‘Buddhism as a religion’ was originally gepublished in
Dutch in: INDIA INSTITUUT BULLETIN 2004, p.25-34. This new English version
dates from 2008
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Buddhism as a religion
The Development of Buddhism: from Shakyamuni to Dalai Lama
Ferry Erdmann 2008
Introduction
The total
number of Buddhists in the world today is over 400 million. This amounts to about six [1]percent
of the global population, making Buddhism one of the four 'great world
religions'. It is practised in a large
number of Asian countries: India,
Nepal,
Bhutan,
China
(incl. Tibet
and Inner-Mongolia), Japan,
North and South Korea,
Taiwan
and in Sri Lanka,
Myanmar
(Burma),
Thailand,
Laos,
Cambodja and Vietnam. There are also a considerable number of adherents
in Western countries.
In the
first part of this article, a summary is given of the three most important
developments or currents in Buddhism.
They are consecutively: A) the
old theravada Buddhism, B) the
'big-hearted' large vehicle or mahayana
Buddhism and, therein, C) the esoteric tantrayana
Buddhism. The most important concepts en terminology will be explained in their
context.
It is often
argued that Buddhism is principally atheistic[2]
and rational, therefore rather a pragmatic philosophy or a way of life than a religion. However, the use of a scientific definition
of religion, can lead to a different conclusion. The second part of the lecture reviews this
issue.
The Development of Buddhism
A) Theravada
Buddhism begins in the sixth century B.C. with the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, titled Shakyamuni (sage of Shakya kin). His immediate family was the royal house of Koshala, a small Hindu[3] kingdom on the present frontier of North India and Nepal. Its southern neighbour state was Magadha at the river Ganges in the region of Patna, Gaya and Varanasi. This period was most likely one of infrastructural improvement, flourishing trade and urbanization. It must have brought about new professional groups in crafts, trade and services, which had no place in the existing caste structure. Among these groups various new religious movements are surmised to have had the occasion to rise, our Buddha Shakyamuni being the leader of one of them.
Buddhism begins in the sixth century B.C. with the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, titled Shakyamuni (sage of Shakya kin). His immediate family was the royal house of Koshala, a small Hindu[3] kingdom on the present frontier of North India and Nepal. Its southern neighbour state was Magadha at the river Ganges in the region of Patna, Gaya and Varanasi. This period was most likely one of infrastructural improvement, flourishing trade and urbanization. It must have brought about new professional groups in crafts, trade and services, which had no place in the existing caste structure. Among these groups various new religious movements are surmised to have had the occasion to rise, our Buddha Shakyamuni being the leader of one of them.
Since the
beginning, the heart of Buddhism consists of the triratna, 'triple gem': buddha
(the enlightened mind), dharma (the
doctrine) and sangha (the community
of monks). The doctrine or teachings
were not written down until more than a century later in the contemporary North
Indian colloquial Pali language.[4] This 'Pali-canon' consists of three parts ,
the 'three baskets' (tripitaka): a. sutra's, the teachings of the Buddha
himself, b. vinaya, rules for the
monks, and c. abidamma, commentaries
on the sutra's.
Buddhism
clearly distinguished itself from the Vedic Hinduism or Brahmanism of those
days. Because non-violence (ahimsa) was adhered to, Buddhists did
not want to have anything to do with animal sacrifices. Furthermore, the caste
system was ignored and even refuted. Reincarnation
and karma, however, remained leading principles. Every act has its cause and effect, and every
being is involved in the cycle of life and death according to its previous acting.
Then again
contrary to Hindu philosophy, Buddhism denies the existence of any independant
I, ego or soul (atman) and even any
thing or 'being' to exist independantly or statically, by itself in a
stand-still non-process situation.
Nothing has an independant substantial or static unchanging
existence. About this true nature of
things, having a. no-soul (anatman) and b. no-permanence (anitya)
(we) ordinary living beings are ignorant. The 'reality' we live in is relative,
a matter of illusory perception and inadequate conceptualization. This lack of
insight is responsible for a third basic characteristic of existance: c. suffering
(dukkha).
