Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, Volume IV

Volume IV of Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies provides a concentrated examination of the philosophical transition from Abhidharma analysis to Madhyamaka critique. The Abhidharma traditions developed increasingly precise classifications of experience, consciousness, causality, aggregates, rebirth, and ultimately existent dharmas. Madhyamaka thinkers subsequently subjected concepts such as svabhāva, existence, causality, language, and valid cognition to radical critical analysis through the doctrine of emptiness and dependent origination. By presenting studies from both traditions in a single volume, the collection makes it possible to see not merely two separate schools but a sustained philosophical dialogue concerning what exists, how reality can be known, how language refers to phenomena, and how philosophical analysis relates to liberation. The contributions on Candrakīrti, Buddhapālita, Bhāvaviveka, the catuṣkoṭi, Madhyamaka epistemology, Theravāda Abhidhamma, Sarvāstivāda ontology, and the five aggregates make this volume particularly valuable for advanced research into the historical development of Buddhist philosophy.