Buddhist philosophy

The Buddhism is one of the great systems of Eastern thought and action, born in India at sixth century BC. It is founded on the Three Jewels : the Buddhists state to take refuge in the Bouddha, the founder of Buddhism, in the Dharma, the doctrines of the Buddha, and in the Sangha, the community of the followers.

Dharma, or teaching

The Four noble truths which are at the origin of Buddhism are: the truth of the Suffering or the inherent Dissatisfaction, the truth of the origin of the suffering generated by the Desire and the Attachment, the truth of the possibility of the suspension of the suffering by the detachment, inter alia, and finally the truth of the driving way to the suspension of the suffering , which is the center gate Noble eightfold path.

However this lesson traditional, and of range spiritual rather than philosophical, is only the starting point of what will become a rich person plurality of philosophical and religious traditions. After all Buddhism “had conquered” all Asia, of Japan to Afghanistan, integrating and/or adapting to these various cultures. In philosophy particularly, all the spectrum of the positions and possible options has, at one moment or the other, be the object of developments and debates. He thus knew his “realism”, his “Atomisme”, his “Nominalisme”, etc

Hindouisme, from which Buddhism is resulting, presents to him also such a variety. Pareillement, and following the example Western Scholastic, any philosophy lies within the scope of the religion. More precisely, Buddhist philosophies never lose sight of the fact the soteriologic concerns , i.e. related on the hello, the release.

Impermanency and interdependence

See also: conditioned Coproduction

“Any phenomenon conditioned is unsatisfactory, any conditioned phenomenon is transitory and any thing is without oneself. ”

the not-oneself (skt. Anātman stake. Anatta ), or interdependence (rather conditioned coproduction) or impersonnality: atom with the universe - while passing by the human beings and their frames of mind - it has there nothing which even has an independent and real existence by him.
the impermanency (skt. Anitya stake. anicca ): all is constantly changing, all is flow, nothing is not fixed once and for all.

the dissatisfaction (skt. Duhkha stake. Dukkha ), or suffering: it is not only the physical suffering; because of impermanency of the things, nothing can satisfy us in an ultimate and final way.

These three characteristics of the conditioned existence universal, and known are once developed the direct vision of reality (stake. vipassanā , skt. vipashyanā ). With this intention, it is necessary to follow a drive to the development of vigilance (stake. satipatthāna , skt. smrtipasthāna ).

The human being is thus not a thing in oneself, a indestructible entity containing a divine spark (in spite of the illusion that they A some), but the impermanent composition of the five aggregates which are the form (or corporeity), feelings, perceptions, mental formations and conscience. These aggregates (skt. skandhas stake. khandha) impermanent because is subjected them also to the “conditioned Coproduction” (skt. pratītya-samutpāda ), according to which all has a whole of causes and a whole of consequences. For the Buddhists, the me is thus only Vacuité (skt. Śūnyatā ).

To note that the Nirvāna escapes the characteristics from suffering and impermanency. A contrario , it is not one “in oneself” (skt. ātman ): it empty, but is inconditionné.

Vacuity

August 1st

Not-duality

The not-duality refers to the identity or the fundamental inseparability of many distinctions, valid or utilities on a relative level, but finally redefined like being only various aspects of the same reality. Buddhism exposes the not-duality of the Samsara and of the Nirvāna, the form and vacuity, the object and the subject, etc For example, in perfect Éveil (ch.36) will soutra It, allotted to Bouddha:

It has neither identity there neither difference, neither control nor release. Now you know that all the being sensitive are originally perfect Éveillés; what will samsara and nirvana are as the dream of last night. Noble wire, since they are like the dreams of last night, should know to you that will samsara and nirvana have neither advent nor suspension. neither come alley nor. In this realization there is neither profit neither loss, neither adoption nor rejection. In that which realizes there is not " efforcer" , " to leave-aller" , " to stop the pensées" or " to eliminate the passions". In this realization it on neither subject there neither object, and ultimement neither Realization nor Carried out. The nature of all the phenomena is equal and indestructible.

In the directly not-dualistic traditions of the Buddhism, i.e. the Zen, the Dzogchen, the Mahāmudrā and the Madhyamaka one speaks to integrate all-achieving spontaneousness and car-liberator of “not-acting” of the non-duelle nature of reality. Concepts such as not-effort, not-it, not-meditation, not-thought, etc refer all to a transcendence, a setting off-side, intrinsic duality which any concept poses: to act, to have, be…

Philosophical schools

At the end of many historical processes, there does not remain any more that two philosophical universities, particularly in Buddhism known as of the Mahāyāna, they are the Cittamatra, spirit only , and the Madhyamaka, way of the medium.

Cittamatra

The first is a Idéalisme, or same a rational Solipsisme: All the Phénomène S are only facts of Conscience, and the conscience is only reality, the world and the individuals while being projection. The conscience which creates the world is ultimate the Nature-of-Buddha, gasoline of all.

Madhyamaka

The second university, Madhyamaka, wants to be more completed: In its layer unfathomable nature, its transcendence, the Nature-of-Buddha could not be apprehended, and only valid philosophy could be only radically negative. Nāgārjuna, the great figure of this school summarizes its position in its famous tétralemme:

One cannot affirm: “there exists quelquechose”
One cannot affirm: “there exists nothing”
One cannot affirm: “there exists quelquechose and there exists nothing”
One cannot affirm: “there exists neither quelquechose, nor nothing”

Nāgārjuna expresses it also this way in Madhyamakakārika: " Where that it is, whatever they are, neither of oneself neither of others, neither of neither other, nor independently of the one and other, the things are never produites"

This philosophy constitutes the consequent and radical result of the doctrines of the Vacuité.