Paramārtha’s Ultimate Truth and the Development of Chinese Buddhism’s Ultimate Truth

This paper discusses the development of ideas of the ultimate in the thought of Chinese Buddhism in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The concept of ultimate truth is, along with that of conventional truth, a core concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism. During the Sui Dynasty, Chinese Buddhism developed the unique perspective of the Three Truths, the foundation for which was formed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. This begins with Jie jie Jing 解節經 (in full, Foshuo Jiejie Jing 佛說解節經) by Paramārtha (499–569), which is a partial translation of Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and presents the theory of ultimate truth (paramārtha) to Chinese Buddhists. Through a comparison of Jiejie Jing with other Chinese and Tibetan translations of Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, we establish Paramārtha’s thoughts on the ultimate. The relationship between Paramārtha’s thought on the ultimate and the development of the Three Truths is evaluated in a comparison of Paramārtha’s thoughts on ultimate truth with the thinking of nearly contemporary Chinese monks.

Review of Richard W. Sterling, Ethics in a World of Power: The Political Ideas of Friedrich Meinecke (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1958; London, Oxford University Press, 1959)

Meinecke’s student and friend, Richard Sterling, composed this intellectual biography concerning Meinecke’s political ideas. Born in 1862, Meinecke was raised to venerate Hegel, Ranke, and Bismarck as pillars of the German State and conservative nationalism. Wight summed up Meinecke’s political evolution as follows: ‘In the first World War he justified the ultimatum to Serbia and the invasion of Belgium, he approved of unrestricted submarine warfare, and he explained to the minority peoples of the Central Powers that though the nation-state had been the proper goal for the Germans, it was their duty to remain content with the multi-national state. The shock of defeat started him on an assiduous criticism of his old beliefs. The moral autonomy of the State, the primacy of foreign policy, international relations as the fruitful competition of vigorously egotistic Powers, all gradually dissolved. He moved nearer to Goethe, and as an old man came to find the ultimate truth of politics not in the ideal, super-individual corporate personality of the nation-state, but in the martyrdom of the individual rebel against Hitler’s Reich.’

Anti-Realisms Local and Global

The Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy rejects the metaphysical realist thesis that there is such a thing as how things are anyway, independently of the concepts we happen to use. While other Buddhist schools claim that such things as persons, trees, and tables are mere useful fictions, they maintain that these fictions are usefully grounded in facts about the ultimate nature of reality. Not so Mādhyamikas, who are pan-fictionalists. They support this stance by seeking to demonstrate that various hypotheses concerning things with intrinsic nature (things that are thus purported to be ultimately real) lead to absurdities. The conclusion one is invited to draw is that all things are empty, that is, devoid of intrinsic nature. Some sample reductios are examined, and various realist objections are considered. Several different interpretations of Madhyamaka anti-realism are discussed, with a semantic non-dualist reading, to the effect that the very idea of ultimate truth is incoherent, being judged the most plausible.

Depiction of Hindu Philosophical and Religious Notions in Dārā Shukoh’s Majma‘-ul-Baḥrain

The article focuses on Dārā Shukoh’s Majma‘-ul-Baḥrain (written, 1654–55), which is basically a comparative and systematic study of modes of Hindu thought and belief from the view point of Islamic Sufism. There is thus the need to establish the degree of authenticity achieved in Dārā Shukoh’s exploration of the different Hindu philosophical and religious beliefs, especially keeping in view his own preference for pantheistic aspects. This naturally involves also a partial re-exploration of the field in which Dārā Shukoh had sought what he deemed to be the ultimate truth.

STUDY OF PURUSH SIDDHANT WITH SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

The word “Purush" in its most social sense means man but in the aspect of Ayurveda, the term purush is repre- sented as atma or chetana dhatu (chetana-life and dhatu-element). The concept of the existence of atman (soul) is generally not accepted by modern science. According to Indian philosophy, the ultimate truth or absolute soul is one and he is Chetana (Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahm). Treatment of Panchmahabhut Sharir with presence of purush is known as Chikitsya Purush. Purush is supreme soul, pure conscious, unchanging, immortal neither birth nor death. It is essential for the creation of the universe and the living world. In the presence of purush gains knowledge through the mind. All the actions through karmendriyas, desire, pleasure, pain, life and death are per- formed. The purush (Kshetrajy) is lord of the house (Kshetra). The role of Purush in Srusti is laya & parlay which is the same as catalyst’s work in a reversible reaction. Keywords: Purush, Types, Karma Chikitsa, Chaturvinshatika, Rashi, Punarjanma