Now, this
is at the same time the first of the famous 'four noble truths': 1e life is suffering (dukkha); 2e the cause of suffering, i.e: desire (trishna) (or attachment, hatred and
ignorance (avidya)); 3e the possibility to stop suffering by
stopping the cause, and reach a state beyond life and death, called nirvana (extinction); 4e the
'eightfold path', eight rules of ethics and meditation leading to enlightenment
(bodhi), a superior spiritual level
which is a condition to enter nirvana.
In this
first developmental stage of Buddhism, the way of living according to
immaculate ethics and mental development through meditation is only possible
for monks. Their pursuit of the highest
wisdom is an individual one and is called the ideal of the arhat, the ‘worthy’enlightened monk bound to enter nirvana. Generally, it will take countless rebirths to
reach this goal. A lay person must wait
longer, if only first for a rebirth leading to monkhood. He or she takes 'refuge' in the 'triple gem'
and should abide by the commandments of the panc
sil (five seals): no killing, no stealing, no lying, no adultery, no
intoxication.
The
expansion of the old (theravada)
Buddhism takes place from the third century B.C. onwards. The great emperor Ashoka spread the doctrine
all over his North-Indian realm, and his successors of the Maurya dynasty
exported it to Sri Lanka
and from there to Southeast Asia, where it has
survived to this day. Theravadins only
follow the original Pali-canon and venerate basically no other Buddha figure
than the historical Buddha Shakyamuni.
B) Mahayana From the first century
before the Christian era, new developments come up in the Buddhism of North
India. They can be related to cultural
contacts, which in the time of the Kushana kings took place in the Northwestern
part of the Indian subcontinent.
Influences are traced back to Central Asia,
the Middle East and even Hellenistic
culture. Most remarkable is the
subordination of the individualist arhat ideal,
to the higher ideal of the bodhisattva,
one who is to become a buddha. A bodhisattva
has vowed that after having attained enlightenment for himself, he will
postpone his nirvana until all living
beings can become Buddhas and enter nirvana. In countless intermediate rebirths he is
obliged to help and teach others on the path of the dharma. Thus, a bodhisattva is the embodiment of
compassion (karuna), the ethical core
of Mahayana Buddhism, aiming for a
future collective nirvana not only
for mankind, but for all sentient beings together.
Although
the sangha remains of crucial
importance, the Mahayana way to
enlightenment is not restricted to monks.
Whoever cannot follow all the rules of the vinaya discipline, is not necessary excluded from attaining the
highest level of wisdom, or from taking the bodhisattva
vow. Because everybody basically has
access to the spiritual path and a collective nirvana for everyone is the highest goal, this new developmental
phase in Buddhism is called mahayana,
'large vehicle'. The new teachings are
written in Sanskrit, which in the course of the centuries had taken the place
of Pali in North India. The most important mahayana texts are some 'miraculously discovered' new sutra's
They are not to replace, but simply to be added to the original tripitaka.[5] Thus, the large vehicle is big hearted enough
to take the individualist Theravada
Buddhism into its fold, although from now on the latter is sometimes
pejoratively called: hinayana, ‘small
or lesser vehicle’.
On the
philosophical level of Mahayana
Buddhism, nirvana is no longer
considered a separate after-life condition
outside of this earthly vale of tears.
As a matter of fact, the relative reality of samsara (our suffering illusory existence of endless rebirth) and
the absolute nirvana, are one and the
same. The highest spiritual and
practical accomplishment of enlightenment is just to realize what is already
there, a unification of opposites. The
path to this dialectical perfection of wisdom, this insight into the
meta-conceptional emptiness (sunyatta),
i.e. 'not this' and at the same time 'not that', as the fundamental nature of
reality, is now open to everybody.
One could
say that nirvana has become more near
to us, including the Buddha figures dwelling there. The 'state' of nirvana is no longer reserved for the historical Buddha and his
most favoured disciples. In Mahayana imagination a Buddha of the
past and one of the future are added, followed by 'celestial' meditation Buddhas
and symbolic bodhisattva
figures. Some are thought to be residing
in heavenly paradises, a kind of pre-nirvana
abodes. In religious practice they are
all venerated and ritually treated as gods.
It is only
since the beginning of Mahayana
Buddhism, that in art we encounter representations of Buddha figures as
persons. From the previous period only
symbols have been found, such as the wheel of the dharma, the lotus of wisdom, a footprint of the Buddha, and the stupa relic container. While in Theravada art only the image of the
historical Buddha Shakyamuni is
represented, Mahayana art has been able to make use of a whole imaginary
pantheon.
