Jan Westerhoff
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199732692
- eISBN:
- 9780199777365
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732692.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism, Philosophy of Religion
The Vigrahavyāvartanī is a short work by the second-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna. In this text, which is written in a lively question-and-answer style he addresses a number of ...
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The Vigrahavyāvartanī is a short work by the second-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna. In this text, which is written in a lively question-and-answer style he addresses a number of objections (coming both from Buddhists and from non-Buddhists) which have been put forward against his theory of emptiness discussed in his main work, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. The Vigrahavyāvartanī is especially noteworthy for its treatment of topics which Nāgārjuna does not much discuss elsewhere, in particular questions of epistemology and the philosophy of language. The purpose of this book is to unlock the philosophical contents of the texts by providing a comprehensive commentary on Nāgārjuna’s arguments as well as a somewhat more general discussion of the philosophical points these raise. It is divided into three sections: the introduction, the translation, and the commentary. The introduction discusses the history of the text and gives a survey of the presently available editions and translations. I then address the question of the authenticity of the Vigrahavyāvartanī, discussing in detail some of the arguments put forward in the secondary literature which attempt to show that the text was not composed by Nāgārjuna. This is followed by some notes on the peculiar structure of the Vigrahavyāvartanī. Here I also explain why I chose to arrange the text differently in the translation and in the commentary. The introduction is concluded by a synopsis which gives a brief survey of the contents of the ten sections into which I have divided the text. The translation is based on the most recent edition of the Sanskrit text (Yonezawa 2008). All explanatory notes, discussions of variant readings and so forth have been left to the commentary. The commentary contains the entire text of the Vigrahavyāvartanī, though in an arrangement which differs from the one followed in the translation. My remarks on a specific section of the text usually follow this section directly, distinguished by a different typeface. The commentary divides Nāgārjuna’s text into ten main thematic units: (1) The status of the theory of emptiness; (2) Epistemology; (3) Intrinsically good things; (4) Names without objects; (5) Extrinsic substances; (6) Negation and existence; (7) The mirage analogy; (8) Emptiness and reasons; (9) Negation and temporal relations; (10) ConclusionLess
The Vigrahavyāvartanī is a short work by the second-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna. In this text, which is written in a lively question-and-answer style he addresses a number of objections (coming both from Buddhists and from non-Buddhists) which have been put forward against his theory of emptiness discussed in his main work, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. The Vigrahavyāvartanī is especially noteworthy for its treatment of topics which Nāgārjuna does not much discuss elsewhere, in particular questions of epistemology and the philosophy of language. The purpose of this book is to unlock the philosophical contents of the texts by providing a comprehensive commentary on Nāgārjuna’s arguments as well as a somewhat more general discussion of the philosophical points these raise. It is divided into three sections: the introduction, the translation, and the commentary. The introduction discusses the history of the text and gives a survey of the presently available editions and translations. I then address the question of the authenticity of the Vigrahavyāvartanī, discussing in detail some of the arguments put forward in the secondary literature which attempt to show that the text was not composed by Nāgārjuna. This is followed by some notes on the peculiar structure of the Vigrahavyāvartanī. Here I also explain why I chose to arrange the text differently in the translation and in the commentary. The introduction is concluded by a synopsis which gives a brief survey of the contents of the ten sections into which I have divided the text. The translation is based on the most recent edition of the Sanskrit text (Yonezawa 2008). All explanatory notes, discussions of variant readings and so forth have been left to the commentary. The commentary contains the entire text of the Vigrahavyāvartanī, though in an arrangement which differs from the one followed in the translation. My remarks on a specific section of the text usually follow this section directly, distinguished by a different typeface. The commentary divides Nāgārjuna’s text into ten main thematic units: (1) The status of the theory of emptiness; (2) Epistemology; (3) Intrinsically good things; (4) Names without objects; (5) Extrinsic substances; (6) Negation and existence; (7) The mirage analogy; (8) Emptiness and reasons; (9) Negation and temporal relations; (10) Conclusion
David L. McMahan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195183276
- eISBN:
- 9780199870882
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183276.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book elucidates the complex cross-cultural genealogy of themes, ideas, and practices crucial to the creation of a new hybrid form of Buddhism that has emerged within the last 150 years. Buddhism ...