Enhancing the power of understanding

Power of understanding is a rewarding cognitive capacity required for all of us from early childhood to the highest level of intellectual settings. Among other things, the concept of understanding plays a vital role in education. When I was a second-year undergraduate, I was so curious to know why some of my colleagues could understand subjects much faster than the others, and this curiosity compelled me to research on how understanding manifests in our minds. My literature review revealed that the ultimate happiness/truth stated in Buddhism is a matter of understanding the world differently from the way we do it generally. Literature also showed that many people in Buddha’s time understood the ultimate truth while listening to the discourse of the Buddha. Those who could not understand a matter then and there had to develop certain cognitive skills through various cognitive tasks such as further listening, discussing, thinking, and meditating. This is equally applicable to our educational settings as well because some students understand the subject matter during the lecture itself, while the others need involve in additional reading activities, discussions, tutorial work, and so on.

PERTIMBANGAN HAKIM TERHADAP PENGEHAHAN ANAK LUAR KAWIN

Pertimbangan yang dirumuskan oleh majelis hakim dalam putusan nomor 5151/Pdt.G/2012/PA,Kab.Mlg adalah pada kebenaran formil yaitu sebatas kebenaran yang sesuai dengan formalitas yang diatur oleh hukum tidak pada mencari kebenaran materiil atau kebenaran hakiki berlandaskan keyakinan hati nurani. Masih ada langkah-langkah yang perlu diambil oleh majelis hakim untuk menentukan mana pihak yang kalah dan mana yang harus dimenangkankan dalam kasus ini diantaranya dengan menggunakan sumpah.Kata kunci: keyakinan hakim, pertimbangan, pengesahan, anak The considerations formulated by the panel of judges in the decision number 5151 / Pdt.G / 2012 / PA, Kab.Mlg are on the formal truth that is limited to the truth in accordance with the formalities regulated by law not on seeking material truth or the ultimate truth based on the conviction of conscience. There are still steps to be taken by the panel of judges to decide which party to lose and which to be won in this case by using oath.Keywords: judge's confidence, consideration, endorsement, child

Candrakīrti’s Middle Way Philosophy

The Indian Buddhist philosopher Candrakīrti (c. 570–640) created a systematic and far-reaching interpretation of the central Madhyamaka (“Middle Way”) doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā) that many in Tibet regard as the highest philosophical view and as essential to the attainment of awakening. His unique reading of the “two truths,” all in the self-portrayal of a faithful interpreter of Nāgārjuna, offered an austere interpretation of emptiness that redefined the awakened state and took effort to align with the Mahāyāna Buddhist path. His bivalent portrayal of “the world” portended a conservative approach to a Buddhist’s relationship to authoritative scripture and its trustworthy interpreter, Nāgārjuna, as well as reconceiving the role of philosophical argument within ordinary practices. As is the case with many Indian Buddhists, little is known about his life; he is placed historically on the basis of his references to somewhat better-known figures. His thoroughgoing critique of the emergent “valid cognition” (pramāṇa) tradition and rejection of the role of inference (anumāna), favoring instead argument by logical consequence (prasaṅga), for demonstrating emptiness put his views out of step with his time; his influence would be muted for several centuries. His eventual rise to the attention of Indian Buddhists set the stage for the transmission of his texts to Tibet, where his philosophy touched off widespread debates on the relationships between the ultimate truth of emptiness, valid ways of knowing it, the bodhisattva’s path in which it is embedded, and buddhahood. Candrakīrti’s views would eventually win the day, placing his so-called Prāsaṅgika school at the pinnacle of most Tibetan Buddhist doxographies.

Avvai- An Epistemic Advantage

Tamil world always owe its tribute to Avvai for her scholarly contribution. Desire to do virtue is an iconic statement of this great personality who perceived to be an epistemic advantage. The purpose of this article is to examine her work as a children literary creator and to explore her cognitive success in terms of Educational Philosophy. Her literary contribution plays a major role in identifying the Tamil community as an epistemic community. The pattern of knowledge construction employed by Avvai enhances the individual to explore knowledge, to discover the ultimate truth and establishing virtue. This article is known for its analysis of the literary work and social dialogues chose to add Avvai’s commitment to establishing that education is a way to subdue the senses and achieve reality. This piece of research ignites a spark to future researcher to view Avvai as a social scientist rather than a Tamil scholar with reference to the normative principles established in her work.