19th Seminar on Himalayan Religion (The Nature and Role of Consciousness in the Tibetan Great Perfection (Dzogchen) Philosophy)
The department of Bhutanese Studies, Uehiro Research Division at Kokoro Research Center has regularly organized Seminars on Himalayan Religion. In the 19th Seminar, the honorable guest speaker Dr. David Higgins (Visiting Fellow, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies) will talk about the nature and role of consciousness in the Tibetan great perfection (Dzogchen) philosophy.
Date: Mon. 2 December 2019
Time: 17:00-19:00
Place: Medium Seminar Room (3rd floor) at Kyoto University Inamori Center
(46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida Sakyo-ku, Kyoto)
MAP:http://kokoro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en2/access-en/#honkan
Guest Speaker: Dr. David Higgins (Visiting Fellow, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies)
Tentative title: The Nature and Role of Consciousness in the Tibetan Great Perfection (Dzogchen) Philosophy
*Language: in English with Japanese translation
**Attendance: limited to 50 people
***Fee: free of charge
Contact: Liaison Office, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida Shimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan.
Mail: kokoro-bh*mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp (Please replace * with @.)
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Abstract
This lecture will focus on the nature and role of consciousness in the philosophy of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) tradition of the Ancient (Nyingma) school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dzogchen philosophy of mind rests on a principal distinction between dualistic mind (sems) and primordial awareness (ye shes) which the tradition has deemed indispensable for understanding its distinctive views and practices. After considering how some of the tradition’s leading scholars characterized mind and primordial awareness in relation to Chinese and Indian Buddhist traditions during the post-Imperium Era of Fragmentation (9th–10th centuries), we will look at how it came to be regarded as a defining element of Dzogchen thought and practice. To this end, we will look at some of the key philosophical arguments that were used to justify the distinction in the classical period (12th to 14th centuries). The lecture concludes with an exploration of how the distinction was used in Dzogchen path hermeneutics to reconcile traditional gradualist and non-gradualist models of the Buddhist path and briefly considers some of its implications for contemporary studies of consciousness.
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2019/10/24