Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Accounts of the Epistemology of Awakening

Abstract

Abstract All Buddhist traditions ascribe omniscience to buddhas. But it is not always clear what this means. This is for two broad reasons. First, there is debate about what falls within the purview of a buddha’s knowledge. Does this include literally every fact, or only soteriologically relevant facts; does it include conventional truth, or only the ultimate truth, etc.?) Second, there is debate about just in what a buddha’s knowledge consists. Is it declarative, a matter of skill, of perceptual acquaintance, etc.? Addressing these debates raises interesting questions about epistemology more broadly, and about the role of knowledge in soteriology. The author of this chapter engages with some of these questions.