On Not Understanding Extraordinary Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3124681 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Payne (0000-0003-3164-2914, Graduate Theological Union, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 223 |
| Publication date | 2017-10-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel8100223 |
| OpenAlex | W2762261337 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
The question motivating this essay is how tantric Buddhist practitioners in Japan understood language such as to believe that mantra, dhāraṇī, and related forms are efficacious. "Extraordinary language" is introduced as a cover term for these several similar language uses found in tantric Buddhist practices in Japan. The essay proceeds to a critical examination of Anglo-American philosophy of language to determine whether the concepts, categories, and concerns of that field can contribute to the analysis and understanding of extraordinary language. However, that philosophy of language does not contribute to this analysis, as it is constrained by its continuing focus on its founding concepts, dating particularly from the work of Frege. Comparing it to Indic thought regarding language reveals a distinct mismatch, further indicating the limiting character of the philosophy of language. The analysis then turns to examine two other explanations of tantric language use found in religious studies literature: magical language and performative language. These also, however, prove to be unhelpful. While the essay is primarily critical, one candidate for future constructive study is historical pragmatics, as suggested by Ronald Davidson. The central place of extraordinary language indicates that Indic reflections on the nature of language informed tantric Buddhist practice in Japan and are not simply cultural baggage
Buddhism · Constructive · Epistemology · Linguistics · Mantra · Metaphysics · On Language · Performative utterance · Philosophy of language · Sociology · Tantra · Computer Science · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Karl Barth and Christian Theology · Philosophy · Study and Philosophy of Religion
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Zen Ritual
Syntax
The Oxford Handbook of Language Evolution
The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Phenomenology
How To Do Things With Words
Plato's Philosophy of Language
The Oxford Handbook of Plato
Religion, Language, and Power
The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Language
Asian Visions of Authority
The Body Incantatory
Manuscript Culture as Ritual Culture in Late Medieval Dunhuang
Localized Religious Specialists in Early Modern Japan
Criticism and Appropriation
Classical Sāṁkhya on the Relationship between a Word and Its Meaning
The phrase ‘sa pthivīpradeśaś caityabhūto bhavet' in the Vajracchedikā
The Cult of Tārā
On Translating the Term "Drstanta" in Early Buddhist Formal Logic
Reference and Symbol in Plato's "Cratylus" and Kukai's "Shojijissogi
Circularity in the Inductive Justification of Formal Arguments (Tarka) in Twelfth Century Indian Jaina Logic
The 'Magical' Language of Mantra
BHAOJI DkIta On SphoA
Signs of Power
Studies indhāraṇīliterature II
Culture, Thought, and Social Action
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |