The Buddha's Way: A Socio-Historical Approach

In This Magisterial Study Of The Social Élan Of Early Buddhism, Nalin Swaris Argues That The Radical Thrust Of The Buddha S Teaching Is Based On His Realisation That The Individual Is A Fiction Of Human Craving. The Buddha S Decision To Found A Community Of Compassion And Sharing Was The Practical Expression Of His Conviction That Individualism Is The Principal Obstacle To Human Happiness. The Buddha S Way Was Not Discovered And Preached In A Social Vacuum. Orthodox Hinduism Classifies Its Sacred Traditions Into Srutis (Sacred Truths Of The Vedas Heard By Ancient Rishis While In A Trance) And Smritis (Codes Of Conduct). In Deliberate Counterpoint To The Brahman Tradition, The Majority Of The Buddha S Discourses Begin With The Declaration: Evam Me Sutam Thus Have I Heard... . Swaris Argues Persuasively That Buddha S Teachings Are Not Esoteric, But Grounded In Everyday Life. The Dhamma Is Not A Revealed Truth That Humans Could Not Have Discovered By Themselves. It Is Like A Light Brought Into A Darkened Room So That People Could See What Is Already There, Once The Fog Of Delusion Is Dispelled.

In A Style That Would Appeal To Both Lay Readers And Scholars, Swaris Shows How The Buddha Anticipated Marx, Derrida And Foucault By Centuries.

Born in Colombo, ordained a Catholic priest in 1962 in Bangalore, Nalin Swaris gave up priesthood and went to the Netherlands in 1969. He obtained a Master s in Social Sciences in 1973, and followed it up with one in Religions from the Catholic University of Nijmegen. He completed his PhD on the Buddha s Way at the State University of Utrecht in 1997 with summa cum laude. Swaris was also a human rights activist and the author of Buddhism, Human Rights and Social Renewal. He died in April 2011....