Cittamātra of Yogācāra Buddhism: An Interpretation with Reference to Theravāda Buddhism

27. November 2019

Cittamātra of Yogācāra Buddhism: An Interpretation with Reference to Theravāda Buddhism

Ven. Associate Professor Phramana Somboon Vuddhikaro

(Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand)

Wednesday, 27th November 2019, 16.15-17.45

Universität Hamburg, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Room 120 ESA Ost (East Wing)

The lecture, based on the PhD dissertation in Buddhist Studies of Venerable Phramaha Somboon Vuddhikaro presented to the Graduate School of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand, discusses various interpretations of the concept of Yogācāra’s Cittamātra. It starts with reviewing other scholars’ interpretations of the concept of Yogācāra’s Cittamātra which focus on the mainstream interpretation as Mind-Only (Nothing but Mind) or Metaphysical Idealism.  This is followed by exploring the sources on Cittamātra as they appeared in Yogācāra’s scriptures and the presentation of an outline of how the Cittamātra can be reinterpreted in a more appropriate way. The lecture argues that interpretations of the Yogācāra’s Cittamātra which tried to relate it to Metaphysical Idealism of Western and Indian Hindu philosophy are an inappropriate way. The better and possible way, so the argument, is to relate it to its own scriptures and to the scriptures of Early Buddhism and Theravāda Buddhism. The lecture concludes that the Yogācāra’s Cittamātra should be interpreted as an epistemological-ethical teaching which depicts the suffering of worldly persons in the Round of Rebirth caused by their minds and advises a way out of suffering by mind-development through meditation practice. 

Ven. Phramaha Somboon Vuddhikaro is an associate professor of Buddhist Studies at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand. He graduated with the seventh degree of the Thai traditional Pali studies (1995) and received an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University (2001) and a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Graduate School of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (2008). He is a permanent lecturer as well as a director of the PhD program in Buddhist Studies, and Dean of the Graduate School, Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya University. He has spent extended periods as a visiting fellow at Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA), Donggook Buddhist Chonbop College, South Korea, and Dharma Gate Buddhist College, Budapest, Hungary.

The presentation of this lecture may be downloaded here. 

A flyer of the event may be downloaded here.