Jiang Wu
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333572
- eISBN:
- 9780199868872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333572.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter recounts the Buddhist revival in the late Ming. It first describes the institutional reorganization of Buddhism in the early Ming. Then the revival of Tiantai, Huayan, Yogacara, and ...
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This chapter recounts the Buddhist revival in the late Ming. It first describes the institutional reorganization of Buddhism in the early Ming. Then the revival of Tiantai, Huayan, Yogacara, and ordination ceremonies in the late Ming was introduced. However, Chan Buddhism was not fully recovered because of the confusion of dharma transmission and divergence of Chan understandings.Less
This chapter recounts the Buddhist revival in the late Ming. It first describes the institutional reorganization of Buddhism in the early Ming. Then the revival of Tiantai, Huayan, Yogacara, and ordination ceremonies in the late Ming was introduced. However, Chan Buddhism was not fully recovered because of the confusion of dharma transmission and divergence of Chan understandings.
Erik Hammerstrom
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231170345
- eISBN:
- 9780231539586
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231170345.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Kexue, or science, captured the Chinese imagination in the early twentieth century, promising new knowledge about the world and a dynamic path to prosperity. Chinese Buddhists embraced scientific ...
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Kexue, or science, captured the Chinese imagination in the early twentieth century, promising new knowledge about the world and a dynamic path to prosperity. Chinese Buddhists embraced scientific language and ideas to carve out a place for their religion within a rapidly modernizing society. Examining dozens of previously unstudied writings from the Chinese Buddhist press, this book maps Buddhists’ efforts to rethink their traditions through science in the initial decades of the twentieth century. Buddhists believed science offered an exciting, alternative route to knowledge grounded in empirical thought, much like their own. They encouraged young scholars to study subatomic and relativistic physics while still maintaining Buddhism’s vital illumination of human nature and its crucial support of an ethical system rooted in radical egalitarianism. Showcasing the rich and progressive steps Chinese religious scholars took in adapting to science’s rising authority, this volume offers a key perspective on how a major Eastern power transitioned to modernity in the twentieth century and how its intellectuals anticipated many of the ideas debated by scholars of science and Buddhism today.Less
Kexue, or science, captured the Chinese imagination in the early twentieth century, promising new knowledge about the world and a dynamic path to prosperity. Chinese Buddhists embraced scientific language and ideas to carve out a place for their religion within a rapidly modernizing society. Examining dozens of previously unstudied writings from the Chinese Buddhist press, this book maps Buddhists’ efforts to rethink their traditions through science in the initial decades of the twentieth century. Buddhists believed science offered an exciting, alternative route to knowledge grounded in empirical thought, much like their own. They encouraged young scholars to study subatomic and relativistic physics while still maintaining Buddhism’s vital illumination of human nature and its crucial support of an ethical system rooted in radical egalitarianism. Showcasing the rich and progressive steps Chinese religious scholars took in adapting to science’s rising authority, this volume offers a key perspective on how a major Eastern power transitioned to modernity in the twentieth century and how its intellectuals anticipated many of the ideas debated by scholars of science and Buddhism today.
Mario D’Amato
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195381559
- eISBN:
- 9780199869244
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381559.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter argues that there is indeed an important sense in which the Buddha never utters a word, that is, in which he never uses language in the way that language is ordinarily used. Drawing from ...
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This chapter argues that there is indeed an important sense in which the Buddha never utters a word, that is, in which he never uses language in the way that language is ordinarily used. Drawing from the Yogācāra account of the awareness of a buddha, the chapter argues that the way to understand this apparently paradoxical statement is through drawing the distinction between a referential and a use semantics for natural language. If one takes it that to “utter a word”—to use language—just is to refer and to characterize, the Buddha fails to do that. But that is not the semiotic theory preferred by Buddhist philosophers of language. Instead, enlightened language use is precisely use, not reference. And the Buddha can use words to undermine a natural semantics.Less
This chapter argues that there is indeed an important sense in which the Buddha never utters a word, that is, in which he never uses language in the way that language is ordinarily used. Drawing from the Yogācāra account of the awareness of a buddha, the chapter argues that the way to understand this apparently paradoxical statement is through drawing the distinction between a referential and a use semantics for natural language. If one takes it that to “utter a word”—to use language—just is to refer and to characterize, the Buddha fails to do that. But that is not the semiotic theory preferred by Buddhist philosophers of language. Instead, enlightened language use is precisely use, not reference. And the Buddha can use words to undermine a natural semantics.
