Beyond the Clouds

The last lecture in the Buddhist Theology series was on Buddhist Eschatology. Eschato is Greek for last and so the focus is on what happens last. It's different from Teleology which is close in the Teleo is Greek for end but the difference is that eschatology doesn't study the purpose of design. Teleology has two meanings just like the word 'end' - the end of playing football is to get fit or to win, or the end of the football match is at 4pm. Eschatology is about death and final matters. And how one thinks about death will have an impact on how one lives in the present moment.

When talking about eschatology one can't avoid talking about concepts such as free will, determinism, causality, choice, and many other concepts found in philosophy.

In Buddhism, there is the idea that inevitably everyone and everything will attain enlightenment which is a deterministic position but is Buddhism deterministic? There is the theory of dependent origination which means that everything depends on conditions but it is not deterministic. For example, just because I have a blog doesn't mean that people will read it.

Then it raises the question of who is Amida and what is the role of Amida? Does Amida intervene and if so what does that mean?

When we talk about potential there is an implication that it was always there from the start. Have we got any free will at all?

The reason for talking about these concepts is because these are what Western theologians study and if Buddhism is to stand any chance of surviving as a religion in the West then it's time that Buddhists start to feel comfortable and familiar with some of these concepts.