Toward a Buddhist Theory of Language

1. To point out that there is a Buddhist theory of language; 2. To set forth the fundamental premises of the Buddhist theory of language, which are implicit in the first and most fundamental teaching of the Buddha—the Four Noble Truths; 3. To assert that the Buddhist theory of language is better than the conventional theory of language, which is the theory that currently dominates the linguistic universe of discourse— better, not as a matter of authority, or faith, or spiritual excellence, but better as a scientific theory on scientific grounds as judged by scientific standards: it can explain the facts better; 4. To briefly sketch one line of argument that shows that the Buddhist theory of language is better (because there is a large body of fact that the Buddhist theory of language can explain but the conventional theories cannot); 5. To assert that the Buddhist theory of language is also better on humanitarian grounds, i.e., it can help to alleviate human suffering; 6. To urge you to try to understand the Buddhist theory of language, as linguists, as Buddhists, as human being, and to try to apply it to the study of language and to the problem of human suffering, and to try to develop the Buddhist theory of language further.