The Buddhist Theory of Self-Cognition

The book begins by situating self-cognition within both Buddhist epistemology and broader philosophical debates about self-consciousness. Yao explains that although self-awareness is often associated with modern Western philosophy and cognitive science, Buddhist thinkers developed sophisticated discussions of this issue through debates on mind, perception, memory, omniscience, and reflexivity. The study is organized around the historical development of the theory among four Buddhist schools. Chapter 1 introduces the problem and method. Chapter 2 traces the origin of self-cognition to Mahāsāṃghika discussions of all-knowing awareness and the Buddha’s omniscience. Chapter 3 examines Sarvāstivāda refutations of self-awareness, including debates over single-moment awareness, two minds, memory, and self-feeling. Chapter 4 presents the Sautrāntika synthesis, especially through Harivarman and later Sautrāntika arguments. Chapter 5 analyzes Yogācāra systematization, including early Yogācāra, Dignāga’s formulation, Dharmapāla’s theory of the cognition of self-cognition, and later developments. The conclusion summarizes the significance of self-cognition for Buddhist philosophy of mind.