Continuity and Change according to Hindu and Buddhist Religious Philosophies

Dear Colleagues,

In classic Hindu or Brahmanic and Buddhist (as well as Jain and other Asian) philosophies, a great weight is placed on the epistemology and ontology or metaphysics of whether there are continuities amidst change in our temporal situation. Such ostensible constancies may be a universal Self or different selves, God, reliable verbal testimony, recognition and other epistemic syntheses, physical objects, universals and other qualities, relations, actions, principles of action, and so on. In general, the great variety of Hindu philosophies have claimed that one or the other of these identify genuine epistemological and ontological continuities. In accordance with their teachings of impermanence (anitya) and dependent origination (pratītyasamutpada), Buddhist philosophies in diverse ways have endeavored to “analyze away” such continuities into transitory facts and/or logical problems, although Buddhists have their own ways of explaining the reliability of the teachings of the Buddha(s). These debates also have religious significance. Hindu traditions have endeavored to realize, or somehow know or utilize, one or more continuities in their quest for liberation or heaven. Buddhist philosophers, excluding representatives of Pure Land or other adherents of an enduring Self, have likewise endeavored ultimately to relinquish attachment to ostensible continuities in their pursuits of nirvāṇa or bodhi. In their understanding of their goal, Buddhists have often been hesitant to ascribe continuity even to the liberative realization. There is minimal or no comprehensible “referent” to their terms for liberation.

This journal Issue will present original, constructive research on Hindu and Buddhist arguments about various alleged continuit(y/ies), as well as the religious significance of these contentions for each tradition. The meaning of this research will be generalized in two ways. First, the position originally propounded will be presented as exemplifying a more common stance toward their respective Hindu or Buddhist opponents. For example, Dharmakīrti and allies continue the Abhidharma search for elemental dharmas in their theorization on svalakṣaṇas, whereas Hindu philosophers repudiate such analysis and argue for the self-evidence and/or supporting evidence of the existence of enduring objects, the Self, and so on. The Hindus and Buddhists view their arguments as variously facilitating their respective pursuits for liberation, while their opponents find them to be threatening to their own.

Second, the authors will also generalize the significance of Hindu and Buddhist positions in considering their value for contemporary global philosophy, and other relevant fields of knowledge. The authors will also suggest the significance of these positions for contemporary religious or “spiritual” pursuits. It is additionally reasonable to argue that the debate about continuity and change is not philosophically or religiously significant. Thus, we will endeavor to understand traditional philosophical wisdom in both its traditional and contemporary dialogical and agonistic contexts. The importance of this journal Issue will consist of bringing these arguments into focus as a traditional and contemporary theme.

Since the pioneering work of scholars such as Bimal Krishna Matilal in South Asia, the Kyoto school in Japan, and others, there have been serious philosophical dialogues between Asian cultures and the contemporary academy. That academy is likewise gradually becoming less and less dominated by the West. In much scholarship, there has further been increasing attention paid to the relation of philosophical arguments to religion. The invited scholars are leaders in the intercultural philosophical and religious interpretation of Asian philosophies. They promise to bring cutting-edge insights into one of the most fundamental issues of human life.

Prof. Dr. David Peter Lawrence
Guest Editor

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