Publisher's Synopsis
This book is the first detailed comparative study of the philosophical and meditative ideas of Nikaya Buddhism and early Chan. It is inspired by the passages in the texts of both these traditions which appear to express similar and at the same time very unconventional ideas about the nature of meditation, cognition and reality. Their very presence suggests the possibility of a unique way of approaching these issues which is very different from the historically dominant, mainstream Buddhist paradigm. The book attempts to draw out and to discuss the philosophical ideas implied by the problematic passages in Nikaya and early Chan texts and to assess their coherence and plausibility. It argues that these ideas constitute a specific paradigm of meditation, different from the historically dominant, mainstream Buddhist one. The book uses an interdisciplinary approach and heavily draws from relevant developments in modern philosophy of mind and cognitive science. Below are some of the questions and problems which are discussed in the book: * Can altered psychosomatic meditative states be attained without a meditation method in the sense of a deliberately implemented technique? If so, by what mechanism? * Can insight occur in a meditative state characterized by an absence of thoughts? If so, by what process? What concept of mind is implied by such an idea? * Can the most basic elements of the world that we experience cease in a meditative state which is not a form of insentience or unconsciousness? In what way could such cessation occur? What philosophical vision of reality is implied by this concept? * How can pre-meditative elements of the Buddhist path, such as leading a particular lifestyle and maintaining a specific mindset, contribute to the attainment of altered psychosomatic states? * Are there some crucial elements of the Buddhist path which cannot be straightforwardly practiced by following instructions? If so, what contributes to their development and is there some pattern which it follows?
