Realizing the unreal: Dharmakīrti’s theory of yogic perception

Dunne, John

doi:10.1007/s10781-006-9008-y

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…As a practitioner familiarizes with non-dual levels of awareness, "subsequent awareness" is often described as experiencing things as like an illusion or a dream-things continue to appear in dualistic ways, but without grasping to them as such (Dunne, 2006;Makransky, 1997, pp. 97-100;Thompson, 2020).…”

Section: The Science Of Concepts As a Framework To Understand The Embodiment Of Emptinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion and skillful means: Cultural adaptation, psychological science, and creative responsiveness

Condon¹,

Makransky²

2021

Preprint

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In this article, we address two distinct, but interrelated aspects of “skillful means” that can inform compassion training: 1) the historical precedent and need for adapting meditation practices to meet new cultural contexts, and 2) the need to express compassion flexibly in ways that creatively meet the specific contexts and needs of particular persons and situations. We first discuss ways that the doctrine of skillful means was employed by Buddhists to rationalize the repeated adaptation of Buddhist teachings to meet the culturally situated mentalities and needs of diverse Asian peoples. Then, in continuity with that history of Buddhist adaptation, we explore how theories from modern psychological science, such as attachment theory, can be newly drawn upon to support adaptation of Buddhist compassion training for application in modern cultures. Finally, we draw on theories from cognitive science, namely situated conceptualization, that provide a tractable framework for understanding skillful compassion as embodied emptiness—involving the relaxation of pattern completion mechanisms, which helps open up greater discernment and presence to others, so that care and compassion can be more unrestricted, creative, and directly responsive to the person and situation at hand.

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Section: The Science Of Concepts As a Framework To Understand The Embodiment Of Emptinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion and skillful means: Cultural adaptation, psychological science, and creative responsiveness

Condon¹,

Makransky²

2021

Preprint

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“…What is produced by each preceding practice becomes the nature [of the yogin] and hence indestructible; as such it goes on producing fresh distinguished qualities (viśes : a) in their subsequent efforts; [the intensification of the 11 On the clarity of yogipratyaks : a, see Macdermott (1978), Iwata (1984Iwata ( , 1986, Steinkellner (2001Steinkellner ( , 2008, Woo (2003), Funayama (2005), and Dunne (2006). practice] requires a successive basis; and wisdom and the rest are produced out of previous homogeneous seeds.…”

Section: IIImentioning

confidence: 99%

Gradual and Sudden Enlightenment: The Attainment of Yogipratyakṣa in the Later Indian Yogācāra School

Woo

2008

J Indian Philos

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In the later Indian Yogācāra school, yogipratyaks : a, the cognition of yogins is a key concept used to explain the Buddhist goal of enlightenment. It arises through the practice of meditation upon the Four Noble Truths. The method of the practice is to contemplate their aspects with attention (sādara), without interruption (nairantarya), and over a long period of time (dīrghakāla). A problem occurs in this position since Buddhists hold the theory of momentariness: how is possible that a yogin attains yogipratyaks : a even when everything arises and perishes moment by moment. It is not possible for the momentary mind to fix on the object. Neither is the intensification of the practice possible in a stream composed of cognitions different at each moment. To provide a solution of this problem, a renown eleventh century Buddhist logician, Jñānaśrīmitra, assures us that momentariness is incompatible with duration (sthāyitā), but not with the occurrence of dissimilarity (visadr : śotpāda). Even if cognitions are momentary, the vividness of an object continues to intensify in the course of each preceding cognition-moment producing, in turn, its following moment. Jñānaśrīmitra discusses the attainment of yogipratyaks : a in terms of Buddhist ontological distinctions of moment (ks : an : a) and continuum (santāna). At the level of the continuum, the process of enlightenment is considered gradual. By retaining a strict adherence to the final moment of the practice, on the other hand, the process is considered sudden.

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“… 3 There is debate in the secondary literature as to how Dharmakı̄rti make this differentiation. Compare Dunne ( 2007 , p. 515) vs. Eltschinger ( 2009 , 169n1) and Franco ( 2011 , 87 ff.). …”

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confidence: 99%

Believing is seeing: A Buddhist theory of creditions

Forman

2022

Front. Psychol.

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The creditions model is incredibly powerful at explaining both how beliefs are formed and how they influence our perceptions. The model contains several cognitive loops, where beliefs not only influence conscious interpretations of perceptions downstream but are active in the subconscious construction of perceptions out of sensory information upstream. This paper shows how this model is mirrored in the epistemology of two central Buddhist figures, Dignāga (480–540 CE) and Dharmakı̄rti (c. 550–650 CE). In addition to showing these parallels, the paper also demonstrates that by drawing on Dignāga and Dharmakı̄rti's theory, we can extend the explanatory power of the creditions model. Namely, while creditions explain how beliefs influence both the conscious interpretation and subconscious construction of sensory information, Dignāga and Dharmakı̄rti suggest beliefs can even be generative of sensory-like information. I recruit ancient Buddhist texts in conjunction with contemporary cognitive science scholarship to offer a hypothesis for the cognitive mechanisms responsible for this.

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Realizing the unreal: Dharmakīrti’s theory of yogic perception

Cited by 21 publications

References 6 publications

Compassion and skillful means: Cultural adaptation, psychological science, and creative responsiveness

Compassion and skillful means: Cultural adaptation, psychological science, and creative responsiveness

Gradual and Sudden Enlightenment: The Attainment of Yogipratyakṣa in the Later Indian Yogācāra School

Believing is seeing: A Buddhist theory of creditions

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