Two papers published in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics

Dear members,

With the agreement of the Journal of Buddhist Ethics editor, I have uploaded two papers which I have published therein.

One is titled "Tithiyaparivāsa vis-à-vis Noviciation in Theravādin
Monasticism" and the filename is parivasa_samanera_Final.pdf. The abstract is:

"Tithiyaparivāsa is a particular type of probation in Theravādin
monasticism that former ascetics of certain heretic groups must undergo if they wish to gain admission to the Buddhist Order. In the extant probation procedure as found in the Pāli Vinaya tradition, there is no explicit accounting for the stage of novicehood. Why? This paper attempts to answer that question and also in the process discovers an unexpected insight into the legally ambiguous status of noviciation."

The other is titled "The Buddha and the Māgadha-Vajjī War" and the file name is Buddha.and.the.Magadha.Vajji.War_Final.pdf. The abstract is:

"According to an account recorded in Mahāparinibbānasutta, the Buddha had to meet a royal minister named Vassakāra when King Ajātasattu ordered the latter to visit the Buddha and inform him about the king's plan to subdue the Vajjīs. After hearing Vassakāra, the Buddha spoke on seven Conditions of Welfare (satta aparihāniyā dhammā), which would ensure the prosperity of the Vajjīs as long as its citizens observed them. Vassakāra shrewdly inferred from the Buddha's discourse how to defeat the Vajjī people and later actually forced them into a submission. Regarding that event, there are some perplexing questions:

1. Why did King Ajātasattu choose to consult a wandering ascetic on a
significant matter of state like fighting a war?
2. Vassakāra discerned how to defeat the Vajjīs from the Buddha's exposition of the Seven Conditions of Welfare (satta aparihāniyā dhammā). So did the Buddha intend to help Ajātasattu defeat the Vajjīs? If not, what was his purpose in expounding the seven Conditions of Welfare to Vassakāra?
3. If the Buddha really did not accept any kind of violence, as the tradition would have it, why did he not openly speak against it?

This paper will attempt to answer these questions and will argue, in the
conclusion, that this event shows the Buddha‖s disapproving attitude toward a political role of the Buddhist Order."

These papers together with their earlier drafts are in the bhikkhu_pandita folder of the Files section. Those who care to compare the draft and final forms of the papers will see how the critical fire of the peer-review process has modified, and (I hope) improved the papers.

with metta,

Ven. Pandita