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Changing Frames in Buddhist Thought: The Concept of Ākāra in Abhidharma and in Buddhist Epistemological Analysis

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An Erratum to this article was published on 22 April 2014

Abstract

It has been argued that the use of the concept of ākāra—a mental “form,” “appearance” or “aspect”—in Buddhist epistemological analysis or pramāṇa exhibits continuities with earlier Buddhist thinking about mental processes, in particular in Abhidharma. A detailed inquiry into uses of the term ākāra in pertinent contexts in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośabhāṣya brings to light different semantic nuances and functions of this term. The characteristic use of ākāra in Buddhist epistemological discourse turns out to be continuous with only some of the nuances it has in Abhidharma. Moreover, ākāra becomes associated with novel explanatory functions in Buddhist pramāṇa. These discoveries underscore the need to pay closer attention to the reuse of terms and concepts, ideas and arguments in Buddhist philosophy, and to the often subtle adaptations and transformations that formed an integral part of its history.

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Correspondence to Birgit Kellner.

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This article is inspired by conversations with Lambert Schmithausen, already a long time ago; I would like to dedicate to him with gratitude the fruits that his insights and advice eventually bore, even though this contribution is far more modest in scope than the more comprehensive study on ākāra and related notions in pre-Dignāga doctrinal literature which I had initially planned to conduct—and, as the saying goes, the shortcomings are of course all mine.

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Kellner, B. Changing Frames in Buddhist Thought: The Concept of Ākāra in Abhidharma and in Buddhist Epistemological Analysis. J Indian Philos 42, 275–295 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-013-9190-7

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