Lily de Silva [info icon]
The Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature, by Lily de Silva (2005; 15pp./44KB)
In this essay de Silva reviews the Buddha's teachings regarding humankind's relationship to the natural world. More than just laying the foundation for a Buddhist understanding of contemporary environmental issues, this essay also reveals the vital role that nature and wilderness played in early Buddhism. The book includes copious footnotes with references to source passages from the suttas.
Giving in the Pali Canon, by Lily de Silva
This short essay offers a review of the role that giving played in early Buddhism. Citing numerous passages from the suttas, the author touches on the various factors that determine the fruits of giving: the qualities of the giver, the gift, and the recipient; the motivation behind the giving; and the manner in which the gift is given. (From the anthology: Dana: The Practice of Giving, selected essays edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi.)
Ministering to the Sick and the Terminally Ill, by Lily de Silva (1995; 11pp./34KB)
An introduction to the Buddha's teachings on illness and death, drawn from the Pali canon.
Nibbana as Living Experience / The Buddha and The Arahant: Two Studies from the Pali Canon, by Lily de Silva (2005; 35pp./105KB) [PDF icon]
What is Nibbana? In the first essay of this booklet Lily de Silva approaches this question from a fresh angle. Rather than speculate about Nibbana as an objective reality, she asks, "What does the attainment of Nibbana mean in terms of the living experience of one who has reached the final goal?" She discovers in the Pali texts four outstanding attributes of this experience: happiness, moral perfection, realization, and spiritual freedom. These she explores one by one, with ample citations from the Buddha's discourses to support her conclusions. In the second essay she examines the two types of individuals who have realized the ultimate goal, the Buddha and his arahant disciples. She contends that while both the Buddha and the arahants share the same realization of emancipation, the Buddha is distinguished from the arahants by the cosmic dimensions of his mission and the breadth of his enlightenment. [From the back cover.]
One Foot in the World: Buddhist Approaches to Present-day Problems, by Lily de Silva (1994; 35pp./105KB)
Eight essays: "A Layman's Happiness," "The Mechanics of Bondage and Suffering," "Understanding and Managing Stress," "The Buddhist Attitude to Gain and Honor," "Livelihood and Development," "Facing Death Without Fear," "The Human Body," and "Sensualistic Social Trends and Buddhism in Modern Times."
Radical Therapy: Buddhist Precepts in the Modern World, by Lily de Silva (2005; 8pp./23KB) [PDF icon]
The Five Precepts are universally regarded in Buddhism as the bedrock on which the personal practice of sila (morality, virtue) is built. In this short essay, the author argues that these same Five Precepts, when practiced by citizens, leaders, and societies at large, can also serve as an urgently needed remedy to a host of global social ills.
The Self-made Private Prison, by Lily de Silva (2005; 10pp./30KB) [PDF icon]
An introduction to the five aggregates (khandha) — body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness — five aspects of experience to which we tend to cling. The author paints a compelling portrait of how we create for ourselves the illusory sense of "I," by which we trap ourselves in a prison of our own design.