The Problem of Pure Consciousness

The Problem of Pure Consciousness

Author: Robert K. C. Forman

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0195355113

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Are mystical experiences formed by the mystic's cultural background and concepts, as ""constructivists"" maintain, or do mystics sometimes transcend language, belief, and culturally conditioned expectations? Do mystical experiences differ throughout the various religious traditions, as""pluralists"" contend, or are they somehow ecumenical? The contributors to this collection scrutinize a common mystical experience, the ""pure consciousness event""--The experience of being awake but devoid of intentional content--in order to answer these questions. Through the use of historical Hindu, Buddhist,


Studies in Philosophy

Studies in Philosophy

Author: Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass

Published: 2017-01-01

Total Pages: 731

ISBN-13: 8120829727

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These Studies in Philosophy represents all the published and only a few unpublished writings of Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya. These published writing date back to 1908, but his characteristic philosophical position assumes definite shape in the writings during the year 1928-36. The publications of the period outnumber and far outweigh those that fall during the previous twenty years. Of the twenty-one tracts published first in two separate Volumes, which in this edition appear as bound together in one, fourteen belong to this period, the others covering the previous years. Prof. Bhattacharyya had a deep study of ancient Indian Philosophy, particularly of Advaita Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga and Jain Philosophies. Vol. I. contains Prof. Bhattacharyyaês constructive interpretation of these systems. He was also well-versed in classical German Philosophy, particularly that of Kant. His vast and deep study provided the intellectual background in the light of which his profoundly original mind could go on with the work of construction. He constructed a new system of his own which however is not easy to comprehend. Vol. II contains all the basic writings in which Prof. Bhattacharyyaês philosophy has been formulated. In the Introduction to this Volume, the Editor has usefully analysed the Authorês philosophical position in some details.


Apoha

Apoha

Author: Mark Siderits

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 0231153600

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When we understand that something is a pot, is it because of one property that all pots share? This seems unlikely, but without this common essence, it is difficult to see how we could teach someone to use the word "pot" or to see something as a pot. The Buddhist apoha theory tries to resolve this dilemma, first, by rejecting properties such as "potness" and, then, by claiming that the element uniting all pots is their very difference from all non-pots. In other words, when we seek out a pot, we select an object that is not a non-pot, and we repeat this practice with all other items and expressions. Writing from the vantage points of history, philosophy, and cognitive science, the contributors to this volume clarify the nominalist apoha theory and explore the relationship between apoha and the scientific study of human cognition. They engage throughout in a lively debate over the theory's legitimacy. Classical Indian philosophers challenged the apoha theory's legitimacy, believing instead in the existence of enduring essences. Seeking to settle this controversy, essays explore whether apoha offers new and workable solutions to problems in the scientific study of human cognition. They show that the work of generations of Indian philosophers can add much toward the resolution of persistent conundrums in analytic philosophy and cognitive science.


Theory and Practice of Yoga

Theory and Practice of Yoga

Author: Knut A. Jacobsen

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-08-14

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 9047416333

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This collection of original essays provides fascinating insights into yoga as a historical and pluralistic phenomenon flourishing in a variety of religious and philosophical contexts. They cover a wide variety of traditions and topics related to Yoga: Classical Yoga, Sāṃkhya, Tantric Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, the Guru, Indic Islamic traditions of Yoga, Yoga and asceticism in contemporary India, and the reception of Yoga in the West. The essays are written by eighteen professors in the field of the history of religions, most of them former graduate students of Gerald James Larson, Larson is Rabindranath Tagore Professor Emeritus, Indiana University, Bloomington, Professor Emeritus, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, an internationally acclaimed scholar on the history of religions and philosophies of India, and one of the world's foremost authorities on the Samkhya and Yoga traditions. The publication is in honour of him.


Buddhist Logic

Buddhist Logic

Author: Fedor Ippolitovich Shcherbatskoĭ

Publisher:

Published: 1962

Total Pages: 504

ISBN-13:

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This book is a coverage of the Mahayana Buddhistic logic of the school of Dignaga. It is in fact the most important work on Buddhist logic ever published. A classic of oriental research, it is founded on a thorough study of original Indian and Tibetan compositions by the great Buddhist logicians. The author was one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg school that did monumental work in the field of Indology during the first quarter of this century.


On Being Buddha

On Being Buddha

Author: Paul J. Griffiths

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1994-09-08

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780791421284

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What is it like to be a Buddha? Is there only one Buddha or are there many? What can Buddhas do and what do they know? Is there anything they cannot do and cannot know? These and associated questions were much discussed by Buddhist thinkers in India, and a complex and subtle set of doctrinal positions was developed to deal with them. This is the first book in a western language to treat these doctrines about Buddha from a philosophical and thoroughly critical viewpoint. The book shows that Buddhist thinkers were driven, when theorizing about Buddha, by a basic intuition that Buddha must be maximally perfect, and that pursuing the implications of this intuition led them into some conceptual dilemmas that show considerable similarity to some of those treated by western theists. The Indian Buddhist tradition of thought about these matters is presented here as thoroughly systematic, analytical, and doctrinal. The book’s analysis is based almost entirely upon original sources in their original languages. All extracts discussed are translated into English and the book is accessible to nonspecialists, while still treating material that has not been much discussed by western scholars.


Reasons and Empty Persons: Mind, Metaphysics, and Morality

Reasons and Empty Persons: Mind, Metaphysics, and Morality

Author: Christian Coseru

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-02-22

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 303113995X

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Best known for his groundbreaking and influential work in Buddhist philosophy, Mark Siderits is the pioneer of “fusion” or “confluence philosophy", a boldly systematic approach to doing philosophy premised on the idea that rational reconstruction of positions in one tradition in light of another can sometimes help address perennial problems and often lead to new and valuable insights. Exemplifying the many virtues of the confluence approach, this collection of essays covers all core areas of Buddhist philosophy, as well as topics and disputes in contemporary Western philosophy relevant to its study. They consider in particular the ways in which questions concerning personal identity figure in debates about agency, cognition, causality, ontological foundations, foundational truths, and moral cultivation. Most of these essays engage Siderits’ work directly, building on his pathbreaking ideas and interpretations. Many deal with issues that have become a common staple in philosophical engagements with traditions outside the West. Their variety and breadth bear testimony to the legacy of Siderits’ impact in shaping the contemporary conversation in Buddhist philosophy and its reverberations in mainstream philosophy, giving readers a clear sense of the remarkable scope of his work.