Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 453

BTJDDHIST INSIGHT

Essaysby Alex Wayman

EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION

BY

George Elder

MOTILAL BANARSIDASS Delhi Yaranasi Patnq Madras

i-.i{

Fint Published: I984 Copyrigh t vtoTILAL @ B AN ARS ID As s Head Ofice : Bungalow Road, Delhi l l0 007 B,anches:Chowk, Varanasi221001 Ashok Rajpath, Patna 800 004 6, Appar Swamy Koil Street,Mylapore, Madras 600004 rights reserved. .{.11 No qart of this publication may be reproduced :r ransmitted in any form .oI by any means, withoutihe p;i;; ;ermrssion of Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN :089581-041-7 h-inted in India by Shantilal Jain at Shri Jainendrapress A_45, Naraina, Pha_se-X, New Delhi l l0 028 and published by \arendra PrakashJain, for Motilal Bananidass,delhi l l0 007

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction,by GeorgeR. Elder Part I. BuddhistPractice 1l l. Buddhaas Savior 29 2. Ancient BuddhistMonasticism andMahiSdsaka69 3. Aspectsof Meditation in the Theravd,da accordingto the Lam Rim 4. The BodhisattvaPractice ChenMo Part II. BuddhistDoctrine 5. The SixteenAspectsof the Four Noble Truths and Their Opposites Metaphor-Simile 6. The Mirror as a Pan-Buddhist J. The BuddhistTheory of Vision Origination-the Indo-Tibetan Tradition 8. Dependent and Insight accordingto Asanga's 9- Nescience Yogdcdrabhumi 10. The Twenty Reifying Views (Sakkdyadillhi) of the I l. Who Understands the Four Alternatives Buddhisttexts ? Dispute in Buddhism 12. The Intermediate-state of Buddhism Part III. InterpretativeStudies Time in Buddhism 269 13. No Time, GreatTime,and Profane 287 14. The Role of Art amongthe BuddhistReligieux 307 15. Secret of the Heart Sutra Part IV. Texts of the Asangaschool 16. The Sacittikd and Acittikd Bhumi, Text and Translation 17. Asanga'sTreatise,the Paramdrtha-gdthd Treatiseon the ThreeInstructionsof 18. Asanga's Buddhism

r17 r29
153

r63
193 215 225 25t

327 333 353

(vi) Part V. Hindu and BuddhistStudies 19. Two Traditions of India-:Truth and Silence 20. The Hindu-BuddhistRite of Truth-an Interpretation 21. Significance of Dreamsin India and Tibet 22. The Significance of Mantras,from the Vedadown to BuddhistTantric Practice 23. The Goddess Sarasvati-from India to Tibet 24. The Twenty-onePraises of of Tird, a Syncretism Saivism and Buddhism Acknowledgments Index

369 39r 399

4r3 43r
AAI 453 457

TNTRODUCTION

Alex Wayman-Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of Middle East Languagesand Cultures and Professor in the Department of Religion at Columbia University-enjoys a world-wide reputation as a truly outstanding scholar in the field of Buddhist Studies. This reputation is founded upon two decadesof teaching and writing, with his recent full-length publication entitled Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real, a translation from the Tibetan of a portion of Tson-kha-pa's expansive Lam rim cherc mo, published in 1978. While Wayman's half a dozen other books have become a standard of quality in this field, it is still a surprisefor colleagues to learn that this scholar has also published more than ninety essays to date. These essays have appeared in what are now generally accessible anthologies of other scholars and in the premier journals of the United States. Many have also been written at the requestof editors in Europe, India, and Japan" Indexes being what they are, and libraries and one's capacity to keep track being limited, a number of these fine short treatments have not yet been sufficiently known. Professor Wayman has already attempted to bridge the gap by publishing sixteen of his essays in the collection, The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism, 1973. While that volume focuses upon contributions to tantric Buddhism, the present volume makes more readily available to scholars and the intelligent reader wayman's contributions to our understanding of non-tantric Buddhism. The twenty-four essayscollected here focus almost entirely upon Early Buddhism (what the Mahdydnists refer to as Hinaydna) and upon Mahdydna Buddhism in India. Except one, each of these essayshas already been published. Their appearance together here has been advised by Alex Wayman himself; and this has allowed the author of the essays the opportunity to make corrections and to provide additional materials. My own emendations have been in terms of

BuddhistInsight

regularizing punctuation and diacriticals as much as feasible and seeing to it that the work reads more or less as a coherent statement rather than as so many separate papers. But it is also true that the general consistencyof Wayman's translations and his reliance in one article upon positions established in another lend a natural coherence-and, I think, strength-to the book. The method of scholarship found in this volume has been explained by the author in the prefaceto his The B.uddhistTantras' There, he states: "Al1 those works, whether published or in press or preparation, have a common method which is the subordination of personai opinion about the Tantra to authoritative explanations by the proficients of this cult." Accordingly, the reader will find here some of Wayman's views on the nature of non-tantric Indian Buddhism. But mainly he or she will discover the Buddhists' own Yiews on the nature of their religion-and this by way of translations of scripture (fairly literally rendered) illuminated by authoritative commentary. The commentators in this instance are most often Asanga (375-430, A.D.), in Sanskrit, and Tson-kha-pa (1357especiallyhis Yogacdrabhilmi 6m chen mo in Tibetan. The Lam his titg, A.D.), especially by the fact that the Tibetan is attested felicity of this combination While both of these Asanga. from reformer often quotes by religious perto Mahiydnists be ancient scholars are known in scope and encyclopedic suasion, their works mentioned are all phases of virtually on provide a high standard of commentary are also of here collected Buddhism. It follows that the essays a high standard with a minimum of mere speculation and with a ceftain fidelity to the complexity of the materials concerned. Since Buddhism is a rich religion and at times an obscure one' , and perhaps articles,in this the reader will come upon passages work that will seemopaque except to those trained in the issues; but the attentive reader will also find much to inform the intellect and delight the soul. In any case, in the essaysassembled here an extraordinary wealth of information, some of it entirely unexpected,is presentedin a manner that should give it an enduring uuio.. It might be mentioned also that there is actually a variety ,of styles in the collection. Most of the articles appearedin the seventiesbut one as early as 1959 and some as recent as 1980; furthermore, Professor Wayman was writing at different times for different publishers who have had their own purposes.

trntroduction

This bringsus to the questionof the sort 6f readerfor whom this volume is intended. wayman, the ..schorar,s scholar,,, wrote the essays originally for coileagues in the field; and they, of course,remain the primary audience. Graduatestudentsin BuddhistStudies or Indian religions in general will alsofind this work invaluable. But I would like to suggest stronglythat these ssays be considered asa secondary source-alongsidlr.ripru..r_ within the undergraduate curriculum. From -y o*n experience with college students, I know that the surveys or guoonismnow available areuseful;but I alsoknow that theyprovide information of a kind that theprofessor himserf or herslican only too easily provide in lecture. The undergraduate student is left without a bridge between introductory statementsand the foreign complexities of Buddhist scripture. with thisin mind,these essays have beenarranged asa sortofsurveyof non-tantricIndian Buddhismby way of in-depthdiscussion of its mostimportantissues. Part one' "Buddhist practice," opens ,itt a treatment of "Buddha as savior." It is not immediately apparent that this essayhas to do with the path; but it p.ouio., an initial focus upon the Indian man who fou'ded Buddhism at the end of the sixth century,B.c. while "Buddha,'-.6Jfus Awakened Qng,,_ can be said to be the chief epithet of siddhdrtha Gautama, we learn hereof the many namesgiven this figure in scripture and commentary; and Waymanshowshow the variousnamespoint to a variety of views of Buddha'sactivity within the rerigion. was GautamaBuddha a "savior" simpry because he reveared the truth about reality? or did he ..save,, also in the sense of somehow providing otherswith the power to perceive this truth? In the first instance, disciples would needto^..work,,out their salvation with diligence; and in the second, they couldrery more upon the "grace" of the Lord. Thus, the proflem of Buddhist practice is engaged..And wayman discusses ..conthe discipre,s version"from an ordinaryperson to special person-one who has developed his native"insight" and beco*, u ..son,, in the f;it of the Buddha. The article that follows, ..Ancient Buddhist Monasticism,"provides at some length a description of the monastic contextin which the process of conversion took jprace: the kinds of ordination, the rures,the confessions-and stages of progress. Scholars in particularwill bepleasedto flnd here a technicaldiscussion of thetranslation of p ia tfuok sa as..Liberation-

Buddhist Insight

or onset.,' But there are in BuddhiSm "Three Trainings" on instructions; and the "morality" emphasized in the essay "meditation of practice The them. of monastic life is only one upon is yet another-indeed, it is a mental training which follows follows there so And the right establishmentof moral behaviour. the informative essay, "Aspects of Meditation in the Theravdda are and Mahisasaka." Since the Theravdda and Mahisd'saka section-"The' this in sects of Early Buddhism, the final essay Bodhisattva Practice According to the Lant Rim chen i'[s"turns our attention to the stage of discipleship called the bodhi' sattva within the MahdYana. third Part two can be looked upon as a presentation of the "Doctrine"' the training-training in f insighf"-5inss it takes up by which must be "discerned" once the mind has been "calmed" and meditatron. This is by far the longest section of the book, it opens with a discussionof "The sixteen Aspects of the Four. Truths Noble Truths and their opposites." The Four Noble first at his Buddha Gautama by taught are said to have been grows doctrine basic the see how to sermon; and it is interesting times the with the tradition to encompass eventually four ..truth,, complete with opposites or o'coverings"which obscure that these truths for ordinary persons. Buddhists ares aying and misperceived ; generally is ordinary rcality, called salnsdra, extrathe perceive not will correctly, one unless one seessaqnsdra to the ordinary reality called nirvdrya. Having been introduced 'owheel" with sixteen aspects religious use of the symbol of the the essay' or spokes, we encounter the symbol of the "mirror" in ..The Mirror as a Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-simile." The the imagimaterials presented are particularly rich, capturing data move the nation u, t.ligiorrs symbols are intended to do; and tantric the through the varied traditions of Buddhism, including short the formr. This is all by way of prepatation, I think, for vision'" but important statement, "The Buddhist Theory of prajfia as of justify translation his to begins Professor wayman ooinsight" (rather than as "wisdom," a translation preferred by but it is ,o*.-; toward the close of the essayon "Meditation;" that translation a of significance the sense really here that we 'oseeing." FOr it is "seeing"-4nd having a nuance Of preserves ^the "eye" for it-which servesas the primary symbol of understanding throughout the history of Buddhism'

Introduction

While the successful yogin must "see" the Four Noble Truths in their multiple aspects,he must also seeDependent Origination. There follows, then, the long and complex discussion, "DepenPublished only dent Origination-the Indo-Tibetan Tradition." previously the author's of culmination is a this essay recently, published researchon the subject; and the extensive notes provide a sort of sub-text for the body of this essay. Avidya is the first member of this twelve-member formula for conditioned reality, and FrofessorWayman focusesupon it in his article, "Nescience ,and Insight According to Asanga's Yogdcdrabhumi." Actually, we learn that "nescience" is a general translation of avidyd since it might better be rendered "ignorance" as the first member of Dependent Origination so as to preserve an unexin association with pected meaning as a kind of "waywardness'o "fnsight" "feelings," the seventh member of the formula. in any form, and Asanga'slong list of metaopposes"nescienceo' phors for prajfid-including the most telling ones that have to do with "light" -can be found here. But the problem of "nescience"for the ordinary personis a persistentone; and so we read next of "The Twenty Reifying Views''. These must yield place in favour of the Buddhist view called "non-self" which is, in this instance, the view of the five skandhas,each denied in four ways as being "self." As the section comes to a close, we are treated once again to the Buddhist penchant for a four-fold analysis in the essay,"Who Understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?" This is the most philosophical, in some ways the most technical, essayin the volume; it goes directly to problems of logic-and Wayman takes on a number of his colleaguesin debate. The subject matter itself includes such ancient problems as this: Does the Tathdgata exist after death? And so the section closeswith the topic, "The Intermediate-State Dispute in Buddhism." Here, the debate is among Buddhists alone. And the question is whether a person who is not yet Enlightened goes directly to his or her next life upon death, or goes to an "intermediate state," some state in between. I think it is important to seein this essayand elsewhere within the volume that a dispute among Buddhists may exhibit the difference between the Hinayana and Mahayana forms but may just as readily cut acrosssectarianlines. Part three is entitled "Interpretative Studies of Buddhism"

nuddhist Insight

since the author brings to bear upon Buddhist materials in these essavspoints of view which are not in themselvesnecessarily Buddhist. The first, "No Time, Great Time, and profane Time in Buddhism," allows categoriesmore usually associatedwith the "history of religions" school to inform our understanding of the Buddhist religion; the second, "The Role of Art Among the Buddhist Religieux" blends art history with a fair amount of modern aesthetic theory while relying upon positions already established in the essay on "Dependent origination." The third, "secret of the Heart.Siltra," is unique. Wayman calls it an "Asian-type commentary composed by a westernsl"-s1d fus is the Westerner. Here, this scholar brings to bear upon a famous Mahdydna scripture a more or less yogdcdra point of view in opposition to the usual Buddhist commentary from the point of view of the Madhyamika school. It is a style of scholarship which wayman also employs in his work, yoga of the Guhyasamdjatantra, published in 1977. Part four, "Texts of the Asanga School," provides a change of pace. It contains edited sanskrit and translated excerpts from the Yogacarabhumi of Asanga whose commentary, as already noted, has informed many of the preceding essays. Readers will gain from this section a clear idea of the kinds of materials involved in Buddhist scholarship, and scholars in particular will gain edited materials for their own work along with a clear sense of wayman's style of translation. The best introduction to these excerpts is actually found in the opening paragraphs of the second essay' "Asanga's Treatise on the Paramdrtha Gatha"-4nd, also, in the opening of the essay entitled, "Nescience and Insight According to Asanga's Yogdcdrabhilmi " introd,uced above. This is becauseof the preferenceshown to a presentation in the order of its appearance within the yogdcdrahbilmi itself. The short text, "The Sacittikd and Acittika Bhfrmi" was previously published only as edited; and wayman has taken the opportunity to provide the translation here as well. It contains Nos. g and 9 of the seventeen bhumis or "stages." The "paramdrtha Gatha" text already mentioned is a set of verses with commentary by Asanga which form a portion of "stage" No. I l; this material, by the way, was previously published as part of wayman's fuillength Analysis of the SrdvakabhilmiManuscript,l96l. It appears again here with corrections. And, finally, the text "Asafiga's

Introduction

Treatiseon the ThreeInstructionsof Buddhism"takesup the set of verses and commentarythat follow the "Paramdrtha Githi" within "stage" No. 11. This materialin the book has not been publishedin someform earlier. Part five extendsour appreciationfor the range of Professor Wayman'swork. It is entitled," Hindu and Buddhist Studies;" and its comparative approachshouldgivea certainfeelingfor the characterof Buddhismin India which was always surrounded, we might say,by Hinduism. The essays can be looked upon as pairs. The first pair is made of : "Two Traditions of IndiaTruth and Silence" and 'The Hindu-Buddhist Rite of Truthan Interpretation." They move through the Vedas,Upanisads, and Buddhism; and they articulate the tradition of the muni or "silent sage" as distinct from the tradition of the sagewho 'orite verbalizes his truth, especially by way of mantra. And the of truth" is shown to be a particular instanceof the power of truth spoken. The second pair of esSays-"Significance of Dreamsin India and Tibet" along with "Significanceof Mantras, From the Veda Down to Buddhist Tantric Practice"-are less united in theme. Both, however,focusupon important features of Indian religiouslife and provide valuabledetailedclassifications. Finally, it is appropriatethat a volumeentitled Buddhist Insiglttshouldend with its attentionupon the Feminine since,in Buddhism, "Insight" is sometimes a "Woman." Wayman's treatment, "The Goddess Sarasvati-from India to Tibet," tracesthe history of a deity from her form as a river to her many forms within Buddhist meditation; and the translation essay, "The Twenty-OnePraises of Tdrd, a Syncretism of Saivismand Buddhism," bringsthe volumeto a closewith a beautiful hymn. Sincethe last two essays touch upon materialsthat are ambiguously related to both the non-tantric and tantric forms of MahdydnaBuddhism,they may serveas an encouragement to continue this "survey" of Buddhism by consultingAlex Wayman's other collection of essays, The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Esot ericism. GeorgeR. Elder Hunter College,New York City

PART ONE

BUDDHIST PRACTICE

BUDDHA AS SAVIOR

The Buddhistteachings about Buddha as a savior go deep into the meaning of Buddhism, and alsoinvolvedeep-seated difference$ in the persons who might be subjectto this salvific activity. our investigationshowsone situation during the time of the histori-. cal Buddha,another coming to the fore after his passingas the disciples yearned for and received a new dispensation.Fortunate-. ly, it is all at hand-the old Buddhistscriptures,the later Mah6ydnadevelopments; and so it is possible to discernsomechanges. in viewpointas time went on. A problem in one extensive corpus of Buddhist literatureis. whether the Buddha's salvific operation is consistentwith Buddhist emphasison individual responsibilityand enterprise. But in anotherbranch of Buddhistliteraturethis doesnot appear to be a problem at all. There are also some highly disputed matters,as to whethersuch an activity as "grace" is accepted_ The old teachingof the Buddharesisted this, and one must pass. to Mahdydnadevelopments to find convincingexamples.
RrrnvaNr EprrlIETs oF THE BuooHa

The celebrated Buddhist dictionary Mahdvyutpatti devotes its first section to epithets of the Buddha, and a later section to terms about the greatness of the Tathagata (a title of the Buddha).r From these two sections I have selected certain names that can be arranged in sets as follows: I Mahavyutpatti, editedby Rv6zanun6 sar.crr, 2nd edn., Tokyo, 1962, 2 vols.

12

BuddhistInsight a. Names indicating the Buddha as refuge and savior: worthy of refuge (iarapya), the refuge (iarattd, protector (Sopti; savior (trdyin, tdraka), rescuer of all (viivamtara). b. Buddha's double nature: perfect in clear vision and walking Q i dyacar a Uas ar.npanna). c. Names of Buddha as guide and teacher: teacher(of gods and men) (iastr-devamanwydndm), guide (ndyaka, parindyaka, netr); charioteer of persons to be tamed (purusa-damyasaratlil); caravan leader for the beginners (sdrthavahaadikarmikdndm).

Some of those titles are in a scriptural passageof the Pdli canonical collection called Anguttara-nikaya (Book of Threes):2 Here aTathdgata arisesin the world, an Arahantwho is rightly completely enlightened, perfect in clear vision and walking, Sugata,World-knower, incomparable charioteer of personsto be tamed, teacher of gods and men, a Buddha Bhagavat. He proclaims thus: "Come ! This is the Path. This is the course I announce: I so mastered it that myself realized directly rvith supernormal faculty the incomparable yoga-way of brahma-conduct (bralmmcaril'ogadha).Come you also! I\{ay you so coursethat having masteredit you too yourselves may directly realize rvith supernormal faculty the incomparable yoga-way of brahma-conduct, and having acquired it may abide (therein) !" It is in this way that the Teacher . teachesthe Dhamma, and others coursefor the thusnessgoal. You should know, moreover, that these amount to many hundreds, many thousands,many hundred thousands. My rendition "perfect in clear vision and walking" for the is in part verified in the well-known epithet vidydcaranasaivpanna Mahaprajfiaparamitaiastra, which explains the term vidya as possibly the three kinds of visions which the future Buddha had under the tree of enlightenment,namely, the memory of previous lives, the divine eye, and the ending of the fluxes. Theseare both o'clear visions" and supernormal faculties (abhijfifl, while the remaining three supernormal faculties of the standard Buddhist zThe passage wascalledto my attentionin A.K. Coouluswauv and (London,1948), p. 43,but the translation theBuddha I. B. HonNnn, Gotama is my own.

Buddha as Savior

13

list are merely supernormal faculties and not clear visions.s However, the Chinese idstra takes the carana part as practices, while I render it more literally as "walkingo' to indicate the wanderings during which the Buddha taught his Doctrine that was establishedin the clear visions. The Mahaprajfiapdramitaidstra, when explaining the epithet "teacher of gods and men," raises the question of why the title is restricted to two of the five (or six) destinies that also count the animals, hungry ghosts (preta), and hell beings. It replies that the Buddha frequently saves beings included among men and gods and rarely savesbeings of the "bad destinies," animals, etc. It adds that men have weak bonds and can easily gain detachment, while the gods have sharp insight (prajfia), and so both these can easily attain the Path.a The Chinese idstra fortunately also has an entry for the charioteer of persons to be tamed, which partially overlaps the caravan-leader epithet, which, however, it does not explain. The Buddha with his great benevolence (mahamaitrl), great compassion(mahakarurld),and great wisdom (mahajfiana),employs a voice sometimes sweet, sometimesharsh, sometimes of mixed quality, so that the caravan (sartha) does not lose the Path. Verses set forth that the Buddha's Dharma is the chariot, the disciples are the horses, the true dharmas are the merchandise, the Buddha is the charioteer. The usual theory of the epithet is that the term "person" (puru;a) refers to males, whether human or animal. The question of why women are not included, although women are also installed in the Path, is answeredwith the usual Indian remarks that women have detractions-here, that they cannot become a Cakravartin king, or Sakra (: Indra) , a Mara king, or have the rank of Brahma, and so were not intended in the title.s The "caravan-leader" epithet occurs in the early teaching that the Buddha's becoming completely enlightened did not necessitate a proclamation of the Path. Thus the Majjhima-nikdya has a celebrated passagethat the Buddha at first was not inclined to teach his Doctrine, deeming it too profound for persons imbued
3Cf. ftInNNr LauotrE, Mahaprajfiapdramitdidsta, Tome I (Louvain, 1944), pp. 1,28-129;and A. Wewev, Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real (Delhi, 1979), pp. 42-43. 4LAMorrE, tr. Tome I, pp. 135-137. 5l.a.uorrr, tr. Tome I, pp. 133-135.

t4

Buddhist Insight

with lust, hatred, and delusion. And then.Brahmd sahampati exhorted him to teach, saying among other things: Arise, O hero who defeated the troop [of Mara] ! Caravan-leader without a debt, walk in the world ! May the Bhagavat teach the Doctrine. (Some) will be those who understand (it). The scripture continued with the Buddha's surveying the world with his Buddha-eyeand noticing that persons were of all sorts, of little or much impurity, of keen or dull faculty, like lotuses of different colors and in different stages of development. He decided it would be helpful to preach his excellent Doctrine among men so that the "doors of the Immortal would be opened for them."s The verse shows the early occurrence of the epithet "caravanIeader," which was to be widely used in stories and with varying transcriptions and translation in Central Asia and various Asian Ianguages.T The term sdrthavdhin also means a "merchant," and it is of interest that the early transmissalof Buddhism to China was by merchantsand in merchant communities.8 This meaning seemsto agreewith the qualification ,'without a debt," but this may also imply that the Buddha has no debt to requiteby walking in the world (cf. the previous epithet, "perfect in clear vision and walking"), i.e. would do it by virtue of his benevolence and compassion. The expression "for the beginners" evidently intends the "novices,o' in short that they are being brought to a new ,country (: new sets of doctrines ) by the caravan leader who knows the Buddhist route and can avoid the pitfalls and wrong ;side-paths. CHeNcr FRoM OnorNnRy pnnsoN ro Anye The preceding section has shown that the Buddha's role as savior amounts to revealing the Path. This in effect separated persons into two groups-the ordinary persons who paid no heed to the Buddha's message, and those who hearkened. The
0This directly precedes the Dhammacakkapavattana episode of the Majjhimanikaya, Vol. I, pp.218-219,in the Bihar, 1958,edition. 7 See Arssnr E. DrcN, "Thesa-paoproblemRe-examined," Journalofthe American oriental society,82:3, July-sept., 1962,pp. 335-346, for the details. 8cf. E. Ztinonn, The Buddhist conquest of china (Leiden, 1959), p. 59.

Buddha as Savior

15

ordinary person is called the prthagjana, wrile the one who became a disciple is called the arya. The Pali scripture sarpyuttanikdya describes the ordinary person (p. puthujjana) as the one who has not heard the Doctrine or been disciplined in it, who has not come in contact with the noble ones (ariya) or illustrious persons; and this ordinary person identifies his self with the five personal aggregates of form and so on.e According to the teacher Asanga, the arya person, the Buddha's disciple, views illustrious persons, is skilled in the noble doctrinesi he knows, as it truly is, suffering as suffering, the source as the source, cessation as cessation, the path as the path.ro rhus the disciple knows the four Noble Truths, or Truths of the Nobles, proclaimed by the Buddha in the first sermon, Setting into Motion of the wheel of Dharma. while the dryais the one who "enters the stream," and proceeds on the Buddhist path, this does not mean that the "ordinary person" was neglected. According to a Mah6y6na scripture called Kulagdra-siltra, ordinary persons were called "fish."ll Ananda, "fish" is a term for ordinary persons (prthagjana). The "fishing hook" is a term for the Tathdgata's generating (in them) the root of virtue (kuiata-muta). The "line" is a term for the "means of conversion.,, "Fish(erman)" is a term for the Tathdgata. "Fish rescuen'is a term for installing sentient beings in the Nirvdqa-fruit. Thus, much emphasis was put on the change from being an "'ordinary person" to being an "drya," installed in the Buddha,s family. The Pali author Buddhaghosa uses a mixed sanskritPdli term gotrabhilfidqa (knowledge of gotrabhrT) as the basis of the path aiming at Nibbdna. A recent article about the term gotrabhu has decided that it signifies "(one) having the state of the linee.ge,"'z while the translator of the pali Abhidhamma work eSarpyutta-nikdya, iii (Khandha-yagga, 42). 10A. wevuaN, Analysis of the sravakabhumi Manus*ipt (Berkeley, 1961), p.67. rr rhis scripture,found in both ribetan and chinese,was cited in a nativeTibetanwork by Tsor.i-xna-ra, his sansrgyas so lrta,imnonrtogsdart| lha ska'iphyagtshad, Tashilunpo collected works,Vol. Da. 12D. SeyFonrRuncc, "pali GottafGotra and the term Gotrabhfrin

16

BuddhistInsight

Puggala-pafifiatiunder the title Human Types takes the term to signify "one become of the Ariya family."rs A special kind of drya became the "ascetic son of the Buddha,o' and I will show elservherein this volume that this birth in the Buddhist family as a monk coincided with oneostaking of the vow called "Patimokkhasa\nvara."74 The Pali Saryyutta-nikaya hints at the nature of this change to an drya rvhen it points out that the ordinary person does not hear the Doctrine. This is because in Asanga's Yogdcdrabbumiit is (prajfid) attained taught that persons have a native "insight" through birth, and which he refers to as "eye of insight." This native insight contrasts with the promoted insight called "eye of insight belonging to the Aryas,o' which is presumably the three levels of prajfia, consisting of hearing, pondering, and cultivation. Hence, the change to being an arya is when this native faculty is promoted to hearing scriptures and so on with faith, whereupon it is called "insight consisting of hearing" (irutamayi prajfia).15 The "ordinary persons" also constitute the field for what are called the "four means of conversion" (samgralnvastu), that are enumerated in the Pd,li canon and undergo a development in Sanskrit Buddhist literature. The first one, giving (ddna), coincides with the first of the six Mahiydna perfections (pdramitd). Following the description of a Mahayana scripture, the Aksaya' matinirdeia-sfitra, this "giving" means giving any material thing and also giving the Dharma. The second, pleasant speech (priya-vadita) means sweet and attractive words to persons making requestsand listening to the Dharma. The third one, promoting aims (artha-caryd) means fulfilling the aims of oneself and others in strict accordance with hopes. The fourth one, consistency in advice (samdndrthafi) means, for example, that whatever the vehicle of teaching that oneself adheres to with the
Pali and Buddhist Sanskrit,'o Buddhist Studies in Honour of I. B. Horner (Dordrecht, Holland, 1974), pp. 206-207. 13B.C. LAw, tr., Designationof Human Types(London, 1922),p. 19. 14A. WlvlraN, "Ancient Buddhist Monasticism," Studia Missionalia appearsin this volume. 28, 1979,p. 197.This essay 15All the citations from Asanga's Yogacarabhumi are in my essay, appearingin "Nescience and Insight accordingto Asanga's Yogacarabhfimi," this volume.

Bucldha as Savior

attitude that it is meritorious, one installs in that very vehicle persons who accept the material things and'Dharma of the first means(dana).rE A problem of this theory that one has become stationed in a species (s. gorra) with the inherent nature of parinirvdlta, is whether those who are not stationed in the speciesare incapable of it; and another problem is why those stationed in the species seem still so far away from parinirvana. Asanga, in common rvith early Buddhism as indicated in the preceding section, d,oes not appear concernedwith the problem of whether some persons are incapable of the change into an drya, thus resident in the speciesof the Buddhist religious goal, although some Mahdydna currents felt obliged to treat this problem; and the Lankavatdra.rutra like some other sources employs the term icchantika for persons who lack the requisite "root of virtue" (kuiata-mula) (cf. the previous'ofish" passagefrom the Katragara-sutra) susceptible of forming the basisfor entranceinto the "species."r? Asanga does concern himself rvith why personswith the nature of parinirt'apahave "moved it sarytsdra far so long in former times and still have not attained parinir.vdqte," a.nd he sets forth four reasons: l) they were born ir1 unfavorable circumstances; 2) they had the fault of heedlessness; 3) they enteredupon a wrong or perverse corxse; 4) they \,verehindered; and he proceeds to explain each of the four.l8 Thus Asanga's extensivewritings were aimed at the persons who were converts to the Buddhist position or had entered the religious life. Bupnnn as Snvron nNl SnIr-RELTANCE It has been usual in western expositions of Buddhism to bring up the Buddhist stress on "self-reliance." one such passage appealed to is in the Buddhist classicDhammapada(no. 276), in Radhakrishnan's translation: "You yourself must strive. The
l.
r6This material comes from the Ak;ayamatinirdeSasiitra itself, of which I have been preparing a translation. one may consult HaR Dayar. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist (Delhi, 1975), pp. sanskrit Literature 251-259, for more material on the four vastus. 17For the icchantika, cf. D. s. Runcc, La theorie du Tathagatagarbha et du gotra (Paris, 7969), pp. 75, ff. r8Cf. Arsx WAvuaN, Analysis, pp. 59-60.

i:

l1 li

t !
i

18

Buddhist Insight

Blessed Ones are (only) preachers. Those who enter the path and practise meditation are releasedfrom ihe bondage of Mdra (death, sin)."re Along these lines there is a verse of unknown source which I cited elsewherewith annotational expansion:20 The Munis do not wash away the defilements (of the streams of consciousness of the sentient beings) with water (as though it were a matter of washing away dirt). And they do not remove the suffering of beings with a hand (as though it were a matter of pulling out a thorn). They do not shift to another the (features of) comprehension of reality (as though it were a matter of shifting a tool from the right to the left hand). (But rather) they liberate (the beings from the cyclical flow) by the Teaching (provided the beings meditate on its meaning) of the truth of real nature (or absolute truth). It is possible to overly stress this self-reliance, as though the Buddhas are only preachers. This is because all the scriptures begin with "Thus by me it was heard" (evam mayd Srutam), admitting that the disciple did not derive the scripture from himself but from another. In Tibet, the author Tson-kha-pa cited the Tathagata, "The one rvho has heard (it) from another, is liberated from old age and death." And the Tibetan author added:21 In that passage,the Teacher clearly explains by personally drawing from his own memory. The words "The one who has heard (it) from another" means that he heard the exposition of nonself from another. Hence he listened previously to illustrious friendly guides for the meaning of nonself; and having done the hearing and pondering, in order to reject the adherence to the notion "It came from within" he states "heard it from 2ne[fus1"-of this there is no doubt. Thus. the cardinal Buddhist doctrine of "non-self" had to be learnedfrom another, sinceo'self" cannot originate the teachingof non-self. But then the important issueis what part of the corpus
1eS.Rlon,rKRrsHNAN, (London, 1950),p. 146. The Dhammapada 20A.WavrvrAN,"Purification of Sin in Buddhism by Vision and Confession," in GruruN H. Sasarr, ed.,A Study of Kleia (Tokyo, 1975)pp. 73-74, The passageis drawn from the annotational edition of Tson-kha-pa'sLam rim chen mo. 21A. WayrratN,Calming the Mind, p. 175.

I
t Buddha as Savior 19

must come from others and what part is to be added by oneself. It is not necessary to cite a multitude of passages, sinceit is easyto get the answer that "right views" (samyagdysli),first member of the eightfold noble path, is what one.must receive from others. This part from others is referred to metaphorically as a "lamp" in the Northern Buddhist expansion of the Dhammapada called, Uddnavarga (XXII, 3-6). Here there is first mention of the person who entering a house enwrapped in darkness does not see objects in it even though he has eyes. when he listens he understands the natures that are virtuous or sinful: this is his "lamp", so he is a man who both has eyes and bears a lamp. Having hearkened, he understands the dharmas. Finally, having hearkened, he reaches Nirvana.2z This implication of the borrowed lamp is also in the canonical passages,saqnyutta-nikaya and elsewhere,saying, "he who seesthe Dhamma seesme, and he who seesme seesthe Dhamma."23 Therefore, the Buddha as savior is the one who shows or points out the Path, affords a glimpse (5. dariana). When one enters the path, he cannot do it just with a glimpse, but must enter with his body and all its faculties. The trouble is that this self-reliance is premature if it is not preceded by a glimpse of the right hall to enter. As to the "right viewso'-in Pdli, sammd ditthi, Nyanatiloka, rendering it "right understanding," has as full a list as could bb expected: the four noble truths; merit and demerit in terms of body, speech, and mind; the three characteristics (impermanence,suffering,and non-self); unprofitable questions;five bonds (saryyojana);unwise considerations (e. g. "Have I been in the past?" and other egoistic questions) (through ; wiseconsiderations hearkening); theory of the "Stream-enterer" and stages of the Path; supramundane "right understanding" when conjoined with the Path; the middle doctrine of Dependent Origination avoiding the extremes of nihilism and eternalism; doctrine of karma and fruit.z4 This, then, usuallv called the Buddha's Teaching, is also the dariana.
22F. BpnNsARD, ed., Udanavarga,Bandl (Gclttingen, 1965), Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden. 2sCooM,qnaswAMy and HonNsR, Gotama, p. 23. z4NvaNarrLoKA, The Word of the Buddha ('Island Hermitage,' Ceylon, 1952), pp. 29-47.

20

Buddhist Insight

As long as \\'e restrict ourselvesto the,ancient position of Buddhisrn,such as f ound in the early scriptures,and avoid certain novel directions of Mahd,ydna Buddhism, we cannot ascribe to the Buddha's role more than this. still, this role of teaching the "right viervs" is by no means negligible if we are to understand this situation of ancient Buddhisrn. Later, such considerations rvereto be reevaluatedas we shall seein the next section. Even here more could be said. For instance,passing to Aryadeva's Catultiataka, we notice that he devotes Chap. XII to refutation of wrong views. Verse I refers to the o'hearer." The hearer who is upright (like a post) has discrimination (buddlimat : the native insight) and strives, is called the o'vessel." Otherwise,there would be no merit cf the speaker, nor any in the listener. Now the hearer comes in for some inspection. We should not forget that there is no point to teachingthe "right views" unless there is an appropriate audience. And in the Jatakamdld, XVII (The Story of the Jar): "But the speaker of the beneficial words is to be honoured by accepting his words and by putting them into practice (: taking them to heart)." This is advice for the -qrateful disciple. Finally, the Mahaydna-Sutrdlarykara (i. 16) summarizeshis sequenceof attainment: "Having based himself first on hearing, there ariseshere the 'mental orientation' (manaskdra); from the 'mental orientation' there arises the knowledge (jfiAna) whose field is the meaning of reality."zr Buroua AND ADHI;1HANI In the Mahdydna period, the Buddha had become equipped with multiple bodies; in particular the body with which he appearedon earth was not an ordinary human body but one called a Nirmd4akdya. This body was credited with various supernormal powers, e.g. adhi;lhdna, with a frequent verbal form adhitistrhali. The appendix to Viifiaptimdtratdsiddhi summarizes what is attributed to the Buddha by this term, starting with the Abhidharmakoia; and La Vallde Poussin here finds Burnouf's rendition "benediction" excellent in many passages. In these passages, there was
rsThe Catuhflataka, Jatakamala, and Mahayana-Stitralarytkara passages are selected from among quotations in Tson-kha-pa's Lam rim chen mo, in my quotation notebooks.

2l especiallyan ability to conserve the body, mtrke it rastfor aeons.26 suzuki, sturJies in the Lankdvardra-sutra, exprains it as the sustainingpower of the original vows.2z This rendition is close to the usageas an architectur.al term for the Indian temple, where it is the foundation of the superstructure.2s Thus, the term suggests the sustaining or support for the spiritual component, the part in the ..intermediate space,, (antarik.ra). It is somewhat of a jump to pass to the usage by way of the Tibetan translation of the norn as ,,byin rlabs.,l We read in the book, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Docltrines, ..O Thou, in the Akanistha Hea'en, the emanation of the pure Realm of the Dharmakdya, vouchsafe me Thy ,gift-waves, (so) that Setf_ Knowledge, the Immutabre state of the Dharma-k aya, may be attained'"2e Here, the rendition "gift-waves,,is after the fornl of the Tibetan words, which, howwer, thernselves render the sanskrit word adhi;{hana. rt shourd be rnentioned that the root_ guru in the Akanistha Heaven is u'derstood i' Mahaydna theology as the sar'bhog a-kitya of the Buddha. The context of the passage,furthermorr, ug.r* with a rendition .,spiritual support." It is clear that^th.edeveropment.ca'ed Mahdyana Buddhism, .with its theory of the multipie bodies of the Buddhu, had made possiblea contributio'presurnabry by the Buddha to the discipre that extended beyond the old "showing of ilr" Futi .', The term in its Tibetan fgrm was frequent in a work wtrictr F. D. Lessing and I translated into Engrish under the titre utrt,o, grub r.ie,s Fundamentals of the nuicthfst Tantras (Mouton, The Hague, 1968), now feprinted with a new introduction a, Intrortuction to the Buddhist Tantric systems (Mot'al Banarsidass,Delhi, Ig7g.). Here we rendered it usually as ..blessing,,, anJ ih. u.rbal form ,rempowerr', as 'oenergizer', and ihe like. ,rfil;. "irlirl.^r-Lre PoussrN, viifiaptirnatratasidcthi, Tome rr (paris,

Buddha as Savior

any.,, zvKe.zt Dawa-sauDup, tr., W. y. EvaNs_WrNTz, dtid Secret Doctrines (London, tgZSl, p. 264.

suzuxt, studies in the Lankavatdra siltra (London, ,r;iTil" rliIii." z8cf' pnasaNN.q, K_u^{aR Acuan"o, Dictionary of Hindu Architecture (London'1927)' l pp' l7-1g, saying,". -ii d"not", un ouj."t onwrrrct something -'tends'...it impries the base orlne corumn, being themember between :haft and the pedestal, if the there be
ed., Tibetan yoga

22

Insight Buddhist

Now, the developed theory that the Buddhas or celestial Bodhisattvas like Avalokitesvara could extend a power to chosen disciples to fortify the latters' limited resources, caused some change in the literature and encouraged the kind of praises and evocation rituals in which the deity is implored to extend this kind of blessing or empowerment (adhislhana). The theory undoubtedly helped to make the Bodhisattva practice flourish, to extol the possessionof compassion (karulta), and to attribute the intense form of this, "great cotnpassion" (mahakaru7A), to the supramundane Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. So the scripture Aryagayaitrpa is cited: "Maflju5ri, the practice of the Bodhisattvas has what inception, has what spiritual foundation? MafljuSri replied: Son-of-the-gods, the practice of the Bodhisattvas has great compassion as its inception, and has the sentient beings as its spiritual foundation (adhislhdnn)." o'Bythe cognition of sutacalled Akaiagarbhasays: A N{ahdyarra insight (prajnA) all defilementis castout of doors. By the cognition of means (upaya) all the living beings are given hospitality." (v. 101) cornpares this nature of the Candragomin's Si;1'alekha great beings to the sun's impartial radiation and illumination of the worlds; the secondhalf of the versesays: "Such is this nature of the great ones -to have no aim of their own-who delight in the single taste of benefit and happiness for the worldlings." are very numerous in the Mahdyd:naliterature, and Such passages this sample mereiy suggests how the Mahd:ydna authors were inspired to stress these points with all the beauty of expression they could muster.so I should give still another citation with the word adhislharn amuccaya in the senseof a "spiritual foundation," sincethe Jlkpas cites the Sanskrit of this passage from the Arya-Ratnacu(aparipyccha: "Thus, girding himself with the armor of benevolence (maiti) and having based himself on the spiritual foundation of great compassion (mahakarupadhi;lhana), he works at the meditation (dhyAna) which realizes the voidness possessedof all the
soThe Aryagayaiir;a, Akaiagarbha-sutra, and the Si;yalekha passages are selected from among quotations in Tson-kha-pa's Lam rim chen mo, in my quotation notebooks. The line translated from the s;i;yalekha (1.P. Minaeff's edition) is: I na sa svarthalt kaicit prakytir iyam iva mahatarp yadete lokanarTt hitasukharasaikantarasikAh l.

