1.a. Buddhist Epistemology

Learning Outcomes

During the course of this lesson, you will:

  • Learn about the foundations of Buddhist epistemology and the concept of ‘Sat’
  • Explore the question of what is real, and the tension between direct experience and inference

1. Introduction

The first level of analysis discussed in this lesson examines what is real, what impacts the senses. It involves the conceptual process of experiencing the world and engaging with it, acting based on what we know or infer from our experiences. This process involves what is experienced in the moment and, at the same time, a prediction of what will happen in the future, which can potentially validate our previous inferences about a certain object or phenomenon.

2. Watch

3. Read

1a. An Introduction to Dharmakirti’s & Shantarakshita’s philosophy

In this module, reality and the nature of the mind will be analysed through the lens of the Pramana tradition, particularly according to the work of the 6th and 7th century Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti (died 660 AD).

Dharmakirti’s epistemological work was inspired by his predecessor, Digňaga (480-540 AD), and had a great impact on the development of the Madhyamika, or ‘Middle way’, school founded by Nagarjuna (c. 150- c. 250 AD), another important Buddhist philosopher whose ideas are discussed throughout this e-course. Notably, the current Madhyamika tradition is a synthesis of Dharmakirti’s and Nagarjuna’s epistemology.

Another key concept in Buddhist philosophy comes from Sāntarakṣita (725-788 AD), an 8th century philosopher who established the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery and developed a method to investigate reality according to different levels of analysis. The starting point of this analytical approach is experience itself, commonly known as Sat. The Sanskrit term Sat refers to ‘what is present in front of you’, ‘what is real’. The approach of Sāntarakṣita can be summarised as ‘to be real is to be present’, or, in other words, what is perceived is said to be real – what impacts one’s cognitive apparatus and manifests one’s consciousness.

1b. Causality, Cognition, and Reality

In Sāntarakṣita’s philosophy, mental events are the evidence for the existence of a certain phenomenon. This is why causality is a key element here: to state that something is real, is to state that it has causal efficacy and that it has an impact on one’s cognition and consciousness through causality. In other words: to be real is to be the cause of cognition (its effect).  Cause and effect, or causality, is the evidence for ‘anything’ to be ‘something’. Every mental event, in other words, indicates the presence of a cause-effect relationship. Professor Dunne therefore concludes: for us to consider something as real, there first needs to be a causal relationship, either directly or indirectly, mediated by our senses.

Lecture Notes

We recommend reading the lecture notes before you start watching the content. This will help you to start contemplating some of the topics before you begin to watch the lecture.

Download Module 3 Lecture Notes