A Spiritual Ascent of the Philosopher-King and the Bodhisattva: An Inquiry Into the Central Books of Plato's "Republic" and the Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism
Dissertation, California Institute of Integral Studies (
2003)
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Abstract
This dissertation is a comparative study of the spiritual ascent found in Plato's central books of the Republic and Asanga's Madhyanta-Vibhanga in the Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism. The emphasis of this research is to define, understand, and elucidate a spiritual ascent, according to each respective field. This dissertation will be an inquiry into the nature of spiritual ascent according to Plato's philosopher-king and Asanga's bodhisattva as well as illuminate any psychological claims, which may govern a spiritual ascent. ;This comparative study will help to open a dialogue between the two diverse perspectives. The two respective fields will be honored and evaluated according to their own values by chosen scholars who have written about the spiritual ascent. For example, I will evaluate Plato's theoretical writing with Platonism, which pertains only to Plato's Philosopher-king's spiritual ascent and likewise I will investigate Asanga's writings with Yogacara's School of Buddhism that is concerned with the Bodhisattva's spiritual ascent. Afterwards, the comparative study will be conducted with a brief summary of both fields concerning spiritual ascent and a definition of spiritual ascent in congruence with both respective fields maintaining their uniqueness. ;The conclusive remarks will summarize the comparison by adhering to the topic of spiritual ascent and will evaluate each field accordingly. The limitations of the research are fulfilled by the boundaries of the topic, spiritual ascent as well as two primary books, which are the Republic and The Madhyanla-Vibahanga. The future investigations propose suggestions pertaining to similar fields of study concerning the topic or related issues pertaining to the field of interest