Buddhaas Savior

23

best aspects. What is the voidness possewed of all the best aspects? The one that does not lack giving, does not lack morality, does not lack forbearance,does not lack striving, does not lack meditation, does not lack insight, and d.oesnot lack mgans."31 The foregoing and much more that could be cited in amplification should serve to show that in the Mahdydna period the new role attributed to the Buddha by virtue of his various bodies could easily have produced teachingsthat the Buddha exercises a "graee"-1o use the Western religious term. And yet, just when the stage is set for such a magnanimous activity by the Buddha, so that such an enlightened being could be regarded as a ..savior" in terms comprehensible to westerners, a reaction that also belongs to the Mahiydna was to set in. This other development, also a consequence of the theory of multiple bodies, will be clarified in the next section. Dm rnn Bunone sAvE ANy sprNcs ? Early Buddhism was realistic and so took the position that beings were either "rescued" or "not rescued." But a scripture called A;lasahasrika Prajfiaparamita that was translated by Edward conze, -and which was probably the earliest of all thl takes the'iillusionist" position:32 @res, The Lord.' Here the Bodhisattva, the great being, thinks thus: countless beings I should lead to Nirvana and yet there are none who lead to Nirvana, or who should be led to it. How_ ever many beings he may lead to Nirvana, yet there is not any being that has been led to Nirvana, nor that has led others to it. For such is the true nature of dharmas, seeingthat their nature is illusorv. Again: subhuti: The form of any illusory man is neither bound nor freed. The suchnessof the form of, an illusory man is neither slSdntideva's siksasamLtccaya, ed. by p. L. varova (Darbhanga,196l), text,p. l45.ll-13,withinthelonger passage of similar sentiments.Thepait

I have translatedis the Lam rim chentno quotation. s2EowaRn coNzr, tr., The perfection of laisdom in Eight thousand slokas (Calcutta,1958),Chap. l, pp. g-9, 11.

l'1

BuddhistInsight bound nor freed. Becausein reality i{ is not there aI all, becauseit is isolated, becauseit is unproduced.

In this first chapter of the celebratedwork, the Buddha's early said to have been the best in "insight" (praifia) disciple S6:riputra, of those disciples,put a hard question to Subhuti, saying: As I understaud the teaching of the Venerable Subhuti, a Bodhisattva also is a non-production. But if a Bodhisattva is a non-production, how thei'r does he go on the difffrcult pilgrimage, and how can he possibly endure the experience of those sufferings (which he is said to undergo) for the sake of beings? Subhuti responded: I do not look for a Bodhisattva who goes on the difficult in the perception of pilgrimage. Irr any cASe, one who courses difficulties is not a Bodhisattva. Because one who has generated a perception of difficulties is unable to work the b e i n g s .... r v ealof c oun tl e s s in this position (or We see that there is sorne attractiveness non-position) of illusion: it gets rid of the difficulties,because difficulties are a feature of the real n'orld. Even the unknown had to work at it. composer of the Ag{asdhasrika A JapaneseBuddhologist Susumu Yamaguchi (then President of Otani University, Kyoto) wrestled r,vith this problem after he read Santideva'sBodhicarydvatdraand concluded that the Buddha was always absorbed in contemplation r,vithoutdoing anything for the salvation of the human beings during the half century from his attainment of enlightenment at the tirirty-fifth year of age till his entering into Nirvala when he was eighty years old. He further noted: "The Buddha is commonly said to have been preaching to save mankind during that period, but in reality he said no word through thesedecades." He also noted that the Indian Buddhist scholar Bodhiruci, coming to China in the sixth century A.D., claimed that the Buddha preached using one word only. So Yamaguchi gave lectures about it in Japaneseto show the posiBuddhism;and his lectures were tion of his Shin Sectof Japanese translated into English by Shoko Watanabe, a professor at Toyo University, in a book published in 1958. Yamaguchi kindly

Buddha as Savior

25

I
J

presentedto the piesent writer on the occa$ionof an early 1960's visit to Kyoto this book entitled Dynamic Buddha and static Buddlta. Professor Yamaguchi noticed that these tlo forms of Buddha were representedin sculpture. one was the meditating Buddha, contemplating prajfiaparamita, making no audible words; the other was the preaching Buddha, sometimes showing elongated tongue-what he calls the "dynamic Buddha." These two kinds of Buddha reflect the Mahdyana teaching of Buddha bodies: the Dharma-kaya is the "static Buddha", and the Sapbhoga-kaya and NirrnA4a-kdya the "dynamic Buddha." In the Tibetan tracirtion, the Dharma-kdya does not teach; only the "bodies of form" (sarpbhoga and Nirmd4a) teach.B' This, however, is a theory that goes back to the early parinirvdpastttra. Thus, in the Mahaparinibbdna-suttdntaof the p1tli Dtghanikdya, the Buddha, giving final instructions, told the gathering that after his passing. the Dharma and vinaya which he had taught would be their Teacher.Ba rhus this corpus, the Dharmavinaya, would be the 'oteacher" only metaphorically, because it was understood to be the topic of study. However, the Dharmavinaya (although composed of words) was silent: it never said a word, never explained itself. This rvas eventually personified as the "static Buddha" in Yamaguchi's book.Bb However, Mahdydna Buddhism arose to explain it and thus devised two bodies, the Sarybhoga-kayaand the Nirmala-kaya, the so-called "dynamic Buddha." of course,the Buddha did preach in words. In fact, he taught continuously; and much of what he taught is preservedin the old Buddhist canon, the four Pali Nikayas, and the four chinese Agamas. The Buddha, while a Bodhisattva, had engaged in many difficult practices and later uttered difficult doctrines-but this happenedin the real world, amidst the beingswhc live and die. some western expounders of Mahayina Buddhism speak about Prajffaparamita Buddhism as though it were the voidness (iunyata) -which they render as "emptiness"-dsyeid of all the best aspects. After all, it is this very author Santideva-the one
33For the Sambhoga-kdya and Nirmdna-kdya as teachers, cf. Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentals of the Buddhist Tatttras, Chapter One. saThe Dighanikaya (2. Mahd vagga) (Bihar, l95g), p. llg.l5_16. sssusurr,ru YaNrlcucHr, Dl,namic Buddha and static Buddha(Tokyo, l95g).

26

Buddhistrnsight

who composed the Bodhicarydvatdra tlnt inppired Yamaguchi's somewhat sensational book-who also composed the Siksasamuccara citing the Arya-Ratnacu{apariprcchdabout the voidness possessed of all the best aspects. So Santideva,if one will read him further, provided the solution to the problem. The Prajfraparamitd scripture As[asdhasrikd is a profound work; and it does not help to understandit to translate the term "prajfiaparamita" as the "perfection of wisdom." According to the teacher Asanga, man has a native uncultured form of prajiid, which certainly is not "wisdom," otherwise why need culture it through the three forms called in Sanskrit irutamayi prajfid, cintdmayt prajiia, and bhavanamayi prajiid, or try to get it to the perfection (paramita) ! So also the future Buddha Gautama is held to have said according to the Mahdydna biography Lalitcn,istara: "Alas, O charicteer, for the unawaking discriminatiorr of the childish person" (dhik sarathe abuclha bdlajanasya buddhtt,S.za Thus the problem of whether the Buddha "saved" any beings becamemore confused rvhen personswriting on the topic did not even knorv the meaning of the main terms. TnersrrR oF THEsALVrFrc ACTIVITy As though to underline a conclusion that the Buddha's teaching of the Path-valuable as this is-did not constitute "saving" as later followers of this religion would prefer it, there arose other deities to do this job. Thus, there was the Buddha Amitabha or Amitiyus whose o'heaven"is called sukhdvati, along with scriptures followed by the chinese and JapaneseBuddhists for many centuries. Then in Northern India there arose the cult of the goddessTarn (the Savioress), popular in Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. Twenty-one forms of this deity are presented at the close of this volume. There were other deities too. In Japan the name Amitdbha occurred as Amita or Amida. In the classic of shin Buddhism, the Kyogyoshinsho, we read:Bz Now the Buddha Meditation Samadhi is the truly superb and
soFnaNrrru EncERroN, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Reader (Delhi, 1978) p.14. sTKosuo Yauauoro, tr., The Kyogyishinsho (Tokyo, l95g), p. 41.

Buddha as Savior

27

wonderful gate. with His name as vowed in the forty-eight vows, Amita Buddha, with the vow's power, savesall beings, ...oh how great! The Law of rhusness that is one with reason is one. It savesand benefitsmen. This is so because the vows are different. our Sakyamuni answered the call and took birth in this defiled world and Amita Buddha appeared in the Pure Land. Places differ like as the defiled world and the Pure Land, but salvation is one. It is easy to practice and easy to attain, for truly this is the way of the Pure Land School. So the historical Buddha Sakyamuni took birth in this defiled world and announced the difficult practice, becausesuch was his vow; while the Buddha Amitdbha stayed in the pure Land, the western paradise, and announced the easy practice, becausesuch was his vow. But salvation is one. Turning to the Goddess Tara, there are the praises of the white Tara by Dge-'dun-grub (posthumously the First Dalai Lama), including this: I bow to Thee the virtuous Mother of Buddhas of the three ages, who protects against all dangers such as lion, elephant, fire, poison, snakes;with your left hand holding a blue lotus (utpala) and making the gestureof the "giving of protection." I bow to Thee, the locus of all protection, she who guides all beings to the great-ecstasy city of liberation by means of eyes borne on the palms of hands and soles of feet that are the four gates of liberation of voidness and so on. I worship Thee who is adorned on the head with Amitayus, the Lord who mindfully confers long life and knowledge, and who holds the vesselfull of immortality nectar. I bow to Thee who confers occult powers as desired like imrnortal life, knowledge, and merit, simply by (our) reciting such incantations as "Tdre." Those are verses from Dge-'dun-grub's lovely work.s8 By the "Tare" incantation he means or.n tdre tuttdre ture svdhd, the ten-syllabled evocation of the goddess Taru. Ratnakarasdnti explains the formula as or.n, the seedknowledge made clear at the 38I translated this work in 1970 whilestaying in Dharmsala, H. p. India.

28

Buddhistrnsight

end with svdha. Then "Tare" (o Tdrd, who rescuesby bringing to the other side-the paramitd); 'oTuttare" (O rescuerfrom suffering); "Ture" (o Tur6, the fast one, who rescues speedily.)Be Amitdbha and rdrd were not the only deities appealed to. There were the Medicine Buddha (Bhaisajya-guru) and the great Bodhisattvas like Avalokitesvara and Mafljusri. It is not necessary to cite more verses, which so often were fashioned with beautiful phraseology. The situation is clear enough. The devoteesexpectedthese deities to supply very human wants and fulfil aspirations. In return the devoteessupplied all the finances and wherewithal for splendid temples and art in Asia. This does not mean that Sakyamuni was forgotrcn in the shuffie. He is always there or far off, sometimesshadowv or comins back into focus.

asSee Chapter 22.

2
ANCIENT BUDDHIST MONASTICISM-

IxrRooucrroN There have been many studiesof Buddhist monasticism,oriented both to the ancient forms and to modern features in certain Buddhist countries of Asia and south-east Asia. Many of these studies have been prepared by fine scholars. It is impossible to deal with the manifold aspects in one paper. So the present writer restricts the topic, first of all, to the ancient period, while stressingthose particular aspectsas appear to be of vital concern in all periods. It is well to admit that there are a number of disputed points in regard to the ancient form of Buddhism portrayed in this paper, and to mention that this writer will not shirk the responsibility when such points deservefair appraisal and conclusions. In the first part, emphasizingthe pratimokqa, vinitadeva's commentary on the vinaya is employed to suggest a new rendition for the term; the theory of two oral traditionsvinaya and Dharma-is combined with a division into two Prdtimoksa-s to advance a position that various vinaya lineages were in Buddhism from the beginning and that the separationinto Buddhist sects was due to doctrinal and not vinaya disagreements. In the second part, emphasizingthe monastery inhabitants, there is exposition of well-establishedfacts of monastery life with a comparison to the Brahmanical "stages of life." In the third part, emphasizing the offences,only some of the pre+Abbreviations: P. for Pdli language; s. for sanskritlanguage; JBRS for TheJournalof theBihar Research society;pTT for pekingTibetanTripitaka,the Japanese photographic reproduction of the pekingTibetan canon.

30

BuddhistInsight

vious scholarly'findings can be presentecl. There are a number of selections from Asanga's Yogdcarabhumi)which appears not to have been utilized by other western specialistsin the topics of this paper. I. Solre EARLv Rrucrous oF INorA, THE TERM pRArruorqe, Vrulya BEGTNNINGS

At the time of the Buddha (6th - 5th centuries, B.c.) there were various religious orders, with namesthat were sometimesobscure in later times. The main classification seemsto be into brdhmalta atd iramaqta, with both including the wanderers (parivrajaka).L While these words were not always used with the same meaning, it appears that the term brdhmaryastood, for persons adhering to the Vedic religion, and who sooner or later would follow four stages of life; and that the iramaryas were ascetic orders. Asanga provides a more detailed breakdown: "There are six kinds of persons, as follows: (l) the ascetic (iramaqta), (2) the braltmona, (3) the chaste person (brahmacdrin),(4) the monk (bhik-ru),(5) the restrainer (.vati), (6) the one gone forth (to the religious life) (prat'rdjita)." In further detailing, Asanga gives four kinds of ascetics:a. the one victorious over the path (ntargajina),u'ho is the Sugata,having achieved,without remainder, the extirpation of lust, hatred, and delusion; b. the teacher of the path (margadeiika); c. the one who lives by the path, who has entered the stream, etc. (margajivin); d. the one who insults the path (margadusin)., Since in the Buddhist religious way, the one gone forth to the religious life (pravrajita) and the one called "monk" (bhiksu) had to severprevioussocial relationsand enter into a monasterial situa.tion living with other novices and monks, rules had to be devisedboth for their daily conduct within the monastery and for their encounterswith the lay community, as when seeking alms. The various prohibitions and other rules are in the code called P. Pdtimokklta-or S. Prqtimoksa-sutra. This contains some one hundred fifty rules called 'opoints of instruction" (P. sikhapada,
1Cf. B. C. Llw, "A Short Account of the Wandering Ascetics (Parivrajakas) in India in the sixth Century,B.C." JBRS,LIII, i-iv, 1967,pp.17-26. zArpx WAyuaN, Analysis of the Sravakabhumi Manuscript (University of California Press,Berkeley, 196l), p. 103.

Ancient Buddhist Monasticism

31

s. iiksapada) emphasizing prohibitions, which are roughly the samein various forms of this vinaya (discipiine) work (some only extant in chinese translation) that have been handed down; along with extra rules called P. selihiya dhamrna, s. iaik;a-dharma, emphasizingpcsitive rules of deportment, which differ considerably in number and kind in the various Vinayas. Since in the Buddha's lifetime a nun order was started, it was necessaryat that early date to make up a separate pdtirnoklcha for the nun, dropping some of the monk rules and adding a further set, especia.lly to define the nun's conduct toward a monk and her attire. The Patimokkha was rehearsed along with scriptures at the bimonthly meetings of the ordained monks in a meeting called in P. Uposatha ("well-beirg"), narnely on full moon and new moon days, which are traditional days in h-rdiapicked for festivals. These are the two days, P. cdtuddasi, the l4th day in a lunar fortnight of decreasing phase (: first day of disappearance , of the moon), and P. Palnarasi, full moon day. The way it works out according to one explanation is that in the four months of a season, the 3rd and 7th meetings are cdtuddasi, and the others, lst , 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and gth are panlarasi. Hence, most of the Uposatha meetingswere on a full-moon day.t The term "Patiinokkha" has been much discussed.,and its meaning disputed. of course,the observance of the prohibitions and precepts of the Patimokkha is independent of knowing the derivation of the term. when the Buddhist vinayas were translated into chinese principally in the 5th century, A.D. , there was a difficulty in interpreting the s. "pratimok$a." The translators either transcribed the term phonetically or else translated it as though it read Pratimoksa, with prati-understoodin the distributive sense ("each one") and mok;a of course rendered as "liberation."a This rendition appearsto agreewith avoiding the prohibited elementsof the list, confessingeach one as was com3c. s. IJTASAK, Dictionary of Earty Buddhist Monastic Terms (Bharati Prakashan, Varanasi, 1975), pp. 52-53. aMy wife (who is Japanese) has read for me the entries on the term in the Buddhist dictionaries by ono, Hakuju ui, and Hajime Nakamura; and all sources agree that when the lerm was translated into Chinese it was always with this distributive meaning of pratt, although there are differing interpretations of this distributive meaning ..each one."

32

Buddhist Insight

mitted, and, when indicated, rnaking amends by penance. When the Vinaya was translated into Tibetan starting in the early 9th century, A.D., the term was uniformly rendered as so sor thar pa, which understands the distributive sense of prati- in agreement with the Chinese translations. When in the l gth century the Pali scriptures began to be translated into English, an interpretation was rnade that the term Patimokkha should be understood with the short a, arrd that P. pati (: S. prati) should be taken in the "against" sense; and since "against liberation" entails a bond, the translators with this persuasion decided on the rendition "obligation" and have been using this regularly.s This rendition appearsto agreewith the obligation of the monks to recite the list at the Uposatha and to abide by the pronouncements within the text. Of course, these translators knew cf the gloss (to be explained below) on the term found ia the Vinaya exegesis called Maltdvagga: patimokkham ti adiry eto/.n, mukhar.n etaUt,pamuklnryxetary kusalanarytdhammanam, tena vuccati p.6 . It is easyto misunderstandthis and think it is a false etymology? and so should be disregarded.s The reason I am led away from the false-etymology theory is my having found in Vinitadeva's commentary on the Mulasarydstivdda Vinayavibltangathe saying, so sor thar pa |es bya bs ni dafi por thar pa'o.e This comment, taking pratirnoksa as equivalent to adimoksa ("libei-ation at the beginrring, aditas"), is grammatically justified by understanding prdtimoksa : pra I atimolc5a. SeeSpeijer: "The upAsara 'pra' has sometimes the power of denoting the beginning of the action," citing Kai on P. l, 2, 2l for the terrn pradyotitalt ("He commencedto shine").to Now atimoksa is a pre-Buddhist term found in the Satapatha-Bralmraqta, 14, 6, l, 8, with identical
5Cf. The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary, ed. by T. W. Rnys Davros and Wu-rtav Srror (The Pali Text Society,London,7952 reprint), , .73. P a r t V ( P - P h . )p sMahavagga (Oldenbergedition), ll, 3, 4. TMore recently, J. W. oe JoNG, review, Cnant,es S. Pnrsrsu, Buddhist Monastic Discipline, in Indo-IranianJournal, 19 (1977), p. 127. 8But this is no excuse for Nathmal Tatia to omit the line from his edition of the Mahavaggain Samkhitta-pi1akam, Vol. I (Nava Nalandd Mahivihdra, p. 71,circaline 11. 1975), gPTT, Vol. 122,p. 304-1-1. 10J.S. SrrtJrn, SanskritSyntax (Reprint, Kyoto, 1968),Para.309,p. 232; herc pra- is prefixed to the verb.

Ancient BuddhistMonasticism

33

passage in Brhaddraqtyaka-(tpqnisad,3.l, 6,tt and which was presumably replaced in later Sanskrit wiih the term rnoksa. Hence, vinitadeva's comment-possibly repeated in his vinaya lineage for a thousand yearslz-understands the termpratimok;a to mean 'ocommencement of liberation," which can be rendered more neatly, "liberation-onset." Nor,v we can return tc the Mahavagga gioss (above cited) to render it with fidelity: .,As to the 'Pdtimokkha,'ra it is the beginning (adD, to wit, it is the orifice {mukha) and it is the commencement (s. pramukha) of the virtuous natures (s. dharma); therefore, one says,.Liberation-Onset.'"r4 Furthermore, there is a canonical passagesuppcrting the above conclusion. This is in the Anguttara-nikaya (Book of Fives), Rajava.gga, the Yassamdisam-sutta. Here a Ksatriya king is said to have five salient points whereverhe abides: (1) being wellborn through his father and mother; (2) having bountiful treasuries; (3) mighty through his army; (4) having a wise minister; (5) abiding where he has conquered. The monk also is said to have five comparable salient points wherever he abides. As to the first point, "in that a monk has morality, dwells restrainedby the Pdtimokkhasamvara,...[and so oo, much like a Dighanikaya passagecited belowl-he has the perfection of birth like the consecratedKsatriya king." Since the taking of the pati(seebelow) is likened to an illustrious birth. this mokkhasar.nvara llReference from BonrrrNcr and Rorn Sanskrit-Wdrterbuch(reprint of Meicho-Fukyti-Kai, Tokyo, 1976).
lzRaNrsno GNoLr, The Gilgit Manuscript of the saighabhedavastu, part I (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo oriente, Roma, lg77), General Introduction, p. xix, decidesthat the compilation of rhe Mulasarvdstivada vinaya dates back to the times of Kani;ka, of course,the content would frequently go back to much earlier times. I3Arn,q HrRarawa, A Study of the Vinaya-pitaka (Sankibo_Busshorin,. Tokyo, 1970) [in Japanesewith a summary including table of contents in Englishl, p. 419, points out that Buddhaghosa in his vinaya commentary Kankhavitarani analyzed "Pdtimokkha" into pa+ ita mokkha, understood as "especiallyexcellentliberation."Thus, p. pa-S.pra was understood only by its classicaI meaning. larhere still remains the problem of why the words mukha, pamukha were chosenfor the gloss. The author of the Mahavagga may have intended, while the words can signify in the manner of my rendition, to have also suggested the "facing" or confrontation as happens in the confessional part of the Patimokkha, as will be pointed out later in this essay.

34

Buddhist Insight

birth supportsthe rendition"Liberation-onset.":this onsetis a in the inner precinctsof Buddhism,so the monasticfollowers who are sons of the "ascetics Sakyaputtiyd, were called samaryd
Ruddha."16 T heDigha- nik a y a p a s s a g e (I,6 2 )th a ts h o u l dnow bementi oned is from the well-known scripture samafifia-phala-sutta: (s. pravra' when the ascetic(s. iramalta) has thus gone forth (s' Pdtimokkhasa{nvara the by jita) he dwells restrained begood of perfection the prd,timoksa-sar.nvara).He has views havior and of lawful resort (dcdragocarasar.npanna), fearfullyeventheminort}ringstobeavoided.Herightfully (s. iiksapada), takes and learns the "points of instruction" whileaccompaniedbyvirtuousactsofbodyandvirtuous equipped with acts of speech. With pure livelihood and morality,heguardstheSensedoors,accompaniedbymindfulness and awareness. He is happy' "Patimokkhasamvafa'" This brings up the important expression promise.lG As used solemn the "vow," a means Here sarytvara but ccnveys the sense of here, it does not mean "restraint," ..holding together," i.e. adhering inthe streamof consciousuess; phrase "while accombecauseu vow is not to be forgotten. The actsof speech"raises panied by virtuous acts of body and virtuous mind, since Buddhism it . q,r.riion: why not by virtuous acts of four of speech' and body' of three karma, of ,p.ui, of ten paths number of the typical a ten, up makes tirree of mind? This BuddhistVinayacode.However,morality(ii|a)perseamounts bad acts of body to the seven abstinences, i.e. from the three seven also is imnumber the so and four bad acts of speechilT as in the citation variously, detailed portu"t for Vinaya theoiy, but Vinayavagga) Sevens' of (Book below. The Aiguttara-'nikq'a (dhamma), natures seven of possessed states that when a monk is discipline, Buddhist the of he is a vinayadhlra (holder, or retainer Vinaya), as follows:
(Suttavibhanga) 15Cf. I. B. HonNBn, tr. The Book of Discipline Yo]l. l p' lii' (London, 1g4g),translator's introduction' pa; and in this 16The term sar.nvarais translated into Tibetan by sdom languagetherearesdomgsumbooksonthe'othreevows,"namely,thePratimokga, the Bodhisattva, and the Mantra vows' l?Cf. DpaKKUMAR Blnu.r., An analytical Study of the four Nikayas (Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, 1'97t)' pp' 128'129'

AncientBuddhist Monasticism

35

Hc knows what is a transgression (apatti) and knows what is not. He knows what is a light (lahukfi transgression; he knows what is a grave (garuka) one. you shourd know (kho) 'that when both Patimokkhas are well-handed to him in 'extenso,well-analyzed (suvibhatta), well set-in-motion (suppavatti), well-determined (suvinicchita) according to scripture and according to anuvyafijana (? commentary)-having trained, then at will, easily, without trouble, he attains and dwells in the four Jhdnas (the four s. dhyanasof the Realm of Form), derived from mentals, a comfortable state in the present life; and having extinguished the fluxes, (he attains and dwells) in the liberation of mind (cetas) and liberation of insight (pafifia) which are nonfluxional; and in this life realizes for himself. while it is not clear how one divides up this passageto get the number seven, the important thing is that the commentarypresumably Buddhaghosa's-cited in Hare's translation (the above is my own), The Book of sevens,says that the expression '"both Fatimokkhas" means "of monk and nun.o' previously, we observed that the monk and nun have each a patimokkha list.le However, this interpretation does not appear to fit in the context referring to a monk, not a particular nun (although a nun can also be a vinayadhara). Therefore, we may well presume that "both Pdtimokkhas" refer to an alternate classification, namely, two kinds of recitation of pd:timokkha: by exhortation (ovada) and by cornmand (a4q1.rn A certain Chinese vinaya commentary has considerable information about these two Patimokkhas.2' we learn that the former Buddhas and then Sakyamuni himself recited only the patimokkha of exhortation, such as the lines, "abstain from all kinds of evil; accumulate all that is good;" while the monks (and nuns) only recited the patimokkha of command, which is the code recited during the uposatha. The Buddha announced: "The Tathagata cannot recite the Pdtimokkha at the time of the uposatha in a congregation
18E. M. HARE, tr., The Book of the Gradual sayings (Ariguttara-Nikaya) Vol. IV (London, 1955 reprint), p. 95, n. 1sCf. Upasl', Dictionary, p. 152. 20P. V. Bap.qr and A. Hnarawa, trs., Shan-Chien-p,i-p'o-Sha; a Chinese version by Saighabhadra of Samantapasadika (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, 1970), pp. 134-136.

36

Insight Buddhist

which is not pure." For the Buddhas "know with their own minds the minds of their followers and then instructed them.'o That is to say, the Buddha knew with superhuman vision the minds of the persons assembledfor the Pdtimokkha-recitation; their fellows by but the monks themselvesare not able to assess this supernormal faculty: they have to rely upon the more obvious acts of body and speechwhich define "morality" for them. Hence the distinction: the monks will concern themselvesin the Patimokkha of the Uposatha with "moraliry" in the meaning of the sevenabstinences, among others;zl while the Buddha will do the exhortation which requires knowing the minds of others. Let us try out the new rendition of the term "Patimokkha" of the scripture "Upili and the Patiin two important passages (from the Anguttara-nikdya, Book of Tens): mokkha" In consideration of what purpose were the "points of instruction" prescribed for the disciples (5. iravaka) by the Tathdgata and the Ltberation-Onsetrecited? (Upali is told, in consideration of ten purposes,to wit:) For the excellenceof for the well-being of the Congrethe Congregation (Sar.n-uha); gation; for chastising errant persons; for the comfort of the virtuous monks; to restrain the (defiled) fluxes (asrava) of the present life; to prevent the (defiled) fluxes in the future life; to instill faith in those of scarcefaith; to promote even more those with faith; to establish the illustrious Dharma; to assistthe Vinaya. Then UpAli asked in what circumstances the Liberation-Onset is i.e. recitation of it postponed; and was told there are suspended, ten such, to wit: When a "defeated" person is seatedin that assembly; when talk of whether one is "defeated" is not finished; when an unordained person is seated in that assembly; when talk of whether one is unordained is not finished; when a personwho has repudiated the instruction is seated in that assembly; when talk of whether one has repudiated is not finished; when a eunuch is seated in that assembly; when talk of whether one is a eunuch is not finished; when a seducerof a
2lThree offences of body and four of speech (as the ten paths of karrna Shan-Chien* has it) is not the only classification; cf. Bnpar and Hrnartwa, P'i-P'o-Sha, pp. 535-536, for allusion to the Vinaya breakdown of the numbers*

AncientBuddhist Monasticism

37

nun is seatedin that company; when talk of whether one is a nun-seducer is not finished. The meaning of "defeated" will be explained later. Meanwhile we observethat the circumstancesfor suspensionof the recitation are in terms of acts of body and speech, as was mentioned previously. There is little doubt that both kinds of Pdtimokkha, i.e. of exhortation and of command, were in existenceat the time of the Buddha; although the now extant forms of the Pdtimokkha (the "command" kind) in the senseof a text may not be exactly the original one that the monks recited in the Buddha's time, even leaving out the set of Saiksa (precept) rules. It has been noticed by scholars that each of the main Vinayas of Buddhist sectshad its own Prdtimoksa-sutra.2z This need not be attributed to a single reason. The fact of different Vinayas has in the past been deemed intimately bound up with the division of the Buddhists into different sects, involving difficult historical matters of what are called the Buddhist Councils. According to Buddhist traditions, the First Council at Rajagaha (S. Rajagpha), held in the year after the Buddha's passing, rehearsed the Stlra division according to Ananda's mernory and the Vinaya division according to Updli's memory. Later, a third divisicn called Abhidharma was added-the three called tripi{aka, often rendered the "Three Baskets." The Second Council, held under the sponsorship of king KalaSoka about 110 years after the Buddha, concerned the errant Vajjian monks at VaiSali who were committing some or all of ten prohibited things, including No. 10, the receiving of gold and silver. It is generally conceded now

22AsE. Fn.a.uwarrNrn, The Earliest Vinayaand the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature (Is. M.E.O., Roma, 1956),pp. I-2, points out, Vinayasof these schools are preserved: Sarvdstivddin,Dharmaguptaka, Mahisdsaka, and Mahasdmghikain Chinesetranslation; Pali school in original Pali; MUlasarvdstivddinin Chineseand Tibetan translations. Cf. ErrcNuB LAuorrr, Histoire du bouddhisme indien (Louvain, 1958),pp. 181-193, for structureand analysis of the Vinayapitaka. Cf. W. Pncnow and RnulKANrA MmuRA, The Pratimoksa-sfitra of the Mahasanghikas(Ganganatha Jha ResearchInsti. tute, Allahabad,1956), pp. 15-22,for concordancetables of severalPratimok5a-siltra,showing their almost complete agreement,except for the Saikladharmas. Cf. Hm.artwa,, A Study (n. 13, above), English summary, pp. 15-18, for his conclusions about various Pratimok;a-sfrtra-s.

38

BuddhistInsight

that while earlier (or at this time or later)'the Buddhist Sdr.ngha (congregation of monks) divided into the Mahdsdryghika and Sthavira, the Mahisar.nghika group of monks were not themselvesguilty of the ten prohibited things. But that the division was over the errant monks and so is placeable at this time is not necessarily the implication of the Pdli Vinaya text called Cullavaggq in its Chap. XII (Oldenberg edition) devoted to this Council of Vai6dli. While discussing individually the commission of the ten prohibited things, the authors included in the list two items suggestinga rival Uposatha.2s This appears to have been a defiant act on the part of the errant monks, rather than the independent Uposatha by a separate well-established Buddhist sect. The Cullavagga accovnt stops with saying the ten disputed points were brought up at a duly organized Sdr.ngha meeting and does not rnention the outcome. However, the Milasarvdstivdda Vinaya account, as we know from the Tibetan tradition which has only this Vinaya, holds that the errant monks were ejectedfrom the Sdr.ngha.zaThe "five thesesof Mah6deya"26 downgrading the "Arhat," about 137 years after the Buddha, could well be the causeof doctrinal splits in Buddhism but hardly capable of generating another Vinaya. Hence, the existence of multiple Vinayas in connection with sectarian splits has been a mystery that attracted various scholarly researchesand speculations. our previous findings suggest that Demi6ville has been on the right track in stressing two oral traditions, that of the Vinaya-dharas and the Dharma-dharas, where Dharma really means the stttra class, first gathered by Ananda.26 Combining 23For the first item, cf. Cullavagga, tr. by RuysDavrosandOronNnrRG, Sacred Books of theEast, (for XII, 2, 8): "'Is it allowable, Y ol. 20,p. 410 Lord, for a number of Bhikkhus who dwellwithin the same circuit,withinthe same 'No, Sir, it is not allowable."' boundary, to hold separate Uposatha?' 24As one Tibetan source, cf. Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentals of the Buddhist Tantras, tr. by FrnorNaNo and Arpx WayuaN(Mouton, D. LEsslNc The Hague, pp.63-67. 1968), 25Fora comparison cf. of differenttextual traditionsof the fivetheses, J.qNtcs J. Narrtrn and Cnanus S. PnrersH, Origins:The "MahdsSryghika Beginnings of Buddhist Historyof Religionst6:3,Feb. 1977, Sectarianism," pp. 250-257.But the exposition paperdoesnot allow me to of the present accept the conclusions of these writersin their attempt(cf. their p. 238)to fix theschism at year116afterBuddha and dueto a Vinayaquarrel. z6Cf. Paul Drrrarsirlr,B, "A propos du Concile de Vai6ali," T'oungPao,

Ancient Buddhist Monasticism

39

this with the thesis of two Pd:timokkhas, one the Buddha's exhortations and the other the instruction of morality preserved in the Vinaya recited in the Uposatha, a distinct possibility of some of the divergent Vinaya traditions having been in Buddhism from the beginning emerges. Such is the implication of an alternate tradition that not much credence was perhaps hitherto given by reason of obviously faulty features, namely, that the Scripture was recited in four different languages, Sanskrit, Apabhrar.nSa,Prakrit, and PaiSdcika, accounting for four basic divisions-Mfllasarvastivddin, using Sanskrit, descended from the son Rdrhula; the Mahisdmghika, using Apabhrar.n6a, descended from Mahdki6yapa; the Sar.nmatiya, using PaiSici, descendedfrom Upali; and the Sthavira, using Prakrit, descended from Katyayana.z1 Of course, the sectarian divisions cannot be properly attributed to these dialect differences. Even son the seemingly arbitrary associations of this tradition are suggestive.2s According to Edgerton,2ethe Buddha had allowed and perhaps urged the monk-teachers to preach the scriptures in their own dialects so as to bring the Buddhist teachings to the widest audience. Later King ASoka sponsored a council in which the scriptures were collected and an attempt made to homogerrze them, with perhaps the Magadha type taken as the basis; and from the homogenization resulted the sacerdotal language of Pali. This is what the above-mentioned tradition calls Prakrit, claimed to descend from Katyayana. At about this time, or
Vol. 40, 1951, p. 254, n., mentioning that the compounds dharma-vinaya and siltra-vinaya(of course,meaning the same: dharma:siltra, and vinaya) are frequent in the accounts of the Council of VaiSali; and pp. 260-261, agreeingwith N. Durrn Early Monastic Buddhism,on the important distinction dhammadhara and vinayadhara, retainers of the dhomma (5. dharma), and retainers of the vinaya. 27As one Tibetan source, cf. Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentals (n. 24, above), pp.67-69. zaCf. LtN Lt-KouaNo, L'Aide-Mdmoire de la Vraie Loi (Adrien-Maisonneuve, Paris, 1949), pp. 194-228, for a lengthy discussionof these matters; but his sourcesmake somewhat different correlationsbetweenschools and languages.As we shall see,this difference, per se, does not matter much: the main thing is that such correlationsare made at all. zeFnaurr,INEoceRtoN, BuddhistHybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary : Vol. I: Grammar (Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1978),pp.t-2.

40

Buddhist Insight

perhaps later, the canon was also rendered into Sanskrit, and this is the language of both the Sarvdstivddin and Milasarvastivddin, supposedlydescended from the son Rdhula. But it appears now that the attempt to create a Middle Indic canon in a Prakrit form or the Sanskrit canon of the scriptures was done either with an exemption or a compromise that it would not extend to the Vinaya, the disciplinary code. Hence, the various forms of the Pratimoksa-siltra. For the other two, first take the Mah6sdr.nghika,said to have used Apabhrarysa and to have descended from MahakaSyapa. It is of interest that the Vinaya of the Lokcttaravadin sect of the Mahdsdryghika, preservedunder the title Mahdvastu, uses a kind of language that Edgerton calls "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit" and includes in the earliest form of this mixed language. Th.is is not how the word ApabhrarySa ("fallen-off language") is used nowadays, but conceivably it applies to the languageof the Mahdvastu.Tltelast one mentioned, the Sammatiya, is attributed a dialect called PaiSdciso and said to descend from Upali. This suggestsa confused association of names and is hardly identifiable l,vith the remaining extant Vinayr,s, those of the Dharmaguptaka and the Mahi(asaka; and it is dubious that Updli, the great Vinaya-dhara of early Buddhism, rvould be more associatedwith a tradition leading to these vinayas than to the others. This alternate traciition is obviously too neat, with its fourfold description, to suit what is probably a complicated situation. In any case,the partial truth of this tradition cannot account for the doctrinal divisions among the Buddhists: it rather points, albeit confusedly, to a diversity of Vinaya lineages. It appears then that the division into Buddhist sects, said in some accountsto have amoun.tedto eighteen,is an independent matter from muitiple Vinayas; and this lends credenceto the position Bareau has argued at length, attributing the initial split to Mahadeya'sfive theses, which were of doctrinal nature.sl The
30Fcr locales of this dialect. cf. MauRrce WlNrrRNrrz, A History of Indian Literature,Vol. II: BuddhistLiteratureand Jaina Literature(English (MLBD Delhi, 1980), translation) p.604. arANoni BAnE.nu, (Presses Les premiers conciles bouclclhiclues Universisitaires CeFrance,Paris, 1955),p. 89, by decidingin favor of the datecircal3T after Buddha for the schism,efrectively separates the consideration from the Council of VaiSali. After careful considerationof the various factors, he

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

4l

fact of having a slightly different vinaya-different not by reason of the basic monk and nun prohibitions, but by extra precepts and varying amplitude of associatedlegends and later of Jdtakas (previous-birth stories of the Buddha)-cannot be judged the sourceof sectariansplits along doctrinal lines unlessthesedoctrinal divisions had somehow invaded one or more of the vinayas. For the early period there is no evidence of this at all. when we come to the Mahdvastu (as a sub-sectvinaya of the Mahdsiryghika), we do see some doctrinal intrusion, for example, the early Mahdydna Buddhist theory of ten Bodhisattva stages; but this text Mahdvastu is assembledperhaps five hundred y.urc after Buddha, long after all the old Buddhist councils. Frauwallner's conclusion about the old Skandhakatext (which besides the details of monastic life contains all the legends, including biography of the Buddha) that "rt must have been composed shortly before or after the second councilo',i.e. in the first half of tlre 4th cent., B.c.,t, should be accepted. This is becausethe obviously great challenge to the sdr.ngha by the errant monks of vai6ili forced a stock-taking of legends;therefore, the organizers of the second Council would be responsiblefor settling the form of the Skandhaka. However, if it is true that some other vinaya lineages were present in Buddhism from the beginning, theselineagescould continue, if not at vaisdli, then at Rajagpha, and so on. That is why legen,Js contained. in vinayas other than the Theravada (cescendedfrom the Sthavira) might conceivably be different for having been accepted from Buddhist beginnings, or for having been added centuries later. In the light of the preceding-in order to rationalize the Buddhist vinaya history about the eighteen schools, especially the initial break that was between the groups called the Mahds6r.nghika and the Sthavira-we have simply to assume that the monks at vaisali in a legal Uposatha rehearsed the vinaya legends. And when the news reached Rdjagpha, this promptld similar rehearsals of legends, not in the spirit of rivalry with vaisali but becauseit seemeda good thing to do. If some years
concludes(p. 109),among other things, that the schismbetweenthe Mahasdmghikaand the Sthavira rook praceat pdtaliputra, capitalof Magadha, over the five theses about the Arhat, that the King of Magadha vainly atlempied to arbitrate the dispute. s2FRauwar,LNER, The Earliest Vinaya(n.22, above), p. 67.

