The Tree of Enlightenment
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism
by Peter Della Santina
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Contents
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About the Author
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Peter Della Santina was born in the USA. He has spent many years
studying and teaching in South and East Asia. He received his BA. in
religion from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, USA in 1972
and a MA in philosophy from the University of Delhi, India two years
later. He did his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies also from the University of Delhi, India in 1979.
He worked for three years for the Institute for Advanced Studies of
world Religions, Fort Lee, New Jersey as a research scholar translating
8th century Buddhist philosophical texts from the Tibetan. He taught at
several Universities and Buddhist centers in Europe and Asia including,
the University of Pisa in Italy, the National
University of Singapore and Tibet House in Delhi, India. He was the
Coordinator of the Buddhist Studies project at the Curriculum Development
Institute of Singapore, a department of the Ministry of Education from
1983 to 1985.
More recently, he was a senior fellow at the Indian Institute of
Advanced Study, Simla, India and taught Philosophy at the Fo Kuang Shan
Academy of Chinese Buddhism , Kaoh-shiung, Taiwan.
For twenty-five years Peter Della Santina has been a student of H.H.
Sakya Trizin, leader of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism and of eminent
abets of the Sakya Tradition. He has practiced Buddhist meditation and has
completed a number of retreats.
He has published several books and articles in academic journals
including Nagarjuna's Letter to King Gautamiputra, Delhi 1978 and 1982 and
Madhyamaka Schools In India, Delhi 1986 and the Madhyamaka and Modern
Western Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, Hawaii, 1986.
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Author's Note
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From 1983 to 1985 when I was in Singapore engaged in
the Buddhist studies project at the Curriculum Development Institute, I
was invited by the Srilankaramaya Buddhist Temple and a number of Buddhist
friends to deliver four series of lectures covering some of the major
traditions of Buddhism. The lectures were popular, and thanks to the
efforts of Mr. Yeo Eng Chen and others, they were recorded, transcribed and printed for limited free distribution to students
of the Dharma. In the years since, the lectures which originally appeared
in the form of four separate booklets have remained popular and have even
been reprinted from time to time . Consequently, it seemed to me to be desirable to collect the four series of lectures
in one volume, and after appropriate revision to publish them for the
general use of the public.
In keeping with the original objectives of the
lectures, this book is - as far as possible - non-technical. It is
intended for ordinary readers not having any special expertise in Buddhist
studies or in Buddhist canonical languages. Original language terms have
therefore been kept to a minimum and foot notes have been avoided. Names
of texts cited are sometimes left untranslated, but this is because the
English renderings of some titles are awkward and hardly make their
subject matter more clear. In brief I hope that this book will serve as the beginning of its
readers' Buddhist education and not the end of it. The book can supply a
general introduction to the major traditions of Buddhism, but it does not
pretend to be complete or definitive. Neither can I honestly affirm that it is altogether free from errors, and
therefore I apologize in advance for any that may remain in spite of my
best efforts.
A number of original language terms and personal names
which have by now entered the English language such as 'Dharma', 'karma',
'Nirvana' and 'Shakyamuni' have been used throughout the book in their
Sanskrit forms. As for the rest, Pali original language terms, text titles
and personal names have been retained in parts I and IV which are largely based on Pali sources, while Sanskrit
original language technical terms, text titles and personal names have
been used in parts II and III which are largely based on Sanskrit and
Tibetan sources. Occasionally, this general rule has been ignored when the names of texts and persons referred to in a given
context actually occur in another one of the canonical languages. In as
much as Pali and Sanskrit are in most cases quite similar, I trust the
average reader will have no difficulty in coping with this arrangement.
I owe a great debt to a very large number of people for
the realization of this book. First and foremost, I would like to thank
H.H. Sakya Trizin without whom my interest in Buddhism might well have
remained superficial and merely intellectual. Next I would like to thank
Yeo Eng Chen and many other members of the Singapore Buddhist community without whose help and encouragement the
lectures would never have been delivered and the original transcripts on
which this book is based, never made. Then, I would also like to thank a
great many friends and students in Asia, Europe and America who encouraged
me to think the lectures might be useful for an even wider readership.
Finally, I want to thank all those who have been
involved in the actual preparation of the
present book. They include, the members of the Chico
Dharma study group, specially, Jo and Jim Murphy, Victoria Scott for her
help with the manuscript, L. Jamspal for his help with the original
language terms, my wife Krishna Ghosh for the many hours she spent
checking the manuscript, and my son Siddhartha Della Santina for the cover
design and formatting of the manuscript.
In conclusion, I would like to add that by offering
this book to the public, the Chico Dharma Study Group hopes to initiate a
program whereby Buddhist Studies materials may be made available free of
commercial considerations to students of Buddhism through a variety of
media. For the time being, the present book will be available not only in
hard copy, but also over the internet. In the future, the Chico Dharma
Study Group plans to produce and make available important materials in the
fields of Buddhist philosophy, practice and folk lore, including materials
for children and young adults. We welcome the help of anyone who would
like to contribute in any way to the educational activities of the group
and we invite you to contact us with your suggestions.
7 July, 1997 Chico, California, USA.
Peter Della Santina
Chico Dharma Study Group
26 Kirk Way, Chico, CA. 95928_
U.S.A.
E-mail:
dsantina@ecst.csuchico.edu
WWW: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~dsantina/
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Contents
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01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11
| 12 | 13
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41
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Layout: Nhi Tuong
Update : 11-05-2002
