Loading...
Candrakīrti on the use and misuse of the Chariot argument
Jones, Dhivan Thomas
Jones, Dhivan Thomas
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
Affiliation
EPub Date
Publication Date
2023-06-15
Submitted Date
Collections
Files
Loading...
Article - VoR
Adobe PDF, 925.55 KB
Other Titles
Abstract
The publication in 2015 (ed. Li) of Chapter 6 of the rediscovered Sanskrit text of Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra (MA) allows us to witness more directly Candrakīrti’s careful and deliberate critique of the ‘chariot argument’ for the merely conventional existence of the self in Indian Abhidharmic thought. I argue that in MA 6.140–141, Candrakīrti alludes to the use of the chariot argument in the Milindapañha as negating only the view of a permanent self (compared to an elephant), rather than negating ego-identification (compared to a snake in its hole). In contrast to this misuse of the chariot argument, in MA 6.150–165 Candrakīrti uses the chariot argument as an allegory to enable the meditator to refute the basis of ego-identification in seven ways. Candrakīrti’s use of the chariot argument does not establish any theory about the self or not-self, but acts as a guide to meditation as part of philosophy as a spiritual practice with the goal of liberation.
Citation
Jones, D. T. (2023). Candrakīrti on the use and misuse of the chariot argument. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 51(4), 453–472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-023-09544-6
Publisher
Springer
Journal
Journal of Indian Philosophy
Research Unit
DOI
10.1007/s10781-023-09544-6
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
Description
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0022-1791
EISSN
1573-0395