Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice: Writings of an Incendiary Monk

by John Reynolds

John David Reynolds, also known as Paññobhāsa, and until recently as Paññobhāsa Bhikkhu, is an American man who was an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk for thirty years. More than twenty of those years were spent living and practicing Dharma in rural Burma/Myanmar, with most of that time spent living and meditating alone in forest caves. With a Buddhist vocation and a background in science (he was a professional biologist before his ordination), he began writing thought-provoking essays on a variety of topics, largely philosophical and cultural, with a strong western individualist attitude infusing ancient Buddhist themes. The result is a large body of original thought, looking at Buddhism and the world from a philosophical point of view that is rare but very accessible. Some of his writings are controversial, some are bordering on unorthodoxy at times, but all are derived from a sharp, sincere, and original mind attempting to explain the truth with a minimum of dogmatism, derived from personal experience and his own quest for truth.



This book, Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice, is a collection of essays dedicated to the subject of practical Dharma, or understanding and practicing the Path to Liberation in accordance with traditional Theravada Buddhist methods. Topics include meditation, mindfulness, truthfulness, self-restraint, austerity, and cultivating a wholesome attitude in general. Also there are some philosophical essays on ethics from an ancient Buddhist perspective, and some sociological ones discussing the predicament of postmodern western Buddhism mutating into something very different from what the historical Buddha ever intended. The purpose of the essays is to stimulate thought and interest by discussing ancient issues in a modern way, and to offer advice to practitioners and students of Buddhism to assist in their practice. The approach is a fresh one, avoiding dogmatism, yet nevertheless remaining true to the oldest Buddhist traditions in spirit.



Any serious, reasonably intelligent practitioner or student of Dharma should find this book to be a valuable source of stimulating ideas, illuminating Buddhist ethics and practice by shining a light of critical investigation on them from unconventional angles. This makes a deeper understanding much simpler and more straightforward to a western (or westernized) reader. The book offers a fresh look at an ancient system, intended to help the reader understand Buddhism without redefining and distorting it, and also without simply repeating the same orthodox phrases that have been repeated for more than 2000 years.

324 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2021

Reviews

[Jason Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting and, to my mind, refreshing book regarding Buddhist ethics and Buddhist practice. The author, an American, was an ordained monk in the Theravada tradition and spent over 20 years living as an ascetic in the forests of Burma, or Myanmar; the US Government tends to vacillate between those two depending on how happy it is with the country at any given time.

Anyway, the book is a collection of essays written by the author that actually deals with the subject matter implied by the title. Further, the author grounds his positions in the tradition, while noting where he diverges from orthodox thinking. I grew up in a Mahayana Buddhist tradition and the author seems to have a slightly unfavorable view of Mahayana interpretations, or perhaps more accurately the focus on the Lotus Sutra in our traditions, but he also treated our meditative practices (the hwadu or koan) with respect. I especially appreciated the closing chapter, which dealt with respect and the short list of recommendations for Western Buddhists when interacting with monks.

I would highly recommend this book to any Western Buddhist, or anyone interested in Buddhism, or even mysticism in general.