Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

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cooran
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Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by cooran »

Hello all,

Good to see some guidelines will be given regarding the proliferation of commercial buddhist books - at least in one country.

Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books:
By L. B. Senaratne, Daily Mirror, Oct 23, 2009

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- A memorandum has been sent to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by the Mahanayaka Theras of the three Nikayas to set up a Board of the Maha Sangha and laymen to approve books pertaining to Buddhism.
The Mahanayake Theras of the Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters of the Siyam Nikaya and Amarapura and Ramanya Nikayas in a joint memorandum to President Rajapaksa, stated that this procedure had become a necessity to prevent and avoid the publication of books distorting the life of the Buddha and Buddhism.

The Mahanyakes’ have stated that some books published recently had distorted the life of the Buddha, his doctrine and the life and times of Buddha and Buddhism.

The Mahnayake’ have cited two specific books as examples of this distortion which they claim are titled, "Apa Upan Me Helabima Budun Upan Jambuddepaya" and "Buddhothpaththiya Heladivai" giving false information about Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, his doctrine and other events of his life.

Such distortions could be prevented if the scripts of books on Buddhism and Buddha’s life were submitted to a board of erudite monks and laymen prior to their publication.

The memorandum has been signed by the Mahanayakes of Mawatta chapter Ven Tibbatuwawe Sri Sidhhartha Sumangala Thera, Mahanayka of Asgiriya Chapter, Ven Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Thera, Mahanayake of Amarapura Nikaya, Ven Dauldena Gnanissara Thera and the Mahanayke of Ramanya Nikaya Ven Weweldeniya Medhalankara Thera.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php ... 27,0,0,1,0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

metta
Chris
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Individual »

Chris wrote:Good to see some guidelines will be given regarding the proliferation of commercial buddhist books - at least in one country.
You mean censorship? Imagine a Christian country where they censored all books which "distort" the official account of Jesus' life. Distortion is a matter of opinion, and even among scholarly opinion, there can be large minority opinions which are controversial but end up being correct. When there is censorship, there is no free exchange of ideas. When there is no free exchange of ideas, there is intellectual stagnation. Why would any scholar want to publish anything on Buddhism in a country where what they publish has to be reviewed by a religious board? It's absurd and such a policy will cause a decline in the quality and quantity of Buddhist books in Sri Lanka.
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Ben
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Ben »

Individual wrote:You mean censorship? Imagine a Christian country where they censored all books which "distort" the official account of Jesus' life.
If you want to talk about censorship, look at your own country - one of the most repressive when it comes to intellectual freedom.

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/b ... /index.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
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cooran
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by cooran »

Hello Individual,

My understanding is that they are talking about false information - which runs counter to the historical facts accepted by all Traditions, academic scholars and historians.

metta
Chris
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Individual »

Ben wrote:
Individual wrote:You mean censorship? Imagine a Christian country where they censored all books which "distort" the official account of Jesus' life.
If you want to talk about censorship, look at your own country - one of the most repressive when it comes to intellectual freedom.

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/b ... /index.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Governments tend to be intolerant of controversial books, so they don't allow them in schools or public libraries. That is different than barring a book from publication. Most of those censorship cases are decades old and all the books are freely available now.

But in any case, how would that justify this?
Chris wrote:Hello Individual,

My understanding is that they are talking about false information - which runs counter to the historical facts accepted by all Traditions, academic scholars and historians.

metta
Chris
False information, of what nature? Hindus portraying Buddha as a Hindu, Christians and Muslims portraying the Buddha negatively? There's also likely some historical claims by non-religious historians that "traditional" Buddhists may disagree with or that generate debate among historians themselves.

From J.S. Mill's On Liberty:
If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner; if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.
This idea, though, doesn't seem to be original or even foreign to Buddhism. The same idea is reflected in the beginning of the Brahmajala Sutta, with the two wandering ascetics:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/theravada/brahma1.htm#1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Had the Buddha had the attitude then that some have today, he'd have demanded that the ascetic who criticized him be forcefully moved somewhere discreet and silenced.
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by pink_trike »

Chris wrote:Hello Individual,

My understanding is that they are talking about false information - which runs counter to the historical facts accepted by all Traditions, academic scholars and historians.

metta
Chris
It will certainly be interesting to see exactly which "historical facts" that are "acceptable by all" in this diverse group are codified. :rofl:
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Cittasanto »

quite a lot of books have to pass through inspection anyway, It would depend what type of book it was! if t is an educasional book I would of thought it would of needed checking for acuracy anyway, but they could set up a voluntary version ofwhat they are asking for like the comic book/gaphic novel companies did, it isn't essential but it givs a certain guarantee.
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

I don't like the idea of banning such books, but I'm in favour of some kind of "stamp of approval" for books that are approved by such a review board.

I also think Buddhist books should try to clearly distinguish what tradition they represent in the interests of reader clarity and perspective, but you can't enforce something like that.

:reading:

Metta,
Retro. :)
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Cittasanto »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,

I don't like the idea of banning such books, but I'm in favour of some kind of "stamp of approval" for books that are approved by such a review board.

I also think Buddhist books should try to clearly distinguish what tradition they represent in the interests of reader clarity and perspective, but you can't enforce something like that.

:reading:

Metta,
Retro. :)
retro, why not have Dhamma Wheel samps of approval,one requisi they proide members with free copies :tongue:
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
Individual
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Individual »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,

I don't like the idea of banning such books, but I'm in favour of some kind of "stamp of approval" for books that are approved by such a review board.

I also think Buddhist books should try to clearly distinguish what tradition they represent in the interests of reader clarity and perspective, but you can't enforce something like that.

:reading:

Metta,
Retro. :)
I agree.
The best things in life aren't things.

The Diamond Sutra
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Jechbi »

Ben wrote:If you want to talk about censorship, look at your own country - one of the most repressive when it comes to intellectual freedom.
wow. Didn't see that coming.

Regarding the OP, the effort to "prevent and avoid the publication of books" seems like the wrong approach. If there are distorted understandings, then why not address them through open discussion? Suppressing one form of expression won't get rid of the distortion.
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But never soddens what is open;
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Ben »

Jechbi wrote:
Ben wrote:If you want to talk about censorship, look at your own country - one of the most repressive when it comes to intellectual freedom.
wow. Didn't see that coming.
My apologies for the akusala dhammas!
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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Jechbi
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by Jechbi »

:anjali:
Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,
But never soddens what is open;
Uncover, then, what is concealed,
Lest it be soddened by the rain.
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gavesako
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by gavesako »

They have such a board in Burma, and only texts which conform 100 percent to the commentarial-Abhidhamma tradition will be passed. So even Pa Auk Sayadaw's books which contain some controversial detail about kalapas or whatnot cannot be published in Burma and have to be printed in Singapore or Malaysia instead. Such a censorship board would perhaps be justified if Christian missionaries were trying to subvert Buddhism by spreading misinformation (as they already do) but I don't think that is the main point here.
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Re: Mahanayakas want a Board to scrutinize Buddhist books

Post by PeterB »

I am dubious. Hmmmmmm.
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