140104 UE Dharmakirti: Pramanaviniscaya I (2019W)

This course is intended to help intermediate Sanskrit students develop proficiency in reading Sanskrit by introducing them to “scientific” Sanskrit literature, in the form of a philosophical treatise, namely, the first chapter of Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇaviniścaya. In this chapter Dharmakīrti presents his theory of perception, arguing among other things that perception is necessarily non-conceptual and that the object of perception is not different from cognition itself (thereby supporting the Yogācāra thesis of vijñaptimātrarā, “consciousness-only”). It is one of the foundational texts of the Buddhist epistemological tradition. Although not an easy text, it is also not that difficult compared to other philosophical texts. It is also perhaps the easiest point of entry into Dharmakīrti’s system. A German translation, from the Tibetan version, is available. The instructor also plans to introduce students to the history and literature of the Buddhist epistemological school and give an overview of recent research. The Sanskrit text and translation will be available on Moodle.