Two Sources of Indian Asceticism - Softcover

Johannes Bronkhorst

9788120815513: Two Sources of Indian Asceticism

Softcover

ISBN 10: 8120815513 ISBN 13: 9788120815513

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass, 1998

This book is an attempt at a reconstruction of the YOgacara subjective idealism and an exhaustive criticism of it by different schools of Indian realism. The exposition of the doctrine is based on the works of Santaraksita and Kamalasila and the critics of Vijnanavada. Generally the exposition and criticism of the doctrine by every eminent thinker have been given separately. Most of the critics give a fair and impartial account of Vijnanavada and contribute to the clarification of the idealist position. The author has dealt with the controversy between subjective idealism and realism in Indian thought and tried to give a fairly full account of the arguments by which Indian realists seek to establish the reality of the external world.

Incidentally the Yogacara subjective idealism has been compared with the idealism of Berkeley and the sensationalism of Hume and the resemblances and differences between them have been briefly noted. A striking feature of the book is that the parallel arguments of many contemporary realists have been quoted simply to indicate that the philosophical genius of a particular type is apt to move in the same groove, irrespective of the soil it thrives in.

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About the Author:

The Author: Johannes Bronkhorst was born in 1946 in the Netherlands. Indological studies in Poona (doctorate 1979) and Leiden (doctorate 1980). Since 1987 Professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies at the University of Lausanne.

Review:

�With characteristic acuity, Bronkhorst analyses the early sources, mainly Dharmasutra texts, the early Upanisads, and the Mahabharata, and presents his arguments with admirable conciseness and clarity...The immensely important role which asceticism in a broad sense of the term has played - and indeed continues to play - in Indian religions (including Buddhism) certainly justifies the effort to arrive at a better understanding of its origins. Bronkhorst's study is a major contribution in this respect, and surely will not fail to stimulate further research.� (Per Kv�rne, Acta Orientalia)

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