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Buddhist Teaching about Illusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

H. Hudson
H. Hudson
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
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Extract

Buddhist teaching about illusion is, I think, generally considered difficult to understand. What I wish to do is to try to indicate some of its more general and prevalent features with the further aim of using them to throw some light on typical Buddhist method and procedure. I shall be concerned mainly with some of the teachings to be found in the Mahayana and will try to be as untechnical as possible. This latter is sure to be displeasing to some, but I have no wish to induce intellectual paralysis either in the reader or myself by a parade of technicalities most of which are not properly translatable into English. A great deal of scholarly and technical work has already been done and now it seems to me important to try as much as possible to express the general sense or pattern or at least some of its features in terms of our own more natural modes of thought and speech. This is what I have tried to do. I should point out that when dealing with the teaching about illusion we are concerned with only the more austere intellectual side of Buddhism. Nevertheless the religious philosophising which we encounter is as much a part of religious practice as meditation and expressing reverence and respect for the Buddha. I have confined myself throughout to exposition and have not attempted discussion and evaluation. References given are to books which are for the most part easily available in English. I will begin with three quotations.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , June 1971 , pp. 141 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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References

page 141 note 1 The Conception of Buddhist Nirvana: Stoherbatsky (Chandrakirti's Comment on Relativity), p. 125.Google Scholar

page 141 note 2 Ibid., p. 125.

page 141 note 3 The Three Pillars of Zen: Kapleau (Bassui's Letters to his Disciples), p. 165.Google Scholar

page 142 note 1 Stcherbatsky, , p. 128.Google Scholar

page 142 note 2 Ibid., p. 128.

page 145 note 1 The Wisdom of Buddhism, ed. Humphreys, , p. 130 (Vasubandu's Treatise in Twenty stanzas on Representation Only, XIV:XV:XVI).Google Scholar

page 145 note 2 Buddhist Texts Through the Ages, ed. Conze, . Cassirer, Oxford, 1954, p. 163.Google Scholar

page 147 note 1 Stcherbatsky, , p. 43.Google Scholar

page 147 note 2 Selections from the Buddhist Scriptures (Penguin Classics): ed. Conze, , pp. 195, 196.Google Scholar

page 147 note 3 The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: Murti; quotation, p. 207.Google Scholar

page 147 note 4 Stcherbatsky. See quote ‘4’.

page 147 note 5 Selections: Conze, , p. 164 (The Initial Vow of a Bodhisattva: italics mine).Google Scholar

page 148 note 1 Stcherbatsky, , p. 49.Google Scholar

page 148 note 2 Ibid.

page 148 note 3 Stcherbatsky, . Nagarjuna's Treatise on Relativity, XIX.Google Scholar

page 148 note 4 Ibid., XX.

page 149 note 1 The Wisdom of Buddhism: ed. Humphreys, ; ‘On Trust in the Heart (or Mind)’, verse 23, p. 179.Google Scholar

page 149 note 2 Ibid., II, p. 178.

page 149 note 3 Ibid., I, p. 176.

page 150 note 1 The Wisdom of Buddhism: On Trust in the Heart, verse 7, p. 117.Google Scholar

page 150 note 2 The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, Murti, pp. 252, 266.Google Scholar

page 151 note 1 Stcherbatsky, : Nagarjuna's Treatise on Relativity, XVIII.Google Scholar

page 151 note 2 The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, Murti, p. 246.Google Scholar