This volume comprises three important texts of the Yogacara school. Demonstration of Consciousness Only is a translation of Vasubandhu's "Thirty Verses" plus the interpretation of Dharmapala as the ultimately correct view of the text, with the supplementation of two or three divergent interpretations. It is an attempt to answer the question of the mechanism and nature of ignorance by demonstrating that seemingly real external objects of perception and the equally seemingly real self who perceives these things are mental fabrications that do not exist apart from consciousness itself. Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only is the short verse work by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu that propounds the idea that nothing exists except consciousness or mind, and that all things believed ty the ordinary person to be objective realities outside mind are in reality mere mental constructs. The Treatise in Twenty Verses on Consciousness Onlyis a companion piece to the Thirty Verses. It is a series of hypothetical objections by possible opponents with replies by Vasubandhu. The objections of opponent takes the realistic, no-nonsense position that the things seen, heard, smelled, etc., are real things that exist in the world outside the mind. The opponent typically offers an argument as to why it cannot be possible for perceived objects to be merely mental constructs. Vasubandhu counters each argument, explaining why the realistic argument is faulty, and why objects of perception cannot rationally be considered to exist apart from consciousness.

Yogacara is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology that stems from the early Indian Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The Yogacara view is based on the fundamental truth that there is nothing in the realm of human experience that is not interpreted by and dependent upon the mind. Yogacara Buddhism was unable to sustain the same level of popularity as other Buddhist schools in India, Tibet, and East Asia, but its teachings on the nature of consciousness profoundly impacted the successive developments of Buddhism. Yogacara served as the basis for the development of the doctrines of karma and liberation in many other schools. In this refreshingly accessible study, Tagawa Shun'ei makes sense of Yogacara's subtleties and complexities with insight and clarity. He shows us that Yogacara masters comprehend and express everyday experiences that we all take for granted, yet struggle to explain. Eloquent and approachable, Living Yogacara deepens the reader's understanding of the development of Buddhism's interpretation of the human psyche.

This work is intended to the study of the Yogacara Buddhist philosop[hy together with its commentaries and notes for better comprehensibility of the contents of three edited and translated texts, namely, Alambanapariksavrtti of Dignaga; the vimsatika Vijnaptimatratasiddhih of Vasubandhu and Trisvabhavakarika of Vasubandhu.

This is the story of fifth century CE India, when the Yogacarin Buddhists tested the awareness of unawareness, and became aware of human unawareness to an extraordinary degree. They not only explicitly differentiated this dimension of mental processes from conscious cognitive processes, but also offered reasoned arguments on behalf of this dimension of mind. This is the concept of the 'Buddhist unconscious', which arose just as philosophical discourse in other circles was fiercely debating the limits of conscious awareness, and these ideas in turn had developed as a systematisation of teachings from the Buddha himself. For us in the twenty-first century, these teachings connect in fascinating ways to the Western conceptions of the 'cognitive unconscious' which have been elaborated in the work of Jung and Freud. This important study reveals how the Buddhist unconscious illuminates and draws out aspects of current western thinking on the unconscious mind. One of the most intriguing connections is the idea that there is in fact no substantial 'self' underlying all mental activity; 'the thoughts themselves are the thinker'. William S. Waldron considers the implications of this radical notion, which, despite only recently gaining plausibility, was in fact first posited 2,500 years ago.

"Originally published in Chinese as Xin weishi lun by Zhejiang Provincial Library. This translation is based on the 2001 edition published by Hubei Education Press."

Is the world created by a divine creator? Or is it the constant product of karmic forces? The issue of creation was at the heart of the classic controversies between Buddhism and Hindu Theism. In modern times it can be found at the centre of many polemical debates between Buddhism and Christianity. Is this the principal barrier that separates Buddhism from Christianity and other theistic religions? The contributions to Part One explore the various aspects of traditional and contemporary Buddhist objections against the idea of a divine creator as well as Christian possibilities to meet the Buddhist critique. Part Two asks for the potential truth on both sides and suggests a surprising way that the barrier might be overcome. This opens a new round of philosophical and theological dialogue between these two major traditions with challenging insights for both. Contributors: José I. Cabezón, John P. Keenan, Armin Kreiner, Aasulv Lande, John D'Arcy May, Eva K. Neumaier, Perry Schmidt-Leukel, Ernst Steinkellner.

Derived from a Buddhist funerary text, this famous volume's timeless wisdom includes instructions for attaining enlightenment, preparing for the process of dying, and moving through the various stages of rebirth.