Jonardon Ganeri
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652365
- eISBN:
- 9780191740718
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652365.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, History of Philosophy
Buddhist thinkers after Dignāga and Dharmakīrti will form the argument that reflexivism cannot solve the conceptual problem of other minds, the problem of explaining how it is possible to form a ...
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Buddhist thinkers after Dignāga and Dharmakīrti will form the argument that reflexivism cannot solve the conceptual problem of other minds, the problem of explaining how it is possible to form a conception of a mental life distinct from one's own or conceive that there can be a plurality of minds. Reflexivism, argues Ratnakīrti out of a suggestion made earlier by Jñānaśrīmitra, entails that there are no phenomenal or intentional boundaries between oneself and others within a stream of experience. The idea that reflexivism entails conceptual solipsism is confirmed by Kashmiri Śaiva philosophers, who appropriate Buddhist Yogācāra reflexivism but transform it into a constitutive theory of self: the self just is that which consists of reflexive self‐representation. Abhinavagupta shows clearly that this view leads to solipsism, an implication he actually seems to welcome. This chapter includes a full translation of Ratnakīrti's closely argued text. These difficulties with reflexivist analyses of subjectivity constitute a partial vindication of the earlier mental files theory.Less
Buddhist thinkers after Dignāga and Dharmakīrti will form the argument that reflexivism cannot solve the conceptual problem of other minds, the problem of explaining how it is possible to form a conception of a mental life distinct from one's own or conceive that there can be a plurality of minds. Reflexivism, argues Ratnakīrti out of a suggestion made earlier by Jñānaśrīmitra, entails that there are no phenomenal or intentional boundaries between oneself and others within a stream of experience. The idea that reflexivism entails conceptual solipsism is confirmed by Kashmiri Śaiva philosophers, who appropriate Buddhist Yogācāra reflexivism but transform it into a constitutive theory of self: the self just is that which consists of reflexive self‐representation. Abhinavagupta shows clearly that this view leads to solipsism, an implication he actually seems to welcome. This chapter includes a full translation of Ratnakīrti's closely argued text. These difficulties with reflexivist analyses of subjectivity constitute a partial vindication of the earlier mental files theory.
A. Charles Muller and Cuong T. Nguyen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835736
- eISBN:
- 9780824871277
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835736.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Leading East Asian Buddhist thinkers of the seventh century compared, analyzed, and finalized seminal epistemological and soteriological issues that had been under discussion in India and East Asia ...
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Leading East Asian Buddhist thinkers of the seventh century compared, analyzed, and finalized seminal epistemological and soteriological issues that had been under discussion in India and East Asia for centuries. Among the many issues that came to the fore was the relationship between the Tathagatagarbha (or “Buddha-nature”) understanding of the human psyche and the view of basic karmic indeterminacy articulated by the new stream of Indian Yogacara. The great Silla scholiast Wonhyo (617–686) was very much at the center of the intense discussion and debate that occurred on these topics. Through his writings, he became one of the most influential figures in resolving doctrinal discrepancies for East Asian Buddhism. Although many of Wonhyo's writings are lost, through his extant work we are able to get a solid glimpse of his profound and learned insights on the nature and function of the human mind. We can also clearly see his hermeneutical approaches and methods of argumentation, which are derived from apophatic Madhyamika analysis, the newly introduced Buddhist logic, as well as various indigenous East Asian approaches. This book includes four of Wonhyo's works that are especially revelatory of his treatment of the complex flow of ideas in his generation: System of the Two Hindrances (Yijangui), Treatise on the Ten Ways of Resolving Controversies (Simmunhwajaeng non), Commentary on the Discrimination between the Middle and the Extremes (Chungbyonpunbyollon so), and the Critical Discussion on Inference (P'anpiryang non).Less
Leading East Asian Buddhist thinkers of the seventh century compared, analyzed, and finalized seminal epistemological and soteriological issues that had been under discussion in India and East Asia for centuries. Among the many issues that came to the fore was the relationship between the Tathagatagarbha (or “Buddha-nature”) understanding of the human psyche and the view of basic karmic indeterminacy articulated by the new stream of Indian Yogacara. The great Silla scholiast Wonhyo (617–686) was very much at the center of the intense discussion and debate that occurred on these topics. Through his writings, he became one of the most influential figures in resolving doctrinal discrepancies for East Asian Buddhism. Although many of Wonhyo's writings are lost, through his extant work we are able to get a solid glimpse of his profound and learned insights on the nature and function of the human mind. We can also clearly see his hermeneutical approaches and methods of argumentation, which are derived from apophatic Madhyamika analysis, the newly introduced Buddhist logic, as well as various indigenous East Asian approaches. This book includes four of Wonhyo's works that are especially revelatory of his treatment of the complex flow of ideas in his generation: System of the Two Hindrances (Yijangui), Treatise on the Ten Ways of Resolving Controversies (Simmunhwajaeng non), Commentary on the Discrimination between the Middle and the Extremes (Chungbyonpunbyollon so), and the Critical Discussion on Inference (P'anpiryang non).
Erik J. Hammerstrom
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231170345
- eISBN:
- 9780231539586
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231170345.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Explores Buddhists’ use of Consciousness-Only thought to critique and supplement modern psychology. This argument was primarily produced by members of the “Wuchang School,” which the book argues is a ...
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Explores Buddhists’ use of Consciousness-Only thought to critique and supplement modern psychology. This argument was primarily produced by members of the “Wuchang School,” which the book argues is a useful category for discussing the shared agenda of the teachers and students of China’s first modern Buddhist seminary. This concept allows scholars to de-center the Taixu from the narrative of reformist Chinese Buddhism during this period. Members of the Wuchang School argued against the materialist Behaviorist psychology coming into vogue in China in the 1920s, and stated that Consciousness-Only thought could help explain certain phenomena that were problematic for modern psychology, specifically memory and instinct. The chapter tells the story of the Buddhist community’s rejection of the materialist interpretation of Consciousness-Only offered by Jin Han, which shows the limits of the community’s reinterpretation of Consciousness-Only thought in light of modern science of the mind.Less
Explores Buddhists’ use of Consciousness-Only thought to critique and supplement modern psychology. This argument was primarily produced by members of the “Wuchang School,” which the book argues is a useful category for discussing the shared agenda of the teachers and students of China’s first modern Buddhist seminary. This concept allows scholars to de-center the Taixu from the narrative of reformist Chinese Buddhism during this period. Members of the Wuchang School argued against the materialist Behaviorist psychology coming into vogue in China in the 1920s, and stated that Consciousness-Only thought could help explain certain phenomena that were problematic for modern psychology, specifically memory and instinct. The chapter tells the story of the Buddhist community’s rejection of the materialist interpretation of Consciousness-Only offered by Jin Han, which shows the limits of the community’s reinterpretation of Consciousness-Only thought in light of modern science of the mind.
Douglas S. Duckworth
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190883959
- eISBN:
- 9780190883980
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190883959.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism, Philosophy of Religion
This book offers an engaging philosophical overview of Tibetan Buddhist thought. It shows the way that Buddhist theory informs Buddhist practice across various Tibetan traditions in ways that ...
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This book offers an engaging philosophical overview of Tibetan Buddhist thought. It shows the way that Buddhist theory informs Buddhist practice across various Tibetan traditions in ways that integrate competing and complimentary perspectives on the nature of mind and reality. The book draws upon a contrast between phenomenology and ontology to highlight distinct starting points of inquiries into mind and nature in Buddhism and to illuminate central issues confronted in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. It argues that these starting points share a common ground and can be seen to be actually inseparable. This thematic study raises some of the most difficult and critical topics in Buddhist thought, such as the nature of mind and the meaning of emptiness, across a wide range of philosophical traditions, including the “Middle Way” of Madhyamaka, Yogācāra (a.k.a. “Mind-Only”), and tantra. This book provides a richly textured overview that explores the intersecting nature of mind, language, and world depicted across Tibetan Buddhist traditions. It also puts Tibetan philosophy into conversation with texts and traditions from India, Europe, and America, exemplifying the possibility and potential for a transformative conversation in global philosophy.Less
This book offers an engaging philosophical overview of Tibetan Buddhist thought. It shows the way that Buddhist theory informs Buddhist practice across various Tibetan traditions in ways that integrate competing and complimentary perspectives on the nature of mind and reality. The book draws upon a contrast between phenomenology and ontology to highlight distinct starting points of inquiries into mind and nature in Buddhism and to illuminate central issues confronted in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. It argues that these starting points share a common ground and can be seen to be actually inseparable. This thematic study raises some of the most difficult and critical topics in Buddhist thought, such as the nature of mind and the meaning of emptiness, across a wide range of philosophical traditions, including the “Middle Way” of Madhyamaka, Yogācāra (a.k.a. “Mind-Only”), and tantra. This book provides a richly textured overview that explores the intersecting nature of mind, language, and world depicted across Tibetan Buddhist traditions. It also puts Tibetan philosophy into conversation with texts and traditions from India, Europe, and America, exemplifying the possibility and potential for a transformative conversation in global philosophy.
Roy Tzohar
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190664398
- eISBN:
- 9780190664428
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190664398.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book is about what metaphors mean and do within Buddhist texts. More specifically, it is about the fundamental Buddhist ambivalence toward language, which is seen as obstructive and yet ...
