Attached to Paper Session
Meeting Preference
The Buddhist path is aimed at awakening, and the mind of a buddha is often characterized as omniscient. So, the Buddhist path is, inter alia, a path to omniscience. So far, most Buddhists agree. But what is that omniscience like? There is no consensus regarding the answer to this question. At one end of the spectrum of replies some say that this omniscience consists in a complete cessation of thought, in a state of insentient automaticity that Mark Siderits has aptly characterized as "robo-Buddha." At the other end, some say that it involves the simultaneous awareness of every detail of the universe, past, present and future, with the capacity to respond appropriately to each circumstance. And not only are their intermediate positions on this spectrum, but some leave the spectrum altogether and simply affirm that a buddha's mind is inconceivable. Rather than ask what positions have been advanced in the history of the various Buddhist traditions, I will address the question from the standpoint of those who would take the Buddhist path seriously in the context of contemporary Western culture: "What would any omniscience to which we could rationally aspire be like?" I will argue that we can develop a recognizably Buddhist account of that omniscience that is consistent with what we know about human beings, but that is soteriologically non-trivial.
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
The Buddhist path is aimed at awakening, and the mind of a buddha is often characterized as omniscient. So, the Buddhist path is a path to omniscience. But what is that omniscience like? There is no consensus. Some say that this omniscience consists in a complete cessation of thought, in a state of insentient automaticity. Others say that it involves the simultaneous awareness of every detail of the universe, past, present and future. And some simply affirm that a buddha's mind is inconceivable. I will address the question from the standpoint of those who would take the Buddhist path seriously in the context of contemporary Western culture: "What would any omniscience to which we could rationally aspire be like?" I will argue that we can develop a recognizably Buddhist account of that omniscience that is consistent with what we know about human beings, but that is soteriologically non-trivial.