[Buddha-l] Re: Attan.com

[Malcolm Dean]

>
> This is Ken Wheeler's site. He is good friends with Zenmar aka Ardent
> Hollingworth the founder and master debater of Dark Zen. Wheeler is a
> self proclaimed "Doctor of Buddhology" and also goes by the Ven
> Shakya Aryanatta (self ordained).
>

I'd like to parse the content of http://www.attan.com a little more
before we dismiss the subject. This kind of source is sometimes useful
in promoting further discovery, so, for those interested, let's
explore. (Others may prefer to return to politics.):

For example, the author claims that the earliest books are doctrinally
distinct from those that follow (mainly, I gather, in his assertions
regarding "soul"). Is this distinction generally agreed or not? Where
are the dividing lines? Are there good books or papers on this topic?

The author provides a lengthy list of quotations regarding "soul." Is
his translation correct, or are there divergent opinions? If correct,
how are we to understand a set of early writings which can be
interpreted as diverging from later teachings?

The author offers a low opinion of the PTS dictionary. Is he correct?
If not, why not?

The author provides a number of books in PDF form. Some are clearly
Theosophical, others appear to be reference volumes or translations.
What is the quality of these works and translations? Do any have
interesting stories behind them?

Beside the details provided about the author in the previous post,
does anyone herein know him personally, or where he lives and what he
does for a living?

Malcolm Dean