Dharmakīrti (fl. c. 6th or 7th century; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་; Wylie: ''chos kyi grags pa''), was an influential Indian Buddhist philosopher who worked at

Nālandā Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Dharmakirti
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy He was one of the key scholars of

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epis ...

( pramāṇa) in

Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combin ...

, and is associated with the

Yogācāra Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...

and Sautrāntika schools. He was also one of the primary theorists of

Buddhist atomism Buddhist atomism is a school of atomistic Buddhist philosophy that flourished on the Indian subcontinent during two major periods. During the first phase, which began to develop prior to the 6th century CE,Reginald Ray (1999), Buddhist Saints in ...

. His works influenced the scholars of Mīmāṃsā, Nyaya and Shaivism schools of

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson ( ...

as well as scholars of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

. Dharmakīrti's '' Pramāṇavārttika'', his largest and most important work, was very influential in India and Tibet as a central text on pramana ('valid knowledge instruments') and was widely commented on by various Indian and Tibetan scholars. His texts remain part of studies in the

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

History

Little is known for certain about the life of Dharmakirti. Tibetan hagiographies suggest he was a Brahmin born in South India and was the nephew of the Mīmāṃsā scholar

Kumārila Bhaṭṭa Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (fl. roughly 700) was a Hindu philosopher and a scholar of Mimamsa school of philosophy from early medieval India. He is famous for many of his various theses on Mimamsa, such as ''Mimamsaslokavarttika''. Bhaṭṭa was a ...

. When he was young, Kumārila spoke abusively towards Dharmakirti as he was taking his Brahminical garments. This led Dharmakirti to take the robes of the Buddhist order instead, resolving to "vanquish all the heretics." As a student of Buddhism, he first studied under Isvarasena, and later moved to Nalanda where he interacted with 6th century Dharmapala. However, the accuracy of the Tibetan hagiographies is uncertain, and scholars place him in the 7th-century instead. This is because of inconsistencies in different Tibetan and Chinese texts, and because it is around the middle of 7th-century, and thereafter, that Indian texts begin discussing his ideas, such as the citation of Dharmakirti verses in the works of

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

. Dharmakīrti is placed by most scholars to have lived between 600 and 660 CE, but a few place him earlier. Dharmakirti is credited with building upon the work of Dignāga, the pioneer of

Buddhist logic Buddhist logico-epistemology is a term used in Western scholarship for ''pramāṇa-vāda'' (doctrine of proof) and ''Hetu-vidya'' (science of causes). Pramāṇa-vāda is an epistemological study of the nature of knowledge; Hetu-vidya is a syste ...

, and Dharmakirti has ever since seen as influential in the Buddhist tradition. His theories became normative in Tibet and are studied to this day as a part of the basic monastic curriculum. The Tibetan tradition considers that Dharmakīrti was ordained as a Buddhist monk at

Nālandā Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Dharmapāla. In his writings we find the statement that no one will understand the value of his work and that his efforts would soon be forgotten, but history proved his fears wrong.

Philosophy

Historical context

The Buddhist works such as the '' Yogacarabhumi-sastra'' and the ''Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra'' composed before the 6th century, on ''hetuvidyā'' (logic, dialectics) are unsystematic, whose approach and structure are heresiological, proselytical and apologetic. Their aims were to defeat non-Buddhist opponents (

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

( Brahmanism),

, Ājīvikism, Charvaka ( materialists) and others), defend the ideas of Buddhism, develop a line of arguments that monks can use to convert those who doubt Buddhism and to strengthen the faith of Buddhists who begin to develop doubts. Around the middle of the 6th century, possibly to address the polemics of non-Buddhist traditions with their

pramana ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".Dignāga shifted the emphasis from dialectics to more systematic

and logic, retaining the heresiological and apologetic focus. Dharmakīrti followed in Dignāga footsteps, and is credited with systematic philosophical doctrines on Buddhist epistemology, which Vincent Eltschinger states, has "a full-fledged positive/direct apologetic commitment". Dharmakīrti lived during the collapse of the Gupta Empire, a time of great insecurity for Buddhist institutions. The role of Buddhist logic was seen as an intellectual defense against Hindu philosophical arguments formulated by epistemically sophisticated traditions like the Nyaya school. However, Dharmakīrti and his followers also held that the study of reasoning and its application was an important tool for soteriological ends.

