Abstract
The article deals with a problem of relation between textual interpretation and methodology of enlightenment in the Buddhist tradition. According to traditional exegesis, works of Buddhist philosophy are something like a samādhi, a sustained and penetrating contemplation of certain pathways of thought and insight. The author reveals that the Buddhist hermeneutical tradition is a tradition of realization, and devoid of any dichotomy between intellect and experience, the rational and the mystical. A principal role of the tradition is to supply the intertextual context of prejudices that makes the reading and talking possible and the background in which the revelation of meaning and the composition of a meaningful text become possible. Finally, it is pointed out that it is impossible to separate the study of Buddhist hermeneutics from the question of hermeneutics of the modern scholar who having his prejudices and preunderstandings determined by time and culture interpretes traditional Buddhist texts.
Highlights
The article deals with a problem of relation between textual interpretation and methodology of enlightenment in the Buddhist tradition
Works of Buddhist philosophy are something like a samadhi, a sustained and penetrating contemplation of certain pathways of thought and insight
The author reveals that the Buddhist hermeneutical tradition is a tradition ofrealization, and devoid ofany dichotomy between intellect and experience, the rational and the mystical
Summary
The article deals with a problem of relation between textual interpretation and methodology of enlightenment in the Buddhist tradition. A principal role of the tradition is to supply the intertextual context of prejudices that makes the reading and talking possible and the background in which the revelation ofmeaning and the composition ofa meaningful text become possible. It is pointed out that it is impossible to separate the study of Buddhist hermeneutics from the question of hermeneutics of the modern scholar who having his prejudices and preunderstandings determined by time and culture interpretes traditional Buddhist texts. In recent years hermeneutical reflexiveness has become a hallmark of East-West studies by reflecting the historical relativity of the comparative process itself in a self-critical way. To take an ungenerous view ofour encounter with Buddhism, a great many Asian religions turn out to be whatever we happened to have had in our heads to begin with[2]
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