Summa Dharmalogica

About the Book

Summa Dharmalogica is a new detailed take on the mythological history of Indian religion from a Buddhist perspective. There are several interwoven themes throughout the text, but the main thesis is that the underlying philosophy of all Buddhist (and related) traditions offers a middle-way solution to the current battle between new materialist movements and the Creationist movements of religion. Another parallel theme is the suggestion that the "dharma" – the practical philosophy central to Hindu and Buddhist lineages – has its roots in the Neolithic age long before Orthodox religion and that the seemingly different traditions of Vedanta, Tantra, Madhyamaka, Advaita and Yoga are essentially identical. This is supported by way of study and analysis of mythology, anthropology and philosophy. The investigation into this substratum of spirituality shows that it is in fact the far more recent branches of Tibetan Buddhism that seem to come closest to the 'original‘ or primal intention and practise of the dharma. The title of the book is borrowed from the Dominican Theologian St Thomas Aquinas, who tied together the scattered Christian ideology of the 13th Century and infused them with a new philosophical and scientific fervour in his Summa Theologica. This is what I have attempted to do here with the Vedic-Buddhist conglomerate, albeit on a much smaller scale. By looking at the theological similarities and differences between a variety of religious ideas and facing the starkly materialistic dogma of popular science today, a new level of clarity and knowledge comes to light. One of the aims of this study has been to describe the entire philosophical outlook of Vedic and Buddhist notions on ultimate reality. Phenomenology and Origin are studied and debated, offering both an ancient as well as a new way of looking at the nature of reality. In doing so, various other offers for ‚ultimate reality‘ – Creationism, Evolution, Quantum Physics – are taken on board and investigated. Connected to this is a specific look at the much misunderstood topic of Tantra, its historical roots and philosophical implications as well as it’s pre-religious antiquity. It is at this point that we come into deep investigation of concepts of faith, God, enlightenment – as well as birth, death, sex and unity. Embark on a logical and spiritual journey of reason and wisdom, partaking in a kind of 'New Theism' by looking at God through Buddhist goggles, disseminating the flaws of creationism and evolution and understanding the nature of the universe through the ontological study of Amanda’s toes! The journey is concluded by offering a meditation manual of sorts, tying in the ideas that have been discussed and channeling them into a positive, practical application in the form of a fully revised presentation of the Lam Rim. Finally, this book is not about nor in support or denial of religion but rather an investigation into the true nature of reality. Though it investigates religious ideas and history it shows clearly that 'dharma' is something different.

About the Author

Maik Pehrsson grew up in Switzerland and Sweden and came in to contact with Vedanta and Buddhist dharma in his teenage years. Since then, he has been studying, practising and teaching the history, philosophy and essential meaning of these ancient traditions. He lives and works in Brighton, UK.