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Journal ArticleDOI

A Nirvana that Is Burning in Hell: Pain and Flourishing in Mahayana Buddhist Moral Thought

01 Jun 2018-Sophia (Springer Netherlands)-Vol. 57, Iss: 2, pp 337-347
TL;DR: In this article, the Bodhisattva, the saint of the Indian Mahayana Buddhist tradition, descending into the hell realms to work for the benefit of its denizens, is analyzed.
Abstract: This essay analyzes the provocative image of the bodhisattva, the saint of the Indian Mahayana Buddhist tradition, descending into the hell realms to work for the benefit of its denizens. Inspired in part by recent attempts to naturalize Buddhist ethics, I argue that taking this ‘mythological’ image seriously, as expressing philosophical insights, helps us better understand the shape of Mahayana value theory. In particular, it expresses a controversial philosophical thesis: the claim that no amount of physical pain can disrupt the flourishing of a fully virtuous person. I reconstruct two related elements of early Buddhist psychology that help us understand this Mahayana position: the distinction between hedonic sensation (vedanā) and virtuous or nonvirtous mental states (kuśala/akuśala-dharma); and the claim that humans are massively deluded as to what constitutes well-being. Doing so also lets me emphasize the continuity between early Buddhist and Mahayana traditions in their views on well-being and flourishing.
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Book
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: The Saddharmapundarika-sutra (Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Fine Dharma) as discussed by the authors is one of the most important and revered texts in East Asian Buddhism.
Abstract: "The Lotus Sutra" (Taisho no. 262), translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama from the fifth-century Chinese version by the scholar-monk Kumarajiva, is one of the most important and revered texts in East Asian Buddhism. With its vivid descriptions of cosmic events and large cast of characters, the Saddharmapundarika-sutra (Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Fine Dharma) unfolds like a magnificent drama. Its twenty-eight chapters offer a combination of doctrine, teachings, stories, and parables, devotional practices, and portraits of the many buddhas and bodhisattvas that inhabit the world of the Lotus Sutra. This text presents an emerging Mahayana vision that affirms the possibility of enlightenment for all.

85 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper proposes an account of the experiences of selfhood as emerging from a temporally deep generative model, and develops a view of the self as playing a central role in structuring ordinary experience by “tuning” agents to the counterfactually rich possibilities for action.
Abstract: Disruptions in the ordinary sense of selfhood underpin both pathological and "enlightened" states of consciousness. People suffering from depersonalization can experience the loss of a sense of self as devastating, often accompanied by intense feelings of alienation, fear, and hopelessness. However, for meditative contemplatives from various traditions, "selfless" experiences are highly sought after, being associated with enduring peace and joy. Little is understood about how these contrasting dysphoric and euphoric experiences should be conceptualized. In this paper, we propose a unified account of these selfless experiences within the active inference framework. Building on our recent active inference research, we propose an account of the experiences of selfhood as emerging from a temporally deep generative model. We go on to develop a view of the self as playing a central role in structuring ordinary experience by "tuning" agents to the counterfactually rich possibilities for action. Finally, we explore how depersonalization may result from an inferred loss of allostatic control and contrast this phenomenology with selfless experiences reported by meditation practitioners. We will show how, by beginning with a conception of self-modeling within an active inference framework, we have available to us a new way of conceptualizing the striking experiential similarities and important differences between these selfless experiences within a unifying theoretical framework. We will explore the implications for understanding and treating dissociative disorders, as well as elucidate both the therapeutic potential, and possible dangers, of meditation.

19 citations


Cites background from "A Nirvana that Is Burning in Hell: ..."

  • ...These states are in and of themselves neutral in terms of wellbeing (Harris, 2018)....

    [...]

