January 1, 2025Journal of Buddhist philosophy0 citations

Karma, Intersubjectivity, and Collectivity in Buddhist Thought

Key Points

Karma is depicted as both an individual and collective concept within Buddhist philosophy, emphasizing intersubjectivity.
The discussion is framed around the vijñapti scope, a unique perspective in early Yogācāra thought.
The Mahāyānsaṃgraha provides grounding for understanding the shared aspects of lifeworld and karma.
This approach highlights the interconnected nature of beings regarding their karmic burdens.

Abstract

Abstract: This essay presents an early Yogācāra view of karma as both an individual and collective affair. Framing its discussion of karma in terms of three distinct Buddhist scopes, or frameworks for investigating karma, it introduces the idea of a distinctive early Yogācāra framework for karma, called the vijñapti scope. Grounding its exposition of the vijñapti scope in the Mahāyānsaṃgraha , the essay argues that within the vijñapti scope, all beings in a shared lifeworld share a subjectivity with regard to that lifeworld and that by virtue of this intersubjectivity they also share karmic burdens that manifest as the shared space of the lifeworld.

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