Viewing Buddhism through the lens of “psychology” seems natural for many Westerners. While such psychologizing can be misleading, it remains the case that Buddhist thinkers do focus on a transformative liberation (“enlightenment”) through a regimen of study, contemplative exercises, as well as ascetic and moral training. This transformative intention is, broadly speaking, “psychological” in that it entails cognitive and emotional shifts that may radically alter a person’s demeanor and understanding of the world. Such an endeavor goes far beyond the parameters of mainstream Western psychology, but the primacy of “mind” in Buddhism invariably lends it a “psychological” flavor. Moreover, Buddhist thinkers have elaborated intriguing doctrines about the nature of the world and humanity that do qualify as “philosophies of mind.” This entry will examine the major philosophical currents in Mahāyāna (“Great Vehicle”), the second major branch of Buddhism. Much mystery surrounds Mahāyāna...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Garfield, J. L. (Trans.). (1995). The fundamental wisdom of the middle way: Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hakeda, Y. S. (Trans.). (1967). The awakening of faith: Attributed to asvaghosha. New York: Columbia University Press.
Harrison, P. (Trans.). (1998). The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sutra. BDK English Tripitaka 24-II. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
Huntington, C. W., Jr. (1989). The emptiness of emptiness: An introduction to early Indian Mādhyamika. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
Kalupahana, D. J. (1987). The principles of Buddhist psychology. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Mitchell, D. W. (2002). Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist experience. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Padmakara Translation Group. (1997). Shāntideva: The way of the bodhisattva: A translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. Boston: Shambhala.
Paul, D. Y. (1984). Philosophy of mind in sixth-century China: Paramartha’s ‘evolution of consciousness. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Strong, J. S. (Ed.). (2008). The experience of Buddhism: Sources and interpretations (3rd ed.). Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.
Thompson, J. M. (2006). Buddhism. In L. W. Bailey (Ed.), Introduction to the world’s major religions (Vol. 3). Westport: Greenwood.
Williams, P. (2009). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The doctrinal foundations (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Wood, T. E. (1991). Mind only: A philosophical and doctrinal analysis of Vijñānavāda. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Thompson, J. (2020). Buddhism’s Mahāyāna: Philosophy. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9344
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9344
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24347-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24348-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences