The Thought of Sangharakshita - A Critical Assessment - Robert M. Ellis
Making Buddhism Universal
The Thought of Sangharakshita - A Critical Assessment - Robert M. Ellis
Robert M. Ellis [+]
Middle Way Society
Robert M. Ellis is author of a range of interdisciplinary books on Middle Way Philosophy, both within and beyond Buddhism. These have included The Buddha’s Middle Way: Experiential Judgement in His Life and Teaching (Equinox Publishing, 2019) and Archetypes in Religion and Beyond: A Practical Theory of Human Integration and Inspiration (Equinox Publishing, 2022). He is also founder of the Middle Way Society and of Tirylan House Retreat Centre in Wales.
Description
This section focuses on the positive ways that Sangharakshita tried to relate Buddhism to key Western concepts: those of creativity, provisionality, integration, and individuality. These all connect aspects of Buddhism to Western practices in the arts, science, psychology and democracy. They can be connected together particularly through the concept of the Middle Way. Sangharakshita’s treatment of these themes helped Westerners to engage with Buddhism, but they also contain various limitations, inconsistencies and dogmatic assumptions.