42

Buddhist Insight

later there should be a divisive quarrel over the status of the' Arhat (per the five points of Mahddeva), and the monks who acceptedthe five points could claim that there were more monks of this persuasionthan on the other side, they could then begin to call themselvesthe Mahisiryghika (the great clergy). But this rvas not becausetheir Vinaya was different in the essentials from the Vinaya of the Sthavira; nor did they differ in the suffermain points of Buddhist doctrine, non-self, impermanence, ing, dependent origination, and so on, from the other sect. However, the quarrel about the Arhat had profound implications for the theory of the Buddhist path and was later to inaugurate the great movement called Mahdyina Buddhism. Such sectariandifferences would eventually bring some differences in the associatedlegends of the school, simply becauseit was a different sect and therefore had differing ability to draw upon the old legends. In this light, while some doctrines-namely, those found in the Pali canon of the four Nikdyas-are clearly earlier than others, say some of those found in Mahdydna siltra,r, it is uncertain to state such "earlier" or "later" in terms of Vinaya legends. As an indication of this, even for the meaning,of the term Pitimokkha, I resorted to the Vinaya tradition of the M[lasarvastivada, i.e. Vinitadeva's commentary on its Vinayavibhanga -which some scholars think arose many centuries after the Theravdda-while specialists in the Vinaya preserved in the Pali language were unable to come up with such an explanation. II. Tsn MoNAsTERYeNn PsnsoNs IN IT

Since the monk and nun had to leave home and to give up layman's money transactions, from the beginning there had to be dwellings set aside for such persons, either supported by the community of lay followers or else self-supporting.ss In India the Buddhist monastery was usually called a vihdra,sawhich can also 33Inthe case institutions, Buddhist onemay referto' of Indianand Chinese "Indian and Ancient ChineseBuddhisme:Institutions ANoni BAnEAu,
Analogous to Jisa," Comparative Studies in Society and Hfstory, III: 4,. July 1961, pp. 443-451;and in the case of Himalayan area and Mongolian 'oBuddhistMonastic Economy: the Jisa institutions, to Rosrnr J. Mrusn, Mechanism,"in ibId.,III: 4, July 1961,pp. 427'438. BaSee Drpar Kuuan BlnUA, Viharas in Ancient India (Indian Publicationsn Calcutta, 1969).

44

BuddhistInsight

outer respect to secular authority.al But by the seventh century, admission to the priesthood was by public registration.az For some generalities about the tay follower and the one in the monastic life, we turn to the teacher Asanga, referring to the teacher converting people to the Buddhist position and what the lay follower does in return:ag What is dissemination of the preserved doctrines? That very person who has fully comprehended the Illustrious Doctrine informs people that there is good fortune and power in the direct perception of the Illustrious Doctrine. With precepts only a.she has fully comprehended it and which are in conformity with it, he follows it in teaching and follows it in introducing (people). What is corresponding sympathy from others? "Others" means donors and patrons. They bring the conditions of things useful for living, as follows: religious garb, alms, bedding, seats,medicaments, and whateverutensils rnay be in point. One is shown sympathy by them. Just as rnonks gain rnerit (pu4t1,a) by their practices, so do the laity by their contributions of living materials for the monks, their adornments to tire Buddhist structurescalled stupa, and the like; they gain trusting faith (5. prasada) in the three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, San-eha) and plant the virtuous roots (kuiala' mula) for appropriate results in future lives.aa Asanga tells how to differentiate the layman and the one gone into the religious life in terms of prevalent defilement:a5 Reflections (vikalpa), elaboration (prapafica), attachment (sanga), and (mundane) ideas (sarr.jfia) are four kinds of
a1Cf. LsoN HunvITz, oo'Render Unto Caesar'in Eariy ChineseBuddhism: Hui Yiian's Treatise on the Exemption of the Buddhist Clergy from the Requirementsof Civil Etiquette," LiebenthalFestschrift(Santiniketan,India, 1957), pp. l-36. a2J.Taxarusu, tr. A Record of the Buddhist Religiort by l-Tsing (Munshi' ram Manoharlal, Delhi, 7966),p. 98. a3ArEx WAymAN, Calning the Mind and Discerning the Real; Buddhist Meditation and the Middle View, from the Lam rim chenmo of Tson-kha-pa (Motilal Banarsidass,Delhi, 1979), p. 34, from Asanga's Sravakabhumi. al-oursRrNou, et al.,L'Inde Classique,Tome II (EcoleFrancaise d'Extrme. p. 597. Orient, Hanoi, 7953), 45PTT,Vol. 111, p.238-5-7,8, in the Parydya-sarygrahagi.

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

45

defilements. The former two are on the side of the one in the religious life (pravrajita); the other two are on the side of the householder (grltastha). Those gone-forth have reflections from recalling experience of (mundane) sensory objects; and elaboration from that swaying addiction. The householders have attachment from living amidst (mundane) sensory objects; and (mundane) ideas resulting from adherence to attachment's sign-sources. Asanga reveals the mind of the rnonk, his fixed ideas in five situations:a6 (1) the idea when entering a city that one is enteringa prison; (2) when in the monastery, continually having the idea of the monk, e.g. "f have abandoned the home attire and adopted one of bad color, so am not 'good-looking,"' and so on. Twenty-two points were stated in the sutra;a7 (3) the idea of antidote to the sickness that is continually in f ood; (4) the idea when in seclusion, that in regard to forms to be perceived by the eye, the sounds to be perceived by the ear, one is blind and deaf and dumb; (5) the idea when lying down, that one has stretched out his hands and feet like the deer of the hermitage. Asanga may perhaps speak more for himself than for the generality of monk and nun. There are of course a wide diversity of such persons, who ordinarily started out as a Buddhist layman -male, the updsaka, or female, the upasika. In the beginning the Buddha conferred the "going forth" (p. pabbajjQ ordination of the male novice (Srama4era),perhaps the first female novice (iramaperika), and postulants (iikgamdnd); and he conferred the "full ordination" (P. upasampada)of the monks (bhik;u) and perhaps the first of the nuns (bhiksuni). But as Buddhism spread to other parts of India, it became necessary for qualified monks to be permitted to conduct these two kinds e6PTT, Vol. 111,p. 225-1-2, f., in the Vinaya-sarytgraha4i. 4?Asanga's list is somervhat larger(his source unknown)than that oi the Pali Vinaya;cf. HonNax,tr.TheBookof Discipline,Vol. I, p. 42, for the identifications eighteen of "monk." For extended explanations of theeighteen. cf. Bapar and Hrnarawn, ShanChien-P'i-P'o-Sha, pp. 178-183.

-46

BuddhistInsight

of ordination.4s Perhaps this shift coincided with the event mentioned in this paper above when the Buddha stopped participating in the Uposatha, and there arose the distinction of two kinds of Pdtimokkha. Since this might have led to a large number of unwarranted ordinations by a person seekingto build up a power center, it was prescribed that only a bhiksu of ten years standing and of proven learning couid confer the full ordination.ae These wise rules helped to ensure the integrity of the Sdr.ngha; and so, by and large, the main disputes between Buddhist sects in later times were over doctrinal rather than Vinaya matters. Accordingly, there were different forms of ordination, mainly in terms of complexity. The ones conferred by the Buddha himself were the most simple.0o The first, later called the Pafrcavargenaganena upasampadd, was the ordination of the 'ofortunate band of five" in the episode of Sarnath; when seeingthe Buddha coming from afar their own resolution was broken, and the monk marks-namely, the shaven head, begging bowl, and yellow monk garb-appeared upon them in a miraculous manner, and they becamethe first disciples.sl The next one, apparently, is the Ehi Bliksukaya upasampada,the "Come, O bhikgu!" forto the candidate for ordination. A third forrn is mula, addressed the Saraqtdgamanaupasampadd, what is called the Svam upasampadd, done by the candidate himself, who first adopted the marks of a monk, shaven head, etc., and appearing before the Buddha thrice uttered, "I take my refuge in the Buddha, I take my refuge in the Dhamma, I take my refuge in the Sangha." But once the ordination processwas turned over to the senior monks, a more elaborate procedure was required, involving a formal act of the Sd:mgha.52This formal ordination is called, P. Natti catutthakamma upasampadd and S. Jfiapticaturthakarma upasampadd.
asMnoaN MonaN STNGH, "Life in the Buddhist Monastery during the 6th Century B.C.," JBRS, XL, Pt. 2, June 1954,pp. 134-135. 4eMaoaN MonaN STNGH, ibid., p. 135. 50For the following names of various upasampadd, cf. B. JrNaNaNoa,ed., Upasampadajfiaptih, Tlbetan Sanskrit Works Series,Vol. VI (K. P. Jayaswal ResearchInstitute, Patna, l96t), Introduction, p. 2. srThis story is part of the introduction to "The First Sermon" in both the Mahdvastu and Lalitavistara; cf. FnaNxrn EocsntoN, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Reader(MLBD Delhi, 1978),pp.17,20. SrMap.eNMonaN SrNcH,op. cit., pp. 136-137.

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

47

As the nun order started later in the Buddha's pilgrimage, it appears that all nun ordinations-with the'possible exception of the Buddha's aunt, the first Buddhist nun-took place through a formal Sdr.ngha act; but becauseof certain differencesfrom the monk ordination, it was given a different name, P. Atrlhavdcika uposampada.ss There was much emphasis on seniority of "bhiksubecoming,o' with respectful devotion extended to the senior monks. The age of entering the religious life in different countries, where Buddhism establisheditself with the sdrygha, has a rower limit at l55aand cases where a boysswas ordained. when ordination becarne formalized, this increased the period between p. Pabbajja and P. upasampadd, i.e. the novice and the fully ordained. A period of five years has been mentioned,s6but this has perhaps not been standard during the many centuries and various countries. There are various well acknowledged reasons for entering the Buddhist order. In Buddhist countries orphans frequently entered the Sdr.ngha,as did widows the nun order. There are stories about devout parents urging their sons to enter this religious life, even with the background of auspicious dreams.s? The ancient story "conversion of Sdriputra and Maud, galyayana,' concerns the "seeker" of the truth, the way, who finally decides to enter the Brotherhood.bs while in the beginning the Buddha admitted virtually everybody into the order, soon exclusions of certain types-criminal element, etc.-had to be enforced. It appears that the more the
53Cf. Up,qsl.r, Dictionary, p. 50. 54MADAN MonLN Srucn, op. cit., p. 135. 55For example,LAuorrr, Histoire du bouddhisme indien, p. r85, mentions that Kumarajiva (350-409)was ordained at the age of six (356). This is known as the Kdkuttepaka pravrajyd. (the ordination of thosewho scare away crows), cf. Anukul c. Banerjeg, sarvdstivdda Literature (calcutta, r9s7), pp. 179-180. s6MaoaN MonaN SrNcn, op. cit., p. 137. 5zcf. the rather primitive article, Arsx wavMAN, "The parents of Buddhist Monks," Bharati (BanarasHindu University),1966-68, No. X & XI (..Central Asia Number," ed. by A. K. Nanan), pp. 25-29. 58cf. EocsRroN, BuddhistHybrid sanskrit Reader pp.26-33, for hisedited text from the Mahavastu, with introductory notes about the versions of the story.

48

BuddhistInsight

imperial patfonage enjoyed by Buddhism, the more it excluded persons-such as desertersfrom the army, sons lacking the permission of their parents-so as not to offend the civil and military authority. This process appears to have been completed during the patronage of the celebrated King A5oka.5e For obvious were excluded,as were reasons,personswith contagiousdiseases such as deafness (not affiictions, sensory persons with severe precepts).60 the person to hear allowing the It seemsuseful to compare the two ordinations of the Buddhist system with the Brahmanic "stages of life." As well known this of the celibate student, followed by the householder, is a sequence for the first two stages. There followed two stagesof homelessness,the Vdnaprastha and the Sannyasa. It has been proposed that the P. Pabbajja (the "going-forth") or the ordination as a novice somewhat resemblestheVanaprastha stage; while the fullordination (P. Upasampadd) is equivalent to attaining the Sannyasa,which is sometimescalled the Bhiksu A$rama.01 However, in consideration that the ascetic orders did not recognizethe requirement to be a householder, i.e. to repay a debt to the forefathers by procreating progeny, which is essential to the theory of the four stages,the comparison must be done in a different way. Indeed, also in the Brahmanic system,the lad left home to take up the Vedic study with a preceptor who would give him a second birth (make him dviia). Hence, the nearest equivalent is to take the Buddhist novice as equivalent to the brahmacdrin student in the first stage; and to take the fully-ordained monk and nun, becausethey have loosened their soctal duties, to be roughly equivalent to the Vinaprastha (forest-hermit) in the third stage. The equivalent to the sannydsa stage can be noticed in the description of this stagein the New Upaniqads: he only needs strip of, cloth, water pot of wood or earth, and staff: sleepson the ground, with the sky for roof; stays at one place during the rains, rest of the year travels continuously; avoids theatre, to the Buddhist families, feasts.62 This bears some resemblance
o'Some Aspects of Buddhism as Gleaned 5eCf. RaogAKRISHNA CsoUogl,RY, through ASokan Inscriptions," ,IBR,S (Buddha Jayanti special Issue, vol. Two), 1956, p. 426. 60For a longer list, cf. (JrAsa'r, Dictionary, p. 138. olMaoaN MonaN StNcn, op. cit., pp. 135-136. 62Cf. K. V. G.q,Jnl.toRAGADKAR,Neo-Upanishadic Philosophy (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1959), pp. 109-113.

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

49

ascetic practices called the dhutagupa (qualities of a purified man), thirteen in number (infra), and the ti,vo-week retreats by the monks (iryfra). However, in the Brahmanic theory, th; sannyasastage was in the declining period of life, after complete disengagement from social duties; whereasin the Buddhist case the asceticpractices and retreats could take place when the person was relatively young and in full possessionof his strength and sensoryfaculties. ' An important differenceto add to the above is that in the case of the sannydsinthere was an automatic extinction of his propertyrights. But the Buddhist monk or nun did not undergo a .,civil death" at ordination. This is becausetrre Buddhist monk could return to the social group if he found the monastic life too hard, or if he experienceda change of heart about this kind of life; and there was no extinction of his property rights in the meantime.63 Turning to ordination practices themserves, we note agreement between the Theravd.da and the Mfllasarvdstivdda use of the P' upajjhdy4, s. updcthydya. In both cases, the Buddha,s ltlinjunction that a person should seek out a ..competent,, monk to act as his upajjhaya refers both to a person ordaining a novice and to a person looking after a disciple (p. saddhiviharika, s. sardhavihdrin), serving this master who will eventuaily introduce him to an appropriate meeting of the sar.ngha r* ,n. purpose of ordination as a bhiksu.'t tn the Mfilasarvdstivdda practice, for example, the continuance of this Vinaya tradition in Tibet where it.was the only Yinaya,the usage of the term can be seen in the biography of rson-kha-pa ltisl-t+t9), founder of rhe Gerugpa sect.65 "In his seventh year, he .went forth, to the religious life. The lama Don-grub Rin-chen becamehis 'princ ipar, (upacrrrydya), charged with admitting the candidate to the religiou, ori.r. Glon-nu Byan-chub became his 'instructor' (acdrya). He took the vow of novice (iramanera), and" was given the name Blo-bzan Grags-pa'i-dpal." Notice that a superior called upddhydya and an underling called dcdrya both playeo a paft in-fulfiiling the candidate's "going forth" as a novice. Latir the biographt 63Dr' DBv Rar cuawaNA,"The vinayapitaka andAncie't Indian Jurisprudence," Vol. XLIV, pts.i & ii, March-June, "rBR^t, tgSg,pp. 22_23. 6cCf.
Upasltx, Dictionar!, pp. 44-45. 65Wayuau, Calnting the Mind, pp. 16, 19.

50

BuddhistInsight

mentions the persons who directed Tson-kha-pa's full ordination as a bhik5u: 1) one who was his "principal" @pAdhyAya,Tib' mkhan po), a monastery abbot in spiritual descent from Sakyawho introduced the third Milasarvdstidribhadra (1127-1225), vida ordination lineage to Tibet; 2) one, happening to be the abbct of another monastery, who was his "counselor" (Tib. Ias kyi slob dpon; s. karma-acdrya);3) a third one, a kind of religious head, who was his "confidant" (Tib. gsan ste ston pa; s. ialtonuiasaka). Thus, the term upddhydyc was used for the principal at the novice vow and at the monk vow and could be iwo different persons. The Tibetal equivalent to upadhydya, namely mkhan po, was regularly used ior the head of a monastery. For the vow of the novice, the followilg comes from the M[lasarvastivida practice:66After the applicant (already a tay Buddhist) before the assembled Sd:mghahas expressed a desire to obtain the "going forth" ordination from an upadhydya, a ptearranged monk asks on his behalf if he can be gralted the responds-he can be, if he ordination, whereupon the sd,r.ngha out an upadhydya, who seeks applicant the is pure. After that, beard shaved;and after and get hair his to arrangesfor the Derson with bowl and yellow the upadhl'aya by bathing, he is furnished applicant takes his the upddhy'dya robes. Then in front of the announces Sdr.ngha, the and refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, accepting and a householder that he is giving up his marks of The times. three is said this those of one "gone forth"-and 'oFine!" The applicant is then upddhydyc says something like, turned over to another monk who inquires of the upadhydya if he has ascertained the applicant's purity; a1d with assent, the applicant again goes through the set formulas as above of refuge anO ttooice's vow. Some monks require the applicant to be able to tell from a shadow the time of the day. Now the "instructor" (acarya) makes the novice state in his presencethe ten dpada) which are the ten things he will points of instruction (.frk,r he had previously agreed to desist these, Of give up. or ior.go vow, natnely, from killing layman's Buddhist the during from five lying, and intoxiactivity, sexual unlawful stealing, living beings, pleasurable witnessing from desisting adds cants. He now like unguents, things beautifying of use from entertainments,
66B.q,NsRlsB, Sarvdstivada Literature, pp' 109-113'

AncientBuddhist Monasticism

5l

using high and big beds, taking meals at wrong times, and accepting gold and silver. The dcdrya says something like, "Fine!" For the vow of the monk, the following also comes from Mfrlasarvdstivdd,a practice0z: The novice having attained an age, of which the minimum is stated as "twenty" (as before, presumably l5+5; and with inevitable exceptions), asks the upddhyaya for an alms-bowl and religious robes. He also asks the karmakdraka bhik;u (previously called the karmq-dcarya) and the rahonusdkato conduct their proper rcles in the ceremony and asks some other monks to participate. The information is given tbat at least five vinayadharas (retainers of the vinaya code) had to participate in the upasanpadd ardination. The candidate makes his salutations, then squatting in front of the upadhydya, three times implores him to act as the upddhydya fcr his full-ordination. Assenting, the upadhyay,a provides the candidate with three robes either already made up, or with cloth for the same; and the two go through a robe conflerment ceremony with formulas repeated thrice. Then comes exhibition of the bcwl, and afterwards the upadhydyaconfers the bowl. Three times the candidate states the proper use of the bowl. The candidate is moved to the side, standing wirh folded hands, but in view of the assembled Sar.ngha. The karmakdraka bhikpu now asks the rahonusdsaka bhiksu if he is willing to make the confidential inquiries to the candidate with the named upadhyaya.upon getting the assent of the ral.ionuiasaka bhik;u the karmakaraka bhiksu makes a muktikajfiapti-apparently meaning his motion to the assembledSdr.ngha, upon his sitting down-that the rahonuiasaka bhik;u be permitted to make his confidential inquiries to the candidate. There foliows the jfrapti-kq,rmq of the rahonuiasaka bhiksu apparerftly meaning his questions to the candidate, out of ear-shct of the Sdingha (hence as the "confidant") on various private matters, starting with "Are you a man?" "Do you possessthe male organ?" "Are you at least 20 years of age?" "Are your three robes and bowl complete ?" and going down to questions of whether he is a thief, a king's soldier, nun-seducer, indebted to someone, aflicted with various illnesses, and so on (in fact, oTBeNBnlrs, Sarvdstivdda Literature, pp. 114-141.

52

BuddhistInsight

the entire list, which if in any case is not answered properly would drop him from consideration as a monk); and he informs the candidate to stay there until called and not to be shy his answer to any of the about revealing to the assembledSdr.ngha questions. The rahonuidsaka bhiksu moving within ear-shot of the assembled monks declares that the candidate, aftet being questioned, speaks of himself as free from all restrictions (to his full ordination). The assembled monks say, "If he is perfectly pure, then let him come." The candidate is now brought before the monks and salutes them. The karmakardka bhiksu (in his role of "counselor") then directs the novice on what he should say, namely, the formula of asking for the upasampadd ordination with the named upddhydya, andthat he is willing to answer any question. The kqrmakaraka bhiksu, after being saluted by the candrdate who sits down in front of him, tells the candidate to give answers to the questions without shynessand then goes through the samelist that the rahonuidsaka bhikgu had asked in confidence. After this, the karmakdraka bldk;u does his karnn of three times declaring that the candidate is a man rvith male organ, has completed 20 years of age, has all the robes and begging borvl, and is pure concerning the restrictions;. and that if it be the Sdmgha'sconvenienceand approval, then confer the upasompada ordination on the given let the Sdr.ngha candidate rvith the named upadhyaya; andthat all in favor should remain silent, and those against speak up. After the third time, he declaresthat since the Sapgha has remained silent (if that was the case), it must be concluded that the Sdr.ngha has granted the upasampadaordination on the candidate with such and such name, who has the named upadhyaya. This completes the ful[ordination of the candidate as a monk (bhiksu). The newly ordained bhikgu is made to measure the shadow and then is informed about the parts of the day and night and about the seasons. This ends the formal cererirony of ordination. He is then told about monastery life, about robes, food, etc., and asked if he is willing to live this way. He is told about the four gross falls, for which he would be ousted from the Sd:rygha. He is told about i.e. their brotherly conduct, of not the four rules about ascetics, reviling others even when reviled, etc. He is told about the moral rules of the Prdtimoksa and his expected service from this day onward to the upadhyaya, who is as a father to a son. He is

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

53

told to study the Buddhist doctrines of the personal aggregates, dependent origination, etc. The above rituals of "going forth" (pravrajya) and "full ordination" (upasampad6) are called p. kammavdcd, s. karmavd.kya.as According to the Tibetan history text The BIue Annals, both Nagdrjuna, founder of the Madhyamika sect of Buddhism, and Asanga, founder of the yogdcara sect, received their ..full ordination" in the Milasarvastivdda vinaya.Ge Hence, ordination as a monk was independent of doctrinal affiliations, as this paper has already set forth. As to the newly-ordained monk's learning about parts of the day and the seasons,this is apparently a brief reference to in. forming him of daily and seasonal observances. There have been doubtlessmany differencesin daily observances in Buddhist monasteries in different countries and centuries. For example, there is description about the daily life of the monks in ancient ceylon that they arose before sunrise and contemplated the Buddha, loving kindness, impurity of the body, and death; then proceeded to their ablutions, sweeping,dressing according to the rules, meeting with other monks to recite the ..Lovingkindness scripture" (Metta-sutta);then to the hall for their breakfast.?' There is a modern publication on the morning and evening chanting in Thai Buddhism.?1 The vinayas set forth extensively the main observances in topics frequently called vastu. Hence, the Mllasarvastivdda vinaya is called vinayavastu.zz In this vinaya, the first book is the pravrajyavastu, from which previous material on the ordination of novices and monks was drawn. This book goes also into the .sBaNpnJBr, sarvdstivdda Literature, p. 142.For more information,cf. HsnnnnrHAnm, Karmavdcanri (sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden; Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1956). For ordination ceremonies of countries other than India, cf. J. P. MrNavBnr, Recherches sur Ie Bouddhisme (pais,1g94), "La communaut6 desmoines bouddhistes," pp. 296-315. eeGsoncn N. RorRlcH, The BrueAnnars,partone (Delhi, r97g), pp. 34-3s. T'warpora RAHuLA, History of Buddhism in ceylon (M.D. Gunasena & Co., Colombo,1956), pp. 173-174. Trrhe Pali chantingscripturewith rhai & EnglishTranslation, T962. 72Thefollowing material on the vinayavastuis summarized from Banerjee, sarvdstivdda Literature, pp. 10l-246.FnauwaLLNER, The Earliest l/inaya,pp.70-129,compares all the vastu-s of the various vinayas.

54

BuddhistInsight

qua.lificationsof the monks chiefly engagedin the ordination rites and the reasonsfor asking the various questions of the candidate for bhik;u. The second book, the Popdhavastu concerns the Prdtimoksa recitation which has been already mentioned by the name P. Uposatha (S. Upavasatha). More details will the proper order follow in this paper. This Vinaya then reverses of two books, the Varqdvastu,concerning the conduct of monks during the rains-their restriction to one residence, etc.-and the Pravdranavastu, to confess any offences committed during the three-month retreat of the rains in a l-day ceremony concluding this retreat.Ts The fifth one, the Carmavastu, on footwear; the sixth, Bhaipajyavastu, on food and medicaments;the seventh, Civaravastu, on the materials and preparation of monk robes; and the eighth, Kafhinavastu, on distribution of robes at the end of the rainy season and laymen's gifts-are mainly on the food and clothing needs and the rules for special cases. The ninth, KoSdmbakavastu, on suspension (utksepaniya) of a monk, inlaw code augurates chapters showing the internal ecclesiastical tenth, the Karmavastu, of the Buddhist monasteries. Then, concerns limitations of monks to perform suspension; the eleventh, Pap{ulohitakavastu, gives the disciplinary actions for various serious offences; the twelfth, Pudgalavastu, goes into particular casesof punishment for specific offences;the thirteenth, Pdrivisikavastu, the duties of monks undergoing light punishment (parivdsa); the fourteenth, Posadhasthdpanavastu,establishing the impurity that would exclude a monk from participation in the Upavasatha (P. Uposatha). The concluding parts in this Vinaya are the fifteenth, Sayanisanavastu,on construction of monastery buildings and furnishing them; the sixteenth, Adhikara4avastu, formation of the nun order and settlement of disputes among the monks; and finally Sar.nghabhedakavastu, which should be concerned with splits in the monk community but in fact in this Vinaya goes in to the legendary origin of the Sakya race and the life of Gautama, who became the Buddha, from birth to leaving home for the religious life. As to the thirteen "qualities of a purified man" (dhutagu4a), or elseto be renderedoostrands that were shaken off," they consti73That is, in this Vinayathe Pravdra4dvastu is the third vastu,though it should logically be the fourthone.

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

55

tute a movement to adopt more ascetic practices than monastery life was prone to, in consideration that the Middle Path of the Buddha avoided the extremes of mortification of flesh and indulgence in desires but also that the Buddha was called "great ascetic" (mahalrama7a).74 In the Visuddhimagga the thirteen (called here dlrutanga) are: l. to wear robes made of refuse rags (parysukulikafigam); 2. to have not more than three robes (tecivarikangam); 3. to eat only food collected by begging (pirtdapdtikangam);4. to not miss any housein the regular rounds when begging (sapaddnacdrikangam);5. to sit down for eating only once a day no matter what (eka,sanikangam); 6. to be satisfied with whatever is received in one's single bowl (pattapiryQilcangam); 7. to refuse any food after finishing one's meal (khalupacchabhatti' kangam); B. to dwell in a forest, away from the city (arafifii' kangam); 9. to dwell at the base of a tree (that is not prohibited for the purpose) (rukkamulikangam); 10.to live in an open space (except when raining) (abbhokasikangant);11. to live in a cemetery (sosanikangam);12. to usewhateverbed or seatis offered,without adversecomment (yathasanthatikangam);13. to take rest at night only by sitting (nesajjikangam). Needless to say, a practitioner would adopt a certain one of these ascetic practices, which normally meant a renunciation of certain privileges accorded to the monks in monastery life. Asanga explains that these practices are meant to purify the mind and make it fit fordwelling in chastity (brahmacarya).75 Besides,it appearsthat the monks dwelling in the usual monastery setting had an opporfunity to practice more toward santddhi during the three-month retreat of the rains when they did not go begging. There are indications that they may have had to get along with less food than at other times.?6 Indeed, it is said:1l "If during the three months of summer-retreat, a
?aCf. NITINAKsHADurr, Early Monastic Buddhism (Calcutta, 1960), pp. 155, f., from which the following thirteen dhutarigaare summaized, for the theory that Devadatta's attempt to force certain rigorous practiceson the Slmgha as a whole-an attempt opposed by the Buddha-attained some in time in terms of adoption by various monks, although measureof success the list was not itself ever incorporated in the Vinaya. 75Wa,vvnN,Analysis of the Srdvakabhumi,p. 82. 76Cf. HonNan, The Book of Discipline, Vol. f, on the Fourth Defeat, pp. 153-154. TTBapatand Hmartwa,, Shan-Chien-Pi'-P'o-Sha, p. 142.

56

Buddhist Insight

Iarge number of monks who had started practising samadhi have not finished their job, the Tathdgata cioesnot observe the Great Pavarand.." By "Pavarani" is meant the one-day ceremony, as alluded to above, for concluding the retreat during the rainy season. The Buddha was also mentioned as going into retreats for specifiedpurposes: once in a solitary place for a half-month, except for one bringing food-to enter a samddhi for examining the past on a certain matter;?8 at another time for a retreat of three months-apparently to set an example.zeIt appears that the two-week retreat was a favorite of rnonks, as the writer has observed some Tibetan monks doing the same in present times, for coming to a conclusior on some troublesome point of doctrine, etc. we should nct leave this topic of Buddhist monasterial life rvith the impression ihat it just amounted to a big problem of persons adjusting to this sort of life, some obeying injunctions, others committing offencesto be censured or deservingejection from the Sarygha. This may be clarified by a cursory comparison of the Brahmin with the Bhiksu and by an ancient quarrel. It is rvell knorvn that rvhen Gautama left home to seek the religious life he undertook an asceticdisciplineespecially by the River Nairaiijand for six years, perhaps for some time with no more food intake than some ascetics were reported to have taken in those days-a handful of beans every third day.ao At the end of that time he decidedthat this coursedid not lead to the highest goal (the Dharma transcendingman's) and he undertook a middle path between mortification of the flesh and indulgence in sensory desires, taking a modest nourishment while meditating at the base of the Bodhi Tree. So also the Hindu Laws of Manu (lI, 100) state: "Keeping the village of the senses in subjection and controlling the mind, he would accomplish all (human) aims rvithout reducing his body through t-oge." This indicates that rvhen the Buddha decided on the middle path he accepteda certain pcrtion of the Brahmanical "stages of life," and while continuing to uphold the ascetic ideal renounced its more extreme form.

T8Bapar and Hnlrtw4 Shan-Chien-P'i-P'o-Sha, p. 290. ?eB.qpar and Hmarawt, Shan-Chien-P'i-P'o-Sha, p. 434. 80cfl. A. L. Basnau, History and Doctrines of the Aitvikas Company, London, 1951), 50, for this practice.

(Luzac

&

Ancient Buddhist Monasticism

57

what he accepted in common with the Brahmanical course became called in Buddhist terminology "instruction of morality" (adhisila-iiksd),amounting, in monasterial language,to adherence to the Patimokkha (s. Pratimoksa). Then a Brahmin lad, starting at eight years and taking the vedic course.for twelve years, would become a Brahmin priest in his village at the same age (twenty) that the Buddhist vinaya gives for "fulr ordination" as a monk (bhiksu). This Brahmin lad for the normal period of twelve years had been adhering to a standard of continence called braltmacarya, which was precisely enjoined upon the entrants to Buddhist monasterial life. However, while the Brahmin proceededto the next stage of life, the householder who raises a family, the Buddhist monk continued his celibate ways, attempting, as the first part of this article has cited from the Anguttaranikaya (Book of Sevens),to surmount the Realm of Desire, dwell in the forn Dhyanas of the Realm of Form and then in the liberation of mind and of insight, and have the full realization in this life. And so the quarrel is over how to attain all (human) aims. It is easierto compare the two systemsin terms of a sequence from AsangaosSravakabhutni: going forth, restraint of morality, restraint of senseorgans, moderation in food, practice of staying awake (in the former and latter part of night), conduct with awareness,solitude, elimination of hindrances,right dwelling in samddhi.sl Thus, in the Brahmanical system, the lad went forth to the preceptor, becametwice-born; and the Buddhist monastic followers became "ascetics who are sons of the Buddha." The Brahmanical youth restrained his morality in the code called 'brahmacarya and was supposed to restrain his senseorgans in the manner set forth in the Laws of Manu, Chap. 2; while the Buddhist monasterial novice was supposed also to restrain his morality and then his sense organs, as set forth at length in Asanga,s Srdvakabhumi. But then the Buddhist system went on to claim something over and beyond the Brahmanical procedure for attaining the (human) aims. It was claimed that the ascetic in the Buddhist order would proceed to oomoderationin food," o'practice of staying awake," and so on. In the description of "practice of staying awake" Asanga states that when one has 81Cf.WayuaN,Calming the Mind, pp. 31-38.

58

Buddhist Insight:

moderation in food in the manner set forth, he goes on to purify his mind from obscuring natures by walking and sitting during the day and during the first watch of the night; and also during the last rvatch of the night after resting in the middle watch of the night. Notice that Asanga claims something for this phase that was not claimed for the restraint of morality or for the restraint of senseorgans, namely, a purification of the mind from obscur-' ing natures, as a preparation for entering into samadhi. That is not to denigrate those previous observancesand behavior restrictions as trivial; indeed, Buddhism puts great stock on this prior base of morality for proceeding to meditation. In short the Buddha's rejection of the extreme of mortiflcation of the flesh should be viewed as a rejection of asceticpractices that are not preceded by a previous moral training involving a continuous discrimination of things to be rejected and things to be accepted (especially by the senses). And the Buddhist rejection of the Brahmanical "stages of life" is an attitude that if one waits until the last period of life before one is an ascetic, there is not much that this ascetictsmwould accomplish in the senseclaimed for the asceticismthat follows directly upon the restraint of senseorgans. It is not the business of the present writer to take sides on this great cleavage between the two systems, except to observe the foregoing as essential for understanding the great movement of Buddhist monasticism. Of couise, the training of the Brahmin youth for a number of years with the brahmacarya code, followed by the stage of householder, doubtless helped to preserve Hinduism through the many centuries. The non-return to society of the Buddhist monk in the sense of raising a family (except for the person leaving the monkhood) meant a more fragile base in society for the Buddhist monastery. ru. AND PENANCE TgB orrBNcEs, coNFESSIoN,

Since the offences are listed in the Pdtimokkha (S. Prdtimokqa), it should be recalled that this paper already establishedthe meaning of the term as "Liberation-onset." Consistent with my findings, Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakoia (IY, 16) states: "Ths Prdtimokqa path-of-act is the pair, candor (vtifiapti) and reticence (avijfiapti), at the outset" (adye viifiapty-aviifiapti prdtimoksakriydpathal). And Vasubandhu comments in part: "Priti-

Ancient Buddhist Monasticism

59

moksa is the candor and reticence at the commencement, of the person taking the vow (saynvara)" (saqnvara-samdddnasya prathame vijfiapty-avijfiapti prdtimokga ity ucyate).82 These terms are in the Mahdsdmghika listed tenets I have elsewhere, cited: No. 60 "virtue causedby a vow increases";No. 61 "candor (aijfrapti) is virtue"; No. 62 "reticence (auijfiapti) is immoral."83. "Path of-act" apparently refers to the confessional. The Pratimoksa-siltrq, verse 16, of the Mfilasarvdstivdda Vinaya is cited in Tson-kha-pa's Lam rim chen mo as illustrative of the Instruction of Morality (adhiiilaiiksA) for the monks:8a This Pritimoksa (Liberation-Onset) is like the bridle of a hundred sharp nails on the difficult-response mouth of the horse-like mind driven by incessant effort.85 According to the context of this verse's citation, the "difficultresponse mouth" means the spiritual guide's speech endowment (uacasd'bhyupetary) of Mahayana-Sutralarytkdra,XVII, 10.. "hundred The sharp nails" are presumably the "one hundred kermoso' of the work Millasaruastiuddanikayaikaiatakarman, briefly alluded to by I-Tsing but not listed by him, and apparently all the main monastery rites starting with ordination as a novice.86 The teacher who has gone through these "karmas" is said to have' these as a bridle on his mouth, capable of answering the difficult questions of the disciples,while his mind, like a horse, is spurred on. Vinitadeva explains the "hundred sharp nails" as the "points of instruction" (iikpapada),87 which might signify the 150-odd 82P. Pn.noHaN, (K. P. ed., Abhidharmakoiabhalyam of Vasubandhu p.207. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna,1975), 83A. W,q,yr\aAN, "The Mahisdmghikaand the Tathigatagarbha," The' Buddhist JournalofthelnternationalAssoctationof Studies,Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 36. 1978, seTashilunpo ed. of Lam rim chenmo, fol. 20b-5,in an introductory, on the spiritualguide(kalya4amitra). sectionon the topic; reliance
85ANurur, CnaNona BnNeRlnn, ed., Prdtimok;a-sfitra (Mulasarvdstivada)(Calcutta, 1954),p. 3, mentionsthat reconstructed passages have beenput in bracketsin his text. He had to reconstructa number of lacunae with the. help of the Tibetan. However, in the case of verse 16, his reconstruction and so I have used the rest of the does not appear to have been successful; verse(extant Sanskrit)plus the Tibetan translation to arrive at the translation" given. s6Tararusu, tr., A Record, p. 95. 87PTT,Yol. 122, p.279-3-2.

60

Buddhist Insight

prohibitions of the Prdtimoksa-siitra or might conceivably refer to the "one hundred karmos.o' The Prdtimoksa as a morality (iila) beyond the five layman's vows is called "morality of a day and night," since during the Poqadha (P. Uposatha) there is no eating atter noon for a day and a night, which is the fast (upaudsa) accompanied by the eightfold mor ality (as!Ang ai tla).88 The recitation of the Prdtimoksa is ordinarily in full, but it could be cut short to the minimum of the four "defeats" (pdrdjika) alone.8e Thesefour, mentioned first in the list, are the worst offences, requiring immediate expulsion from the Simgha: l) sexualintercourse,of any sort; 2) theft of a valuable, with awarenessthat it does not belong to oneself; 3) murder, or commending it or abetting it; 4) pretending to superhuman powers.eo As to the secondone, "stealing," it has been wrongly suggested as relevant that the monk upon entering the Order had renounced any claim to private property.el Rather, the four 'odefeats" are related to the Buddhist Genesisstory, where-portraying the fall from a superhuman state of the first eon men-sexual intercourse went along rvith eating of coarsemorsel food, requiring crops of same, leading to their theft and mortal blows on that account.e2 Indeed, all the "defeats" have features of "theft", sometimes metaphorical. Thus the first one, sexual intercourse, mans taking a sexualpartner, who (or even,which) does not belong to the monk for such a purpose sincehe is supposedto be celibate. The second ssCf. Errsrwn Lauorrl, Le TraitddelaGrande Vertude Sagesse,TomeII (Louvain,7949), esp.pp. 825-832, for this fast,the "eightfoldmorality,"and information abouta six days'fast,whichmay amountto threedaysat full moonandthree days at newmoon, or else two days each at full andnew, plus
two "eighth" days. 8eB.JN.q,NaNDA, ed., AbhisamdcarikalBhik;uprakir{rakal (K. P. Jayaswal Researchlnstitute, Patna, 1969),Introduction, p. viii. e0cf. the extended treatment in Bapnr and Hnlx swa,,Shan-Chien-p'iP'o-Sha, op. cit. elSo HonNnn, The Book of Discipline, Vol. I, introduction, p. xxi. Cf. precedingconclusion,employing the.IBRS article by Dn. Dpv Rar Cg.nNANA, n. 63, above. e2Cf. Anx WAvuaw, "Buddhist Genesis and the Tantric Tradition," Oriens Extremus,9:1,1962, pp 1,27-131, for a summaryof the story and implication for the 'oupward" progressof the Buddhist monk. This essaycan be found also in A. wayman, The Buddhist Tantas (samuel weiser, Newyork, 1,973),pp. 24-29.

