25 Facts About Dharmakirti

Dharmakirti was one of the key scholars of epistemology in Buddhist philosophy, and is associated with the Yogacara and Sautrantika schools.

Dharmakirti was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism.

Dharmakirti's works influenced the scholars of Mimamsa, Nyaya and Shaivism schools of Hindu philosophy as well as scholars of Jainism.

Dharmakirti's texts remain part of studies in the monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism.

Dharmakirti is placed by most scholars to have lived between 600 and 660 CE, but a few place him earlier.

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Dharmakirti is credited with building upon the work of Dignaga, the pioneer of Buddhist logic, and Dharmakirti has ever since seen as influential in the Buddhist tradition.

Dharmakirti's theories became normative in Tibet and are studied to this day as a part of the basic monastic curriculum.

Tibetan tradition considers that Dharmakirti was ordained as a Buddhist monk at Nalanda by Dharmapala.

Dharmakirti lived during the collapse of the Gupta Empire, a time of great insecurity for Buddhist institutions.

However, Dharmakirti and his followers held that the study of reasoning and its application was an important tool for soteriological ends.

Dharmakirti's philosophy is based on the need to establish a theory of logical validity and certainty grounded in causality.

Dharmakirti sees a cognition as being valid if it has a causal connection with the object of cognition through an intrinsically valid, un-conceptual perception of the object which does not err regarding its functionality.

For Dharmakirti, scripture is not a genuine and independent mean of valid cognition.

Dharmakirti held that one should not use scripture to guide one on matters which can be decided by factual and rational means and that one is not to be faulted for rejecting unreasonable parts of the scriptures of one's school.

However, according to Dharmakirti scripture is a fallible source of knowledge and has no claim to certainty.

Dharmakirti criticized the Nyaya theory of universals by arguing that since they have no causal efficacy, there is no rational reason to posit them.

Ignorance for Dharmakirti is conceptuality, pseudo-perception and superimposition overlaid on the naturally radiant nature of pure perception.

Dharmakirti, again following Dignaga, holds that that things as they are in themselves are "ineffable".

Dharmakirti developed his philosophical system to defend Buddhist doctrines, so it is no surprise that he developed a number of arguments for rebirth, the Four Noble Truths, the authority of the Buddha, karma, anatta and compassion as well as attacking Brahminical views such as the authority of the Vedas.

Dharmakirti defended the Buddhist theory of momentariness, which held that dharmas spontaneously perish the moment they arise.

Dharmakirti came up with an argument for the theory which stated that since anything that really exists has a causal power, the fact that its causal power is in effect proves it is always changing.

Dharmakirti defends Dignaga's theory of consciousness being non-conceptually reflexive.

Dharmakirti defends the Yogacara theory of "awareness-only", which held that 'external objects' of perception do not exist.

Dharmakirti's Substantiation of Other Mindstreams is a treatise on the nature of the mindstream and Buddhist response to the problem of other minds Dharmakirti held the mindstream to be beginning-less yet described the mindstream as a temporal sequence, and that as there are no true beginnings, there are no true endings, hence, the "beginningless time" motif that is frequently used to describe the concept of mindstream.

Dharmakirti was extremely influential in Tibet, where Phya pa Chos kyi Seng ge wrote the first summary of his works, called "Clearing of Mental Obscuration with Respect to the Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition".

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