Knowledge and Liberation: Tibetan Buddhist Epistemology in Support of Transformative Religious Experience

by Anne Carolyn Klein

Buddhist philosophy is concerned with defining and overcoming the limitations and errors of perception. To do this is essential to Buddhism's purpose of establishing a method for attaining liberation. Conceptual thought in this view can lead to a liberating understanding, a transformative religious experience. The author discusses the workings of both direct and conceptual cognition, drawing on a variety of Tibetan and Indian texts. The Gelukba interpretation of Dignaga and Dharmakirti is greatly at variance with virtually all other scholarship concerning these seminal Buddhist logicians.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Anne Carolyn Klein, Ph.D. (Religious/Tibetan Studies, University of Virginia; M.A. Buddhist Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison) is Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University, where she was formerly Chair of the Department of Religion. In 2010, she received the title of Dorje Lopon as Lama Rigzin Drolma from her teacher, Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche. She is a co-founder of Dawn Mountain Tibetan Temple in Houston, Texas, where she remains a resident teacher.

Reviews

[Colin Simonds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall thesis is solid and the argument developed throughout the book is incredibly important for understanding the Tibetan soteriological framework specifically and mystical/religious experience in general. The only downside is that, because of how technical it has to be, it’s super dry at times. But really important study that everyone working on Gelugpa philosophy (or epistemology in general) should read.

[bad · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you've ever wondered what was going on when all those gelugba monks face off, holding their beads, exclaiming "three circles of contradiction!", or how the mind makes knowledge from experience, then this is the book. ;)