The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Emotions in Classical Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Research Handbooks in Asian Philosophy)

"Drawing on a rich variety of Indian texts across multiple traditions, including Vedanta, Buddhist, Yoga and Jain, this collection explores how emotional experience is framed, evoked and theorized in order to offer compelling insights into human subjectivity. Rather than approaching emotion through the prism of Western theory, a team of leading Indian philosophers showcase the unique literary texture, philosophical reflections and theoretical paradigms that classical Indian sources provide in their own right. From solitude in the Saundarananda and psychosomatic theories of disease in the Yogavasistha to female lament in Greek, Sinhala Buddhist and Sanskrit epic tales, their chapters reveal the range and diversity of the phenomena encompassing the English term 'emotion'. In doing so, they contribute towards a more cosmopolitan, comparative and pluralistic conception of human experience. Adopting a broad phenomenological methodology, this handbook reframes debates on emotion within classical Indian thought and is an invaluable resource for researchers and students seeking to understand the field beyond the Western tradition"-- Provided by publisher. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 CONTENTS 6 CONTRIBUTORS 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11 Introduction 14 ASPIRATIONS 14 CHAPTER ONE Grief, Tranquility, and S ́a ̄nta Rasa in Ravisẹnạ’s Padmapur ̄an 36 1. INTRODUCTION 36 2. RAVISEṆA AND THE PADMAPURA ̄ṆA 37 3. EMOTION, AESTHETICS, AND S ́A ̄NTA RASA 39 4. STARTING AT THE END: FROM S ́OKA TO S ́AMA IN THE PADMAPURA ̄ṆA 41 5. RA ̄VAṆA, THE READER, AND NOVEL GRIEF 47 6. CONCLUSION 53 NOTES 53 CHAPTER TWO Emotions in Vis ́isṭ ̄ạdvaita Ved ̄anta1 62 1. PREMISE: SOME WORKING DEFINITIONS 62 2. EMOTIONS ON ONE’S WAY TO SALVATION: A BRIDGE OR A STUMBLING BLOCK? 63 3. LOOKING OUTSIDE VEDA ̄NTA FOR DISCUSSING EMOTIONS 65 4. ON THE ONTOLOGY OF EMOTIONS IN VIS ́ISṬA ̄DVAITA VEDA ̄NTA 67 5. EMOTIONS ON THE WAY TO SALVATION: ON GOOD AND BAD EMOTIONS 69 6. INDUCING EMOTIONS: POETRY AS PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY 76 7. CONCLUSIONS 77 ABBREVIATIONS 77 NOTES 77 CHAPTER THREE Joy as Medicine? Yogav ̄asisṭḥa and Descartes on the Affective Sources of Disease 82 1. INTRODUCTION 82 2. ON HOW TO CHOOSE JOYFUL THOUGHTS ACCORDING TO DESCARTES 86 3. ON HOW TO SPREAD JOY OVER THE BODY ACCORDING TO VASI S Ṭ ̣ HA 87 4. ON HOW A “SICK WOMAN” WOULD RESPOND TO DESCARTES AND VASISṬHA 90 5. CONCLUSION 94 NOTES 95 CHAPTER FOUR Some Analyses of Feeling 100 THE “MANY-TYPES-OF-FEELING SUTTA” 103 THE CONDITIONS OF FEELINGS 108 FEELING WITHIN SCHEMAS 110 DEFINING FEELING 111 CONCLUSION 114 NOTES 115 CHAPTER FIVE Lament and the Work of Tears: Andromache,Sı ̄ta ̄, Yas ́odhara ̄ 120 1. INTRODUCTION 120 2. “RESTLESS AND STRANGELY BAITED”: HOMER’S ANDROMACHE 123 3. SI ̄TA ̄ IN THE AS ́OKA GROVE: SHAMING, BLAMING, FIXING IN A LANDSCAPE 126 4. TEARS FOR SIDDHARTHA: YAS ́ODHARA ̄ THE BUDDHA’S WIFE 133 5. THE ETHICS OF AFFECT IN THE WORK OF TEARS 138 NOTES 139 CHAPTER SIX The Mind in Pain: The View from Buddhist Systematic and Narrative Thought 144 1. INTRODUCTION: THE LIFE OF THE MIND AND THE CLIMATE OF AN AGE 144 2. ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISRUPTION AND MENTAL PAIN 147 3. AFFECT AND EXPERIENCE 149 4. PAIN AS SOMATIC AND MENTAL EXPERIENCE 152 5. THE SALIENCE OF MENTAL PAIN 154 6. THE VIEW FROM NARRATIVE 157 7. CONCLUSION 159 NOTES 161 CHAPTER SEVEN Transparent Smoke in the Pure Sky of Consciousness: Emotions and Liberation-While-Living in the Jı ̄vanmuktiviveka 166 INTRODUCTION 166 THE AHAṂKA ̄RIC SPACE OF EXPERIENCE 168 EGOITY AND EMBODIED CONDITIONING 169 VA ̄SANA ̄ AND THE KNOWER OF BRAHMAN 171 THE JI ̄VANMUKTA AND EMOTIONAL UNINVOLVEMENT 173 CONCLUSION 177 NOTES 178 CHAPTER EIGHT Gesture and Emotion in Tamil S ́aiva Devotional Poetry 186 WHO IS APPAR? 188 EMOTION IN THE WHIRL OF REBIRTH AND REDEATH (SAṂSA ̄RA) 189 EMOTION IN THE PRESENCE OF S ́IVA 193 TOWARD A DEVOTIONAL THEORY OF EMOTION 199 NOTES 201 CHAPTER NINE The Emotion that is Correlated with the Comic: Notes on Human Nature Through Rasa Theory1 206 EMOTIONS OUT OF AESTHETICS; OR LOOKING AT RASA SIDEWAYS 207 THE EMOTION CALLED HA ̄SA9 210 THE TEXT 213 THE OTHERNESS OF THE UPPER-CLASS MALE: THE ANTI-HERO AS FOCUS OF THE COMIC 218 UNDERSTANDING HA ̄SA: LESSONS FROM “THE KICK” 221 CONCLUDING THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS: BETWEEN BHA ̄VA AND RASA 222 NOTES 222 CHAPTER TEN Is there a Cankam Way of Feeling? Body, Landscape, Voice, and Affect in Old Tamil Poetry 226 THE TEXT 227 THE LANDSCAPE “PROBLEM” 230 READING TAMIL POEMS FROM THE GROUND UP 234 READING TAMIL POEMS FROM THE TOP DOWN 241 CONCLUSION 246 NOTES 247 CHAPTER ELEVEN Wretched and Blessed: Emotional Praise in a Sanskrit Hymn from Kashmir 252 NOTES 263 CHAPTER TWELVE Savoring Rasa: Emotion, Judgment, and Phenomenal Content 268 INTRODUCING THE CATEGORIES 269 BHA ̄VA, RASA AND REFLEXIVITY: PROGRESSION FROM BHA ̄VA TO RASA 275 RASA AND REFLEXIVITY 280 IS RASA ALWAYS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE? 281 NOTES 285 CHAPTER THIRTEEN How Does it Feel to be on Your Own: Solitude (viveka) in A ́svaghosạ’s Saundarananda 290 1. INTRODUCTION1 290 2. EXPLICIT REFERENCES TO SOLITUDE (VIVEKA) IN THE SN 293 3. THE CONCEPTION OF THE FOREST IN THE SN 298 NOTES 308 BIBLIOGRAPHY 316 INDEX 338 Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Introduction ASPIRATIONS CHAPTER ONE Grief, Tranquility, and S ́a ̄nta Rasa in Ravisẹnạ’s Padmapur ̄an 1. INTRODUCTION 2. RAVISEṆA AND THE PADMAPURA ̄ṆA 3. EMOTION, AESTHETICS, AND S ́A ̄NTA RASA 4. STARTING AT THE END: FROM S ́OKA TO S ́AMA IN THE PADMAPURA ̄ṆA 5. RA ̄VAṆA, THE READER, AND NOVEL GRIEF 6. CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER TWO Emotions in Vis ́isṭ ̄ạdvaita Ved ̄anta1 1. PREMISE: SOME WORKING DEFINITIONS 2. EMOTIONS ON ONE’S WAY TO SALVATION: A BRIDGE OR A STUMBLING BLOCK? 