Practicing the comparison of phenomena

Part of an ongoing series of teachings based on Daniel Perdue's book, The Course in Buddhist Reasoning and Logic: An Asian Approach to Analytical Thinking Drawn from Indian and Tibetan Sources.

  • Steps to use if your opponent compares two phenomena as three possibilities and you agree
  • Responding to your opponent who thinks that two phenomena compare as three and they are actually four
  • How to answer if the opponent thinks that two phenomena compare as three but they are actually mutually exclusive
  • Strategies to use when your opponent believes that two phenomena are three but they are actually mutually inclusive

97 The Course in Buddhist Reasoning and Debate: Practicing the Comparison of Phenomena (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.