The Role of Sīla in Theravada Buddhist Ethics | Bhante Dr. Gangodawila Chandima and Emeritus Professor P.D Premasiri

Dear Dhamma Friends,

Stay tuned for Monday morning as we continue with our Dhammapariyesanā series #59. 

Please join the host, Bhante Dr. Chandima, to interview Emeritus Professor P. D Premasiri about the role of Sīla within the Theravada Buddhist Ethics. Sīla, along with its definitions and purpose/role in purification, is one of the most misunderstood topics among Theravada scholars and practitioners. 

Pahalawattage Don Premasiri is an Emeritus Professor of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts Honors degree in Pali from the University of Peradeniya in 1963 and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1967. He was conferred the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge in 1971. He obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1980 for Comparative Philosophy. Prof. Premasiri served the Department of Philosophy of the University of Peradeniya for 20 years and the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies for a period of 23 years before his retirement in 2006. He is still serving as a visiting lecturer in the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies in the Graduate Degree programs of the University of Peradeniya. He is also a Visiting Professor of the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy which obtained the status of a degree-awarding institution under the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka. Prof. Premasiri’s main research interests are in the areas of Buddhist Philosophy, Buddhist Ethics, and Buddhist Psychology. In addition to teaching courses in the above areas, he has also taught courses on Pali language, Western Philosophy, and Comparative Religion. He has been associated to date with teaching courses on Theravada Buddhism and Buddhist Ethics in the Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Educational (ISLE) program which commenced in 1982 and continued for nearly three decades catering to student groups visiting the University of Peradeniya from the US every year.

Prof. Premasiri has published nearly twenty-five articles in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism published by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Sri Lanka and many research papers relating to Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Philosophy, Buddhist Psychology, and Comparative Philosophy in reputed journals. Some of his major publications are given below:

• “Impact of the Market Economy and Globalization on the Value System and Related Institutions” Buddhadasa Hewavitharana Felicitation Volume : Economic and Social Development Under a Market Economy Regime in Sri Lanka Ed. Saman Kelegama & Dileni Gunewardena 2012.

• Sinhala Translation of the Suttanipāta (A Text in the Pali Canon) with Critical Introduction (Buddhist Publication Society, Sri Lanka 2010).

• Traditional Buddhist Insights Regarding Principles of Good Governance Dialogue New Series Volumes XL & XLI 2013-2014

• “Buddhist Philosophy as a Way of Life for the Therapy of the Dis-Eased Mind” New Horizons in Buddhist Psychology ed. Maurits G.T. Kwee (Taos Institute Publications Ohio 2010) pp.137-151.

• “Philosophical and Buddhist Perspectives on the Problem of Determinism and Free Will” Buddhist and Pali Studies in Honour of The Venerable Professor Kakkapalliye Anuruddha ed. Y. Karunadasa (The University of Hongkong 2010) pp.65-72.

• “Varieties of Cognition in Early Buddhism” Handbook of Indian Psychology ed. K. Ramakrishna Rao, A.C. Paranjpe, Ajit K. Dalal (Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd.2008) pp. 85-105.

• “Problems Concerning the Application of Non-Cognitivist Analysis of Religious Language to the Teachings of Buddhism” (Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research ed. G. Mishra 2007) pp. 101-113.

• Studies in Buddhist Philosophy and Religion. (Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies 2006)

• “A Righteous War in Buddhism” Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka ed. Mahinda Deegalle (Routledge, London and New York, 2006) pp. 78-86.

• “Implications of Buddhist Perspectives on Notions of Identity and Difference in Social Relationships” Identity and Difference: Essays on Society and Culture in Sri Lanka (ed. John Clifford Holt and P.B. Meegaskumbura (ISLE) 2006) Chapter 8.

• The early Buddhist Teaching on Transience, Immortality and Liberation” Essays in Honour of Venerable Professor Dhammavihari DHAMMA VINAYA: Ed. Asanga Tilakaratne, Toshiichi Endo, G.A. Somaratne and Sanath Nanayakkara 2006. Pp. 153-167.

See you at 11.00am (Sri Lanka time). (1.30am EST), (12.30pm Bangkok) and (1.30pm Malaysia)

May you be well and happy!

Patisota Team