The Yogas¿tra of Patañjali

A New Introduction to the Buddhist Roots of the Yoga System
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-0-367-45670-2
Verlag: Routledge India

Buch, Englisch, 250 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 389 g

This book offers a systematic and radical introduction to the Buddhist roots of Patañjala-yoga, or the Yoga system of Patañjali. By examining each of 195 aphorisms (sutras) of the Yogasutra and discussing the Yogabhasya, it shows that traditional and popular views on Patañjala-yoga obscure its true nature. The book argues that Patañjali’s Yoga contains elements rooted in both orthodox and heterodox philosophical traditions, including Sankhya, Jaina and Buddhist thought.

With a fresh translation and a detailed commentary on the Yogasutra, the author unearths how several of the terms, concepts and doctrines in Patañjali’s Yoga can be traced to Buddhism, particularly the Abhidharma Buddhism of Vasubandhu and the early Yogacara of Asanga. The work presents the Yogasutra of Patañjali as a synthesis of two perspectives: the metaphysical perspective of Sankhya and the empirical–psychological perspective of Buddhism. Based on a holistic understanding of Yoga, the study explores key themes of the text, such as meditative absorption, means, supernormal powers, isolation, Buddhist conceptions of meditation and the interplay between Sankhya and Buddhist approaches to suffering and emancipation. It further highlights several new findings and clarifications on textual interpretation and discrepancies.

An important intervention in Indian and Buddhist philosophy, this book opens up a new way of looking at the Yoga of Patañjali in the light of Buddhism beyond standard approaches and will greatly interest scholars and researchers of Buddhist studies, Yoga studies, Indian philosophy, philosophy in general, literature, religion and comparative studies, Indian and South Asian Studies and the history of ideas.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gokhale, Pradeep P.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Buddhismus Buddhismus: Leben & Praxis, Soziale Aspekte
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Antike Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Philosophie des Geistes, Neurophilosophie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Indische & Asiatische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Östliche Religionen
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1. On Meditative Absorption (Samadhipadah) 2. On Means (Sadhanapadah) 3. On Supernormal Powers (Vibhutipadah) 4. On Isolation (Kaivalyapadah) 5. Concluding Observations. Appendix I: Buddhist Conceptions of Meditation, Yoga and Bodhisattva’s Spiritual Journey vis-à-vis Patañjala-yoga. Appendix II: Asanga on Forms of Supernormal Knowledge and Powers (Abhijñas and Rddhis). Appendix III: Discrepancies between Patañjali’s Aphorisms and Vyasa’s Interpretations. Glossary. Aids to Reading Romanised Sanskrit. Bibliography. Index

Über Autor(innen)

Pradeep P. Gokhale is Honorary Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Philosophy and Pali, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India. He has thirty-one years of postgraduate teaching and research experience at Savitribai Phule Pune University and was Dr B. R. Ambedkar Research Professor at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath (Varanasi), for six years. He has written in diverse areas such as Indian epistemology and logic; schools of classical Indian philosophy such as Buddhism, Lokayata, Yoga and Jainism; Indian moral philosophy, social philosophy, Indian philosophy of religion and contemporary Buddhism. His research interests have focused on the interface between orthodox and heterodox Indian thought, including between Nyaya and Buddhist logical thought.