91-97. He also used the metaphor of a house of mirrors. "[33], This argument is famously expounded in the Antmalakaa Stra. Buddhism includes an analysis of human psychology, emotion, cognition, behavior and motivation along with therapeutic practices. The Buddha of the earliest Buddhists texts describes Dharma (in the sense of "truth") as "beyond reasoning" or "transcending logic", in the sense that reasoning is a subjectively introduced aspect of the way unenlightened humans perceive things, and the conceptual framework which underpins their cognitive process, rather than a feature of things as they really are. The net is set with jewels which have the extraordinary property that they reflect all of the other jewels, while the reflections also contain every other reflection, ad infinitum. However, ultimately each dhamma (particular phenomenon) is not a singular independent existence. In these sutras, the perfection of the wisdom of not-self is stated to be the true self (atman). In this way, Western philosophies can be classified in Buddhist terms as eternalist or nihilist. [151], The 19th century saw the rise of the Rim movement (non-sectarian, unbiased) which sought to push back against the politically dominant Gelug school's criticisms of the Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Bon philosophical views, and develop a more eclectic or universal system of textual study. Sh hifng, "Dependent Origination=Emptiness"Ngrjuna's Innovation? Y. Karunadasa, The Dhamma Theory, Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma, 1996, pages 38-39, Y. Karunadasa, The Theravada Abhidhamma, 2016, pages 42, 49, Ronkin, Noa, "Abhidharma", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed. [142] The Shentong philosophy was also expounded in Tibet and Mongolia by the later Jonang scholar Trantha (15751634) and numerous later figures of the Jonang tradition. (from the introduction). His Benkenmitsu nikkyron (Treatise on the Differences Between Esoteric and Exoteric Teachings) outlines the difference between exoteric, mainstream Mahayana Buddhism (kengy) and esoteric Tantric Buddhism (mikky). "[156] Furthermore, according to Huayan thought, each mind creates its own world "according to their mental patterns", and "these worlds are infinite in kind" and constantly arising and passing away. From good deeds come good results. The first is known as Indra's net. [156] In Tiantai thought, ultimate reality is simply the very phenomenal world of interconnected events or dharmas. [153], The later Nyingma scholar Botrul (18941959) classified the major Tibetan Madhyamaka positions as shentong (other emptiness), Nyingma rangtong (self emptiness) and Gelug bdentong (emptiness of true existence). Why not? [2], Scholarly opinion varies as to whether Gautama Buddha himself was engaged in philosophical inquiry. [91] In the Mlamadhyamakakrik, Nagarjuna relies on reductio ad absurdum arguments to refute various theories which assume svabhava (an inherent essence or "own being"), dravya (substances) or any theory of existence (bhava). [94] The central feature of Yogcra thought is the concept of vijapti-mtra, often translated as "impressions only" or "appearance only". These institutions became major centers of philosophical learning in North India (where both Buddhist and also non-Buddhist thought was studied and debated). In Japan, Huayan is known as Kegon and one of its major proponents was Mye, who also introduced Tantric practices. The Yogcra school (Yoga practice) was a Buddhist philosophical tradition which arose in between the 2nd century CE and the 4th century CE and is associated with the philosophers and brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu and with various sutras such as the Sandhinirmocana Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra. Buddhist ethics have been termed eudaimonic (with their goal being well-being) and also compared to virtue ethics (this approach began with Damien Keown). [56] The Dharma is like a raft in the sense that it is only a pragmatic tool for attaining nirvana ("for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto", MN 22); once one has done this, one can discard the raft. [7][8], Edward Conze splits the development of Indian Buddhist philosophy into three phases:[9]. )", http://www.acmuller.net/yogacara/articles/intro.html, "Limiting the Scope of the Neither-One-Nor-Many Argument: The Nirkravdin's Defense of Consciousness and Pleasure", The Significance Of 'Tathagatagarbha' -- A Positive Expression Of 'Sunyata', https://tiblit.