Buddhist Philosophy

The truth of the body: the liberating role of physical (and mental) boundaries in asubhabhāvanā

by Giuliano Giustarini

A Note on Saḷāyatanas in Pāli Nikāyas

by Giuliano Giustarini

Pratytiasamutpada, La Dottrina buddhista della produzione condizionata.

by marco pucciarini

Enacting Selves, Enacting Worlds: On the Buddhist Theory of Karma

by Matthew MacKenzie

Nāgārjuna and Nihilism: Readings of the Ratnāvalī in India, China, and Tibet" in Sharma, Anita (2012, ed.), Buddhism in East Asia. Delhi: Vidyanidhi Publishers, pp. 131-144.

by Burkhard Scherer

This paper focuses on the first chapter of Nāgārjuna's Ratnāvalī. After shortly introducing Nāgārjuna's life and... more This paper focuses on the first chapter of Nāgārjuna's Ratnāvalī. After shortly introducing Nāgārjuna's life and works, the Ratnāvalī is discussed as a non-monastic discourse (addressing probably the Sātavāhana king Yajña Śrī Sātakarṇi) regarding its form, authenticity, content and structure. Then, the key concepts of Ratnāvalī 1 are introduced and evaluated: "temporary happiness" (abhyudaya) and "ultimate good" (naiḥśreyasa). These terms reflect the two-staged (lay and monastic) soteriology of Early Buddhism. By discussing the Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese versions of key passages, the wider debate about nihilistic (Lamotte, Wood, Burton) vs. non-nihilistic interpretations (Stcherbatsky, Ruegg) of Nāgārjuna's Mādhyamika philosophy is addressed. The paper analyses the central arguments against Nihilism in Ratnāvalī 1 and adduces corroborative arguments from Ratnāvalī 2, the Śūnyatāsaptatikārikā and the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. The conclusion aligns Nāgārjuna's thoughts with Pāli material and, in the light of these findings, the question is posed whether Madhyamaka really makes ultimate truth claims or defies ontology in favour of a more pragmatic approach.

The self in Buddhism

by victoria Lavorerio

"Karma: The Transformations of a Buddhist Conundrum / Карма: метаморфозы буддийской головоломки"

by Burkhard Scherer

in Chetyrova, L.B. et al. (2009, eds.). Vajrayana Buddhism in Russia: History and Modernity / Буддизм Ваджраяны в России: историяи современность, St. Petersburg: Unlimited Space Publishers (Publication of the Scientific Centre for Comparative Philosophy, Social Science and Humanities, St Petersburg State University, and the Russian State Museum of Religious History); pp. 259-270 (English) and pp. 270-285 (Russian).

Between Emptiness and Absolute Nothingness: Reflections on Negation in Nishida and Buddhism

by Matteo Cestari

Published in: James W. Heisig & Rein Raud (eds.), Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 7. Classical Japanese Philosophy, Nagoya, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, 2010, pp. 320-346.

This essay examines the relationship between Nishida's foundational notion of absolute nothingness and the classical... more This essay examines the relationship between Nishida's foundational notion of absolute nothingness and the classical Buddhist idea of emptiness. I reflect on the possibilities and risks of using Buddhism as hermeneutic paradigm in approaching the complexities of a modern Japanese philosophy with its alleged, but philologically ambiguous, references to a premodern Buddhist context.

¿Más allá de la metafísica del concepto? La nada y la negacion en la lógica del lugar

by Matteo Cestari

Published in: A. Jacinto-Zavala (ed.), Alternativas Filosóficas. Investigaciones recientes sobre la filosofía de Nishida Kitarô, fundador de la Escuela de Kioto, Morelia, Michoacan, Morevallado Editores, 2012, pp. 111-158.
Translation from Italian to Spanish by: Augustin Jacinto Zavala and Heron Perez Martinez.

Contradictions in Dōgen

by Koji Tanaka

This is my contribution to the discussion forum on Contradictions in Buddhism to be published in Philosophy East & West, 2013.

In their article ‘The Way of the Dialetheist: Contradictions in Buddhism’, Deguchi, Garfield and Priest argue that... more In their article ‘The Way of the Dialetheist: Contradictions in Buddhism’, Deguchi, Garfield and Priest argue that some (though not all) of the contradictions that appear in Buddhist texts should be accepted. An examination of their argument depends on what sort(s) of negation is (are) used in the texts. In order to see apparently contradictory statements as affirmations of true contradictions, we must assume that ‘not' (or its variance) is used as a contradiction forming operator. In this paper, I examine the conception of negation(s) that is (are) salient in the writings of Dōgen and argue that he would not agree that his sentences are to be considered, and accepted, as contradictory.

The types of suffering in the Mahāvyutpatti and the Pāli Canon

by Ferenc Ruzsa

In this paper an analysis is attempted of the triple suffering (duḥkha-duḥkhatā, saṁskāra-duḥkhatā,... more In this paper an analysis is attempted of the triple suffering (duḥkha-duḥkhatā, saṁskāra-duḥkhatā, vipariṇāma-duḥkhatā) as it appears in the Mahāvyutpatti and in earlier sources. Comparing it to some non-buddhistic triads (e.g. in the Yoga-sūtra) and similar concepts in the Pāli Canon and its commentaries, a connection is suggested to the trilakṣaṇa (duḥkha, anitya, anātman) and to the frequent series old age – disease – death. It appears that the original understanding of saṁskāra-duḥkhatā was probably not the suffering related to subliminal impressions but rather the suffering inherent in anything of a composite nature.

The triple suffering. A note on the Sāṁkhya-kārikā

by Ferenc Ruzsa

法華経方便品

by Pierre Bonneels

涅槃経

by Pierre Bonneels

平等思想

by Pierre Bonneels

Il ‘velo di Maya’, un’invenzione dell’Occidente

by Alessandro Grossato

Revisiting the Sanskrit Studies in Europe with Special Reference to Its Early Period

by Chandima Gangodawila

Knowledge, Wisdom, and Subjective Experience

by Teed Rockwell

I was an Invited speaker for Mind and Reality: A Multidisciplinary Symposium at Columbia University in February 2006. This is a video of my talk, which was a response to a paper by Robert Thurman, professor of Buddhist Studies at Columbia and translator for the Dalai Lama.

Robert Thurman argues that the Buddhist tradition shares essential principles and methods with Western Science. He... more Robert Thurman argues that the Buddhist tradition shares essential principles and methods with Western Science. He says “The Buddhist tradition is more science than religion. . . more a process of education than an adoption of a credo or a joining of an institution.” I think there is some truth to this statement, but it can also be misleading.  Buddhism is to some degree suspended half-way between the two Western prototypes of Science and Religion, without fitting comfortably in either category.

William Edelglass, Jay L. Garfield, Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings (Review)

by Eric S. Nelson

Review of William Edelglass and Jay L. Garfield, Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings (Oxford University Press, 2009). H-Buddhism (October, 2009)

Le problematiche intorno al Sè nel Buddhismo Antico.

by marco pucciarini

The study aims to analyze the problems connected with the doctrine of anatta