AncientBuddhistMonasticism

6l

one is theft per se, especially of material, valuable objects. The third, murder, means taking or promoting the taking of a life, which belongs to another and has irreplaceable preciousness.The fourth one of pretense to realizations and powers in its explanation has five explicit thieves:e3 i) the big thief in the story about the "defeat": monks living on the bank of the River vaggumuda near vesali (S. vaisali) getting by false pretensionsfood, medicine, and other valuables.ii) the big thief monk who pretendshe learned the Dhamma (s. Dharma) from himself (through his powers of realization) and not from someone else. iii) the big thief evilminded monk who condemns those monks who are following the path and progressing in meditation, praising himself as the really pure man. iv) the big thief who secretly takes and gives gifts of monastery property in order to get favors and support of certain householder. v) the big thief who acts as though the monastery property belongs to hirn and freely takes it and uses it or gives it away. The preceding shows that thievery, either concretely or in metaphorical senses, was viewed with particular horror. perhaps this attitude is behind the Mahi.ydna Buddhist emphasis oo o'giving" (ddna) as the first perfection (pdramita), even ahead of "morality" (irla). The Pdtimokkha of the nan (bhikkhuni) has eight ..defeats," the above four in common with the monk, and four additional ones: 5) enjoying the contact of a male person between the collar-bone and knee; 6) concealing the "d.efeat" offence of another nun; 7) becoming the follower of a monk who has been suspended; 8) possessing any of eight sexual dispositions.ea Besides, a nun had to accept the eight guru-dltarma, which the Buddha enjoined upon the women who would enter the order, considering that women are also capable of attaining Arhatship, but which doubtless did not encouragethem to become nuns:eb ssCf.Bapar and Hrnarlw.q, Shan-Chien-p'i-p'o-Sha, pp. 335, ff. for an extended discussion of thefivebig thieves.

eaCf.Upasl'x, Dictionary, p. 158. esFor the eight guru-dharma, cf. Gusrav Rorn, Bhik;u4i-vinaya (K. p. Jayaswal Research rnstitute, Patna, 1970), Introduction, chap. III, pp. xxix-xxxii. The association of the number eight with women appears an establishedmatter in the Pdli Anguttara-nikaya (Book of Eights), where besides the canonical story about Mahapajdpati's acceptanceof the eight dharmas,there is the account that women have eight qualities who after death_

62

BuddhistInsight

i) no matter how old the nun, she should bow her head,to the feet of a monk, even one ordained that day; ii) being a virgin of eight'een years she requests the Orders of monks and nuns for two years' training at the end of which she may be fully ordained; iii) nuns may not addressmonks regarding the true and the false; a monk may address nuns regarding the true but not the false; iv) the nuns must wait until the monks have been supplied with food, bedstead,and lodging before being themselves supplied; v) .a nun guilty of a grave offence must apply to the Order of nuns for the severe penance of isolati on (mdnatva) for half a month and certification of rehabilitation from both the Orders; vi) every half month the nuns should desire the coming of the monks on Uposatha day, for instruction; vii) the nuns may not spend the rainy seasonat a place devoid of a monk; viii) upon the conclusion of the rainy seasonthe nuns should desire to invite each other before both the Orders (to be open about what transpired during the rainy season).' Then for the monks comes a section of thirteen Sanghddisesa offences. One of the traditional explanations for the titlewhereby it is rendered "beginning with (Adi), and remaining with (sesa) the Sangha,"e6 i.e. entirely within the purview of the Sangha-seems confirmed by Vinitadeva's commentary on the Vinayavibhanga, with the S. SdryghdvaSesa ("remains in the 'Sdrygha"). Thus Vinitadeva: "depends on the Sar.ngha" (Tib. 'dun 'dun Ia rag dge lus pa); "entailed by the Sdr.ngha" (dge dan 'brel 'dun las rnampar ldan par ba); "arises from the Sar.ngha"(dge 'gyur); and "'without a remainder' (would be) becausethere is 'with a remainder' no common (shared) means of purification; (would be) becausethere is a common means of purification."e? seemsto have been adopted to Hence, the term Sanghddisesa contrast with the Parajika ("defeat"), namely, where there is a means of purification within the Sdr.nghafor a serious offence and where there is no such means.As to the list, the first five relate to sexual indiscretions short of sexual intercourse. Then come offences relating to construction of morrastic dwellings, false
are reborn as lovely fairids; and earlier the 'oGreat Chapter" has a passago that a woman enslaves a man in eight ways. e6For a discussionof the title, cf. FIoRNER, The Book of Discipline, Vol. f, Introduction, pp. xxix-xxxii. gzPTT,Yol. 122,p. 313-4.

AncientBuddhistMonastioism

63

accusations, abetting schisms in the Sangha, and polluting the faith of a devout family. The nun had'some more possible offences. There was a light punishment of living apart called parivdsa and a severe penance of isolation called manatta (5. manatva), both requiring the sanction of the Sangha in the beginning and end. By "end" is meant that one becomes ready for restitution (abbhdna) by the official act of the Sangha, consisting of at least twenty persons.es Next come the two aniyata-dhammesor Indeterminate Offences about the associationof a monk with a woman, where the gravity of the offence (whether o'defeat", Sanghidisesa, or the lesserfault called Pacittiya) is determined by a reliable witness, especially a reliable female layman (upasika).se The Theravdda Vinaya now presents thirty Nissaggiyapicittiyas, offences especially about the religious garb-its measurements, renewals,etc.; and the begging bowl; as well as money transaciions with laymen.lm These are followed by ninety-two infractions (pacittiya; Sanskrit uses the term pdtayantika) of the monk in the Bhikkhu-Pdtimokkha, with a hundred sixty-six of the nun in the Bhikkhuni-Pdtimokkha. Some of these are heretic views on matters of morality, such as declaring permissible acts that are permissible, and vice versa. Violations of the prohibition on monks to view entertainments, concealing a serious offence of another monk, are among the miscellaneousoffences.1o1 Various Vinayas differ considerably in the material presented on each of these sins. For example, Pdcittiya No. 33 in one list on "taking food successively" is quite short.102 In the Mtlasarvastivada Vinaya this is Pdtayantika No. 31, and Vinitadeva's commentary, taking its cue from the basic Vinayavibhanga,launches into a lengthy description of drawing the "Wheel of Life" (wellknown from its Chinese and Tibetan forms),103of which there is nothing corresponding in the other account of this offence. The Patidesaniya are a group of offences to be confessedin a ssThis summary pp,2l3-2I4. of the list is based on Upasak, Dictionary, seBaparand Hrurrwd,, Shan-Chien-P'i-P'o-Sha, Introduction,p. xxxi.
pp. 121-122. p. 15I; B.lrer and Hmarawn, Shan-Chien-p'iP'o-Sha, Introduction, pp. xxxiii-xxxv. 10296p41 and Hrnarltwt, Shan-Chien-P'i-P'o-Sha, pp. 470-47I. loaPTT, Vol. 123, p. 1.2-3-3, f. 100{Jp4s411, Dictionary, l0lUpAsAK, Dictionary,

64

BuddhistInsight

manner prescribed by the text: "r have fallen into a blameworthy matter, unbecoming, which ought to be confessecl, I confessit.'" They are the offences of requesting food from impoverished persons,four related to monks and eight to nuns.1oa The group of sekkiya (S. Saiksa) is precepts. The Ther avada Yinal'a has 75 such rules, samefor monk and nun : l-2, on proper dress, 3-26 on how to enter a village, town, or house, 27-56 on taking meals, 57-72on preaching of the Dhamma,73-75 concerning toiiets, etc.los The Dharmagupta school is quite different here, n'ith 24 rules dealing with the stilpa}os The final entries in the pdtimokkha have to do with settling of disputes.loT Asanga, in vinaya-samgrahani, says:108"one may understand all transgressions(dpatti) to be established by the fifteen wickednesses (dugkyta)," as follows: 1. a grave thing, e.g. the four defeats. But the beginner can have them in a pre-defeat form, which taken care of in time, can ayert a "defeat.,' 2. non-contentment with lack of things one might want more of. 3. creating incidents, or opportunities, to have offensive relations with nuns, etc. 4. acting in such a way among raity as to causethose without faith not to get faith and for those with faith to lose it. 5. trading or trafficking in merchandise and precious things like gold and silver.

6. lust, leading to sexualdischarges and to erotic advances. 7. hurting othersby calumny,etc. 8 . causing injury to othersby requiringthem to carry excessive loads,etc. 9. interruptingthe progress to "heaven" (sugat) by breaking the concordin the Sangha.
104!4p41 and HrurAwA, p. 436; Upasak, Dictionary, p. l5l. 105{Jp454K, Dictionary, pp. 240-241. 1068A'4T and HrnarawA, Introduction, p. xxxv, and pp. 4g7_4gg. 107 upASAK, Dictionary, has a good summary,pp. 223-224, and refersto the lengthl, description in Cullavagga. 108PT"I', vol. 111, p. 222-5-5to p.223-4-3; in thistranslation from the Tibetan I have given only the main list with meagerexpansionfor some items.

AncientBuddhist Monasticism

65

10. interrupting the way of the ascetic(or novice) by refusing precepts,saying, "Don't tell me!,, 11. not eliminating what is to be eliminated; and eliminating what should not be eliminated. 12. dwelling where one should not dwell; and not dwelling where one should dwell. 13. not venerating what one should. venerate, e.g. the pratimoksa; and venerating what one should not venerate. 14. to tell what should be kept secret, e.g. to express the superior dltarma (uttaradharma)to one not ordained; and 1o concealwhat should be told, e.g. not to tell theneophytes about the transgressions(apatti) that concern them. 15. t o r ely upon w h a t o n e s h o u l d n o t re ry u pon a.g.on not , properly examined clerical garb; and not to rely upon what one should rely upon. Asanga was pteviously mentioned to have been ordained in the MDlasarvastivada vinaya; therefore, the foregoing and the following from the vinaya section of his great work should be taken as consistent with that vinaya. He classifies by their nature (svarupa) ecclesiasticar offenc es (apatti)as minor, middling, and great, where the Defeats are the great transgressions, the sdr.nghdvasesa the middling kind, and any other the minor transgression. He gives another classification where the Defeats and the Sdr.nghdvasesa are grave (s. guruka; p. garukdpatti), the infractions (Patayantika) and the pratidesaniya are middling, and the Dusklta is a light one. Classified by agency, he ,uy, what is done through ignoranceand heedlessness is a minor transgression; what is done through many defilementsis a middline transgression;and what is done through (deliberate)disrespect ii a great transgression. classified by intention, whatever one does in a small way when enwrapped by lust, hatred, and delusion, is a small (transgression);does in a medium way, is a medium one; does in a great way, is a great (transgiession). classified by points (of instruction), there are also the minor, the middle, and the great transgression. classified by the number of monks required for the case,minor transgressions require one to five; middling transgressions require ten, or twenty, or thirty; for the great one, no number given.ros '0ePTT, p.224-l-6 vol. 117, to 224-3-2;rhave taken fromTibetan themain detailsof Asanga's remarks.

66

Buddhist Insight

Turning to the confessional,it should be observedthat certa.in offenceswere never a.dmittedto be atoned for by confessingthem. We have seenthe four Defeats (para.iika)as a mandatory expulsion from the Order. The grave sins that could be handled by required suspensiort the Sdmgha, and called S. SamghdvaSesa, and penance, not expulsion. Any others, i.e. the minor transgressions,could be atoned for by confessing,also referred to as "pacifying" the sin. According to the Pd:li Vinaya text Mahdragga: "If a Bhikkhu, after a threefold proclamation, does not confess an existing offence which he remembers, he commits an intentional falsehood.llQ The confessingof sins one by one was a traditional explanation in Asia for the translation of the term prdtimok;a by "liberation one by one." Thus I-Tsing writes: "While thus confessing one's own faults and desiring one to be purified, one hopes the sins are expiated being confessed by one. To confess sins all at once is not permitted in the Vinaya."lrr The settlement of sins susceptible of being handled The in this manner is referred to in Pdli as palififiatakararya.lr2 monk admits the offence before the assembledSangha or before a monk. This is a procedure wider than the confessionof minor infractions. If one restricts the consideration to these minor ones, this is probably the situation referred to in the often-cited report of a J. F. Dickson (lournal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1875) who was allowed to witness a Patimokkha in Ceylon and said, among other things: "After we were seatedthe priests retired two and two together, each pair knelt down face to face and made confession of their faults, one to another, in whispers."rra ElsewhereI cited sourcesfor the Mahdyina equivalent to this confession "face to face," pointing out that this abatement of sin, tantamount to a calming of the mind, is involved in facing the Thirty-five Buddhas of Confession and in other forms of "facing" under specified 114ul.q.rqgsQrgces.l1a
East, XIII, lloRHYs Devlos and OrorNeunc, (Sacred Books of the "t tld*P#kmra Oxford, 1881), \1, 3, 4 (Uposatha Ceremony and Patimokkha), 111f46ar<gsu, tr., A Record, p. 89. 112{Jp4s66, Dictionary, p. 130.

p. 243.
113Cf.HeNny Ctanxe, WAnREN, Buddhismin Translations(Harvard Unipp. 405-408.For variousfeatures versityPress,1947), of this confessional, see the Mahavagga(Ruvs Dlvros and OrorunrRc, trs.), 1I 27, l-15, pp. 282-286.
lla{1py WAyMAN, "Purification of Sin in Buddhism by Vision

Ancient Buddhist Monasticism

67

However, if the monk is guirty even of minor infractions, it is held that concealment, i.e. failure to confess it in the appro_ priate circumstances,acts as a hindrance to his success in medi_ tation. He is "sitting on thorns," and the text continues: ..If the vinaya-master goes to his place and asks him: .Good friend, how is the state of your mind? Did you attain samadhi or not?, he replies: 'No samddhi.' The vinaya-master says: .In this world, one who commits an offence cannot conceal it. If at the time when one commits the offencefor the flrst time, he tries to conceal himself, then the beneficentdeities would certainly first come to know it. So also the Samansand Brdhmans who can know the minds of others.'" 115 By ,.Samaqs,,iS meant the ascetics(p. samz(tq, S. irama4a). Also in the case of the more grave offencescalled p. sar.nghddisesaor S. Sdr.nghdvasesa, it is necessary to approach immediately another monk to inform him of the offence ano make arrangement for expiation, in which case the offending monk need only observe the six nights of "Man atta." But concealment of the offenceentails a period of penancecalled ,,parivasa',equal to the time he concealed the original grave offence, in addition to the six nights of "Manatta." The sar.nghadecides on the limitations of his movements, etc. during the period of penance. The nuns were treated differently: whether or not a nun concealsthe offence, she only undergoes a Mdnatta of a fortnight. The stringency of the limitations on the monk during this penance period is supposedto sufficefor the expiatiol.rre Again, in the period of Mahdyina Buddhism, there is a rite of ripentance associated with worship of the Bodhisattva Akasagarbha, as cited: ,,Full of shame, like a patient with sores upon his eyes, from one to seven days you must worship Buddhas, and especially the name of the Great compassionate Bodhisattuu Atasugarbha, and you must wash your body and burn severalkinds of incense. ... out of compassion with.iinners this Bodhisattva in all kinds of shapes appears in their dreams or in samddhi, and with the cintamaryi seal stamps their arms, thus removing the marks of
fession,"A study of Kreia, ed. by GsNruN H. sesarr (shimizukobundo Ltd., Tokyo, 1975),pp. 64-66. 11514p41and HrnarAwn,, Shan_Chien_p,i_p'o_Sha, p. l7l. 116cf. the entries 'parivdsa (I)' and .Mdnatta' in upasak, Dtctionary, pp. 142-144 and pp. 183-184.

68

Buddhist Insight

crime. After havingobtainedthis sign they must return to the congregation of the monks and explain tlie commandments as
before."117

117$/avM4rr, "Purification of Sin in Buddhism by Vision and Confession," pp. 70-71, citing M. W. on Vlsssn's translation from the Kwan Kokuzd Bosatsu Kyd inhis The BodhisattvaAkasagarbha(Kokazo) in china and Japan (Amsterdam, 1931).

3
ASPECTSOF MEDITATION IN THE THERAVADA AND MAHISASAKA

'

INTRoDUcrroN

Monks, if a monk should wish: "May I be agreeable to my fellows in the pure life, liked by them, revered and respected," he should be one who fulfills the moral rules (sila), who is intent on calming the mind (cetosamatha) within, whose meditation (jhdna) is uninterrupted, who is endowed with discerning (vipassand), a frequenter of solitary abodes (sufifidgdra). Akankheyy asutta (Digha-Nikdya, I, 33) All Buddhist sects granted that the truths of Buddhism were discovered by the Buddha in the course of his meditations, especially beneath the Bodhi-tree at Gayd in India. Thus meditation has a paramount role in Buddhism for indicating man's own ability to attain to truth. of those sects, Theravdda is the well-known Buddhism still prevalent in various south-east Asian countries such as Ceylon, Burma, and Thailand. Probably the most famous commentator of this tradition is Buddhaghosa whose fifth century A.D. work the Visuddhimagga is arranged in three parts in accordance with the Buddhist categories of three instructions, that of morality forming the basis for the other two: mental training aimed at samddhi; and insight, leading to the seeing of things as they really are with full comprehension of Buddhist truth or the discerning of reality. Bareau has observed

70

Buddhist Insight

a that rernainedin India that the sectcomparable to the Theravdd was called the Mahi5dsaka,l and I observed that its later form (the Later Mahi5asaka)had as its most famous son the Buddhist teacher Asanga (c. 375-430).2 Asanga did not organize his enby the three instructions; cyclopedic work the Yogdcarablrumi but he cherishedthese instructions in voluminous writing that could easily be put under the headingsof those three. It is the last two instructions, mental training and insight that properly cover the topic of Buddhist meditation; and this paper must deal with the two topics, although necessarily stressing the mental training, called "calming the mind." The literature about Buddhist meditation became quite extensive, especially when taking into account the full regims, the various techniquesand meditation topics, the prcmised fruits, and the inevitable controversies. Of the extensivecoverageson the textual, rather than interpretive level, Vajirafra4a's Buddlist may be signalled as representativeof the Theravd'da Meditatio,rus in the Pdli language and for the Indian schools which exegesis wrote in Sanskrit the extensivetreatment preservedin Chinese and now renderedinto French by l-amotte, Le Trait|,a Tome III, and a section in Tome II. Whcn present-day Buddhist monks write on Buddhist meditation the treatment amounts to an exposition of how to do it, rather than of what is going on. A fine example is Buddhadasa'sAndpanasati.s Western writers have various interpretations on behalf of their expectedreaders. For o'Yoga Techniques in example, there is Eliade's chapter on Buddhism,"6 using the important passagesthen available and bringing in non-Buddhist movements of the Indian tradition. (Saigon, lANonr BAnrau,Les sectes 1955), du Petit Vdhicule bouddhiques p. 34.
2Arsx WAyvtAN, Analysis of the Sravakabhumi Manusuipt (Berkeley, 1961), pp. 25-29. 3PlR.q.v.q,nsna, ValnaNANa MagATHERA, Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice (Colombo, 1962). a6rtgNNe LAMotrE, Le Traite de Ia Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nagarjuna (Mahaprajfiaparamitaiastra),Tome II (Louvain, 1949), especially pp. 1013-43; Tome III (Louvain, 1970), especially pp. 1209-1309. sBuoon.loAs.q. BHrxrHv, Anap u nasati (M indful nessof Breathi ng) (Bangkok,

reTr).
oMncrl 162-99. Erlaou, Yoga: Immortality and Freedon (New York, 1958), pp.

Aspects in theTheravada of Meditation andMahiSisaka

1l

An essay by Cousins, "Buddhist Jhdna,'.'1is restricted to the second instruction, calming the mind, with some modern observations from Southern Buddhist countries. Another essay, by Goleman, "The Buddha on Medit&tion,"8 uses Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimaggaas a Buddhist textual base to make contact with the "altered states of consciousness" terminology of modern Psychology. These three Western approaches are similar in not purporting to guide anyone in meditation: they are attempts to grapple with certain technical features of the system which most interest the respective authors. The present article seeksa middle ground: to convey only in summary fashion what is actually done in this classicalform of Buddhist meditation in order that there be room to deal with certain matters of considerable contemporary interest, such as whether the meditation brings the yogin to a break with human reason and whether it results in faculties which a person did not have in the beginning. It is also well to mention that most of the Western works that deal with Buddhist meditation as a major topic have treated rather well the general practices enjoined upon all applicants, such as 'ovirtuous the seeking out of a spiritual guide (the kalya1ta-mitrar friend"), and the various restrictions on daily activities, exemplifying morality as the base for meditation. These works are frequently less useful for defining the specific practices which differ for various beginners and for the various degreesof advancement of a given meditator. The restrictions on mental and physical acts are ritualistic in the sensethat the usual random movements are being cut down. Even so, the meditation practice is a comprehensible human pursuit, since many other persons-for example, athletes--have to follow special regimes with carefulness of diet and sleeping habits, along with unremitting practice. Musicians too must seek out good teachers and spend years of perhaps daily practice, ever attentive to avoid faults of performance. And again, one must take the entire drill; for example, it is no use to stay awake ?L. S. CousrNS, "BuddhistJhdna:Its natureand attainment according to IIl, 2 1973,pp. 115-31. Religion thePalisources,"
sDaNrtt GotrMeN, "The Buddha on Meditation and States of Consciousness", Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, IV, l, 1972, pp. l-44.

72

Buddhist Insight

in the former and latter parts of night for meclitating, if one is not also to practice moderation irr food MtntrlrloN pARTIcuLARLy oBJECTS, rHE ..DEVICES"

The specific practices especially relate to different types of persons. The post-canonicalPali Abhidhamma exegesis compiled a treatise on different classifications of persons (the puggalapafifiatti). However, the old passageswere sketchy about treating personality differences,and it is rikely that the guru lent guidance that was not always spelled out in the texts. The visuddhimagga is content to assign a few meditation objects to certain persons, six in number, in terms of their .,disposition,' (carita). vajiraffd4a translates :e "disposed to lust, to hate, to delusion, to faith, to intellectuality and agitation." Here, instead of "intellectuality" I render buddhi as ..discrimination," and insteadof "agitation" render vitakka as ,,conjecture,"10 Thesedispositionsare assessed mainly by a person's movements, in his manner of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down (frequently called the four postures).1lThe spiritual guide, having determined by such signs the predominant disposition of the candidate, then steers him to an appropriate meditative object. vajirafrdna,12 following Buddhaghosa'sworks, tabulates the respective meditative objects. I have elsewhere given Asanga's solution,ls which it should be of interest to compare in part w;th Buddhaghosa's lineage (pali: p., Sanskrit: S.):

sBuddhist Meditation,p. 9g. 10It is difficult to assign a good rendition for vitakka. My suggestionof "conjecture" (or "specuration") is based on the availabreevidence that the term (in Sanskritvitorka)is an abbreviation for .'inquiry and investigation,, (uitarkavicafa)(seelater, "progress in theRealm of Form") ofthe type in the Realm of Desire,hencedefiledby lust, hatred,and delusion. nAmong Westernthinkers,it is especially Hegelwho insisted that character is revealed by movement; cf. J. B. Bl'LrE, tr., Hege|s phertomenotogy of Mind (London, rev. ed., 1949),p. 349: "The true being of a man is, on the contrary,his act; individuality is real in the deed.,, rzBuddhistMeditation, p. ll0. 13Wayuau, Analysis, pp. 86-7.

Aspects of Meditation in the Theravdda and MahiSdsaka Candidate's disposition


Lust (raga) ditto Hatred (P. dosa, S. dve;a) ditto Delusion (moha)

IJ

Appropriate

meditative

objects

Buddhaghosa (Theravida) Revolting objects (P. asubha; S. aiubha); Mindfulness of bodies

Asanga (Mahi5asaka) Revolting objects --

(blue,yellow,red, Four totalities and white); (love,compafour Brahmi.-vihdras joy, equanimrty) sion, sympathetic
Mindfulness while breathing in and out (P. dndpdnasati, S.

Love (maitri)
Dethis

Origination in pendence of

osmrti)

Conjecture (P. vitakka, S. vitarka)ra


Pride (mana)

ditto

(idarncondition pratyayata-pratityasamutpdda) Mindfulness while breathingin and out Analysisof the elements (dhatuprabheda)

Mixed character (sabbocarita\

Six totalities (five elements plus light); Four formless realms Six Recollections (Buddha,etc.)
Mindfulness of death. etc.

Whichever meditative object on which the yogin has upsurge of rapturels

Faith (P. saddha)

Discrimination (buddhi't

BhadantacariyaRuddhaghosa (colombo, 1956), p. 103, for the pairing of moha and vitakka, including," And just as delusionvacillatesowing to sgperficiality, so do applied thoughtsthat are due to facile conjecturing." rsThisis a teaching from Asanga's Sravakabhumi, as cited jnmy manuscript translation from Tibetan, Calmingthe Mind and Discerningthe Real (columbia Uuiversity,New York, 1978). Asarigarefersto "mixed character"by the terminology "addiction of equal parts" meaning that each of the faulty dispositionsis of insufficientstrength to predominateover the others, and so the meditative object is indeterminate.

In Asanga's school, the -rOiiuti* oU:.rtr fo. tft. p.ilni ;rth predominanceof lust, hatred, delusion, conjecture,and pride, are commonly referred to by a word pratipakta, which, along with other translators,I used to render as "antidote";but to whichl now apply the standard lexical entry of "opponent" or 'oadversary." In short, the meditation on love is not an antidote for racf. Bnxrnu ftANauorr, The path of purffication(visuddhimagga) by

74

Buddhist Insight

hatred, but an adversary meant to supplant hatred in the mind. That is so, because accordingto this theory the seconctinstruction, calming the mind by way of success with a meditative object, aims to remove the visible tops (the rnanifestation in the conscious mind); while it rs the third instruction, of insight (P. pafifia, S. prajiia), that is required for removrng the tracesdeep down in the to mind. But before thesetracescan be extirpated, it is necessary supplant the iratred, etc. from the consciousfield. Therefore, in list, Asanga'sschool, the sameset would not, as in Buddhaghosa's include "hAtred," and "faith," and "discrimination"; because "hatred" has a meciitative object meant to supplant i1, while "faith" and "discrimination" have meditative objects meant to promote them. It is also necessary to speak about the "totalities" (P. kasipa, S. krtsna) frequently referred to as "devices." The Visucldhimagga has a lengthy treatment of these "devices," far in excessof what one would expect from the scriptural sources which are quite meagre. The main ca.nonical sourceis the Maha-Sakuladdy,i-sutta of Majjhimn-Nika1,aII, 7, ff., which setsforth then ten "totalities" as one of the meditation techniquestaught by the Buddha. The list is also explainedin the Anguttara-I{ikayat'Book of Tens, and it occurs tlice in the Digha-i,likdya as a mere list. However, the Pali term ka.silradoes not occur at all in the Saryyutta-Ir{ikaya, which is rich in material on meditation.lG The standard ten are the four colors, blue, yellow, red, and white; the four elements, earth, water, fire, and wind; space and perception (S. vijfrana). The practicewas to contemplatethe entire world by this "totality" or "device," i.e. all blue, all earth, etc.17Such a totality seemsto be illustrated by the Fire Sermon: "All things, O monks, are on fi re. . . T he ey e, O mo n k s , i s o n fi re ;..." r4
l6Per ClnottNp Rnvs DAvtos, Samyutta-Nilca),a, Indexes Pdli Text Society, Vol. 54 (Lonclon, 1904). lTAccording to the brief Buddhist scripture "The log of wood" in Aiguttara-Nikaya (The Book of Sixes), E. M. HARn, tr., The Book oJ'the Gradual Sayings (London, 1952), Vol. lII, pp. 240-41, the monk Sariputta (S. Sariputra) explained to a group of monks, pointing to a large log of wood, that when someone has learned to control his miiid he can be convinced (P. adhimucceyya) that the log is earth, or water, fire, air, beautiful, or ugly, because all those elements are in the log of wood. r8Cf. HnNny Cr.rnrn Wl,nRrN, Buddhism in Translations (Cambridge, Mass., 1947), pp. 351-53, translation of "The Fire-Sermon" from the Maha-

and MahiSisaka in theTheravdda of Meditation Aspects

75

generous treatment appeqrsexplainedby VajiraBuddhaghosa's nlentioning that ffana1ein agreement with the Visuddhimagga,zo the "devices" were employed as a means of induciqg Jhdna (S. Dhydna).21 By this is meant the Jhiina-s of the Realm of Form among the three Buddhist realms (Realm of Desire, Realm of Form, and Formless Realm). As an example, Bapat writes re"He (Upatissa) also agreeswith B. garding the water device,22 (Buddhaghosa) in sayinga beginnershould not practiseon natural sheetsof water Such aS ponds, lakes, rivers, ocean, but should practise on water i1 a bowl or basin, placed in a quiet, solitary place,neither too dark nor having too much light." C.A.F. RhysDavids writes,2g"We have read of the great lay-mystic, Jacob Boehme, accidentally falling into self-hypnosis by gazing at a surface of shining pewter. Thereupon, so he declares,he seems ,to behold the inward properties of all things in nature opened to him.' By certain similar devices (kasiAa) the Indian sought to obtain similar results systematically." Lounsbery points to their 'olt will readily be seen that auto-suggestion played an danger:24 important part in this practice, which has been almost abandoned in Ceylon since the death of a famous Guru three hundred years ago. The Kasinas are said to be stilt used in Burma." But this use of the "devices" to induce Jhana, as in Buddhaghosa's tradition and as exposed in the foregoing tabulation for to be a corruption personsof hatred and of mixed character,seems of the of Buddhist practice. Thus, Asanga explaiirsin his exegesis
vagga of the Pili Vinaya; and WupoI-l, RlHura,, What the Buddha Taught (Bedford, 1972 reprint), pp. 95-97, for the equivalent Sfrtra translated from the Saryyutta-Nikay a. tsBuddhist Meditation, p. 139. zofiaNnrtaort, The Path, p. ll3. 21So also in Buddhaghosa's Abhidhamma commentary called Atthasalini; cf. Pe Maung Tinn tr., which CanortNr Rnvs Dlvms edited and revised, The Expositor,Yol.I (London, 1958 reprint), p.248, in reference to the kasi4a, "But why was this method taught? Because it led to the produrction of jhdna." 22P. V. BAnAt, Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga: A Comparative Study Preface, P. xii, to F. L. Woodward, Manual of a Mystic (London, 1916). 24G. CoNsraNr LouNSBERy, Buddhist Meditation in the Southern School (New York, 1936), pp. 43-44. (Poona, 1937), p. 57. 2sCaRotrNe Ruvs-Davros,

76

Buddhist Insight

Samdhitabhfimi:2s "The bases of Mastery and the bases of Totality are the path of purilying the Liberations. The Liberations are classifiedby liberation from the hindrance of the knowable; they liberate the mind of irdvakas and pratyekabuddhas from whatever hindrance of the knowable." Since the Liberations begin in the Realm of Form, meant for thosewho have surmounted the Realm of Desire, the basesof Totality must begin with the Dhydnas where the Liberations begin, and therefore cannot serve to induce Jhdna (Dhyana). Le Traitd26makes the same point, mentioning that the first two Liberations and the first four Masteriesare contemplationsof revolting objects,i.e. the cadaver in decomposition, and are practiced in the First and the Second Dhydna. The Manual of a MysticzT seems to agree because it precedes the use of the "devices'o by accomplishment of the "mindfulness while breathing in and out" meditation that takes the meditator out of the Realm of Desire into the Realm of Form; and then the subsequent chapter devoted to the "devices" constantly mentions the Jhdnas,which are of course the divisions of the Realm of Fonn. This is technicalbut irnportant: it shows the Buddhaghosa'sexposition of these 'odeviiJes" permits them to be used by persorls who have not surmounted the Realm of Desire, becauseusing the devicesfor the very purpose of that surmounting ; and for these persons such "devices" carry some danger,as suggested by Lounsbery. The danger probably amounts just as a strenuousphysical to somethingtoo strong for the psyche, exerciseis dangerousif not worked up to by the gradual strengthening of the muscles. ThereasonwhyAsanga does not employ the kasi4as in his Sravakabhumi(Stageof the Disciple),althoughhe cloes havematerial on these in the Sarnahitabhumi of his Yogacarubhumi, seemsto be that the main task of teachingBudrlhist meditation is to get the disciple over the great hurdle of the Realm of Desire, with its lust, hatred, and delusion, with its five hindrances(infra), and its 'oacts of Mira."28 There is also no mention of these devices in mv 2sPhotographic editionof the Tibetan (PTT),Vol. 111,p. 10-5-7 canons to p. 11-1-1. 26l-auorre , Le Traitd,III, p. 1289. 2TWooowaRD, Manual,pp. 67 tr.
28Seein this connection, Jaues W. Bovo, Satan and Mara (Leiden, 1975), especially Chap. Six "The Deeds of Mira," pp,77-99.

Aspects of Meditation in theTheravdda and MahiSisaka

77

manllscript translation from Tson-kha-pa'g large treatment of "Calming the Mind."2e Presumablythis is also the reason for the silenceon the topic in the Sarytyutta-Iiikayaof the Pali canon. The theory is that by calming the mind, the yogin may transcendthe Realm of Desire in which humanit;' is plunged; and when he has advancedto the Realm of Forn:r,he can resort to various kinds of meditative objects and "devices" that would be contraindicated for him while he is still a tyro, a slave of ordinary human nabits and appetites. When the yogin advancesto the Realm of Form, he has new preceptsto observe, especiallywith the Liberatiorrs, the basesof Mastery, and the basesof Totality, which also are involved with the Formless Realnr. But that some persons,by reason of a peculiar constitution can transcendthe Realm of Desire without the regular courseof training, has long been recognized. Thus Asanga statesin the exegesis of his Srdvakablturniin the Viniicayasarpgrahaqt; of the Yogdcarabhumi:3o The domain of magical power either arises from praxis (prayoga) or is attained from birth. Among those, the one arising from praxis is as follows:-the fruit of the cultivation by ordinary persons (prthag.ianu), those in training (iaik;a), those beyond training (aiaiksa), and Bodhisattvas, born in this world. The one attained from birth is as follows: -the subsequent attainment from birth after the former recourseto the cultivation, on the part of those born in the Realm of Form; the attainment through the porverof merit by the deities and certain men who range in the Realm of Desire, for example, like the fiegendary]King Md:ndhdtr's. Magical power also belongsto flying creatures[e.g. Vidyadhara-s]incorporated in the same categories[the 1wo Realms] and to certain disembodied men (preta). There is also the power of gems,mantras, and herbs [respectively],as follows: to create a hypnotic fascination,to lay a eurse,or to inducedeath or a comatosestate, and which is called "magical power." 2eThis is a portion of the encyclopedic work Lam rim chenmo by Tson(n. 15). referred to above kha-pa (1357-t4t9), soThis passage is found in the Tibetancanon,DergeTanjur,Sems tsam, in the Chinesecanon, statement Vol. y'i,259a-1, ff.; with the equivalent the Peking canon(PTT) ff. However, Tibetan Vol. 30, p. 683c-8, Taisho, is defective at thispoint,PTT,Vol. ll1, p. 47-2.

Buddhist Insight pRocRESS rN AsaNca.'s A srnrcH oF MEDTTATTvE scHool.

Here I shall construct an abbreviated accourrtof meditative progress according to Asanga's Yogacarabhumi. There are these parts: (a) Trying to get beyond the Realm of Desire; (b) Progress in the Realm of Form; (c) Frogressin the Folmless Realm; (d) Further information on the Form and FormlessRealms. (a) Trying to get beyoncl the Realm of Desire. In Asanga's schocl,there is what is callecllhe "equipment" (,sarnbhara), arnounting to thirteen conditions, one chief and twelve subordinate, as detailed in his Sravalcabhumi, where he sets forth:31 Among those, if personshave the element of parinirvdna, and, lack defective(organs),but have not approached(the spiritual guides),what are their conditions (pratyaya) for parinirvdna? He said: There are two conditons. What are the two? Chief (pradhana)and subordinate (hma). What is the chief condition? He said, as follorvs- l. the discourseof others domi'and the inner nated by the Illustrious Doctrirrc (saclcllmruna) rnethodical rnental orientation (yoniio manaskdra). What is the subordinatecondition? He said: There are numerous suborclinate conditicns,as follcrvs- 2. personalachievement (dtmasantpat),3.achievementof others (parasampat,\,4. virtuous craving fcr the doctrine (kuialo dlnrmacchandal.t),5. going forth (pravrqiya), 6. restraint of morality (Sila-sarTtvara), 7. restraint of sense organs(indriya-sarTtvara),,8. moderation in food (bhojanemdtrajiiata), 9.practice of staying awake (jagarik dnuyoga), I 0. conduct with awareness (sarypr ajanaclvi hari t a). 1l. solitude (prdvivekya),12. elimination of hindrances (nivarana-viiuddhi), 13. right dwelling in samddhi (samadhisaryniiraya). There is no rooln to dilate upon each of those conditions; some of them will come into our subsequentdiscussions. Besides,four of the subordinateconditions are especially pointed out in this literature as constituting the "equipment" for both calming and discerning, i.e. for both the secondand third instructions. These are ltos. 7-10 "restraint of sense organs" through "conduct with awareness."Asto the favorable placeto perform the meditations,
slWavnalN, Analysis, pp. 59-60.

Aspects of Mcditation in the Theravdda and Mahi6dsaka

79

the Sutralarnkdra(XIII, 7) givesthe main list:32 "The place u'here 'good access,''good the wise man accomplisheshas the merits and' good usage' ." s o i l ,' ' g o o d c o n i p a n i o n s h i p,' set t lem ent , ' ' go o d The theory of overcoming the tremendouspower of the realm of desire is especiallyin terms of the five hindrances (nivararya) lust, ill-rvill, torpor and whicli are in the standard listing: sensuous regret, and doubt. Ratnakaraand rnental wandering sleepiness, following the in Prajfiaparamitdbhdvanopadeia,s3 his Sdnti states five hindrances, "Here of the Chap. 8: Saryulhinirntocuna-sutra, 'mental wandering and regret' is a hindrance to calming; 'torpor 'setlsuous 'doubl' arehindrances to disceming; and sleepiness'and 'ill-will' are hindrancesto both." lust' and The yogin, having restrained his senses,being aware of his with folded conduct, in a place suitable for meditation, meciitates legs in the former and latter parts of night, resting in the middle part. His spiritual guide had previously advisedhim on a meditative object, and how to avoid the faults of meditation. F{e is supposed to stick with this rneditative object, without thinking about it or using discursive thought toward it, until solne measure of appears. Of the main faults, the two most troublesome success ones are the scattering(auddltatya) or fading (laya) of the medita: tive object. The Bhavandkrama1 states:34 and becausethe When, overcome by torpor and sleepiness, apprehensionof the meditative object is not vivid, one's mind fades, then he should dispel the fading by the contempiation of the idea of light and by a rnental orientation toward a gladdening entity, the merits of the Bucldha,and so on. Thereafter, he should apprehendthat samemeditative object more firmly. Or, again, from the samework: When he noticeshis rnind scatteredfrom time to time through remembranceof former laughter and delight, then he pacifies the scatteringthrough a mental orientation to a sober (mentally aroused)topic, such as impermanence. Thereupon, he should
s2SvrvaIN Ldvt, ed., Asanga: Mahayana'Sutralarykara (Paris, 1907), p. 86. 33PTT, Vol. 114, p. 235-3. saThe Bhavanakrama citations are drawn from my manuscript translation of Tsori-kha-pa's "Calming the Mind" (n. 15, above). For KamalaSila's Bhavandkrama I, see Glusnppl Tucct, Minor Buddhist Texts, Part II (Roma, 1958), Chap. 2 "The Contents of the First Bhavanakrama."

80

tsuddhist Insight make an atteinpt to engage that samemeditativeobiect without ins t is at i. - ' of ir th e mi n d .

