Professor Donald S. Lopez, Jr.
Reason and Revelation in Buddhism
“Reason and Revelation” is the title of Steven Goodman’s first book. The lecture will begin with some reminiscences about Steve, noting the many developments in the field of Tibetan Buddhist Studies during the forty years of his academic career, a career that began with his work on revelation (terma) and ended with his work on reason (abhidharma). It will then turn to a perennial question in the study of religion, and in the study of Buddhism: Which came first, reason or revelation, and what is the relation between them?