A Yogācāra Buddhist Theory of Metaphor
Roy Tzohar
Reviews and Awards
"This work is a philosophically technical treatment appropriate for scholars of Yogācāra and Mahāyāna thought generally, as well as those interested in how language is addressed by Indian Buddhist thinkers. It is a challenging work in its detailed progression through the relevant texts, but the architectonic is very clear and provides careful guidance through these issues." - Richard K. Payne, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies
"By refusing to bracket the soteriological concerns of Buddhist philosophers while nevertheless putting them in philosophical English, Tzohar invites philosophers into a new conversation where the stakes are in fact quite high. That he is able to do this while staying true to the unfamiliar intuitions sometimes expressed in Indian Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions is an admirable accomplishment." - Journal of Religion
"Rare is the academic monograph that combines the precision of painstaking textual and conceptual analysis with the kinds of dazzling and innovative insights that have the capacity to give rise to many new areas of inquiry in an already established field. Such is what Roy Tzohar accomplishes in A Yogacara Buddhist Theory of Metaphor...Because this book both breaks new ground, and does so in a methodical, comprehensive, and intellectually challenging fashion, itis essential reading for students of Yogacara thought and South Asian philosophy of language, and is to be highly recommended to students of Buddhist philosophy more generally." - Joy Brennan, Kenyon College, Journal of Buddhist Ethics
"Roy Tzohar's volume, the first study of its kind in English, provides a detailed yet accessible analysis of early Indian philosophy of language in general, and Yogācāra theory of metaphor (upacāra) in particular. The result is a stunning integration of philosophical sophistication and philological rigoran invaluable contribution not only to our understanding of early Indian theories of language, but also to our appreciation of Yogācāra thought." - Robert H. Sharf, D.H. Chen Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies, University of California, Berkeley
"In this magnificent and trailblazing book Roy Tzohar reconstructs a Buddhist philosophical defense of the radical thesis that all language is metaphor. The manner in which he does thisshowing that Buddhist thinkers had sophisticated indigenous theoretical tools to argue for their claim, situating the Buddhist view in a proper intellectual context comprising contemporaneous non-Buddhist philosophers, and rehabilitating one particular Buddhist, Sthiramati (470550), as a strikingly innovative thinker in his own rightis methodologically exemplary. A tremendous achievement." - Jonardon Ganeri, author of Attention, Not Self
"Scholars both traditional and modern have been slow to recognize the significance and innovation in the works of Sthiramati, a brilliant sixth-century Indian Buddhist philosopher of the Yogācāra school. Tzohar's fascinating work brings Sthiramati's contributions to light by locating them in the philosophical conversations of their time and tradition. In addition, Tzohar traces the logic in familiar philosophical terms, showing how Sthiramati's approach to language, reality and meaning is significant for our time as well." - Jonathan C. Gold, author of Paving the Great Way: Vasubandhu's Unifying Buddhist Philosophy
"[T]he book is an extremely valuable and insightful contribution to the study of Indian theories of language and meaning...In sum, Tzohar's book presents an innovative approach that shows how Yogacāra Buddhist philosophers developed their views in close interaction with non-Buddhist and non-Mahāyāna thoughts on language and epistemology. Obviously sympathetic with Sthiramati, Tzohar develops a reconstruction of the pan-metaphorical theory that he personally finds convincing. As such, the work can also be located in the field of comparative philosophy." - Reading Religion
