Fairly well known to scholars of Buddhist studies, Yogacara Buddhism remains practically unknown to ordinary practitioners due to the fact that, despite its enormous influence, it disappeared as a distinct school at the end of the first millennium. Another reason for its failure to achieve enduring popularity is the perception that its complex system of viewpoints, paths, and categories is difficult to grasp. While it does require a fairly significant commitment on the part of the student, much of the difficulty lies in the manner of presentation. Here, Tagawa Shun'ei makes sense of its seeming unwieldiness. He shows that what the Yogacara masters are talking about are, in many cases, everyday experiences shared by all, and that their focal points are things we all take for granted but that have no real explanation - even by researchers in modern psychology, physiology, chemistry, and physics. Eloquent and approachable, Living Yogacara deepens the readers' understanding of Buddhism's development.
Living Yogacara: An Introduction to Consciousness-Only Buddhism By: Tagawa Shun'ei (Author), Charles Muller (Translator), Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 2009, 150 Pages, $18.95
Tagawa Shun'ei is the abbot of the Hosso Zen Temple of Kofukuji in Japan's Nara Prefecture.
Charles Muller specializes in East Asian Buddhism, working primarily in the areas of Korean Buddhism and East Asian Yogacara. He presently teaches at the University of Tokyo.
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Contents: Living Yogacara: An Introduction to Consciousness-only
Buddhism |
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Translator's Introduction |
vii |
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Foreword |
xxv |
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Chapter One: Yogacara Is... |
1 |
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Chapter Two: The Structure of the Mind |
11 |
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Chapter Three: The Functions of the Mind |
19 |
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Chapter Four: Building Up Experience in the Latent
Area of the Mind |
29 |
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Chapter Five: The Production of Things |
45 |
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Chapter Six: The Deep Self Absorbed in Selfishness
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61 |
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Chapter Seven: The Variously Assessing Mind |
77 |
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Chapter Eight: The Function of the Five Senses |
95 |
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Chapter Nine: Who Am I? |
101 |
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Chapter Ten: The Distance to Buddhahood |
117 |
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Conclusion: Yogacara Today |
131 |
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Afterword |
139 |
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Suggestions for Further Study |
143 |
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Notes: |
147 |
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About the Author |
151 |
270 |
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