Dualism (Indian philosophy)
Dualism in Indian philosophy refers to the belief held by certain schools of Indian philosophy that reality is fundamentally composed of two parts. This mainly takes the form of either mind-matter dualism in Buddhist philosophy or consciousness-matter dualism in the Samkhya and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy. These can be contrasted with mind-body dualism in Western philosophy of mind, but also have similarities with it.
Yasuo Yuasa
Yuasa looks at Descartes' dualism, and the contrasting philosophies of idealism with focus on the mind (spirit) and materialism with focus on the body (matter), and re-evaluates them in the light of Eastern non-dualistic thinking. True to Eastern tradition, he emphasizes that there exists no clear distinction between body and mind. While this is mainly an Eastern point of view, Yuasa acknowledged that similar thoughts have been expressed also by some Western thinkers, for example Merleau-Ponty. Yasuo goes further than existing philosophical tradition in postulating that the unity of body and mind is not a natural state or innate relationship, but rather a state to be achieved. He points out the crucial role of self-cultivation for achieving such 'oneness of body–mind'.