Epistemology

Dharmakīrti's philosophy is based on the need to establish a theory of logical validity and certainty grounded in causality. Following Dignāga's ''Pramāṇasamuccaya'', Dharmakīrti also holds that there are only two instruments of knowledge or 'valid cognition' ('' pramāṇa''); "perception" ( pratyaksa) and "inference" ( anumāṇa). Perception is a non-conceptual knowing of particulars which is bound by causality, while inference is reasonable, linguistic and conceptual. In the ''Pramāṇavārttika'' Dharmakīrti defines a pramana as a "reliable cognition". What it means for a cognition to be reliable has been interpreted in different ways. Following commentators like Dharmottara, who define it as meaning that a cognition is able to lead to the obtaining of one's desired object, some modern scholars such as Jose I. Cabezon have interpreted Dharmakīrti as defending a form of

Pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

. Tillemans sees him as holding to a weak form of correspondence theory, which holds that to "confirm causal efficacy" (''arthakriyāsthiti'') is to have a justification that an object of cognition has the causal powers we expected. That justification comes through a certain kind of non-conceptual perception (''pratyakṣa'') which is said to be an "intrinsical source of knowledge" (''svataḥ prāmāṇya'') which is ultimately reliable. Dharmakīrti sees a cognition as being valid if it has a causal connection with the object of cognition through an intrinsically valid, un-conceptual perception of the object which does not err regarding its functionality. As Dharmakirti says: "A pramāṇa is a reliable cognition.

s for S, or s, is the nineteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphab ...

reliability, it consists in his cognition'scompliance with he object's capacity toperform a function" (''Pramāṇavārttika'' 2.1ac). Dharmakīrti also holds that there were certain extraordinary epistemic warrants, such as the words of the Buddha, who was said to be an authoritative/reliable person (''pramāṇapuruṣa'') as well as the 'inconceivable' perception of a yogi (''yogipratyakṣa''). On the role of scriptural authority, Dharmakīrti has a moderate and nuanced position. For Dharmakīrti, scripture (Buddhist or otherwise) is not a genuine and independent mean of valid cognition. He held that one should not use scripture to guide one on matters which can be decided by factual and rational means and that one is not to be faulted for rejecting unreasonable parts of the scriptures of one's school. However scripture is to be relied upon when dealing with "radically inaccessible things", such as the laws of karma and

soteriology Soteriology (; el, σωτηρία ' "salvation" from σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religion ...

. However, according to Dharmakīrti scripture is a fallible source of knowledge and has no claim to certainty.

Metaphysics

According to Buddhologist Tom Tillemans, Dharmakīrti's ideas constitute a

nominalist In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are at least two main versions of nominalism. One version denies the existence of universalsthings th ...

philosophy which disagrees with the

Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhi ...

philosophy, by asserting that some entities are real. Dharmakīrti states that the real is only the momentarily existing particulars (''svalakṣaṇa''), and any universal (''sāmānyalakṣaṇa'') is unreal and a fiction. He criticized the Nyaya theory of universals by arguing that since they have no causal efficacy, there is no rational reason to posit them. What is real must have powers (''śakti''), fitness (''yogyatā'') or causal properties which is what individuates a real particular as an object of perception. Dharmakīrti writes "whatever has causal powers (''arthakriyāsamartha''), that really exists (''paramārthasat'')." This theory of causal properties has been interpreted as a form of

trope theory Trope denotes figurative and metaphorical language and one which has been used in various technical senses. The term ''trope'' derives from the Greek τρόπος (''tropos''), "a turn, a change", related to the root of the verb τρέπειν (' ...

