The Ethics of Sankara and Santideva: A Selfless Response to an Illusory World (Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy, Literature and History)

Exploring the philosophical concerns of the nature of self, this book draws from two of the most influential Indian masters, Śaṅkara and Śāntideva. Todd demonstrates that an ethics of altruism is still possible within a metaphysics which assumes there to be no independent self. A new ethical model based on the notions of ’flickering consciousness’ and ’constructive altruism’ is proposed. By comparing the metaphysics and ethics of Śaṅkara and Śāntideva, Todd shows that the methodologies and aims of these Buddhist and Hindu masters trace remarkably similar cross-cutting paths. Treating Buddhism and Hinduism with equal respect, this book compares and reinterprets the Indian material so as to engage with contemporary Western debates on self and to show that Indian philosophy is indeed a philosophy of dialogue. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. The Self -- 2. A New Ethical Model -- 3. Situating Sankara And Santideva -- 4. Their Common Approach To The World -- 5. Knowledge And Liberation -- 6. A Selfless Response To The World -- 7. Marginal Cases. By Warren Lee Todd. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This text presents a comparative study of two of the most influential Indian masters, Śāntideva and Śaṅkara. Exploring the philosophical concerns of the nature of the self, Todd demonstrates that an ethics of altruism is still possible within a metaphysics which assumes there to be no independent self Comparing the metaphysics and ethics of two of the most influential Indian masters, Sankara and Santideva, Todd shows that the methodologies and aims of these Buddhist and Hindu masters trace remarkably similar cross-cutting paths. Treating Buddhism and Hinduism with equal respect.