The Meaning Of Life In Hinduism And Buddhism

T H E M EANING O F LIFE IN HINDUISM AN D BUDDHISM Floyd H. Ross ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: BUDDHISM ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: BUDDHISM THE MEANING OF LIFE IN HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM THE MEANING OF LIFE IN HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM By FLOYD H. ROSS Volume 16 First published in 1952 This edition first published in 2008 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Transferred to Digital Printing 2009 From The Meaning of Life in Hinduism and Buddhism by Floyd Hiatt Ross © Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press, Boston All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 10: 0-415-44291-5 (Set) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-44291-6 (Set) ISBN 10: 0-415-46146-4 (Volume 16) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-46146-7 (Volume 16) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. THE MEANING OF LIFE IN HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM by FLOYD H. ROSS Professor of World Religions School of Religion, Universiry of Southern California ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane London First published in 1952 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane London, E.C.4 Printed in Great Britain by T. and A. Constable Ltd. Edinburgh TO F.J.R. AND J.F.R. PREFACE 'The West has a good deal to learn from the East.... Almost every religious revival comes from the fusion of two traditions, as the Christian Church itself was, in Clement's metaphor, the confluence of two rivers, the Hellenistic and the Jewish. '-W. R. lNGE. is the meaning of life? How much sense of meaning does the average, thoughtful Western person have today as he looks out upon his own community and then upon the world? How can modern man discover a meaningful sense of direction before it is too late? These are some of the questions which Occidental man faces. What some are hailing as the dawn of a new day for the Orient can become the twilight of an old day for the Occident. Western man must open his eyes in order to experience a spiritual renaissance or he will play an increasingly maladroit role in the world community that is struggling to be born. In a previous volume, Addressed to Christians: Isolationism vs. World Community, the writer discussed critically the Christian concept of 'special chosenness'. This conviction of being the 'chosen people' has led many Christians to engage in practices and to inculcate attitudes which have emphasized exclusiveness. The tragic exclusion from the Christian fellowship of many ofthe keenest minds and spirits of Christendom is a story that some would prefer to pass over in silence. There is another aspect to the 'rightness and tightness' of Christian orthodoxy in practice which has been equally costly to Christendom. No sustained attempts have been made by W HAT .. Vll PREFACE Christian leaders to arrive at