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/germano_aartiblit2012_combined.pdf, "Zung 'jug - Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary", http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2014/entries/kukai/, http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ADM/hoffman.htm, https://www.lionsroar.com/a-modern-man-in-old-tibet/, Robert Ellis A Buddhist theory of moral objectivity (Ph.D. thesis), "The dating of the historical Buddha: a review article", 2500 Years of Buddhism by Prof. P.Y. . Bapat (1956), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buddhist_philosophy&oldid=1163434159, The second phase concerns non-Mahayana "scholastic" Buddhism, as evident in the. Kalupahana, David; A history of Buddhist philosophy, continuities and discontinuities, p. 206. Baruch Spinoza, though he argued for the existence of a permanent reality, asserts that all phenomenal existence is transitory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [156] The first two are the universal and the particular, the third is the interpenetration of universal and particular, and the fourth is the interpenetration of all particulars. Two truths doctrine - Wikipedia [108] This hybrid school eventually went on to equate the tathgatagarbha with the pure aspect of the storehouse consciousness. Williams, Paul; Tribe, Anthony; Wynne, Alexander; Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, 2011, p. 36. Likewise, Buddhist approaches to economic ethics (Buddhist economics) have been explored in the works of E. F. Schumacher,[170] Prayudh Payutto, Neville Karunatilake and Padmasiri de Silva. [134], Another very influential figure from this early period is Mabja Jangchub Tsndr (d. 1185), who wrote an important commentary on Nagarjuna's Mlamadhyamakakrik. Mipham argued that the view of the middle way is Unity (zung 'jug), meaning that from the ultimate perspective the duality of sentient beings and Buddhas is also dissolved. Damien Keown, The Nature of Buddhist Ethics, 1992. Ngrjuna was one of the most influential Indian Mahayana thinkers. From about the 1st century BCE, a new textual tradition began to arise in Indian Buddhist thought called Mahyna (Great Vehicle), which would slowly come to dominate Indian Buddhist philosophy. His work is influenced by the philosophy of Candrakirti and Dharmakirti. The Bodhisattva is someone who chooses to remain in samsara (the cycle of birth and death) to benefit all other beings who are suffering. [29] His theory posits a flux of events arising under certain conditions which are interconnected and dependent, such that the processes in question at no time are considered to be static or independent. [b] In this Buddhist text, as well as in the Soatt Stra, the Buddha outlines six wrong views about self: "There are six wrong views: An unwise, untrained person may think of the body, 'This is mine, this is me, this is my self'; he may think that of feelings; of perceptions; of volitions; or of what has been seen, heard, thought, cognized, reached, sought or considered by the mind. This philosophical tradition is influential in Tibetan Buddhist thought. Note: This category should be empty. This means then, that the self could never desire to change itself and could not do so; another reason for this is that, besides Buddhism, in the orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy the unchanging ultimate self (tman) is perfectly blissful and does not suffer. Focusing less on scripture and sutra study than other traditions, Zen places a great importance on the cultivation of mental . Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892) and Jamgn Kongtrl (1813-1899) were the founders of Rim. The third truth was explained by the metaphor of a golden lion: the gold is the universal and the particular is the shape and features of the lion. The Buddha taught the famous "Four Noble Truths" and "Eightfold Path," which allows people to achieve enlightenment. In Sri Lanka, Buddhist modernists such as Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933) and the American convert Henry Steel Olcott sought to show that Buddhism was rational and compatible with modern Scientific ideas such as the theory of evolution. Brunnholzl, Karl; Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature, p. 107. Emmanuel, Steven M (editor); A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy, 2013, p. 223. If people carried off the grass, sticks, branches, and leaves in this Jeta Grove, or burned them, or did what they liked with them, would you think: 'People are carrying us off or burning us or doing what they like with us'?" Gautama Buddha, however, realized that the mind was embodied and causally dependent on the body, and therefore that a malnourished body did not allow the mind to be trained and developed. [132][133] The main disagreement between these views is the use of reasoned argument. This unpleasantness is said to be not just physical pain and psychological distress, but also a kind of existential unease caused by the inevitable facts of our mortality and ultimately by the impermanence of all beings and phenomena. Also during the Kamakura period, the founder of Soto Zen, Dogen (12001253), wrote many works on the philosophy of Zen, and the Shobogenzo is his magnum opus. Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh; An Introduction to Buddhist Esoterism, p. 66. The Noble Eightfold Path - Buddhist beliefs - Edexcel - BBC [] If this fact is overlooked, as often happens as a result of the propensity engendered by formal Occidental philosophy to consider the philosophical enterprise as a purely descriptive one, the real significance of Indian and Buddhist philosophy will be missed. In Tibet, philosophers such as Sakya Pandita (1182-281251), Longchenpa (13081364) and Tsongkhapa (13571419) continued the tradition of Buddhist Tantric philosophy in Classical Tibetan. [118], According to some scholars, tathgatagarbha does not represent a substantial self; rather, it is a positive language expression of emptiness and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as: (1) to lead a moral life, (2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and (3) to develop wisdom and understanding. Category. [36][37][42] The historical Buddha also held that understanding and seeing the truth of non-self led to un-attachment, and hence to the cessation of suffering, while ignorance (avidy) about the true nature of personality (praja) led to further suffering and attachment. . Furthermore, in the Klma Sutta the Buddha tells a group of confused villagers that the only proper reason for one's beliefs is verification in one's own personal experience (and the experience of the wise) and denies any verification which stems from a personal authority, sacred tradition (anussava), or any kind of rationalism which constructs metaphysical theories (takka). Zen is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that emphasizes simplicity, present-moment awareness, nonduality, nonconceptual understanding, and zazen ("just sitting") meditationthe tradition's most important practice. [74], The Theravdins and other schools, such as the Sautrntikas ("those who follow the sutras"), often attacked the theories of the Sarvstivdins, especially their theory of time. A later development is the rise of a syncretic tradition of Yogcra-tathgatagarbha thought. Grades 5 - 8 Subjects Religion, Social Studies, Storytelling Image Longchenpa (13081364) was a major philosopher of the Nyingma school and wrote an extensive number of works on the Tibetan practice of Dzogchen and on Buddhist Tantra. [66] Some Abhidharmikas such as the Prajaptivda were also strict nominalists, and held that all things - even dharmas - were merely conceptual. In the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta, the historical Buddha stated that thinking about these imponderable issues led to "a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views". Tsongkhapa argued that, because svatantrika conventionally establishes things by their own characteristics, they fail to completely understand the emptiness of phenomena and hence do not achieve the same realization. The three truths are: the conventional truth of appearance, the truth of emptiness and the third truth of 'the exclusive Center' ( danzhong) or middle way, which is beyond conventional truth and emptiness. Buddhism and psychology - Wikipedia According to Mark Siderits: "What the Buddhist has in mind is that on one occasion one part of the person might perform the executive function, on another occasion another part might do so. The central Buddhist idea is that solving the problem in a sustainable way involves forming and executing a plan in light of how the world really is. In the West, Comparative philosophy between Buddhist and Western thought began with the work of Charles A. Moore, who founded the journal Philosophy East and West. What is Buddhism? Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: "Awakened One"), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries bce (before the Common Era). According to the Buddha, the Dharma is not an ultimate end in itself or an explanation of all metaphysical reality, but a pragmatic set of teachings. 2000. Buddhists follow the teachings of a man called Siddhattha Gotama. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. It gives Buddhists a path they can follow to end suffering. A Basic Buddhism Guide: 5 Minute Introduction - BuddhaNet The foundation of this argument is purely empiricist, for it is based on the fact that all we observe is subject to change, especially everything observed when looking inwardly in meditation. Candrakrti, on the other hand, critiqued Bhvaviveka's adoption of the epistemological (pramana) tradition on the grounds that it contained subtle essentialism. Inter-subjective reality for Vasubandhu is then the causal interaction between various mental streams and their karma, and does not include any external physical objects. (2011). By implication, reasoning and argument shouldn't be disparaged by Buddhists. A Basic Buddhism Guide: What is Buddhism? - BuddhaNet The Five Precepts - Buddhist beliefs - Edexcel - BBC [164], In 20th-century China, the modernist Taixu (1890-1947) advocated a reform and revival of Buddhism. Buddha taught that positive actions build up one's karma, while negative