Buddhadasa Bhikku's Life And His Concept Of Buddhism:An Analysis

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu(1906-1993)-one of the most important Buddhist teachers of the twentieth century-devoted his life to teaching meditation in Suan Mohk Meditation Center,located in the south of Thailand.He brought Buddhist philosophy and meditation to as many as ten thousand Western visitors from North America,Europe and Australia.Buddhadasa Bhikkhu devoted his working life to explaining the extent to,and ways in,which Buddhist interpretation can develop society and everyday life,focusing not only on the adaption of Buddhist philosophy to the modern world but also upon the relevance of Buddhist thought for everyday life.His work aligns closely with the core spirit of Buddhism,whilst his thoughts on society and specifically how members of society may live together peacefully have heavily influenced many social activists and artists.Buddhadasa Bhikkhu passed away in 1993,in his will of last testament bequeathing his substantial collections of Thai literary works detailing the applicability of Buddhist teachings in the modern world.Buddhadasa Bhikku's work and philosophies positively impacted later generations of teachers,intellectuals and activists across the world,thus bringing Bhikku's teachings to real-life practice.Buddhadasa Bhikkhu was not however only a founder of modern social engagement within Buddhism,he was also a key person in the 20th century Buddhist reformation within Thailand.With a view both to analyzing Buddhadasa Bhikkhu' s biography in depth and comprehensively examining the topic's contextual background(in terms of Buddhist thought),this paper shall:(?)analyze Buddhadasa Bhikkhu's life experience and close relationship with Buddhist thought;and(?)consider the extent to which experience gained in each stage of Bhikkhu's life influenced his Buddhist philosophies and thinking.This paper,to this end,shall be divided into 5 chapters:(a)a contextual introduction of the topic;(b)an analysis of documents and research findings with a view to understanding Buddhadasa Bhikkhu's life achievements(and thus his Buddhist philosophies)-this section shall include a consideration of the prizes of honor granted to Bhikkhu on a national and international level;(c)a comprehensive analysis of the Buddhist thought doctrines advanced by Bhikkhu,with reference also the source of said doctrines,doctrine characteristics and research on the ways in which the outlined thoughts and doctrines may be applied to societal problems and real life practice;(d)a critique of Buddhadasa Bhikku's works and influence upon society;(f)a conclusion of the key research noted and findings made throughout this paper.