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Presentation
slides of the lectures
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Lecture 1 The Relevance of Morality:
How Buddhism Sees It 
Ø Lecture
2 Pursuit of Happiness: The Buddhist Way
Ø Lecture 3
Buddhism and the Issue of Religious Fundamentalism
Lecture 1
The Relevance of Morality:
How Buddhism Sees It
CPD
3.04, 3/F, Run Run Shaw Tower (Arts)
Centennial
Campus, The University of Hong Kong
3-5
p.m. on March 9, 2013 (Sat)
Abstract:
Why
should we be morally good? Is it because our religions want us to be so?
Since there are many religions, on what religion should we base our moral
life? The issue becomes more complex when some deny the validity of moral
distinctions and the possibility of moral consequences (moral nihilism),
and by those who argue that what is morally good and bad changes from
time to time and from place to place (moral relativism). Then there are
others who insist that all moral injunctions should come from a Higher
Moral Authority (moral authoritarianism). These uncertainties that we
experience today over moral issues were also encountered by the people
called Kalamas during the time of the Buddha. When the Kalamas reported
this matter to the Buddha, the Buddha told them that in deciding upon
this issue, they should not go on the authority of religious teachers or
on the authority of religious scriptures, etc. Rather, they should go by
the authority of their own self-experience. The purpose of this lecture
is to explain what is called the authority of self-experience in deciding
upon moral issues.
Lecture 2
Pursuit of Happiness: The
Buddhist Way
CPD
3.04, 3/F, Run Run Shaw Tower (Arts)
Centennial
Campus, The University of Hong Kong
3-5
p.m. on April 13, 2013 (Sat)
Abstract:
All
living beings, the Buddha says, desire happiness and recoil from
suffering. If we want happiness, there are two options before us. One
option is to change the world to conform to our desires. The other option
is to change ourselves to be in harmony with the world. It is the second
option, though difficult, that Buddhism adopts, because the first option
is simply not possible. If Buddhism begins with a diagnosis of the human
condition as one of suffering, it is precisely in order to provide a
complete cure, rather than a mere palliative, to the problem. In Buddhism
the idea of “suffering” is interpreted
in a philosophical sense to mean any kind of conditioned experience,
whether it is extremely pleasant or unpleasant. Within conditioned
experience, therefore, as Buddhism claims, there are many levels of
happiness. They can range from sensual pleasure to non-sensual happiness
that can be experienced when the mind is fully concentrated. This lecture
is intended to show that Buddhism is a happiness-oriented religion, and
that the path to the Highest Happiness (Nirvana) is also through
happiness (piti-gamaniya).
Lecture 3
Buddhism and the Issue of
Religious Fundamentalism
CPD
3.04, 3/F, Run Run Shaw Tower (Arts)
Centennial
Campus, The University of Hong Kong
3-5
p.m. on April 27, 2013 (Sat)
Abstract:
Religious
fundamentalism is not something new. What are called “holy wars” due to what is
called “militant
piety”
were there even before. Today, in the globalized world they continue to
persist as they did before. We witness not only inter-religious but also
intra-religious conflict, often leading to violence and acts of
terrorism. This lecture focuses on how Buddhism sees the issue of
religious fundamentalism. It will take into consideration the Buddha’s teaching on
dogmatic attachment to views and ideologies (idam-saccabhinivesa),
which manifests as: “This
alone is true, all else is false”
(idam eva saccam; mogham annam). As we know, it is this warped
mind-set that leads not only to religious bigotry, but also to all forms
of ideological fundamentalism. From the Buddhist point of view, dogmatic
adherence to any view –
even if it is the right view –
is very much more detrimental and fraught with more danger than our
excessive attachment to material objects.
Conducted In English｜All are Welcome｜No Registration Required
For Enquiries : 3917
5078 / cbsinfo@hku.hk
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