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The ''Pramāṇavārttika'' (
Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...
: 𑀧𑁆𑀭𑀫𑀸𑀡𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀺𑀓, ''Commentary on Valid Cognition''; Tib. ''tshad ma rnam 'grel'') is an influential Buddhist text on
pramana ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epi ...
. The Pramāṇavārttika is the
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
of the Indian Buddhist
Dharmakirti Dharmakīrti (fl. c. 6th or 7th century; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་; Wylie: ''chos kyi grags pa''), was an influential Indian Buddhist philosopher who worked at Nālandā.Tom Tillemans (2011)Dharmakirti Stanford ...
(floruit 6-7th centuries).


Outline

The Pramanavarttika is written in about 2,000 verse stanzas. The four chapters deal, respectively, with inference for oneself (''svarthanumana''), valid knowledge (''pramanasiddhi''), sense perception (''pratyaksa''), and inference for others (''pararthanumana''). The work is a commentary on an earlier work by the Buddhist logician Dignaga, the '' Pramanasamuccaya''. The first chapter discusses the structure and types of formal inference and the ''
apoha Buddhist logico-epistemology is a term used in Western scholarship for ''pramāṇa-vāda'' (doctrine of proof) and ''Hetu-vidya'' (science of causes). Pramāṇa-vāda is an epistemological study of the nature of knowledge; Hetu-vidya is a system ...
'' (exclusion) theory of meaning. Dan Arnold writes that apoha is: "the idea that concepts are more precise or determinate (more contentful) just to the extent that they exclude more from their purview; the scope of cat is narrower than that of mammal just insofar as the former additionally excludes from its range all mammals in the world that are not cats." In the latter half of this chapter, Dharmakīrti also mounts an attack on
Brahmanism The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subc ...
, the authority of the
Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
,
Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
and their use of
mantras A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...
, and the system of
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...
(see Eltschinger 2000). He also discusses the role of scripture, which he sees as fallible and yet important for their discussion of “radically inaccessible things” (''atyantaparokṣa'') such as
karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...
. Dharmakirti critiques the Brahmins thus: :"''The unquestioned authority of the Vedas;'' :''the belief in a world-creator;'' :''the quest for purification through ritual bathing;'' :''the arrogant division into castes;'' :''the practice of mortification to atone for sin—'' :''these five are the marks of the crass stupidity of witless men.''" The second, ''pramanasiddhi'' chapter first seeks to defend the authority of the Buddha as a valid source of knowledge for those seeking spiritual freedom and to show that he spoke the truth. His defense focuses on the five epithets of the Buddha attributed to him by Dignaga: being a means of knowledge (''pramanabhutatva''), seeking the benefit of all living creatures, being a teacher, being 'well gone', and being a protector. Dharmakirti uses the Buddha's infinite compassion (
karuṇā ' () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Buddhism is important in ...
) as a basis for the proof that he is a reliable source of knowledge, as he writes "Compassion is the proof f the Buddha being a means of knowledge" From the discussion on the Buddha's infinite compassion, Dharmakirti then goes on to attack the materialist theories of the
Carvaka Charvaka ( sa, चार्वाक; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embrace ...
school and the soul theories of the Hindu Brahminical schools and provides a defense of the Buddhist concept of
rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * ''The Re ...
. According to Dan Arnold, Dharmakirti's argument here is that: "sentient phenomena must have among their causes events that are themselves sentient; events, more generally, must have ontologically homogeneous causes. The straightforward claim is thus that the events constituting the physical body are ontologically distinct from those that cause mental events." For Dharmakirti then, cognition is dependent not just on sense objects and physical sense organs, but on a previous event of awareness (''manovijnana''). This argument has been described by Dan Arnold as dualistic, a denial of the irreducibility of mental events to physical events and to be an appeal to
qualia In philosophy of mind, qualia ( or ; singular form: quale) are defined as individual instances of subjective, conscious experience. The term ''qualia'' derives from the Latin neuter plural form (''qualia'') of the Latin adjective '' quālis'' () ...
even though Dharmakirti eventually goes on to defend a form of epistemic idealism (Yogacara). In the third chapter, Dharmakirti argues that there are only two valid
pramanas ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".empiricism In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
termed epistemological representationalism. In this chapter Dharmakīrti also explains the perception of a yogin (''yogipratyakṣa''). The final chapter discusses the ways in which logical reasons are correct or incorrect.


