Nikāya Buddhism and Early Chan - A Different Meditative Paradigm - Grzegorz Polak
The World of Experience
Nikāya Buddhism and Early Chan - A Different Meditative Paradigm - Grzegorz Polak
Grzegorz Polak [+]
Maria Curie Skłodowska University
Description
Chapter 3 attempts to reconstruct specific views about the nature of reality, experience and language present in Nikāya and early Chan texts. It argues that many of these texts imply an anti-realist view that the world, as we experience it, does not exist independently of our cognitive activities. The character of some of its supposedly most fundamental and objective elements and features is in fact a reflection of our cognitive structure and mental processes. The final part of the chapter considers the relation of phenomenal consciousness to noumenal reality. It argues that the former is heavily interpreted and constructed by various processes and thus its content is not a faithful reflection of the latter. It also argues that some of the constitutive features of saṃsāra responsible for suffering are only relevant within the sphere of phenomenal consciousness.