Title: THE YOGACARA'S REFUTATION OF BUDDHIST REALISM
Abstract: From the time immemorial, there has been a clash between two schools viz., Idealism and Realism in philosophy both East and the West. We have witnessed different offshoots of these two schools which are antagonistic to each other. The problem is whether the external world can be existent independent of the knowing mind or not. The first systematic attempt to answer this question in Indian philosophy was made only in the later Buddhist school viz., Vijnanavada or Yogacara. The central concept of this school is the external world is nothing but the idea in the mind. The purpose of this paper is to expound the ontological and epistemological standpoint of Yogacara School of idealism in comparison with the Buddhist School of Realism. It also aims to analyze the logical implication of the views. The paper is based on the information culled out from the relevant works of Buddhism which are cited in the footnote as well as in the bibliography. Mainly three methods are employed in preparing this paper viz., analytic method, comparative and critical. The method is analytical in that an attempt to analyze the basic concept of Yogacara idealism is made in the paper and these concepts are presented in a systematic manner. The method is also critical in that the paper tries to show the merit and demerits of the Yogacara idealism. Thirdly in doing this, the paper attempts to make a study of the school in comparison with realism.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot