Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

32

DavidBuhna-Liticand

Wintan

Higgins

general

pattem:

institutionalized

religions‘

focuson

‘privileged

religiousobjects‘,

in

Batchelor‘s

phrase.

and

the

decontextualized‘Lord’Buddha

havefilledthebill

asan

object

ofboth

religious

veneration

andof‘authoritative’

(orthodox)

inter—

pretation

inthe

commentaries.

Inevitably.

muchofthat

interpretation

tendstobe

self-serving,

in

shoringup

theclaimsto

authority

ofthe

institutions

producingit.

theirformulaic

meditative

techniques

andtheirown

associationalshibboleths

—

most

spectacularly

theconcentration

of

power

andthe

marginalization

ot'women.

as

notedearlier,

Modem

approaches

to

interpretation

haveheadedofl"in

the

opposite

direction:

they

seektosituate

thesourceof

originalteachings

as

precisely

as

possible

in

an

historicaland

biographical

context.This

approach

accepts

thatall

spiritual

traditionsarehuman

artetactsandthe

human

founders,

like

allmembersoftheir

species.

arechildrenof

theirtimeand

culture.Therelevant

contextthusnot

only

specifies

a timeand

place,

but alsoa

culturalframework

(includingreligious

culture)

andthe

political

and

socioeconomic

dynamics

thatwould

have

shaped

the

individualin

question.

Allthesefactors

informour

reading

of

theirwords

anddeeds

and

give

the

studentanew

purchase

onthewordsonthe

page

andthe

practice

they

inform.

In

spite

ofhis

pioneering

the

presentation

ol'the

Buddhaas

aconcretc.historical

figure.

Nanamoliwroteasan

orthodoxTheravadin

monk;

in

fact,

healso

trans

lated

(among

much

else)

the

commentary

thatdefines

theTheravadin

orthodoxy.

lluddhaghosa‘s

77n-Palh

0/

Purification.

More

recentcontributorstothe

work

of

unearthing

thehistorical

Buddhahaveworked

from

quite

different

starting

points

andhave

strongly

influenceddharmn

study

in

Australian

insight

circles.

For

instance.Mishra‘s

work,

An

EndIn

Suffering:

TheBuddhainthe

Will'fd.starts

withhis

surprise

at

finding

that

theBuddhawasnotan

avatarofthe

god

Vishnu.

bornfromthe

mouthof

Brahma.

as

hisltinttu

upbringing

hadclaimed.butrather

hismost

influential

compatriot

and

a

great

contributorto

theIndianintellectual

tradition

(2004).

Asimilaraccount

oftheBuddha‘s

lifeandwork

emerges

from

Batchelor‘s

series

ofeight

hour-long

dharmatalksin

2005.‘TheLifeandDeathof

Siddhaltha

(iotama‘andhis

Living

wilh

theDevil:A

MedilalianonGoodandEvil

tllatehelnr.

2004).

These

sources. too. have hadan

impact

onAustralian

insight

circles.

Batchelor's

work

brings

a

modern

scepticalemphasis

to

encounteringBuddhism.

with an

emphasis

onSocratic

questioning

and an

interest in

actuatiztng

the

teachings

throughpaying

close

attentiontothe

Buddha's

engagement

“llhthe

world,

including

his

confronting

the

ditficultiesanddilemmasofa

human

being

living

in

unruly

times,

To

study

‘the

wordoftheBuddha'is

a

henneneuticallyfraughtprocess.

but

to

engage

inacritical

approach

isnot

only

to

get

amorevividsenseof

what

the

teachingsmight

have

meant.

butalsoto

gain

asenseofhow

powerplays

a

pivotal

roleinestablished

institutions.Power

fostersnot

only

doctrinal

distor-

tions.

apocrypha

and

prejudices.

butitalso

shapes

the

very

institutionsof

religious

Buddhism

themselves.At

leastin

Sydney,

recent

institutionalcriseshave

forced

insightpractitioners

to

recognize

and

unpick

the

power

issues

nestling

in

venerable

*

Emergenceofreculurinsightpractice

33

institutions

and.

inthis

way,they

have

triggered

the

development

ofanintellec-

tually

vibrant

spiritualcommunity.

This

exploration

has also had an

impact

on

approaches

to meditation in

Australia.Thecommenrarialtradition

(including

the

Ahhidhanna)

hasmoulded

the

widely

disseminated,

formulaic

techniques

of

vipassanapractice,

suchasthe

CroenkaandMahasimethods.Acritical

approach

tothecommentaries

naturally

inspiresscepticism

towardsthe

techniques

basedonthemand callsformore

creative

approaches

to

applying

the

original

'wordofthe

Buddha'.

notleastthe

foundationaltextfor

insight

meditators.

the

Saliparlhana

Sulra.

Many

Australian

insightpractitioners

havethuswelcomedAmericanteacher

JasonSiff‘sannualretreatsinseveralcentressince2005.Anothercriticofthe

commentarialtraditionandtheformulaic

techniques

ithas

spawned.

herecom-

mends

(in

anechoofNanavira‘swords

quoted

earlier)

‘unleaming‘

them

infavour

ofamoredirectand

‘allowing‘

cultivationofawareness,AnotherAmerican

insight

teacher,GregoryKramer,

hasalso

establishedhis

influence.

visits

annually

and

advocatesfresh

approaches

to

insightpractice

7

‘insightdialogue‘

and‘dharma

dialogue’

—

based

directly

onthe

sutras.

Receptivity

tonewwindslike

theseillustratesthe

strengths

ofsecular

insight

practice

in

Australia,

thanks to

its

diversity

and

open

architecture

(to

borrow

an

expression

fromthe

information

technology

world).

Themove

away

from

monastictraditionsreflectsthe

spiritualplurality

ofsecularwestern

society,

which

militates

against

vested

institutionalinterestsandtheorthodoxiesthat

promote

theirclaims,Likeits

counterparts

overseas,

onceithasestablisheditsowninsti-

tutional

settings,

thesecular

insight

movementinAustraliahashadlittle

difficulty

melding

theBuddha‘s

original

ethical and

spiritualundertakings

withmodern

moral and associational

principles.

Indeed.the lattercan

appear

as no more

thanafurther

specification

of

theBuddha'sown

approach

tocommunalissues.

Nevertheless,

the

gulf

between

modernvaluesandassociational

requirements.

on

theone

hand.

andtheir

monastic

counterparts.

ontheother.seems

unbridgcable.

Conclusion

Given

the

strength

oftheinternationalinfluencesonthe

development

ofsecular

insight

meditation

practice

in

Australia,

it

has,

in

manyways,replicated

itsdevel-

opment

clscwhere.

especially

inBritainandAmerica.A

peculiaraspect

ofthe

Australian

development,however.

hasbeenthe

long

and

problematic

attempt

to

workwithmonasticinstitutionsandat

leastoneother

major

institution

operating

witha

comparable

autocratic

power

stmcture.That

attemptgrew

outot'Austmlia's

highproponion

ofBuddhist

migrants

and

groping

ad

hocery

inthesearch

for

appropriate

associational

forms.

Theaccommodation

workedfora

time,

butata

rising

cost intheform

of

conflictstoassertbasic

modernmoral

priorities

suchas

gender

inclusivenessand

equality

anda

democraticassociationallife.Theconflictsrevolvedaroundthe

concentration

versusthe

dispersal

of

power.

andthese

power

issues

ultimately

ruledoutcontinued

accommodation.

Sydney—based

practitioners

in

particular

have