In the first four centuries of the Christian era Mahayana Buddhism was spread throughout the whole of North India, and via the Silk Trade Routes, to Central
and East Asia as well. Because it has almost disappeared from India, it is
sometimes called Northern Buddhism.
A large number
of school have developed, each with their own teachers and philosophical
emphasis as well as their own characteristic selection of texts, rituals and
meditation methods. They are all considered
mahayana buddhist. Some of the most influencial and characteristic
developments are Pure Land Buddhism, Chan or Zen Buddhism
and Tantrayana or tantric Buddhism.[6]
Pure land buddhism is a popular
development in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. Adherents try to enter a special
kind of paradise by means of simply endlessly reciting a mantra. Already
in early Mahayana Buddhism various Buddhas and bodhisattvas were
imagined as residing in their own separate world of utter wisdom and moral
purity, as a more concretely imaginable preamble to nirvana. The most
well-known Pure
Land is Sukhavati,
the heavenly paradise of the Buddha Amitabha
Chan or Zen Buddhism is another
development in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, It abstains from intellectual
discussion about scriptures and does not use complicated magical or devotional
rituals. The direct way to enlightenment is through living daily life with full
undiverted attention. The method Zen Buddhists use to realize this insight is the
ritual perfectioning of ordinary acts, such as just sitting, but also walking.
one of the Zen schools also uses the method of solving absurd anti-intellectual
riddles. We find Zen Buddhism reflected in many art forms, such as
tea-cereminy, gardening, brush painting, flower arrangement and the martial
arts
Tantrayana or tantric
Buddhism is doubtlessly the most peculiar and unconventional Mahayana
Buddhist development. In the rest of this article this type of Buddhism
receives some more attention and we shall see how it is in this form that
Buddhism manifests itself most extremely as a religion.
C) Tantrayana is
also called vajrayana or mantrayana. Tantrism is a movement which took place in
the religions of North
India, both Hinduism and Buddhism, between the sixth and eleventh
century A.D. It involves the
incorporation of magical and shamanic folk cults into the ‘higher’
institutionalized and scriptural religious traditions. And at the same time radical
methods of meditation and extreme yoga systems are developed and transferred in
strictly personal master-student relationships.
They offer the possibility to attain enlightenment directly, during this
very life time. The word tantra originally means 'texture' or
'network' and is said to refer to the insoluble ties of the master-student
teaching tradition or, alternatively, to the interconnectedness of (opposite)
things in this world. Tantrism is
ritualistic and esoteric. Meditation and yoga techniques are connected with
extensive rituals of many kinds, often transmitted secretly. Initiation, offering, atonement,
purification and exorcism are among the many functions of various tantric
rituals. They make use of asanas (body postures), mudras (hand gestures), mantras (series of sounds) and mandalas (circular geometric
representations). Visualization is a
very important element involving symbols that represent violence, sex and
death. Fierce images of protection
deities with all sorts of weaponry keep evil forces away. The sexual union symbolizes the unification
of opposites and in some schools sexual rituals with an actual consort are really practised as al literal yoga method. Contact with and representation of death
confronts us with impermanence, the transience of life in general and of this
precious human form in particular.
In
tantrism, we find folk techniques of magicians and shamans used as methods of
yoga and meditation in the Hindu and Buddhist pursuit of enlightenment. By means tantric ritual yogins and monks can
function als priests for the lay population and pursue enlightenment at the
same time.
The
imaginary world of more regional and local forms of religion is incorporated in
Hindu and Buddhist world view and art. In Hinduism, tantric rituals are still
practised in some of the mystic Shivaite traditions. Mostly however, they have been eclipsed by
other religious systems and movements.
Tantric
Buddhism on the other hand, has become widely known, especially its Tibetan
variety. Like some other Central- and also East-Asian countries, Tibet had had
its first contacts with tantric Buddhism before, but its lasting introduction
came from the eleventh century onwards. In
that period Buddhism disappeared from the plains of North
India for not entirely known reasons. There have been devastating
Muslim invasions and a vehement revival of
Brahmanism. The Buddhist sangha has always been very conspicuous
by the outfit they have vowed to wear and their monasteries have often
developed into strongholds and treasure houses with major political
allegiances. In short, once they become a target, they are easy be hit and
maybe even destroyed. And the sangha as one of the three jewels of
Buddhism, is said also to be one of the fundamental conditions of its survival.
