Beier Wang

This project explores the term prapañca—“conceptual proliferation,” “mental elaboration”—in early Yogācāra texts, with a particular focus on the Yogācārabhūmi corpus. Although prapañca has held philosophical significance since Early Buddhism, its role in the Yogācāra school remains underexamined—a notable lacuna, given Yogācāra’s psycholinguistic orientation, which naturally resonates with the connotative dimensions of prapañca. Employing a philological method, the research demonstrates that prapañca functions not only as a conventional inheritance from earlier scriptural traditions but also as a conceptual instrument in the development of major Yogācāra innovations, such as the doctrine of Ālayavijñāna, and contributes to the formation of Yogācāra’s idealist philosophy. By investigating these dynamics, the project offers new insights into the Buddhist understanding of the relationship between language, conceptuality, and the nature of existence.