A new member of Congress is swearing in on an old Superman comic, because apparently nothing matters. But the “standard” books have expanded to include a variety of sacred texts.
For “Buddhist sutra” they have “The Sutra of Golden Light” (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājaḥ), a Mahayana sutra that is especially popular in East Asia. This serves well as a sacred text for mahayana Buddhists, but since it is not an EBT it doesn’t include all schools, including Theravada.
In 2009 we added a Buddhist text to the Speaker’s box in Canberra. I advocated for the Dhammapada.
The Dhammapada is one of the ancient texts, spoken, as far as we can tell, largely by the historical Buddha, and organized and edited by the Sangha of old. We cannot know, of course, that all of the verses were spoken as we have them by the Buddha himself, and indeed several of them share things in common with Jain or Brahmanical verses. Nevertheless, as a historical scholar I feel that the teachings found there are very likely to represent the actual teachings of Siddhattha.
The Dhammapada is not a sectarian document. It is true that the best-known version, which I have proposed for inclusion, stems from the Theravada school, but this is just an accident of history. This particular version happened to have been passed down through the Sri Lankan lineage. But many other versions have come down to us.
There are no significant doctrinal differences between these versions. They merely choose slightly different readings, some different verses, and change the order. It would be a nice gesture to non-sectarianism to include one of these texts as well as or instead of the Pali, but I am not aware of any suitable translations.
The teachings found in the Dhammapada are those common to all schools. They are particularly relevant for lay instruction, and are frequently used in that way in Buddhist communities. But perhaps even more significant, the Dhammapadas are often associated by scholars with “Ashokan Buddhism”. That is to say, that the emphasis on a practical application of Dhamma to a good life as found in the Dhammapada, and especially the emphasis on non-violence, relates very closely to the teachings found in the Ashokan edicts. This means that they are particularly suitable for a leader who seeks moral and spiritual guidance in the practicalities of life.
Can we imagine, what would a politician do if she happened, on a difficult night in Parliament, to seek some solace from the religious texts found there? She opens the box, is delighted to see a Buddhist text, and, having heard that Buddhism is a rational religion of ethics and meditation, opens a random page. What does she find?
Hatred is never appeased by hatred, hatred is only ever appeased by love: this is an ancient law.
We should have a copy of the Dhammapada, as a universally beloved and canonical text, in the US Congress and Senate to serve all Buddhists regardless of their sectarian affiliation.
Over to you, Buddhists of the USA!