3. LOOKING OUTSIDE VEDA ̄NTA FOR DISCUSSING EMOTIONS 4. ON THE ONTOLOGY OF EMOTIONS IN VIS ́ISṬA ̄DVAITA VEDA ̄NTA 5. EMOTIONS ON THE WAY TO SALVATION: ON GOOD AND BAD EMOTIONS 6. INDUCING EMOTIONS: POETRY AS PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY 7. CONCLUSIONS ABBREVIATIONS NOTES CHAPTER THREE Joy as Medicine? Yogav ̄asisṭḥa and Descartes on the Affective Sources of Disease 1. INTRODUCTION 2. ON HOW TO CHOOSE JOYFUL THOUGHTS ACCORDING TO DESCARTES 3. ON HOW TO SPREAD JOY OVER THE BODY ACCORDING TO VASI S Ṭ ̣ HA 4. ON HOW A “SICK WOMAN” WOULD RESPOND TO DESCARTES AND VASISṬHA 5. CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER FOUR Some Analyses of Feeling THE “MANY-TYPES-OF-FEELING SUTTA” THE CONDITIONS OF FEELINGS FEELING WITHIN SCHEMAS DEFINING FEELING CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER FIVE Lament and the Work of Tears: Andromache,Sı ̄ta ̄, Yas ́odhara ̄ 1. INTRODUCTION 2. “RESTLESS AND STRANGELY BAITED”: HOMER’S ANDROMACHE 3. SI ̄TA ̄ IN THE AS ́OKA GROVE: SHAMING, BLAMING, FIXING IN A LANDSCAPE 4. TEARS FOR SIDDHARTHA: YAS ́ODHARA ̄ THE BUDDHA’S WIFE 5. THE ETHICS OF AFFECT IN THE WORK OF TEARS NOTES CHAPTER SIX The Mind in Pain: The View from Buddhist Systematic and Narrative Thought 1. INTRODUCTION: THE LIFE OF THE MIND AND THE CLIMATE OF AN AGE 2. ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISRUPTION AND MENTAL PAIN 3. AFFECT AND EXPERIENCE 4. PAIN AS SOMATIC AND MENTAL EXPERIENCE 5. THE SALIENCE OF MENTAL PAIN 6. THE VIEW FROM NARRATIVE 7. CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER SEVEN Transparent Smoke in the Pure Sky of Consciousness: Emotions and Liberation-While-Living in the Jı ̄vanmuktiviveka INTRODUCTION THE AHAṂKA ̄RIC SPACE OF EXPERIENCE EGOITY AND EMBODIED CONDITIONING VA ̄SANA ̄ AND THE KNOWER OF BRAHMAN THE JI ̄VANMUKTA AND EMOTIONAL UNINVOLVEMENT CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER EIGHT Gesture and Emotion in Tamil S ́aiva Devotional Poetry WHO IS APPAR? EMOTION IN THE WHIRL OF REBIRTH AND REDEATH (SAṂSA ̄RA) EMOTION IN THE PRESENCE OF S ́IVA TOWARD A DEVOTIONAL THEORY OF EMOTION NOTES CHAPTER NINE The Emotion that is Correlated with the Comic: Notes on Human Nature Through Rasa Theory1 EMOTIONS OUT OF AESTHETICS; OR LOOKING AT RASA SIDEWAYS THE EMOTION CALLED HA ̄SA9 THE TEXT THE OTHERNESS OF THE UPPER-CLASS MALE: THE ANTI-HERO AS FOCUS OF THE COMIC UNDERSTANDING HA ̄SA: LESSONS FROM “THE KICK” CONCLUDING THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS: BETWEEN BHA ̄VA AND RASA NOTES CHAPTER TEN Is there a Can ̇kam Way of Feeling? Body, Landscape, Voice, and Affect in Old Tamil Poetry THE TEXT THE LANDSCAPE “PROBLEM” READING TAMIL POEMS FROM THE GROUND UP READING TAMIL POEMS FROM THE TOP DOWN CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER ELEVEN Wretched and Blessed: Emotional Praise in a Sanskrit Hymn from Kashmir NOTES CHAPTER TWELVE Savoring Rasa: Emotion, Judgment, and Phenomenal Content INTRODUCING THE CATEGORIES BHA ̄VA, RASA AND REFLEXIVITY: PROGRESSION FROM BHA ̄VA TO RASA RASA AND REFLEXIVITY IS