Yogacara Buddhism

Question 1

Which school does this philosophy belong to, and what is its sister philosophy

Answer 1

Mahayana buddhism (the great vehicle) and its sister philosophy is Madhyamika

Question 2

which doctrine(s) does yogacara emphasise

Answer 2

the doctrine of emptiness
mind-only metaphysical idealism

Question 3

what is emptiness for Yogacara Buddhism

Answer 3

empty of subject/ object duality

Question 4

How does Yogacara Buddhism come to find philosophical knowledge

Answer 4

emphasises consciousness

Question 5

what are the 8 levels of consciousness in Yogacara buddhism

Answer 5

• 5 physical senses
• mental consciousness -> experiences mental objects and synthesises sense data
• tainted mind -> falsely conceives substratum consciousness as enduring self
• store house consciousness

Question 6

what is store house consciousness

Answer 6

underlying subliminal stream of awareness,
core to karmic impressions and thus transmigrates between lives.
intentional actions lay karmic seeds

Question 7

who founded Yogacara Buddhism

Answer 7

Vasubandhu

Question 8

what does Vasubandu argue in the 20 Verses

Answer 8

Arguments for metaphysical idealism, the position that only mental events exist, Not physical matter

Question 9

what does his eye disease argument present

Answer 9

Just because something appears to us as external does not prove that it is external.

Question 10

How is Vasubandu’s arguments is verses 1-7 countered.

Answer 10

if reality is purely cognitive how can we have shared experiences.

Question 11

How is the counterargument to Vasubandu’s is verses 1-7 countered.

Answer 11

beings with similar karmic imprints will experience similar cognitive constructions, giving the illusion of a shared external world

Question 12

explain the importance of karmic seeds in our conception of the world

Answer 12

shared karmic seeds render individuals to have similar experiences of the world, but these individuals experiences may vary too as they experiences are conscious not fixed by external entities.
This can be explained through hungry ghosts, who believe their reality to be ultimately externally real, but is infact dictated by their karmic seeds.

Question 13

Vasubandhu’s critique of the atoms argument

Answer 13

If atoms combine to form extended objects, they must themselves have parts and extension. But if they have parts, they are divisible—and not true atoms.

We never directly perceive atoms—only conceptualize them. So they are mental constructs, not real entities

There’s no need for external atoms to explain our experience of the world. Mental processes, karmic seeds, and representations can do the job