The
Concept of Personality Revealed
Through The Pancanikaya
Ven.
Thich Chon-Thien
Institute of Buddhist Studies
Saigon, Vietnam, 1995
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PREFACE
Buddhism is often understood as a religion or an ethical way of life for
the Buddhists. Not so many articles consider it as a way of education.
Even in a very well-known educational work entitled "Theories of
Personality" by Calvin S. Hall and Gardner Lindzey, published in 1991, 3rd
Edition, there is only one new chapter on "Eastern Psychology" discussing
Abhidhamma, in sixteen pages, as an Eastern personality theory. In this
research work, the author has made an attempt to present Lord Buddha's
teachings recorded in the Pali Suttapitaka as a theory of personality on
which a new course of education or culture may be based. The author began
his work from the starting point of the current crises of human society,
then came to Lord Buddha's concept of personality, then to the solutions
for those crises. The author was aware of difficulties that he would come
across during the period of proceeding with the work, but under the kind
and interesting supervision and encouragement from his supervisor, Dr.
Bhikshu Satyapala, he worked on the chosen topic, "The Concept of
Personality revealed through the Pancanikaya", with confidence, especially
after the topic was admitted by The Board of Research Studies for the
Humanities, Delhi University, through its meeting held on February 16,
1994.
The author has divided his research work into five parts:
1. Introduction of the
topic.
2. Dependent Origination as the Noble Truth.
3. The Concept of Personality revealed through the Pancanikaya.
4. Five Aggregates and Individual problems.
5. Conclusion: A new course of education or culture, and solutions for
the current crises.
The author does
not mention a human being as an entity having a permanent nature, but as a
conditioned existence or a process of becoming. In doing this, the author
has a hope that this research work will present something interesting to
the world of education.
On the completion
of this work, the author would like to express his sincere gratitude to
Dr. K.T.S. Sarao, Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies, Delhi
University, who gave him kind advice, to Dr. Reader, Bhikshu Satyapala who
kindly supervised the whole work to its completion. He would also like to
express his sincere gratitude to other Professors, Readers and Lecturers
of the Department of Buddhist Studies.
He is also
extremely grateful to the I.C.C.R. of the Indian Government for granting
him a scholarship for M. Phil. and Ph.D. Studies, to Vietnamese Government
for giving him permission to go to Delhi to pursue research in Buddhist
Studies, and to Dr. Bhikkhu THICH MINH-CHAU, the Rector of the Vietnam
Buddhist Research Institute, who always encouraged him to think of a
Buddhist way of Education.
Last but not the
least, the author does not fail to express here his gratitude to those
whose works proved very useful source of reference for his Thesis.
Bhikkhu THICH
CHON-THIEN (NGUYEN HOI)
Department of Buddhist Studies
University of Delhi, Delhi - 110007, India
1995
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Contents| Part 1
| Part 2 | Part 3
| Part 4 | Part 5
| Biography
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Source :
BuddhaSasana Home Page
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Layout: Nhi Tuong
Update : 11-12-2002
