Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths
The important Buddhist doctrine of the two truths—conventional truths and ultimate truths—is the subject of this book. It examines how the doctrine evolved within early Buddhism from efforts to make sense of contradictions within the collected sayings of the Buddha. The two truths, however, came to refer not primarily to statements or language, but to the realities to which statements or language referred. As such, the doctrine of the two truths became one through which Buddhist philosophers...
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The doctrine of the two truths--conventional and ultimate--evolved as early Buddhists struggled to reconcile apparent contradictions within the collected sayings of the Buddha. Understood as a teaching on reality as opposed to merely a linguistic distinction.
Introduction7Ancient Indian Speculation on Language and Reality11The Beginnings of Grammar11Philosophical and Religious Issues Connected to Grammar13Early Buddhist Views on Language, Truth, and Interpretation19Denying the Preeminence of Any Particular Language19Searching for the Final Doctrine21Collecting and Standardizing the Teaching23The Growth of the Abhidharma25The Buddha's Word31The Truth behind the Multitude of Forms31The Buddha's Ultimate Word and Ultimate Truth37Definitive Sutras and Those Whose Meaning Must Be Drawn Out45The Quest for Interpretive Clarity47Two Truths55Statements or Objects? Existent or Nonexistent?55Two Truths and Four Truths62The Vaibhasika School and the Two Truths66A Gelukpa Presentation of the Two Truths in the "Sravaka" Schools85Acknowledgements133Abbreviations134Bibliography135Notes153Index173
