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Creating a Better Tomorrow

Module 14 of An Introduction to Buddhism

Buddhism offers a fresh perspective on how to address the problems of modernity.

Photo by Kate Davidson, CC BY 2.0

Readings

Biography of Shakyamuni Buddha – Ven Master Hsing Yun (.pdf) (.epub) (.pdf)

We finish the Buddha’s Biography with Chapters 47–48: his final teachings.

Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path – Ayya Khema (.pdf)

Chapter 13 sees this final chapter, not as an “end” but as “A New Beginning”

Buddhism and Modernity – Douglas Powers (.pdf) (.pdf)

Individualism, science, freedom and morality are four big, contemporary conversations which Buddhism has much to contribute to.

The Science Delusion – Curtis White (.pdf) (.pdf)

This excellent article confronts directly the dogmatic belief in materialism that modern science has fallen into.

Buddhism and Human Flourishing – Peter Harvey (.pdf) (.pdf)

And in this essay, Peter Harvey responds to a few, common misgivings from Westerners new to Buddhism.

The Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels – Atiśa Dīpaṃkara (.pdf) (.pdf)

While this course has been almost-entirely from the Theravada perspective, I would like to give the final word to Atiśa Dīpaṃkara.

Homework

Your homework for this module is to take what you’ve learned and make the world a better place! Wherever and however you can 😊

Further Reading

Books

To be female is to have the dukkha of a female. To be male is to have the dukkha of a male. […] If we deludedly think ‘I am happy’ then we must suffer accordingly.

Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Strictly speaking, for a human being, there is no other practice than this

The classic introduction to Buddhist meditation.

This book is intended to provide an introduction to the teachings of the Buddha which will shed some light on a subject that, to non-Buddhists, can appear both unexpectedly rational and exotically strange.

My most highly recommended introduction to Buddhist meditation.

A Concise History of Buddhism (1994) – Andrew Skilton

When we adopt a Buddhist perspective on the wounds that afflict our world today, we soon realize that these wounds are symptomatic: a warning signal that something is fundamentally awry with the way we lead our lives.

An Inquiring Mind’s Journey Into Wisdom, Compassion, Freedom and Silence (2004) – Bhante Kovida

Encounters with Buddhism (1990) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika

From Heart and Hand Vol. II (2019) – Ajahn Jayasaro

What did the Buddha Teach? (1994) – Somdet Yan

Canonical Works

What Does the Buddha Really Teach? (2016) – Venerable Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thera

Just as the great ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, so too, this Dhamma and discipline has but one taste: the taste of liberation. This is the sixth astounding and amazing quality…

Noble Sūtra of Recalling the Three Jewels (2001)

SN 55.7 Veḷudvāreyya Sutta: The People of Bamboo Gate (2018)

SN 22.2 Devadaha Sutta: At Devadaha (2000)

SN 12.65 Nagara Sutta: The City (1997)

Monks, whether Tathāgatas arise or not, this aspect of the world remains the same…

Of these Four Noble Truths, there is one to be completely understood, one to be abandoned, one to be realized, and one to be developed.

… the appearance of three people is rare in the world…

AN 5.177 Vaṇijjā Sutta: Trades (2018)

AN 10.74 Vaḍḍhi Sutta: Growth (2018)

Iti 17 Dutiyasekha Sutta: A Trainee (2) (1997)

Readings

Encountering impermanence, making change: a case study of attachment and alcoholism in Thailand (2022) – Julia Cassaniti

Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (2007) – Bhikkhu Anālayo

Audio/Video

Early Buddhist History (2013) – Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali

I have arrived, I am home
In the here, in the now
I am solid, I am free
In the ultimate, I dwell

Recollections of the Buddha (2007) – Ayya Vayama

Buddhism and Education (2011) – Ajahn Jayasaro

Becoming Buddhist (2010) – Bhante Yuttadhammo

The text jumps inside me to help me out.
…
So, when you’re studying Buddhism, what are you studying?
I know the answer. I’m studying me.
I’m studying me.

Buddhist Ethics: A Philosophical Introduction (2022) – Jay Garfield

Chan Practice in Daily Life (1994) – Master Sheng-Yen

Is simple living a form of stinginess? (2013) – Master Sheng-Yen

Early Buddhism Workshop (Series) – Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali

Advanced Courses

The Buddha's Words
Dig deeper into the Buddha’s teachings in his own words.
Buddhism as a Religion
A history of the Sangha and what it is to be a Buddhist.
The Practice of Buddhism
A guide into the heart of the Dhamma, Buddhist philosophy and its transformative purpose.
or feel free to check out any of our University's other fine offerings.