The concept of clinging is absolutely central to early Buddhist thought. This article examines the concept from both a phenomenological and a metaphysical perspective and attempts to understand how it relates to the non-self doctrine and to the ultimate goal of Nibbāna. Unenlightened consciousness is consciousness centered on an ‘I’. It is also consciousness that is conditioned by and bound up with a being in the world. From a phenomenological perspective, clinging gives birth to the illusion of self, or what (...) is called the ‘conceit of “I am”’. From a metaphysical perspective, clinging binds consciousness to a worldly being. Seen in the first way, Nibbāna is ‘centerless’ consciousness. Seen in the second, it is unconditioned consciousness. Viewed in either way, Nibbāna is a state of consciousness reached through the eradication of clinging. (shrink)

The Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy. Lama Anagarika Govinda, 1991, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, Rs 125The Law of Karma: a philosophical study. Bruce R. Reichenbach, 1990, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, pp. xiv + 238, $38.00Religious Philosophy of Tagore and Radhakrishnan. Harendra Prasad Sinha, 1993, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers 188 pp., Rs. 150Scripture, Canon and Commentary: a comparison of Confucian and Western exegesis. John B. Henderson, 1991, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, xii + 247 pp. $32.50Chan Insights and Oversights: an (...) epistemological critique of the Chan tradition. Bernard Fauré, 1993, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, ix + 322 pp. £45Reason and Tradition in Indian Thought: an essay on the nature of Indian philosophical thinking. Jitendra Nath Mohanty, 1992, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 306 pp. £37.50Avicenna. L. E. Goodman London, Routledge, 1992, xii + 240 pp. £12.99Becoming Bamboo: Western and Eastern explorations of the meaning of life. Robert E. Carter, 1992, Montreal, McGill‐Queen's University Press, xvi + 224 pp. £22.95. (shrink)

Abstract Cognitivism, presently the major paradigm of psychology, presents a scientific account of mental life. Buddhism also presents an account of mental life, but one which is integral with its wider ethical and transcendental concerns. The postmodern appraisal of science provides a framework within which these two accounts may be compared without inheriting many of the assumed oppositions between science and religion. It is concluded that cognitivism and Buddhism will have complementary roles in the development of a more pluralist psychological (...) science. In this development it will be necessary to address what values are implicit in science. (shrink)