Linguistic Approach To Buddhist Thought

Dr. Sisir Kumar Mitra's book, entitled The Early Rulers of Khajuraho constitutes a welcome addition to the existing literature on the history of the Candellas of Bundelkhand. He gives a comprehensive and fascinating account of the varied activities of this distinguished family of rulers, based on a minute and detailed study of the material which he collected with great industry and thoroughness from diverse sources, indigenous and foreign, literary and archaeological. Though most of his data have been compiled from epigraphic sources, he is not over-zealous in his estimate of the importance and reliability of inscriptional material which he examines as critically as any piece of literary gerated. he has discussed the controversial issues connected with his subject without any bias. His chapters on administrative, social, economic and religious history will be specially useful to those interested in the compilation of epigraphic material bearing on the evolution of ancient Indian culture.

Buddhist philosophy in India in the early sixth century C. E. took an important tum away from the traditional methods of explaining and systematizing the teachings in Siitra literature that were attributed to the Buddha. The new direction in which several Indian Buddhist philosophers began to move was that of following reasoning to its natural conclusions, regardless whether the conclusions conflicted with traditional teachings. The central figure in this new movement was DiIinaga, a native of South India who found his way to the centre of Buddhist education at Nalanda, studied the treatises that were learned by the Buddhist intellectuals of his day, and eventually wrote works of his own that formed the core of a distinctly new school of Buddhist thought. Inasmuch as virtually every Indian philosopher after the sixth century had either to reject Dirinaga's methods or build upon the foundations provided by his investigations into logic, epistemology and language, his influence on the evolution of Indian philosophy was considerable, and indeed some familiarity with Dirinaga's arguments and conclusions is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand the historical development of Indian thought. Moreover, since the approach to Buddhism that grew out of Dirinaga's meditations on language and the limits of knowledge dominated the minds of many of the scholars who took Buddhism to Tibet, some familiarity with Dirinaga is also essential to those who wish to understand the intellectual infrastructure of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice.

Buddhist philosophy is fundamentally ambivalent toward language. Language is paradoxically seen as both obstructive and necessary for liberation. In this book, Roy Tzohar delves into the ingenious response to this tension from the Yogacara school of Indian Buddhism: that all language-use is metaphorical. Exploring the profound implications of this claim, Tzohar makes the case for viewing the Yogacara account as a full-fledged theory of meaning, one that is not merely linguistic, but also applicable both in the world as well as in texts. Despite the overwhelming visibility of figurative language in Buddhist philosophical texts, this is the first sustained and systematic attempt to present an indigenous Buddhist theory of metaphor. By grounding the Yogacara pan-metaphorical claim in a broader intellectual context, of both Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools, the book uncovers an intense philosophical conversation about metaphor and language that reaches across sectarian lines. Tzohar's analysis radically reframes the Yogacara controversy with the Madhyamaka school of philosophy, sheds light on the Yogacara application of particular metaphors, and explicates the school's unique understanding of experience.

Exploring how notions of solitude in Pali literature are encompassed in various literary forms, such as stock formulae, poetry, narrative, and imagery, this book includes close analysis of some of the most famous Buddhist verses about solitary practice. Indaka Nishan Weerasekera considers how solitude is valued as one significant aspect of the Buddhist path, including how the imagery of landscape, especially the forest, serves to both inspire solitary practice as well as functions as a metaphor for meditation. The author employs a cross-section of primary sources to explore the practical and psychological aspects of solitude in relation to Buddhist meditation, as well as relational/attitudinal concepts such as renunciation or desirelessness, independence, and self-reliance. This 'lonely' aspect of the Buddhist path sits alongside the 'communal' aspect of the Buddhist teachings. Together, they serve to maintain monastic harmony, while the 'social' aspect preserves monastic relations with wider society.

A richly complex study of the Yogacara tradition of Buddhism, divided into five parts: the first on Buddhism and phenomenology, the second on the four basic models of Indian Buddhist thought, the third on karma, meditation and epistemology, the fourth on the Trimsika and its translations, and finally the fifth on the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun and Yogacara in China.

First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A lucid explanation of the basic contours of the Theravada Abhidamma system for serious students of Buddhist thought. The renowned Sri Lankan scholar Y. Karunadasa examines Abhidhamma perspectives on the nature of phenomenal existence. He begins with a discussion of dhamma theory, which describes the bare phenomena that form the world of experience. He then explains the Abhidhamma view that only dhammas are real, and that anything other than these basic phenomena are conceptual constructs. This, he argues, is Abhidhamma’s answer to common-sense realism—the mistaken view that the world as it appears to us is ultimately real. Among the other topics discussed are the theory of double truth (ultimate and conceptual truth), the analysis of mind, the theory of cognition, the analysis of matter, the nature of time and space, the theory of momentary being, and conditional relations. The volume concludes with an appendix that examines why the Theravada came to be known as Vibhajjavada, “the doctrine of analysis.” Not limiting himself to abstract analysis, Karunadasa draws out the Abhidhamma’s underlying premises and purposes. The Abhidhamma provides a detailed description of reality in order to identify the sources of suffering and their antidotes—and in doing so, to free oneself.

What guidance can Buddhism provide to those involved in armed conflict and to belligerents who must perhaps kill or be killed or defend their families, communities or countries from attack? How, moreover, does Buddhism compare with international humanitarian law (IHL) – otherwise known as the law of armed conflict – which protects non-combatants and restricts the means and methods of warfare to limit the suffering it causes? Despite the prevalence of armed conflict in parts of the Buddhist world, few contemporary studies have addressed these questions. While there is a wealth of material on Buddhist conflict prevention and resolution, remarkably little attention has been paid to what Buddhism says about the actual conduct of war. IHL is also still relatively little known in the Buddhist world and might not therefore influence the behaviour of belligerents who self-identify as Buddhists and are perhaps more likely to be guided by Buddhist principles. This ground-breaking volume is part of an International Committee of the Red Cross project which seeks to fill this gap by exploring correspondences between Buddhist and IHL principles, and by identifying Buddhist resources to improve compliance with IHL and equivalent Buddhist or humanitarian norms. This book will be of much interest to students and researchers of International Law, Buddhism, Ethics as well as War and Conflict studies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Buddhism.

This constitues the first volume of the series. It indicates the scope of the project and provides a list of sources which will be surveyed in the sebsequent volumes, as well as provide a guide to secondary literature for further study of Indian Philosophy. It lists in relative chronological order, Sanskrit and Tamil works. All known editions and translations into European languages are cited; where puplished versions of the text are not known a guide to the location of manuscripts of the work is provided.

The rise of postmodern theories and pluralist thinking has paved the way for multicultural approaches to communication studies and now is the time for decentralization, de-Westernization, and differentiation. This trend is reflected in the increasing number of communication journals with a national or regional focus. Alongside this proliferation of research output from outside of the mainstream West, there is a growing discontent with communication theories being “Westerncentric”. Compared with earlier works that questioned the need to distinguish between the Western and the non-Western, and to build “Asian” communication theories, there seems to be greater assertiveness and determination in searching for and developing theoretical frameworks and paradigms that take consideration of, and therefore are more relevant to, the cultural context in which research is accomplished. This path-breaking book moves beyond critiquing “Westerncentrism” in media and communication studies by examining where Eurocentrism has come from, how is it reflected in the study of media and communication, what the barriers and solutions to de-centralizing the production of theories are, and what is called for in order to establish Asian communication theories.