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This book elucidates the complex cross-cultural genealogy of themes, ideas, and practices crucial to the creation of a new hybrid form of Buddhism that has emerged within the last 150 years. Buddhism modernism is not just Buddhism that happens to exist in the modern world but a distinct form of Buddhism constituted by cross-fertilization with western ideas and practices. Using primarily examples that have shaped western articulations of Buddhism, the book shows how modern representations of Buddhism have not only changed the way the tradition is understood, but have also generated new forms of demythologized, detraditionalized, and deinstitutionalized Buddhism. The book creates a lineage of Buddhist modernism that includes liberal borrowing from scientific vocabulary in reformulations of Buddhist concepts of causality, interdependence, and meditation. It also draws upon Romantic and Transcendentalist conceptions of cosmology, creativity, spontaneity, and the interior depths of the human being. Additionally, Buddhist modernism reconfigures Buddhism as a kind of psychology or interior science, drawing both upon analytic psychology and current trends in neurobiology. In its novel approaches to meditation and mindfulness, as well as political activism, it draws heavily from western individualism, distinctively modern modes of world-affirmation, liberal political sensibilities, and modernist literary sources. The book also examines this uniquely modern Buddhism as it moves into postmodern iterations and enters the currents of global communication, media, and commerce.Less
This book elucidates the complex cross-cultural genealogy of themes, ideas, and practices crucial to the creation of a new hybrid form of Buddhism that has emerged within the last 150 years. Buddhism modernism is not just Buddhism that happens to exist in the modern world but a distinct form of Buddhism constituted by cross-fertilization with western ideas and practices. Using primarily examples that have shaped western articulations of Buddhism, the book shows how modern representations of Buddhism have not only changed the way the tradition is understood, but have also generated new forms of demythologized, detraditionalized, and deinstitutionalized Buddhism. The book creates a lineage of Buddhist modernism that includes liberal borrowing from scientific vocabulary in reformulations of Buddhist concepts of causality, interdependence, and meditation. It also draws upon Romantic and Transcendentalist conceptions of cosmology, creativity, spontaneity, and the interior depths of the human being. Additionally, Buddhist modernism reconfigures Buddhism as a kind of psychology or interior science, drawing both upon analytic psychology and current trends in neurobiology. In its novel approaches to meditation and mindfulness, as well as political activism, it draws heavily from western individualism, distinctively modern modes of world-affirmation, liberal political sensibilities, and modernist literary sources. The book also examines this uniquely modern Buddhism as it moves into postmodern iterations and enters the currents of global communication, media, and commerce.
Nicholas Sims-Williams (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197262856
- eISBN:
- 9780191753961
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
The recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed in this book by a group of linguists and archaeologists. In the ...
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The recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed in this book by a group of linguists and archaeologists. In the last few years, the materials available for the study of the older Indo-Iranian languages have increased dramatically: there have been discoveries of birch-bark scrolls bearing Buddhist texts in the Gandhari language of north-west India, and of leather documents in Bactrian, the ancient language of northern Afghanistan. Previously known data has been exploited in new ways using innovative techniques for compiling, manipulating, and disseminating electronic text and digital images. And archaeological finds in India, Pakistan, and Central Asia, including the ‘Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex’, have given rise to new hypotheses concerning the history and pre-history of the Indo-Iranian peoples. The volume also pays tribute to the pioneering work of the philologist Sir Harold Bailey (1899–1996).Less
The recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed in this book by a group of linguists and archaeologists. In the last few years, the materials available for the study of the older Indo-Iranian languages have increased dramatically: there have been discoveries of birch-bark scrolls bearing Buddhist texts in the Gandhari language of north-west India, and of leather documents in Bactrian, the ancient language of northern Afghanistan. Previously known data has been exploited in new ways using innovative techniques for compiling, manipulating, and disseminating electronic text and digital images. And archaeological finds in India, Pakistan, and Central Asia, including the ‘Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex’, have given rise to new hypotheses concerning the history and pre-history of the Indo-Iranian peoples. The volume also pays tribute to the pioneering work of the philologist Sir Harold Bailey (1899–1996).