ones detract from it. The main topic of this genre of literature is the tathgata-garbha, which can mean the womb or embryo of a Tathgata (i.e. Dating these texts is difficult, and there is disagreement on how much of this material goes back to a single religious founder. do not matter in the act of removing and curing the arrow wound itself (removing suffering). However, the important word here is intentionally: for the Buddha, karma is nothing else but intention/volition, and hence unintentionally harming someone does not create bad karmic results. He promoted an idea of a Buddhist Pure Land, not as a metaphysical place in Buddhist cosmology but as something possible to create here and now in this very world, which could be achieved through a "Buddhism for Human Life" (Chinese: ; pinyin: rnshng fjio) which was free of supernatural beliefs. to be similar to Buddhism today. After the Buddha's death, some Buddhists such as Dharmakirti went on to use the sayings of the Buddha as sound evidence equal to perception and inference.[c]. Buddhism is a set of methods that helps us to develop our full human potential by understanding the true nature of reality. This page was last edited on 4 July 2023, at 21:21. [104][105] The epistemology they developed defends the view that there are only two 'instruments of knowledge' or 'valid cognitions' (pramana): "perception" (pratyaksa) and "inference" (anuma). This work is the major Abhidharma text used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism today. Founded 2,500 years ago in India by Siddhartha Gautama - better known as Buddha - Buddhism spread throughout Asia and is now the world's fourth largest religion. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Craving (tah), for example, is always dependent on, and caused by sensations gained by the sense organs (yatana). Other names for the Yogcra school are 'vijanavada' (the doctrine of consciousness) and 'cittamatra' (mind-only).[94]. Dreyfus, Georges B. J. Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations (Suny Series in Buddhist Studies), 1997, p. 22. Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 183, Garfield, Jay; Edelglass, William; The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy, p. 213, Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 147, Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 149, Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 156, Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 158, Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 176, Siderits, Mark, Buddhism as philosophy, pp. [18] A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that the Theravdin Majjhima Nikya and the Sarvstivdin Madhyama gama contain mostly the same major Buddhist doctrines. Relation between Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism, endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, Only knowledge that is useful in attaining liberation, deep understanding of the nature of reality, constantly changing processes which include volitional events, various sets of valid justifications for knowledge, empirical observation through the six sense fields, his disciples and early followers of Buddhism, whether the universe is eternal or non-eternal, Buddhist_logico-epistemology The_Dignga-Dharmakrti_tradition, Similarities between Pyrrhonism and Buddhism, "Part I: Buddhist Traditions Chapter 2: The Buddhist Ethos", http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/phil551854.pdf, Center for the Study of Language and Information, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.022.than.html, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.048.than.html, https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/kk3n/80-300/kalupahana1969.pdf, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.023.than.html. [149] For Longchenpa, the ground of reality is luminous emptiness, rigpa ("knowledge"), or buddha nature, and this ground is also the bridge between sutra and tantra. Arising in India in the 1st century ce, it spread to Central Asia, China, Japan, mainland Southeast Asia, Java, Sumatra, and even Sri Lanka. 352353. Salomon, Richard (20 January 2020). In the "Discourse to Prince Abhaya" (MN.I.3924) the Buddha states this pragmatic maxim by saying that a belief should only be accepted if it leads to wholesome consequences. The Buddha's ethics are based on the soteriological need to eliminate suffering and on the premise of the law of karma. D. Germano, The Tantric Philosophical Prose and Poetry of Longchenpa, Religion and the Literary in Tibet, AAR, 7 November 2012. The main difference between them is their "object of negation"; shengtong states that inauthentic experience is empty, rangtong negates any conceptual reference and bdentong negates any true existence.