The Dalai Lama's stance towards modernity and Buddhism

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  • Created by: gemshort
  • Created on: 01-05-18 11:46

Buddhist modernism refers to an understanding of Buddhism developed first in the Buddhist (mostly Theravada) world at the end of the 19th century as a reaction to Western domination

  • Buddhist modernism sought to respond to the colonial negative portrayal of Buddhism by presenting the tradition in modern and positive terms

Buddhism is not interested in dogmas and institutions, but provides a path leading to the overcoming of suffering

  • This perspective considers Buddhism to be strongly ethical, devoted to nonviolence and providing valuable resources for social action
  • Its recommended practice is meditation, while ritual is devalued as popular superstition or adaptations to the demands of the laity
  • This greatly simplified description characterises the belief system of many contemporary Buddhists, particularly in the West, where many have come to regard Buddhism as more a philosophy than a religion

Some scholars have argued that many of the Dalai Lama's ideas about Buddhism correspond to Buddhist

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