Buddhist Philosophy Essential Readings

by Edelglass, William; Garfield, Jay

• ISBN13: 9780195328172
• ISBN10: 0195328175
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780199886913
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse, and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It is hence often difficult for those with training in Western philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time to know where to start, anddifficult for those who wish to introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition, expose students to important primary texts in reliable translations, that contextualize those texts, and that foregroundspecifically philosophical issues. Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces the philosophical issues it addressesand arguments it presents, providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an essay explainingBuddhist approaches to that subject matter, and the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise. This volume is an ideal single text for an intermediate or advanced course in Buddhist philosophy, and makes this tradition immediately accessible to the philosopher or student versed in Western philosophy coming to Buddhism for the first time. It is also ideal for the scholar or student ofBuddhist studies who is interested specifically in the philosophical dimensions of the Buddhist tradition.

Author Biography

William Edelglass is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Marlboro College. Previously he taught at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, India. His research focuses on Buddhist philosophy, environmental philosophy, and twentieth century continental philosophy.
Jay Garfield is Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy at Smith College. His books include the translations of Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika: The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (OUP, 1995); Tsong khapa's Ocean of Reasoning (OUP, 2002), and Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Interpretation (OUP, 2006).

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xv
Introduction	p. 3
Metaphysics and Ontology	p. 9
Therav&abar;da Metaphysics and Ontology: Kacc&abar;nagotta (Samyutta-nik&abar;ya) and Abhidhammatthasangaha	p. 13
N&abar;g&abar;rjuna's Mulamadhyamakak&abar;rik&abar; (Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way): Chapter 24: Examination of the Four Noble Truths	p. 26
Vasubandhu's Trisvabh&abar;vanirdesa (Treatise on the Three Natures)	p. 35
Santaraksita's "Neither-One-Nor-Many" Argument from Madhyamakalamkara (The Ornament of the Middle Way): A Classical Buddhist Argument on the Ontological Status of Phenomena	p. 46
Mipam Namgyel: The Lion's Roar Affirming Extrinsic Emptiness	p. 61
Dushun's Huayan Fajie Guan Men (Meditative Approaches to the Huayan Dharmadhatu)	p. 73
D&obar;gen's "Mountains and Waters as S&ubar;tras" (Sansui-ky&obar;)	p. 83
Nishitani Keiji's "The Standpoint of Zen: Directly Pointing to the Mind"	p. 93
Philosophy of Language and Hermeneutics	p. 103
Sensation, Inference, and Language: Dign&abar;ga's Pram&abar;nasamuccaya	p. 107
Jñ&abar;nagarbha's Verses on the Distinction between the Two Truths	p. 116
Language and the Ultimate: Do M&abar;dhyamikas Make Philosophical Claims? A Selection from Khedrupjey's Stong thun chen mo (Great Digest)	p. 126
Zongmi's Yuanren lun (lnquiry into the Origin of the Human Condition): The Hermeneutics of Doctrinal Classification	p. 138
D&obar;gen's Sh&obar;b&obar;genz&obar;, Fascicles "Katt&obar;" and "&Obar;sakusendaba"	p. 149
Beyond Awareness: T&obar;rei Enji's Understanding of Realization in the Treatise on the Inexhaustible Lamp of Zen, chapter 6	p. 159
Epistemology	p. 171
The Approach to Knowledge and Truth in the Therav&abar;da Record of the Discourses of the Buddha	p. 175
Dharmak&ibar;rti and Dharmottara on the Intentionality of Perception: Selections from Nyayabindu (An Epitome of Philosophy)	p. 186
The Role of Knowledge of Causation in Dharmakirti's Theory of Inference: The Pramana-varttika	p. 197
Yog&abar;c&abar;ra Theories of the Components of Perception: The Buddhabh&ubar;my-upadeśa	p. 205
Classification of Non-Authoritative Cognitive Processes (tshad min) in the Ngog and Sakya Traditions	p. 218
Understanding the Two Truths: Tsongkhapa's Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on N&abar;g&abar;rjuna's "M&ubar;lamadhyamakak&abar;rik&abar;"	p. 224
The Deluded Mind as World and Truth: Epistemological Implications of Tiantai Doctrine and Praxis in Jingxi Zhanran's Jingangpi and Zhiguan yili	p. 238
The Presencing of Truth: Dogen's Genj&obar;k&obar;an	p. 251
Philosophy of Mind and the Person	p. 261
Therav&abar;da Philosophy of Mind and the Person: Anatta-lakkhana Sutta, Mah&abar;-nid&abar;na Sutta, and Milindapanha	p. 265
Pudgalav&abar;da Doctrines of the Person	p. 275
Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosa: The Critique of the Pudgalav&abar;dins' Theory of Persons	p. 286
Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa: The Critique of the Soul	p. 297
Candrak&ibar;rti's Madhyamak&abar;vat&abar;rabh&abar;sya 6.86-97: A Madhyamaka Critique of Vijñ&abar;nav&abar;da Views of Consciousness	p. 309
Ś&abar;ntaraksita's Tattvasamgraha: A Buddhist Critique of the Ny&abar;ya View of the Self	p. 320
Zhiyi's Great Calming and Contemplation: "Contemplating Mental Activity as the Inconceivable Realm"	p. 334
"The Mind Is Buddha": Pojo Chinul's Secrets on Cultivating the Mind	p. 348
Nishida's Conception of Person	p. 358
Ethics	p. 371
Therav&abar;da Texts on Ethics	p. 375
The Bodhisattva Path: Ś&abar;ntideva's Bodhicary&abar;vat&abar;ra	p. 388
Asanga's Bodhisattvabh&ubar;mi: The Morality Chapter	p. 400
Essentials on Observing and Violating the Fundamentals of Bodhisattva Precepts: Wonhyo's Non-Substantial Mah&abar;y&abar;na Ethics	p. 409
Thich Nhat Hanh's Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism	p. 419
Joanna Macy: The Ecological Self	p. 428
Buddhist Feminist Reflections	p. 437
Index	p. 449
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