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Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 4: Philosophical Topics

Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 4: Philosophical Topics

Current price: $29.95
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Publisher:
Wisdom Publications
ISBN:
9781614297901
Pages:
640
Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days

Description

This fourth and final Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics volume provides, through extensive passages, a window into the works of the great thinkers from the flowering of philosophy in classical India.

This is the second philosophy volume in the Science and Philosophy series. Whereas the first philosophy volume presented the views of the non-Buddhist and Buddhist schools in sequence, the present work selects specific topics for consideration, including the nature of the two truths, the analysis of self, the Yogacara explanation of reality, emptiness in the Madhyamaka tradition, a survey of logic and epistemology, and the Buddhist explanation of language and meaning. Like earlier volumes, it provides, through extensive extracts, a window into the works of the masters of the Nalanda tradition. The final section on language is particularly unique and largely crafted by Thupten Jinpa.

About the Author

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and a beacon of inspiration for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. He has persistently reached out across religious and political lines and has engaged in dialogue with scientists in his mission to advance peace and understanding in the world. In doing so, he embodies his motto: “My religion is kindness.”

 

Thupten Jinpa was educated in the classical Tibetan monastic academia and received the highest academic degree of geshe lharam (equivalent to a doctorate in divinity). Jinpa also holds a BA in philosophy and a PhD in religious studies, both from the University of Cambridge, England. Since 1985 he has been the principal translator to the Dalai Lama, accompanying him to the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has translated and edited many books by the Dalai Lama, including The World of Tibetan BuddhismEssence of the Heart Sutra, and the New York Times bestseller Ethics for the New Millennium.

Jinpa has published scholarly articles on various aspects of Tibetan culture, Buddhism, and philosophy, and books such as Songs of Spiritual Experience (co-authored) and Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy. He serves on the advisory board of numerous educational and cultural organizations in North America, Europe, and India. He is currently the president and the general series editor of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to translating key Tibetan classics into contemporary languages. And he also currently chairs the Mind & Life Institute and Compassion Institute.

Dechen Rochard has a BA in philosophy from the University of London and a PhD in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Cambridge. She also completed the first ten years of the geshe degree program at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India, including the study of Madhyamaka. She is currently translating texts for The Gaden Phodrang Foundation and is a fellow of the Dalai Lama Centre for Compassion (Oxford) and an honorary fellow of the University of Bristol.

Praise for Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 4: Philosophical Topics

"The lucid analysis in Philosophical Topics is accessible to beginning students, yet provides an account of sufficient depth to engage the experts. This is a book no serious student of Buddhist philosophy will want to be without.”
— Jan Westerhoff, professor of Buddhist philosophy, University of Oxford

“This remarkable series, presenting English translations from key texts in the Indian Buddhist tradition, is introduced by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who shares his vision of revealing the wisdom of the Indian Buddhist masters and scholars to bring benefit to many others.”
— Richard J. Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin–Madison

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Compendium Committee comprising some of contemporary Tibet’s most distinguished scholars have produced an elegant compendium of Indian Buddhist literature, interpreted by leading scholars from the Geluk tradition, translated with exemplary clarity, and brought into dialogue with contemporary thought through precise introductions.”
— Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and professor of philosophy, logic, and Buddhist studies at Smith College and Harvard Divinity School

"Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics is a remarkable achievement. This crowning volume is an encyclopedic survey that balances the clarity of an overview with a specificity that makes it engaging. It is a treasure."
— Douglas Duckworth,