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This book is about what metaphors mean and do within Buddhist texts. More specifically, it is about the fundamental Buddhist ambivalence toward language, which is seen as obstructive and yet necessary for liberation, as well as the ingenious response to this tension that one Buddhist philosophical school—the early Indian Yogācāra (3rd–6th century CE)—proposed by arguing that all language use is in fact metaphorical (upacāra). Exploring the profound implications of this claim, the book presents the full-fledged Yogācāra theory of meaning—one that is not merely linguistic, but also perceptual.Despite the overwhelming visibility of figurative language in Buddhist philosophical texts, its role and use have received relatively little attention in scholarship to date. This book is the first sustained and systematic attempt to present an indigenous Buddhist philosophical theory of metaphor. By grounding the Yogācāra’s pan-metaphorical claim in its broader intellectual context, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, the discussion reveals an intense Indian philosophical conversation about metaphor and language that reached across sectarian lines, and it also demonstrates its potential contribution to contemporary philosophical discussions of related topics. The analysis of this theory of metaphor radically reframes the Yogācāra controversy with the Madhyamaka; sheds light on the school’s application of particular metaphors, as well as its unique understanding of experience; and establishes the place of Sthiramati as an original Buddhist thinker of note in his own right, alongside Asaṅga and Vasubandhu.Less
This book is about what metaphors mean and do within Buddhist texts. More specifically, it is about the fundamental Buddhist ambivalence toward language, which is seen as obstructive and yet necessary for liberation, as well as the ingenious response to this tension that one Buddhist philosophical school—the early Indian Yogācāra (3rd–6th century CE)—proposed by arguing that all language use is in fact metaphorical (upacāra). Exploring the profound implications of this claim, the book presents the full-fledged Yogācāra theory of meaning—one that is not merely linguistic, but also perceptual.Despite the overwhelming visibility of figurative language in Buddhist philosophical texts, its role and use have received relatively little attention in scholarship to date. This book is the first sustained and systematic attempt to present an indigenous Buddhist philosophical theory of metaphor. By grounding the Yogācāra’s pan-metaphorical claim in its broader intellectual context, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, the discussion reveals an intense Indian philosophical conversation about metaphor and language that reached across sectarian lines, and it also demonstrates its potential contribution to contemporary philosophical discussions of related topics. The analysis of this theory of metaphor radically reframes the Yogācāra controversy with the Madhyamaka; sheds light on the school’s application of particular metaphors, as well as its unique understanding of experience; and establishes the place of Sthiramati as an original Buddhist thinker of note in his own right, alongside Asaṅga and Vasubandhu.
Jan Westerhoff
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- June 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198732662
- eISBN:
- 9780191796876
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198732662.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This book gives a concise account of one of the most vibrant episodes in the history of ancient Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy from the composition of the Abhidharma works ...
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This book gives a concise account of one of the most vibrant episodes in the history of ancient Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy from the composition of the Abhidharma works before the beginning of the Common Era up to the time of Dharmakīrti in the sixth century CE. This period was characterized by the development of a variety of Buddhist philosophical schools and approaches that have shaped Buddhist thought up to the present day: the scholasticism of the Abhidharma, the Madhyamaka’s theory of emptiness, Yogācāra idealism, and the logical and epistemological works of Diṅnāga and Dharmakīrti. The book attempts to describe the historical development of these schools in their intellectual context, with particular emphasis on three factors that shaped the development of Buddhist philosophical thought: the need to spell out the contents of canonical texts, the discourses of the historical Buddha and the Mahāyāna sutras; the desire to defend their positions by sophisticated arguments against criticisms from fellow Buddhists and from non-Buddhist thinkers of classical Indian philosophy; and the need to account for insights gained through the application of specific meditative techniques. While the main emphasis of our presentation is the period up the the sixth century CE, we will we also discuss some important selected figures who influenced Buddhist thought between this time and the decline of Buddhist scholastic philosophy in India at the beginning of the thirteenth century.Less
This book gives a concise account of one of the most vibrant episodes in the history of ancient Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy from the composition of the Abhidharma works before the beginning of the Common Era up to the time of Dharmakīrti in the sixth century CE. This period was characterized by the development of a variety of Buddhist philosophical schools and approaches that have shaped Buddhist thought up to the present day: the scholasticism of the Abhidharma, the Madhyamaka’s theory of emptiness, Yogācāra idealism, and the logical and epistemological works of Diṅnāga and Dharmakīrti. The book attempts to describe the historical development of these schools in their intellectual context, with particular emphasis on three factors that shaped the development of Buddhist philosophical thought: the need to spell out the contents of canonical texts, the discourses of the historical Buddha and the Mahāyāna sutras; the desire to defend their positions by sophisticated arguments against criticisms from fellow Buddhists and from non-Buddhist thinkers of classical Indian philosophy; and the need to account for insights gained through the application of specific meditative techniques. While the main emphasis of our presentation is the period up the the sixth century CE, we will we also discuss some important selected figures who influenced Buddhist thought between this time and the decline of Buddhist scholastic philosophy in India at the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Douglas S. Duckworth
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190883959
- eISBN:
- 9780190883980
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190883959.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism, Philosophy of Religion
The relationship between Madhyamaka and Mind-Only is configured in different ways among Tibetan traditions, and how their relationship is configured informs the shape of the distinct contemplative ...
