Between Construction and Immediacy
Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy of Mind and Nature January 4, 2019 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190883959.003.0002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the Geluk tradition interprets emptiness as an absence of true existence with a participatory meaning, while Kagyü and Nyingma traditions emphasize emptiness as an experiential and phenomenological dimension inclusive of a cognitive orientation. |
Abstract
This chapter begins with a discussion of emptiness and introduces two broad streams of interpretation of the import of negation. The “enframed” interpretation emphasizes the value of language and thought in the discovery of ultimate truth, while the “unenframed” interpretation emphasizes the way that language and thought impede this discovery. Both interpretations claim to represent the view of Madhyamaka, the middle way between the extremes of essentialism and nihilism. The Geluk tradition of Madhyamaka emphasizes the interpretation of emptiness as an absence of true existence, yet its meaning is also participatory and performative, since the meaning of emptiness is to be cultivated through meditation. In Mind-Only and Yogācāra-inflected traditions like the Kagyü and Nyingma, the experiential or phenomenological dimension of emptiness is emphasized, whereby emptiness is inclusive of a participatory (or cognitive) orientation and is not typically framed as an object or solely the (object-ive) nature of things.