Indian Logic Forum

Bhadrakara · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:11 am Post subject: Dharmakirti on Yogipratyaksa

Jeson Woo
DHARMAKДЄRTI AND HIS COMMENTATORS ON YOGIPRATYAKб№ўA

Journal of Indian Philosophy
vol. 31, pp. 439вЂ“448, 2003

I
In the Buddhist PramДЃб№‡a school, perception (pratyakб№Јa) is one of the valid means of cognition (pramДЃб№‡a). It is defined as free from conceptual construction (kalpanДЃpoбёЌha) and non-erroneous (abhrДЃnta). DignДЃga (ca. 480вЂ“540), the founder of this school, divides perception into fourfold: sense-perception (indriyajГ±ДЃna), mental cognition (mДЃnasajГ±ДЃna), selfconsciousness (svasaб№ѓvedana), and the cognition of yogins (yogijГ±ДЃna).

Among them, the cognition of yogins is the intuition of a thing in itself unassociated with the teacherвЂ™s instruction. As one of the most difficult concepts in Buddhist philosophy, this cognition is essential to prove the property of the omniscient being (sarvajГ±a) of the Buddha.

Since DharmakД«rti (ca. 600вЂ“660), who succeeded and developed the teaching of DignДЃga, elaborated yogic intuition (yogijГ±ДЃna) in his works, it has been a crucial topic of heated debate between the Buddhist PramДЃб№‡a and the Hindu MД«mДЃб№ѓsДЃ schools. Evolving over some five centuries of creative philosophical activity (7thвЂ“11th), it plays a conspicuous and significant role in the works of the philosophers belonging to these schools. An important issue under discussion with regard to the cognition of yogins is how it fulfills the above-mentioned twofold definition of perception. The aim of my article is to investigate its epistemological structure in DharmakД«rtiвЂ™s works, such as the PramДЃб№‡a-vДЃrttika and the NyДЃya-bindu. In addition, I shall examine the debate on this cognition between his commentators, such as Dharmottara (ca. 750вЂ“810) and PrajГ±ДЃkaragupta (about the end of the 8thвЂ“the middle of the 9th), and their Hindu counterparts.

II
The cognition of yogins results through the practice of meditation (bhДЃvanДЃ). It is divested of the snares of judgement (vikalpa) and is characterized as vivid manifestation (viЕ›adДЃbhДЃ). In the NyДЃyabindu, DharmakД«rti defines this cognition as follows when he enumerates it among the category of perception...