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The relationship between Madhyamaka and Mind-Only is configured in different ways among Tibetan traditions, and how their relationship is configured informs the shape of the distinct contemplative practices there. The conclusion here reiterates how understanding the interplay of these two traditions, in conversation with the discourses of ontology and phenomenology, can illuminate some of the issues at stake in Tibetan thought and connect them to contemporary issues. Like Mind-Only and Madhyamaka, ontology and phenomenology represent divergent modes of thought and practice that can be seen to offer unique lenses on the world, yet they can also be seen to overlap, or even mutually entail each other.Less
The relationship between Madhyamaka and Mind-Only is configured in different ways among Tibetan traditions, and how their relationship is configured informs the shape of the distinct contemplative practices there. The conclusion here reiterates how understanding the interplay of these two traditions, in conversation with the discourses of ontology and phenomenology, can illuminate some of the issues at stake in Tibetan thought and connect them to contemporary issues. Like Mind-Only and Madhyamaka, ontology and phenomenology represent divergent modes of thought and practice that can be seen to offer unique lenses on the world, yet they can also be seen to overlap, or even mutually entail each other.
Jonathan Gold
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231168267
- eISBN:
- 9780231538008
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231168267.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The Indian Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu (fourth-fifth century ce) is known for his critical contribution to Buddhist Abhidharma thought, his turn to the Mahāyāna tradition, and his concise, ...
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The Indian Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu (fourth-fifth century ce) is known for his critical contribution to Buddhist Abhidharma thought, his turn to the Mahāyāna tradition, and his concise, influential Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda texts. This book reveals another dimension of his legacy: his integration of several seemingly incompatible intellectual and scriptural traditions, with far-ranging consequences for the development of Buddhist epistemology and the theorization of tantra. Most scholars read Vasubandhu's texts in isolation and separate his intellectual development into distinct phases. Featuring close studies of Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāsya, Vyākhyāyukti, Vimśatikā, and Trisvabhavanirdeśa, among other works, this book identifies recurrent treatments of causality and scriptural interpretation that unify distinct strands of thought under a single, coherent Buddhist philosophy. In Vasubandhu's hands, the Buddha's rejection of the self as a false construction provides a framework through which to clarify problematic philosophical issues, such as the nature of moral agency and subjectivity under a broadly causal worldview. Recognizing this continuity of purpose across Vasubandhu's diverse corpus recasts the interests of the philosopher and his truly innovative vision, which influenced Buddhist thought for a millennium and continues to resonate with today's philosophical issues.Less
The Indian Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu (fourth-fifth century ce) is known for his critical contribution to Buddhist Abhidharma thought, his turn to the Mahāyāna tradition, and his concise, influential Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda texts. This book reveals another dimension of his legacy: his integration of several seemingly incompatible intellectual and scriptural traditions, with far-ranging consequences for the development of Buddhist epistemology and the theorization of tantra. Most scholars read Vasubandhu's texts in isolation and separate his intellectual development into distinct phases. Featuring close studies of Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāsya, Vyākhyāyukti, Vimśatikā, and Trisvabhavanirdeśa, among other works, this book identifies recurrent treatments of causality and scriptural interpretation that unify distinct strands of thought under a single, coherent Buddhist philosophy. In Vasubandhu's hands, the Buddha's rejection of the self as a false construction provides a framework through which to clarify problematic philosophical issues, such as the nature of moral agency and subjectivity under a broadly causal worldview. Recognizing this continuity of purpose across Vasubandhu's diverse corpus recasts the interests of the philosopher and his truly innovative vision, which influenced Buddhist thought for a millennium and continues to resonate with today's philosophical issues.
Jonathan C. Gold
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231168267
- eISBN:
- 9780231538008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231168267.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Vasubandhu is famous for converting from Śrāvakayāna to Mahāyāna between writing his Commentary on the Treasury of Abhidharma (Abhidharmakośabhāsya, AKBh) and his Yogācāra works. This chapter ...