Be it for one reason or another, monks and tantric teachers probably fled into
the Himalayan mountains and found refuge
in Tibet. In the meantime, their methods were written
down and these ritual scriptures are also called tantras. Like nearly every
Indian Buddhist text, these were from now on diligently translated from
Sanskrit into Tibetan. In no other
language has so much of the Buddhist canon been recorded as in Tibetan. In the isolated barren country of nomads with
their animistic world view, the tantric methods and rituals hit fertile
ground. They became popular by mixing
once again with native traditions of magic and shamanism. Buddhist monks managed to take over the
function of local priests and in temples and monasteries executed rituals for
the welfare of the entire community. The
lay population not only donated for the basic livelihood of monks as
enlightenment heroes, but also paid them as specialists in performing magical
rituals to control evil forces. The sangha appropriated an important
economic and political role as well, and an unprecedented rise of monasticism
took place in Tibet. In this way, the very special Tibetan type of
Buddhism came up, with its many kinds of religious specialists and its peerless
ritualism, artistic wealth, various monastic orders and theocratic
government. Tibetan Buddhism at present
is one of the most vital forms of Mahayana
Buddhism, in which tantric rites of varying complexity determine the daily
religious life of monks as well as lay men and women.
Unique is
the very literal Tibetan interpretation of the bodhisattva concept. On
account of this, hundreds of holy [7]persons
are venerated as a kind of 'living Buddhas'.
The most important religious teachers, who have often occupied the
leading positions in the monasteries and even in the national government, are
regarded as concretely reincarnating enlightened beings, tulku, 'emanation body'.
'Technically', the idea is linked with the older mahayana theory of the trikaya,
'three bodies' or levels of abstraction where the enlightened can manifest
themselves: the dharmakaya or
absolute, the sambhogakaya or symbolic,
and the nirmanakaya or concrete
historical personages. Tibetan tulku are the latter and given the
honorific title of Rimpoche (Great
Precious). After their death, a rebirth
is searched for and almost always found and educated to take over the religious
and political function of his predecessor.
The Dalai Lama is the most well-known of these reincarnating
figures. Because of the dramatic
developments in Chinese Tibet since 1959, the present Dalai Lama, the
fourteenth in succession, is living in Northwest India. Formally, he is the incarnation of the bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara, supreme symbol of compassion.
As the political leader of the Tibetan government in exile, the present
Dalai Lama's embodiment of the ethics of compassion was publicly recognized
with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Very strategically, he has already announced
that his rebirth will not be in Tibet,
but in one of the Tibetan refugee communities in Nepal or India.
Buddhism as a Religion
After this
summary, I want to again raise the question of whether we can speak of Buddhism
as a religion or not. This old topic is
still relevant, since it gives us the opportunity to state our conception of
religion and reiterate some important aspects of the previous resumé. The denial that Buddhism is a religion is
based on a) common dictionary
definitions of religion, which focus on 'supernatural power or being(s)',
and b) a very limited conception of
Buddhism. In social science there has
been an extensive discussion about how to define religion.[8] Leaving this discussion aside, I simply want
to present and use the following eclectically composed working definition as a
point of departure.
Religion
is a 'cultural system' of ideas, symbols and actions, relating to interaction
with a non-empirical reality. The system
is maintained and made accessible by specialized persons. Social values and
norms and political positions of power are connected with this system.[9]
Now, let us
reconsider which aspects of the historical and theoretical developments of
Buddhism fit into the above definition.
Surely, what we know of the oldest form of Buddhism is that its doctrine
is built on some very rational philosophical points of departure, such as the anatta and anicca
premises and the 'four noble truths'.