Also. BltdrcncTl; rama 11states : At the rirnethere is no fading or scattering, one notices repose of rnind rorvardthat meditativeobject; then one should relax the effort and be equable;thenone should abide (in that state) for as long as he r,vishes. .{cc.rrclrnsto the ,irdvakabltu,ti, there are nine stagesof thought tlratiorr (cittasthiti) from the initial fastening of the mincl to a m:'ditation object to the point where the mind, after learning to avcid the various rnajor faults, is made to flow one-pointedly (stagerro. B), and finally has a natural concentration (samadhi) in an automiitic manner with lack of effort (stageno. 9). There are instructions going lvith each one of the nine stages.s5 But even if one gets to the ninth stage,it does not necessarily constitute a surmounting of the Realm of Desire to arrive at a stage of equipoise(somapatti)in the Realm of Form. why so? According to the Rlumi-vastu (part of the yogiicdrabhilnti):86 why is it that only it is called oostage of equipoise," while any single area (of mind) belonging to the realm of craving is not? As follows-That samadhiis accomplishedwith lack of regret, the highest rapture, the cathartic, and pleasure.BTHowever, the one that rangesin craving is not that way. lstill,) there is no lack of thinking-volition that approachesright doctrine in the realm of craving. But then, how is one to know if he is surmounting the Realm of Desire,if gaining this effortlessone-pointedness of mind does not shou,it?38 The reply is that it is also necessary to have what rs called the cathartic (prairabdhi), especiallyshovrn by a serviceabilitl' of bociy-an animation and lightness,ancl a serviceabilitv
36As cited in "Calming the Mind,,. 3;Cf. Cousr\s, "Buddhist Jhana." pp. 120-22, for an eraborate discussion of the meditatii'e "rapture" (5. priti) by its plii form ptti. ssrherefore one must now correct Erraor, yoga, p. r69, "Real Buddhist meditation begins with experiencing the four psychic states called jhanas (cf. Skr. dhyana)," since one may not have attained the Jhana states even when having achieved one-pointedness of mind by elimination of faults of meditation.

35As ertensively setforth in "Calming the Mind".

in theTheravdda and Mahi6dsaka Aspects of Meditation

8l

of mind that prevails without hindrance upon the meditative object by an exchange(parivftti) of mental-concomitant natures. And this has a portent, as the Sravakabhumi states:3e A short time before the obvious cathartic of mind and body and the single area of mind become easy to discern, there occurs a portent (pfirvanimitta) of that, the appearanceof a weight on the head, and this is not a sign of harm. No sooner does this occur, than the mind contamination in the category of defilementsthat interrupt the joy of elimination, is (itself) elirninated; and, as its opponent [or, supplantor], the serviceability of mind and the cathartic of mind arise. And this cathartic is a kind of wind, according to the Sravakabhumi: As a result of its production, the great elements (mahabhuta), urged by the wind, and concordant with the production of the of their cathartic of body, course in the body. By ree-son of body disappears. coursing, any contamination (dauglhulya) Also, the whole body is filled with its opponent, the cathartic of body, as though it were a radiance. And the sarnewol'k states: Furth.ermore, when one has emerged (from that samddhi) and is occupied with his (ordinary) mind, some measure of the cathartic continuesin his body and mind. The mental orientationos marks and signs consistenttherewith should be understood as pure. The late Mongolian Lama, Dilowa Gegen Hutukhtu, once told me that if one does the procedure correctly, it takes about six months to get to this attainment" called the calming of mind (cetoflamatha) in the meditative within. This in short is the success object, without discursivethought, without deliberating it at all. (b) Progressin the Reaim of Form. According to Buddhist traditions, to become a Buddha one must pass through the four Dhydnas of this realm.a0 The calming already delineated means seThe followingcitations from the Sravakabhumi areall translated in the contextof the manuscript "Calmingthe Mind".
a0ANon6 BAREAU, Recherches sur Ia biographie du Buddha dans les Sufta(Paris, 1963),pp. 69-71,points out that all pilaka et les Vinayapilakaanciens five Buddhist traditions that he examined agree that the four Dhydnas

82

Buddhist Insight

the yogin has atta.inodthe threshold of the First Dhyana..At that divisions of the time, he can procced further through the varior-rs Realm of Form and the FornrlessRealm, even up to the surnmit of existenceand still not be liberated from the cyclical flolv (sarysara). But, it is taught, if he combinescalming with discerning (the union of the two) he can attain liberation from the bondage of cyclical flow. The value anyway of proceedingto a higher state, even without the wherewithal of liberation lrom saqnsdra, is that the yogin's atta.inment of a realm giveshim the good fortune of possiblebirth among the gods of that realm.al through the various statesof Now, suppose the yogin proceeds the Realm of Fonn and the FormlessRealm. It should be noticed that the basic staternentsfor each state were established in the ancient Buddhist canon, but in post-canonicaltirnes, presumably to resolveconflicts of scriptural passages, each one of those states, (summit except for the bltavdgra of existence).was divided into parts, two called in Sanskrit the "threshold" (sdmantaka) and "main part" (maula or rnauli), and in Pnli the "access" (upucdra) In such a division the term and "full concentration" (appana).a2 "attainment" (samapatti)-which I frequently render as "equipoise"-stands for the "main parl" of "full concentration," and there are ei-qht of these(four in the Realnl of Form, and four in the Formless Realm), with a ninth one sometimes added for the "summit of existence." The four suchtwo-part staresof the Realm of Forrn are usually referred to as the four Dhydnas (in Sanskrit) or four Jhanas (in Pali), and Asangaincludesthem under "right dwelling in samddhi." I now render the four statementsfrom the old Buddhist canon. along with commentsfrom Asanga'sschool.as "Right dwelling in samddlti" (I) : Separatedfi'omdcsires(kama), separated from sinfiil and unvirtuous natures, with inquiry phase for the great enlightenment, and then d. Jha*) a*Jhe preparatory sets forth his reservations aboutthe historicity of the tradition.
4lAsanga's Sravakabltfimi, PTT, Vol. 110, p. 121-3; and Karunesha Shukla, Sravakabhumi of Acarya Asariga (Patna, 1973), pp. 468-69. 42For the Pdli terms, cf. Cousins, "Buddhist Jhdna," p. 118 and note; Buddhaddsa, Anapanasati, p. 37. a3By Asanga's school, I mean especially the treatment in his SqmAhitubhumi and Srdvakabhumi (Fourth Yogasthdna), both being portions of his great Yogacarabhumi.

Aspects in theTheravada of Meditation and MahiSdsaka

83

(vitarka) and investigation (vicdra), haviTtgattained the First Dhydna , he dwells in the rapture (priti) and pleasure (sukha) arising from the separation. In the Sravakabhilmi, Asanga explains "he dwells" as "up to endeavoring to reach seven days and seven nights,"ca for which the Japanese trarrslation notes that seven days is the limit for maintaining strength while refraining from morsel food.as Also, the chosen meditative object is unsteady (vyagra).ao In the SamahitabhumiAsanga states that in the First Dhydna the body has an outer light like a gem.a1 "Right dwelling in samqdhi" (II): Through allaying inquirlt and investigation, through inward serenity, through continuitl, of tlnught, he accomplisltes and dwells in the SecondDh1;fi11o which is vtithout inquir.v or investigation,and wltich has rapture and pleasure arising .from sanfidhi. Now the meditation object is steady, and the mental orientation is "without interruptions" by avoiding the faults of inquiry and investigation. Caroline Rhys Davids, following the Theravada, "The discursiveintellection of the First Jhana, troubling says:aB the ceto [the mind], as waves rendering water turbid, has in the Second Jhina sunk to rest." The Samdhitabhumi explains the r ajanya), " inward serenityo'as mi ndfulness (smr t i), awareness(sarpp and equanimity (upeksd). Here, the body has an outer light like that of a flame.ae "Right dwelling in samddhi" (III): He dwells with equanimity after losing the feeling of rapture. futindful and aware he experiencespleasure by way of body, just as the one to whom the nobles referred, "Equable and mindful he dwells in pleasure." He accomplishesand dwells in the Third Dhydna which is without rapture.
44SHuKLA, Sravakabhumi, p. 451; yavad akaik;amanah saptardtriqnaivasdni. a'Kokuyaku Daizdkyd,Rombu, Vol. 7, p. 144. 4oSnurua, Sravakabhumi, p. 451-6. 47PTT,Vol. 109,p.278-1. 48Canornqr A. F. Rnvs DAvIos, A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics (London, 1900),p. 46, note. 4ePTT, Vol. 109,p.278-1.

84

tsuddhist Insight

The Srdvakabhunti explainsthe words "he experieri.ces pleasure by way of body": "with the body of form anc!the body of rlind he experiences the pleasureof feelings which is tl-replcasure of the cathartic."5o Here he avoids the fault of rapture (.priti). The "nobles" a.rethe Buddhasand their disciples. According to the samdlitabhtuni, this is the bestplacefor the santrTcihiof knovrledge and vision (jiianaderiana) and the Diamond -like,;arndcihi(va.iropamasamddlti).5lAlso, by sayii-rg in the sameplacothat love (maitrt) best accomplishes the pleasureof the Third Dhyana, Asa.ngamay have hinted at what his brother vasubandhu rvasto rnention in a comment on a Mahdyina scripture, namely, tha.t the future Buddha defeatedthe "son-of-the-gods" Mara by the samatlhi of love (mairri) during the celebratedassaultcf Mara.b2 In tli.is case, the 'oearth-touching gesture" would go r,viththe "bocly of form" while the "gesture of samapatti" would go with the ,,body of mind."s3 Besides,Vasubairdhu, Abhidhctrmakoia, Chap. VIII, says this Dhyana is "shaken by its excellent pleasurs.,,6aAnd in the legend, earth shook ar the future Buddha's tcuch. This would accord rvith the general Iirdian theory that it is precisely rvhennatural forcesare inimical that the soiritual victory is possible (thus during the stressof the full-rnoon,the clin'ractic of sundown, etc.),55 so also rvhenthe Dhyana is shakenby its excellent pleasure. "Right dwelling in santddhi" (IV): Tlrough elirnination of pleasure, through former elinination of pain and vanishing of
60Rfipakayena manaltkdyenaveditasukharpca prasrabdhisukhar\pratisamvedayate;shukla, srdvakabhumi,p.453-9. improperly separates vedita from sukharyt. 51PTT, Vol. 109,p.278-3. 52ArBx wnylaaN, "studies in Yama and Mh.ra," Indo-Iranian Journal, Vol.III, No.2, 1959,p.116. 53The reference is of courseto the celebrated incident in the Buddha'slife of the "Assault of Mdra," when the Buddha appealed to the "authority', or "measure"(prama4a)of earth by touching it with his right hand, while his left hand indicatedby the "equipoisegesture"(sarncipatti-mudrtl) his n-reditative attainment, an incidentwhich long ago I attempted to interpret, per "studies in Yama and Mdra," op. cit., pp. 117-18. Eal,outs or La vanfn PoussrN, L'Abhidharmakoiade vasritandlzr, Septidme et huitidmechapitres (Paris,1925), p.209. 55cf. Arrx wAyrrrl.N, "climactic Times in Indian Mythology ancl Rerigion," History of Religions Vol. 4, No. 2, Winter 1965, pp. Z9S-318.

Aspects in theTheravada of Meditation and MahiSdsaka

85

havfutg attained the Fourth satisfaction and dis,catis-factiort, Dhyana, he abides in the purification of equanimity and mindftilness free from both pleasure and pain. Accorcling to the Sravakabhumi, this Fourth Dhydna has eliminated the pleasure that characterized the Third Dhyana. Formerly, the SecondDhydna eliminated pain; the Third Dhydna eliminated satisfuction; the First Dhyiina eliminated dissatisfaction.sG However, Sthirarnati,subcommentaryon Abhidharmakoio,Chap. VIII, disagrees,presenting an Abhidharma tradition that both pain and dissatisfactionceassin the First Dhydna.57 Besidesit says in by avoidthe Sravakabhilmi:the Fourth Dhyana is accornplished ing the fault of inhalation and exhalation;58and consciousness (citta) remainsunshaken.se Le Traitb agreesthat it is citta which is unshaken.6o It will be observedthat the four Dhydnas divide into two groups al'e realized by the mind, and of trvo, since the first two Dhyd.rlas the meditative object is respectivelyunsteady and steady; while the last t,,voDhyanas are realized by the body, and are respectively shaken or unshaken by pleasure. For these considerations, it should be recognizedthat "pleasure" (suklta) has both corporeal and mental varieties,while "rapture" (priti) is only mental. Also, the first two Dhydnas, according to the Abhidltarmakoia and Le Trait6,6\go together by their associationwith the first two Liberations and first four basesof Mastery-in which associationtheir meditation object is the visible form of the realm of desire, especially the revolting object. Furthermore, accordingto both the Theravada and MahiSdsaka, have a singlearea of thought, becausethat all four of the Dhyd:nas 56Cf. p. 454-8-11. Ssurra,,Sravakabhfimi, 5?PTT, p. 265-2. YoL 147,
58SHUKLA, Sravakabhumi, p. 454.16. seSo reads the Tibetan: PTT, Vol. 110, p. 119-l-4,withthewordserns(consciousness), and included in the Sanskrit as properly edited at this point by Shukla (p. 454.18-19): cittaryt...aniryjyaryt santi;thate. But then he gives a wrong reading, sarvaiijitayatenat.n, while the Bihar Society's manuscript which he used (l3A-7,last line) reads: sarvveftiitapagatatn, verified by the Tibetan, g'yo ba thams cad dan bral bas na,"being free from all shaking." 6ol-auottp, Le Traitd, II, p. 1031. oll-euorrr, Le Traitd,III, p. 1289.

86

Buddhist Insight

is the meaning of "Dhyana" (P. Jhdna)here.62Besides(Samdhitablumi), each of the four Dhydnas is "one's partial nin,d7e" (anganirvdna), because it eliminatesonly the sideof defilement and Iacks the side of certainty.os To avoid thc attachment to one of the Dhydnas as "Nirvarla," in Asanga's school one contemplates the lower planesas 'ocoarse" and the higher onesas "subtle" or "calm"; and is thus motivated to emergefrom one plane and go to the next one.6a Besides,the Buddhist theory of the reahns placesat the top of the Fourth Dhyd:na what are called the "pure abodes," five in number. The highest one, ca.lledAkaniqtha, is wherc certain Buddhist traditions say Sakyamuni was enlightened. Finally, it should be mentioned that each of the four Dhyarrasis divided into three degreescorresponding with the gods of the realni being ordered into three groups. Thus, there are twelve such divisrons in the basic four Dhydnas, to which the five pure abodes, each with their own gods, are added to make the total of seventeen levelsin the Realm of Form. (c) Progress in the FormlessRealm. For the yogin prcceeding in the FormlessRealm, the statesare explainedby these passages found in the Srayakabhtini:65 (l) He (the Lord) said: When one has transcended in every way the ideas of form (rupasaryjiia-), wherr the ideas of impediment (pratighasaryjfiO have abated, and when one pays no attention to ideas of diversity (ndnatva-sarnjfin), one perceivesspaceas infinite, accomplishesand dwelis in the baseof infinite space (atcaianantyayatanam upasampaciya vihar,a/i). Now, he said, '.when one has trapscendedin every way the idea of form," because there would be conviction of spacewhen the ideas of color-blue, yellow, red 62This is thetraditional implication of theexpression "dwells,' or ,,abides,' usedin the traditionalstatements of the four Dhyanas. More technically, Asangadefines the term dhyana in the samahitabhumi (prr, vol. 109, p'269-5.1):"Sincethereistherightdirected thinking whichpurifies consciouspursuant ness to the (instruction of) mentaltraining(adhicitta), thereis the term 'dhyana'." Cf. my Inrroduction. 63PTT, Vol. 109,p. 269-5-8, to p. 270-1. 64WavuaN, pp. 126-29. Analysis,
65SHUKLA, sravakabhumi,pp. 455.6,ff.; Bihar Society'smanuscript of the Sravakabhumit3B-7, ff.; edition in Tibetan canon, pTT, Vol. ll0, p. 1191-6, ff.

andMahisdsaka in thoTheravida of Meditation Aspects

87

and white-disappear,oc and when one is freed from ald transsaid, "when the ideas of imcends the clinging to weariness.Ftre pediment have abated," becausewhen they have abated, one is freed from the numerous and diverseideasof hindrafice (avaranasaanjiia)that are assembled by colors. He said, "when one pays no attentiol to ideas of drversity," becausewhen one does not have them, ideas concerned with accumulation (aupacayikd saryifrd),such as ideas of food, drink, vehicles, clothes, adornments, houses,gardens and glades,armies, mountains, etc.' and in every sense,do not operate. The Samdhitaone'Spossessions the best compassion(lcarulta)would be in the that adds bhunti6? to free the sentient base of infinite space; since compassionseeks beingsfrom their manifold sufferings. (2) One gets to the infinity of perception base (r,ylidnanantydya' tana) by that very perceptionthat was convinced of the space with adds that the best symthe infinite aspeat. The Santdhitabhumios here one can pathetic joy (mudila) would be in this base; because So on, and and perceivewhateverbeingsare happy, have attained, have syrnpatheticjoY with them. from the base of infinite perception by search(3) One emerges ing whether there is another object-support (alambana) different n (viifiana),whether with form or formless; and not from perceptio finding such an object-support,one transcendsthe baseof infinite perception with its threshold and basic part. Being convinced ihut th.r. is no other object-support,one is convinced about only the idea of nothing-at-all (akificana-sarfifid). Frequently repeating the conviction of that idea one transcends the threshold of nothing-at-all, accomplishesand dwells in the main part of the nothing-at-all base (atcificanydyutana). The samdhitabhilmi$s adds that this is the outer limit for those with non-fluxional mind (anasrava-citta)and that it is the best place for those with equaninrty (upekpa). (4) Then he emerges from the base of nothing-at-a11. As to
and "Color" (varpa), 66Since "form" (rupa)covelsboth "shape" (sarpsthdna) in the FormlessRealm colors also disappear. Observethat thesecolors in the sameorder are the traditional mention of the four color kasilta-s. 67PTT, Vol. 109, P. 278-3-368PTT, Vol. 109, P. 278-3-8. 6epTT,vol. 109,p.278-3-8to 278-3-1.It is worthwhileto give the chinese reference,Taisho Vol. 30, p. 338b-27.

88

Buddhist Insight

the idea of the base of nothing-at-a.ll,one possesses the idea of coarseness(auddrika-surltjfiin)and the idea of (eventual) trouble (ddinava-saryfifiin),so turns away from the idea of the base of nothing-at-all and transcends it. Therefcre, thereis no idea (naivasarpjfia)(of the baseof nothing-at-all). But also, one proceeds in a subtle manner in an idea r,vhose object-support (alarnbana)is imageless (animitta). Therefore, there is no lack of an idea (nasarfifia). Being convinced that it is a base (ayatana) one accomplishesand dwells in the base of neither idea nor no-idea \naivasary{fia-ndsaryjiidyatana).Asanga mentiorrs that the ordinary person (prthagjana) has the "equipoise without idea" (asarfifii-samapatti) in this base;while the noble ones wish for the quiescentabode and so emergefrcm the base of neither idea nor no-idea, to reach the cessationequip oise (nirodhasamapatti)-and those who reach it are the Arhats. Asanga does not identify the cessaticnequipoisehere with the item in other texts of "cessation of feelings and ideas" (satyjfiaveditunirodha);but he does mention this, what others call the "ninth samdpatti", in the Sqmdhitabhunil as the eighth I-iberation, with the statementof the ancient scripture: "having directly realized with the body the cessation of feelingsand ideas,he drvellstherein." (d) Further information on the Fonl arrd Formless Realms. Asanga has a remarkable statement in the Srarakabhunii about the respective appearance of the body in the reakn of form in comparison with the formless realm:?0 Among (those states), the appearance shown by the body at the time of equipoise in the Dhyinas is like entenng subterranean chambers and at the time of equipoise in the formless realms is like rising to the sky. This suggests that the usual Western manner of listing the clivisions of the Realm of Desire, Realm of Form, and Fornrless-as though these were successively layered upwards-does not appraise them rightly. One is not really going anywhere,because calming of the mind is an inward process;and still the yogin's body (if orie has ToBihar Manuscript, 134-8.4b: I tatra dhyanasamapattikale adhorasatalapraveSavat 6ka6ot/ klyasar.nprakhydnalingam / arupyasamdpattikdle patanavat p. 458.16-18. Tibetan at /. CompareSrturt"a, Sravakabhumi, PTT,Vol. 110,p. 119-5-7-8.

Aspects of Meditation in theTheravada andMahiSasaka

89

the "eye" to seeit) exhibits those various features("like a gefll," "like & flarne").zr The theory of the yogin's attainments in the Realm of Form and FormlessRealm is further clarified by ancient Buddhist scriptural passages about the Liberations, basesof rotality, and bases of Mastery.zz Asanga summarizes the Liberations (vimoksa) at the beginning of the Saniahitablurni:?g l. Having form, he seesform. This is the first Liberation. 2. Having the idea (sa,jiiin) that he is formless personall.y, he seesexterior forms. This is the second Liberation. 3. Having directly realized with the body the Liberation, he accomplishes it and dwells in it. This is the third Liberation. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. H a v i n g a c c o m p l i s h e d 4 . th e base of i nfi ni te space, 5. the baseofinfiniteperception,6. the baseof nothingat-all,7. the basc cf neither idea ncr nc-idea, and g. having directly realized with the body the cessationof feelings and ideas, he dwells therein. This is the fourth through eighth Liberations. As to the bases of rotality (krtsnayatana), Asanga summarizes them in the exegesis of his Samdhitabhilmi:1a The cultivation by the yogin of the ten basesof rotality performs five deeds. What are the five?l. By the earth totality, etc. up through the white totality (eight in all) he aoccmplishesthe ncbre magical power (aryiTddhi)of magical manifestation and transmutation of substance. 2. By the base of space totality, he accomplishesthe noble magical power of coming and going. 3. By the base of perception totality, he accomplishes the merits of " samadhi purifying others" (ara4d-samadhi), "knowledge of aspirations" (praaticthi-jfiana), and the four ..special E knowledg es" (p r at isatpvi C).7 zrrhis shows o.The the difficultyof accepting Goleman, Buddhaon Meditation,"Table1, pp.30-31, on his imputed physiological differences of these states. For how is oneto knowwhichstatetheyoginis in, unless one has the "eye" for it? 72For theliterature, see Lauorrr , Le Traitd,III, chap.xxxlv, pp. l2gl, ff. 73PTT, Vol. 109,p. 276-2-5 ff. 74PTT, p. 10-5-3 Vol. 111, ff. z5cf.La v,c.rrfnPoussrN, L'Abhidharmakoia, pp. g5 ff. where it Septidme, is saidthat the threewhichAsanga mentioned are in commonbetweenthe

90

lnsight tsuddhist 4. Upon accomplishing the base of perception totality, he accomplishesthe Liberation in the base of nottring-at-ail and the Liberation irr the base of neither idea nor no-idea. he is equipoised in 5. On the basisof that accomplishment, feelingsand ideas, of cessation the Liberation which is the s ta ti o n . by th e s u p re me c om pr is ed

The traditional Buddhist statement of the first base of Mastery (abhibhval,at ana) reads: Having the iclea of form personallY, he seesexternal forms, as small, of good and bad color. He has this idea: "Mastering those fornts, I know them; mastering them, I see them'" This is the first baseof MasterY. Substitutingthe expression"large" for "small," one has the statement of the secondbaseof Mastery. According to the Samahita' small forms are sentient beings,tools, etc.; large forms, blu.-tmi,16 houses, tetnples, etc. Substituting in the first two statements, "Having the idea that he is formlcss personally" for "having the idea of form personaliy" one has the third and fourth bases of N{astery. For the fiith through eighth bases of Mastery, the rvith "Having the idea that he is formless perstatemetrtbe-sins forms as blue" (or yellow, red, and white, external solaily, he sees respectively). There are some problems about dovetailing the three lists. the first Liberation has the According to the Santdhitabhumi,TT "f was born in the Reahn of mental orientation toward forms, Desire and achievedfreedom of craving toward desires,but am not free from the craving toward fortns (of the Realn of Form)."2e This Liberation is correlated with the first two basesof Mastery.
Buddha and the aryas,but here associated with the Fourth Dhydna, in contrast with Asanga's assignment of them to the Formless Realm, the base of infinite perception. Of these terrns, the praqidhi-ifiana is a type of knowledge of the future; and the four "special knowledges" ale of entities (artha), scriptural elements (dharma), denotation (nirukti), and eloquence (pratibhana). zoPTT, Vol. 109, p.276-4-7. 7?PTT,Vol. 109, p. 276-2-2,3' zsThis seems to be involved in a disputed point among the Buddhist sects aS Bareau, Les sectes p. 267, summarizes, "Il y a riiparaga dans Ie seul, rupadhatu," meaning that craving for forms is restricted to the Realm of Form, which the Andhaka and the Sammatiya sects concurred in, and the Theravida rejected.

Aspects of Meditation in the Theravdda and MahiSdsaka

9l

Then, tl'lesecondLiberaticn hasthe idea, "I was born in the Realm of Desire and am free from the craving toward forms, but have not reahzedthe formless equipoise." This Liberation is correlated with the next two basesof Mastery. The correlation with the bases of Totality is more controversial, but Asanga states:?e "Among them, the formal ones (rupin) are totality equipoises of the lower Realm of Form." Now "fornl" (rupa) in Buddhism is the four elementsand their derivatives; thus, it is certain that Asanga associatesthe first four Totalities (earth, etc.) with the first two Dhydnas. Furthermore, the second group of four totalities, the color ones, agree with the fifth through eighth bases of Mastery, involved with the third Liberation. But there was a controversy over placing the third Liberation, since both the Third and Fourth Dhyanas are directly realized by the body. The Maha-Parinibbdna-sutta described this third Liberation as "pleasant" (subha),so it would be natural to conncct it with the Third Dhydna whose deities are called the "pleasant' ' (p. subba, S. iubha) deities. However, Vasubandhu (Abhibharmalcoia, YIII, 32c) gives the Abhidharma tradition that the Ttrild Dhylna is shakenby its excellentpleasurean<lhenceis not a place of Liberation;and so this Liberation belongsto the Fourth Dhydna (at the top of which the Buddha is reputed to have attained Parinibbdna). Asangaso raisesthe question of where it is to be located, and"associatesit with the purification of equanimity and mindfulness, and so placesit in the Fourth Dhyina. On the other hand, Vajirapoints out that the ccmmentary on the Mahd-parinibbanafrana81 sutta mentions that the Buddha's skillfulness in the particular basesof Mastery that deal with the fcur color-kasina objecls "was the basis of his fearlessness even at the sight of Mara." In the light of my previous discussion (based on Asanga's and Vasubandhu's Mahiyana works), associatingthe Buddha's defeat of the "son-of-the-gods" Mara with th.eThird Dhyana, tr find here a support (against Asanga.'sand vasubandhu's Abhidharrna-type comments) for associating the third Liberation with the Third Dhydna. But this solution has the demerit of allotting no Liberation to the Fourth Dhyana. It seerns that a solution which woultj zesamdhitabhfimi, PTT, vol. 109,p. 276-5-5. sosamahitabhilmi, PTT, vol. 109,p. 276-3-4, ff.
stBuddhist Meditqtion, p. 481.

92

Buddhist Insight

allorv the greatestcompatibility with all the foregoing positions, is to allot the third Liberation, r,vithits prcrnotiolal yoga of four witn colors, and the equivalent bases basesof Mastery associatecl of Totality, to both the Third and Fourth Dhydnas. Then there would be Liberations corresponclingto all the four Dhyanas as well as to all the formless states. Another correlation with the Form and Formless Realms, that is apparently independent of the Liberations along with their in basesof Mastery and Totality, concernsa remarkable passage one "When question, Asanga's Samahitabhumi.sz He raises the 'motivahas the cessationequipoise,how do the three kinds of sequentially cease?" And he answers: tions' (sarytskara) There is both practice (carya) and station (uilwra). Arnong these, at the time one is involved with practice, there is also discourse,becausethat is the verbal motivati on (uaksaryskara) which is the act of the First Dhyina. At the time one enterprises stations, since one is equipoisedin the Second Dhydna they (the three "motivastations in succession, and subsequent tions") ceasesuccessivelY. He raises the question, "If the thought (citta) and mentals (caitasikadharma)of the one in equipoise cessationceased,how 'perception' (uiifiana) and body?" would he avoid a separation of And he answers: There is no absence of "store-consciousness"(alayauijfiana) controlled by the seedof evolving perception (prattrttiuiifiana) in his non-altering formal senseorgans-because this is the true nature of the coming event. There is no doubt that Asanga here refers to the three kinds of "motivation" which the Arthauiniicaya-sutra8r assigns to the second member of Dependent Origination (pratityasamutpada). The three, of body, speech,and mind, ceaseduring the succession of "stations" (uihdra), which therefore begin with the Second Dhyana. The manner of ceasing is clear from the traditional 82PTT, ff. Vol. 109,p. 281-1-4
sgThe portion of this sfitrathat is relevant here is included in the fragment published by Alfonsa Ferrari in 1944 in Atti Reale Della Accademia D'Italia, Roma,serie Settima,vol. V,fasc. 13. InN. H. SAMT,INI, Tlrc Artlnviniicaya' sfitra and its Commentary (Nibanrlhana) (Petna, I97I), the passage is in the text, pp. 7-8.

Aspects of Meditation in the Theravdda and MahiSAsaka

93

Buddhist statements of the realms. Thus.the Second Dhydna eliminates the fault of inquiry (uitarka) and investigation (uicdra) that was present in the First Dhyana, and so "motivation of speech" ceases. The Fourth Dhydna eliminates the fault of inhalation and exhalation, so "motivation of body" (kaya-sarytskara) ceases. Finally, the summit of existence (bhouagra)eliminates feelingsand ideas,and so "motivation of mind" (manaft-sarytskdra) ceases.saBut this third kind of cessationof "motivation" does not constitute a radical separation from ordinary consciousness according to Asanga. So Falk is right in saying,85"In primitive Buddhist ti jfianavada the notion of alayavijfiana is foreshadowed in the conception of citta:wteno:uiiifiana (synonyms in Pali literature) as origin, source, and essenceof all the dhammas (Dhp. 1)." She refers to Dhammapada1, including: "The natures (dhatnma, S. dharma) are preceded by manas,have mqnas as chief, are made of manas." By mentioning the 'onon-alteringformal senseorgans" Asanga alludes to a celebrated Buddhist legend, that at the time of convoking the second Buddhist council the Arhat Kubjita, being in the cessationequipoise,did not hear the gong. Kubjita's ear organ did not alter; and yet when he emerged from his cessation equipoise, a deua informed him of the circumstances. Asanga's equivalent to the "deue" is the yogin's own o'store consciousness" (dlayauijfidna) controlled by the seed of evolving perception-a seed which holds futurity. The story continues that Kubjita, by virtue of his magical power (rddhi), then "flew" to the meeting.86 The tabulation will sholv the foregoing correlations, which only in the caseof the Third Dhyana has a contribution of my o w n.

8aAccording to the ArthaviniScaya-sutra, when "motivation of mind" ceases, so must cease the volition (cetana) of an impassioned thought (rakta), of a hating thought (dvista), of a deluded thought (mu/ha). Moreover, LAuorrr, Le Traitd,III, p. 1299, when feelings and ideas cease, the tradition has it that also all thoughts (citta) and mentals (caitasika-dharma) cease. SsMnnvra FALr, Natna-rupa and Dharma-rupa (University of Calcutta, 1943), p. 85. 86For the story, see for example, Ferdinand D. LsssrNc and Anx WAyMAN, Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentals of the Buddhist Tantras (The Hague, 1968), o. 65.

BuddhistInsight Eigfri**."G". VIHARA 8 (samapatti) .t"ti"*t fttl ara) of eqr-ripoise

(bhavagra) OF EXISTENCE SUMMIT (freqtrently called the "ninth santapatti")

of "motivation of mind": Cessation of ideasand feelings:cessation eighth Liberation. FORMLESS REALM 7 6 5 4 Baseof neitheridea nor no-idea:seventhLiberation. Base of nothing-at-all:sixth Liberation; the best place for those with equanim*y (upek;a). Base of infinite perception:fifth Liberation; perceptionTotality, etc. with the four specialknowledges, Totality, with magic Baseof infinite space:fourth I-iberation;space power to come and go. REALM OF FORM
3 3 Fourth Dhyana: , E u n s h a k e nb y p l e a s u r e - c e s s a t i o n )of "nrotiuaiion of body" Third Liberation; bases of Mastery 5-8; basesof Totality 5 - 8 ; 5 . b l t r e ,6 . y e l l o w , 7 . r e d , 8. white

c )

lThird Dhydna: Sshakenby pleasure

Dhyana: SecondLiberation; :SSecond meditativeobject basesof Mastery,3-4 ,-c Bases of Totality, )steady:cessation [. earth, 2. water, I of "motivation of 3. fire, 4. wind h speech" First Liberation; F First Dhyana: j meditativ-eobject basesof Mastery, 1-2 Caryd samdpatti unsteady I

Asanga's Samahitabhumi presents three degrees of passing through these equipoises:87(l) passing through them without skipping, i.e. First Dhydna up to Summit of Existence, and in reverseorder, for a yogin who is not pure. (2) leaping over the second one in order, but not over the third which is too far to j,rmp, for erample, First directly to Third Dhyana, to Base of infinite space,to Base of nothing-at-all; and in reverseorder in comparable manner-for a yogin who is pure. (3) entering any s7PTT, p.275-4,5. May's entry"Choj6" in Hdbdgirin, Cf.Jacques Vol.109, p. 358. pp. 353-60, especially Fascicule: Chi-Ch6otsush6, Quatrieme

Aspects in theTheravida of Meditation andMahiSisaka

95

of them from any other one as wished, for Tathdgatas and Bodhisattvas who have passedthe second incalculable aeon (explained in the Prajffdparamitd tradition as the last three stages,8th, 9th, and 10th of the Bodhisattva path).88 THs INSTRUCTToN oF INSTcHT The instruction of insight-the third of the three instructionsis frequently set forth by the term "discerning" (uipasyana). Thus Sutralarykara,XIY, 8: One should know his path of calming and the concise statement of the doctrines; one should knolv his path of discerning-the deliberation of the meaningsof that (concise statement). As was indicated previously, the path of discerning,which gradually perfects insight (prajmA),is meant to eliminate the deep-seated traces (anuSaya)of defllements,whereas the training in concentration of the mind aims at a one-pointednessleaving no room in the mind atthat time for a defilement. This position, so much stressed in the writings of Asanga's school (the later Mahisasaka) is also what the Theravdda says.se But, while calming the mind was already set forth as necessary to attain the threshold of the First Dhydna, one does not continue through the various stations depicted above by calming alone. Thus the Yogdcdra sub-commentator Sthiramati states in his commentary on the SutralarTtkara(XVIII, 65-67) that in the first three Dhyanas, discerning is major, calming minor; while in the Fourth Dhydna there is the pairwise-union (yuganaddha)of calming and discerning. He means, starting from the main paft Qnauli) of the First Dhydna. The path of discerning, otherw.isecalled the instruction of insight, presents methodical mental orientations in terms of deliberating, investigating the object. Thus the Visuddhimagga includes under this instruction such matters as understanding the personal aggregates to be void of self or of what belongs to self, observingimpermanence, and the like. It is not necessary to have precededthis path of discerningwith calming of the type associated with the cathartic and rapture; because, as was cited, "(Still,)
88Cf. LBssrNc and WAyuAN, Mkhas grub rje's, p. 21. ssBuddhist Meditation, p. 341

96

Buddhist Insight

there is no lack of thinking-volition that approachesright doctrine in the realm of craving." What is taught is that it is necessary to calm the mind in order to transcendthe Realm of Desire. "The Along these lines, Buddhadasaeo cites the Visuddhimagga.' wise man, standingfirm on th'eground, takes up the edgedweapon in his hands, sharpensit on the stone, and, working diligently, succeeds in clearing away the thick jungle." And he well explains, 'wise "The man' is anyone with inborn insight (sahajata-pafifia) or what is nowadays called intelligence. This is an immature form of insight which has to be developedinto true and genuine insight (uipassandpafifid)." In a separate essay,elI have cited Asanga's explanation of the scriptural "eye of insight" as the native insight (sahaja prajfia); and have mentioned his later explanation that the native insight is attained through birth, and that he contrasts the promoted insight possessed by the learned man (paqfita) with the native insight possessed by the intelligent man (uijiia). He defines the term buddhi as standing for any native insight capable of differentiating (alternatives). Earlier in his great rvork he shorvshorv the eye of insight is assailedin the Realm of D e s i re : " F o r e ra mp l e . s m o k e i s preceded by the elem entof f lr e a n d h u rts th e e 1 ' e .... In th e same rvay, cravi ng b 1 ' l u s t.h a tre d ,a n d d e l u s i onand hurts theeye t t " ' t . iit is pr ec e d e d of insight ..." It ri.ould be hard to find a more perfect agreement beru'eenthe Theravdda (as in Buddhaddsa) and the MahiSdsaka (as in Asanga). Besides,there are numerous references in Buddhist texts to three "insight." of kinds The teacherAtiSa, who was very influential in Tibet starting with his arrival in 1042,A.D., mentions the three in this rvay:e2 "What is insight? As follows:-native (sahaja),or consisting of hearing (Srutamayi), consisting of pondering (cintamayi), or consisting of intense contemplation (bhauanamayi)." Le Trait6e3 has a different way of referring to kinds of insight, discussing the prajfia of the irdualra, the pratyekabuddha,and the Buddha, and also of the heretics; and claims that Prajiidpdramitd (the Perfection of Insight) encompasses all the insights.
soBuddhadasa, Andpanasati, p. 21. el"Nescience and Insight according to Asanga's YogacarabhzTni," published in this volume. szBodhimorgapradipa-pafiijka-nama, PTT, Vol. 103, p. 39-4-1. e3l-auorrr, Le Traitd,II, p. 1066 ff.

Aspects of Meditation in the Theravdda andMahisasaka

97

f'herefore, it is not the position of theseschoolsthat in developing a faculty called "insight" (prajiia) the yogin has acquiredsomething he did not have before. Rather, it is clear that the process of promoting this insight through the path of discerningis a matter of trading certain defiled concomitants, in the category of lust, hatred. and delusion,for other better concomitants, suiting prajfia in a more splendidfashion. The technicalword for this trading is pariurtti ("exchange"). while thesetexts speakof different kinds of prajfrii, this is necessary becauseof the undoubted differencein degreeand usage of this faculty in different persons. It cannot have been the intention of quite properly mentioning the "prajfid of the irduaka (disciple)" that the Buddha's prajfraparamitd excludes and is radically different from that irduaka-prajiia,. fbr, if this were the case,then Le Traitd should not have taken the position that Prajfrdpdramita encompasses all insights. Thus, even Prajffaparamita cannot be something to acquire as entirely new. Asanga makes the same point with his "store-consciousness" theory, namely, that even if the yogin manages to attain the "summit of existence" called equipoise-cessation, this "store consciousness" continuesand from it there issuesforth at a later time the host of mental natures. Granted that there are Buddhist scriptural passages suggesting the ,v-ogin's radical separationfrom mankind. Such is this verse, whose Pdli form is in the sarpyutta-Nikdyas+and which the teacher Asanga citesfrom the Sanskritcanon:eb As the tortoise in its own shell withdrarvs its limbs, so may the monk (withdraw) his mind's (outgoing) conjectures;resortless, not harming another, denouncing no one, proceed to Parinirvapa. Asanga explains that this monk is progressing along the seven stations (vihara) which begin with the Second Dhydna. Along the way, it is taught, he may gain supernormal powers, special
saSaryyutta-Nikaya,I, p. 9 (in the India Devandgari edition): kummo va angdni sake kapdle samoda-ham bhikkhu manovitakke anissito aiiffam ahethayano, parinibbuto nupavadeyya kaflci escintdntayibhilmi, PTT, vol. 110, p. 16-4, 5. Asanga would naturally citing the verse from the Sarpyuktagarna. be

98

Buddhist Insight

knowledges, and so on. But no matter what the meditative attainment, the yogin should be able to return to society and communicate on mundane matters, even if it is difficult or impossible for him to communicate his visions and meditative success. Indeed, as it was previously cited, "When one has emerged (from that samadhi) and is occupied with his (ordinary) mind , some measure of the cathartic continues in his body and mind." Accordingly, the only way the yogin could lose the insight of ordinary men is to lose insight itself.

