The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy

by Jan Westerhoff

Jan Westerhoff unfolds the story of one of the richest episodes in the history of Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy in the first millennium CE. He starts from the composition of the Abhidharma works before the beginning of the common era and continues up to the time of Dharmakirti in the sixth century. This period was characterized by the development of a variety of 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, Yogacara idealism, and the logical and epistemological works of Dinnaga and Dharmakirti. The book attempts to describe the historical development of these schools in their intellectual and cultural context, with
particular emphasis on three factors that shaped the development of Buddhist philosophical thought: the need to spell out the contents of canonical texts, the discourses of the historical Buddha and the Mahayana sutras; the desire to defend their positions by sophisticated arguments against criticisms from fellow Buddhists and from non-Buddhist thinkers of classical Indian philosophy; and the need to account for insights gained through the application of specific meditative techniques. While
the main focus is the period up to the sixth century CE, Westerhoff also discusses some important thinkers who influenced Buddhist thought between this time and the decline of Buddhist scholastic philosophy in India at the beginning of the thirteenth century. His aim is that the historical presentation
will also allow the reader to get a better systematic grasp of key Buddhist concepts such as non-self, suffering, reincarnation, karma, and nirvana.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy, History, Religion, Asia, Nonfiction, India

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a philosopher and orientalist with specific interests in metaphysics and the philosophy of language. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and SOAS. At present he is a University Lecturer in Religious Ethics at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall and a Research Associate at SOAS. He was previously a Research Fellow in Philosophy at the City University of New York, a Seminar Associate at Columbia University, a Junior Research Fellow at Linacre College and a Junior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.

He is a specialist in metaphysics and Indo-Tibetan philosophy. His research interests also include the history of ideas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Reviews

[withdrawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Westerhoff, the author of ‘The Golden Age of Buddhist Philosophy’, has set out in this book to teach a great deal about the development of Buddhism philosophy in India and he basically succeeds. The period Westerhoff covers, which he refers to as ‘the Golden Age of Indian Buddhist philosophy’ is roughly “from the composition of the Abhidharma texts (about the beginning of the first millennium CE) up to the time of Dharmakīrti (sixth or seventh century CE), with some, albeit limited, consideration of its history between Dharmakīrti and the end of the Buddhist scholastic tradition on the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the thirteenth century.”

My own intention in taking up the book was to fill in gaps in my knowledge of Indian Buddhism as my focus has largely been on Mahāyāna Buddhism, mostly on Madhyamaka. Generally, the book has more than met my expectations, giving me a great deal more detail than I was anticipating. Westerhoff’s breadth of knowledge is impressive and I benefitted greatly from it. However, I should note that the period covered does not include early Buddhism, from the era of the Buddha up to the first millennium. Anyone looking for basic information on the beginnings of Buddhism will need to look elsewhere.

The book begins with an extensive introduction in which Westerhoff reviews not only his intentions in the book but also offers advice on how he would like his readers to approach the book. In particular, Westerhoff warns hid readers not to let their western assumptions interfere with their understanding of Buddhist thinking. “What this means is that when our views of the world conflict with claims that are relevant for developing an account of the history of Buddhism (such as claims about maximal human lifespans, the objective existence of the past, and so on), we temporarily suspend these views in order to find out how far we can go in our analysis without appealing to them.” Thus, when we are told that Maitreya has been invisible, we are to accept it. There is no gain in disputing with the text. If the Buddha’s teachings are seen to be contradictory, accept it. The Buddha has his own reasons for being contradictory, usually based on the understanding of his audience.

The book has four chapters, each dealing with a specific ‘school’ of Buddhis thought and development:

1) Abhidharma; - including the schools of Mahāsaṃghika, Theravāda, Pudgalavāda, Sarvāstivāda, and Sautrāntika

2) Madhyamaka – including a look at Mahāyāna and then Nāgārjuna and some of those who came after him: Buddhapālita, Bhāviveka, and Candrakīrti

3) Yogācāra – including Maitreya, AsaṅgMa and Vasubandhu

4) The School of Diṅnāga and Dharmakīrti - including its relation to Mīmāsā. Westerhoff also takes a final look at the end of Buddhist philosophy in India with Śāntideva and Atiśa Dīpaṁkarajñāna.

Having spent some weeks reading the book, it has become clear to me how little I have known about the history of Buddhism and how the philosophy fits together with the various movements. I am now definitely NOT an expert. Which brings me to the book as a future reference work. Not only has Westerhoff included a detailed table of contents, he has included, on every page, marginal notes referring to the subject matter of the paragraph or sentence. This is something to which I became accustomed while reading law books over the years and I have always found them to provide quick access to specific topics. Every philosopher, perhaps every academic, should use them. This book will stay with me for a long time to come.

