Rationality and Mind in Early Buddhism

The book is organized into six chapters. “Understanding Early Buddhism” establishes the methodological framework by treating early Buddhism as the Buddhism of the five Nikāyas and by advocating a careful dialogue between Pāli textual study and philosophy of religion. “Rationality and Logic” examines the charge that early Buddhist fourfold logic is self-contradictory, arguing instead that it functions as a heuristic principle for debate rather than as a formal logical system. “Rationality and Pessimism” analyzes the concept of dukkha and rejects the view that early Buddhism is fundamentally pessimistic. “Mind and Rebirth” studies the relation between mind, consciousness, no-self, rebirth, and the problem of personal reidentification across lives. “Mind and Verification” discusses faith, special knowledge, and the limits of Buddhist empiricism in relation to rebirth. “The Deathless (Amata)” examines nibbāna, parinibbāna, and the problem of final liberation, proposing that early Buddhist liberation can be understood without positing a permanent soul or reducing the tradition to nihilism.