THE BODHISATTVA PRACTICE ACCORDING TO THE LAM RIM CHEN MO

Westernreadersinterestedin Buddhism of the Great Vehicleform, and particularly in Buddhism of the Tibetan form, have undoubtedly encounteredthe great stressthat this Buddhism lays on Compassionfor the sentientbeings.It is of course easyfor such teachings to take on a sentimental tone, as though they are simply high-soundingwords as "compassion." This may very well have been the case in the past because the usual presenter of such thoughts has sought to spare the Western reader from what he believed would be boring to him. What these books really contain-their wealth of quotations,their listsof subdivisions, their occasionaldisputesover points, might be difficult for the Westerner to appreciate but which were once burning issues. On the other hand, some scholarly books with no solicitude about boring the reader, and no way of getting to the inside of the subjectdissectit as a corpse in a mortuary. The present essay seeks a middle ground between those extremes. It will present this remarkable point of view of Buddhism that was preservedand embellishedin its Tibetan form and do it with sufficient technical material that the reader can know what the person enrolled in this way of life is actually doing to promote that flne-sounding Compassion. At the same time, it will avoid-on account of brevity-those extended explanations which often confusethe issue. If the reader will bear this in mind, he will begin to appreciate, even without a knowledge of the

1 00

Buddhist Insight

Tibetan lan-uuage, rvhat is actually in the Tibetan books, although l i te ra tu re . o nly by a s am pleo f a n e n o rm o u s ( 13 5 7 -1 4 1 9 , .),fo u n d e r o f th e Ti betanGel ugpa T s on- k ha- pa A.D se c t ,f inis hedhis g re a t c o m p e n d i u mo f B u d d h i sm,the Lom ri nt the stages chenmo, in 1402,A.D. This u'ork elaboratelypresents in extensive of the path to enlightenment amplificationof Ati6a's indicationsin the latter's brief work "A Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment" (byafi chublam gyi sgron ma). He is the great Indian pandit who came to Tibet in 1042,A.D. In this work, AtiSa set forth three religiousdegrees of personsin the verses 3-5: 3. Whoever, by whatever means, pursues only his own aim in just the pleasuresof this world, he is known as the inferior person. 4. Whoever, turning his back on the pleasuresof phenomenal existence, and averting himself from sinful actions, pursues only his own quiescence, he is known as the mediocre person. 5. Whoever, through the sufferingbelongingto his own stream of consciousness, completely desiresthe right cessationof all the suffering of others-that person is superior. Tson-kha-pa explainsthe mental training (blo sbyon) for each of those three persons.In the sectionfor the superiorperson-the bodhisattua-it becomes clear that the path here is especially a practice rather than a doctrine, despite the title of a useful book by Har Dayal, The Bodhisattua Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature (London, 1932). The emphasison practice is at the very beginning of Tson-khapa'ssection.We learn that to servethe aim of others is a possibility of the human condition, not of animals who only work for themselves.The Bodhisattva is not distinguished from the Srdvaka (auditor), or the Pratyekabuddha(one enlightened forhimself), by viewpoint; becauseas far as Insight (ies rab) is concerned,there is no difference between the Lesser vehicle (Hinay6na) or Great vehicle (Mahaydna). They are distinguishedby practice. In the caseof the Bodhisattva,thepracticeis calied Means (thabs), and, the chief Meaus is the Thoughtof Enlightenment(byan chtibsems). This Thought is the door to the Great vehicle, and when one has it he is called "son of the Buddha." The person who would enter this path must generate the Thought of Enlightenment with its double goal-enlightenment

TheBodhisattva Practice According to theLam Rim chenMo

101

for oneself and benefit for others. In ordei to generate it as a vow, it must be taken ritually. Now it appearsto have been the experienceof the Indian rnastersthat if one simply went through the laid-down procedure of generatingthe Thought of Enlightenment, it could easily be dispersed,that is to say, not cohere in the stream of consciousness in the senseof the citation, "Therefore in all his births he loses not the Thought of Enlightenment. Even in dreams he has this Thought: much more if he be awake." Therefore, certain preliminaries are required. First of all, the person must have the right circumstances of life, which are called the four reasons:1. he should be in this family (rig,s),2.taken in hand by spiritual guides (dge bies), 3. be compassionate toward living beings,4. have zest for austerities.And he should have one or other power to generatethat Thought : 1. his own power, whereby he craves the perfect Enlightenment through his own force (of character), 2. another's power, whereby he craves it by way of another's power, 3. the polver of a (deep-seated)cause, whereby he generatesthe Thought through the mere hearing in the present life of praisesof the Buddha and Bodh.isattvas by reason of having formerly cultivated the Great vehicle, or 4. the power of praxis, in the course of which he has for a long time been following a path of virtue, seekingout high-minded personsand listening to the Law. Given that the person has such reasonsand is endowed with such a power, then he is given a religious exercise to further put his rnind in the right frarne for generating the Thought of Enlightenment. ColrpessroN ASnN ExencrsEoF Mrr.ro Tson-kha-pa presentstwo alternate methods of such a religious exercise,one which was handed down from AtiSa, and the other found in the texts by Santideva (i.e. his ,Siksasarnuccq)q and Bodhicaryduatara;,in Tibetan Bslab btus and Spyod iiu7. A. Atiia's precepts of "Seuen cqusesand efficts". The seven are as follows: perfectedBuddhahood arisesfrom the Thought of Enlightenment; that Thought, from altruistic aspiration; that aspiration, from compassion; compassion,from love; love, from gratitude; gratitude, from recollection of kindness; recollection of kindness,from seeingas "mothsl"-ssysn in all. The candidate reflects that in the inflnite past and in the infinite future, all the

102

Insight Buddhist

uncountable rebirths are possiblethrough a mother's loving care. Every sentient being has sometime or other served as one's own "mother." Thus, the meditator first seesvividly his own mother, and through her passesbeyond all bounds of love for all the sentientbeings. He dwells on his mother's kindnessin taking care of all his needswhen he was completely helpless. This recollection arouses gratitude; gratitude arouses love. Having gotten into that frame of mind, he recognizesas his "mother" also his father and friends. He then proceedsto the more advanced task of recognizingas his "mother" the neutral persons. When he is able to regard the latter the sameway as he thinks of his friends, he proceedsto the still more advanced task of recognizing as his 'omother" all his enemies. When the latter can be seenthis w&Y, he recognizesall the living beings of the ten directions as his "mother," expanding his meditations into the boundlessstate. In this way he brings on the BoundlessState of Love. Having come to see all these sentient beings as one's "mother" in the Boundless State of Love, the meditator then reflects on their manifold sufferin-es in their subjection to transmigration. The intenserealization of suffering by einpathy ri'ith the loved objects-the "mother"-produces Compassion. As applied to all the sentient beings, one enters the BoundiessState of Compassion.Having this compassionthrough realizing the sufferingsof these sentient beings,the meditator then aspiresto free them from sufferingand to bring them happiness-as one wishesto do this for one's mother. Hence, the next stage, called "altruistic aspiration," which expands into the third BoundlessState of Sympathetic Joy with all the happiness accruing to those sentient beings. The next stage is reflection on the Thought of Enlightenment itself as having the two aims of Enlightenmentfor oneself and Deliverancefor others. The candidate reflects on the seventh stage as perfect Enlightenment-the final fruition of the sequence. texts. 1. Firstonereflects on B. Precepts based on SAntideua's the benefit of changingplaceswith another: Whoever desiresto speedily rescue oneself and others too, Should practice what is the highest secret-changing places between himself and another' $pyod lljug,vlll, 120) What is meant is that the usual condition of holding oneself as

to the Lam Rim ChenMo According Practice The Bodhisattva

103

dear must give way to holding others as dear. And if one manages that conversion,then even that person who'had been considered just by one's worst enemy and who caused disagreeablefeelings hearing his name-becomes converted into a friend who would by his mere absence.This changeof heart comes causedispleasure about through cultivating this view of personality interchange. Now, somebody challenges this procedure on the grounds that another's body is certainly not our body, and so it is questionable that anything like our own mentality could be generated therein. The answer given is that we did something analogous when we descendedto rebirth in a habitation formed from materials of the father and mother, who are "different" from us, although we ooourbody." Having come to see the benefit, he then speak of proceeds to 2, the steps of cultivating the interchange between oneselfand another. Now, one should not confuse this procedure with the thought, "f am seeing through his eyes," and so on. Rather it is the interchangeof feelings,taking on another's suffering, installing in him one's bliss. There are two hindrancesto this interchange. (a) One has the thought, "This is mine" and "That is his" much the same way as the colors green and yellow are distinct. One counteracts that with a contemplation given in Bslqb btus (final verse section): Through the repeated cultivation of the samenessof oneself and another, the Thought of Enlightenment would be firmed. The relation-oneself-and-another-ness-like this side and the further bank (of a river) is in falsehood. Not becauseof our own is that bank the other one; for, with relation to what is there a "this side" ? Ego is not proved by our own; in relation to what would there be the other (where the "other" is ourself)? (b) One has the thought, "His suffering does no harm to me; why try to dispel it?" One counteracts that by contemplating in such a caseone should make no provision for old age, becausethe suffering of the aged does no harm to the youth; and by contemplating that in such a case one should not bother to use a hand to relieve a foot from something distressing, becauseit is ooanother." An objection is raised that the old man and the youth have a single stream of consciousness,and the foot and hand are in the same set, while in contrast one cannot say the

to4

Buddhist Insight

same of oneself and another. The answer points out that the stream of consciousness is momentary and the set is subject to reformations. Thus it is a similar situation and one could just as well posit oneselfand another self in the caseof the youth and the old man. Having in that way eliminated the wrong approaches,one can attend to 3. the basic method of cultivation. Make sure, O mind, that I belong to the other; And exceptfor the aim of all the sentientcreatures.henceforth you must not plan. These eyes,which are theirs, must no longer see my aim: These hands, which belong to another, must not work my aim; so also all the other organs of action. (S p y o d U u g, V III, 137-138). TsB TsoucHT or ExucHTENMENT AND THE BonslsarrvR Pa'tr Assuming that the person r,viththe necessary reasons, and possessed of one or more of tire powers, then reflects in the proper manner in one or other of the two religious exercises presented above, he is norv preparedto generatethe Thought of Enlightenment. Here a distinction is introduced that the Thought has two degrees: Precisely the distinction that is made between the one who desiresto go and the one who is on the way, Just that distinction is to be understood respectivelyamong the two. (Spyod l,jug, I,16) The verse refers to the Aspiration Thought (smon serns) and the Entrance Thought (hjus sems), respectively. The Aspiration Thought is understood as the aspiration of thinking, ,,I shall become a Buddha for the sake of the living beings," or such a formula, and then the practice of the perfections(par rol tu phyin pa) beginning with Giving. The Entrance Thought means that one is holding that Thought as a vow (sdontpa), i.e. that it coheres in the stream of consciousness in all circumstances;ancl then the practice of the Perfections takes on an addecl significance. It will be noticed that the foregoing religious exerciseseach have somethingin common with Aspiration Thought. Indeed.,a rvide

The Bodhisattva PracticeAccordingto the Lam Rim Chen Mo

105

latitude of eventsand objects is acknowledgedas possibly serving the purpose of inspiring the Aspiration Thought. However, the Thought of Enlightenment as the Entrance Thought is a true conversion of the mind; and for taking it, a good guru is preferable-as explainedby Atisa: "The guru is known as 'good' who is skilled in the procedure of the vow, himself is one who adheres to the vow, and who possesses the forbearance and compassion to impart the vow." Tson-kha-pasetsforth the elaborateceremony of Refuge formula and the like, obviously intended to make the occasionmemorable. At the appropriate point, the candidatetakes the rite of seizing the Thought, by reciting the following thrice: All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas dwelling in the ten directions, pray take cognizance of me ! Preceptor, pray take cognizanceof me ! I, named so-and-so, have the root of virtue of this and other lives, consistingin the self-existence of Giving to others, the self-existence of Morality, and the self-existenceof conteinplation; and by means of that root of virtue consisting of'what has been done by ffie, what has been granted to do, and of sympatheticjoy with what is done. Just as the former Tathagata-Arhat-samyaksambuddhas and the great Bodhisattvasdwelling on the great earth were made to generatetheir heart into the Incomparable Right-perfected Enlightenment, In the salneway, f, named so-and-so, also holding from this time on, up to reachingthe precinctsof Enligirtenment, shall generate my Thought to the Incornparable Right-perfected Great Enlightenment;shall rescuethe unrescuedbeings;shall savethe unsaved;shall encourage the discouraged; shall bring to Nirvana those who have not attained complete Nirvala. In the casewhere it is not possibleto find a good guru or preceptor, an adjustment is made so the person can take it by himself. In fact, he has to imagine the Buddha dwelling in front, go through the rites of bowing and offerings; and when taking refuge and making the above statement, he must omit the entreaty of the preceptor. Tson-kha-pa continueswith the care the person should take so that the vow is not broken; and there is a procedureof broadening the base of the vo\,vby reflecting on its benefits and greatness,becausethe Thought of Enlightenment is the seed of all the Buddha natures.

106

Insight Buddhist

In order to appreciate how the Bodhisattva-as he is called by reasonof having that vow-is to proceedthereafter, it is necessary to consider some fundamental principles. Tson-kha-pa from the "Revelation-Enlightenquotes a most important passage ment of Vairocana" (rnam snnn mnon byan), also known as the "Great Sun S[tra": ! The omniscientknowledge has Compassion Master of Secrets for a motive, for a root, has the Thought of Enlightenment ' and has the Means for a finalitY. the expression"omniscient knowledge" is equivaIn that passage, Insight (ies rab). Compassion provides Buddha's the to lent in the phenomenalworld. The Thought root a this Insight with this Insight with a motive, the vow provides of Enlightenment provides this Insight with a finality, its as cause. The Means the foregoing that the person desirfulfilment. We have seen in ing to embark on this Bodhisattva path had to arouse compassion,and then to take the Thought of Enlightenment asavow. Therefore, he has taken care of the first two steps in bringing the "omniscient knowledge" to full expression. He has left to take the third step, called the Means. And this Means consists of the first five Perfections, rvhich are (1) Perfection of Giving (sb1,ittpa),(2) Perfecrionof Morality (tshul khrims), (3) Perfection pa), (4) Perfection of Striving (brtson ltgrus), of Forbearance(bzocl (5) Perfection of Meditation (bsam gtan). This Means must be combined with Insight, which is the sixth Perfection, (6) Perfection of Insight (ies rab). The Means must be combined with Insight, because Buddhism of the Great Vehicle is aimed toward the "Nirvapa of no-fixed-abode," as Tson-kha-pa explains: is the Nirvdla what is to be accomplishedby the Mahd:ydnists in phenoabode fixed no involves This of no-fixed-abode. path profound the by (hkhor ba), accomplished life menal (zab mohi lam) along with the steps of the path based on supreme (Truth) (don dam pa) withthe Insight that fully understandsreality, as well as accomplishedby the portion of Insight with the collection of knowledge (ye Seskyi tshogs). And it involves no-fixed-abode in quiescent nirua4ta, accomplished by the ample path (rgya che bali lam) along with the steps of the path based on Conventional Truth (kun rdzob kyi bdenpa) with the Insight that knows the phenomenal side (ii sfied pa),

to theLam Rim ChenMo Practice According TheBodhisattva

107

as well as accomplished by the portion of Means with the collection of merit (bsodnams kyi tshogs). to show in various The Lam rim chen mo cites numerous passages For example, Insight and Means. to combine ways the necessity (dpal po): "Perfection of dan mchog from the Sru-Paramddya This is Father." his Insight is his Mother; Skill in the Means happens to occur in the last chapter of that work, where it is seen that they are the Mother and Father of the hierophant (uairasattua, rdo rje sems dpai). Again from the "Questions of KdSyapa" (ltod srun gls 2us pa): "Ka6yapa, thus, for example,just as the king who is governed by ministers performs all the acts of a king, likewise the Insight of the Bodhisattva which is governed by the Means performs all the Acts of the Buddha." And in the (Ittaratantra (rgyud bla ma): "The painters who are its aspects are Giving, Morality Forbearance, and the rest. The Voidness (ston pa fiid) furnished with the best of all aspects is called the picture." Tl-re point of this last citation is that there is no picture if a portion is omitted; therefore, all the Perfections are necessary. This requirement to practice all the Perfections simultaneously is essentialto the theory of ten Bodhisattva stages. For this purpose, on each successive stage all the Perfectionsare present but with one or more predominant; and so on each stagethe "picture" is different. It is the Thought of Enlightenment which is moving upward through these ten stages. With the end of the seventh stage,however, conventionaldescriptionsalso conclude,because a mysterious change occurs upon entrance into the Eighth Stage. And great as this new situation may appear, it is not the same as Buddhahood. Therefore Tson-kha-pa cites the "Slttra of Ten Stages" (sa bcu pa) about the Eighth Stage called "Motionless" (mi sYo ba): O Prince! You should know concerning the Bodhisattva who has entered this Motionless Bodhisattva Stage, who dwells there adding to the power of his former aspiration, that the blessedBuddhas make for him, in that current at the mouth of natures, a providing of the knowledge of the Tathdgata [an epithet of the Buddhal. And they speak thus to him. "Very well, very well, Son of the Family. This is the supreme forbearance for understanding the Buddha natures. But you

108

Buddhist Insight

should know, son of the Family, thatour perfection of Buddha natures consisting of the Ten powers, the Four confidences, and so forth-that is not in you ! So, apply yourself to the quest for perfection of the Buddha natures! Begin your striving ! "Furthermore, Son of the Family, remember your former aspiration-the inconceivablemouth of knowledge and achieving the aim of sentientbeings! "Also, you should know, son of the Family, that this is the True Nature of all natures. And whether tathagatas arise or do not arise, this True Nature abides, this Realm of Natures abides, in this sense: the voidness of all natures, the nonapprehension of all natures. But the Tathagatas cannot be determined by this alone, for also all the srdvakas and Pratyekabuddhas reach this True Nature devoid of discursivethought!" This is the teachingthat in the ascentof the Thought of Enlightenment, the Bodhisattvareaches a decisive point in his career when he attains the True Nature of all natures,which happens to be also the quiescentnirt'aua for those rvho reach that niruaua. But the Bodhisatt'a should not think he has reachedthe highest realm, and so he is reminded of his former aspiration and instructed that he must begin all over again in this new manner of existence, and continue onrvard. The students of the Lam rim chen mo are expectedto know that the Bodhisattva reachesthe end of his careeras a Bodhisattva in the Tenth stage when he is tantamount to a Buddha, but is not a comprete Buddha, for which a further stage,called the Eleventh, is allotted. The foregoing shows that the six perfections are the chief kind of Bodhisattva instruction. They can also be grouped under the Three Instructions of Buddhism: Giving, Morality, Forbearance are grouped under the Instruction of Morality; Meditation is included in the Instruction of Mind Training; Insight is included in the Instruction of Insight; and Striving is included under all three Instructions. The first four perfections (Giving, Morality, Forbearance, and striving) can be considered as accessories to samadhi (tin ne lldzin) because they are different forms of nonswerving, and promote the f,fth perfection, the non-straying meditation; hence, if one cultivates clear vision (lhag mtlroiy with them as basis, one comprehendsreality.

The BodhisattvaPractice According to the Lam Rim Chen Mo

109

Reasons are advanced for the traditional order of the perfections. when there is Giving that is unattached becauseit does not look to possession, Morality is adopted. when one has Morality well restrained from evil conduct, he has Forbearance toward harm. when there is Forbearance unwearied toward austerity, there is ability to go ahead with Striving that has scarce occasion to turn back. When one enterprises day and night with Striving, there arisesthe deep concentration (or Meditation) that easily serves a virtuous meditative object of mind. when the mind is stabilized, it rightly understands (with Insight) the way things are. It is also taught that the six Perfectionsare successively higher or loftier. Besides, they are considered successively more subtle since each later one is found harder to enter and to perform in than the earlier one. It was primary that the Bodhisattva has two aims, one for himself and one for others. The six Perfectionsmature the Buddha natures 1'or himself, and what are called the four persuasions mature the stream of consciousness of others. MlruRrNG THE Bunonn Nl,ruRrs noR ONEsBtn l. Giving. From the extensivematerial on this subject, a few points only: It is said in the Spyod l,jug (Iil, lI): Nirvdpa is the renunciation of everything; and my mind is intent on Nirvapa. If I must renounce everything, best it be given to the sentient beings! And it is said in the Phar phyin bsdus pa (paramita-sen1dsa, l,llB-12): This thing is only yours (plural). I have no pride of "mine" with respect to it. whoever he be, having such marvellous reflections-pursuant to the complete Buddha's mode of being-arise again and again. That one, outstanding among enlightenment beings (bodhisattuA,byan chub sensdpak), the Buddhas (sansrgyas) who are the inconceivable beings (bsamgyis mi khyab), call great being. There are varieties in the essentialnature of Giving: (a) giving of the BuddhistLaw (dharma),teachingthe sublime Doctrine without

110

Insight Buddhist

error; (b) giving of security against fear of men, fierce animals, and the elements; (c) giving of material things, either concretely or imaginatively. Speakinggenerally,the household or layman Bodhisattva does the giving of material things, and the Bodhisattva ri'ho has enteredthe religious life does the giving of the Law. In illustration of how the Bodhisattva practices all six Perfections simultaneously with Giving predominant, the Great Commentary on the "Perfection of Insight in Eight Thousand lJnits" explains: At the time he practices, say, the Giving of the Law, he has the Morality of restraint against the mental orientation of the Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha; he has both the Forbearance with conviction of the Law of the Omniscient One and the Forbearance of mistreatment by another; he has the Striving purposive to promote ever higher that very (Giving); he has the Meditation of one-pointed mind not mixed with the Lower Vehicle, that transfers the merit of the perfected Bodhisattva. to other sentient beings; and he has the Insight which knows in the manner ofan illusion all three, the gift, the giver, and the receiver. 2. Morality. Morality is the abstinent thought that averts the mind frorn anything involving harin to another. The Spyod kjue ( V , 1 1 )s a y s : How lead away all fishesand so on, that I may not kill any? When the abstinent thought is achieved,there is the Perfection of Morality. Generally in Buddhism this abstinent thought refers to abstinence from the ten evil acts, three of body, four of speech,and three of mind. Morality makes the rest work. The Phar phyin bsdus pa (I I , l) s ay s : The person whose interest has been aroused to make beings delighted by the Complete Buddha's jewel of Morality, Should first of all purify his own Morality, for Morality instills the power of effectiveness. Without it, one's own aim as well as that of others is out of reach. for the samework (II, 48) says: The person who falls from Morality is impotent even in what benefits himself. In what procedure for another's sake is he capable?

to the Lam Rim chen Mo According Practice TheBodhisattva

II1

pursuing the aim Therefore, it is especiallyimproper for one ' matter' of others to relax his care in this There are three kinds of Morality: the morality of restraints,the for morality of gathering virtuous natures, the morality of acting all covers restraints of morality The beings. the aim of sentient the of those from starting order, Buddhist the regulations of the layman and adding until those of the monk and nun are included' The morality of gathering virtuous natures means paying attention to all virtues associatedwith the six Perfections, developing those not yet developed, and guarding and enhancing those already developed. The morality of acting for the aim of sentient beings means paying attention to the aims of the various kinds of sentient beings, and pursuing those aims, sooner or later, in a sinlessmanner. 3. Forbearunce. This is the forbearance of not retaliating in any of suffering in one'S caseof another's harm-doing, the acceptance and the unshakableconviction while own stream of consciousness, thinking with certainty about the Dharma' In the first aspect of Forbearance, the Bodhisattva reflects that brutish beings are uncountable-he could never succeedin killing them all. But when angry thought is slain, all enemiesare slain ! There is not enough leather to cover the earth; but with the leather of a shoe, earth is spanned! So the Spyod kiuS. "The fault of anger hems in the good things of the world like a dam, the 1ry4fs1s"-Phar phyin bsduspa. Anger is looked upon as a flash of fire that destroys all the accumulated Perfections of Giving and Morality. So the Bodhisattva notes the benefit of Forbearance: few enemies ; few discords; pleasantstateof mind; no regretsat the time of death; and certainty of joining the gods in heaven after his death. The second aspect of Forbearance-the acceptanceof suffering in himself-is in fact a solution of the problem posed by the first Noble Truth of Buddhism: "There is Suffering-a Noble truth. The Bodhisattva reflects that in pursuit of worldly desires he was tortured in hell and yet accomplished no worthy aim of himself or others. But it is different with the suffering that accomplishes the great aim. It is ecstatic suffering that dispels the suffering o'From what source of the whole world. Then the question arises 'Ihere are eight such arises the suffering one should accept?" bases,for example, suffering arising from the place where one is

112

Budclhist Insight

practicin-qthe pure life, or arising from tire perishablenatures of the rvorld. or arising while one is engagedin religious exercises, a nd s o on. The third aspect of Forbearanceamounting to conviction is erplainedas eightfold. For example,when the field of conviction is the pure-mindedtrust tov,'ardthe Three Jewels(the Buddha, the Dharma, the Samgha),or r.vhen the field is realizablein the senseof two kinds of selflessness, of personalityand of natures; a nd s o on. 1. striuing. The spyod {,jus (vII, 24) says: ',what is Striving? \-irtuous perseverance." The sutrularytkara Qndo scleli rsyin) proclaims striving to be chief among the host of virtues because based thereon one subsequentryattains that host. So the Bodhisattuq-bhumi (.byai sa) declares that Striving achieves the Incomparable, Rightly-consummated Enlightenment. And the Phar phyin bsduspa says, "There is nothing at all that cannot be reached by the forivard step unacquainted with rveariness.', Three varieties are set forth: the armored striving, the striving that amasses virtuous natures, and the striving which performs the aim of sentient beings. Armored striving means the striving which is carefully guarded to apply tor,','ard Enlightenment (one's own aim); this presentsthe Bodhisattva in heroic form. He cares not how long it might take, but is confident of the ultimate result. By reason of compassion for tire sentient beings he does not desire to become a Buddha in a short time (whirL in fact would cause it to take a long time). Having donned such armor, he can practice the kind of striving that amassesvirtuous natures in himself, namely the six perfections; and he can practicethe kind of striving r.vhich performs the airn of the different classes of sentientbeings. Furthermore, there are favorable circumstancesfor Striving, especially conviction (mos pa), steadfastness (brtan pa), joy (dlin ba) and giving up (dor ba). Longing ({tctun pa) is said to form the basis for Striving; and in this caselonging is identified with conviction in the La\/, which is the root of all virtuous natures. steadfastness supports striving during the term of the Striving, that is, ensuresthat Striving will not swerve from the goal. Joy should be presentfrom the beginning of the Striving, because it is natural that personsdo not rvant to give up an activity that gives joy to them-so also rvith Striving. Again, the power of giving

The Bodhisattva PracticeAccordingto the Lam Rim Chen Mo

113

up temporarily stops the Striving for a needed rest, whereupon the Striving can resumeto reach higher than before. 5. Meditation. The essential nature of Meditation is the virtuous one-pointedmind fixed without straying away from the meditative object. Tson-kha-pa devotes a rvhole rnajor section of the Lam rim chen mo entitled Calming (2i gnas) for the means of engaging in the cultivation of Meditation. As to varieties in terms of its essential nature, it is mundane, supramundane,in the category of Calming, in the category of Clear Vision. It also has varieties in terms of its results: the Cathartic of body and mind in the one who is stabilized; noteworthy qualitiessharedwith the Sravakas, such as the supernormal faculties, and the liberations; and accomplishing the eleven aims serving the sentient beings. The Bodhisattva having himself mastered Meditation, then installs another in it: this is the Giving of Meditation. It was already mentioned that possession of the first four Perfections (Giving, Morality, Forbearance, and Striving) enables the Bodhisattva easily to master Meditation. Moreover, certain "equipment" or accessories are specifiedto serveas a foundation for the speedyand pleasant accomplishmentof Calming. These are (from the Calming sectionof the Lam rim chenmo): residence in a favorable place (good access, good settlement,good soil, good companionship, good usage); meagre desire; contentment; elimination of multiple activities, such as buying and selling; purity of morality; elimination of discursivethinking, ofcraving, and so on. Purity of morality, seeing the disadvantages in craving, in a favorable place are the chief ones. and residence 6. Insight. The essentialnature of Insight is the analysis of the nature of an examinedentity, in particular, skill in the five sciences, which are inner science(Buddhism), logic, medicine, grammar, and the arts. Tson-kha-pa devotesa separatelarge section of the Lam rim chen mo entitled Clear Vision (lhag mthon)for the means of engagingin its generation, in fact, the style of thinking of the Mddhyamika School (dbu ma pa). Nagirjuna (klu sgrub) says: "Insight is the root of all this visible and invisible merit; hence, to accomplish both, one must hold on to Insight. It is the great science-the sourceof (present) nature, (future) purpose, and liberation; hence, with devotion from the outset, one must hold on to Insight, the Great Mother." Insight has three sources:insight consisting of hearing, insight

ll4

Buddhist Insight

consisting of pondering, and insight consisting of cultivation. It says in the "Questions of Ndraya\a" (sred med kyi bus ius pa): "Thus, Sons of the Family, Insight comes to the one who hears. Defilement ceasesin the one with Insight. For him devoid of defilement, the tempter (.Mdra, bdud) does not appear." Also, there are three kinds of Insight:Insight that understands the Supreme (don dam), that understands the Conventional (kun rdzob), and that understands what will servethe purpose of sentient beings. The first ponders in a general way the meaning of reality of selflessness and ponders by way of direct realization. The second is the Insight skilled in the five sciences. The third knows the sinless way of accomplishing the present and later purpose of sentient beings. MnruRrNG THESrnnnu op CoNscrousNESS op OrnsRs There are four methods of persuasion (bsdu balti dnos po) which mature all the sentient beings. They are (1) giving, equal to the Perfection of Giving, already discussed;(2) fine, pleasantspeech; (3) acts in accordance:(4) oneself serving as an example. By the first one. the subject becomes a fit vessel,psychologically preparedto listento the Lau'. 81'the secondone, faith is aroused in him ton ard the Lari' that is taught. By the third one, he is made to exercise in accordance with the Teaching. By the fourth one, he is led to continue training his mind accordingly. Also, the first one involves material things, and the last three involve dharma (chos). That stressesthe importance of the Perfection of Giving, not only as the first of the six Perfections,but also as the first thing for the Bodhisattva to do in regard to introducing a change for the better in another's stream of consciousness. That is why Tsonkha-pa devotessuch a long section to the Perfection of Giving. Some idea of the main points in Tson-kha-pa'streatmentof the Bodhisattva practice is presentedhere. However, I have given only in brief measure what Tson-kha-pa has explained in great detail and extensivelywith numerous citations of texts to clarify each point as he goes along.

PART TWO

BUDDHIST DOCTRINE

THE SIXTEEN ASPECTS OF THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS AND THEIR OPPOSITES

The sixteen aspects of the four Noble Truths are not canonical and are not found in the Abhidhamma of Southern Buddhism.l They are a specification resulting from the version of the First Sermon of Buddhism, the Setting into Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma, which, after stating the four Noble Truths, adds a triple turning of the wheel with twelve aspects.This is the tripariuartaqn duddaidkaram of the Mahauastu.2The sixteenaspectswere possibly representedby the aniconic symbol of the wheel of 16 spokes, four main ones and twelve intermediate spokes. A number of illustrations of theseDharmacakra are collectedby Dhanit Yupho in a Bangkok publication.s The sixteenaspectsare treated in the Northern Abhidharma, as observedin vasubandhu's Abhidharmakoia, Chap. VII, verse 13, where a number of theories are prelcoNpsnLoursnr La varrfB Poussrx, tr. L'Abhidharmakosa de vasubandhu, Septidme...(Paris, 1925), p. 30,note. zCoNrnnFRaNxrn EocrnroN, BuddhistHybrid Sanskrit Reader(New p. 17,introductory Haven,1953), note aboutthe two originalpartsof the
Dharmacakrapravartana-sfitra; and p. 19, triple turning of the wheel in the secondpart, namely in the Mahdvastuversion. sDnaNIr YurHo, Dharmacakraor The wheel of the Law (The Fine Arts Department,Bangkok, Thailand, B.E. 2511; third edition, 1968). Among the illustrations, the twelve-spoked wheel presumably or possibly synibolizes the twelve-membered dependent origination (pratitya-samritpada);the sixteenspoked one, the sixteen aspectsof the four Noble Truths; the thirty-twospoked one, the Buddha himself with thirty-two characteristics.

118

Buddhist Insight

the l6 aspectsin his ,irduakasented.4 Besides,Asanga discusses bhumi.s I have found the list in a native Tibetan text, lecturesby Tson-kha-pa on Buddhist logic, where he presentsa list of sixteen that are the oppositesor adversaries of the sixteenaspects,agreeing in large part with one of the theoriesin the Abhidharmakoia$. In short, the earliest specificationof the sixteen aspectsis in the Northern Abhidharma schools, Vaibhdsika and Sautrdntika.However, if the list of terms originated in these Abhidharma schools, it is curious that some obscurity should still remain after their explanations. Asanga's school contemplatesthe sixteenaspects in the category of uipaiyana (discerning), i.e. discerning the truth (satya), after calming the mind (iamatha).? This agreeswith the Abhidharmakoia, which identifies the list with prajfid ("insight"),8 since the term prajfrd is frequently equated with uipaiyands. Tson-kha-pa in those lectures refers to Dharmakirti's Pramdnaudrttika, Svdrthdnumdna chapter, verse 218 (Sastri's ed., but verse 2I7 in the autocommentary and Tibetan version): "So as to determine the reality of rejecting and accepting together with the means, by virtue of non-deceptionregarding the chief aim, there is inference (anumdna)in terms of the beyond."lo The autocommentary on al-aVarrir PousstN, pp. 30-39. op.cit.,Septidme,
sThe lengthy treatment begins with Lokottaramdrga and then the exposition of the vipari4ama kind of impermanence (anityata), Sravakabhumi, K. SuurrA, ed. (Patna, 1973), p. 470, where the sixteen aspects are named. 6TsoN-rna-ra, collected works (Tashilunpo edition), Vol. Pha, Tshad ma'i brjed byan chenno (Rgyal-tshab-rje's notes on Tson-kha-pa's lectures), f. 13b, and following. For the comparable Abhidharmakoia theory, confer La Vallde Poussin, op. cit., Septidme, p.38 referred to simply as the "fourth explanation," which was appealed to by Samghabhadra to demonstrate that the a s p e c t sa r e i n d e e d s i x t e e n . ?CoNrsn Alsx Wavu aN, Analysis of the Sravakabhumi Manusurpr (Berkeley, 1961). pp. 130-131, for the exposition, in particular, examination of the Noble Truth of Suffering with the kind of discerning (vipaiyana) called "special knowledge" (pratisaqnvid) of the characteristics (lak;atta). 8La Valmn PoussrN, op. cit., Septidme, p. 39. eCoNrrn Arex W.lyMAN, tr., Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real (New York, 1978), p. 28. rolheyopadeyatottvasya sopayasya prasiddhitah I pradhanarthavisarTuadad anumanarp paratra va ll By "auto-commentary" is meant Dhannakirti's Svarthanumana-pariccheda, edited independently by Raniero Gnoli and by o'vytti" Dalsukhbhai Malvaniya; and means the one by Manorathanandin.

TheSixteen Aspects of theFourNobleTruthsandTheirOpposites

119

this mentions the four Noble Truths, and the .Vrtti clarifiesthat the rejectingis of sufferingand the sourceof suffering,that the accept(what ing is of cessationand the path. The beyond means theparolc,sa is beyond sight), namely, the chief aim, Nirvarla, which therefore has to be inferred. Tson -kha-pa takesfor granted that his audience knows the sixteen terms and their opposites that are referred to in the Pramdnasiddhi chapter of Pramdnaudrttika, namely in the block of versesin Miyasaka's edition 146-283.11 But Tson -khapa expands to sixteen terms using Abhidharma-type vocabulary, and this is reasonable,since Buddhist logic has an Abhidharma base.l2 The Abhisamaydlaqnkdrasummary of the Prajfiaparamitd includes the sixteenaspectsof the four Truths as a concentration in the path of the Srdvaka (as does Asanga), and a feature of this path is the identification of Nirvdqa with the Truth of Cessation (nirodha-satya).13 While the list of sixteenwas included, or generallyalluded to, in a variety of texts as mentioned above, there is a question of how viable a classificationit is, i.e. to what extent such terms help to explain this cardinal teaching of Buddhism-the four Noble Truths. We should note that not only does the Southern Abhibut dharma textual tradition not use the sixteen-term system,ra of Harivarman, completely devoted to also the SatyasiddhiSdstra the four truths, appears opposed to employing this organizational rrThisis theeditionpublished in ActaIndologica II (Naritasan Shinshoji, 1971172). Japan, 12Atleastthis is the case in Tibetan to my obsinceaccording tradition, logicalsowrote comon Buddhist the chiefTibetancommentators servation or Asanga's AbhidharmaVasubandhu's Abhidharmakoia on either mentaries
samuccaya. lsCoNrnn E. OsBnrvrtrLER, "The Doctrine of Prajfrd-pdramiti as exposed in the Abhisamayalarykara of Maifieya," Acta Orientalia, Yol. XI (1932), pp. 18-19. laThe well-known Pili exegeticalwork, the Netti-pakara4a (translated under the title The Guide) applies six terms to the four Noble Truths (E. phalafi ce dukkhary,assado sarnudayo, nissaraHardy's edition, p. 8): Adinavo narp nirodho, upayo a4atti ca maggo. "Trouble and fruit are suffering; means and commandare the path." gratification is the source;exit is cessation; Here, "means" and "command" might be equivalent to the two kinds of cf. C. S. Uspasak, Pdtimokkha, by exhortation(ovada)and by command@ryA); Dictiotnry of Early Buddhist Monastic Terms (Varanasi, 1975), p. 152; and chapter 2 above.

l2o

BuddhistInsight

terminology.ls To arrive at a conclusion about these matters, it will be necessary to treat each. of the sixteenseparately,using the above works. The Buddhist dictionary Mahduyutpatti (nos. l l901205) gives the individual terms as follor,vs: (Noble Truth of Suffering,) dulikham, anityam, iunyam, andtmakam. (Noble Truth prabhaualt,hetulr, of Source,)samudayaiL, prat))q)a/2. (Noble Truth of Cessation,) nirodhah, iantah, pranitait, niltsqranah. (Noble Truth of Path,) mdrgah, nyayait,pratipattiit, nairyd4tikah. of the sixteenaspects,the easiestare the four of the set going with the Truth of Suffering,mainly becausethe terms are so celebrated in Buddhist texts. Leaving out the "voidness" (iunya) term, the other three are the well-knorvn set of three characteristics (lak;ana) which all constructedthings (sarytskara) have: impermanence (anitya) pain (dui'kha), and non-s elf (anatntan). For canonical references, one may consult Nyanatiloka, BuddhistDictionary, under Ti-lakkhana.16 Asanga in the section mentioned writes mostly about this set.17 He introduces a group of ten aspects (akara) for treating the Truth of Suffering, namely, aspect of (1) transformation (uiparindma), (2) destruction (uinaia), (3) separation(t'i.samvoga), (4) closeness (samnihita), (5) true nature (dltannatcl), (6) fetters and bondage (san_t,ojanabandhana), (7) the (ani,ta), (8) no securiry(ayogak-reffia), disagreeable (9) non-apprehension (anupolanfiha), (10) non-independence (asudtantrya). He states that the aspectof impermanenceis examined by five of these ten aspects, namely, of transformation, destruction, separation, closeness, and true nature. The aspect of pain is examined by three aspects, namely, of fetters and bondage,of the disagreeable, and of no security. The voidnessaspectis exarnined by one aspect, namely, no-apprehension (of a certain object). The aspect of non-self is examined by one aspcct, namely, nonindependence. The Arthouiniicaya-likd (author unknown, Tibetan Tanjur)
15N. Atvaswaul SasrRr has reconstructed from Chinese to Sanskrit of the Satyasidhiiastra (Baroda, 7975), and has translated it into English (Baroda, 1978). loNvaNrurorn Buddhist Dictionary (colombo, 1950). (155-6). The late Edward Conze gave his views on the three, calling them 'omarks" in his Buddhist Thought in India (London, 1962), Part I, Chapter 3. rTSeethe referencesin notes 5 and 7. above.

