Consciousness, knowledge, and ignorance

This is the first English translation of the "First Section" (prathama varnaka)-the "Section on Inquiry" (jijnasadhikarana)-of the Pancapadikavivarana, a Sanskrit commentary offering a systematic exposition of Advaita (nondualistic) Vedanta from the Vivarana perspective. The central question concerns the nature of ignorance, or not-knowing, and its relation to knowing. It discusses how ignorance obstructs the nature of reality; the locus and support of ignorance; and whether ignorance is a positive entity. The American Institute of Buddhist Studies (AIBS), in affiliation with the Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies (CBS) and Tibet House US (THUS), has established the Treasury of the Indic Sciences series as a complement to its Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. For over fifteen hundred years the scholars representing various Buddhist traditions were actively engaged in dialogue and debate with representatives of various Vedist, Hindu, Jainist, and other religious and secular traditions. In this cosmopolitan milieu the shared arts and sciences of all these Indic traditions were constantly refined and developed. In full acknowledgement of this broader context, the AIBS is widening its Buddhistic mandate with the Treasury of the Indic Sciences series in which it is publishing translations of influential classics from the diversity of Indic traditions. Publications from both Treasuries will bring important Indic contributions into contemporary discourse, enriching and contributing to our global cultural, philosophical, spiritual, and scientific heritage. --Book Jacket.