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Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings
The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse, and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It is hence often difficult for those with training in Western philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time to know where to start, and difficult for those who wish to introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition, expose students to important primary texts in reliable translations, that contextualize those texts, and that foreground specifically philosophical issues.
Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces the philosophical issues it addresses and arguments it presents, providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an essay explaining Buddhist approaches to that subject matter, and the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise.
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.
Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces the philosophical issues it addresses and arguments it presents, providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an essay explaining Buddhist approaches to that subject matter, and the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise.
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.
457 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 22, 2025
if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com
200620: in the mahayana interpretation of buddhist thought, i must note the vital difference between the terms ‘nothingness’ and ‘emptiness’, that has led many commentators, western and eastern, to mistake this way as essentially nihilistic. there is not an opposing metaphysics common to the ‘west’ of ‘being’ and ‘nothingness’, not negation, rather the contention is that all is ‘empty’ of ‘inherent being’, that is, only has qualified essence relative to everything else. there is no god, no source, from which ‘essences’ derive but only the interplay of emptiness...
240320: great resource for a lot of the buddhist reading you need, excellent commentaries on sutras as primary texts this includes part 1 metaphysics and ontology, 2 language and hermeneutics, 3 epistemology, 4 philosophy of mind and person, 5 ethics. all of which support each other and clarify the goal of buddhist liberation. technical, challenging work, i recognize certain recurrent themes in mahayana buddhism because i have read so many texts (62), so might seem repetitive, but i love this way of thought... i am only going to try and clearly review one i (thought?) understood...
favourite early chapter is 12, chinese buddhist zongmi offers 'yuaren iren', 'inquiry into the origin of the human condition', which is examined as 'hermeneutics of doctrinal classification' by peter gregory. this covers the buddha's teaching from the superficial to the profound, through five categories 1) teaching of humans and gods, 2) teaching of the lesser vehicle, 3) teaching of phenomenal appearances of the Dharmas within the great vehicle, 4) teaching that refutes the phenomenal appearances in the great vehicle, 5) teaching of the one vehicle that reveals the nature
1) 3 periods of time, past, present, future, karma as origin of being. according to which reborn as god, human, animal, demon etc critiqued as incoherent because body is empty of being
2) time without beginning, rebirth, karma continues like wind, water, fire but what is it that experiences 3 poisons if empty of self, if 5 sensations do not arise absent conditions
3) time without beginning, 8 kinds of consciousness, the rest are not important, this is the one when one is dreaming and holding onto dreamed objects
4) refuting critically 3- if objects illusory, how so not consciousness? and all thing must be born of causes, conditions- therefore empty, critique this: if mind and objects both nonexistent who knows they do not exist?
the four views must not be clung to: from the superficial to the profound, they are partial,
5) all sentient beings have buddhahood, merely obscured, unaware, deluded etc, we have clung to illusory phenomenal appearances, must be unconditioned return to buddha
there are other chapters i enjoyed reading as well, but as i am not sure if i understood this one i do not want to compound mistakes. i can simply say i have enjoyed over the months reading these... there are so many books to read and so little time...
more
Buddhism: A Philosophical Approach
What the Buddha Thought
Nietzsche and Buddhist Philosophy
Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis
Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Interpretation
Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
Ethics Embodied: Rethinking Selfhood Through Continental, Japanese, and Feminist Philosophies
Self, No Self?: Perspectives from Analytical, Phenomenological, and Indian Traditions
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
200620: in the mahayana interpretation of buddhist thought, i must note the vital difference between the terms ‘nothingness’ and ‘emptiness’, that has led many commentators, western and eastern, to mistake this way as essentially nihilistic. there is not an opposing metaphysics common to the ‘west’ of ‘being’ and ‘nothingness’, not negation, rather the contention is that all is ‘empty’ of ‘inherent being’, that is, only has qualified essence relative to everything else. there is no god, no source, from which ‘essences’ derive but only the interplay of emptiness...