. ''Svalakṣaṇa'' are said to be part-less, undivided and property-less, and yet they impart a causal force which give rise to perceptual cognitions, which are direct reflections of the particulars. Dharmakīrti's ultimately real (''paramārthasat'') particulars are contrasted with conventionally real entities (''saṃvṛtisat'') as part of his presentation of the Buddhist Two truths doctrine. The conventionally real for him are based on linguistic categories, intellectual constructs and erroneous superimpositions on the flow of reality, such as the idea that universals exist. According to Dharmakīrti, cognitive distortion of the direct perception of particulars occurs during the process of recognition (''pratyabhijñāna'') and perceptual judgment (''niścaya'') which arises due to latent tendencies (''vāsanā'') in the mind left over from past impressions of similar perceptions. These latent dispositions come together into constructed representations of the previously experienced object at the moment of perception, and hence it is an imposed error on the real, a pseudo-perception (''pratyakṣābhāsa'') which conceals (''saṃvṛti'') reality while at the same time being practically useful for navigating it. Ignorance ('' avidyā'') for Dharmakīrti is conceptuality, pseudo-perception and superimposition overlaid on the naturally radiant (''prabhāsvara'') nature of pure perception. By correcting these defilements of perception through mental cultivation as well as using inference to gain "insight born of (rational) reflection" (''cintāmayī prajñā'') a Buddhist yogi is able to better see the true nature of reality until his perception is fully perfected. Dharmakīrti, again following Dignāga, also holds that that things as they are in themselves are "ineffable" (''avyapadeśya''). Language is never about the things in themselves, only about conceptual fictions, hence they are nominalists. Due to this theory, the main issue for Dharmakirti becomes how to explain that it is possible for our arbitrary and conventional linguistic schemas to refer to perceptual particulars which are ineffable and non conceptual. To explain this gap between conceptual schema and perceptual content, Dharmakirti takes up Dignaga's theory of "exclusion" (''apoha''). Dignāga's view is that "a word talks about entities only as they are qualified by the negation of other things." Dharmakīrti's unique take on this nominalist theory, which underlies his entire system, is to reinterpret it in terms of causal efficacy—''arthakriyā'' (which can also be translated as 'telic function', 'functionality', and 'fulfillment of purpose'). Dharmakīrti developed his philosophical system to defend Buddhist doctrines, so it is no surprise that he developed a number of arguments for

rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * ''The Re ...

, the Four Noble Truths, the authority of the Buddha,

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

, anatta and compassion as well as attacking Brahminical views such as the authority of the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

. Dharmakīrti also defended the Buddhist theory of momentariness (''kṣaṇikatva''), which held that dharmas spontaneously perish the moment they arise. Dharmakīrti came up with an argument for the theory which stated that since anything that really exists has a causal power, the fact that its causal power is in effect proves it is always changing. For Dharmakīrti, nothing could be a cause while remaining the same, and any permanent thing would be causally inert.

Philosophy of mind

Dharmakīrti defends Dignāga's theory of consciousness being non-conceptually reflexive (''svasamvitti'' or '' svasaṃvedana''). This is the idea that an act of intentional consciousness is also aware of itself as aware. Consciousness is said to illuminate itself like a lamp that illuminates objects in a room as well as itself. Dharmakīrti also defends the Yogācāra theory of "awareness-only" ('' vijñaptimātratā''), which held that 'external objects' of perception do not exist. According to Dharmakīrti, an object of cognition is not external or separate from the act of cognition itself. This is because the object is "necessarily experienced simultaneously with the cognition tself (''Pramāṇavārttika'' 3.387). The view that there is a duality (''dvaya'') between an object (''grāhya'') and a subjective cognition (''grāhaka'') arises out of ignorance. Dharmakīrti's ''Substantiation of Other Mindstreams'' (''Saṃtānāntarasiddhi'') is a treatise on the nature of the mindstream and Buddhist response to the

problem of other minds The problem of other minds is a philosophical problem traditionally stated as the following epistemological question: Given that I can only observe the behavior of others, how can I know that others have minds? The problem is that knowledge of ot ...

Dharmakirti held the mindstream to be beginning-less yet also described the mindstream as a temporal sequence, and that as there are no true beginnings, there are no true endings, hence, the "beginningless time" motif that is frequently used to describe the concept of mindstream.

