1st Edition

Indian Buddhist Theories of Persons Vasubandhu's Refutation of the Theory of a Self

By James Duerlinger Copyright 2003
    324 Pages
    by Routledge

    324 Pages
    by Routledge

    In this book, Vasubandhu's classic work Refutation of the Theory of a Self is translated and provided with an introduction and commentary. The translation, the first into a modern Western language from the Sanskrit text, is intended for use by those who wish to begin a careful philosophical study of Indian Buddhist theories of persons. Special features of the introduction and commentary are their extensive explanations of the arguments for the theories of persons of Vasubandhu and the Pudgalavâdines, the Buddhist philosophers whose theory is the central target of Vasubandhu's refutation of the theory of a self.

    Part 1: Introduction to the Translation  1. Vasubandhu's 'Refutation' and the Central Philosophical Questions About Which Indian Buddhist Theories of Persons are Concerned  2. The Sanskrit Text and Its Translation  3. The Theories of Persons of the Pudgalavâdines and Tirthikas  4. Indian Buddhist Philosophical Schools and the Two Realities  5. The Selflessness of Persons Thesis and Indian Buddhist Theories of Persons  6. The Conception of a Person and Its Causal Basis  7. The Five Aggregates  8. The Middle Way between Extreme Views  9. The Problematic Character of Vasubandhu's Exchange with the Pudgalavâdines  10. Problems and Implications of the Pudgalavâdines' Theory of Persons  11. The Objections to Vasubandhu's Theory of Persons  12. An Initial Reflection on the Theories of Persons Discussed in this Study of Vasubandu's Refutation  13. Endnotes to the Introduction  Part 2: Translation of Vasubandhu's Refutation of the Theory of a Self  14. Section 1: Vasubandhu's Theory of Persons  15. Section 2: Vasubandhu's Objections to the Pudgalavâdines' Theory of Persons  16. Section 3: Vasubandhu's Replies to the Objections of the Pudgalavâdines  17. Section 4: Vasubandhu's Replies to the Objections of the Tirthikas  18. Concluding Verses  19. Endnotes to the Translation  Part 3: Commentaries  20. Commentary on Section 1: Vasubandhu's Theory of Persons  21. Commentary on Section 2: Vasubandhu's Objections to the Pudgalavâdines Theory of Persons  22. Commentary on Section 3: Vasubandhu's Replies to the Objections of the Pudgalavâdines  23. Commentary on Section 4: Vasubandhu's Replies to the Objections of the Tirthikasand Tirthikas 

    Biography

    James Duerlinger has taught in the Philosophy Department at the University of Iowa since 1971. He has published on topics in Greek philosophy, philosophy of religion, and Buddhist philosophy, which are also his current teaching and research interests.

    'The translation itself (pp. 71-121) is lucid ... [In] Duerlinger's important long commentary ... [e]very nuance of the text is well-explored and analyzed. ... He gives to a classic Indian Buddhist Sanskrit text the sort of critical attention that specialists in Greek philosophy give to Greek philosophical texts. This is a book everyone who studies Indian philosophy should read, and I hope it will become a standard against which other works in the field may be judged.'
    – N.H. Satami, Philosophy East & West