A conversation with Richard Gombrich

Yesterday Venerable Canda and myself visited Prof Richard Gombrich at his home in Oxford, and had a very enjoyable and wide-ranging conversation. He’s 86, and his wife Sanjukta Gupta is bright-eyed and alert at 94.

We discussed my work identifying Vedic connections with the suttas, a topic I also explored at the Oriental Department at Oxford the day before. Richard is still actively working in the field. He’s working with a colleague from Fo Guang Shan on their innovative program ordaining Indian monks in the Taiwanese Buddhist tradition. The candidates kept diaries and notes in Chinese, which form a unique record of a transmission of dharma back to India.

Richard was particularly animated when it came to the topic of war and conflict, especially in Gaza. He lamented the fact that, while he followed the relevant news quite closely, he never once heard anyone articulating a Buddhist position, namely, that one does not need to respond to a violent provocation with violence. We discussed why it is that, even though Buddhism has been such a major world force for such a long time, it still seems completely absent in modern moral discourse. I could but concur.

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Can we hope for a new book sometime in the future Bhante? It would be wonderful to have a place to see the fruits of this labor outside the confines of the footnote!

Metta.

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I thought Bhikkhu Bodhi did?

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Thanks for this update. I am an admirer of Richard Gombrich - I don’t agree with him on everything but in many respects he has opened my eyes with regards to many aspects of Buddhism and the Buddha’s teachings, and influenced my decision to undeclare myself as a Buddhist, but I remain as someone who followed the Sakyan’s teachings.

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It would have been great if you had made an audio/video recording of it.

I’d love to, and in fact we discussed that as well. But it will have to wait until I’ve finished, which will be a few years at least. Assuming i don’t get sidetracked in pleasant excursions to Europe too often!

Indeed, and we mentioned this, and some of the other responses by American Buddhists. I think his main thing was how this voice is still just entirely absent from general media discussion. I didn’t ask exactly, but I imagine he’s listening to the BBC, that kind of thing.

Well it was just a private conversation. but we did record the talk at Oxford, and that will be shared when it comes online.

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The private conversation between two legendary people! :slight_smile:

Anyway, it’s good that the talk at the Faculty was recorded.

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Bikkhu Bodhi did.

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“As God, I mean, excuse me, John Lennon, said” :joy:

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I look forward to researching this effort :slightly_smiling_face: !

To have that level of influence with the general media would require some concessions on tone. I think the protest letter offered that. I wonder what, if any, discussion with Buddhists was offered by the Biden administration through change dot org.

Unfortunately, that kind of influence also requires a lobby $$.

Now that Trump wants to colonize Gaza, perhaps the American Buddhists through change dot org can gain traction with other secular lobbies.

As an aside, per Ven. @Khemarato.bhikkhu’s post in another thread, I wish buddhistdoor would stop uisng AI images as eye :candy: candy. As they’re the front Buddhist organization for the protest letter.

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