Buddhadāsa: Theravada Buddhism and Modernist Reform in Thailand. By Peter A. Jackson. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2003. Pp. 375.
摘要
Buddhadāsa: Theravada Buddhism and Modernist Reform in Thailand by Peter A. Jackson is a splendid work that critically examines the life and thought of Buddhadāsa Bikkhu (1906-1993), modern Thailand's most profoundly original and influential, as well as controversial, Buddhist philosopher. Yet one of the most valuable contributions of this volume is how it discloses the radical influence of Zen Buddhism on the otherwise conservative Theravāda Buddhist teaching and practice of Ajahn Buddhadāsa. Jackson's study comes as a revelation when it discusses Buddhadāsa's endeavor to reinterpret Theravāda Buddhist theory and practice based on the Pali canon from the standpoint of Zen teachings from China, Japan, and Vietnam. Furthermore, he considers the strong critical reactions to Buddhadāsa's Zen reformulation of Theravāda doctrine by more traditional Thai Buddhist monks and scholars. The focus of Jackson's study is to show, by using his Zen-inspired reinterpretation of Theravāda thought based on the idea of chit wang or "void mind", how Buddhadāsa sets forth a new vision of Thai Buddhism as a socially, politically, and intellectually progressive force leading to modernism, reform, and socioeconomic development."Void Mind" and Buddhadāsa's Zen Reinterpretation of Theravāda Buddhism Throughout his study Jackson underscores how one of the most distinctive contributions of Buddhadāsa to Theravāda scholarship is to have immersed himself in the Pali canon, searching for the Buddha's own teachings on suñña or "void", and suññatā or "voidness". He thereby attempts to demonstrate how the fundamental doctrine of Theravāda Buddhism, like Mahāyāna Buddhism, is the doctrine of voidness.