TheSixteen Aspects of the Four NobleTruthsandTheir Opposites

l2l

briefly explains the four in a description of the satnskdrapersonal aggregate(sk andha) :r8 It is impermanent, becauseit perishes in each instant. It is painful, becausepossessing the nature (dharma) of birth, old are not age, and so on. It is void, becausethose saqnskdras precisely the self imagined by the heretics. It is non-selfbecause (suabhaua)of self imagined those are not the self-existence by the heretics. One should also notice that Harivarman's work attributes the list to an unnamed siltra passage: *dharma anityd dullkhdlr iunyd andtmdnalzpratityasamutpannd.. ." but includes this passage and its discussion not under the first Truth, that of Suffering, but !1e Harivarman stresses under the third one. that of Cessation pursuant to this passage the voidnessof dharmas, but also insists on voidness of self. Here there is a difficulty shared with the Arthauiniicaya-lika, as cited above, that in the list of four terms including both void (sunya) and non-self (andtmaka), to interpret the term "void" as denying a self should make one wonder why the term "non-self" is included as a separateaspect. Asanga was apparently appreciative of this point, since for him the voidness aspectis examinedjust by the aspectof non-apprehensionwithout further qualifying the non-apprehension. Passing to the coverings or adversaries20 of these four aspects in Tson-kha-pa's list,21 that the covering of impermanence is permanence, of pain is pleasure, of non-self is self-is simple enough. However, the covering he gives for voidness (iunya) is with a term gcang, which I correct to bcang, "taking hold (of an object)." This agrees with Asanga's "non-apprehension" for voidness in the present context. The various explanations in the Abhidharmokoiq seem not to take account of a requirement to show some adversityfor the terms listed undertheTruthofSuffering, and in particular the term I render "voidness." Presumably the adversity is the senseof "voidness" that it is here the absence of the thing one hunts and looks for, expectsto find, leaving one lsPhoto p. 162-1,2. Tanjur(PTT),Vol. 145, edition of Peking leArvasw.l,ur p. 354. SlstRr,Satyasiddhisaslra, Sanskrit,

20The 'coverings' are indicated by the word aropya in Pramdqtavdrttika, Pramarya-siddlti chapter, verse 27I : ;o(aSakaran dropya. 2lSee the reference in note 6, above.

lZ2

BuddhistInsight

in a kind of despair. Asanga's "non-independence" for non-self does indeed take account of the adversativeintention. It might be for the reason which Vasubandhu gives as one tradition:22 akdmqkdrituad iti "because there is no performance of what one wishes." Harivarman's placement of the list under the Truth of Cessation of course avoids the implication of adversativesense that placement under Truth of Suffering entails. In support of his placement, there is the set called the four "aphorisms of the Dharma"; cf . Mahdydna-Sutrdlarykdra, SVIII, 80, and commentary; "All sarpskdras(constructions) are impermanent; alI sarpskdras (motivations) are suffering;23 all dharmas are non-self; Nirvdqa is calm (idnta)." Observe that this set has an entry "Nirvdqa" in place of the term "void" of the other list, and that Harivarman practically equatesvoidness(iunyata) with Nirvana.2a Before leaving the Truth of Suffering, it is well to mention even if briefly the theory of three kinds of dultkhqfa (misery). Asanga (Viniicayasaqngrahanton Cintdmayi bhumi)25identifies the three with the three standard kinds of feelings,painful, pleasurable,and neither painful nor pleasurable. The first dultkhatd is the misery of suffering(dultkha),and as the painful kind of feeling; it is the misery experiencedand acknowledged in the world, since the pair "pain and pleasure" (dukkha and sukha) are among the eight worldly dharmas, of course comprehended by ordinary persons. The Arthauiniicaya-tikd (Tibetan Tanjur)26 describes this kind of dulLkhafdconsistently with a detailed list that shows it covers the pains people can do something about, as well as those recognized to be outside bf one's control. The second dukkhatd is the misery of change (uiparipdma), and as the pleasurable kind of feeling; it is not recognized as misery by ordinary persons. So t a-1,{ ikdya, Part IV (Saldyat ana-Vagga):/ yom par e sukhato Sarytyut 'happiness' that AhuI tad ariyd ahu dukkhato I "What others call
22La Vallis PoussrN, op.cit., Septidme, p. 32. 23I translate the word sarytskara differently in the first two aphorisms, because when saryskara is identified with suffering (dullkha) it is variously said 'with flux' (sasrava). to be the five personality aggregates (skandha) or to be On the other hand, the saqnskara said to be impermanent means all of the 'constructed natures' (sarysk r ta-dhar ma). zaSee N. ArylswaN{t SlstRr, Satyasiddhiiastra, Eng. tr., pp. 358-359. 25Asanga, Yogacarabhumi,PTT, Vol. 111, p. 28-3,4. 26See n. 18, above, op. cit., p.209-2,3.

TheSixteen Aspects of theFour NobleTruthsandTheirOpposites

123

the noble ones call'suffering,"", The third dultkhatais the misery of motivations (sarTtskdra), and as the feeling that is neither painful nor pleasurable, it is also not recognizedas misery by ordinary persons. Asanga explains:28 "It was in connectionwith the misery of motivations that the Lord said: 'In short, the flve grasping aggregatesare suffering.' What is the misery of motivations? These and those bodies with motivations generated by karma and defilement (kleia) arising,..." He also mentions that this misery is evidencedby the four waywardnesses (uiparydsa),i.e., regarding the impermanent as permanent, the painful as pleasurable, the unclean as clean, the non-self as self; and finally, that this misery is the trace (anuSaya) of nescience(auidya). It is clear that the duhkha of the flrst Noble Truth has a wider scope than the ordinary person can understand, and has a metaphysical side that is comprehensible to the drya, in the ancient use of this word. Some persons accordingly challengedthe translation of duhklta as "suffering" or "pain." However, the present translator translatesthe term in those two ways to accord with the various contexts in which the term is found, sometimesin concrete sensesto apply to old age, sickness,and death, and sometimesin a metaphorical way. And to leave the term untranslated, as has been recommended by at least one modern author, would entirely defeat any communication of metaphorical nuance. As we pass to the remaining three Truths, it turns out that the coveringsin the list of sixteen adversariesbecome of greater importance. The second set going with "Noble Truth of Source (of Suffering)" has the requirement of providing cause or causes for the suffering without constituting suffering. Here there are the aspects cause (hetu), source (samudaya),production (prabhaua), and condition (pratyaya). The trouble with the AbhidharmakoSaexplanations in the main is that they define these terms as various kinds of causes without thereby showing their natures as causes for suffering. Asanga is quite superior here becausehe facesup to the necessity that they not only be causes, but cause for suffering.zo 2zlntheedition Nikaya,4, of Bhikkhu J. Kashyap, The Saryyutta Saliyatanap. 116. 16. vagga,
28See n. 25, above,p. 28-3,4. 2eSee n. 5, above,op. cit., p.493, where Shukla wrongly editsdukkhak;emafor hetu; read instead; tr;ryaya dhetutalj."By cause (hetu) dukkhqk;epakatvdd

124

Buddhist Insight

One of the many explanationshe furnishes,isespeciallyinteresting since it relates these terms to Buddhist Dependent Origination pratitya-samutpdda).30 This particular solution takes the aspect of "cause" tc be craving (tfsUa),8th member of Dependent Origination, heading the flve members which bring about new destiny. Asanga here says it is the cause of "indulgence" (upadana), and casts gestation and suffering. The aspect of "source" is indulgence (upadana), 9th member, which finalizes after the casting. The aspect of "production" is gestation (bhaua), lOth member, hence embryonic life, prior to the manifestation of suffering. The fourth aspect,of conditiot(pratyaya) is-birth UAfi), thg__l_1!h \ member, member. which which holds holds the the seed seedof flltglqlqgqriitgald future sufferi iis the cqqdi--.

lgnlga"ld

age, sickness, a\rd death. that i4-!hiq in tt sqlUlion, , !t{o!icethAt ,_qt"krrg;s,_q"d 4:.nth_flo!ice utrt.Oir u

r,@

mika tradition of the Pratitya-samutpdda com@

theryfopllo t iqgquiur.ri"e. rtg-l4e@u=atolgne

l:U:" ;'Uiitry-"r 'sirTrlu-fiR6?i@f!_m.anse it c_ounts


1 -

"r;-f suffEilng members of Dependent Origination.3l -Tsofr&ha-pits list of coverings or adversaries of these four seemsto amount to non-Buddhist positions.szThus, for the aspect of "cause," from his list, positing that there is no causeof suffering amounts to the position of the ancient materialisticCdrvakas,the position called ahetuka ("having no cause"), which Buddhism always denounced. For the aspectof "source," positing the unaffiliated as the cause, or positing only a single cause, might be equivalent to the fourth account in the Abhidharmakoiass mentioning at this place a Lord (ISvara), or pradhdna; sincethe Lord csuld be considered unaffiliated to the effect, and pradhdna as the
are also explained as sources for suffering. BoSincethere is further confusion in Shukla's edition (p. 493) at this point, I have consulted the Tibetan translation, PTT, Vol. 110, p. 126--5-4,5,6. sTDasabhumikaiisutra is cited in Sdntideva's Siktasarnuccoya (Vaidya ed., p. 123.21-22), happening to be in agreement with the Pratiyasamutpada commentary, that of the members of dependent origination, avidya, t{t7d, 'action' (karma)', and upadana are defilement (kleSa); sarpskara-s an<lbhava are 'birfh' (jtiti) is counted as a and the rest are sufferrng (duhkha). Hence, 'suffering.' 32Seen. 6, above, f. 13b-6 to l4a-1. ssl-e VaLLJe PoussrN, op. cit.,Septidme, p. 38.

lag

tfrrougn-c*;ttg ttrlnd; which casts suffering."The otherthreeaspects

The SixteenAspectsof the Four Noble Truths and Their Opposites

t25

prakrti could be considereda single cause. For the asSar.nkhya pect of "production," positing (suffering)as createdby the evolution of the Sabdabrahman,would be a Vaiplava theory according to S. Dasgupta;3awhile the Abhidharmakoia here mentions the evolutionary theory of the Sdr.nkhyacalled parindma, in which the effect is pre-existent in the cause. For the fourth aspect of "condition," positing (suffering) as created by a former lSvarabuddhi (cognition of a Lord), is the same as given in the Abhidharmakoia. When coming to the treatment of the third set under "Noble Truth of Cessation (of Suffering)" and of the fourth set under "Noble Truth of Path (leading to the Cessation)," Asanga contents himself with a few neutral remarks for his possiblereluctance to enter into the controversiesinvolved in a longer treatment. Let us pass first to the coveringsin Tson -kha-pa's list,asnamely, for the third set, cessation (nirodha), calm (ianta), the excellent (praqtita), exit (niltsarana); and for the fourth set, path (marga), principle (nyaya), accomplishment (pratipotti), way of deliverance (nairyapika). For the aspect of o'cessation," the covering is the positing by one gone astraythat thereis no liberation; for the aspectof"calm," positing that there is a special liberation attended with flux of uncalmed defilements; for the aspect of "the excellent" (usually explained as anuttare, "the best"), positing that there is a higher liberation than stopping suffering; for the aspect of "exit," positing a temporary liberation and that there is no final liberation. For the aspectof "path," the covering is the positing that there is no final path of liberation; for the aspect of ,'principle" (: method), positing that the insight comprehending non-self is not a path of liberations; for the aspect of o'accomplishment,', positing the situation of the object-scopehaving gone astray; for the aspect, "way of deliverance," positing that none can put a final end to suffering. The "coverings" in Tson-kha-pa's list for the third and fourth sets amount to a paraphrase of the fourth Abhidharmakoia explanation. The adversary views do help to bring out the meaning of the aspect terms for these two sets. saSuRpNonANArH DAscurra, A History of Indian phitosophy (cambridge, 1940), Vol. III, p. 58.
35Seeno. 6, above, f. l4a-1 to l4a-4.

126

BuddhistInsight

Now, a striking feature of the aspects given under "Noble Truth of Path" is that they are not obviously related to the usual statementof the Path, namely, the eightfold members, frequently listed under the three instructions which form the organization of Buddhaghosa's visuddhimagga. These three are the Instruction of Morality, the Instruction of Mental Training of samddhi, and the Instruction of Insight. Even though Asanga does not organize his Yogacdrabhumialong the specific lines of the well-known three instructions (adhiiik;a), thesecategoriesare basic for much of his writing. Examining the statementsof Tson-kha-pa's adversaries for the four of this path group in comparison with the four of the cessationset, a suggestive parallel emerges, which may provide an opening for relating the three instructions. By this I mean to call attention to the covering of "cessation" claiming that there is in fact no liberation, while the covering of "path" is the claim that there is no final path of liberation; then, forthe aspect of "exit" claiming that there is no final path of liberation, while the covering of "way of deliverance" is the claim that one cannot put a final end to suffering. These seeming affiliations of statement gave me the idea that the two setsof four terms might be correlated in their given order. Following this suggestion, I may propose that the aspect of path (marga) leads to the aspect of cessation (nirodha); that the aspectof principle (: method) (nyAyQ leads to the aspect of calm (ianta); that the aspect of accomplishment (pratipatti) leads to the aspect of the excellent (pranita); finally, that the aspect 'o*ay of deliverance" (nairydqika) leads to the aspect "exit" (nihsarana). Then the way of relating the three instructions follows readily, namely, that the instruction of mind training is the principle or method that leads to calm, since samadhiis the standard procedure for calming the mind; that the instruction of morality is the accomplishment that leads to the excellent,which is consistent with ancient Buddhism's great stress on morality and extolling of its merit; that the instruction of insight (pra.ifiA)is the way of deliverance that leadsto the "exit" or "escape" from phenomenal life, constituting the Arhat ideal of early Buddhisms6. Such a correlation would leave the main terms
s6TsoN-rna-y4 brjed byan, n. 6, above, f. 13a-5, states: "The acarya (i.e. Dharmakirti)...took the prajiia that comprehends non-self to be the chief (thing) of the path to liberation from phenomenal life, and the others to be ancillary."

The Sixteen Aspectsof the Four Noble Truths and Their Opposites

127

of "cessation" and "path" as headingsunderwhich are ranged the respe ctive three aspectsthat go with the three instructions. This is consistent with the early tradition that takes "cessation" as equal to Nirvdfa, and with the Tibetan translation of this term as "beyond suffering" (myangan la.s'das pa).This is becausethe thrust of these Abhidharma-type explanations of the four Noble Truths is that liberation amounts to the cessationof suffering (dulpkha). Besides,a feature of the first sermon, Setting into Motion the Wheel of Dharma, in various versions, is to take the four Noble Truths as objects. Thus, the statement is made : "Suffering, a Noble Truth, is to be fully known (parijfieyam)." Again, "The Source of Suffering is to be eliminated (prahatavyal.r).""The Cessationof Sufferingis to be realizeddirectly (sakgatkartavyah)." "The Path leading to the Cessationof Suffering is to be cultivated pratipad bhavayitavyd)."t2 This promptly (dultkhanirodhagamini raisesa question:If cessation is to be realizeddirectly,i.e.,saksdt, as though before the eyes,then how could this cessation be equated to Nirvdrla, if Nirvala be taken in Dharmakirti's senseas something to be inferred rather than seenin direct vision? The resolution here would be to take Nirvd4a in such usagenot to be identified with cessation(nirodlta). And we note that Dharmakirti is writing in the mature Mahdydna Buddhism period, when a Nirvala of no fixed abode (aprati;lhitantrvapa)had come to the fore. Thus, a consideration of the sixteen aspectsof the four Noble Truths, and their sixteen"coveringso' or adversaries, does appear to bring out important featuresof the four Truths, and to make salient certain striking differencesof the traditions. The investigation attests to the teaching of the four Noble Truths as basic to the earliest Buddhism and to later disputesof what to placeunder each of the four. Thus, one strong current of interpretation took the sixteenaspectsas a guide, while another was either oblivious of, or uncomfortable with, the neat list.

37So in the Lalitavistara, as presented in Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrlt Reader (n. 2, above), pp. 22-23.

6
THE MIRROR AS A PAN.BUDDHIST METAPHOR-SIMILE

INrRooucrroN The extensive literature of Buddhism contains works of sharply contrasting spirit: some are dry metaphysical treatises; others, inspired sermons; and there are a host of ritualistic works, even on how to conjure rain. If one passesfrom one work to another collecting material on a given topic, it is easy to amassnumerous undigested passages. But the authenticity of the mirror metaphor rests-I believe-on the easewith which one can go from one work to another, written centuries apart, while paying attention to this with an overall senseof metaphor and assemblingthese passages relevance. In the end I shall expressa reservation about bringing in one article. together so many passages Even so, it is as though-here a metaphor-Buddhist religion and philosophy were an enormous tangle of string, and we should happen to notice among the innumerable loose ends a certain one to pull and thereby begin to resolve the entire tangle. If other scholars-except for a sinologist like Demi6villel-have not deemed this study important, they can be excusedon the grounds that it looked like just one of many loose ends. Indeed, the importance of the mirror metaphor was enhanced when Buddhism spread from its native India to various Asian countries. China was fond of mirror symbolism; and Asian rP. DrurfvrllE, o'Lemiroir spirituel," | (1,947): Sinologica ll2-37.

r30

Buddhist Insight

forms of shamanismemphasizethe mirror, as when it figures on the chestof the Tibetan oracle or is placed on high in the Japanese Shinto worship hall. two articlesdealing with the subject So far I have only publish.ed -one on the mirror of ladies(which included a divination section)2 and one on the mirror-like knowledge of Mahdyina Buddhism.s The material has so increasedthat it is a matter of selection to present the main ideasin a single essay. Speaking nrost briefly, there are three parts. First, the early Buddhist use of the mirror as a metaphor of the mind, which becomesdirtied as a mirror collects dust, eventually led to the highly evolved philosophical position of Asanga and his school called the Yogdcdra, and then in Buddhist tantric ritual to the washing of the mirror while a deity was reflected therein. Second, the rise of the Prajffdpdramitd literature as interpreted by the teacher Nagirjuna avoids the metaphorical mirror and employs the mirror simile for such illustrative purposesas the theory of dharntas(natures, features), and the meaning here is succinctly shown in the brief tantric ritual, initiation of the mirror. Third, the ancient use of a mirror for and in stories predictivepurposes, as knorvn in the Pdli scriptures called Jatakas, develops into the representationof mirrors in Buddhist art and eventually into remarkable forms of mirror divination in the Buddhist Tantras. And there is an appendix on the problem of where to include the "prajiin--mirror." It is also necessaryto establish the character of the mirror metaphor. The Sarydhinirmocana-sutra-which is the basic scripture of the Mahayana Buddhist Yogdcdra school-mentions in its chapter 5 that when conditions are present a clear mirror will reflect one image, two images,and so on, and yet the mirror surface is not changed thereby. The appropriating consciousness (ddana-u ij fidna)-pr actically equivalent to t he store-consciousness (alaya-ui.iiidna) of this systern-is compared to this mirror (adaria) and also to a swift current of water (ogha).4 The swift water
zA. WavlaAN, "A Jotting on the Mirror: Thoseof Ladies," Mahfil 7 (Fall-Winter 197 l) : 209-13. 3A. WaylrAN, "The Mirror-like Knowledgein MahayanaBuddhistLiterature," AsiatischeStudien25 (1971): 353-63. aE. Lrvorrs, in his edition and translation of the Tibetan Sarydhinirmocana Sutra (Louvain and Paris, 1935), reconstructs in part: tadoghasthdniyam adanavijfianary. It is of interest that Sthiramati, TrirpSikaadarSasthaniyam

Tre \{irror as a Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-Simile

l3l

current as a metaphor of the mind implies a progression,extending forward and backward but not laterally-that is, a temporal successiveness.[n contrast, the mirror as a metaphor of the mind irnplies alateral extension, a spacialsimultaneity.Atfirst consideration, the two metaphors are inconsistent,and the application of both of them helps the reader to avoid the concretization of either metaphor. In this light, it is signiflcant that the Yogdcara school prefers the mirror as a metaphor-simileof the mind, while the Mddhyamika is lesslikely to use it and, r.vhen it does, usesthe samemetaphor-simile in any way except for the mind. Of course, in both Eastern and western thought, the application of this rnetaphor to the mind suggests that it will entertain an image for which there is a model somewhere;and this is the dualistic position. The argument was transferredto china, where one branch of the ch'an school, following the Lankquatora-slttra, applied the mirror metaphor to the mind; ivhile another Ch'an school, turning to the Prajiiaparamita scriptural position, rejected this metaphor for the mind. A. Tire MnrApHoRrcAr MrnRoR AND rHE YocAcAnR Scnoor

Asariga, rvho heads the Yogacdra school, attributes to a sutra or .su!ras presumablyin the olcl Buddhist canon(the four Agamas in the northern Buddhist version) the rnetaphoricalidentification of a beggingbowl (patra), a mirror (adaria), and a pond (hrada) with the three faults that stir up consciousness. The three such faults are "unrnethodical mental orientation" (ayoniio mqnqsikdra),'otracas" (anuiaya), and "entrapment" (paryauasthdna).s Besides,he mentions in the same place the three gateways to liberation, the placeof ambrosia (amrta-dhdtu):theseare the wishless (apraqihita), voidness (iunyata), and signless(animitta) gates. Elsewherehe explains that the wishlessgate is the opponent of
bhrisya,ed. Sylvair-r t-6vi (Paris, 1925),p. 33, has merely tacloghasthaniyant iilayavijii1narT, irTlike context. That is, by only mentioning the swift current of water, he may thereby be judging that this metaphor and the mirror one are incompatible. sviniScayasarygraha\i,photographic ed. of Tibetan canon (prr), The Tibetan Tripitaka, Peking ed. (Tokyo and Kyoto, lg5s-61), ll0:239-3, 4.

132

Buddhist Insight

wish for gestationor becoming(bhaua);the voidnessone, of defilement (kteia); and the signlessone, of signs.6Taking into consideration Asanga's further explanations of what he means by "traces" and "entrapment," it is reasonablyclear that in his symbolism, the begging bowl, minus its craving, is the wishless gate; the mirror with its traceserasedis the voidnessgate; and the pond, devoid of entrapment, is the signlessgate. At least one of the sutras which Asangahad in mind would be the Sanskrit equivalent of the Pdli Anguttara-I'{ikdya [Book of Ones], section 5, where the turbid pool of water stands for the turbid mind (duila-citta). This same section concludes and continues into the next section with the sentence: "Monks, this mind fcitta] is luminous, but defiled with adventitious defilements." This passageis undoubtedly the reason for the thesis pushed by the Mahdsdnghika school: "The mind is intrinsically pure." But while in this context the siltra used the pond metaphor, the mirror was later employed in this metaphorical role for the mind that is intrinsically pure but covered by defilements. A possible reason for the growing importance of the mirror metaphor may come from the early account of Brahma's urging the Buddha to teach. As recorded in the Sarpyutta-Nikdya, volume 1, the Buddha saw with a Buddha's eye sentient beings hardly dusty and sentient beings very dusty,T and he compared them to lotuses in different stagesof growth from the bottom fo the pool to the surface where they were not adhered to by the muddy water. While the lotus comparison would favor the pond, his observation of the relative dustinessof the sentient being would favor the mirror metaphor.s According to the celebrated account called the o'conversion of Sariputra and Maudgalydyana," the dust collects on the dharma-eye-also called the knowledge-eyedirected toward dharmas.e Another reason for the ascendancyof the rnirror metaphor over the other two (the begging bowl and the pond)) is the association
6lbid., lll:ll4-4. ?See J. J. JonEs,trans., The Mahavastu,Vol. III (London, 1956),p.372, "very dusty." of the word here translated n., for a discussion sThis is not to deny the importance in Buddhism of water symbolism, whether of pond, stream, ocean,and so on. esee FnaNxrrN EocBRToN,Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Reader (New Haven, p.29; and chapter7. Conn., 1953),

TheMirror asa Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-Simile

133

n'ith the voidnessgate to liberation. Indeed, the growing importance of the mirror metaphor would be fost'eredby the Prajfrdparamitd scriptures,which emphasizedthe realization of voidness, even if these scriptures themselvesdrd not feature the mirror metaphor in this manner (the pure and defiled mind). Still another factor favoring the mirror metaphor was the Mahdydna Buddhist theory of five kinds of knowledge or wisdom as the content of enlightenment, of which the flrst one is the "mirror-like knowledge." In Asanga's school, this knowledge is achievedthrough 'orevolutionof the store-consciousness basis."10 According to the Lankduatdra-sutra this occurs in the Eighth Bodhisattva Stage,where the Bodhisattva lives in a "body made of mind" which is like a current of dreams.11 Among the most revealing passageswhich I collected on this subject is one in Abhaydkaragupta's M unimatdl aynk dr a :r2 " The mirror-like knowledge is where consciousness of the infinite three realms and the 'other one'-all the finest atoms of substance-come together individually. The objective domain lui;ayal which is distant and (called) the 'other one,' and temporal statesof past, present,and future (there) come together individually, just as a reflected image appears vividly in a mirror." This brings out the senseof the metaphorical mirror's ability to reflect all things without itself being changed, and to display simultaneously both the subjective states of past, present, and future, and all sensory objects. It seemsthat both the metaphorical swift stream and metaphorical mirror are combined in this particular explanation of the mirrorlike knowledge. Turning to the philosophical position of the Yogdcara school, I have devoted an article to rejecting the common attribution to l0Asanga in his Mahayanasarpgraha (trans.E. Lalrorrr [Louvain, lg3gl, pp. 278-79) merelystates that the set of four knowledges beginning with
"mirror-like knowledgeo'are obtainedthroughtherevolutionof the aggregate of perceptions (vijfrana-skandha), while Vasubandhu, in his commentary thereonn clarifies that one obtains the o'mirror-like knowledge" through (alayavijfiana) revolution of the "store-consciousness" basis. rlSee the Lankdvatdra references in G. Tucci, Minor Buddhist Texts, pt. I ( R o m e ,1 9 5 6 ) p , .201. 12WAYMAN, "The Mirror-like Knowledge," p. 358, n.In 1970I had a helpful suggestionabout this passage from the lama Gonsar Rimpoche of Dharmasala.

134

B uddhi st Insi ght

the Yogacara school of the unqualified denial of an external object.t:t In this case,there is the mirror sirhile of the Saindhinirrnocena's Maitreya chapter, which deniesa differencebetrveen the image in the mirror and the model of the image.ra Here the scripture alludes to the situation of samadhiwhen the perceiving mind (the reflecting mirror) that dwells upon a rneditative object (the model) is not different from that model anci so the latter is called "representation-only" (uijfiapti-matra). This passagedoes not constitute an idealistic denial of an external object, but rather a disinterestin externals; becausethe yogin has retreated frorn manifold senseobjects and dwells only on the meditative object in his mind. Moreover, Asanga writes in his Yogdcarabhumi: "In short, there are two uijfianas, 'store-consciousness' falayauijfiana) and 'evolving perceptions' fpraurttiuijiiana]. Among these, the storeconsciousness is the place and evolving perceptionis placed. The latter is sevenfold, the (five) eye, etc. perceptions, rnind-based perception,and manas. The trvo are like a body of water and the waves are like a mirror and a reflectedimage. In that way, this establishmentof supreme method establishesthe place and the placed."rs Later, in the exegesis of his Bodhisottuablwmi, Asanga the three charactersor naturcs (suabhaua) discusses the of Yog[cara school-the perf-ect(parini5panna),the dependency (paratantra), and the imaginary (parikalpita); and under the rubric "thorough knowledge of, the dependency character," he places the similes of natures (dharma) that happen to be repeated again and again in the Prajfiaparamitascriptures,to wit: "like an illusion, a dream, a hallucination, an echo,the moon in the waters, a reflectedimage, a magical materialization."l6 Therefore,Asanga intends his likening of the "store-consciousnsss" and "evolving perceptions" to a body of water and waves,or to a mirror and a reflectedimage,to constitute metaphoric languageappropriate to understanding the dependency characteristic of the Yogacara s ) ' s t em .
r3A. WaylrAN, "Yogdcdra and the Buddhist Logicians," The Journal of the Interrntional Association of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 2, No. l, 19j9, pp. 65-78. lll-arvtorrr , Sarytdhinirmocana Sutra, pp. 211-12. 15AsA\-cA, Viniicayasamgraha4i, PTT, 111:16-1. 16lbid., 111:75-4.

The\lirror asa Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-Simile

135

Passing to the numerous mirror sirniles of the Lahkat,atdrasutra, we observea greater interest in describing external objects than is noticed in Asanga'sschool. Now the mirror simileis employed in the problems of identity and otherness,and of error and nonerror. Despite its "mind-only" passages,the philosophical position of the Lankduatdra-sutra is shown by its mirror passages as only somewhat idealistic.l? Then there is the theory of the mind as a two-sided mirrorwhich the Buddhist tantra tradition has in common with Kashmir Saivism.l8 In this case, the phenomenal mind (ntanas), on one side, reflects with error the external world,, and the superior discriminating mind (buddhi), on the other side, reflects errorlessly because it is devoid of images. Along the same lines the Mahayana-SutrdlarTtkdra is cited: 'oAs in a broken water-pot the reflection of the moon cannot be seen,in the sameway to those that are evil the Buddha does not manifest himself."ls In the languageof the two-sidedmirror, the buddhi side of the mirror can represent the Buddha becauseit is devoid of competing irnages. The foregoing directly leads to the tantric ritual of rnirror washing preservedin Tibetan Buddhisrn. The meaning, of course, is washing the mind so it can properly reflect the divine world in the form of a deity's body. This is consistentwith the practice, enjoined by the tantric work vairam'ala, of contemplating the reflectedimage of the Lord ( == the icon) while washingthe mirror.20 For the rite in brief, Mkhas-grub-rje says.2r Thereupon he reflectsthe image in a mirror, if he can provide it, and gives an actual bath to the reflected,image. If he cannot provide it, such personsas the assistantto the offering or other personsmake the seal (mudra) of "washing the body,,, that is, form a level surface with the backs of their hands, so that the tops of the thumbs and the index fingers touch each rTTo establish this conclusion would requireconsiderable discussionbeyondthe scopeof the present article-includingthe comparison of the

Sanskritand Tibetan versions for certain important passages. l8see F.D. LrssrNc and A. wAyuAN, trans., Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentals of the BuddhlstTantras(The Hague, 1968),p. 210,n. rsMahayana-SutAlarykara, ed. Syr.varN LEvr (paris, 1907), 9:16. zovajramald (an explanatory tantra of the Guhyasamaja), prr, 3:223-2. 2llrssrNc and wavuAN, trans., Mkhasgrub rje's Fundamentals, p. lgl.

136

BuddhistInsight

other. He offers abath,while reciting, OM SARVADEVATA ACIN TYA-AM RTA SVAHA (Orn, the inconceivableambro sia of all the gods, svaha). A text by MafrjuSrimitra mentions five perfume drops on the mirror.22 The reason,as Gonsar Rimpoche of Upper Dharmsala (India) told me, is that the water for washing the icon is always perfumed water. Geshe Rabten, tutor to H.H. the Dalai Lama, explained that in the beginning they draw a square on the mirror to represent the bathing room. The flve perfumed drops are in each corner of the square and one in the middle. They signify the five Buddha families, becauseall Buddhas are included in one or another of those five. Or the five drops stand for the guru, the tutelary deity, the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, and the Protectors of the Faith. The rite in more developed form has been studied extensively by the late F. D. Lessing, who, however, published only one article on the subject.2s In his summary, he says: "An originally simple devotional act is interpreted symbolically as (a) purificatory, removing sins, both ritualistic and ethical, (b) mystical, conferring gifts, both temporal and spiritual, and (c) consecratory, communicating the three-fold gift of purification, illumination, and mystical union with the deity, as preparation for the attain'gifts of grace' (siddhi) and final beatitude." ment of B. TsB MnRoR SIMILE AND rHn MAoHYAMIKA ScHoor

The mirror simile is rare in Mddhyamika works but found in important contexts. The Madhyamika follows the Praifidpdra' mitd scriptures,which stressvoidness of dhqrmqs and give similes for it in lists, for example, all dharmasare like an illusion , a mirage, a dream, a city of gandharuas. Ndgdrjuna, in his Madhyamakakdrikd, has "like an illusion, like a dream, like a city of gandharuAS"; also, "resembling a mirage" and "like a phantom man and
2zMawruSnIMITRA, Arya-maftjuiri-namasaqngiti-cak;ur-vidhi-nama, PTT, 75:

t35-4.
23F.D. LESSING, "Structure and Meaning of the Rite Called the Bath of the Buddha according to Tibetan and Chinese Sources", in Studia Serica Bernhard Karlgren Dedicata (Copenhagen, 1959), pp. 159-71.

Metaphor-Simile TheMirror asa Pan-Buddhist

137

like a reflectionlpratibimbel."z+ Of these,"like a reflection" may mean as in a mirror, or as the one moon reflects in many waters. Whenever a list in a Mahayana scripture was long enough (as though aiming at completeness),it would normally include the "reflected image," but by and large these scriptures preferred to use the language "like an illusion, a mirage, adream." fn fimethe list grew to ten, as in the two largest Praifidpdramitd scriptures; and these ten similes, including the mirror one, are the occasion for lengthy commentary in the Mahdprajfidpdramitdidstra, chapAs I underter l1 (as availablein Lamotte's French translation).25 stand the matter, the longer lists are found in the later and larger Mahdyina scriptures. If for no other reason, I am loathe to agree with the Chinese tradition that attributes the immensely inr ajfidpdr amitdi dst r a to Ndgdrjuna. fluential M ahdp The mirror simile is of course more important when a whole sentenceor developed idea turns upon it than when it is simply one member in a stereotypedlist. The first case concerns one of the most argued points of early Buddhism-the question of what transfers from life to life, or the manner in which the fruit is ensured for the karma as cause. The Arya SattstambhaSutrq states:26o'Now, no dharma transfers from this world to the other world. Still, there is recognition of karma of causeand condition. For and fruit on account of the suffi.ciency is in example, the facial reflection seen a clean mirror, but the face does not transfer into the mirror. There is recognition of the face on account of the sufficiencyof causeand condition." Nagdrjuna, in his ,ialistambha-kdrika,writes: "Just as in a well-polished mirror the reflected image of the face is seen,and while the reflected image is in the mirror there is no transfer (to that place), in the same way, the birth manifestation, irrespective of the agent and deed which are mutually without discursive thought, comes in Along the same lines, sequence from the previous casting."" Ndgd:rjuna states in his Pratityasamutpddahrdaya-uydkarayta: 2aThese in his Early by the lateRichardH. Robinson werecollected similes (Madison, in IndiaandChina Wis.,1967). Madhyamika zsdusNur L.nrraottr,, (Louvain, Le Traitd de la GrandeVertu de Sagesse I:357-90. 1944), 26N. AryaswAMr Sutra (Madras: Adyar Snsrnr, ed., Arya Satistambha text,p. 16. Sanskrit Library,1950), 2?PTT, 103:270-3.

1 38

Insi ght B uddhi st

"Just as in the case of a flame from a flante, the reflectedimage in a mirror from a face, an impression from a seal, a fire from a burning crystal, a sprout from a seed...aperson is not taught to understand that the one is differentfrom the other, so also in the case of reconnection [pratisarytdhilof the personal aggregates fskandha],the wise person will understand that there is no transfer.2s Buddhaghosa has a consistent remark in his Vi.suddltimagga.2e The Prajfraparamitascriptural passages stressthat the reflected inrage has no discursive thought (uikalpa), as in the A5lasdhasrikd praj fidpdramitd (chap. 26) 7to lt is also this way, for example,Lord. It does not occur to a reflected image fpratibhasa] that "the support-object which produces the reflectedimage is close to me, but those that do not approach in the mirror or in the bowl of water are far from me." For what reason? Lord, because the reflected image has no discursivethought. In the same way, Lord, it does not occur to a Bodhisattva great being who is coursing in the Perfection of Insight that "the incomparable complete enlightenmentis close to me, but the stage of the disciple lirritakul and the stage of the self-enlightenedone fpratyelcais far from me." For rvhat reason? Lord, because bucidha) the Perfection of Insight has no discursivethought. possibleto associate with the previousones this passage It seerns about no transit of the personal aggregates. That is, it does not as a reflectedimage, "Back occur to the new personal aggregates there are the old personal aggregates," because the reflected imagehas no discursivethought, at leastnot about the old personal aggregates. But perhaps the most important use of the mirror similein later Madhyamika cornmentary, especially Candrakirtl's Madhyamalcduatdra, is its use to illustrate that the self has no character of its own. In this connection, the Ratnaklta scripture PitdputrazsPTT,103:271-4.
NANAvtott, trans., The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) (Colombo, 1956), p. 639. 30U. Woctnau, ed., AbhisamayalarykcTraloka Prajiiaparamifivyakb,a (Commentary) on Aslasahasrika-Prajfiaparamita): The ll'ork of Haribhadra, fasc. 7 (Tokyo, 1935),p. 841. 2eBnrrruu

T h e M i r r o r a . sa P a n - B L r d d h i s tV l e t a p h o r - S i m i l e

139

.\antdgomaIMeeting of father and son] ilro\/ides a lnuch-cited pa.tsage:3r "In the way that an inragc void of self-existence is seen in a very clean mirror, so Drurna, understand these ' rlharmas.' The passage llteans tli.at natures (dharma) arise dependently,devoid of self-existence (,ruabhtiua). Also Nirgarjuna statesin the Ratnduali:22 With recourse to a rnirror, one sees ttrereflected imageof one's face" but in reality this (reflection)is nothing at all. In the same way, with recoursc to the personal aggregates, the idea of self faharytkdra] is conceived,but in reality it is nothing at all, like the reflection of one's face. Without recourseto a nrirror, one does not see the reflected irnageof one'sface. Likelvise,ivithout recollrseto the personal aggregates, onc does not speak of a self. Having learned the nreaning this rvay, the noble Ananda gained the dharma-eye, and himself repeatedly spoke the same to the monks. Before proceeding furiher, it is well to summarize those Madhyamika usesof the rnirror simile. It is used to illustrate the all-important Bucldhist theory of nonself, both of personality (pudgala)and of natures (dharma). It heips to explain the thorny problem in Buddhisin, becauseof its nonself th.eory,of wirat, if anything, transfers from lif'e to life. I'here is an assist to the Buddhist dependent-origination theory, with the natures so arising doing so lvithout self-existence. /\nd sincs the face in the mirror has no opinions about tite person lool<ing in the mirror, this simile shows the rneaning of "no discursive thought," a terminology that is fiequent in Buddhist rvorks. Now we can evaluatea passage in the Mahaprajiidparamitdiastre's explanation of the mirror sirnile.ts3"The reflection in the mirror is not produced by the mirror fadaria], nor by the face lualctraf, nor by the holder of the mirror (adariadhara), nor by itself
srAs cited in Santideva's Siksasamuccaya, Vaidya ed. (Darbhanga, l96l), p . 1 3 9 . 1 7 - 1 8 ,i t i s i n p r o s e , b u t t h e T i b e t a n q u o t a t i o n s o f i t a r e i n v e r s e . 32As cited in candrakirti's commentary on the Madhyamaka-karika (chap. l8). See this chapter in translation, J. w. de Jong, cinq chapirres de la Prasannapada (Paris, 1949), p. 6. sslamotte, Le Trcrite, l:378, where the way of talking is traced back to the Selasutta of the Saryyutta-rtikdya, and to Nagdrjuna's Madhyamaka-karika 1.1.

140

Buddhist Insieht

of causesand condifsuatalt];but it does not exist in the absence tions fhetupratyayaf." In the explanation there, all the factorsmirror, face, and so on-are required. If one is lacking, the remainder cannot produce the reflection in the mirror. This is a use of the mirror simile not met with hitherto, although admittedly this is merely negative evidencefor denying the Indian authorship of this famous work of Chinese Buddhism. On the surface the passage seemsto be the way Ndgdrjuna writes in his Madhyamakakdrika 1, 1: "There is no entity anywhere that arisesfrom itself, from another, from both (itself and another), or by chance."se Besides,Nagdrjuna says in the Lokdtttastaua:s5 "The sophists claim that suffering is done by oneself, by another, by both, or by chance. But you teach that it arisesin dependence.That very thing which arisesin dependenceyou affirm as void. There is no entity self-dependent. Such is your incomparable lion's roar." But the author of the Chinese work goes on to say about the reflection in the mirror: "If it existedwithout causesand conditions, it would exist eternally. If it existedeternally, it would be produced even in the absence of the mirror and the face."36 This is a remarkablepieceof circular reasoning. According to Candrakirti's Prasannapadd (on chap. l), the reason is found in Ndgdrjuna's own Madltyamaka-kdrikd, chapter 8, especially verse 4: "If there were no cause [hetu], there would be neither effect nor instrument; in such a case,there would be no deed, agent, or way of effecting." Therefore, if the author of the Mahaprajfidpdramitdidstra had been Nagdrjuna, as the legend claims, we would have expectedhim to explain: If what you call a reflection existed without causesand conditions, it would not be an "effect," and therefore would not be a "reflection" of something. Moreover, there are the mirror verses of ChineseCh'an Buddhism. According to the legend, at the time of the Fifth Patriarch the head monk Shen-hsiu wrote a verseto establishhis credentials:
3aL. or L.q Varrie PousslN, ed., Prasannapada de Candraktrti, Commentatre BibliothecaBuddhica,vol. 4 (SaintPetersburg, p. 12. 1903-13), 35L. oe L.q Vanfs PoussrN,"Les quatre odes de Nagdrju na," Musdon 3l-32 (1913): 13-14,cites for theseverses(Lokattta-staya,19-20)the Sanskrit for the first one in candrakfuti's Prasannapadaand for the second one in B odhi cary avat ar apafiji k a. solamotte. Le Traitd.I :378.

