On Being Mindless : Buddhist Meditation and the Mind-Body Problem

244 Pages·1999·6.992 MB·English

by  Paul J. Griffiths

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On Being Mindless

Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series No. 196
On Being Mindless:
Buddhist Meditation
And The Mind-Body
Problem
Paul J. Griffiths
Sri Satguru Publications
A Division of
Indian Books Centre
Delhi, India
Published by :
Sri Satguru Publications
A Division of
Indian Books Centre
Indological and Oriental Publishers
40/5, Shakti Nagar,
Delhi-110007
(INDIA)
email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ibcindia.com/
© 1986 by Open Court Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the Copyrights
hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means-
Graphics, Electronics or Mechanical including photocopying, micro­
fiche reading without written permission from the publishers.
ISBN 81-7030-606-X
First Indian Edition : Delhi, 1999
Published by Sunil Gupta for Sri Satguru Publications a division of
Indian Books Centre, 40/5, Shakti Nagar, Delhi-110 007, India and printed at
Mudran Bharati,Delhi-110 009
For my father

CONTENTS
On Being Mindless
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xi
INTRODUCTION xiii
CHAPTER ONE
THE ATTAINMENT OF CESSATION IN THE
THERAVÄDA TRADITION 1
1.1 The Thera väda Tradition 1
1.2 The Nature of the Attainment of Cessation 5
1.3 Methods of Reaching the Attainment of Cessation 13
1.3.1 Soteriological Methods and Soteriological Goals 13
1.3.2 Obtaining Cessation: The Basic Unit of
Tradition 17
1.3.3 Contextual Analysis 19
1.4 Evaluations of the Attainment of Cessation 27
1.5 Debates on Emerging from the Attainment of
Cessation 31
CHAPTER TWO
THE ATTAINMENT OF CESSATION IN THE
VAIBHÀSIKA TRADITION 43
2.1 The Vaibhâsika Tradition 43
2.2 The Significance of the Treasury of Metaphysics 46
2.3 The Attainment of Cessation in the Treasury of
Metaphysics and Its Commentaries 58
2.3.1 The Vaibhâsika Position 60
2.3.2 The Sauträntika Position 63
2.3.3 The Debate between Vasumitra and Ghosaka 67
2.4 Critique of the Positions 70
viii Contents
CHAPTER THREE
THE ATTAINMENT OF CESSATION IN THE YOGACARA
TRADITION 76
3.1 The Yogacara Tradition: History and Texts 76
3.2 The Yogacara Tradition: Key Philosophical Ideas 80
3.2.1 Ontology: Representation and Mind 80
3.2.2 The Functioning of Mind 84
3.2.3 The Store-Consciousness 91
3.3 The Eightfold Proof of the Store-Consciousness 96
3.3.1 The Impossibility of Appropriating a New Body 97
3.3.2 The Impossibility of Origination and
Simultaneous Functioning of the
Sense-Consciousnesses 99
3.3.3 The Impossibility of Clear Mental
Consciousness 100
3.3.4 The Impossibility of Mutual Seeding 101
3.3.5 The Impossibility of Action 101
3.3.6 The Impossibility of Physical Experience 102
3.3.7 The Impossibility of Mindless Attainments 103
3.3.8 The Impossibility of Death 104
3.4 Critique of the Yogacara Position 104
CHAPTER FOUR
THE ATTAINMENT OF CESSATION AND THE
MIND-BODY PROBLEM 107
GLOSSARY 114
ABBREVIATIONS 117
APPENDIX A:
The Place of the Attainment of Cessation in the
Soteriological Path of the Abhidharmako$abha$ya 120