The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
SarathW
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The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by SarathW »

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott [1832-1907] was the first western Buddhist convert, probably since antiquity.
Hope this may help you.
:reading:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tbc/
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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dhammafriend
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by dhammafriend »

Really cool, thanks SarathW. What he did affected Buddhism on a global scale. :namaste:
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Natthi me saranam annam buddho me saranam varam
For me there is no other refuge, the Buddha is my excellent refuge.
Etena saccavajjena vaddheyyam satthu-sasane
By the utterance of this truth, may I grow in the Master’s Way.
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tiltbillings
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by tiltbillings »

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott [1832-1907] was
Just as a matter of Buddhist history, it is worth spending a couple minutes reading this about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Steel_Olcott

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>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
chownah
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by chownah »

An excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Olcott:

"Olcott believed himself to be Asia's savior, the outsider hero who would sweep in at the end of the drama to save a disenchanted subcontinent from spiritual death.[16]"

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dhammafriend
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by dhammafriend »

"Olcott believed himself to be Asia's savior, the outsider hero who would sweep in at the end of the drama to save a disenchanted subcontinent from spiritual death.[16]"
Real salt-of-the earth type of guy then! :smile: . But seriously, Theravada-wise, we owe him a great debt. :bow:

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Natthi me saranam annam buddho me saranam varam
For me there is no other refuge, the Buddha is my excellent refuge.
Etena saccavajjena vaddheyyam satthu-sasane
By the utterance of this truth, may I grow in the Master’s Way.
zamotcr
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by zamotcr »

He was a Theosophist. Even when he accepted Buddhism, he wasn't a Buddhist. He believed in a lot weird stuff.
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cooran
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by cooran »

Hello zamotcr,

Please give references and links to support your remarks.

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Viscid
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by Viscid »

Obeyesekere has a lecture on Olcott's influence in creating the modern 'Intellectual' Buddhism seen in Sri Lanka today.
Last edited by Viscid on Tue Jan 21, 2014 4:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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cooran
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by cooran »

Hello zamotcr,

What is "the weird stuff" you claim H. Olcott believed in?

With, metta,
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
SarathW
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by SarathW »

zamotcr wrote:He was a Theosophist. Even when he accepted Buddhism, he wasn't a Buddhist. He believed in a lot weird stuff.
Anyone who take the refuge of Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha and accept five precepts is a Buddhist.
There are many types of Buddhist in different stages of development.
:)
Please see "Are you a Buddhist?"

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18611
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
zamotcr
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by zamotcr »

cooran wrote:Hello zamotcr,

What is "the weird stuff" you claim H. Olcott believed in?

With, metta,
Chris
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stee ... _theosophy
http://www.theosophical.org/henry-s-olcott
http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judg ... rs-hso.htm

He believed in a so-called Mahatmas, he was part of, and helped to create an occultism movement called Theosophy. He was the first president of such organization. You can even check the revisions of Buddhist catechism, and see the differences in footnotes.

He wrote a diary where he wrote about his experience in spiritism with Helena Blavatsky, about that mahatmas, root-races, etc, etc.

Of course he did a lot of good things. In part thanks to him, Theravada Buddhism didn't vanish in hands of missionaries. But his beliefs are something different and changed over time.

Apart from taking precepts, his beliefs were very different. I was member of Theosophical Society many years, so there are a lot of documents about him.

He took precepts with Helena Blavatsky, another "Buddhist", but again she was far far from believing in Buddhism. Do your homework, and search about the Secret Doctrine, a book Olcott, Blavatsky and others helped to write. A book full of racism and other ugly things.
zamotcr
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by zamotcr »

SarathW wrote:
zamotcr wrote:He was a Theosophist. Even when he accepted Buddhism, he wasn't a Buddhist. He believed in a lot weird stuff.
Anyone who take the refuge of Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha and accept five precepts is a Buddhist.
There are many types of Buddhist in different stages of development.
:)
Please see "Are you a Buddhist?"

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18611
Yes, but they only accepted the five precepts one time. So if I took five precepts, and leave Buddhism and follow another religion, I'm still Buddhist?
They took precepts, but they didn't keep with Buddhism, they founded their religion and society, far apart from Buddhist. So, they were Buddhist, but they leave Buddhism.
pulga
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by pulga »

zamotcr wrote: He took precepts with Helena Blavatsky, another "Buddhist", but again she was far far from believing in Buddhism. Do your homework, and search about the Secret Doctrine, a book Olcott, Blavatsky and others helped to write. A book full of racism and other ugly things.
For the darker side of Protestant Buddhism I'd recommend The Work of Kings by H.L. Senaviratne:
The Work of Kings is a stunning new look at the turbulent modern history and sociology of the Sri Lankan Buddhist Monkhood and its effects upon contemporary society. Using never-before translated Sinhalese documents and extensive interviews with monks, Sri Lankan anthropologist H.L. Seneviratne unravels the inner workings of this New Buddhism and the ideology on which it is based.

Beginning with Anagarika Dharmapala's "rationalization" of Buddhism in the early twentieth century, which called for monks to take on a more activist role in the community, Seneviratne shows how the monks have gradually revised their role to include involvement in political and economic spheres. The altruistic, morally pure monks of Dharamapala's dreams have become, Seneviratne trenchantly argues, self-centered and arrogant, concealing self-aggrandizement behind a façade of "social service."

A compelling call for reform and a forceful analysis, The Work of Kings is essential to anthropologists, historians of religion, and those interested in colonialism, nationalism, and postcolonial politics.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ypjyd2 ... sm&f=false

Keep in mind that Anagarika Dharmapala -- a close confidant of Blavatsky and Olcott -- is a national hero to the Sinhala with a life story replete with miraculous wonders. (Used copies of this book sell for about a dollar on Amazon)

More difficult to come by -- but quite excellent -- is Buddhism in Sinhalese Society, 1750-1900 by Kitsiri Malalgoda.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Bud ... Tqdb-gvDkC
"Dhammā=Ideas. This is the clue to much of the Buddha's teaching." ~ Ven. Ñanavira, Commonplace Book
SarathW
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by SarathW »

zamotcr wrote:
SarathW wrote:
zamotcr wrote:He was a Theosophist. Even when he accepted Buddhism, he wasn't a Buddhist. He believed in a lot weird stuff.
Anyone who take the refuge of Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha and accept five precepts is a Buddhist.
There are many types of Buddhist in different stages of development.
:)
Please see "Are you a Buddhist?"

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18611
Yes, but they only accepted the five precepts one time. So if I took five precepts, and leave Buddhism and follow another religion, I'm still Buddhist?
They took precepts, but they didn't keep with Buddhism, they founded their religion and society, far apart from Buddhist. So, they were Buddhist, but they leave Buddhism.
Ok, I would say, that a person is a Buddhist for the period from the time he accept five precepts to the time he accept another religion.
So I think he did all his work while he was a Buddhist.
:shrug:
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
vishuroshan
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Re: The Buddhist catechism by H.Olcott

Post by vishuroshan »

please rememebr about 7 percepts.(not 5). buddhism is a religion of the MIND. you are correct, even a christian can become buddhist by going refuge on TRIPLE GEM and developing on eightfold path. but the main thing is SAMMA DHITTI(4 noble truths). this should be in a buddhist.
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