Ron Johnston (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265277
- eISBN:
- 9780191754203
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265277.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This volume collects together lectures by distinguished scholars. One lecture examines medieval religious relics, focusing on what they actually comprised and asking how these paltry items came to be ...
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This volume collects together lectures by distinguished scholars. One lecture examines medieval religious relics, focusing on what they actually comprised and asking how these paltry items came to be so highly valued. Another lecture takes the authentic medieval Welsh literary corpus associated with Owain Glyndwr, consisting in the main of bardic eulogies rather than prophecies, and examines them in their historical context. A lecture on Alexander Pope asks what part Shaftesbury's polite wit, Mandeville's cynicism, and Augustan sentimentalism played in the poetry of England's greatest satirist. Another lecture focuses on the Romantic poets' fascination with the lens-made and projected images that the modern world has come to think of as the virtual image. A further lecture examines the choices made by young musicians in Renaissance Italy. The next lecture examines how the paradoxical doctrine of ‘the one and the multiple’ was translated into visual language in Chinese Buddhist art. In some cases, groups related to certain numbers bearing metaphorical significances; while in others, objects were simply replicated in large numbers to create a sense of awe. The final lecture explores the way the natural history of the Americas was exported to 16th-century northern European scientists and how they reacted intellectually and politically.Less
This volume collects together lectures by distinguished scholars. One lecture examines medieval religious relics, focusing on what they actually comprised and asking how these paltry items came to be so highly valued. Another lecture takes the authentic medieval Welsh literary corpus associated with Owain Glyndwr, consisting in the main of bardic eulogies rather than prophecies, and examines them in their historical context. A lecture on Alexander Pope asks what part Shaftesbury's polite wit, Mandeville's cynicism, and Augustan sentimentalism played in the poetry of England's greatest satirist. Another lecture focuses on the Romantic poets' fascination with the lens-made and projected images that the modern world has come to think of as the virtual image. A further lecture examines the choices made by young musicians in Renaissance Italy. The next lecture examines how the paradoxical doctrine of ‘the one and the multiple’ was translated into visual language in Chinese Buddhist art. In some cases, groups related to certain numbers bearing metaphorical significances; while in others, objects were simply replicated in large numbers to create a sense of awe. The final lecture explores the way the natural history of the Americas was exported to 16th-century northern European scientists and how they reacted intellectually and politically.
Jan Westerhoff
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195375213
- eISBN:
- 9780199871360
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195375213.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book contains a discussion of thought of the 2nd-century Indian Buddhist philosophy Nāgārjuna, the founder of the ‘Middle Way’ (Madhyamaka) school of Buddhist thought. The discussion is based on ...
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This book contains a discussion of thought of the 2nd-century Indian Buddhist philosophy Nāgārjuna, the founder of the ‘Middle Way’ (Madhyamaka) school of Buddhist thought. The discussion is based on Nāgārjuna’s main philosophical works preserved either in the original Sanskrit or in Tibetan translation. It offers a synoptic presentation of the main philosophical topics Nāgārjuna investigates, focusing on the central notion of emptiness (sūnyatā). Particular emphasis is put on an analysis of the philosophical content of Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka. Apart from discussing the soundness of Nāgārjuna’s arguments for particular conclusions the book also examines to which extent Nāgārjuna’s philosophy forms a coherent philosophical system rather than a collection of individual ideas.Less
This book contains a discussion of thought of the 2nd-century Indian Buddhist philosophy Nāgārjuna, the founder of the ‘Middle Way’ (Madhyamaka) school of Buddhist thought. The discussion is based on Nāgārjuna’s main philosophical works preserved either in the original Sanskrit or in Tibetan translation. It offers a synoptic presentation of the main philosophical topics Nāgārjuna investigates, focusing on the central notion of emptiness (sūnyatā). Particular emphasis is put on an analysis of the philosophical content of Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka. Apart from discussing the soundness of Nāgārjuna’s arguments for particular conclusions the book also examines to which extent Nāgārjuna’s philosophy forms a coherent philosophical system rather than a collection of individual ideas.
Dale Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In classical Mahayana Buddhism, the “six perfections—pāramitā—define the meaning of human enlightenment. Buddhist enlightenment is understood to be a particular way of being in the world, a way of ...
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In classical Mahayana Buddhism, the “six perfections—pāramitā—define the meaning of human enlightenment. Buddhist enlightenment is understood to be a particular way of being in the world, a way of being in which six distinct dimensions of human character have been cultivated to the level of excellence—generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. In this book, Dale Wright explores each of these six dimensions of character and the kinds of self‐cultivation that Buddhists correlate with them in order to assess the “six perfections” as ethical ideals suitable for contemporary global culture. Each chapter takes up one of the six perfections and is divided into two sections. The first section describes how each of the six perfections was understood in classical Mahayana Buddhist sutras and philosophical works. The second section takes that traditional Buddhist account of ethics up into current consideration, asking: what would each of these “perfections” need to look like today in order to be considered an ideal dimension of human character? What role would generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, or wisdom play in the lives of people who we would most admire in our own contemporary setting? The aim of the book is to develop a philosophy of self‐cultivation using these Buddhist resources as its point of departure.Less
In classical Mahayana Buddhism, the “six perfections—pāramitā—define the meaning of human enlightenment. Buddhist enlightenment is understood to be a particular way of being in the world, a way of being in which six distinct dimensions of human character have been cultivated to the level of excellence—generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. In this book, Dale Wright explores each of these six dimensions of character and the kinds of self‐cultivation that Buddhists correlate with them in order to assess the “six perfections” as ethical ideals suitable for contemporary global culture. Each chapter takes up one of the six perfections and is divided into two sections. The first section describes how each of the six perfections was understood in classical Mahayana Buddhist sutras and philosophical works. The second section takes that traditional Buddhist account of ethics up into current consideration, asking: what would each of these “perfections” need to look like today in order to be considered an ideal dimension of human character? What role would generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, or wisdom play in the lives of people who we would most admire in our own contemporary setting? The aim of the book is to develop a philosophy of self‐cultivation using these Buddhist resources as its point of departure.
Mark L. Blum
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195125245
- eISBN:
- 9780199833993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019512524X.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based. Appendix A gives a concordance ...
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This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based. Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.Less
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based. Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.
Mark L. Blum
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195125245
- eISBN:
- 9780199833993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019512524X.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based, Appendix A gives a concordance ...
More
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based, Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.Less
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based, Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.
Susanne Mrozik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195305005
- eISBN:
- 9780199785681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305005.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter begins with an explanation of the purpose of the book, which is to offer a new approach to the study of Buddhist ethics by asking what we can learn about Buddhist ethics if we make the ...
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This chapter begins with an explanation of the purpose of the book, which is to offer a new approach to the study of Buddhist ethics by asking what we can learn about Buddhist ethics if we make the body the focus of ethical inquiry. It then discusses the two main goals of the study, methodological and theoretical perspectives, literary genre of the text, and the historical origins of the Compendium of Training. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.Less
This chapter begins with an explanation of the purpose of the book, which is to offer a new approach to the study of Buddhist ethics by asking what we can learn about Buddhist ethics if we make the body the focus of ethical inquiry. It then discusses the two main goals of the study, methodological and theoretical perspectives, literary genre of the text, and the historical origins of the Compendium of Training. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.
Susanne Mrozik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195305005
- eISBN:
- 9780199785681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305005.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter summarizes the arguments of the book and considers their ethical implications for both medieval and contemporary readers of the Compendium of Training. It employs a feminist hermeneutics ...
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This chapter summarizes the arguments of the book and considers their ethical implications for both medieval and contemporary readers of the Compendium of Training. It employs a feminist hermeneutics of recovery and suspicion to suggest how an early medieval Indian Buddhist discourse on bodies can offer intellectual resources for contemporary scholars and practitioners.Less
This chapter summarizes the arguments of the book and considers their ethical implications for both medieval and contemporary readers of the Compendium of Training. It employs a feminist hermeneutics of recovery and suspicion to suggest how an early medieval Indian Buddhist discourse on bodies can offer intellectual resources for contemporary scholars and practitioners.
