Paving the Great Way | Robert Wright & Jonathan Gold [The Wright Show] (full conversation)

00:20 The seminal Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu, hero of Paving the Great Way
09:16 Buddhist and Darwinian arguments for reality not being as it seems
18:45 The 'hyper-reductionism' of Buddhism
26:11 Meditation and the doctrine of emptiness
37:51 Does the Buddhist view of causality leave room for agency?
48:30 Are the past and the future real?
56:22 Hindu and Buddhist versions of non-duality
Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero) and Jonathan Gold (Princeton University, Paving the Great Way)
Watch this conversation on MeaningofLife.tv meaningoflife.t...
Recorded on October 5, 2016

[@timmy7255]

Thank you Jonathan, really eye opening interview.

[@lynndavidman691]

Jonathan,. I am watching this on Wed March 10

[@timaddison868]

It's a little unfortunate that Gold didn't draw a distinction between episitemological idealism and ontological idealism when talking about Vasubandhu's appearance-only stance. In Yogacra doctrine, confusion arises when we separate from awareness a subject and an object - that is, we manufacture dualistic experience (abhutaparikalpita), and the "apprehenders" and "apprehended" that constitute this duality, are purely imaginary (parilakpita). We superimpose upon raw sensory data concepts, and conflate the concept with the percept. Of course what we conceive of does not exist in the way we think it does. It is mere mental fabrication -- i.e., it is only mind, and it is only mind that needs to be worked with in order to achieve liberation. Understood this way, Yogacara is not at all concerned with ontological idealsim for, as Gold faintly hints, Yogacarans such as Asanga, Vasubandhu and Stiramathi accept the teachings of emptiness as presented in the Prajnaparamita literature (indeed, it was Asanga's quest to better understand the Parajnaparamita sutras that motivated his study and intellectual output).

[@bayreuth79]

If everything can be explained within the casual nexus (dependent origination) then what causes consciousness? There is no scientific explanation for how the brain gives rise to consciousness. There is no evolutionary explanation for consciousness (how does it adapt for fitness?).

[@FearlessWisdom]

Great stuff. Thanks

[@bayreuth79]

If there is no self- no self of any kind- then what is liberation in Buddhism?

[@chewyjello1]

EVER(self)YTHING- self= EVERYTHING Maybe :)

[@franksu9735]

No self no liberation.

[@mcmedia7303]

Liberation just means that you don’t have any thing any self from which you need to liberate Or entering into a completely different experience that beyond the description of words where you can’t find your self.

[@parthasharma1973]

is the rainbow a particular human experience? can a dog or bird also "experience" a rainbow?

[@parthasharma1973]

does J. Gold meditate?

[@mrssrm5053]

I was frustrated by these two constantly interupting one another. GRRRRR. Did not feel they were really engaged with a listening audience. Get it together for crying out loud!!! An interview is not a freaking private conversation