Sangharakshita As Buddhist Modernist: The Case of the Five Niyamas

Any modern Buddhist thinker has to engage with scientific naturalism. In this talk, Dhivan shows how the teaching of the five niyamas represents a way in which Sangharakshita presents the Dharma within a naturalistic worldview. Sangharakshita borrows from Mrs Rhys Davids’ creative mistranslation of a Theravadin commentarial list about niyamas as well as Narada Thera’s interpretation, but he also innovates in his conception of a dharma-niyama. In this way, he brings the Dharma alive for modern people who accept the scientific worldview.