Abstract:

This paper explores the contrast between words (ruta) and meaning (artha) as it emerges from those Mahāyāna sūtras that discuss the issue most extensively. For these texts artha is out of the reach of language. Some declare it inexpressible, some view words and meaning as mutually exclusive, while still others warn of verbalization as a danger to the realization of artha. Their concerns do not spring from semantics, but derive from their conception of reality as sameness.

Author: Ligeia Lugli