Tagged: Causation
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Kalupahana - The Philosophy of Early History in Buddhism (1981)
1The text explores why early Buddhism, despite accepting the reality of the empirical world, lacked historical writings in the Western sense. It contrasts the Western speculative philosophy of history, which posits an unfolding Absolute, with the critical philosophy that views history as a value-laden discipline. Early Buddhism rejects the speculative approach, categorizing such grand theories as dispositionally constructed "views" (diṭṭhi) based on incomplete evidence and metaphysical assumptions. While aligning with the critical view in recognizing the evaluative nature of historical interpretation, Buddhism values "knowledge of the past" (pubbante ñāṇa) for its pragmatic role in understanding suffering. This understanding is grounded not in an absolute framework or first cause, but in the principle of dependent arising (paticcasamuppāda), a causal process knowable through experience. The ultimate goal is not to construct historical narratives but to use knowledge of causation to pacify dispositions and achieve nirvāṇa, thereby focusing on the present without being bound by speculative reconstructions of the past.
Sopa - The Special Theory of Pratītyasamutpāda (1986)
2The Buddhist concept of Nirvana is fundamentally a metaphysical experience, defined not as an abstract or rational conclusion but as a direct, immediate, and felt knowledge of ultimate reality or "Being." This experience, which transcends sensory perception, is the goal of Buddhism, aiming for a special wisdom (prajñā) or intuitive understanding of the Ultimate Truth that underlies all phenomena. Evidence from early texts like the *Buddha-carita*, which describes the Buddha's enlightenment as a perfect, intuitive knowledge of all things, and interpretations from scholars like D.T. Suzuki, who characterizes Satori as a profound, non-conceptual awakening, both support the view of Nirvana as an experiential encounter with the metaphysical foundation of existence itself.