A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
It’s hard for me to view B.R. Ambedkar as a real Buddhist, when he threw out the Four Noble Truths after getting to Buddhism by a mere process of elimination. But then, to a real Buddhist, it shouldn’t matter – Continue reading Ambedkar and the Nation of Islam as skillful means
Dr. Ambedkar, the 20th-century leader of the lowest (“Dalit”, formerly “untouchable”) Indian caste groups, might be having a moment. In my Indian philosophy class in 2019, I wanted to have a segment on modern Indian philosophy, so I introduced the Continue reading My complicated relationship with B.R. Ambedkar
It was thirty years ago, in 1995, that a then-unknown junior academic named Jeffrey Kripal published Kālī’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna. The book took a new look at the stories written Continue reading Kali’s Child at 30
This Friday, while I was taking my lunch break from work, my mother called to let me know that my father, Jayant Lele, had peacefully passed away. (I am posting this here because he was, in the last analysis, an Continue reading My last months with my father
The analogy between Indian caste and American race – an analogy recognized by Martin Luther King, among others – is important for a number of reasons. Not least of these is that when you observe how a different society handles Continue reading Annihilation of caste and race
Early in the first Trump administration, I preached the importance of disengaged Buddhists’ lessons: to refrain from anger, to remind ourselves that some things are more important than politics. I think that that was easier to do the first time Continue reading Disengaged Buddhism in the second era of Trump
This CfP posted at the request of Scott Stroud, Professor of Communication Studies, University of Texas-Austin. John Dewey’s philosophy has had a global impact. Well known are the stories of his students from China such as Hu Shih and the Continue reading Call for Papers: Special issue of Dewey Studies on “John Dewey’s Pragmatism and India: Pasts and Futures”
Readers may be interested in a new article by Scott Stroud that traces the influence of American pragmatist John Dewey on his student, the modern caste reformer B.R. Ambedkar.
The United States has always been a relentlessly pragmatic place, which doesn’t leave it much room for philosophy. Watching three Republican presidential candidates all take pot-shots at philosophy on the same night was only the most vivid recent example. But Continue reading You don’t have to drop philosophy for activism
Graham Priest. Capitalism – its Nature and its Replacement: Buddhist and Marxist Insights. Xvii + 234 pp., index. Routledge, 2022. $39.16 (paperback). Graham Priest’s insightful and brilliant new book explores how Buddhist philosophy compliments Marxist (and anarchist) philosophy, providing a Continue reading Book Review of Capitalism – its Nature and its Replacement: Buddhist and Marxist Insights by Graham Priest (Reviewed by David Simone)