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pramāṇa
pramāṇa (Skt.). The Indian science concerned with epistemology as well as logic and the methods of debate. As Buddhist scholars encountered and entered into polemical discussions with other Indian religious groups, it became necessary for them to standardize the rules and methods of debate. From this developed a formal system of logic based on syllogisms which was acceptable to all parties in order to decide the outcome of such debates. The earliest sources within Buddhism for such rules seem to be found in portions of Asaṅga's Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra and a work extant only in Chinese attributed to Vasubandhu. These early works were followed by the epoch-making Pramāṇa-samuccaya of Dignāga and the Pramāṇa-vārttika of Dharmakīrti. According to Buddhist pramāṇa tenets, there are only two valid and authoritative means of veridical cognition: direct perception (pratyakṣa) based on the senses; and inference (anumāṇa) based on rationality and logic. These two topics form the major concerns of Buddhist pramāṇa literature. Buddhist pramāṇa made a major impact on all other Indian schools of religious philosophy and its influence continued to be felt even after the demise of Buddhism in India in the early medieval period. Though introduced into China, it did not achieve any great popularity there whereas it has continued to be studied with considerable fervour among Tibetan Buddhist circles, especially by the Gelukpas.
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "pramāṇa." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "pramāṇa." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-prama.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "pramāṇa." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-prama.html |
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Pramāṇa
Pramāṇa (Skt., ‘measure’, ‘authority’).
1. In Hinduism, proof, the means for attaining true knowledge. 2. In Buddhism generally, a school of thought established by Dignāga. In its more technical sense, however, pramāṇa refers to differing means of knowledge. The Pramāṇa school appears to have centred on Nālandā; its other important exponent, a pupil of Dignāga, was Dharmakīrti. The works of both authors are still studied by Tibetan Buddhists. |
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JOHN BOWKER. "Pramāṇa." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Pramāṇa." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Prama.html JOHN BOWKER. "Pramāṇa." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Prama.html |
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