A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
The authors of Advaita Vedānta maintain that God, the impersonal brahman, is the only reality and that each hint of dualism or pluralism is due to māyā ‘illusion’. In other words, the absolute, the brahman, is the only reality and Continue reading Does anything exist according to Advaita Vedānta?
One of our blog members, Andrew Ollett, has recently published Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India with University of California Press. Not only are congratulations in order for the book, but on his Continue reading “Language of the Snakes” available for download or purchase
(I am grateful for the following learned and thought-provoking guest post I received from Christophe Vielle, dealing with an emic way to define “Philosophy” in the Indian context. EF) Rājaśekhara’s classification of śāstras in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, adhyāya 2 (śāstra-nirdeśa)*, is Continue reading Rājaśekhara on mīmāṃsā and ānvīkṣikī as two distinct types of philosophical śāstras—a guest post by Christophe Vielle
Last time I discussed Jan Westerhoff’s potent objection to naturalized Buddhism: if there is no rebirth then we can end our suffering simply by committing suicide. Westerhoff takes this objection as a reason to accept rebirth. I do not. Rather, Continue reading Beyond the removal of suffering
A conference on the topic announced in the title will take place in Vienna, 28–29.9.2017. The purpose of the conference is to break the boundaries between “classical” and “contemporary” Indian philosophy and between “Indian” and “philosophy”, so as to make Continue reading The challenge of postcolonial philosophy in India. Too alien for contemporary philosophers, too modern for Sanskritists?
Nalanda Dialog Mission, Hazaribag, in collaboration with INTACH, Hazaribag chapter, is going to conduct a Walk (Padyatra) down the River Mohani from Itkhori Chatra (Jharkhand) to Bodhgaya (Bihar) during 13th–15th of January 2018. A discussion Seminar will be held on Continue reading Walking down the footsteps of the Buddha—An invitation by Debajyoti Gangopadhyay
A few years ago I wondered how a naturalized Buddhism could avoid advocating suicide. If our goal is the cessation of suffering, and death is not the beginning of a new birth but a simple ending, shouldn’t death itself be Continue reading In defence of Buddhism without rebirth
A colleague from the Savitribai Phule Pune University, Prof. Muzaffar Ali, sent us this question concerning K.C. Bhattacharya. Can readers help? “To reflect on the feeling of pain is necessarily to wish to be free from it. To wish anything Continue reading Pain and freedom in K.C. Bhattacharya: A question
Friends, Elisa kindly asked me to note when Stephen and my Nyāyasūtra volume was available for purchase (and not just preorder). It is now. Thanks, Elisa. If anyone is interested, you can find it here: https://www.hackettpublishing.com/philosophy/the-nyaya-sutra Hackett has $4.00 examination copies Continue reading Nyāyasūtra translation is now available
According to the Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā approach to language, the sentence meaning is “something to be done” (kārya). In other words, unlike for Nyāya authors, sentences do not convey the existence of something, but rather that something should be done. Sentences Continue reading The Deontic Nature of Language