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Vasubandhu is famous for converting from Śrāvakayāna to Mahāyāna between writing his Commentary on the Treasury of Abhidharma (Abhidharmakośabhāsya, AKBh) and his Yogācāra works. This chapter considers the doctrinal shift that comes with the adoption of the interpretive perspective of the Scripture on the Clarification of the [Buddha's] Intent (Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, SNS)—a shift that accounts for not just the validity of Mahāyāna scriptures and treatises, but for the adoption of many specific doctrines within those scriptures. It shows just what this transition would have entailed by illuminating in detail Vasubandhu's distinctive Yogācāra philosophy. Vasubandhu's transition to Yogācāra and his transformative contribution to it were prefigured, if not yet fully enacted, in the AKBh passages already discussed.Less
Vasubandhu is famous for converting from Śrāvakayāna to Mahāyāna between writing his Commentary on the Treasury of Abhidharma (Abhidharmakośabhāsya, AKBh) and his Yogācāra works. This chapter considers the doctrinal shift that comes with the adoption of the interpretive perspective of the Scripture on the Clarification of the [Buddha's] Intent (Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, SNS)—a shift that accounts for not just the validity of Mahāyāna scriptures and treatises, but for the adoption of many specific doctrines within those scriptures. It shows just what this transition would have entailed by illuminating in detail Vasubandhu's distinctive Yogācāra philosophy. Vasubandhu's transition to Yogācāra and his transformative contribution to it were prefigured, if not yet fully enacted, in the AKBh passages already discussed.
A. Charles Muller and Cuong T. Nguyen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835736
- eISBN:
- 9780824871277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835736.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This introductory chapter discusses the Buddhist philosophy of mind in East Asia. Modern scholars have distinguished two major streams of early East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. These are the ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the Buddhist philosophy of mind in East Asia. Modern scholars have distinguished two major streams of early East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. These are the doctrinal streams of Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha. These were the two most significant philosophies of mind to be received, studied, and interpreted by Wŏnhyo (617–686), and they provided the basic framework for his own philosophical perspectives. The chapter pays special attention to Wŏnhyo's treatment of these two doctrinal streams. It begins with a brief review of their general course of development, paying special attention to their symbiotic relationship.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the Buddhist philosophy of mind in East Asia. Modern scholars have distinguished two major streams of early East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. These are the doctrinal streams of Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha. These were the two most significant philosophies of mind to be received, studied, and interpreted by Wŏnhyo (617–686), and they provided the basic framework for his own philosophical perspectives. The chapter pays special attention to Wŏnhyo's treatment of these two doctrinal streams. It begins with a brief review of their general course of development, paying special attention to their symbiotic relationship.
Justin R. Ritzinger
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190491161
- eISBN:
- 9780190491185
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190491161.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter examines the development of the “Maitreya School” from the eve of its founding to its peak of activity in 1937. This occurred in two phases. In the first, the school was closely ...
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This chapter examines the development of the “Maitreya School” from the eve of its founding to its peak of activity in 1937. This occurred in two phases. In the first, the school was closely associated with Yogācāra and served as the “house cult” of Taixu’s seminaries, forming an important part of the educational and ritual lives of these institutions. In the second phase, the school came to be seen in more expansive terms as an all-inclusive teaching and pure land elements overshadow Yogācāra. In this phase, active propagation grew and Taixu’s students and associates began to assume a more prominent role. Liturgies were composed, lay associations were organized, and the landscape was inscribed with the cult.Less
This chapter examines the development of the “Maitreya School” from the eve of its founding to its peak of activity in 1937. This occurred in two phases. In the first, the school was closely associated with Yogācāra and served as the “house cult” of Taixu’s seminaries, forming an important part of the educational and ritual lives of these institutions. In the second phase, the school came to be seen in more expansive terms as an all-inclusive teaching and pure land elements overshadow Yogācāra. In this phase, active propagation grew and Taixu’s students and associates began to assume a more prominent role. Liturgies were composed, lay associations were organized, and the landscape was inscribed with the cult.
Justin R. Ritzinger
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190491161
- eISBN:
- 9780190491185
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190491161.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter offers an analysis of Taixu’s Maitreyan theology through a close reading of his commentaries on the Three Essentials—the texts he identified as the cult’s foundation. These were the ...
