Hermeneutics in the Theravada Buddhist Texts: an Overview of Research

Authors

  • Veerachart Nimanong Veerachart Nimanong teaches philosophy in the Graduate School of Philosophy and Religion, Assumption University of Thailand. He can be reached at: veerachartnmn@au.edu

Abstract

This paper investigates hermeneutical theories of Buddhism for the purpose of solving conflicts among different Buddhist sects, in particular the different interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings (Buddhadhamma). It has three objectives: (1) to analyze the general theories of Hermeneutics from the ancient to the contemporary periods, (2) to investigate the theories of Hermeneutics in Theravada Buddhism from the precommentaries to the post-commentaries, and (3) to compare and contrast the general Hermeneutics with the Buddhist Hermeneutics in order to apply those founded Hermeneutics to interpret the controversy in some issues of the Buddhist teaching. It will show that the Buddhist hermeneutical theory known as ‘Catupatisaraṇasutra’ could be compared with that of Schleiermacher’s. Hermeneutics in Buddhism can be characterized as ‘Interaction-ism’, which is of ‘interpretation-explanation combined’ theory, exemplified in the Nettipakarana text and in those of Thai Buddhist scholars, who try to solve the problem of ‘Whether Nibbana be Self or Not-Self’. It is also found that hermeneutics could better support mutual understanding among various religions in general than other approaches, this is demonstrated by Buddhadadasa Bhikkhu’s hermeneutics based on two kinds of language, and Hans-Georg Gadamer’s Hermeneutics.

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Vol. 11 No. 1 (2010): January - June 2010

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