Academic Writing
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
- Rudyard Kipling
The Buddhist Middle Way is intended to bring relief to our existential suffering through introducing us to the truth of what is - both in an ultimate sense, beyond beliefs and ideas, and also through understanding the conventional truth of our present experience. I include below a selection of books and articles by Western academics that, while accommodating the language and concepts of Western modernity, clarify the Buddhist views.
Academic Works
Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy of Mind and Nature by Douglas S. Duckworth
A thorough introduction ​to the Tibetan Buddhist view on reality, identifying the key elements of Buddhist philosophy in relation to Western ideas. Particularly it outlines the Mahayana Buddhist understanding of reality and how this is integrated through the path. Duckworth outlines the traditions of Madhyamaka and Yogacara, and how these insights are foundational for the Vajrayana which is a prominent feature of Tibetan Buddhism. Available from Oxford University Press. ​​​​
Making Sense of Mind-Only - Why Yogacara Buddhism Matters by William S. Waldron
With a thorough knowledge of the classical Mahayana sutras and our contemporary cognitive sciences, Professor Waldron masterfully guides us through the foundational aspects of Buddhism to the deeper insights of Mahayana Buddhism. Waldron integrates Buddhist and modern analyses of what shapes our perceptions of reality, what entangles us, and why the Buddhist path liberates us. A must read for anyone wishing to penetrate the profound and vast meaning of the Buddhist teaching. Available from Wisdom Publications.
Mipam on Buddha-Nature by Douglas Duckworth
Professor Duckworth summarizes a selection of the great Jamgön Mipam Rinpoche's writings on Buddha-nature, the common ground shared by sentient beings and Buddhas. This work is supremely helpful in understanding concept employed in the Nyingma presentation of the Buddhist teaching, and specifically the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings. Available from State University of New York Press.
Academic Articles
Ricard and Dambrun: "Self-Centeredness and Selflessness: A Theory of Self-Based Psychological Functioning and Its Consequences for Happiness" Without taking any metaphysical or a priori moral positions, drawing on contemporary research from the fields of phenomenology and psychology, this paper presents a theoretical model linking the structure of self to two types of happiness—fluctuating and authentic-durable—exploring how self-centered versus selfless psychological functioning affects well-being.
Michel Bitbol: "Is Consciousness Primary?" Michel Bitbol, French philosopher of science, writes, "The view according to which consciousness derives from a material basis (that it is so to speak secondary to special arrangements of material entities) turns out to be much weaker than what is currently believed." Bitbol approaches this investigation from the perspectives of academic disciplines such as epistemology, phenomenology, quantum mechanics, and neuroscience.
Harold D. Roth: "Against Cognitive Imperialism - A Call for a Non-Ethnocentric Approach to Cognitive Science and Religious Studies" Roth points out the persistent bias in Western studies of Asian religions, perceiving them in terms of existing categories borrowed from the Abrahamic traditions. Asian tradition are not limited to a focus on a supernatural agent, but are founded on knowledge traditions that endorse the validity of the practicing individual's subjective experience, and yet "contemplative traditions and the subjective data of mystical experience are only infrequently the subject of serious study in academic departments of religion."
Garfield and Norden in the NY Times: "If Philosophy Won’t Diversify, Let’s Call It What It Really Is"
From the article: "The vast majority of philosophy departments in the United States offer courses only on philosophy derived from Europe and the English-speaking world." and "Given the importance of non-European traditions in both the history of world philosophy and in the contemporary world, and given the increasing numbers of students in our colleges and universities from non-European backgrounds, this is astonishing. No other humanities discipline demonstrates this systematic neglect of most of the civilizations in its domain." and "We therefore suggest that any department that regularly offers courses only on Western philosophy should rename itself “Department of European and American Philosophy.”