Happy Āsāḷha Pūjā

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Today on Āsāḷha Pūjā, the last day before the annual rains retreat, I’m pleased to announce what we’ve been diligently working on for the last few months: the significant expansion of our free library further into the history of Buddhism and the workings of the mind with the launch of seven new bibliographies.

The Bibliography: Medieval Buddhism (link)

We can roughly divide the history of Buddhism into three periods: its early growth in India, its spread across Asia, and finally its global spread West in the modern era. This new section of our library delves deeper into those middle ages where Buddhism spread across the Silk Roads and split into the many varieties we know today.

Where to start

The works listed there cover many critical topics, such as the entanglements and innovations in Buddhist Art and the role of medical knowledge in Buddhism’s spread. But here I especially would like to highlight:

• Buddhism and Society in the Medieval Estate System

  • This work paints a vivid portrait of medieval life and explains how Buddhism fit into that social world. While the article is specifically about medieval Japan, I think its insights are broadly applicable across medieval Asia.

• Translation or Forgery?

  • One of the biggest questions in the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism is how the apocryphal sūtras came to be written. The forgeries are often extremely sophisticated and show a deep knowledge of (and even respect for) the Dharma. So, what could compel a careful, erudite, Buddhist scholar to write a completely new sūtra?
    Incredibly, we know the name and biography of one such scholar: Zhu Fonian. In this paper, Jan Nattier tells us his story.

The Bibliography: The History of the Theravāda (link)

Many interesting episodes in the medieval history of “Southern Buddhism.”

Where to start

The bibliography focuses largely on the Pāli texts and the sometimes surprising politics surrounding them.

• Politics and Humor in the Thai Jataka

  • In this interview, Katherine Bowie explains how funny the Vessantara Jataka was to traditional Thai villagers, giving us a peak into the lively culture surrounding Theravāda’s seemingly-austere literature.

The Bibliographies: Rebirth Stories (link) and Canonical Poetry (link) and Abhidhamma Studies (link)

For those who want to dive right into the Pāli texts themselves, we’re pleased to now provide two bibliographies on the Khuddakanikāya and one on the Abhidhamma Piṭaka.

The Khuddaka Nikāya can roughly be divided into two parts: poetry collections and rebirth stories. The former are generally considered “early” and the latter “later” additions to the Canon, responding to slightly different needs: memorializing the Dhamma, largely for the monastics, and broadening the religion, largely for the laity respectively: hence the two bibliographies for the one collection.

The Abhidhamma bibliography, by contrast (and, surprisingly, popular demand), has also been added mixing together the canonical books of the collection with some later exegetical works, to round off our coverage of the Pāli Canon.

Where to start

I’d especially like to highlight for you a new project over at ReadingFaithfully to create:

• A Comprehensive Index of the Pāli Suttas

  • As of this email, the project is still in progress, but it is already a wonderful and large resource for exploring the Suttas by simile or by topic. I highly recommend it, both for casual reading and for serious study!

The Bibliographies: Media Studies (link) and The Intellect (link)

In today’s ever-connected world, media literacy is more important than ever. I’m happy to announce today the launch of two new sections of our library on the general (secular) psychology and philosophy of mind as well as on how different mediums affect us.

Where to start

• Belief Traps

  • In this paper, Scheffer et al explain the psychology of “harmful beliefs” and what, according to science, actually works to get people out of them.

• Attention Fracking

  • This podcast episode is a stirring conversation about how “The Algorithms” (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, etc) are messing with our brains at an industrial scale.

Opting out of the “attention economy” isn’t easy. For those who are going into seclusion for the next three months, I salute you! 🙏 And for everyone else, I hope that you’ll be able to find some refuge and peace this vassa as well. 😊

And, just in case it isn’t peaceful and safe, here are a few first-aid tips from the Red Cross worth reviewing which I sincerely hope don’t come in handy for you!!

Wishing you the very best this Rains,
Khemarato Bhikkhu
Chief Librarian