Reginald Ray - Publications

Publications

Ray's first major volume was "Buddhist Saints in India (Oxford University Press, 1994) is an extraordinarily impressive contribution to the study of Buddhism." The book looks at paradigms of sainthood in the Buddhist tradition, and Buddhist practice and practitioners in Buddhist India. Ray uses the hagiography of the Buddha to establish a basic paradigm of sainthood. A pattern is established which includes more than thirty themes over the lifetime of the Buddha. However, one theme that stands out is his "forest renunciant" character - the paradigmatic Buddhist saint is not typically a monk living in a monastery (what Ray calls a "settled monastic"), but an ascetic living a solitary existence in some out-of-the-way place, practicing meditation. He then compares various figures (Mahakasyapa, Upagupta, Sariputra, and Devadatta for instance) with this paradigm and shows that to a large extent they do conform to the basic model. At the points where they differ, Reginald sees a bias in the telling of the story toward settled monasticism.

This is established by comparing various early scriptures including the Pali Canon and what has survived of the Dharmagupta, Sarvastivadin, and Mahasamghaka canons. What emerges, Ray argues, is a picture in which the original ideal was the forest renunciant, but with the rise of settled monasticism the renunciants began to be occluded in Buddhist texts which were preserved by the settled monastics. The practice of dhyana (meditation), and therefore the realisation of nirvana, was sidelined in favour of ethical observance and scriptural study. Settled monastics provided a focus for the lay community who relied on the merit gained by supporting monks to bring about a fortunate rebirth in the next life. As such, the ethical conduct of the settled monastics is of primary importance since the merit gained is proportional to the purity of the monks. Ray even suggests that the reputation of Devadatta as an evil person, a fallen saint in the Pali Canon, may be the demonisation of a forest renunciant by a group of settled monastics.

The following academic reviews are available online for BSI:

Reviewed by John Schroeder in Philosophy East and West, Vol. 49, No. 2, "Subjectality" 主體性: Li Zehou and His Critical Analysis of Chinese Thought (Apr., 1999), pp. 235–237. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1400214.

Reviewed by Kevin Trainor in History of Religions, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Aug., 1997), pp. 96–98. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3176568.

Reviewed by John S. Strong in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Feb., 1996), pp. 193–194. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2943685.

Reviewed by Matthew Kapstein in The Journal of Religion, Vol. 76, No. 3 (Jul., 1996), pp. 523–526. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1205648.

Reviewed by L.S. Cousins in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 59, No. 1 (1996), pp. 172–173. http://www.jstor.org/stable/619428.

Reviewed by Winston L. King in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 64, No. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp. 425–427. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1466111.

“The myth matters more than the man,” by Urgyen Sangharakshita in The Times Higher Education Supplement, Issue 1163 (February 17, 1995) pp. 22.

“Ideal Types in Indian Buddhism: A New Paradigm,” by Charles A. Prebish in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 115, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1995), pp. 651–666. http://www.jstor.org/stable/604733.

Including BSI, Ray has published five books on Buddhism, as well as a vast array of audio books:

• Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values & Orientations. (1994 Oxford University Press US) (ISBN 0195134834)
• Indestructible Truth, which describes the exoteric traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. (2000 Shambhala Publications) (ISBN 1570621667)
• Secret of the Vajra World explores the esoteric and tantric aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, focusing on the Vajrayana. (2001 Shambhala Publications) (ISBN 157062917X)
• In the Presence of Masters: Wisdom from 30 Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Teachers. (2004 Shambhala Publications) (ISBN 1570628491)
• Touching Enlightenment: Finding Realization in the Body. (2008 Sounds True) (ISBN 1591796180)
• Tibetan Buddhism Reader,. (Shambhala Publications)

Reginald Ray's audio recordings include:

• Buddhist Tantra: Teachings and Practices for Touching Enlightenment With the Body (2003 Sounds True) (ISBN 1591790174)
• Meditating With The Body: Six Tibetan Buddhist Meditations for Touching Enlightenment With the Body (2003 Sounds True) (ISBN 1591790387)
• Your Breathing Body: Beginning Practices for Phyusical, Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment, Volume 1" (2009 Sounds True)
• Your Breathing Body, Volume 2 (2009 Sounds True)

Recordings from most programs Ray taught between 2000 and 2010 are also now available online.

There is also a growing list of at least 30 articles available free online that Reggie has written for the Shambhala Sun, Buddhadharma, Tricycle, and other publications maintained by Dharma Ocean.