As for potential readers, I would recommend that anyone approaching the book have a basic sense of the vocabulary of Indian Buddhism. This isn’t a book for those who will need to be researching every sentence on Wikipedia. Secondly, I would not recommend it to anyone who does not have a background in the close reading of academic philosophy. Having breezed through the Tao of Pooh is not going to get you through this.

On the other hand, I can recommend The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy to serious readers. It is fascinating and enjoyable. Just be prepared to put the time and effort in. There is a lot of information here.

Westerhoff is an excellent writer and he writes for his readers. For example, when he quotes from an original text, he always takes the time to clarify what it means and why he is quoting it. Also, as he moves from one philosopher to the next, from one school to the next, Westerhoff continuously compares the new one to the last, thus reminding the reader of earlier philosophy and sharpening the concepts of both.

One criticism of the book. There are multiple errors in the text, often including extraneous works or phrases. Also, there are errors in the index, either citing wrong page numbers or having words out of order. Oxford University Press needs to up its editing game.

[Ellison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a clearly written but very academic book about the development of Buddhist philosophy in India up to about 700 CE.
In his concluding remarks Westerhoff makes two points about the nature of Buddhism that I think are important:
‘From the very beginning the Buddhist tradition did not under stand the Buddha’s dharma as a single canonical exposition opposed to all others. Instead, the Buddha taught to a multiplicity of audiences in a variety of ways, and often on the basis of very different assumptions.’
‘Buddhist philosophy has been considered by all its proponents as part of the path to enlightenment and the liberation from suffering, and it has never been suggested that one can obtain this goal by thinking or philosophical analysis alone.’

[Anmol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant advanced history of Indian Buddhist philosophy by an academic philosopher. Provides great discussions of the Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogachara, Dinnaga, and Dharmakirti. Of course, it leaves out quite a lot, both within and beyond the sections it discusses (the absence of Aryadeva's works in the Madhyamaka section is particularly jarring, and so is the lack of a specific section on tantrayana), but I think this is a great resource for anyone serious about Indian Buddhist philosophy from the 1st to 7th centuries CE. The brief section on Yogachara's interaction with Shankara's Advaita Vedanta was also quite interesting, and I wish Westerhoff would write more on Vedanta vs Buddhism.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A first-rate account of the main trajectory of Buddhist Indian thought during the first millennium, from the early Abidharmists through to the Madhyamaka, Yogacara, the logico-epistemological school of Dinnaga and Dharmakirti and beyond. Westerhoff emphasizes the roles of scripture, logical argumentation, and meditative experience in the development of Indian Buddhist philosophy and how Buddhist philosophy was shaped by intra-mural debates as well as debates between Buddhism and other Indian schools of thought. He does his best to try to understand the intentions of Buddhist thinkers from within their own framework and context, but also to consider them in the light of the Western philosophical and historical tradition. He also discovers the seeds of Mahayana, Madhyamaka and Yogacara innovations in earlier Pali Sutta and Abidharmic texts. Westerhoff writes with precision and clarity, and his deep familiarity with recent scholarship informs how he tells his story every step of the way.

[Chant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute thrill and challenge to read this academic book that does away with the frills of explaining everything (the book assumes the reader understands the basics of Buddhism) and places the reader into the sophisticated philosophy of Indic Buddhist philosophy.

I really should have taken notes but I will come back to this volume again in the future if I am writing about Buddhist Philosophy. The book nonetheless is a valuable book for the inspired Buddhologist or keen philosophy/religious studies students out there in their undergrad or graduate school wanting to get their teeth into something substantial.

Westerhoff has written other fantastic books about Buddhist philosophy and this one certainly doesn't disappoint.

[Rik · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best contemporary high-level introductory works to Indian Buddhist philosphy.

[mercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. Westerhoff has written the best modern introduction to the philosophical positions of the major Indian schools of Buddhist philosophy with some theories of his own to systematize them. And as the later schools in China and Tibet adopt, extend, and synthesize the arguments of these Indian schools, the contents of this book are very useful to anyone of the Mahayana tradition.

[David Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've long found Buddhist ideas philosophically fascinating, but have been discouraged by Buddhist teachers from the Buddha on down who, when they catch you getting philosophical with their stuff, warn you away, saying "this isn't philosophy, my boy, this is a path to liberation and the end of suffering; don't over-think it."

Well, I'm not going to let some Buddha push me around, and neither is Jan Westerhoff, who's done an excellent job of mapping out the striking variety of philosophical positions debated and developed during the early years of Buddhism in India.

[LaMarx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger. Westerhoff does very well in editing. The annotations and footnotes. I’m like a moth to a flame for a good footnote. I feel much more capable of continuing my task of reading everything I can about Madhyamaka and Yogacara, but especially the former.

I also quite like Westerhoff’s writing style, which only added to my enjoyment.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book off Goodreads. Awesome read. Highly recommend.

[Mills College Library]

200 W526 2018

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Гарна книга. Читається легко, наповнена змістовною інформацією і по суті.