Though
intimately related,
Buddhist teaching and
Buddhist philosophy are not one and the same.
Philosophy is a
Western term (originating in
ancient Greece) that may be appropriately applied to some, but not all Buddhist teachings. In
Buddhist Teaching in India, scholar Johannes Bronkhorst gives an overview of the rise of philosophy in India, and explores Buddhism's role in that rise. Also examined is the origin of the dharma theory, the evolution of Mahayana Buddhism, and influences on teaching from outside Buddhism. Included in Brokhorst's analysis is an explanation of the teaching/philosophy of
madhayamaka or "middle-way" — the systematic Buddhist explanation of the mode of existence of all entities both external and internal. This complex doctrine has been the most often debated, taught, and contemplated system of teaching in the Buddhist world. The concepts of Buddhist teaching and Buddhist philosophy intersect and support one another in this rational and contemplative presentation of the nature of reality and perception.
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