240320: great resource for a lot of the buddhist reading you need, excellent commentaries on sutras as primary texts this includes part 1 metaphysics and ontology, 2 language and hermeneutics, 3 epistemology, 4 philosophy of mind and person, 5 ethics. all of which support each other and clarify the goal of buddhist liberation. technical, challenging work, i recognize certain recurrent themes in mahayana buddhism because i have read so many texts (62), so might seem repetitive, but i love this way of thought... i am only going to try and clearly review one i (thought?) understood...
favourite early chapter is 12, chinese buddhist zongmi offers 'yuaren iren', 'inquiry into the origin of the human condition', which is examined as 'hermeneutics of doctrinal classification' by peter gregory. this covers the buddha's teaching from the superficial to the profound, through five categories 1) teaching of humans and gods, 2) teaching of the lesser vehicle, 3) teaching of phenomenal appearances of the Dharmas within the great vehicle, 4) teaching that refutes the phenomenal appearances in the great vehicle, 5) teaching of the one vehicle that reveals the nature
1) 3 periods of time, past, present, future, karma as origin of being. according to which reborn as god, human, animal, demon etc critiqued as incoherent because body is empty of being
2) time without beginning, rebirth, karma continues like wind, water, fire but what is it that experiences 3 poisons if empty of self, if 5 sensations do not arise absent conditions
3) time without beginning, 8 kinds of consciousness, the rest are not important, this is the one when one is dreaming and holding onto dreamed objects
4) refuting critically 3- if objects illusory, how so not consciousness? and all thing must be born of causes, conditions- therefore empty, critique this: if mind and objects both nonexistent who knows they do not exist?
the four views must not be clung to: from the superficial to the profound, they are partial,
5) all sentient beings have buddhahood, merely obscured, unaware, deluded etc, we have clung to illusory phenomenal appearances, must be unconditioned return to buddha
there are other chapters i enjoyed reading as well, but as i am not sure if i understood this one i do not want to compound mistakes. i can simply say i have enjoyed over the months reading these... there are so many books to read and so little time...
more
Buddhism: A Philosophical Approach
What the Buddha Thought
Nietzsche and Buddhist Philosophy
Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis
Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Interpretation
Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
Ethics Embodied: Rethinking Selfhood Through Continental, Japanese, and Feminist Philosophies
Self, No Self?: Perspectives from Analytical, Phenomenological, and Indian Traditions
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
February 6, 2024
господийсусе, яка то добра книга. Тішуся, що в англомовній науці постійно триває процес осмислення буддизму і його вплітання в історію. Подій так багато у глобальному вимірі, що деякі із матеріалів стають неактуальними вже зараз, але загалом дуже важлива колективна монографія.
я ще оце для порівняння відкрив якусь вітчизняну статтю про буддизм і там, окрім російських перекладів у бібліографії, ще й видання 50-60 років, які видають за "найсучасніші тенденції". Праця Фромма звісно добра, і Вотса теж варто почитати, але це майже 100 літні джерела.
Якщо ви буддолог чи буддологиня або просто цікавитеся темою буддизму у наш час, то ця книга має бути серед прочитаних/переглянутих.
я ще оце для порівняння відкрив якусь вітчизняну статтю про буддизм і там, окрім російських перекладів у бібліографії, ще й видання 50-60 років, які видають за "найсучасніші тенденції". Праця Фромма звісно добра, і Вотса теж варто почитати, але це майже 100 літні джерела.
Якщо ви буддолог чи буддологиня або просто цікавитеся темою буддизму у наш час, то ця книга має бути серед прочитаних/переглянутих.
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November 25, 2025'That all phenomena are dependently originated is the heart of Buddhist ontological theory. In the Mahayana tradition, this dependency is spelled out in three ways: all phenomena are dependent for their existence on complex networks of causes and conditions... All wholes are dependent on their parts, and parts on the wholes they help to make up... Finally, all phenomena are dependent for their identities on conceptual imputation. To exist, according to Buddhist metaphysics, simply is to exist dependently in these senses, and hence to be merely conventionally existent.
To exist dependently is to be empty of essence. For a Madhyamika, like Nagarjuna, this emptiness of essence is the final mode of existence of any phenomenon, its ultimate truth. For to have an essence is to exist independently, to have one's identity and to exist not in virtue of extrinsic relations, but simply in virtue of intrinsic properties. Because all phenomena are interdependent, all are empty in this sense. Just as the conventional truth about phenomena is made up by their interdependence, their ultimate truth is their emptiness.