The latter are ordered logically according to the medical
diagnostic-therapeutic pattern: determine the ailment, search for the cause,
see if you can stop the cause and finally determine how to stop the cause. On the other hand the concepts of enlightenment and
nirvana, let alone rebirth are not particularly ‘empirical’. Moreover, in the oldest pali-texts gods, godesses and all kinds
of supernatural beings (deva, devi, devta) as they were commonly believed in North India of those days, figure repeatedly. The Buddha
is told to have to have had several meetings with them, although admittedly in
his teachings they are attributed a rather inferior position. Gods, like other
sentient beings are placed within the circle of life and death, and the idea of
a creating godhead is ignored.[10]
However,
what do we really know about the beliefs and practices of the Buddhists of
those early days and is their original doctrine really that rational? What we do know, is that nowadays the
majority of Buddhist men and women in
the street and in the field and also the sangha
members in the monastery have a firm belief in the unprovable factualness of
their own rebirth. Moreover, they are
fully convinced of the realness of enlightenment and nirvana and of the supra-normal existence in that state, of one or
more Buddhas.
In all
developmental phases of Buddhism as they are still represented by the branches
of Buddhism in today's world, the image of the Buddha is venerated through acts
of symbolic communication. No matter how
little we know about the Buddha's lifetime and the first centuries after, it
cannot be denied that since then the person of the Buddha has become
deified. In Mahayana Buddhism this god-man Buddha has multiplied and obtained a
retinue of old as well as new attendant deities and/or bodhisattvas. Ultimately in
the Tantrayana and especially in the
Tibetan form of Buddhism, so many 'real' gods and ghosts and demons are added,
that here the world's most extensive living pantheon has been created, to speak
nothing of the multitude of symbols and rituals to interact with it.
Moreover,
as in any of the world religions, it is notably clear in Tibetan Buddhism, that
we can speak of a religious complex, in which the dominant religious movement
has incorporated one or more others, including the deities and accompanying
rituals.
In all its
phases, currents or types, Buddhism is inextricably interwoven with the rest of
society. The ethical aspect is inherent
in the commandments of the 'eightfold path' and the 'five seals' and is firmly
founded in the 'karmic' rebirth-retribution principle and in the duty of
'giving to the triple gem', the maintenance and the exemplary role of the sangha.
In Mahayana Buddhism it is
true that the way to enlightenment is not restricted to monkhood anymore, but
all the more stress is given to compassion and the togetherness of all living
beings. Buddhism has known its greatest periods of expansion by means of
close ties between the sangha and
worldly power. The social role and power
position of monks and other religious specialists and the place of monastic
institutions in political and economic life in all periods of history of all
Buddhist societies can be easily demonstrated.
Our summary
of its main developments shows clearly that Buddhism itself has also been
subject to change. Its systems of
beliefs, images and rituals have changed and expanded and still are in processes of transformation. Like any religion in the history of ideology
and society at large, Buddhism has in some times been the foundation of values
supporting the status quo, whereas in other periods it has been subject to
persecution or has provided the ideological basis of freedom struggle and
independence movements. The present case
of Tibet
is an example of the latter.
The rational
aspects on the philosophical level and the atheistic character of its original
canon seem to give Buddhism the position of a relative outsider among other
religions. Maybe this rationalism is
part of what makes Buddhism attractive to Western intellectuals. And maybe that is why they are inclined to
emphasize this part. What I have tried
to demonstrate is that we must not confuse the comparatively rational
philosophy or even the original teachings of the Buddha, with Buddhism as a
whole cultural system and a social phenomenon.
Buddhism encompasses so much more than its written doctrine, that
according to our working definition, it must definitely be called a religion.[11]
Literature:
Baal, J.van, 1985: Symbols for Communication. An introduction to the
anthropological study of religion
(V.Gorcum,
Assen)
Banton, Michael (ed), 1966: Anthropological Approaches to the Study of
Religion (Tavistock, London)
Bechert, H.
& R. Gombrich (eds.), 1984: The World of Buddhism (Thames & Hudson, London)
Bell, Catherine, 1997 :
Ritual, perspectives and dimensions (NewYork/Oxford, Oxford Univ. Press)
Buswell, Robert E.,
2004: Encyclopedia of Buddhism. (2 vols) (Mc Millan/Thomson, New York)
Dürkheim, E. 1912:
Les Formes Elémentaires de la Vie Religieuze (PUF 1960, Paris). (Short Engl.
transl. in Lambek, 2002, p.
34-49)
Ekvall, R.K.,
1964: Religious Observances in Tibet,
patterns and functions (Univ.
of Chicago Press)
Feuchtwang,
Stephan: 'Investigating Religion', in: Bloch, M.(ed.), 1975: Marxist Analysis
and Social Anthropology.
(Malaby, London)
Geertz,
Clifford: 'Religion as a Cultural System', in: Banton, 1966, p.1-46 en: Lambek,
2002, p.61-82.
Keown, Damien,
2003: Dictionary of Buddhism (Oxford
Univ. Press, New York)
Lambek, Michael
(ed.), 2002: A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion (Blackwell, Malden)
Morris, Brian,
1987: Anthropological Studies of Religion. An introductory text (Cambridge
Univ. Press)
Robinson, Richard H. & Willard L. Johnson, 1997: The Buddhist
Religion: a historical introduction (4th ed: Wadsworth,
Belmont)
Samuel, Geoffrey, 1993: Civilized Shamans. Buddhism in Tibetan
Societies (Smithsonean, Washington DC)
Schumann, H.W., 1982: Der Historische Buddha
(Diederichs; Eng. vert. 1989 Arkana, Penguin, London)
Smart, N.
(ed.), 1999: Atlas of the World's Religions (Calmann&King; NL.ed.2000:
Wereldatlas van Religies (Könemann,
Keulen))
Spiro, M.E.: 'Religion:
Problems of Definition and Explanation', in Banton 1966, p.85-125
Trainor, Kevin,
2002: Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide (Duncan Baird, London; NL. ed.2002 Boeddhisme. Het Geïllustreerde
Standaardwerk (Spectrum,
Utrecht)
Vernon, Glenn M., 1962: Sociology of Religion
(McGraw-Hill, New York)
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[1] The
other great world religions are Christianity with 1.966, Islam with 1.179,
Hinduism with 767 million adherents, i.e. consecutively: 35, 21 and 14 % of the
world population (cf: Smart, 1999, p. 12-13, 66).
[2] Already
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) founding father of sociology, was so impressed by
the atheism of Buddhism and some other Indian religions, that he came up with
the dichotomy "sacré-profane" as crucial element in his definition of
religion (1912/'60, p. 41-49, 65).
[3] The
terms Hindu and Hinduism were adopted by the British from their Muslim colonial
predecessors. They served to subsume everything religious surviving in India apart
from Islam, under a common denominator, except clear-cut movements such as
Buddhism and Jainism. In fact their use is not very apt for these early times,
where the indicate something like ‘Vedic religion’ or Brahmanism with caste
division and rituals performed by brahmins.
[4] In
order to prevent confusion, I have used the
more common Sanskrit version of Buddhist terms (unless mentioned
differently)
[5] Well
known mahayana sutra’s are: the nirvana sutra, the ‘lotus’ sutra, the prajna paramita (perfection of wisdom) sutras, (a.o. the ‘diamond’ sutra
and the ‘heart’ sutra), the lankavatara sutra, the avatamsaka sutra, yogacharya sutra’s and finally the pure land sutras.
[6] To
mention (apart from the old theoretical-philosophical ones) a few well known
separate schools: Tien-t’ai in China and Japan (Tendai);
in Japan Shingon and the Zen schools Soto en Rinzai, the Pure Land schools Jodo
shu and Jodo shin shu, and the
‘modern’ Nichiren school; in Tibetan
buddhism four Buddhist schools stand out: Ningmapa,
Sakyapa, Kagyudpa en Gelugpa, whereas
[9] In
this definition I have preferred the more general term interaction, but would
not mind Jan van Baal’s more specific
concept of ‘symbolic communication’ (Cf.Baal, 1985). The same goes for
‘non-verifiable’, ‘transcendent’ of ‘supernatural’ as alternatives for my pfererance for ‘non-empirical’ to specify
the reality of religion. Furthermore I agree with Clifford Geertz' view on
religion as a cultural system of symbols, and with Stephan Feuchtwang’s emphasis on the
relatedness of systems and on change. (cf.
Geertz in Banton,1966, and cf. Feuchtwang in Bloch,1975).
[11] I owe quite a few things to Melford Spiro. To begin with the term 'interaction' in my
definition. Moreover, Spiro also shows
how even Theravada's atheism is disputable.
And last but not least, he already pointed out the fundamental mistake
of "confusing a philosophical school with the belief and behaviour of a
religious community"! (Spiro in Banton 1966, p. 93)
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