The Buddhist Unconscious

The Alaya-vijñana in the context of Indian Buddhist Thought

By:

William S. Waldron

Format:

Hardback

Series:

Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Show Hide Adult Content

$427.99

Available from supplier

Usually ships in 3-4 weeks

0 in Trolley

Price Match

Wrap this item as a gift ($5.90) - add a free gift card on the next page

Buy Now, Pay Later with:

4 payments of $107.00 with Afterpay Learn more

Availability

Delivering to:

Estimated arrival:

Around 25 Jun - 5 Jul using International Courier

Description

This is the story of fifth century CE India, when the Yogacarin Buddhists tested the awareness of unawareness, and became aware of human unawareness to an extraordinary degree. They not only explicitly differentiated this dimension of mental processes from conscious cognitive processes, but also offered reasoned arguments on behalf of this dimension of mind. This is the concept of the 'Buddhist unconscious', which arose just as philosophical discourse in other circles was fiercely debating the limits of conscious awareness, and these ideas in turn had developed as a systematisation of teachings from the Buddha himself. For us in the twenty-first century, these teachings connect in fascinating ways to the Western conceptions of the 'cognitive unconscious' which have been elaborated in the work of Jung and Freud. This important study reveals how the Buddhist unconscious illuminates and draws out aspects of current western thinking on the unconscious mind. One of the most intriguing connections is the idea that there is in fact no substantial 'self' underlying all mental activity; 'the thoughts themselves are the thinker'. William S. Waldron considers the implications of this radical notion, which, despite only recently gaining plausibility, was in fact first posited 2,500 years ago.

Author Biography:

William S. Waldron received his PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin after studying extensively in India, Nepal and Japan. He currently teaches South Asian religions and Buddhist philosophy at Middlebury College, Vermont. His research areas include the Yogacara school of Indian Buddhism, and comparative psychologies and philosophies of mind.

Release date Australia

March 27th, 2003

Author

William S. Waldron

Audience

Tertiary Education (US: College)

Pages

288

Series

Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Dimensions

156x234x24

ISBN-13

9780415298094

Product ID

4782883

Customer reviews

Nobody has reviewed this product yet. You could be the first!

Write a Review

Marketplace listings

There are no Marketplace listings available for this product currently.
Already own it? Create a free listing and pay just 9% commission when it sells!

Sell Yours Here

Get free delivery, exclusive deals, and more^*

Non-Fiction Books:

The Buddhist Unconscious

By:

Format:

Series:

Buy Now, Pay Later with:

Availability

Description

Author Biography:

Customer reviews

Marketplace listings

Help & options

Filed under...

Get free delivery, exclusive deals, and more*

Buy Now, Pay Later with:

Author Biography:

Get free delivery, exclusive deals, and more^*