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This chapter offers an analysis of Taixu’s Maitreyan theology through a close reading of his commentaries on the Three Essentials—the texts he identified as the cult’s foundation. These were the “Chapter on Knowing Reality,” the Yoga Bodhisattva Prātimokṣa, and the Sutra of Maitreya’s Ascent. It argues that Taixu found in these texts, and in his interpretations augmented, indigenous analogues to the key values that inspired him as a young anarchist: science, a revolutionary ethic, and utopia. These texts further allowed him to bring these values into meaningful relationship with the core Buddhist good of Buddhahood.Less
This chapter offers an analysis of Taixu’s Maitreyan theology through a close reading of his commentaries on the Three Essentials—the texts he identified as the cult’s foundation. These were the “Chapter on Knowing Reality,” the Yoga Bodhisattva Prātimokṣa, and the Sutra of Maitreya’s Ascent. It argues that Taixu found in these texts, and in his interpretations augmented, indigenous analogues to the key values that inspired him as a young anarchist: science, a revolutionary ethic, and utopia. These texts further allowed him to bring these values into meaningful relationship with the core Buddhist good of Buddhahood.
Stephen Cross
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824837358
- eISBN:
- 9780824871048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824837358.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This book explores Arthur Schopenhauer’s encounter with Indian thought, with particular emphasis on his doctrine of representation and his account of the genesis of the will. It considers the extent ...
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This book explores Arthur Schopenhauer’s encounter with Indian thought, with particular emphasis on his doctrine of representation and his account of the genesis of the will. It considers the extent and nature of the affinities between Schopenhauer’s thought and the philosophical and religious ideas of India by concentrating on the schools associated with Hinduism and Buddhism: the Advaita Vedānta and the Mādhyamika and Yogācāra schools. The book is divided into four sections. The first section provides the background to Schopenhauer’s interest in Indian thought and the growth and extent of his knowledge of Hindu and Buddhist ideas. The second section deals with the doctrine of representation and related views found in India, while the third section discusses the doctrine of the will and its relation to Indian thought. The fourth and lasr section focuses on the ontological status of the will and the nature of final reality.Less
This book explores Arthur Schopenhauer’s encounter with Indian thought, with particular emphasis on his doctrine of representation and his account of the genesis of the will. It considers the extent and nature of the affinities between Schopenhauer’s thought and the philosophical and religious ideas of India by concentrating on the schools associated with Hinduism and Buddhism: the Advaita Vedānta and the Mādhyamika and Yogācāra schools. The book is divided into four sections. The first section provides the background to Schopenhauer’s interest in Indian thought and the growth and extent of his knowledge of Hindu and Buddhist ideas. The second section deals with the doctrine of representation and related views found in India, while the third section discusses the doctrine of the will and its relation to Indian thought. The fourth and lasr section focuses on the ontological status of the will and the nature of final reality.
Stephen Cross
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824837358
- eISBN:
- 9780824871048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824837358.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter examines how the arising of the empirical world is understood in Buddhism by focusing on the Yogācāra teaching. The Buddhist tradition shares with Hinduism essentially the same ...
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This chapter examines how the arising of the empirical world is understood in Buddhism by focusing on the Yogācāra teaching. The Buddhist tradition shares with Hinduism essentially the same understanding of karmic impressions, formative forces, and “seeds.” The formative forces arise out of ignorance and lead to cognition as a subject aware of objects. This chapter first provides a background on the Yogācāra school before explaining what brings the formative forces into being from a Buddhist perspective. It then considers the Yogācāra doctrine of “mind only” (cittamātra), along with the concept of the store-consciousness or ālaya-vijñāna as the source of suffering. It also discusses the two aspects of karman, dubbed paripūraka and āksepa-karman.Less
This chapter examines how the arising of the empirical world is understood in Buddhism by focusing on the Yogācāra teaching. The Buddhist tradition shares with Hinduism essentially the same understanding of karmic impressions, formative forces, and “seeds.” The formative forces arise out of ignorance and lead to cognition as a subject aware of objects. This chapter first provides a background on the Yogācāra school before explaining what brings the formative forces into being from a Buddhist perspective. It then considers the Yogācāra doctrine of “mind only” (cittamātra), along with the concept of the store-consciousness or ālaya-vijñāna as the source of suffering. It also discusses the two aspects of karman, dubbed paripūraka and āksepa-karman.
José Ignacio Cabezón
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199958603
- eISBN:
- 9780199980819
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199958603.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The Madhayamaka or Middle Way School is the subject of chapter 12. As in the other chapters of Part II, Rogben is concerned with the views of the Madhyamaka school in general, as well as with the ...
