Kenjo Shirasaki

Kenjo Shirasaki

白嵜 顕成

Kenjo Shirasaki is a Japanese scholar specializing in Buddhist philosophy, particularly the epistemological and doctrinal aspects of Indian Buddhism. His research has focused on analyzing the philosophical positions of prominent figures like Mokṣākaragupta (ca. 1050–1292 CE) and Jitāri (ca. 940–980 CE), both of whom played significant roles in the final stage of Indian Buddhism. Shirasaki's studies examine their contrasting positions within the Yogācāra school, specifically the Sākāravāda (the doctrine of representation) and Nirākāravāda (the doctrine of non-representation) sub-schools, using textual evidence from works like Tarkabhāṣā and Sugatamatavibhaṅgabhāṣya.

Shirasaki has contributed to clarifying these doctrinal distinctions by analyzing references to earlier scholars such as Dharmakīrti, Prajñākaragupta, Śāntarakṣita, and Ratnākaraśānti. His work highlights the complexities in classifying these sub-schools, a topic also debated by other scholars like Toru Funayama. (Generated by Perplexity Mar 21, 2025)

Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt योगाचार  Tib རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་  Ch 瑜伽行派  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Yogācāra'