“Two Buddhist Theories of Knowledge”
Presented by Venerable Professor Dhammajoti, Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong.
Date: Thursday March 16, 2006
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Place: UBC Robson Square, C180-800 Robson Street
Buddhism teaches that we are trapped within the Cycle of Births and Deaths (samsara) on account of a fundamental error of cognition. Accordingly, throughout the history of Buddhism, the major doctrinal concern had consistently been the understanding of the cognitive process. This lecture discusses two major theories of knowledge developed in the period of Abhidharma Buddhism: the theory of Presentational Perception of the Vaibhasika school and the theory of Representational Perception of the Sautrantika school.
Venerable Professor Dhammajoti was born in Malaysia in 1949. From 1982 to 2004, he had been teaching at the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Before joining the University of Hong Kong in 2004, he had been Professor and Head of the Department of Buddhist Sources at the Postgraduate Institute. Currently, he serves as the Professor of Buddhist Studies, and Chairman of the Teaching and Research Advisory Committee, at the Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Hong Kong. He has published several books and many research papers in academic journals. His main fields of specialization are Northern Abhidharma and early Yogacara Buddhism. As a Buddhist monk, he is non-sectarian in outlook, having received ordinations in both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions.
This lecture is made possible by the generous support from Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Society, and The Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation in cooperation with The University of Hong Kong.
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