Murti, T.R.V. The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. A Study of the Madhyamika System. Fourth Impression. London, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1974. 14 cm x 16 cm. XIII, 372 pages. Original Hardcover with dustjacket. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear on edge. Few minor spots on the edge. From the library of philosopher Graham Parkes, with his name on the front free endpaper. Includes for example the following essays: Origin and Development of the Madhyamika Philosophy / The Two Traditions in Indian Philosophy / The 'Silence' of the Buddha and the Beginning of the Dialectic / Development in the Atma-tradition / The Madhyamika and some Western Dialectical Systems / Kant and the Madhyamika / The Hegelian and the Madhyamika Dialectic / Bradley and the Madhyamika / Sunyata is Absolutism, not Nihilism or Positivism etc etc

The Indian philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna (c. 150-250 CE) was the founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Path) school of Mahayana Buddhism and arguably the most influential Buddhist thinker after Buddha himself. Indeed, in the Tibetan and East Asian traditions, Nagarjuna is often referred to as the 'second Buddha.' His primary contribution to Buddhist thought lies is in the further development of the concept of sunyata or 'emptiness.' For Nagarjuna, all phenomena are without any svabhaba, literally 'own-nature' or 'self-nature', and thus without any underlying essence. In this book, Jan Westerhoff offers a systematic account of Nagarjuna's philosophical position. He reads Nagarjuna in his own philosophical context, but he does not hesitate to show that the issues of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy have at least family resemblances to issues in European philosophy.

Buddhist logic reveals itself as the culminating point of a long course of Indian philosophic history. Its birth, its growth and its decline run parallel with the birth, the growth and the decline of Indian civilisation. The time has come to reconsider the subject of Buddhist logic in its historical connections. This is done in these two volumes. In the copious notes the literary renderings are given where needed. This will enable the reader to fully appreciate the sometimes enormous distance which lies between the words of the Sanskrit phrasing and their philosophic meaning rendered according to our habits of thought. The notes also contain a philosophic comment of the translated texts. The first volume contains a historical sketch as well as a synthetical reconstruction of the whole edifice of the final shape of Buddhist philosophy. The second volume contains the material as well as the justification for this reconstruction.

Preface, Abbreviations, Introduction, Part I - Reality and Knowledge (pramanya-vada), Part II-The Sensible world, Ch. 1 The theory of Instantaneous being (ksanika-vada),Ch. II Causation (pratitya-samutpada), Ch. III. Sense-Perception (pratyaksam), Ch. IV - Ultimate reality (paramartha-sat), Part III-The constructed world, Ch. I-Judgment, Ch. II - Inference, Ch. III - Syllogism (pararthanumanam), Ch. IV. Logical Fallacies, Part IV - Negation, Ch. I-The negative judgment, Ch. II. - The Law of Contradiction, Ch. III-Universals, Ch. IV. Dialectic, Part V-Reality of the External World, Conclusion, Indices, Appendix, Addenda et corrigenda. Preface, Appendices, Indices, Errata

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 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 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.

This book serves as an accessible and reliable survey for students wishing to gain familiarity with the basic ideas of Buddhist philosophical and religious thought, and with some of the recent research in the field. It guides readers towards a richer understanding of the central concepts of classical Indian Buddhist thought, from the time of Buddha to the latest scholarly perspectives and controversies. Abstract and complex ideas are made understandable by the authors' clear and engaging style. The second edition has been fully revised in light of new scholarship, in particular on Mahāyāna Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism, an often neglected and inadequately understood topic. As well as a detailed bibliography this authoritative resource now includes recommended further reading, study questions, a pronunciation guide and extensive glossary of terms, all aimed at helping students to develop their knowledge and appreciation of Buddhist thought.

Madhyamaka and Yogacara are the two principal schools of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. While Madhyamaka asserts the ultimate emptiness and conventional reality of all phenomena, Yogacara is usually considered to be idealistic. This collection of essays addresses the degree to which these philosophical approaches are consistent or complementary.Indian and Tibetan doxographies often take these two schools to be philosophical rivals. They are grounded in distinct bodies of sutra literature and adopt what appear to be very different positions regarding the analysis of emptiness and the status of mind. Madhyamaka-Yogacara polemics abound in Indian Buddhist literature, and Tibetan doxographies regard them as distinct systems. Nonetheless, scholars have tried to synthesize the two positions for centuries. This volume offers new essays by prominent experts on both these traditions, who address the question of the degree to which these philosophical approaches should be seen as rivals or as allies. In answering the question of whether Madhyamaka and Yogacara can be considered compatible, contributors engage with a broad range of canonical literature, and relate the texts to contemporary philosophical problems.

Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread to Central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Japan and other countries of East Asia. In Tibet and East Asia, Mahayana eventually became the prevalent form of Buddhism. Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably over the last twenty-five years, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and also in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and r augThis book aims to provide in one volume an up-to-date and accurate account of the principles of Mahayana Buddhism as they are found in both the Indo-Tibetan and East Asian forms of Mahayana. It seeks to introduce and reflect some of the recent scholarly work in the field, and in particular the book is concerned to convey the diversity and richness of Mahayana Buddhism, a diversity which prevents any attempt at simple definition.