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The Madhayamaka or Middle Way School is the subject of chapter 12. As in the other chapters of Part II, Rogben is concerned with the views of the Madhyamaka school in general, as well as with the views of the particular subschools, but he begins by discussing the major works of Madhyamaka thought. After outlining the basic tenets of Madhayamaka—including a long discussion on the different types of Madhyamaka syllogisms—he refutes the school, chiefly from the viewpoint of tantra.Less
The Madhayamaka or Middle Way School is the subject of chapter 12. As in the other chapters of Part II, Rogben is concerned with the views of the Madhyamaka school in general, as well as with the views of the particular subschools, but he begins by discussing the major works of Madhyamaka thought. After outlining the basic tenets of Madhayamaka—including a long discussion on the different types of Madhyamaka syllogisms—he refutes the school, chiefly from the viewpoint of tantra.
Yaroslav Komarovski
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- June 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190244958
- eISBN:
- 9780190245009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190244958.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism, World Religions
This chapter addresses the category of ineffability—the critical point of convergence of studies of mystical experience and Tibetan approaches to realization of reality. It also explores the ...
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This chapter addresses the category of ineffability—the critical point of convergence of studies of mystical experience and Tibetan approaches to realization of reality. It also explores the relationship between mystical experiences and polemics, showing the critical role the latter play in the former. In particular, it focuses on “internalized polemics”: a deconstructive process of contemplation of ultimate reality which consists of using specific types of Madhyamaka reasoning that are “internalized” through analytical meditation. It also demonstrates certain areas where Tibetan thinkers argue for compatibility of realizations and experiences across different traditions while acknowledging their overall diversity. In this context, it outlines the position of Shakya Chokden, who argues that despite contradictory worldviews, different types of contemplative conditioning leading to realization of reality, and conflicting descriptions of that realization, followers of the two major systems of Mahāyāna Buddhism―Niḥsvabhāvavāda and Yogācāra—can access the same direct meditative experience of ultimate reality.Less
This chapter addresses the category of ineffability—the critical point of convergence of studies of mystical experience and Tibetan approaches to realization of reality. It also explores the relationship between mystical experiences and polemics, showing the critical role the latter play in the former. In particular, it focuses on “internalized polemics”: a deconstructive process of contemplation of ultimate reality which consists of using specific types of Madhyamaka reasoning that are “internalized” through analytical meditation. It also demonstrates certain areas where Tibetan thinkers argue for compatibility of realizations and experiences across different traditions while acknowledging their overall diversity. In this context, it outlines the position of Shakya Chokden, who argues that despite contradictory worldviews, different types of contemplative conditioning leading to realization of reality, and conflicting descriptions of that realization, followers of the two major systems of Mahāyāna Buddhism―Niḥsvabhāvavāda and Yogācāra—can access the same direct meditative experience of ultimate reality.
Jonardon Ganeri
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- December 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198864684
- eISBN:
- 9780191896729
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198864684.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics/Epistemology
In this chapter I explore the relationship between Fernando Pessoa and Buddhism. I first introduce the brilliant French philosopher Simone Weil (1909–43), a contemporary of Pessoa but someone of whom ...
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In this chapter I explore the relationship between Fernando Pessoa and Buddhism. I first introduce the brilliant French philosopher Simone Weil (1909–43), a contemporary of Pessoa but someone of whom he certainly had never heard. One way to read her remarks is as directed against the positional use of ‘I’, against the deployment in thought and speech of a positional conception of self. One should abandon forms of self-consciousness that are grounded in one’s thinking of oneself as the one at the centre of a landscape of sensation. For Weil, it is precisely such contact with reality as attention makes possible which holds the uncentred mind together, preventing its content being ‘a phantasmagoric fluttering with no centre or sense’. The uncentred mind would thus be a sort of conformal and aperspectival map of reality, standing in correspondence with the world without any privileged perspectival point. With these distinctions in mind, we say more of the mind of Alberto Caeiro, and address the question whether he is a Buddhist heteronym.Less
In this chapter I explore the relationship between Fernando Pessoa and Buddhism. I first introduce the brilliant French philosopher Simone Weil (1909–43), a contemporary of Pessoa but someone of whom he certainly had never heard. One way to read her remarks is as directed against the positional use of ‘I’, against the deployment in thought and speech of a positional conception of self. One should abandon forms of self-consciousness that are grounded in one’s thinking of oneself as the one at the centre of a landscape of sensation. For Weil, it is precisely such contact with reality as attention makes possible which holds the uncentred mind together, preventing its content being ‘a phantasmagoric fluttering with no centre or sense’. The uncentred mind would thus be a sort of conformal and aperspectival map of reality, standing in correspondence with the world without any privileged perspectival point. With these distinctions in mind, we say more of the mind of Alberto Caeiro, and address the question whether he is a Buddhist heteronym.