[Buddha-l] Gods in Theravada (was: Will this be on the final exam?)

[Curt Steinmetz]

Gombrich wrote in 1988 that the "radicalism" of the "Protestant 
Buddhism" of Anagarika Dharmapala & Co., who "condemned belief in Gods 
... and rejected the traditional communal religion of the Sinhalese", 
"is now virtually unknown" and that not only is "spirit religion" alive 
and well among Sinhalese Buddhists, but the Goddess Kali in particular 
has become increasingly popular.

Gombrich emphasized the "terrible" and "irrational" aspects of Kali when 
he wrote in 1988, but in 2006 Wickremeratne and Bond wrote that "In Sri 
Lanka, Kali is seen as an entirely benign and helpful Goddess" with "a 
gentle disposition".

So perhaps in future BN surverys, belief in Kali should be used as a 
marker for Theravada Buddhism, at least in its Sri Lankan version - with 
Sri Lankan Theravadins further divided between those who worship the 
"terrible" Kali, and those who worship the nice one.

Curt

P.S. Gombrich 1988 is "Theravadin Buddhism: A Social History"
Wickremeratne and Bond 2006 is "Buddhism in Sri Lanka"

Clough, Bradley wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
> From:  Jackhat1 at aol.com
>
> The answers to which questions on this exam would distinguish between a  
> Thera. and Mahayana Buddhist?
>  
> Jack
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> To try to answer this initial question of yours, Jack, it is my guess that one of the things is belief in God or gods versus atheism or agnosticism. I think if you affirm God/gods, Belief.Net thinks you are more of a Mahayanist (see their definition of the Mahayana concept of Buddha that someone recently posted). If you check either atheism or agnosticism, they think you're more Theravadin. Of course, these are false assumptions, but ones that pop up all the time in popular notions about Theravada and Mahayana. Most traditional Asian Theravadins actually believe in all sorts of spirits and gods, and the assertion that Mahayanists believe in an omnipotent Buddha of complete saving grace is mostly off base, with the possible but certainly notable exception of Pure Land beliefs.
>
> Again, I'm just guessing that this is one way Belief.Net distinguishes between the two. I certainly don't know for sure.
>
> Brad Clough
>
>
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