"A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy" is the most comprehensive single volume on the subject available; not only does the Companion offer the non-specialist an in-depth introduction to the central concepts of Buddhism, it presents extensive discussions of Buddhist social and political thought, contemplative practice, issues in applied ethics, and Buddhist social activism.

The contributors list for the Companion includes leading scholars in the field; each engages the latest scholarship to create a wide-ranging survey of the most important ideas, problems, and debates in Buddhist philosophy. The volume will expand readers' understanding of the breadth and diversity of Buddhist thought, with many of the chapters written from a comparative perspective.

A conscious effort has been undertaken throughout the volume to create a mainstream bridge between the Western and Buddhist philosophical traditions. The broad coverage of Buddhist thought offers a great deal of flexibility to instructors and students, presenting the most versatile single-volume source book available for constructing a customized syllabus on Buddhist philosophy or comparative philosophical thought.

Steven M. Emmanuel is Professor of Philosophy at Virginia Wesleyan College, USA. He is the author of "Kierkegaard and the Logic of Revelation" (1996) and editor of two previous volumes with Blackwell: "The Guide to the Modern Philosophers: From Descartes to Nietzsche" (2001) and "Modern Philosophy: An Anthology" (2002). In 2008, he produced and directed an award-winning documentary film entitled "Making Peace with Viet Nam."

Notes on Contributors xi

Acknowledgments xviii

List of Abbreviations xix

Introduction 1"Steven M. Emmanuel"

Part I Conceptual Foundations 11

1 The Philosophical Context of Gotama's Thought 13"Stephen J. Laumakis"

2 Dukkha, Non-Self, and the Teaching on the Four "Noble Truths" 26"Peter Harvey"

3 The Conditioned Co-arising of Mental and Bodily Processes within Life and Between Lives 46"Peter Harvey"

Part II Major Schools of Buddhist Thought 69

4 Theravada 71"Andrew Skilton"

5 Indian Mahayana Buddhism 86"James Blumenthal"

6 Tibetan Mahayana and Vajrayana 99"Douglas Duckworth"

7 East Asian Buddhism 110"Ronald S. Green"

Part III Themes in Buddhist Philosophy 127

A. Metaphysics 129

8 Metaphysical Issues in Indian Buddhist Thought 129"Jan Westerhoff"

9 Emptiness in Mahayana Buddhism: Interpretations and Comparisons 151"David Burton"

10 Practical Applications of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and Madhyamaka in the Kalacakra Tantric Tradition 164"Vesna A. Wallace"

11 The Huayan Metaphysics of Totality 180"Alan Fox"

12 Forms of Emptiness in Zen 190"Bret W. Davis"

13 Between the Horns of Idealism and Realism: The Middle Way of Madhyamaka 214"Graham Priest"

B. Epistemology 223

14 A Survey of Early Buddhist Epistemology 223"John J. Holder"

15 Reason and Experience in Buddhist Epistemology 241"Christian Coseru"

16 The Three Truths in Tiantai Buddhism 256"Brook Ziporyn"

17 "Spiritual Exercise" and Buddhist Epistemologists in India and Tibet 270"Matthew T. Kapstein"

18 Yogic Perception, Meditation, and Enlightenment: The Epistemological Issues in a Key Debate 290"Tom J. F. Tillemans"

C. Language and Logic 307

19 Language and Logic in Indian Buddhist Thought 307"Brendan S. Gillon"

20 Buddhist Philosophy of Logic 320"Koji Tanaka"

21 Candrakirti on the Limits of Language and Logic 331"Karen C. Lang"

22 On the Value of Speaking and Not Speaking: Philosophy of Language in Zen Buddhism 349"Steven Heine"

23 The Voice of Another: Speech, Responsiveness, and Buddhist Philosophy 366"Richard F. Nance"

D. Philosophy of Mind 377

24 Mind in Theravada Buddhism 377"Maria Heim"

25 Philosophy of Mind in Buddhism 395"Richard P. Hayes"

26 Cognition, Phenomenal Character, and Intentionality in Tibetan Buddhism 405"Jonathan Stoltz"

27 The Non-Self Theory and Problems in Philosophy of Mind 419"Joerg Tuske"

E. Ethics and Moral Philosophy 429

28 Ethical Thought in Indian Buddhism 429"Christopher W. Gowans"

29 Character, Disposition, and the Qualities of the Arahats as a Means of Communicating Buddhist Philosophy in the Suttas 452"Sarah Shaw"

30 Compassion and the Ethics of Violence 466"Stephen Jenkins"

31 Buddhist Ethics and Western Moral Philosophy 476"William Edelglass"

F. Social and Political Philosophy 491

32 The Enlightened Sovereign: Buddhism and Kingship in India and Tibet 491"Georgios T. Halkias"

33 Political Interpretations of the Lotus Sutra 512"James Mark Shields"

34 Socially Engaged Buddhism: Emerging Patterns of Theory and Practice 524"Christopher S. Queen"

35 Comparative Reflections on Buddhist Political Thought: Ashoka, Shambhala and the General Will 536"David Cummiskey"

Part IV Buddhist Meditation 553

36 Buddhist Meditation: Theory and Practice 555"Charles Goodman"

37 Seeing Mind, Being Body: Contemplative Practice and Buddhist Epistemology 572"Anne Carolyn Klein"

38 From the Five Aggregates to Phenomenal Consciousness: Towards a Cross-Cultural Cognitive Science 585"Jake H. Davis and Evan Thompson"

Part V Contemporary Issues and Applications 599

39 Buddhism and Environmental Ethics 601"Simon P. James"

40 Buddhism and Biomedical Issues 613"Damien Keown"

41 War and Peace in Buddhist Philosophy 631"Sallie B. King"

42 Buddhist Perspectives on Human Rights 651"Karma Lekshe Tsomo"

43 Buddhist Perspectives on Gender Issues 663"Rita M. Gross"

44 Diversity Matters: Buddhist Reflections on the Meaning of Difference 675"Peter D. Hershock"

Further Reading 693

Index 696