Journal of the Pali Text Society. IX. Ed. by K. R. Norman. PTS and distributed by Routledge, Kegan Paul Ltd, London 1981. viii + 207 pp. £10.

A Treasury of the Buddha's Words: Discourses from the Middle Collection. Translated by Nanamoli Thera, edited and arranged by Phra Khantipalo. 3 vols, Mahamakut, Bangkok, but available only from Wat Buddha-Dhamma, Ten Mile Hollow, Wisemans Ferry, NSW 2255, Australia.

Buddhist Studies in honour of walpola Rahula. Edited by Somaratna Balasooriya et al. Gordon Fraser and Vimamsa 1980. pp. 293+xiii, photo, £20.00.

History of Indian Buddhism. E. Lamotte, translated from the French by Sara Boin-Webb. Institut Orientaliste, Louvain-la-Neuve 1988. XXVI, 870 pp, plus 30 plates (No. XXIII on p.420), 5 maps and 7 plans. B.Fr 2175 (distrib. by Peeters Press, P.O. Box 41, 3000 Leuven, Belgium).

Pilgrim Kamanita: A Legendary Romance by Karl Gjellerup, translated by John E. Logie. First edition in Thai and English by the Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation B.E. 2520.

The Dhammapada, translated with an Introduction by Eknath Easwaran. Arkana (Routledge & Kegan Paul), London 1987. 208 pp. £3.95, pbk.

Thus I Have Heard. The Long Discourses of the Buddha. Translated by Maurice Walshe. Wisdom Publications. London 1987. 648pp. £17.95.

The Lotus of the Wonderful Law. W.E. Soothill. Curzon Press, London, and Humanities Press International, New Jersey, 1987. Pbk. 316 pp. £5.50.

The Sutta-Nipata. Tr. H. Saddhatissa. Curzon Press, London 1985. xi + 135 pp. £4.00.

The Twilight Language. R.S. Bucknell and M. Stuart-Fox. Curzon Press, London 1986. xiv, 233 pp. + 8 pp. of b/w illustrations. £12.50.

The Wisdom of Buddhism. ed. Christmas Humphreys. Curzon Press, London, and Humanities Press International, New Jersey, 1987. Pbk, 280 pp. £5.50.

The World of Buddhism, Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture. Ed. Heinz Bechert and Richard Gombrich. Thames and Hudson, London 1984. 308 pp. with 297 illustrations, 82 in colour, 215 photographs, drawings and maps. £20.00.

The Threefold Refuge in the Theravada Buddhist Tradition. Edited by John Ross Carter with George D. Bond, Edmund F. Perry and Shanta Ratnayake. Anima Books, Chambersburg 1982. 89pp. $3.95.

Three Words according to King Ruang. A Thai Buddhist Cosmology. Translation with introduction and notes by Frank E. Reynolds and Mani B. Reynolds. Berkeley Buddhist Studies, University of California 1982. 383pp. + 15 colour plates $30.00.

On Buddhist teachings by Somdet Phra Mahāwīrawong (Phim Thammatharō), a senior Thai monk, on habits for personal well-being.

The Meditative Way - Readings in the theory and practice of Buddhist meditation. Ed. by Rod Bucknell and Chris Kang. Curzon Press, Richmond 1997. x, 274 pp. Cloth £40, pbk £14.99. ISBN 0-7007-0677-1/0678-X.

The Unexpected Way. On Converting from Buddhism to Catholicism. Paul Williams. Continuum, London/New York 2002. Pb. xx, 240 pp. £12.99. ISBN 0 567 08830 8.

BackgroundObtaining informed consent for participation in genomic research in low-income settings presents specific ethical issues requiring attention. These include the challenges that arise when providing information about unfamiliar and technical research methods, the implications of complicated infrastructure and data sharing requirements, and the potential consequences of future research with samples and data. This study investigated researchers’ and participants’ parents’ experiences of a consent process and understandings of a genome-wide association study of malaria involving children aged five and under in Mali. (...) It aimed to inform best practices in recruiting participants into genomic research.MethodsA qualitative rapid ethical assessment was undertaken. Fifty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with the parents of research participants. An additional nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior research scientists, research assistants and with a member of an ethics committee. A focus group with five parents of research participants and direct observations of four consent processes were also conducted. French and translated English transcripts were descriptively and thematically coded using OpenCode software.ResultsParticipants’ parents in the MalariaGEN study had differing understandings of the causes of malaria, the rationale for collecting blood samples, the purposes of the study and the kinds of information the study would generate. Genomic aspects of the research, including the gene/environment interaction underlying susceptibility or resistance to severe malaria, proved particularly challenging to explain and understand.ConclusionsThis study identifies a number of areas to be addressed in the design of consent processes for genomic research, some of which require careful ethical analysis. These include determining how much information should be provided about differing aspects of the research and how best to promote understandings of genomic research. We conclude that it is important to build capacity in the design and conduct of effective and appropriate consent processes for genomic research in low and middle-income settings. Additionally, consideration should be given to the role of review committees and community consultation activities in protecting the interests of participants in genomic research. (shrink)

Sermons on Buddhism by Phra Thēpwisutthimēthī (Phutthathat Phikkhu), broadcasted on Thai national radio.

Buddhist aspects of medicine in modern Thailand.

On Gautama Buddha in relation to other religious founders.

Phra Khantipalo The Path of Truth. Mahamakut Rajavidalaya Press, Bangkok 1977. xii + 237pp. Harischandra Kaviratna Wisdom of the Buddha. Theosophical University Press, Pasadena 1980. xxxiv + 177pp. Cloth $8.50, paper $5.00. Sathienpong Wannapok The Buddha's Words. Distributed by Suksit Siam, Bangkok 1979. xxix + 494pp. $3.00.

In this paper I investigate a number of public intellectual debates in current Thai Theravada Buddhism that are related to several fundamental questions regarding the meaning and function of the Pali canon. The focal point of this investigation will be debates in which the Thai scholar monk Phra Payutto (b. 1939) has been playing a significant role. In these debates, the Pali canon is regarded as a central text endowed with special normative and formative authority. I will look at (...) contestations that concern Theravada-ness and, at the same time, and inextricably linked with this, at concepts of demarcation to systems of religious beliefs and practices that are believed to be ‘outside’ Theravada. This, of course, engages the question of inclusivism, exclusivism and pluralism within Theravada. In so doing, I explore and posit concepts on the meanings and functions of the Pali canon that position it either as the or an authoritative reference. (shrink)