RASA ALWAYS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE? NOTES CHAPTER THIRTEEN How Does it Feel to be on Your Own: Solitude (viveka) in A ́svaghosạ’s Saundarananda 1. INTRODUCTION1 2. EXPLICIT REFERENCES TO SOLITUDE (VIVEKA) IN THE SN 3. THE CONCEPTION OF THE FOREST IN THE SN NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Drawing on a rich variety of premodern Indian texts across multiple traditions, genres, and languages, this collection explores how emotional experience is framed, evoked, and theorized in order to offer compelling insights into human subjectivity. Rather than approaching emotion through the prism of Western theory, a team of leading scholars of Indian traditions showcases the literary texture, philosophical reflections, and theoretical paradigms that classical Indian sources provide in their own right. The focus is on how the texts themselves approach those dimensions of the human condition we may intuitively think of as being about emotion, without pre-judging what that might be. The result is a collection that reveals the range and diversity of phenomena that benefit from being gathered under the formal term “emotion”, but which in fact open up what such theorisation, representation, and expression might contribute to a cross-cultural understanding of this term. In doing so, these chapters contribute to a cosmopolitan, comparative, and pluralistic conception of human experience. Adopting a broad phenomenological methodology, this handbook reframes debates on emotion within classical Indian thought and is an invaluable resource for researchers and students seeking to understand the field beyond the Western tradition. Introduction / Maria Heim, Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, and Roy Tzohar -- 1. Grief, Tranquillity, and Śānta Rasa in Raviṣeṇa's Padmapurāṇa / Gregory Clines -- 2. Emotions in Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta / Elisa Freschi -- 3. Joy as Medicine? Yogavāsiṣṭha and Descartes on the Affective Sources of Disease / Ana Laura Funes Maderay -- 4. Some Analyses of Feeling / Maria Heim -- 5. Lament and the Work of Tears: Andromache, Sītā, and Yaśodharā / Steven P. Hopkins -- 6. The Mind in Pain: The View from Buddhist Systematic and Narrative Thought / Sonam Kachru -- 7. Transparent Smoke in the Pure Sky of Consciousness: Emotions and Liberation-While-Living in the Jīvanmuktiviveka / James Madaio -- 8. Gesture and Emotion in Tamil Śaiva Devotional Poetry / Anne Monius -- 9. The Emotion that is Correlated with the Comic: Notes on Human Nature through Rasa Theory / Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad -- 10. Is there a Caçnkam Way of Feeling? Body, Landscape, Voice, and Affect in Old Tamil Poetry / Martha Selby -- 11. Wretched and Blessed: Emotional Praise in a Sanskrit Hymn from Kashmir / Hamsa Stainton -- 12. Savouring Rasa: Emotion, Judgement, and Phenomenal Content / Sthaneshwar Timalsina -- 13. How Does it Feel to be on Your Own: Solitude (viveka) in Aśvaghoṣa's Saundarananda / Roy Tzohar -- Bibliography -- Index