대반열반경 “나라가 쇠퇴하지 않는 법”의 현대적 해석

Abstract

In this article, I will start to introduce the Conditions of a Nation's Welfare in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta; King Ajatasattu, who was planning an offensive against the republics of Malla, Videha, Licchavi, Koliya and Vajji, was firmly established on the throne of Magadha. The king was determined to wipe them off the map and absorb them into his kingdom, but before he launched his attack, he sent his minister Vassakara, a brahmin, to tell the Buddha what he was about to do and to listen carefully to his comments. The Buddha was cryptic. He told Vassakara that as long as the Vajjians remained true to the republican traditions; held “frequent and well-attended meetings”; lived together in concord; respected the older men, listening carefully to their advice; and observed the laws and pieties of their ancestors, King Ajatasattu would not be able to defeat them. In modern times, we still live in the terror of a world where all sense of sacredness is lost. Egotism reigns supreme; envy, hatred, greed and ambition are unmitigated by compassion and loving-kindness. People who stand in the way of a man’s craving are ruthlessly eliminated. All decency and respect have disappeared. By stressing the dangers that the Buddha had tried to counter for nearly fifty years, the scriptures force us to confront the ruthlessness and violence of the society against which he had launched his campaign of selflessness and loving-kindness Now we are finding that the old forms of faith no longer work for us; they cannot provide the enlightenment and consolation that human beings seem to need. As a result, we are trying to find new ways of being religious. Like the reformers and prophets of the first Axial Age, they are attempting to build upon the insights of the past in a way that will take human beings forward into the new world they have created for themselves. What should be our response? The Axial sages give us two important pieces of advice. First, there must be self-criticism. Second, we should follow the example of the Axial sages and take practical, effective action.