ATDTDA - grace

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

A Buddhist Spectrum,by Marco Pallis (Reviewed by Nasr,Seyyed Hossein)
Philosophy East & West, Vol.34 No.4(October 1984) pp.451-458

In the chapter "Is There Room for 'Grace' in Buddhism?" Pallis turns to a 
subject which might appear as strange to those who identify Buddhism 
with a kind of rationalistic philosophy and take refuge in it from not only 
Christian theism, which they no longer understand, but the very notion 
of grace, which they identify with religious sentimentality and which they 
seek to avoid at all cost. Pallis demonstrates, however, the centrality of 
grace in Buddhism despite its nonpersonalist and nontheist perspective. 
He relates grace to enlightenment and shows how the attractive influence 
of enlightenment strikes the consciousness of human beings who stand 
on the axis of Buddhahood as at once invitation to enlightenment, 
companionship of enlightenment, and reminders of enlightenment. In 
connection with the latter, he discusses the incredible spiritual presence 
of the sacred image of the Buddha and the role of traditional Buddhist art, 
especially in its iconic form, in transmitting a sacred presence which 
cannot be called anything but grace.

http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/ew033395.htm


The boddhisattvas and grace


Instead of seeking nirvana just for oneself and becoming an arhat, as 
Theravada Buddhism demands, the disciple of Mahayana Buddhism 
aims to become a bodhisattva, a being that postpones his or her own 
entrance into parinirvana (final extinction) in order to help other 
humans also attain it. However, we meet here a contradiction between 
one's karma and the grace that can be provided by a bodhisattva. For 
instance, according to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, although the 
bodhisattvas offer their help after death in order that one may attain a 
better new birth or even final liberation, it is said that the deceased is 
unable to accept it because of the projection of his or her bad karma and 
the attraction of "samsaric impurities," which make him or her fall deeper 
and deeper into the intermediary state (bardo). For this reason it is wrong 
to think that the bodhisattvas save the dead through their grace, as only 
the merits one has accumulated during lifetime make him or her able to 
accept the "rays of grace." Therefore, it is either karma that rules one's 
existence and journey toward liberation, or the grace of the bodhisattvas. 
The two elements are hard to reconcile.

http://www.comparativereligion.com/Buddhism.html

For whatever reason, the karma of Lew and Deuce is intricately tied 
together. I'm sure (given the general trajectory of the novel) that 
Pynchon might be considering all different modes of grace---the 
Buddhist take on grace, in particular, given what happens to Kit---, 
and references outside of Christianity should be considered as well 
as more traditional readings. I've never really absorbed "V.", so I'm 
not sure about the "Profane" reference, but yes, there is some sort of 
"red shift" going on,as if Lew is now travelling at very different speeds 
than before and quite far away from his old haunts, as well.

mikebailey:

"did anybody else have a little blur or redshift reading about Lew's state of 
grace, and happen to think of Benny Profane's apocheir?"