G.A. SOMARATNE, PhD (Northwestern University), is Assistant Professor in Buddhist Studies at the Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong (HKU).
關鍵詞
Perception of Not-self-ness; Perception of Suffering; Perception of Impermanent; Reckoned Suffering; Felt Suffering
摘要
The teaching of the Buddha presented in the Pāli discourses refers to a twofold suffering : felt suffering and reckoned suffering. Because the latter type of suffering identifies even the pleasant feelings and the neutral feelings to be suffering in the sense of their impermanent nature, it is the more profound and hence more difficult suffering type that requires the Buddha’s teaching itself to understand it. When taken in the sense of reckoned suffering, there is an all-pervasive character of suffering in the whole existence. This has led scholarly studies either voluntarily or involuntarily to concoct a view that the outlook of the Buddha’s teaching of suffering is pessimistic. This article attempts to unravel reckoned suffering and its soteriological significance to point out that the Buddha’s teaching of suffering is purposeful, and has the aim of understanding suffering fully to end suffering fully. By analysing important doctrinal quotes from the early Buddhist discourses, this article points out that the Buddha teaches not only suffering but also its cessation, not only felt suffering but also reckoned suffering, and hence the attribution of a pessimistic character to the Buddha’s teaching of suffering cannot be justified.
目次
Abstract Introduction 111 Twofold Suffering 112 Purposiveness of the Teaching 115 Perception of Impermanence 116 Perception of Suffering 119 Four Noble Truths 121 Perception of Not-Self 124 Five-Clinging-Bundles 128 Conclusion 130 References 134
