Philosophy

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Self or non-self? Like most other wisdom traditions, Buddhism assumes that suffering is contingent on ignorance and attachment, while liberation from suffering is dependent on wisdom and detachment. If we cling to what we are not without being aware of it, we will suffer; liberation from suffering  requires that we become aware of our false identifications, thereby letting the clinging go. The wisdom in question here is first of all self-knowledge. But what is that? In the Indian cultural area it is mostly understood as an  insight into the true and real self (Atman), as opposed to false self conceptions. Typically, the self is assumed to be a reality, not only an appearance. The self may for instance be understood as the innermost  ground of an apparent person, a kind of substantial thing in itself. This basic assumption is understood in different ways in different schools of  Indian philosophy, such as the six orthodox Brahmanic schools (nyAya, V...

The  two  terms  vitakka/vitarka  and  vicara  are  crucial  to  the  understanding of  the  stages  of  samadhi  in  both  the  Buddhist  tradition  and  in  the  influential  yoga  tradition  attributed  to  Patanjali. However,  at  present  interpretation  is  often  dominated  by  notions  derived  from  later  commentarial  sources. Such  notions,  although  in  themselves  of  great  interest,  create  an  artificial appearance  of  difference between  the  two  traditions  which  is  probably unjustified.  It  suffices  to  note  the  marked  difference  in  English  renderings  of these  two  words  in  translations...