Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse
While metaphors for the human mind have been intensively discussed across multiple disciplines, there remains a gap on how Buddhism deals with the mind metaphorically. This study explores how Mahāyāna Buddhist discourse resorts to embodied and discursive metaphors in describing and explaining the mi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/345 |
| _version_ | 1811261439939182592 |
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| author | Byongchang Kang |
| author_facet | Byongchang Kang |
| author_sort | Byongchang Kang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While metaphors for the human mind have been intensively discussed across multiple disciplines, there remains a gap on how Buddhism deals with the mind metaphorically. This study explores how Mahāyāna Buddhist discourse resorts to embodied and discursive metaphors in describing and explaining the mind. Buddhist texts analyzed are the <i>Treatise on the Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna</i> and its two commentaries by Wŏnhyo. The <i>Awakening of Faith</i> discourse abounds in metaphors for the sentient being’s mind in two aspects: the ordinary phenomenal mind and the transcendental essential mind. The focus of this study is on the relationship between the seemingly opposing two minds, and the ways in which these two opposites are unified metaphorically. To do so, I first examine how the essential mind, which is said to transcend ordinary experience and verbal expression, is made speakable through primary metaphors and NON-CONTAINER (unboundedness) image schema, and how the phenomenal mind is metaphorically understood according to the covarying scalar properties in primary metaphors. With respect to the argument for harmonizing the two minds, in which introducing more apt analogical metaphors is important, two representative discursive metaphors (a mirror metaphor and an ocean metaphor) are compared and discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:04:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7796c0a4d00d4d7cb3209d0181f3c45e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:04:23Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-7796c0a4d00d4d7cb3209d0181f3c45e2022-12-22T03:20:04ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442018-11-0191134510.3390/rel9110345rel9110345Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> DiscourseByongchang Kang0Semiosis Research Center, 905 Main Building, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 107 Imunro-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02450, KoreaWhile metaphors for the human mind have been intensively discussed across multiple disciplines, there remains a gap on how Buddhism deals with the mind metaphorically. This study explores how Mahāyāna Buddhist discourse resorts to embodied and discursive metaphors in describing and explaining the mind. Buddhist texts analyzed are the <i>Treatise on the Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna</i> and its two commentaries by Wŏnhyo. The <i>Awakening of Faith</i> discourse abounds in metaphors for the sentient being’s mind in two aspects: the ordinary phenomenal mind and the transcendental essential mind. The focus of this study is on the relationship between the seemingly opposing two minds, and the ways in which these two opposites are unified metaphorically. To do so, I first examine how the essential mind, which is said to transcend ordinary experience and verbal expression, is made speakable through primary metaphors and NON-CONTAINER (unboundedness) image schema, and how the phenomenal mind is metaphorically understood according to the covarying scalar properties in primary metaphors. With respect to the argument for harmonizing the two minds, in which introducing more apt analogical metaphors is important, two representative discursive metaphors (a mirror metaphor and an ocean metaphor) are compared and discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/345Mahāyāna BuddhismmindDasheng qixin lunconceptual metaphor theoryprimary metaphoranalogical metaphor |
| spellingShingle | Byongchang Kang Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse Religions Mahāyāna Buddhism mind Dasheng qixin lun conceptual metaphor theory primary metaphor analogical metaphor |
| title | Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse |
| title_full | Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse |
| title_fullStr | Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse |
| title_short | Unifying Opposites through Metaphor: A Cognitive Approach to the Buddhist Metaphors for the Mind in the <i>Awakening of Faith</i> Discourse |
| title_sort | unifying opposites through metaphor a cognitive approach to the buddhist metaphors for the mind in the i awakening of faith i discourse |
| topic | Mahāyāna Buddhism mind Dasheng qixin lun conceptual metaphor theory primary metaphor analogical metaphor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/345 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT byongchangkang unifyingoppositesthroughmetaphoracognitiveapproachtothebuddhistmetaphorsforthemindintheiawakeningoffaithidiscourse |