...to be empty of essence is not to be empty of existence. Instead, to exist is to be empty. It also follows that emptiness is not a deeper truth hidden behind a veil of illusion. The emptiness of any phenomenon is dependent on the existence of that phenomenon, and on its dependence, which is that in which its essencelessness consists. Emptiness is itself dependent, and hence empty.
...The two truths are different from one another in that the ultimate is the object of enlightened knowledge and is liberating, while the conventional is apprehended by ordinary people through mundane cognitive processes. Nonetheless, they are in a deep sense identical. To be empty of essence is simply to exist only conventionally. The conditions of conventional existence are interdependence and impermanence, which... for Nagarjuna, entail essencelessness.
...emptiness is also empty, it is essenceless, and exists only by convention as well. The conventional truth is hence no less real than the ultimate, the ultimate no more real than the conventional. Nagarjuna hence strives to develop a middle path between a realism that takes real phenomena to be ultimately existent in virtue of being actual, and a nihilism that takes all phenomena to be nonexistent in virtue of being empty. Instead, he argues that reality and emptiness are coextensive, and that the only coherent mode of existence is conventional existence.' (p.26-8)
To exist dependently is to be empty of essence. For a Madhyamika, like Nagarjuna, this emptiness of essence is the final mode of existence of any phenomenon, its ultimate truth. For to have an essence is to exist independently, to have one's identity and to exist not in virtue of extrinsic relations, but simply in virtue of intrinsic properties. Because all phenomena are interdependent, all are empty in this sense. Just as the conventional truth about phenomena is made up by their interdependence, their ultimate truth is their emptiness.
...to be empty of essence is not to be empty of existence. Instead, to exist is to be empty. It also follows that emptiness is not a deeper truth hidden behind a veil of illusion. The emptiness of any phenomenon is dependent on the existence of that phenomenon, and on its dependence, which is that in which its essencelessness consists. Emptiness is itself dependent, and hence empty.
...The two truths are different from one another in that the ultimate is the object of enlightened knowledge and is liberating, while the conventional is apprehended by ordinary people through mundane cognitive processes. Nonetheless, they are in a deep sense identical. To be empty of essence is simply to exist only conventionally. The conditions of conventional existence are interdependence and impermanence, which... for Nagarjuna, entail essencelessness.
...emptiness is also empty, it is essenceless, and exists only by convention as well. The conventional truth is hence no less real than the ultimate, the ultimate no more real than the conventional. Nagarjuna hence strives to develop a middle path between a realism that takes real phenomena to be ultimately existent in virtue of being actual, and a nihilism that takes all phenomena to be nonexistent in virtue of being empty. Instead, he argues that reality and emptiness are coextensive, and that the only coherent mode of existence is conventional existence.' (p.26-8)
August 20, 2013
This book is highly recommended if you are someone who is thinking of exploring Buddhism for the first time. I found the book very easy reading and not so full of technical jargon. Although some of the names and pronunciations may be hard to grasp, the actual body of the book is extremely well written.
September 3, 2022
الأمثلة كأداة للexclusion:
چاي جارفيلد فيلسوف لغة وابستيمولوجي وعالم إدراك أمريكي متخصص في بوذية التيبت بعتبره بجانب يان فيسترهوف من أفضل شراح الفلسفة البوذية.
الكتاب لأنه موجه لقارئ غربي وفي الغالب قارئ مهتم بالفلسفة فجارفيلد بيستعمل الأمثلة بطريقة مبتكرة, بيستعمل أمثلة من الفلسفة الغربية مش عشان يقرب الفكرة ولكن عشان يقولك ان لا انت كقارئ متأثر بالثقافة الغربية هتلاقي في تشابه بين الفكرة او المفهوم البوذي دا وبين الفكرة س او ص لشوبنهاور او هايدجر
ولكن دي مش دي
والفكرتين مختلفين
چاي جارفيلد بيستعمل كل الأمثلة اللي تتيحله يعمل exclusion قبل ما يبدأ يوضح المفهوم اللي بيشرحه.
چاي جارفيلد فيلسوف لغة وابستيمولوجي وعالم إدراك أمريكي متخصص في بوذية التيبت بعتبره بجانب يان فيسترهوف من أفضل شراح الفلسفة البوذية.
