The Buddhist Ineffable Self and a Possible Indian Political Subject
It is well known that the sovereign, the cakkavatin, in India is the one who turns the wheel of dhamma. What is not so well appreciated is that the Buddha's dhammachakkapabbatana, the turning of the wheel of dhamma and the attainment of nibbana, can be read as a political act, involving the eme...
| Published in: | Political theology |
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| Subtitles: | Political Theology in India |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
[2018]
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| In: |
Political theology
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Vasubandhu, Viṃśatiká
/ Buddhism
/ Dharma
/ Self
/ India
/ Political theology
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy BL Buddhism KBM Asia TB Antiquity TK Recent history |
| Further subjects: | B
Vasubandhu
B dhamma Nagarjuna B Buddhism B Ambedkar B Political Theology B political subjectivity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | It is well known that the sovereign, the cakkavatin, in India is the one who turns the wheel of dhamma. What is not so well appreciated is that the Buddha's dhammachakkapabbatana, the turning of the wheel of dhamma and the attainment of nibbana, can be read as a political act, involving the emergence of a political subject. It will be seen that the 4th Century AD Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu's vijnanavadin notion of the Ineffable Self (anavilapya atman) helps us unravel the epistemological underpinnings of the political subject in consonance with the revolutionary act of turning the wheel of dhamma. Seen in this light, we can better appreciate B. R. Ambedkar's attempt at treating Buddhism as the Revolution against the Brahminical Counter-Revolution, something whose implications unfold almost daily in India's political struggles. What can be called (in academic-speak) Buddha's pluralist non-essentialist framework, even a convergence of sorts between Buddha and Spinoza, does not necessarily exclude the notion of a revolutionary political subject. This opens up the possibility of reading Buddha's notion of the turning of the wheel of dhamma alongside more recent ideas of revolution as another turning and churning. |
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| Item Description: | Das gedruckte Heft ist als Doppelheft erschienen: "Volume 19 Numbers 7-8 November-December 2018" |
| ISSN: | 1743-1719 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Political theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1462317X.2018.1537583 |