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University of Illinois Religion Essay

University of Illinois Religion Essay

University of Illinois Religion Essay

Description

Background.  In 1971, Melford Spiro made the controversial claim that there are, in fact, three distinct types of goals in Buddhism:  kammatic, nibbanic and apotropaic.  Scholars, however, have seldom hesitated to dismiss at least some of these goals.  Apotropaic practices, for example, have often been described simply as agic,®bsp;a departureven a degradationæ òiginal®bsp;or 5re®bsp;Buddhism.  Writing about the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, for example, the historian G.B. Sansom wrote:  t was natural that its first appeal should be a simple desire for material benefits, and that its prayers and ceremonies should be looked upon as rituals of incantation rather than spiritual exercises®bsp;(Japan:  A Short Cultural History.  Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1943, p. 116).  More recently, some Buddhist scholars have argued that the idea of agical®bsp;ritual as a less-than-legitimate form of Buddhism may reflect our own modern Western prejudices better than they reflect the worldviews, values and practices of Buddhism itself.

Question. In an essay of approximately 1250 words, consider the relationship between nibbanic, kammatic and apotropaic goals.  Do you see evidence for Spiro’s conclusion in our materials?  Is there a single Buddhist salvation or are there three distinct forms of salvation?  To what extent do these goals support one another, and to what extent do they conflict?  Is there a hierarchy of goals?  Or are there really three different paths?

Issues.  In considering your response you may wish to consider some of the following:

Focusing on particular practices, is it possible to categorize them solely as nirvanic, karmic, or apotropaic? Or are these goals combined in specific rituals?

How do rituals of veneration (directed at the historical Buddha, Amitabha or bodhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara) engage these three goals?

How does the role of apotropaic ritual differ in Mahayana and Theravada? It is possible that apotropaic Buddhism may be more legitimate in one than in the other?

How does the evidence we’ve considered in class line up with Spiro’s description?

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