Varavastaseid

Varavastaseid is a concept within the philosophy of Pramāṇa, an Indian and Tibetan tradition of Buddhist epistemology. It is often translated as a "reason giving the fall" or "hindrance reason." Varavastaseid refers to the fourth stage of the sequence of reasoning in the process of proving the existence of other minds. This reasoning sequence, also known as the "argument from reasoning," was primarily developed by the Tibetan Buddhist philosopher Mipham Rinpoche.

In the argument from reasoning, an individual attempts to establish the existence of other minds through a process of reasoning based on their own mental experiences. The four stages in this reasoning sequence include: (1) the necessity of inference, (2) the reason for the inference, (3) why this reason is certain, and (4) the thing that is being inferred to.

Varavastaseid, the fourth stage, corresponds to the reason giving the fall, or the hindrance reason. This stage is necessary to clarify the manner in which one's mind, as an indivisible whole, can be divided into two parts: self-awareness and the object of awareness.

In the argument from reasoning, Varavastaseid differs from the recognition of consciousness as a fundamental existence. It also diverges from the Sunyavada, or emptiness of all existence. The argument from reasoning remains a subject of ongoing philosophical debate within Tibetan Buddhist scholarship. However, despite potential criticisms, Varavastaseid remains a significant point of inquiry into investigating the foundations of the mind's existence.