Buddhist Studies: Philosophy

Organised in broadly chronological terms, this book presents the philosophical arguments of the great Indian Buddhist philosophers of the fifth century BCE to the eighth century CE. Each chapter examines their core ethical, metaphysical and epistemological views as well as the distinctive area of Buddhist ethics that we call today moral psychology.

This book gives a concise account of one of the most vibrant episodes in the history of ancient Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy from the composition of the Abhidharma works before the beginning of the Common Era up to the time of Dharmakīrti in the sixth century CE. This period was characterized by the development of a variety of Buddhist philosophical schools and approaches that have shaped Buddhist thought up to the present day: the scholasticism of the Abhidharma, the Madhyamaka’s theory of emptiness, Yogācāra idealism, and the logical and epistemological works of Diṅnāga and Dharmakīrti.

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 of Buddhist studies who is interested specifically in the philosophical dimensions of the Buddhist tradition.

Translations of selected passages of early Buddhist philosophical texts. Useful for starting research into specific eras/philosophers

Translations of later Buddhist philosophical texts. Useful for starting research into specific eras/philosophers