[154]. We need a bearer to support the notion of moral responsibility, which is a constitutive element of their theory of karma and rebirth. Other Chinese Madhymakas include Kumrajva 's pupil Sengzhao, Jizang (549623), who wrote over 50 works on Madhyamaka, and Hyegwan, a Korean monk who brought Madhyamaka teachings to Japan. [76] This controversial claim was in contrast to the other Buddhists of the time who held that a personality was a mere conceptual construction (prajapti) and only conventionally real. [95] The fact that purely mental events can have causal efficacy and be intersubjective is proved by the event of a wet dream and by the mass or shared hallucinations created by the karma of certain types of beings. The Four Noble Truths or "Truths of the Noble One" are a central feature to the teachings of the historical Buddha and are put forth in the Dharmacakrapravartana Stra. Hence, from a pragmatic point of view, it is best to abstain from these negative actions which bring forth negative results. Later Sakyas such as Gorampa (14291489) and Sakya Chokden (14281507) would develop and defend Sakya anti-realism, and they are seen as the major interpreters and critics of Sakya Pandita's philosophy. [138] This view holds that all relative phenomena are empty of inherent existence, but that the ultimate reality, the buddha-wisdom (buddha jana) is not empty of its own inherent existence. Since the time of its start, Buddhism has had a firm philosophical element. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Instead, an enlightened person would just work to end suffering tout court, without thinking of the conventional concept of persons. [99], Yogcra thinkers also developed a positive account of ultimate reality based on three basic modes or "natures" (svabhva). Fazang introduced the distinction of "the Realm of Principle" and "the Realm of Things". Perception is a non-conceptual awareness of particulars which is bound by causality, while inference is reasonable, linguistic and conceptual.[106]. Kalupahana, David; A history of Buddhist philosophy, continuities and discontinuities, p. 128. [136] Sakya Pandita was also critical of theories of sudden awakening, which were held by some teachers of the "Chinese Great Perfection" in Tibet. (PDF) Buddhism's core philosophy and principles - ResearchGate By this time Indian Tantric scholars were developing philosophical defenses, hermeneutics and explanations of the Buddhist tantric systems, especially through commentaries on key tantras such as the Guhyasamja Tantra, Mahavairocana sutra, and the Guhyagarbha Tantra. For these thinkers, the only thing which is real is a pure self-aware consciousness which is contentless (nirkra, without images).[112][113]. Norman and Richard Gombrich, the Buddha extended his non-self critique to the Brahmanical belief expounded in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that the unchanging ultimate self (tman) was indeed the whole world, or identical with Brahman. This view was promoted by Shenhui and is a central issue discussed in the Platform Sutra, a key Chan scripture composed in China. [50] In the Tevijja Sutta (DN 13), the Buddha rejects the personal authority of Brahmins because none of them can prove they have had personal experience of Brahman, nor could any of them prove its existence. 117-118, Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, p. 105. . Sakya Pandita (11821251) was a 13th-century head of the Sakya school and ruler of Tibet. Philosophy (Buddhism) | SpringerLink [2][4] One recurrent theme in Buddhist philosophy has been the desire to find a Middle Way between philosophical views seen as extreme. A major figure in this argument was the scholar Vasubandhu, a Sarvstivdin monk himself (who was also influenced by the critiques of the Sautrantika school), who critiqued the theory of all exists and argued for philosophical presentism in his comprehensive treatise, the Abhidharmakoa. In this sense, the Buddha was often called "the great physician" because his goal was to cure the human condition of suffering first and foremost, not to speculate about metaphysics.[57]. Buddhism beliefs and philosophy, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, is a branch of Eastern philosophy. Jayatilleke, K. N.; Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, pp. Buddhism as philosophy, 2007, p. 33. 125126. Buddhist thought in India: Three phases of Buddhist philosophy. "[77] Karunadasa also describes the Theravada system as a "critical realism" which sees the ultimate existents as the myriad irreducible dhammas, and which also accepts the existence of an external world with entities that truly exist independently of cognition (as opposed to Mahayana forms of idealism). An Examination of the Early and Mainstream Sectarian Textual Sources, Skilton, Andrew. 