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Book: Selected Writings of Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya

Chapter: Right Understanding (1913)

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.44070

Blurb:

This is a lengthy and passionate article, written for Buddhists and published in Britain and Asia just before Metteyya returned to Britain in 1914. It argues that a better name for a Buddhist would be a Sammādiṭṭhi, one who rightly understands and has fullest insight. It seems to anticipate World War I in its insistence that belief in selfhood nurtures the patriotism that leads to war and the production of death-dealing implements. Metteyya appeals to Buddhists to live their understanding, not only to theorise it, with their eyes on the goal – ‘the great, ancient, holy stream of deathless light’ (nibbāna).

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