Teaching Awareness in the Buddhist Tradition - Essays in Honour of Professor Corrado Pensa - Chiara Neri

Teaching Awareness in the Buddhist Tradition - Essays in Honour of Professor Corrado Pensa - Chiara Neri

8. Evil According to Buddhism

Teaching Awareness in the Buddhist Tradition - Essays in Honour of Professor Corrado Pensa - Chiara Neri

Francesco Sferra [+-]
Univeristà degli Studi di Napoli L’Orientale
Francesco Sferra (b. 1965) is full professor of Sanskrit language and literature at the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale,’. His primary areas of expertise are connected to Sanskrit philology, history of Indian religions, tantric studies, and classical Indian philosophy. His works include the critical edition and translation of the longer Ṣaḍaṅgayoga by Anupamarakṣita with its commentary by Raviśrījñāna (2000), the Sekoddeśaṭīkā by Nāropā (2006) and (together with H. Isaacson) the Sekanirdeśapañjikā by Rāmapāla (2014). He is founder and co-editor of the series Manuscripta Buddhica (first vol. 2008).

Description

This paper is an inquiry into the ontology of evil in early Buddhist texts. It is shown that according to ancient Buddhist texts, the sphere of action of evil is limited to the conditioned (and not the absolute or unconditioned) reality. The most relevant canonical passages dealing with Māra, the personification of evil, and with the ways of getting rid of it are examined and commented on.

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Citation

Sferra, Francesco. 8. Evil According to Buddhism. Teaching Awareness in the Buddhist Tradition - Essays in Honour of Professor Corrado Pensa. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 144-165 Jan 2024. ISBN 9781800503311. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=44237. Date accessed: 13 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.44237. Jan 2024

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