Tagged: Dependent Origination (pratītyasamutpāda)
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Eltschinger - Ignorance, epistemology and soteriology Part I (2009)
1In his analysis of the 7th-century Buddhist philosopher Dharmakīrti, Vincent Eltschinger argues that Dharmakīrti's epistemology is fundamentally intertwined with his soteriological project, centering on the concept of ignorance (avidyā). Dharmakīrti defines ignorance not as a mere lack of knowledge but as an active, erroneous cognition (mithyopalabdhi) that functions as a counter-knowledge, obstructing the perception of reality. This error is identified with conceptual thought (vikalpa) itself, which, through a process of 'concealment' (saṃvṛti), superimposes unifying constructs onto reality's diverse particulars. To explain how this cognitive error leads to suffering, Dharmakīrti specifies that the most crucial form of ignorance is the 'personalistic false view' (satkāyadrṣṭi)—the innate, conceptual belief in a self. He explicitly equates this false view with ignorance, arguing it is the root of all defilements and rebirth, and that its direct antidote — the perception of selflessness — is the key to liberation. While drawing on earlier scriptural traditions, Dharmakīrti was innovative in systematically equating the two and developing exegetical strategies to defend this unorthodox position.
Eltschinger - Ignorance, epistemology and soteriology Part II (2010)
2In the philosophy of Dharmakīrti, ignorance (avidyā) is defined as a "counter-knowledge" or conceptual construction that superimposes erroneous ideas onto reality, becoming soteriologically significant as the "personalistic false view" (satkāyadrṣṭi) — the mistaken belief in a "self" and "one's own." This specific form of ignorance is the root cause of all defilements like craving and aversion, thereby generating the cycle of rebirth and suffering (samsāra). Dharmakīrti's path to salvation is built upon two means of valid cognition - perception, which is true, direct, non-conceptual knowledge that grasps reality's selfless and momentary nature, and inference. Although inference is itself a conceptual process and thus part of ignorance, its crucial function is corrective. It does not aim to discover new truths, which perception has already accessed, but rather to eliminate the erroneous superimpositions that obscure perception. By systematically using inference to exclude false notions like permanence and selfhood, a practitioner achieves determinate cognition and purifies the mind, ultimately restoring perception to its inherently radiant and liberated state, free from the counteracting influence of ignorance.