Approaching the Dhamma

Eleven essays from leading scholars in Buddhist Studies honor the late Godwin Samararatne, "scholar, meditation master, social work, and spiritual friend to many in Sri Lanka and beyond." Each essay offers new interpretations of Buddhist texts and practices central to the life of the Dhamma in South and Southeast Asia. The gamut of topics range from Buddhist theory and origin, to practice and application. The authors address complex questions related to the interpretation and understanding of Buddhism. A diverse range of positions stratify the meaning of the Buddha's teaching through contextual discussions about attitudes, death, emotion, social service, ritual performance, past lives, lay meditation, and more. "This entirely original and thoroughly fresh set of interpretive scholarly essays by such a distinguished group of scholars is a fitting and worthy tribute to Godwin Samararatne, a genuinely compassionate Buddhist who enriched the lives of so many who have traveled to Sri Lanka in search of understanding the Dhamma, how it can be realized through meditation, and how it informs a Buddhist understanding of the world. Almost without exception, the collective insights articulated here make a lasting contribution to the quests of Buddhist studies." —John Clifford Holt.