Other Lives: Mind and World in Indian Buddhism
Columbia University Press, 2021 320 pages; $35
WHAT DOES IT MEAN to have a mind? What does it mean to have experiences? These sorts of questions have preoccupied Buddhist philosophers for millennia, and the answers have been the subject of centuries-long debates across traditions. But these sorts of debates are more than just philosophical exercises. Making sense of how and why we experience the world in the ways that we do is also a critical part of practice on the Buddhist path.
Our minds shape our experiences. When I am in an irritated or agitated state of mind, I might experience the music coming from my neighbor’s apartment as intrusive and annoying. But when I am in a calm and relaxed state of mind, I might experience that same music as something that isn’t annoying at all. I might even find it enjoyable.
If we can begin to understand this sort of relationship—namely, that one’s experience is determined by one’s mind—then we might also be able to understand that others
