Translators

Donald K. Swearer

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Donald Swearer is a professor, researcher and prolific author in religious study and Buddhism. Although he has taught widely in the field of Asian and comparative religions, his research has focused on Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand; comparative religious ethics; and Buddhist-Christian dialogue. He served a long academic career at Swarthmore College in the United States and was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School.

Professor Swearer wrote about how he knew Ajahn Buddhadasa and his teachings in the book “Me and Mine”, which he edited, as provided in the following excerpt:

I was first introduced to Buddhadasa Bhikkhu in 1960 when a group of monks at Wat Mahadhatu monastery in Bangkok gave me a small collection of his books. Fascinated by Buddhadasa’s provocative interpretation of Buddhadhamma, I was able seven years later to visit his forest monastery, Wat Suan Mokkhabalarama (The Garden for Empowering Liberation) located near Chaiya, Surat Thani Province, in southern Thailand. For several days I had the privilege of long walks with acharn (teacher), the title by which he is most often addressed, and hours of uninterrupted discussion about matters of Buddhist thought and practice. This experience both reinforced my interest in Buddhadasa’s explication of Buddhist doctrine and attracted me to him as an exemplar of the Buddhist monastic life. Since that time I have continued to study his writings and have revisited Wat Suan Mokkhabalarama, most recently in 1986 (Me and Mine, 1989, pp.1-2.)

Professor Swearer has contributed, as a translator and editor, to various translated teachings of Ajahn Buddhadasa in English, as listed below:

  • (Editor) Toward the Truth (1971)

  • (Chief translator and editor) Dhammic Socialism (1985)

  • (Editor) Me and Mine (1989)