References
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Book
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of a wide-ranging study of ancient ethical philosophy, and make it accessible to anyone with an interest in ancient or modern ethical studies.
Abstract: To understand ancient ethics, we must examine the basic structure of ancient ethical theory. This treatise presents the results of a wide-ranging study of ancient ethical philosophy, and makes it accessible to anyone with an interest in ancient or modern ethical studies. Her examination of the basic concepts and arguments of ancient ethics corrects many widespread misconceptions, and shows that ancient ethical theories are theories of morality and its demands.

736 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Nagarjuna seems willing to embrace contradictions while at the same time making use of classic reductio arguments as mentioned in this paper, and it is argued that the contradictions he discovers are structurally analogous to many discovered by Western philosophers and mathematicians.
Abstract: Nagarjuna seems willing to embrace contradictions while at the same time making use of classic reductio arguments. He asserts that he rejects all philosophical views including his own-that he asserts nothing-and appears to mean it. It is argued here that he, like many philosophers in the West and, indeed, like many of his Buddhist colleagues, discovers and explores true contradictions arising at the limits of thought. For those who share a dialetheist's comfort with the possibility of true contradictions commanding rational assent, for Nagarjuna to endorse such contradictions would not undermine but instead confirm the impression that he is indeed a highly rational thinker. It is argued that the contradictions he discovers are structurally analogous to many discovered by Western philosophers and mathematicians.

137 citations


"A Nirvana that Is Burning in Hell: ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...4 This is explored in relation to metaphysics in Garfield and Priest (2003). stakes all the way up....

    [...]

Book
12 Aug 2011
TL;DR: The Bodhisattva's brain this article argues that it is possible to discover in Buddhism a rich, empirically responsible philosophy that could point us to one path of human flourishing.
Abstract: If we are material beings living in a material world -- and all the scientific evidence suggests that we are -- then we must find existential meaning, if there is such a thing, in this physical world. We must cast our lot with the natural rather than the supernatural. Many Westerners with spiritual (but not religious) inclinations are attracted to Buddhism -- almost as a kind of moral-mental hygiene. But, as Owen Flanagan points out in The Bodhisattva's Brain, Buddhism is hardly naturalistic. In The Bodhisattva's Brain, Flanagan argues that it is possible to discover in Buddhism a rich, empirically responsible philosophy that could point us to one path of human flourishing. Some claim that neuroscience is in the process of validating Buddhism empirically, but Flanagan's naturalized Buddhism does not reduce itself to a brain scan showing happiness patterns. "Buddhism naturalized," as Flanagan constructs it, offers instead a fully naturalistic and comprehensive philosophy, compatible with the rest of knowledge -- a way of conceiving of the human predicament, of thinking about meaning for finite material beings living in a material world.

87 citations


"A Nirvana that Is Burning in Hell: ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...6 This essay is in part inspired by Flanagan (2011)....

    [...]

  • ...For critiques of Flanagan (2011), see Goodman (2014), Coseru (2014), and Finnigan (2014)....

    [...]

  • ...…thing that could be called credibly BBuddhist^ after subtracting what is psychologically and sociologically understandable, but that epistemically speaking is incredible superstition and magical thinking, would be what I call BBuddhism naturalized,^ or something in its vicinity^ (Flanagan 2011, 3)....

    [...]

Book
20 Mar 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the main features of some Western ethical theories, including Theravada Ethics as Rule-Consequentialism, Mahayana Ethics Before Santideva and After 6. Transcending Ethics 7. Buddhist Ethics and the Demands of Consequentialism 8. Buddhism on Moral Responsibility 9. Punishment 10. Objections and Replies 11. A Buddhist Response to Kant
Abstract: INTRODUCTION 1. Fundamental Buddhist Teachings 2. Main Features of some Western Ethical Theories 3. Theravada Ethics as Rule-Consequentialism 4. Mahayana Ethics Before Santideva 5. Santideva and After 6. Transcending Ethics 7. Buddhist Ethics and the Demands of Consequentialism 8. Buddhism on Moral Responsibility 9. Punishment 10. Objections and Replies 11. A Buddhist Response to Kant CONCLUSION

86 citations