Ways of Knowing

Existent phenomena are defined as what is validly knowable. In the Sautrantika system, existent phenomena are divided into nonstatic objective entities and static metaphysical ones.

An introduction to the system of ways of knowing (lorig), a major component of the Buddhist map of the mind. The text covers the various ways in which we cognize objects – valid, non-valid, conceptual, non-conceptual and so on.

Presumptive cognition is an invalid cognition that conceptually takes its object correctly and freshly but presumes it to be true either for no reason, a wrong one, or even a right one but without understanding why it is correct.

Examples illustrating the seven ways of knowing, and how to identify and apply them in our daily lives.

An explanation of the main features of the Bon tradition by the 34th Menri Trizin, the current spiritual leader of Bon.

Conceptual cognition is a deceptive cognition, because it confuses a category and generic representation of a member of a category with a specific item. Western languages call such conceptual labeling “projection.”

Comparing non-Prasangika and Prasangika Indian logic for gaining valid inferential cognition of a conclusion about an object.

These three types of comprehensible phenomena include all existent phenomena – all phenomena that can be validly known.

An overview of the different numbers of valid ways of knowing in Indian tenet systems.

According to the Sautrantika tenet system, there are seven ways of knowing an object. To understand the seven in more detail, we first need to know what a way of knowing (“lorig” in Tibetan) is.