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Buddha´s Dharma Reflected in His Life, Comparison of Chosen Biographies of Gautama Buddha
VRBA, Václav
My thesis deals with Buddha´s life and message. I compare the approaches of four authors who wrote monographies on Buddha´s life and philosophy. K. Armstrong, former catholic cloistress, interprets Buddha from the Christian position of love and compassion and sees Buddha´s contribution mainly in suppression of egoism. E. Bondy, Marxist philosopher, emphesises the racional and practical aspect of Buddha´s message but criticises mystical aspects of his teaching. M. Carrithers, anthropologist and religionist, analyses the origin of desire leading to suffering and the way out of suffering through vip assana meditation. V. Zotz, Austrian historian and philosopher, analyzes the principle of samsara and sees Buddha as a helping pilgrim, who applied his dharma in solving people´s problems. Except to Bondy´ book I find all the works very interesting and inspiring, because they enrich Buddha´s teaching in their own original way.
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