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A Survey of Buddhist Thought A Survey of Buddhist Thought Survey.indb 1 24-01-13 13:19 Survey.indb 2 24-01-13 13:19 Alfred Scheepers A Survey of Buddhist Thought Survey.indb 3 24-01-13 13:19 On behalf of Olive Press published by Abraxas publishers, Zuider-Æmstel, The Netherlands olivepress.uitgeverijabraxas.nl – [email protected] © Text: Dr. A. R. Scheepers © Print: Abraxas Publishers Fourth edition 2015 Revised by the author in 2013 Cover drawing: Denise Z. Thörig (daughter of the author) NUR 739, 718 Buddhist Philosophy ISBN 9789079133161 Transliteration of the Sanskrit Alphabhet as in as in a – cut à – father u – put ù – put i – treat ì – beer e – late o – foam ® – thirst kh – cow g – get gh – ghost √ – thing c – chapter ch – choke (aspiration) j – John jh – joke (aspiration) ñ – añgel dh – dowry (aspiration) ≈ – shanty Ω – chauffeur y – yes v – Wasser (German) The following sounds are retroflex: †, ∂, µ. They correspond with the normal English dentals. The same consonants, but without diacritical marks, are pronounced like their continental counterparts, e.g. as in Italian. ¬ is used as an abbreviation of n, √, ñ, µ, or m, or it represent a sound similar to ‘m’ in French ‘faim’. ∆ sounds as a soft aspiration. Chinese is translated according to the Hanyu Pinyin system. For me- lodic pronunciation one should consult a dictionary or grammar. 5 Survey.indb 5 24-01-13 13:19 Buddha, dhyàna mùdra Survey.indb 6 24-01-13 13:19 Contents Preface..........................................15 Introduction......................................19 Destiny. ........................................22 From origin to destiny ...............................24 I Buddhism in India..............................27 Chapter 1, The Buddha and his Teaching.................29 The scriptures in three baskets ...........................29 The basket of sermons. ............................30 The life of the Buddha ................................31 The Path to Freedom .................................33 Ethical rules. ....................................34 Meditation. .....................................34 Liberating insight. ................................35 Thoughts behind the Method............................36 The four noble truths .............................36 The influence of ignorance. .........................39 Dependent origination. ............................40 Explanation of the chain of dependent origination. ............42 Elucidation of the separate elements of the chain. .............43 Ignorance and thirst. ...............................45 The circle of life. .................................48 The fivegroups of grasping..........................48 Feelings, positive, negative, and neutral. ..................49 7 Survey.indb 7 24-01-13 13:19 I Buddhism in India Hope and fear are without any base. 49 Ultimate reality. .................................50 The subject. .....................................51 The absolute. ....................................55 Ethical causation..................................56 History. .......................................57 Retribution. .....................................57 Retribution as a psychological law. ......................59 Realms of rebirth...................................60 The middle way. .................................61 Chapter 2, Early History .............................65 The five heretical theses. ...........................66 De sects..........................................68 Sthaviras........................................71 Mahàsa¬ghikas...................................72 Vàtsiputrìyas and Dharmaguptakas. ....................72 Chapter 3, Abhidharma .............................75 Theras and Sarvàstivàdins. ..........................77 Nature of the Abhidharma. .........................79 The Thera Abhidhamma ..............................81 Freedom and bondage..............................82 Mind and ‘sa√khàra.’ ..............................82 Consciousness and rebirth. ..........................86 The process of conscious apperception..................87 Psychical factors. .................................89 Wholesome and unwholesome mental factors. ...............94 States of mind....................................96 Matter. ........................................98 Time. 99 General characteristics and interpretation. .............. 100 The Sarvàstivàda Abhidharma.......................... 102 Retribution. ................................... 104 Visible deed and invisible result .......................104 Whose is the deed ...............................105 1) Volition and fruition ............................106 8 Survey.indb 8 24-01-13 13:19 Contents 2) Five substrates .................................106 3) Will and space .................................107 Death and after.................................. 108 Knowledge and volition........................... 108 Mental faculties. ................................ 110 Wholesome and unwholesome mental faculties ..............114 Matter. ....................................... 116 Perception. .................................... 118 Time. 119 The concept of Nirvàµa........................... 120 Chapter4, Sautràntikas ............................. 123 The stream of mind. ............................. 123 Action and fruit. ................................ 124 Forms, volitions, mind. ........................... 125 Subtle consciousness. ............................. 126 Knowledge..................................... 126 Time versus space. ............................... 128 Development in time. ............................ 128 Nirvàµa. ...................................... 125 Chapter 5, Mahàyàna .............................. 133 Mahayana as philosophy............................ 136 The dharmas are without self ........................137 The truth and the illusive power ......................138 Scriptures ..................................... 139 Origin ....................................... 142 History .......................................143 Kàµvas and ¥u√gas............................... 143 Scyths ........................................ 144 KuΩàµas....................................... 144 Cedi and Sàtavàhanas ............................. 145 The Guptas .................................... 146 PuΩpabhùtis and other houses ....................... 147 Cashmere and Gndhàra ........................... 148 Decline of Buddhism inm India....................... 149 Magadha as the melting pot of ideas .................. 150 9 Survey.indb 9 24-01-13 13:19 I Buddhism in India The Path of the Bodhisattva ..........................151 The ten stages .................................. 152 The Bodies of the Buddha............................157 The apparitional body ............................ 159 The body of enjoyment ........................... 160 The body of Dharma............................. 161 Truth.........................................163 Suchness ...................................... 163 The veils of affliction and of thought ................. 165 Conventional and highest truth ..................... 166 The Unity of Sa¬sàra and Nirvàµa .....................167 Chapter 6, Madhyamaka ............................ 169 Criticism. ..................................... 170 Life of Nàgàrjuna. ............................... 171 Works ascribed to Nàgàrjuna........................ 171 Short history of the Madhyamaka........................ 173 Dialectic ........................................ 175 The tetralemma. ................................ 176 Relativity. ..................................... 178 The goal of dialectic ............................. 179 Substance or Fleeting Events ........................... 180 The Highest Wisdom................................ 183 Nature of wisdom. ................................ 184 Wisdom is freedom................................ 185 Absolute and Phenomena ............................. 186 Ignorance...................................... 191 Two truths. .................................... 192 Freedom ........................................ 192 Freedom is spiritual. ............................... 193 Chapter 7, Idealism................................ 197 History ......................................... 199 Dignàga ........................................ 204 The reality of the external world. .................... 204 Theory of knowledge. ............................ 206 Sensation. ..................................... 207 10 Survey.indb 10 24-01-13 13:19 Contents Inference. ..................................... 208 Dharmakìrti...................................... 210 Two levels of truth. .............................. 211 Ontology. ...................................... 212 Momentariness. .................................. 212 Causality. 213 Mind. ........................................ 214 The means of knowledge. ......................... 215 Perception. ..................................... 216 Inference. ...................................... 217 Buddha. ...................................... 218 Goal and practice.................................. 218 Understanding.................................. 220 Apoha . 220 Logical implication.................................. 221 Representations .................................. 222 Meaning and judgement ............................ 223 Word and sentence ................................ 224 The idealist solution of the problem of knowledge........ 225 Three aspects of consciousness ......................... 226 The
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