To See the Buddha

Malcolm David Eckel is Professor of the History of Religion at Boston University. He is the author of Jnanagarbha's Commentary on the Distinction between the Two Truths.

"Eckel has masterfully drawn on the richness of the Indian language of the senses to shed light on the multiple voices being heard in the philosophical chorus... Eckel has given us a truly fascinating way by which to rethink the Buddhist philosophical enterprise... To See the Buddha has done more than 're-vision the Buddha.' It has made some pioneering steps toward appreciating the Buddhist philosophical tradition as a polyphony of pious voices. In the end, we are reminded that Buddhist scholastics envisioned their world with the eyes of devout Buddhists. And Eckel has done much to make that world visible to us."--Daniel Boucher, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Eckel has masterfully drawn on the richness of the Indian language of the senses to shed light on the multiple voices being heard in the philosophical chorus."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion

• AbbreviationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1Ch. 1The Story of the Asuras' Cave11Ch. 2The Structure of Bhavaviveka's Thought22Philosophy as a Cognitive Quest23The Three-Part Structure of Bhavaviveka's Argument29Points of Transition from One Stage in the Argument to Another42Bhavaviveka's Ironical Point of View44Ch. 3Interpreting the Signs of the Buddha51Hsuan-tsang's Encounter with the Indian Landscape51The Buddha as a Place Where an Absence Is Present65Ch. 4The Diachronic Dimension of the Buddha's Absence73The Buddha's Previous Vows74The Buddha's Manifestations84The Buddha's Sustaining Power90Ch. 5The Synchronic Dimension of the Buddha's Absence95The Dharma Body97The Eternal Buddha109Ch. 6Bhavaviveka's Theory of the Buddha114The Ultimate Buddha: A Negative Version of the Two-Body Theory115The Conventional Buddha: A Positive Version of the Two-Body Theory122The Three-Body Theory125Ch. 7Buddhahood and the Language of the Senses131Hsuan-tsang's Encounter with the Pirates131Bhavaviveka and the Philosopher's Eyes137Structural Similarities Between Different Kinds of Vision141The Ranking of the Different Senses147Translation: Bhavaviveka's Account of the Buddha in Chapter III of The Verses on the Essence of the Middle Way with the Commentary in The Flame of Reason1531The Ultimate Buddha1582The Bodhisattva Path1723The Conventional Buddha189Notes197Bibliography242Index259