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- Buddhism: A Cultural Perspective, by LaFleur William
R.
- Reviewed by Mary Evelyn Tucker
William LaFleur's book on Buddhism is a useful addition to the new
Prentice-Hall Series in World Religions. This series focuses on a cultural perspective
regarding religion rather than emphasizing specific historical or doctrinal developments.
Robert E llwood serves as the general editor of the series, which includes books on
nonliterate peoples by Sam Gill, on Hinduism by David Kinsley, on Islam by Richard Martin,
on American Religion by Mary Farrell Bednarowski, on Japanese Religion by Robert Ellwood
and Richard Pilgrim, on Chinese Religions by Christian Jochim, and on Christianity by
James Wiggins and Robert Ellwood. In his foreword Ellwood describes the two distinguishing
aspects of the series: (1) each book follows the same outline, allowing a high level of
consistency in content and approach, and (2) each book is oriented toward viewing
religious traditions as "religious cultures" in which history, ideologies,
practices, and sociologies all contribute toward constructing "deep structures"
that gov ern peoples' world views and life styles.
Ellwood then assures the readers
that they are not to expect simply "dry recitations of chronological history or
systematic exposition of ideology." Rather, the books provide "'cameo' insights
into particular personalities, movements, and historical moments that encourage an
understanding of the world view, life-style, and deep dynamics of religious cultures in
practice as they affect real people."
While these goals are laudable and
for many readers desirable, their attainability remains somewhat elusive. (Sam Gill, for
example has apparently departed from a common outline in his book.) A more detailed
comparison of the books in this series with those in the Wadsworth and the Harper and Row
series on world religions would be useful for teachers considering adopting texts. The
Wadsworth series, for example, has taken a largely historical approach to the traditions
which is supplemented by Frederick Streng's introductory book, Understanding Religious
Man. The Prentice-Hall series has apparently abandoned the idea of an introductory book,
but instead has tried to unify the series by taking a cultural appro ach as a common
ground for investigating each tradition. The Harper and Row series seems to be attempting
to balance some historical background discussion with descriptions of worship, rituals,
and world views.
The cultural approach adopted by
the Prentice-Hall series reflects the varied resources now at our disposal due to the
ongoing research by historians of religions, anthropologists, art historians, literary cr
itics, and translators. The history of religions and the study of other traditions are
clearly a burgeoning enterprise. Many scholars and teachers in the field of religious
studies welcome this expansive approach to the study of other traditions and speci fically
affirm the importance of a cultural perspective in understanding the dynamics of religion
in particular contexts. Thus, this series is a desirable addition to available texts for
teaching.
Having indicated a basic sympathy
with the approach adopted by William LaFleur and the other authors in this series, let us
turn specifically to his book on Buddhism. First, it can be said that LaFleur is one of
the best-qualified scholars of Buddhism to undertake a study of Buddhism from a cultural
perspective. The interaction of religion and culture has been an ongoing concern in his
teaching and his research. His book on The Karma of Words (University of California Press,
1983) is an excellent example of a careful study of Buddhist themes in Japanese
literature. His approach in that work gives a depth and richness of interpretation to the
literature being discussed as well as demonstrates the profound impact of Buddhism beyond
the monastery walls. Indeed, this study, his earlier research on Saigyo, and his training
in the study of religions at the University of Chicago give eminent indication why LaFleur
was a natural choice for writing an introductory text on Buddhism from a cultural
perspective.
Against this background and in
relation to LaFleur's considerable achievement in The Karma of Words, there is cause for
some disappointment with certain sections of his book on Buddhism. They are, of course,
very different kinds of books, intended for different audiences. Nonetheless, this
reviewer could not help but wonder what LaFleur would have done without the constraints of
a similar outline for all the books in the series. Somehow one hoped to see more of the
cultural perspective and less of the historical or, in any case, a finer weaving of the
two.
For example, chapter 2 on "A
History of Buddhism" comprises nearly one-fourth of the book. LaFleur admits at the
beginning of the chapter that it has a primarily historical emphasis. Certainly the reader
will grant there is a need to be situated in a broadly defined historical context, but
could some of this not have been abbreviated, as it is readily available elsewhere? Also
it was unclear why the discussion in the second half of this chapter moved from Bud
dhism's penetration into East Asia back to Theravada Buddhism and then to its expansion
northward and finally back to the Buddha's death. Will this not be somewhat confusing for
students? Was this an editor's decision?
