuṇā), to see how they are differently interpreted in Buddhist practice concerning disability.
For the empirical studies, this research will look at the current Buddhist practice of two groups of devotees with disabilities in contemporary Chinese societies, one based in Taiwan, one in Hong Kong. Ethnographical studies will be conducted with a small Deaf community engaged at Tzu Chi’s Jing Si branch temple in Taipei’s Wan Hua district as well as the Hong Kong Buddhist Society for the Blind (HKBSB).
It can be observed from the studies that negative perceptions on disability have always prevailed in different societies but Buddhism is indeed very revolutionary in terms of its inclusiveness during the Buddha’s time and has a very truthful understanding of and positive attitude towards disability. Disability can play a positive role in one’s spiritual attainment in Buddhism. While solutions to overcome different physical barriers for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to engage in Buddhism can gradually be solved, ableism seems to pose the greatest challenge in PWDs’ participation in Buddhism for it has reinforced social stigma and negative attitude against PWDs. The case studies also show that we are at the crossroad for a change about the discourse of Buddhism and Disability where PWDs are no longer passive “objects” with their voices dominated by others. Instead, PWDs are active “subjects” to construct the discourse of Buddhism and Disability.
目次
ABSTRACT i 摘要 iii DEDICATION v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi CONTENTS viii ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Motivation 3 1.2. Purpose And Aim 5 1.3. Literature Review 6 1.4. Definition of Terms 9 1.4.1. Disability 9 1.4.2. Disability Models 12 1.4.2.1. Individual Model 13 1.4.2.2. Medical Model 13 1.4.2.3. Social Model 13 1.4.3. Ableism 15 1.4.4. A Note on Terminology 16 1.5. Research Method 17 1.6. Research Scope, Limitation And Challenges 21 CHAPTER 2: ON DISABILITY 24 2.1. Disability in Historical Hindu Culture 25 2.2. Disability in Historical Chinese Culture 27 2.3. Disability & Contemporary Chinese Society 33 2.3.1. Disability in Contemporary Taiwan 34 2.3.2. Disability in Contemporary Hong Kong 38 2.4. Conclusion for This Chapter 43 CHAPTER 3: BUDDHISM AND DISABILITY 46 3.1. Analysis from the Textual Studies 46 3.1.1. Explicit Address of Disability Itself 47 3.1.2. Characters with Disabilities 55 3.1.3. Language Used 60 3.1.4. Conclusion of the Textual Analysis 63 3.2. Core Buddhist Doctrines And Disability 65 3.2.1. Dukkha (Pāli; Sanskrit: duḥkha) 67 3.2.2. Kamma (Pāli; Sanskrit: karma) 72 3.2.3. Karuṇā (Pāli and Sanskrit) 86 3.3. Conclusion for This Chapter 92 CHAPTER 4: PWDS IN BUDDHIST PRACTICE: TWO CASE STUDIES 95 4.1. Case 1: Tzu Chi Jing Si Branch Temple And the Deaf Community 95 4.1.1. Background at Tzu Chi And Jing Si Branch Temple 97 4.1.2. Mr. Sun’s Acquaintance with Buddhism 99 4.1.3. Stories of Three Reading Clubs 101 4.1.4. The Question on Kamma 105 4.1.5. Reflections on This Case Study 107 4.2. Case 2: Hong Kong Buddhist Society for the Blind 109 4.2.1. A Union of the Causes and Conditions 111 4.2.2. A Vision to Alleviate Dukkha 113 4.2.3. Overcoming Barriers 114 4.2.4. Benefiting Self. Benefiting Others 121 4.2.5. The Question on Kamma 125 4.2.6. Reflections on This Case Study 127 4.3. Conclusion for This Chapter 128 4.4. Photos Used in This Chapter (Photos 1-3) 132 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 135 BIBLIOGRAPHY 141 Primary Sources 141 Secondary Sources (In English) 141 Secondary Sources (In Chinese) 145 Electronic Sources 147 APPENDIX 1: TEXTUAL CONTENT IN THE “CORPUS” 151 APPENDIX 2: EXTRACTIONS FROM THE LAWS OF MANU RELATING TO PWDS 153 APPENDIX 3: SUMMARY OF DISABILITY KEYWORDS IN THE CORPUS 155 APPENDIX 4: SURVEY CONDUCTED WITH MEMBERS OF THE HONG KONG BUDDHIST SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND (HKBSB) 198