Affiliation

There is disagreement among Indian and Tibetan doxographers as to how to categorise Dharmakīrti's thought. The

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

school asserts that he expressed Yogācāra views, most non-Gelug Tibetan commentators assert that he expressed Sautrāntika views and, according to one Tibetan source, a number of renowned later Indian Madhyamikas asserted that he expressed

views. Among modern scholars, some like Tillemans argue that Dharmakīrti represented the Yogācāra school, while Amar Singh argues that he was a Sautrāntika. For Christine Mullikin Keyt, Dharmakīrti represents a "synthesis of two schools of Indian Buddhism, the Sautrantika and the Yogacara." Likewise, Dan Arnold argues that Dharmakīrti's alternating philosophical perspectives of Sautrāntika and Yogācāra views are ultimately compatible and are applied at different levels of his 'sliding scale of analysis.' There is also a tendency to see Dignāga and Dharmakīrti as founding a new type of Buddhist school or tradition, which is known in Tibetan as "those who follow reasoning" () and sometimes is known in modern literature as ''pramāṇavāda''.

Writings and commentaries

Dharmakīrti is credited with the following major works: *''Saṃbandhaparikṣhāvrtti'' (Analysis of Relations) *''Pramāṇaviniścaya'' (Ascertainment of Valid Cognition) *'' Pramāṇavārttika-kārika'' (Commentary on Dignāga's ''Pramāṇasamuccaya'' 'Compendium of Valid Cognition') *''Pramāṇavārttikasvavrtti'' (Auto-commentary on the above text) *''Nyāyabinduprakaraṇa'' (Drop of Logic) *''Hetubindunāmaprakaraṇa'' (Drop of Reason) *''Saṃtānāntarasiddhināmaprakaraṇa'' (Proof of Others' Mindstreams) *''Vādanyāyanāmaprakaraṇa'' (Reasoning for Debate) There are various commentaries by later thinkers on Dharmakīrti, the earliest commentators are the Indian scholars Devendrabuddhi (ca. 675 C E.) and Sakyabuddhi (ca. 700 C.E.). Other Indian commentators include Karṇakagomin, Prajñākaragupta, Manorathanandin, Ravigupta and

Śaṅkaranandana Śaṅkaranandana (fl. c. 9th or 10th century), (Tibetan: ''Bde byed dga’ ba)'' was a Mahayana Buddhist philosopher, and a brahmin lay devotee (upāsaka) active in Kashmir in the epistemological (''pramana'') tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakīrt ...

. He was extremely influential in Tibet, where Phya pa Chos kyi Seng ge (1182-1251) wrote the first summary of his works, called "Clearing of Mental Obscuration with Respect to the Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition" (''tshad ma sde bdun yid gi mun sel'').

Sakya Pandita Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (Tibetan: ས་སྐྱ་པཎ་ཌི་ཏ་ཀུན་དགའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, ) (1182 – 28 November 1251) was a Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar and the fourth of the Five S ...

wrote the "Treasure on the Science of Valid Cognition" (''tshad ma rigs gter'') and interpreted Dharmakirti as an anti-realist against Phya pa's realism.Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and its Tibetan Interpretations, (Suny: 1997), page 23-24 These two main interpretations of Dharmakīrti became the foundation for most debates in Tibetan epistemology.

References

Bibliography

* extensive discussion of the Dharmakirti's Tibetan reception * * * Pecchia, C. (ed., with the assistance of Pierce P.). (2015). ''Dharmakīrti on the Cessation of Suffering. A Critical Edition with Translation and Comments of Manorathanandin's Vṛtti and Vibhūticandraʼs Glosses on Pramāṇavārttika II.190-216''. Leiden, Brill. * Shcherbatskoy, Fyodor (1932) ''Buddhist Logic'', introduced the West to Buddhist logic, and more specifically to Dignaga. Although pioneering, this work is now regarded as outdated by some Buddhist scholars. —

David Loy David Robert Loy (born 1947) is an American scholar, author and authorized teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

complains about viewing Buddhist philosophy "through the categories of another system – Stcherbatsky's Kant, Murti's Vedānta, Gudmundsen's Wittgenstein – which (as with earlier interpretations of nirvāṇa) reveals more about the interpreter than the interpreted." (). *

External links

* {{Authority control 7th-century Indian philosophers 7th-century Indian writers Atheist philosophers Atomists 7th-century Buddhists Buddhist logic Buddhist writers Idealists Indian Buddhists Indian scholars of Buddhism Indian logicians Srivijaya Writers from Bihar Yogacara scholars Scholars from Bihar Monks of Nalanda