With these reservations in mind,
the book nonetheless is important as it opens up for students some valuable territory in
the study of Buddhism. Chapter 3, for example, on "Difficult Places Along the Middle
P ath," is a skillful treatment of dissent within the tradition, the role of women,
and the Confucian resistance to Buddhism in China. LaFleur establishes the important point
that Buddhists did not force their views on others, nor was there a papacy within Buddhism
concerned with issues of heresy. Indeed, for the most part, orthopraxy was considered more
important than orthodoxy. Feminist scholars of religion will be gratified to note that
there is an extensive section on the role of women in Buddhism. The ambivalence with which
women have been treated within the tradition is not glossed over. The chapter concludes
with an analysis of the resistance to Buddhism by Confucians in China. Buddhist celibacy,
for example, as criticized by the Confucians, who valu ed progeny as a means of continuing
one's family and making appropriate offerings to one's ancestors.
Chapter 4 on "Twenty-five
Hundred Years of Poetry" is an important addition to introductory discussions of
Buddhism and a welcome departure from the detailed analysis of schools of thought. Because
of LaFleur 's skill in treating Buddhist themes in literature, as demonstrated in The
Karma of Words, the brevity of this chapter was a cause for some disappointment.
The following chapter on "The
Dharma: Doctrine and Philosophy" has a useful section on emptiness (`suunyataa) in
relation to the mutual codependence of all things (pratiiyasamutpaada). The juxtaposition
of th e Theravaada monk Buddhagho.sa with the contemporary Mahaayaana philosopher
Nishitani Keiji is a striking example of the expansiveness and diversity of the Buddhist
tradition over a millennium and a half. The analysis of meditation in The Path of` Purity
should be particularly helpful for students for whom the practice of meditation is often
of primary interest. It is also refreshing to see the Kyoto school and Nishitani Keiji
included in an introduc tory text because of the significance of this philosophical
endeavor in our own century.
Chapter 6 on "The Buddha:
Models and Rituals" is an important effort to bring to the fore a discussion of
issues regarding "atheism" and "theism" within Buddhist theory and
practice. There is also an analysis of the role of the Buddha as a human being and as a
person who has been perceived as having divine attributes. Finally, the seemingly
conflicting ideas of worship and iconoclasm within the tradition are skillfully raised.
LaFleur fleshes out his introduc tory remarks with interesting examples, again from both a
Theravaada and a Mahaayaana context. His first example is a Sri Lankan monastery and the
second is a Zen meditation session (sesshin). The latter will, no doubt, prove interesting
for students beca use of the personal comments by the author and because the presence of
Zen meditation centers in the U.S. and Europe makes the practice of zazen less remote.
The final chapter on "The
Sangha: Community and Modernity" uses Tibetan Vajrayaana Buddhism and Vietnamese
Buddhism as examples of the diversity and complexity of the tradition in relation to the
community. A gain, because of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, LaFleur's
example is well chosen. Moreover, his interview with the Dalai Lama in India is also a
valuable personal touch for students. His choice of Vietnamese Buddhism in relation to the
Vietna mese war is again helpful for students, many of whom were not even born during this
period but are, nonetheless, familiar with the widespread impact of the war on American
society.
One of LaFleur's most illustrative
examples of how far the understanding of Buddhism has come in the West (especially in the
last several centuries) is evident in the quotation from Englebert Kaempfer's treat ise on
The History of Japan Together With A Description of the Kingdom of Siam, based on
Kaempfer's experiences in Asia in the 1690s. LaFleur applauds this progress in the study
of the tradition and yet cautions against any self-congratulatory stance, rem inding his
readers that many Buddhist texts till remain to be translated and that our knowledge of
Buddhist historical developments is still incomplete. Thus, LaFleur's book is an important
challenge to earlier approaches to the study of Buddhism based la rgely on texts,
doctrines, or historical developments. Its appeal as a classroom text seems very probable
because of the diverse and interesting cultural examples he uses to illustrate his points.
One would hope that his necessarily selective, but significant, venture into the cultural
aspects of Buddhism will be supplemented by further such studies.
Philosophy East and West, 39:4, 1989.10,
pp. 509-511
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