Influence

The Pramanavarttika was very influential among Buddhist philosophers such as Jnanagarbha, Santaraksita and Kamalasila for whom it became a key work on epistemology. It was also influential among non-Buddhist thinkers like
Akalanka Akalanka (also known as ''Akalank Deva'' and ''Bhatta Akalanka'') was a Jain logician whose Sanskrit-language works are seen as landmarks in Indian logic. He lived from 720 to 780 A.D. and belonged to the Digambara sect of Jainism. His work ''As ...
and
Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
. In
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, it was influential among thinkers like
Sakya Pandita Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (Tibetan: ས་སྐྱ​་པཎ་ཌི་ཏ་ཀུན་དགའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, ) (1182 – 28 November 1251) was a Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar and the fourth of the Five S ...
and
Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...
, and it is the major work on epistemology studied in Buddhist monasteries. According to Georges Dreyfus:
Since the time of Sa-pan. this work has been considered one of the most important texts in the Tibetan scholastic tradition. It not only covers important areas such as logic, philosophy of language, and epistemology; it also provides the philosophical methodology for scholastic studies generally, as well as a large part of the philosophical vocabulary and the tools (arguments and consequences) used in debate.


Commentaries

Dharmakirti wrote a long auto-commentary on the first chapter. It is known as the ''Svopajñaṛtti'', or ''Svavṛtti''. Other commentaries include:University of Heidelberg, EPISTEMOLOGY AND ARGUMENTATION IN SOUTH ASIA AND TIBET, http://east.uni-hd.de/buddh/ind/7/16/ *Devendrabuddhi - ''Pramāṇavārttikapañjikā'' *Prajñākaragupta - ''Pramāṇavārttikālaṅkāra'' *Śākyabuddhi - ''Pramāṇavārttikaṭīkā'' *Karṇakagomin - ''Pramāṇavārttikavṛttiṭīkā'' *Manorathanandin - ''Pramāṇavārttikavṛtti'' *Ravigupta - ''Raviguptaramāṇavārttikavṛtti'' *Śaṅkaranandana - ''Pramāṇavārttikaṭīkā / Pramāṇavārttikānusāra'' *
Khedrup Je Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, 1st Panchen Lama (1385–1438 CE) – better known as Khedrup Je –  was one of the main disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, whose reforms to Atiśa's Kadam tradition are considered the beginnings of the Gelug ...
- ''Ocean of Reasoning'' *
Gyaltsab Je Gyaltsab Je () (1364 – 1432) or more elaborately, Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen was born in the Tsang province of central Tibet. He was a famous student of Je Tsongkhapa, and actually became the first Ganden Tripa (throne holder) of the Gelug tradition ...
- ''Elucidation of the Path to Liberation'' *
Ju Mipham JU may refer to: Names and people * Joo (Korean name), surname and given name (including a list of people with the name) * Jū (鞠), Chinese surname * Ru (surname), romanized Ju in Wade–Giles * Ji Ju, a semi-legendary ancestor of the Zhou dyn ...
Rinpoche's commentary - ''tshad ma rnam 'grel gyi gzhung gsal bor bshad pa legs bshad snang ba'i gter''


See also

*
Pramāṇa-samuccaya The ''Pramāṇa-samuccaya'' () is a philosophical treatise by Dignāga, an Indian Buddhist logician and epistemologist who lived from c. 480 to c. 540 . The work comprises an outline in the highly elliptical verse format typical of early Indian phi ...
*
Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combin ...
*
Pramana ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".Epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epi ...


Notes


Bibliography

*Jackson, Roger R. ; Is Enlightenment Possible?: Dharmakirti and Rgyal Tshab Rje on Knowledge, Rebirth, No-Self and Liberation, 1993 *Tilleman's, Tom JF; Dharmakirti's Pramanavarttika: An annotated Translation of the fourth chapter (parathanumana), Volum (Bilingual), 2000. *Dunne, John D., 2004, Foundations of Dharmakīrti's Philosophy (Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism), Cambridge MA: Wisdom Publications. *Franco, Eli, 1997, Dharmakīrti on Compassion and Rebirth (Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 38), Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pramanavarttika Buddhist texts Sanskrit texts