الكتاب لأنه موجه لقارئ غربي وفي الغالب قارئ مهتم بالفلسفة فجارفيلد بيستعمل الأمثلة بطريقة مبتكرة, بيستعمل أمثلة من الفلسفة الغربية مش عشان يقرب الفكرة ولكن عشان يقولك ان لا انت كقارئ متأثر بالثقافة الغربية هتلاقي في تشابه بين الفكرة او المفهوم البوذي دا وبين الفكرة س او ص لشوبنهاور او هايدجر
ولكن دي مش دي
والفكرتين مختلفين
چاي جارفيلد بيستعمل كل الأمثلة اللي تتيحله يعمل exclusion قبل ما يبدأ يوضح المفهوم اللي بيشرحه.
October 31, 2014
This is definitely not an easy read, but it's a good one -- and though I usually found the introductions more valuable than the actual translations, the combination of the two helped make difficult concepts clear.
On a larger scale, though, there are a couple of things that jumped out at me:
1) Buddhist philosophy and Western philosophy intersect more than one might expect. Even though the two traditions were almost completely separate for two thousand years -- and the great Buddhist university of Nalanda was destroyed by Muslim invaders before the University of Paris was even founded -- ideas about consciousness, morality and ethics converge much more than one would think.
This is especially valuable, I believe, because Westerners too often tend to dismiss Buddhism as people chanting or meditating or circumambulating Tibetan temples instead of realizing that it is a deep, complex system of thought that is much, much more than large statues and incense.
2) Just as monotheistic religions will always struggle to explain the existence of evil, Buddhist thinkers will always struggle with the notion that nothing really exists, especially individuals and their egos. But if individuals don't exist, then what is a "Buddha"? And who exactly is a Bodhisattva trying to save? And, if consciousness of oneself as an individual is not only misguided, but completely out of touch with true reality, then who is it who reads these precepts and either puts them into action or doesn't?
This fundamental paradox becomes more and more apparent as the pages turn, and though it doesn't devalue the thinkers and their thoughts, it does call into question the foundation of the philosophy that inspires these subtle and often profound works.
A warning, though: This book is not for the faint of heart, as the essays and translation are full of unfamiliar phrases and concepts, and the translations of the earlier works are often very difficult to parse. But sticking with it is ultimately rewarding, as things become more and more clear as the reader moves forward in time. So if you're serious about understanding the complicated depths of Buddhism, these 448 pages of heavy mental lifting are an excellent exercise, and will open the eyes of those who are new to this alternate world of philosophy.
On a larger scale, though, there are a couple of things that jumped out at me:
1) Buddhist philosophy and Western philosophy intersect more than one might expect. Even though the two traditions were almost completely separate for two thousand years -- and the great Buddhist university of Nalanda was destroyed by Muslim invaders before the University of Paris was even founded -- ideas about consciousness, morality and ethics converge much more than one would think.
This is especially valuable, I believe, because Westerners too often tend to dismiss Buddhism as people chanting or meditating or circumambulating Tibetan temples instead of realizing that it is a deep, complex system of thought that is much, much more than large statues and incense.
2) Just as monotheistic religions will always struggle to explain the existence of evil, Buddhist thinkers will always struggle with the notion that nothing really exists, especially individuals and their egos. But if individuals don't exist, then what is a "Buddha"? And who exactly is a Bodhisattva trying to save? And, if consciousness of oneself as an individual is not only misguided, but completely out of touch with true reality, then who is it who reads these precepts and either puts them into action or doesn't?
This fundamental paradox becomes more and more apparent as the pages turn, and though it doesn't devalue the thinkers and their thoughts, it does call into question the foundation of the philosophy that inspires these subtle and often profound works.
A warning, though: This book is not for the faint of heart, as the essays and translation are full of unfamiliar phrases and concepts, and the translations of the earlier works are often very difficult to parse. But sticking with it is ultimately rewarding, as things become more and more clear as the reader moves forward in time. So if you're serious about understanding the complicated depths of Buddhism, these 448 pages of heavy mental lifting are an excellent exercise, and will open the eyes of those who are new to this alternate world of philosophy.
Read
December 15, 2018loved the book
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews