2009/10/01 by Dhivan Thomas Jones · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Indian and Buddhist Studies #Chinese history and philosophy #Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices #Interpretation (philosophy) #Buddhism #Gautama Buddha #Invocation #Cosmogony #Philosophy #Doctrine #Exegesis #Faith #Pure land #Original meaning #Theology #Meaning (existential) #Literature #Epistemology #Art #Linguistics
paper · doi:10.1080/14639940903239793
openalex publication_date 2009/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Pa icca samuppāda (dependent arising) is the central philosophical principle of Buddhism, and is most commonly exemplified in the suttas in terms of the twelve nidānas. The ubiquitous interpretation of the twelve nidānas of pa icca samuppāda as taking place over three lives, a religious doctrine explaining the rebirth process, is a commentarial development, not found in the suttas. Recent Theravādin exegetes Bhikkhu Buddhadāsa and Ñāavīra Thera argue for an interpretation of the twelve nidānas of pa icca samuppāda as taking place in the present moment, but Bhikkhu Bodhi disputes the claim that their interpretation is the Buddha's original meaning. Recent work by Vedic scholar Joanna Jurewicz, however, suggests that originally the twelve nidānas were a parody of Vedic cosmogony. This scholarship opens the way for renewed exegesis of pa icca samuppāda liberated from Indian Buddhist metaphysics.