Department
Interdisciplinary Studies
Additional Department
School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Abstract
Though Americans have been exposed to Asian philosophical traditions since the nineteenth century – with much recent help from the Beat writers of the 1950s and 1960s – too little attention has been paid to the texts and ideas of these traditions and to their implementation in daily life. This is especially true with regard to Buddhist ideas of ethics and karma. Compounding the problem is the commercial exploitation of Asian philosophical terms like Dharma, karma, tantra and reincarnation, which tends to impede deeper understanding of these important concepts. In America, ethics are once more on the lips of many in academia, business, and government; we must therefore make a careful examination of these ideas so that we can develop practices that will help mitigate world suffering.
Journal Title
Southeast Review of Asian Studies
Volume
33
First Page
199
Last Page
207