The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk by Georges B. J. Dreyfus

Author:Georges B. J. Dreyfus
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 0520232593
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2003-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

It is in this framework that the debate unfolds strategically. The questioner tries to force his opponent either to contradict himself or to contradict common sense. To do so, he must be able to break down complex arguments into simple elements that can be expressed in a chain of wellformed consequences that follow each other logically. He must also keep track of the position of his adversary and where he wants to take him. The defender must figure out the questioner's strategy and thwart his efforts, using only the three answers.

Let us take the example of a debate about the definition of impermanence, which is "that which is momentary." 42 The debate starts by delineating the agreement between both parties. The questioner may ask for further clarification, with such questions as "What does moment mean in this definition?" "Does it refer to a brief moment or to a longer one?" The defender may answer that the moment implied by momentary is brief. The questioner then proceeds to draw consequences, thinking that he has enough to go on. He may start, "It follows that things last only for a short moment since they are momentary." This statement is framed to embody the defender's answer concerning the meaning of momentariness and is considered the root consequence (rtsa ba'i thal 'gyur), which derives from the root thesis (rtsa ba'i dam bca') that the defender must be made to contradict.

The questioner proceeds by drawing out unwanted consequences intended to force the defender to give the no-pervasion answer that contradicts his explanation of the meaning of momentariness. For if the meaning of momentariness is to last only for a short moment, then being momentary must entail lasting for a short moment. To deny this and hold that there is no pervasion is thus tantamount to directly contradicting the thesis. Presented with the root consequence that embodies his view of the meaning of momentariness, the defender must try to thwart the questioner's attempts by choosing the answer that he can defend and does not contradict his earlier point. In this example, he has one obvious choice: to assent to the consequence. The other possibility, the rejection of the reason as being not established, is less defensible, since it contradicts the fundamental Buddhist view that all things are momentary. And, as noted, saying that there is no pervasion would contradict his thesis concerning the meaning of momentariness. Hence, he will assent to the question, thereby agreeing with a classical interpretation of the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence. The questioner's task is then to oblige the defender to back off from his acceptance of the root statement, forcing him to make the no-pervasion answer that contradicts his main thesis. To do so, the questioner will draw unwanted consequences from the defender's position, pushing him to make counterintuitive statements until he reaches the point of absurdity. For example, the questioner will point to a mountain and state: "It follows that this mountain also lasts for a short moment since it is momentary.

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