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Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy

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This book will be challenging for those who do not have a medium-to-strong background in Buddhist philosophy, although a background in western philosophy might be sufficient. John Dunne is considered one of the most prominent rising scholars in the field of Buddhist studies in the US, following on from the generation of Robert Thurman, Jeffrey Hopkins, and others. Although published by Wisdom Publications, one should know that this book is written more for scholars than for Buddhist practitioners. Not that these two are mutually exclusive categories, by any means. In fact, Buddhist monastic education places a great emphasis on the works of Dharmakirti precisely because an understanding of epistemology, logic, and reasoning is an invaluable guide to the practice of the Buddhist path, which involves developing a correct understanding of how things exist.

Despite the tremendous importance of Dharmakirti for Mahayana Buddhism (and even for the development of Indian philosophy more generally), there are not many books that treat in detail the writings of this powerful thinker. Based on a command of Sanskrit and Tibetan, and a strong knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, John Dunne has created what will surely be regarded as the starting place for the study of Dharmakirti in the English language. Because Dharmakirti wrote mainly in the modes of the Sautrantika and Yogacara philosophical "tenet schools," this book also serves as a very good work for coming to understand Sautrantika philosophy.

This is a well written, timely examination of some of the most important issues facing contempoarary students of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. The author makes it accessible to the lay student without sacrificing rigor for the specialist. With the current interest in Buddhist philosphy and it's relation to Western thought, for my money, this is a must read. We are lucky to have the efforts of this author placed on this important subject.