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Where Philosophy Becomes a Way of Living
Me and mine
Me and mine
Selected essays of Bhikkhu Buddhadasa
Buddhadasa, Donald K. Swearer
Buddhadasa's "system" of thought, if we may call it that, is not conceived as a scheme to explain all that is worth explaining. Rather, it reflects his continuous effort to interpret the dhamma and make it relevant to particular times, places, persons and events. It begins with such basic questions as "Who am I?", "How can I live a meaningful life?" and "What is true freedom?".
In Buddhadasa's view questions about the greatest good of the individual necessarily lead to concerns about the world and the natural environment of which the individual is part. It is in this connection that Buddhadasa explores such seminal ideas as dhammajatio (nature) and paticca samuppada (conditioned genesis or interdependent co-arising), and demystifies the notion of emptiness or the void (sunnata).
Buddhadasa's interpretation is innovative and thus controversial to traditionals but it deals frankly with contemporary issues of the world, such as wars, social unrest and ecology.