2534, E. F. Schumacher, "Buddhist economics" (1973), McMahan, David L. 2008. In his opinion sorrow is conquered "by finding an object of knowledge which is not transient, not ephemeral, but is immutable, permanent, everlasting." This immanent presence also means that every being already has access to the liberated state (hongaku) and Buddha nature, and that, because of this, there is the possibility of "becoming Buddha in this very embodied existence" (sokushinjbutsu). As Alfred NorthWhitehead suggests, Buddhism is a metaphysic generating a religion, whereasChristianity has always been a religion seeking a metaphysic (Religion in the Mak-ing[Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1930], pp.39-40). Thus there arises the extra-mundane non-conceptual cognition that is alike without object and without cognizer. However, every atom of the world contains the whole text within it. This theory was further developed by Cheng-guan (738839) into the major Huayan thesis of "the fourfold Dharmadhatu" (dharma realm): the Realm of Principle, the Realm of Things, the Realm of the Noninterference between Principle and Things, and the Realm of the Noninterference of All Things. In earliest Buddhism, the concept of dependent origination (prattya-samutpda) was most likely limited to processes of mental conditioning and not to all physical phenomena. Are you a beginner at Buddhism? If the self existed it would be the part of the person that performs the executive function, the "controller.". A Concise History of Buddhism. Buddhists strive for a deep insight into the true nature of life and do not worship gods or deities. The Abhidharmic project has been likened as a form of phenomenology or process philosophy. An important issue in Chan is that of subitism or "sudden awakening", the idea that insight happens all at once in a flash of insight. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon. Buddhism - Wikipedia [68] Vaibhika remained an influential school in North India during the medieval period. In a Buddhist view, all philosophies are considered non-essential views (ditthis) and not to be clung to. BBC - Religion: Buddhism He wrote on a wide variety of topics such as public policy, language, the arts, literature, music and religion. This metaphysical doctrine is central to their view of the ultimate and to their understanding of the doctrine of emptiness (nyat). [63] According to this argument, anyone who is selfish does so out of ignorance of the true nature of personal identity and irrationality. They attacked Hindu theories of God (Isvara), universals, the authority of the Vedas, and the existence of a permanent soul (atman). Where there is nothing to be grasped, the absence of a grasper also follows, there is not just the absence of the thing to be grasped. In this interpretation, the intention of the teaching of tathgatagarbha is soteriological rather than metaphysical.[115][119]. At the foundation of Kkai's thought is the Trikaya doctrine, which holds there are three "bodies of the Buddha". Ngrjuna asserted a direct connection between, even identity of, dependent origination, non-self (anatta), and emptiness (nyat). Another important feature of the Mahsghika tradition was its unique theory of consciousness. With about 500 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the major. I Am Your Target Demographic 94K subscribers Subscribe 1.1M views 3 years ago Let's dive into the Buddhism religion and see what they believe, how. By passion the world is bound, by passion too it is released, but by heretical Buddhists, this practice of reversals is not known. Wayman, Alex; The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism, 2013, p. 3. [162] Kkai provided the theoretical framework for the esoteric Buddhist practices of Mantrayana, bridging the gap between the doctrine of the sutras and tantric practices. 208-209. There are various reasons the Buddha gave as to why someone should be ethical. Siderits, Mark; Buddhism as philosophy, pp. Buddhism is variously understood as a religion, a philosophy, or a set of beliefs and practices based on the teachings of the Buddha, or "Awakened One"the title given to the Indian spiritual seeker Siddhartha Gautama after he attained enlightenment more than 2,600 years ago. Other key figures of Tiantai thought are Zhanran (711782) and Siming Zhili (9601028). Various metaphors and images are used to illustrate this idea. The Kamakura Period (11851333) also saw another flurry of intellectual activity. Attention must first of all be drawn to the fact that philosophical systems in India were seldom, if ever, purely speculative or descriptive. Gelug philosophy is based upon the study of Madhyamaka texts and Tsongkhapa's works as well as formal debate (rtsod pa). Emmanuel, Steven M. Tsongkhapa's solution to this dilemma was the promotion of the use of inferential reasoning only within the conventional realm of the two truths framework, allowing for the use of reason for ethics, conventional monastic rules and promoting a conventional epistemic realism,[145] while holding that, from the view of ultimate truth (paramarthika satya), all things (including Buddha nature and Nirvana) are empty of inherent existence (svabhava), and that true liberation is this realization of emptiness.