The Mirror asa Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-simile The body is the Bodhi tree, The mind is like a clear mirror, At all times we must strive to polish it, And must not let the dust collect.sT

l4l

We observe at once that this is the tradition going back to early Buddhism, where the mind is intrinsically pure but coveredwith adventitious defilements, here the 66dss["-4 view favoring the metaphorical mirror as the mind, a metaphor pushed by the Lankduatdra school. However, a boy (Hui-neng) who in the legend becamethe Sixth Patriarch wrote his verse: Bodhi originally has no tree, The mirror also has no stand, Buddha nature is always clean and pure; Where is there room for dust?38 This is the switch to the Prajfrdparamiti language. Notice even that the mirror has no stand, recalling the argument in the Prajfidpdramitdidstra that if the holder of the mirror is missing, then there is no reflection in the mirror. But also in the Tunhuang version it is consistentwith the theory of the two-sided mirror, with the bttddhi-side capable of reflecting errorlessly becauseit has no image in it. The Mddhyamika employment of the mirror simile is continued in tantric ritual, in particular in the Mirror Initiation of the Akpobhya Guhyasamaja-tantratradition;but here we notice that the former theory of the deity appearing in the pure mind-the metaphorical mirror-is also involved. This is an extract from a commentary by the Tibetan author Tson-kha-pa:sg Having had his eye opened in that manner, (the disciple) should look upon all dharmas as reflected images. So (the disciple) may accomplish this, he (the guru) shows a mirror incanted with an AH, and recites: All dltarmqs are like reflected images, clear and pure, withsTTranslation by P. B. Yampolsky, The Platform SutraoftheSixthPatriarch (New York, 1967), p. 130. ssTranslation p. 1.32. by Yampolsky, seThe in A.Wayman, fullerform of thisbriefritualis translated The Buddhist (New York, 1973),pp. 68-70. Esotericism Tantras:Light on Indo-Tibetan

142

'.

Buclclhist Insight

out turbulence:ungraspable, inexpressible. truly arisen from causoand action lhetu and, karnia]. Just like vajrasattvaon a mirror that is clear, pure, without turbulence;so also rhe Buddhas,uni.,rersal lords, themselves abide in the heart o1'thee, lny son. Noiv that you have so understood the dltarmasas without intrinsic nature and lvithout location, may you perf,ormincomparably tlie aim of sentientbeings so they may be born as sonsof the protectors ! Tsori-kh.a-pa goes on to explain: "Tl^,ose verses enjoin (the <lisciple) to understandin generalthat all dharma.s are like a reflected image, and in particular that the Vajrasattva dlvelling in one,s heart is like a reflectedimase in a rnirror." C. Tss PnporcrrvE MrRRon In my article on the rnirror-likeknorvledge, I discussed a passage found in the Pali scriptLrre Parinibbuna-silftct;ao "-fherefore, Ananda. in this u'orld I u ill reveal the rcirresentation of the lalv called 'mirror of the l;111r.' possessed of rvliich zr noble disciple p lanningu' oilld p re d i c tfo r s e l l ' o r s e l v e s',w i th no more soj ourns i n hell, no m or e a n i m a l b i rth .n o mo rere a l mo f the hungryghosts, no more disaster.evil destiny, ruin-f have enteredthe strearl, not liable to purgatory, assured, proceeding towards enlightenment.' " The mirror of the law is explainedin that pali context as the four kinds of "faith with understanding" (auecca-pasdda, s. auetya-prasoda). The passagescarcelydisguises what must have beena current practicein India of using mirrors for divination. It also clearly sl-lorvs holv Buddhisrntakes prestigior-is or irnposing symbolsof secular life and transformsthcur into religioussymbols. In my previousstudy on mirrors of ladies,I have alluded to the use of a girl for mirror divination according to the writings of Naropa connectedwith the Krilacakra cult.al srojkowitz shorvs that in Tibet a boy wasutilizedfor the purpose.az In old Buddhist literaturethe divining personcould be referredto as "mirror-face". 4oW,q,vvnN, "The Mirror-like p. 359. Knowledge,', 41WayuaN, "A Jottingon the Mirror," pp.2ll-lZ. 42R.nr Nneesrv-woJKowrrz., oracles andDemons of Tibet (The Hague, t956),p. 463,

The Mirror as a Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-Simile

143

In Pili there is a Jataka (previous-birthstory of tfte Buddha), which has a Sanskritcounterpart, "Story of King Mirror-Face,"43 "Story of King Adar6amukha."aa This also appearsto be the "Just as meaning of the verse in the Sacldharntapun/arika.'45 an irlage on the surfaceof a mirror, so also the world is one SeeS no other beings.Just theseare seen on his body. Self-born,he sees the forms on his pure body." The hint is in tire line, "Self-born, he seesno other beings." This points to tfie denial of ordinary that one'sown in variouspassages the stress vision and agrees.,vith that lnirrored face is face must disappearfrom the rnirror, because the projection of phenornenalillusions r.vhich"dirty" the mirror' And when the face is no longer reflected, it becomesitself the reflector,"so also the world is seenon ilis body." The disappearance of the face is irnplied by the terrninology of the void mirror. Presumably one must void his olvu face, and then the mirror will be ciear to reflect other images which the hierophant will then interpret. This magical use of the mirror agreeswith the description of the mirror-like knowledge as being free from configuration (dkara) and so able to reflect all forms.a6 Now, to eliminate the face from the mirror requires that a person appreciatethe value of so doing. This was alluded to in the Mahiyana Nirvaqa Sutra as cited in The Kyogyoshinsho:47 "O Great King! This is like a ntan who takes up a ntirror and seesin it his orvn self. The ignorant r,vill think this is the true face, while the wise u'ill see through and knou' this is not so." But the realizationthat the usual face is not the true one does not in itself remove the false face.a8Then horv is one to avoid seeing one's face in the mirror? This is of courseeasierwith the Asian mirrors that are somewhat duller than our modern ones. How43H.T. FnauctsandE. J. THonaas, 1957), ed.(Bornbay, JatakaTales,lndia pp. 120-28. aaSee 1947),3,pt. 1:l l4-15, where N. Dutt, GilgitManuscripts(Srinagar, of the Mtrlasarvastivdda-Vinaya. the story is part of the Bhaigajya-vastu 45U. WocnraRl and C. TsucHtol, eds., Saddharmapu?Sariku-sutrant (Tokyo, 1936), chap. 18, verse62. 46WnyuaN, "The Mirror-like Knowledge,"p. 356. 4?Kosuo Yauauoro, trans., The Kyogyoshinsho (Tokyo, 1958), p. 153. asSee "significance of Dreams in India and Tibet," History of A. Wavtt^nw, Religions7 (August 1967):9. See chapter2l,

144

Insight Buddhist

ever, the practice may be what is shown in Maitripada's Mahdmudrdsiddhdntopadei a : as First one worships the tutelary deity and goes through the sevenfold rite. Then he gazes at his reflected image in the mirror in front. The constructed colored features of the face are void of entity. The face of the reflected image looks hither; his own face looks thither. Becausethere is no disagreement of mindfulness, the genuine face is (also) void of entity. According as he manages not to be attached, the appearance of the reflected image is his own mind. He contemplates the color of his mind, for example, the manifestation of lust, thinking it to be void. He contemplateshis mind to be a reflected image, and the appearanceof body to be his own mind. Body and mind are like reflected images. Denying a person that way, he has become free from attachment by gazing at the reflected image in a mirror. In this process of transferring the mirror to his own face which is genuine, the yogin divests the objective mirror of the false face and replacesit with the colors of his mind, which will be referred to below as the "karma-mirror." So this voiding of the false face is a kind of symbolic death. The disappearance of the face is also an omen of actual death according to the Sambarodaya-tantra.s0 The visions which can then appear on the mirror of the mind are properly on what is ' called the "karma-mirror,' depicted in judgment scenesin Asian art.51 Charles Luk translatesin theSurangama Siltra: "The two habits from karma and disputation end in the exposure (of sins); for the mirror and lamp reveal former karmic deeds for (final) judgmenl."sz This might be the same passage alternately trans4gPTT, 87:162. 50PTT, p.212. vol.2, chap.19of theSambarodaya-tantra, sUudgment in TheAncient scenes with largekarma-minors are depicted (Kyoto: Hozokan, 1962), BuddhistArts in CentralAsia ond Tun-Huang pl. 504, A and B. According introduction in a monograph to the English of the Shih-Wang-Shngthereinby YushoTokushi,"PaintedManuscripts these arepart of the pictures of theten kingsfoundat the Caves Ts'i-Ching," Tun-huang. They belongto the late T'ang, tenth of Thousand-Buddhas, century. s2CnaRrEs p. 182. This work Lvx, TheSurarigama Sfrtra(London,1966), not beconfused with the composition andshould a nativeChinese is probably

The Mirror as a Pan-BuddhistMetaphor-simile

145

lated: "There is a mirror reflecting a glaring,cand.le. In the daytime it is not able to store the image - the mirror of karma and. the jewel of a fire, reveal the stored karmaandmake various affairs experienced."ss The karma-mirror is mentioned in a native Tibetan sddhana of Yama (lord of the dead) where four fearful goddesses, called "mothers of worldly existence',(Tib. srid pa,i ma mo) each hold the karma-mirror in their right hands along with the sack of diseases, the destructive ball of thread, and the notched board of the Maras, and in their left hands hold a pair of dice.ba one mirror in art representationsthat is difficult to explain is that depicted as held by the dancing musicians in paradise, for representationsof which one may consult Stein's work.br Now, it is not impossible that these representations are of the shaman in his mystic flights, who in his frenzy can give prophecy. Also, in the veda the gandharua was a musician in the intermediate space, but later on in Buddhism the gandharua became the being in ttre intermediate state (antardbhaua) between death and rebirth. If the beings depicted in those representations can be construed as gandharuas,the suggestionis that the mirror reflects the being's future destiny, which was decreed by the karma-mirror. More particularly about the predictive mirror itself, the theory that the prognostic descendsinto the divinatory mirror is already in the Pdli scriptwe Digha-nikaya l, which twice has the expression dddsa-pafihaan (questions put to the mirror), on which the commentary states: "adase devatan otaretvd pafiha-pucchenan.,'56 Here, otaretua means "having brought down," so "having brought the deity down into the mirror, (then) to ask guestions."az
Surartgamasamadhisutra of Indian origin, which E. Lamotte has translated under the title La concentration de la Marche Hdroique (Brussels1965). 53Asa Columbia University student,Shinjo Kawasakihastranslated forme, from the same Silrafigamatext in the chinese Buddhist canon, the Taisho Tripitaka, vol. 19, 144a. sasgrub thabs kun btus (Dehra Dun, 1970).vol. Ta (9), fol. 623,lines 3-4. Also, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz (n. 42 above), pp. g4-g5. 55R. A. sruN, Recherchessur I'dpopdeet le barde au Tibet (paris, lgsg), p p .3 2 6 , 3 3 6 , 3 4 9 ,l .2 , 3 7 2 - 7 5 . p 56See s.v. "eddsa" jn The pali rext society's pali-English Dictionary, ed,. T.w. Rhys Davids and william stede, reprint ed. (London,7952), p. gg. 6?Ascited in wavuaN, "A Jotting on the Mirror," p.2|2,N6ro-pdextends the items that can servethe samepurpose: "the entranceof the prognostic is said to be in the unreal mirror, sword, thumb, lamp, moon, sun, water, pot,

146

BuddhistInsight

Besides,I have studied chapter 23 of the Laghu-tantra of Saryvara, along with Tson-kha-pa's commentary. In this chapter there is difficult mystical language associated with the spirits- called (dkinis. The questionsare put to mirrors, which are apparently one's own consciousness. There are three mentioned: (1) in its own house,like q uaira along with a mirror; (2) like a sword along with a mirror; (3) like a banner and like a javelin with a closedmouth (double) mirror.58 As to where in the body itself would be located a divination mirror, there is a suggestionthat it is in the heart, becausethe native Tibetan deity Zhang Blon has a mirror for his heart. The Tibetan author Bu-ston also has a phrase,"mirror and mirror-like in the heart."5e I have been told that the Tibetan oraclesalways wear a mirror on their chest to show their ability to capture any desired information; and that when deities are shown by their apparel only, a mirror is regularly placed in the position of the heart. Sometimes the syllable HR is put on the mirror-the syllable itself probably an abbreviation of hrdaya (heart).60 Presumably this heart mirror is intended in a work on the Buddhist goddess Ndro-pdkini in which I found mention of a red twosided mirror rvhich has the capacity to display brightly all the chiliocosm, becauseon one side are the five "strands of desire" (the senseobjects) and on the other side, the inner forms such as the "beautiful form" (one of the six allotments of the Lord, Bhagavat).61 Of course,this is an extensionof the two-sidedmirror with manas reflecting the phenomenal world and buddhi as the upper or inward side that displays such knowledges as the supernormal faculties. A divination mirror is especially indicated in Tibetan iconography by accompanying arrow and silk streamer.62 For
Tt* word "thumb" refers to the thumbnail, according to advice "t "yt" given me in Calcuttain 1970. 58Tson-xna-pA's commentary called "Sbas pa'i don kun gsal ba," PTT, 157: 49-50. seTheCollected Ll/orksof Bu-ston, reprinted. (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1969),vol. 15, no. 66. 60Conversation with Gonsar Rimpoche, in Dharmasala, 1970. 61TheDpal nd-ro mkha' spyod dbari mo'i lam rim pa gfiis kyi zab khrid ji ltar nospa'i zin bris iin tu gsanba gnasmkha''gro'i sfrinbcud(paper),fols. 40b-41a. 6zln Tibetan: mda' dar me lori.

TheMirror asa Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-Simile

147

example, the Tibetan Earth Goddess, Sa'i-ll1a-rno brtan-ma, has such a divination mirror in her right hand. This is presumably also the meaningof the mirror held by Manene, the goddessof the Tibetan epic Gesar of Ling, who was continr,rallymaking propheciesto the hero Gesar.63 The chief tantric deitiesdo not cafiy a mirror. Hence, tlr.ereis the suggestionthat when a deity does hold a mirror there is a divination cult associated with that deity. In illustration, the deity Kalacakra is depictedas holding a mirror among the objectsheld by four white hands among his left hands, and in his retinue Amitdbha holds a mirror in one of his left hands.6a But we have previously observedin a commentary by Ndrcpa that the Kalacakra has precisely such a divination subcult. After those theoretical considerations, it may be useful to give an actual ritual which concerns evocation of the white Tard to obtain an omen, which I now translate from a native Tibetan sadhana:65 Homage to the gurus. As to the precept of having an omen arise in irnmediacy: Previously one has well performed in one session therealizationin contemplation of one's tutelary deity. In that state, one has generatedhimself into the momentary reproduction of the White Tara. He imagines a white TAM on the center of the opened lotus of his heart, and from that syllable ablazing light which completelyfills the empty interior of his body. He setsfour silver mirrors in the four directions of the TAM syllable. Reciting A-NU-TA-RA he imagines it [i.e., its four syllables]like a reflectedimage in the sequence of the four mirrors of East, South, West, and North. With rays emanated from that TA\4 he invites Tari from the Akanirtha heaven and he reabsorbs them. Three times he prays that the omen may arise in immediacy. Then he imagines that whatever be his own aim is a white TAM, that from it rays emanate which perform the
GsArnxaNoRaDavro-Nen and L,lrrla yoNGonN, The superhuman Lfe of Gesarof Ling (New York, 1934),p. 132: "in one hand she held a bow, in the other a mirror." oaAccording to the Kilacakra maodalain B. Bhattacharyya,ed,., Ni;pannayogdvali cf Mahapapdita Abhaydkaragupta(Baroda, 1949). tsSgrubthabskun btus vol. Ga (3), fols. 438-39.

148

Insight Buddhist

aim of all beings of the kingdom, and in particular perform all of one's own aim; and imagines that then the rays of this TAM becomelike a meteor which penetrates the middle of his forehead. With fierce craving of imploring the siddhi [rnagical successl, he imaginesthat he swallowsthis TAM and that it is absorbed into the TAM of his heart; and imagines that his desired thing doubtlessarisesas a dream. Then he goes into deep sleep with the resting posture of the lion [i.e., on his right sidel.. . (Later) he prepares a thanksgiving offering66 to the venerableGoddess. It is plain that the above rite is tantamount to a yoga state of dream, in which the four silver mirrors become the basis of the prophetic vision, or omen. Combining this with our previous indications, the rite should be preceded by a kind of symbolic death, ayoga state of dreamless sleep,sincethe diviner has voided the phenomenal dream of his face in the mirror.

CoNcruorNc Rnuanrs After the foregoing sampling of the numerous mirror passagesof Buddhist literature, I suppose it would not be possible to find another Buddhist metaphor-simileso enduring throughthe vicissitudes of religious history, and so revelatory of Buddhist attitudes or instructive on how the educated Buddhist would structure his argumentson crucial issuesof his religion and associated philosophies with a metaphor-simile. Even so, these mirror studies are not the most fascinating of study topics, because-I may venture to suggest-the mirror is a static image. And there are sounds to hear, for which a mirror fails. Besides,such a study as I have made tends to place the mirror metaphor in a tiresome role. After all, in their natural habitat these metaphors occur in a spread-out, occasional manner. It perhaps violates their metaphorical integrity to bunch them, jostling their relatives, each of whom would prefer the other to have stayed in his own book !

'oMiscellaneous 68See F. D. Lpsstuc, Lamaist Notes. I. Notes on theThanksgivingOffering,"Central 2, no. 1 (1956):58-71. AsiaticJournal

The \4irrorasa Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-simile ApprNorx Tirn PnnrNA-MnnoR : DoESrr HAVE AN INDTAN OnrcrN walter Liebenthal rendered great serviceto students of Chinese Buddhism and Buddhism generally by his translation, first published in 1948, The Book of chao; and years later, by his revision of the same,published in 1968,chao Lun: The Treatises of sengchao.67 Seng-chao was a youthful discipleof the famous Kumarajiva in A.D. 401. His wonderful work has many obscure statements about prajfia and some in particular about prajfid as a dark mirror. It is usually taken for granted that there is non-Buddhist influence on seng-chao. can this mysteriousprajfid-mirror be traced to Indian Buddhism? Near the end of his Madhyamakduatdrq, candrakirti employs the mirror simile in the senseof simultaneous appearanceof all parts, to show the nature of enlightenment, as well as to show the appearanceof a divine body. In Tson-kha-pa's commentary (the part on the Tenth Stage of the Bodhisattva) the commentarial sentence is as follows.Gs "This Sarpbhogakaya revealsitself only to the attainers of the state [i.e., the Bodhisattva of the Tenth Bodlrisattva Stagel who have the mind of enlightenment [bodhicittal free from proliferating imagination [prapafica] and have gained the immaculate mirror of prajfrdfrom their own two collections [of merit and knowledge]; and it does not reveal itself concretely to the ordinary persons [prthagjana] attended with proliferating imagination." Passing to the Lankduatdra-sutra, the equivalent language is the mirror wherein the reflections of all forms are seen simultaneously (yugapat) and free from discursive thought (uikalpa).6s rhis Lsnkduqtdra passagealso speaksof the Niqyanda-Buddha associatedwith the Akaniqtha mansion, which is obviously this scripture's equivalent to the sambhogak[ya of other texts. Earlier in his Madhyamakiiuatdrq (self-commentary,) candra67The 1948 publication was Monograph 13 of Monumentd serica (Catholic University of Peking); the 1968 one was published by Hong Kong University Press. 68TsoN-rura-pA's commentary called "Dgons pa rab gsal,,' pTT, 154: 105-4. 6sThe Lankdvatdra Sutra, ed. Bunyiu Nanjio (Kyoto, 1956), 55, 1g.

/tsOa

Insight Buddhist

\-/' kirti (on 6, 174-75) speaks of purifying the face of proiiid from nescience(auidya).70 Now Seng-chao writes (Chao-lun,p. 54): "A perfect void where (and decays)such is, perchance,the transcendent nothing grows realm as it shows in the dark mirror of Prajfla." Again (p. 67): "Prajfla reflects what is totally concealed, Yet does so rvithout cognition." Indeed, except for the word "dark" applied to the mirror, these statements agree perfectly with the fbregoing materials from the Mddhyamika tradition of Candrakirti and the Tibetan commentary by Tson-kha-pa, and with the Yogdcdra tradition of the Lankduatdra-sutra, although these particular works were not available to Seng-chao.7l But as a disciple of Kumdrajiva, Seng-chaoshould have had accessto, and would have consulted eagerly, the encyclopedic Buddhist work, the Mahaprajridpdramitdidstra, which Kumdrajiva is credited with having rendered into Chinese; and Seng-chao should have had a number of other Buddhist works already translated accessible into his language. Seng-chao's "perfect void" and "without cognition" afe the equivalent for the statementsin those other works "boclhicitta free from proliferating imagination" and "free 'fhe closest an Indian work comes from discursive thought." (prainapdramita) a mirror is Insight of Perfection this calling to perhaps Candrakifii's praifia-face, although we are reminded of the mirror-face of the Pdli Jdtakas. It does seem, therefore, that the terminology "dark mirror of praifra" originated in China, while the state to which this terminology applies may have already been described in the Buddhist literature of Indian origin that was available to Seng-chao. That is, for lack of Indian Buddhist texts using this terminology,it may bepresumed that Tson-kha-fibetan Buddhism pa's term "projfid-mirror" derives from earlier that was influenced in this matter by ChineseBuddhism. author Klkai seems On the other hand, the celebrateo Japanese not to have received or adopted this dark mirror terminology, for passage Lam ?0According in Tson-kha-pa's to the citationof Candrakirti's
rim chen mo, namely in the vipasyana (discerning the real) section in my MS translation , Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real (Columbia University, New York, (1978). TrIn particular, Gu4abhadra translated the Lankavatara into Chinese some years after Seng-chao's passing.

The Mirror as a Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-simile

rsl

he writes in the safite context of the Buddha's enlightenment wisdom: "Just as all the forms are reflectedin a clean mirror on a high stand, so it is with the Tathagata's Mind-mirror. The clean mirror of Mind hangs high on the top of Dharmadhatu, being sereneand shining on all without perversion or mistake. What Buddha does not possess such a clean mirror?"?2

?zH.Inagaki,"Kukai's Sokushin-Jobutsu-Gi (Principle of Attaining Buddhahood with the PresentBody)," Asia Major n.s. 17 (1971-72):215.

THE BUDDHIST THEORY OF VISION

The Buddhist treatment of vision, especiallyin terms of eyes, whether meant concretely or metaphorically, is among the most important topics of Buddhist thought from its inception to the present. The stress begins with the first sermon of Buddhism. while the present essayis relatively brief, it is possible to present here the main ideas by means of trenchant passages chosen from a wide variety of sources. I. THE Elnly THEony op Vlsrox aNo CoNsrsrENT Trxrs It is well known that every version of the first sermon, "setting into Motion the wheel of the Law", has the Buddha's explanation that when he oriented his mind to each of the four Noble Truths, a series of experiences occurred beginning traditionally with the expressions o'knowledge arose, vision arose" eali fidrya and cakkhu, Sanskrit jfidna and caksus). The same point is made in other sermons with the expression 'oknowledge and vision" (p. fidqtadassana,Skt. jfidnadariana). A most important passage occrurs in the Ahguttara-Nikdya (Book of Eights, "At Gaya"): 'oMonks, before my awakening, when being a bodhisattuaI was not completely enlightened, I conceived (mystic) manifestations (obhdsa)but did not see(mystic) forms (rupa). Monks, it occurred to me, 'If Iwere both to conceive(mystic)manifestations andto see

154

BuddhistInsight

(mystic) forms, in that caseknowledge and vision would be better purified in me'." It is quite clear that "knorvledge" is going with the conception (saiirid) of manifestations and that "vision" is going with the seeingof forms. The copulative interpretation of the cornpoundiidnadassana is continued down the centuries to the commentary Arya-Daiabhftmiuydkhydna,attributed to vasubandhu in the Tibetan canon (Tohoku Cat. No. 3998), where (Derge ed., Mdo ltgrel, jvi, f. l77a-6. ff.) we read: "Four of the supernormalfaculties (abhiiiid) are categafizedby knowledge (jfidna),the fifth is categorized by vision (dariana). The one supernormalfaculty of magical ability Qddhi) purifies the actions of body. The supernormalfacultiesof both divine hearing and knowing the make-up of others' minds purifies the actions of speech. The supernormalfaculties of both the memory of former lives and the (knowledge of) passin g away and rebirth purifies the actions of mind". (/mnon par 6es pa rnams lasbii ni sespas rab tuphye bairo/Lna pa ni mthon bas rab tu phye baho / rdzuhphrul rhnon par sespa gcig gis ni / lus kyi las yons su dag go / lhahi rna ba dah/ pha rol gyi sems ses pahi mnon par Ses pa gfriskyis ninag gi las yons sir dag go/ snon gyi gnas rjes su dran pa dan/ hehi hpho dan/ skye ba mnon par Sespa giiis kyis ni yid kyi las yons su dag go /). This interesting passage agreeswith rvhat is well established, namely that the fifth supernormalfaculty, the knowledge of passing away and rebirth, is otherwisecalled the "divine eye" (dibba-cakkhu, diuya-caksus) and so constitutesthe categoryof "vision". The passage furthermore groups this ability with the memory of past lives, suggesting that this memory is an inward-directedknowledgewhile the divine eyeis an associated faculty that is directedoutwards in the lnanner of an eye. The emphasison vision was continued in other kinds of terminology: "he who seesthe Dhamma sees me, and he r,vho sees me seesthe Dhamma" (S. iii. 120;It.9l; Mil. 73).r The Mahayana equivalent to this is found in many places, for example in the Bodhisattua-pitraka, part of the Ratnakflta collection:z
lANaNoa K. CoouaRASwAMy and I. B. HonNrn, Gotama The Buddha ( L o n d o n ,1 9 4 8 ) p , .23. zThe passage occursin Tibetan in Photo ed., Vol. 23, p. 19-5;and I have included the translation in my "Buddhism", Historia Religionum yol. 2 Brill, Leiden, l97l).

TheBuddhist Theory of Vision

155

Whatever is the meaning of Dependent Origination, is the meaning of Dharn-ra;whatever is the meaning of Dharma, is the rneaning of Tathagata. Therefore, whoever seesDependent Origination, seesDharma; whoever seesDharma, sees the Tathdgata. Also, seeing that way, and accordingly fully understandingin the senseof Thusness,still one seesscarcely anything. What is that 'oscarcely anything"? It is the Signlessand the Non-apprehension;the one who sees in the manner of Signlessand Non-apprehension,seesrightly. Besides,the third Noble Truth, of Cessation (nirodha), must be realized directly (sdkgdt, "before the eyes") according to the ancient Buddhist prescription. Thus, niruanain its oldest sense is attained when it is seen;and it is seen,accordingto the suggestion of our next section, by the o'eye" of insight (pafifid,prajfia).8 lI. TsB TuRan Eyss AND rHE Frve Eyrs The three eyesare well-known in Pdli literature as the eye of flesh (marysacakkhu), the divine eye(dibbacakkhu),and the eyeof insight (paiiiiacakkhu). Falk has discussed these eyes in terms of the bodies rvhich they respectivelysee. The eye of flesh sees the rupa-personality, the divine eye sees the manomayakdya ("body made of mind"), and the eye of insight "sees" Nirvdla. She understandsfrom her study of Pali literature that theseeyes constitute the successive spheresor fruits of the Buddhist ascension treated in the three instructions, respectivelyof morality (sila), meditatiot (samddhi), and insight (paiind).a The five eyesare an expansion in Mahdydna Sanskrit works of diuya-, and prajfra-cak;us). The two the original three (marytsa-, that are added are the eye of dharma and the Buddha eye. Having collecteda number of passages on the group of five, I have noticed that some lists have the "eye of knowledge" (jfiana-caksus) as a substitutionfor the "eye of clharnma."s In fact, thesebooks took s"Contributions to the Mddhyamikaschool of Buddhism",in Journal
of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 89.1. The same doctrine about Nirvaqa being of utmost imporiance for understanding Nagarjuna's position is held here. 4Manyra, FAtr, Nama-Rupa and Dharma-Rupa (University of Calcutta, 1943),pp. 114-115. olndrabhUti's commentary on the SrFSarppulatilaka-tantra, Derge Tanjur,

156

Buddhist Insight

the "eye of insight" and added the "eye of dharma" and "Buddha eye" to make a Mahiydna set of three eyes. Thus vasubandhu's commentary on the Ak;ayamatinirdeia-sutra (Derge Tanjur, Mdo lrgrel, Ci, l5b-6, tr) states: "The three eyes are .eye of dharma,' 'eye of insight,' and ,'eye of Buddha',' (f spyan gsum ni chos kyi spyan dan/ 6esrab kyi spyan dah / sans rgyas kyi spyan no/). Kamalasila's commentary on the vojracchedikd (Tohoku No. 3817,Derge Tanjur, Sesphyin, Vol. Ma,25la-2,ff.)also sets asidethesethree eyes,defining them as follows: "He has the 'eye of insight' toward the object which is the selflessness of person and nature (pudgala-and dharma-nairdtmya). The 'eye of dharma' is toward the realm of dharma alone in the conventional sensewhen there is the appearanceonly of dharmawhile personality (pudgala) is void, there being no personality (in view). The omniscience concerningall forms of the knowable is calledthe'eye of Buddha'." (lean zag dan chos la bdag med pahi yul la ni Sesrab kyi spyan mnaho/kun rdzob tu chos tsam du snan ba iid de gan zag ni ma yin na zes gan zag sroir ste/ chos tsam gyi yul la chos kyi spyan no / sesbya thams cad rnam pa thams cad du mkhyen pa ni sans rgyas kyi spyan Lesbya ste/). A complete explanation of the five eyes from the yogdcdra standpoint is in Sthiramati's commentary on the Mahdydnasutrdlarykdra (Bodhipakqya chapter) from which the essentials are given here:6 (a) The eye of flesh seesforms in present time. (b) The divine eye is of two kinds, both seeing forms in past and future: (1) that born of past action (karma), the eye of the gods; and (2) that born of contemplation (bhauand) in the samddhi of a yogin, and which seesthe sentient beingspassing away from here and going to various destinies in accordance with past actions. (c) The eye of insight is the non-discursive knowledge which understands the individual and the general characteristic of the dharmas,seeingthem in the absolute sense (paramdrthatas). (d) The eye of dharma understands without impediment all
Rgyud lrgrel, Ga, 75b-6, ff., states the five eyes as eye of flesh, divine eye, eye of insight, knowledge eye, and eye of Buddha, thus omitting the eye of dharma and having in its place the knowledge eye. 6I have included this summary in my "Buddhism", Historia Religionum.

The BuddhistTheory of Vision

157

the scripture, understandsthe stream of consciousness of persons in the senseof discriminating whether it is an ordinary person,or one of the eight classes of disciples(on the four paths or in the fruits of the four paths), or a Bodhisattva and if so then on which of the ten Bodhisattva Stages; and seeing the dharmas in the conventional sense(sarpurtitas). (e) The eye of a Buddha understands all dharmas, whether with or rvithout flux, whether constructed or unconstructed; and realizes directly every knowable field; understands the state of Arhat ensuing from the "diamond-like samddhi" and the freedom frorn fluxes of the Tathdgatas. It can be observedin Sthiramati's treatment that all three of the eyes which have been grouped above as a Mahayana set, turn out to be concerned with dharma or dharmas. Furthermore, the eyesof insight atd dharma can be grouped together as constituting two levels of "discriminative knowledge" (pratyaueknamely in the absolute and in the conventional sense. saryd-iiidna), Since Mahdydna scriptures insist that in the absolute sense the natures (dharma) neither arise nor pass away, rro prophecy can be made for them, and so the eye of insight is not prophetic. On the other hand, those scripturesassertthat in a conventional sense, those dharmas arise void of self-existence (suabhdua). Since they "arise" a prophecy can be made for them.? Asanga, in his Yogdcdrabhumi-uiniicayasanxgrahant (Derge Tanjur, Sems tsam, Yol. Zi, f. 56b-7, ff.) compares the "divine eye" with the "eye of insight" and explains that the "divine eye" seesall visible forms (nidariana-rupa), rvhile the "eye of insight" ranges in all forms, namely visible and invisible, whether obstructing or non-obstructing. "All visible forms" includes (cf. Abhidharma-koia, III, l4a-b) the forms of beings in the intermediate state (antardbhaua),presumably becausethose beings also have a "visible form" of a sort, ordinarily visible only to beings of the same class. Tson-kha-pa, in his Don gsal commentary on the (Lhasa ed., Vol. Cha, f. 23b-1, ff.), basing his Gultyasomdja-tantra remarks also on Asanga's Yogacdrabhilmi,explains that with the "divine eye" one sees the six classesof "passion gods" in the ?These remarksabout prophecystem from the Pitaputrasamdgama-sfitra (chapter on the Tutita gods), asreadin the Tibetan version.

Buddhist Insight

"realm of desire" (kama-dhdtu),andall other beingsin the "realm of desire,"includingthe sixteenhells. Follorving up the previous remark by tralk that the divine eye seesthe nnttoma.r-akd.y'a, it is worthwhile to inquire what would be this manomayql(71y, among the three given a prominent place in the Lariliduottirq-st1tra. I have sumrnarized this S[tra's treatment of that kind of body in rny "studies in yama and Mara". IncloIranian Journal, III:2 (1959), p. l19: The sanskrit text (136-7,f.) setsforth three manomaya-lrdya: (l) the mental body rvith stabilization in the pleasure of samddhi (samddhisukhasamdpatti-manomaya); (2) the mental body which completelycomprehends the intrinsicn ature of the dharmas (dharmasuabhduduabodha-manomaya) ; (3) the mental body which performs the instigations natural to its class (nikdvasahajasarytskdrakriya-manomaya). The commentary by Jfrdnavajra shovrs that the first of these, prevalent up through the Seventh Bodhisattva stage, does not involve transmutation of the basis (dirayapardurtti) of the eightfold set of perceptions (uijiiana). The second is prevarent on the Eighth or Superior Stage of the Bodhisattva; and.here, with a body comparable to that (of the Buddhas) one proceedsto all the Buddha Realms.

In the Abhidharma-koia, rlr,4ac-41a, the being of antardbhaua is called manomaya,sambhauei;in, and Gandharva. This particular manomaya appearc to be the first of the Lankduqtdra-siltra set. It would be the one treated by Paravahera vajirafld4a as the one of the Digha Nikaya i, 77, which the meditating monk draws from his own body with identical form.8 Hence,this would be the manoma))a-kayawhich is seen by the divine eye. Since the second manoma))a-kaya of the Lankduatdra-stTtracomprehends the intrinsic nature of the dltarmas,this would include both the "eye of insight" and the "eye of dharma" as metaphoricaleyes. The third manoma),a-kayawould involve the Buddha eye. This eyeof a Buddha is mentionedin a famous passage in the saryyuttaIt{ikdya,vol. I (the Brahma suttas), beginning, "Then the Exalted one, understandingBrahma's entreaty,because of his compassion
sP,rn,qvanpnn varmaiiiANA ManATHERA, Buddhist Meditation (Colombo, 1962), p. 440. in Theory and

Practice

The Buddhist Theorv of Vision

159

with a,Buddha'sEye over toward all sentientbeings,looked dor,vn the world...." This shows that the original conception of a "Buddha's eye" is the eyewith which a tsuddhalooks at the lvorld aiter his attainment of CornpieteEnlightenrnent. Then the question arisesof whcther one seeswith only one eye at a time or can seesimultaneo::slylvith more than one of those eyes. For example,what eye or eyesare employed by the celestial Bodliisattva Avalokite5varawhen hc surveys the beings in the six destinies(gali)? Sorneyears ago, wllen I rvasreading'fibetan literature at th,eUniversity of California I asked tlie Mongolian Lama named Dilou,a Gegen Flutukhtu if AvalokiteSvaralooked at the world rvith the "eye of knowledge." FIe replied that Avalokite6vara and every Buddha sees with all five eyes. There is a textual confirmation of this remark in Abhayakaragupta's Sarltpula-tilakq commentary called Amndya+naiijari, in the Japairo' oBy esephoto edition of the Tibetan canon, Vol. 55, p. 238-1: gazes'means. by the fleshly, divine, insight, dharma, and Buddha rab dan chos dan sansrgyas kyi spyan eyes".(l1a dan lha dan Ses gyis gzigs pa rnams kyis so/). Tson-kha-pa makes reference to the same point in his commentary on Candrakirti's Madhyamakduattira, Photo ed., Vol. 154, p.238-2: "When one applies eyeointment to the eye and the eye becomesbright, the eye (itself) is not nullified. In the sameway, when one applies the eye ointment for seeingvoidness and the eye of discrimination (buddhi) is not nullified. If one becomesbright, the eye of knov,rledge understandsthat (i.e. knor,vs the implication of the foregoing remark), (he realizes that) not rightly applied is the disparaging viewpoint that there is no knowledge (jiiana) in drya-sanfipatti". (lmie sman bskus pas mig gsal du 1:gro yi/mig bdon pa min pa blin du ston frid mthon batri mig sman bskus pasI blolii rnig sal du hgro ba gyi/ye Seskyi mig fdon pa min par Sesna / l.rphags pahi rnffam gzag tu ye Sesmed ces pahi skur l:debs kyi lta bden pa mi gos so/). As previously mentioned,this "eye of knowledge" is the 'oeye of dharma"; it is not nullified when the "eye of insight" is operating. In the M6dhyamika school, this "eye of insight" is said to look upon the voidness,which in the oldest senseis the voidness of self and of what belongs to self.

160

Buddhist Insight IU. THs Eyss rN BuDDHrsr CULT AND IcoNocRApHy

In the celebrated story of King Sibi, the generous king received his eyesback through the rite of truth.e Arya-Sura's formulation of the tale in the Jataka-mald has this verse in the words of Indra: And there will arise an unhindered power of your two eyesto see. All around for a hundred yojanas, even when interrupted by mountains. Tson-kha-pa, in his Dban don ("Meaning of Initiation"), Lhasa collectedworks, Vol. Ca, f.45a-2, writes: ooBy the rite of eye ointment one dispels the obscuration of the nesciencefilm over the eye of discrirnination and generatesthe supernormal power of the 'divine eye'." (/mig sman gyi cho gas blo yi mig ma rig pahi lin tog gis bsgrib pa bsal nas lhahi mig gi mnon Sesskyed pa danfi. The rite of eye ointment is presented in his snags rim chen mo (Peking block print, f. 278b-3. ff): (The guru) placesin a gold or silver vesselthe golden eyeointment consisting of butter and honey. While the disciple imagines on his eyes the syllable PRAM, (the guru) applies (the eye ointment) with a probe (ialdkd), reciting OM VAJRANETRA APAHARA PATALAM HRIH (..OTn.Remove the film that is on the diamond eye! Hril.r".) And he repeatsthe verse of the vairocqndbhisarybodhi-tantra,'oJust as the King of Healing (bhai;ajya-rdja) with his probe removed the worldly film, so may the Buddhas dispel your fllm of ignorance, my son!', I have also noticed a number of ritual passages about "eye ointment"in the Amoghapdiakalpardjd (No. 686 in the Tohoku catalog). There are other tantric rituals about the eyes which involve imagining the syllables MA changing into a sun in the right eye and T.A changing into a nroon in the left eye, and aHO in between the two, radiating light. For example, such a ritual occurs in Kukuri-p a' s M ahdmdydsddhanama qt (al aui dhi (No. I 630 in Tohoku cat.) and in Jf,anavajra's Karunodaya-ndma-bhduandjapauidhi (No. 2524 in Cat.) e"TheHindu-Buddhist Rite of Truth-An Interpretation", Studies in Indian (Volume presented Linguistics to Prof.M. B. Emeneau on hissixtieth birthdav year), pp. 365-369, Poona, 1968, reprinted here.

TheBuddhist Theory of Vision

161

Concerning the "diamond eye" (uajranetra) the tantric Candracalled Pradikirti in his commentary on the Guhyasantdja-tantra podyotana (Derge Tanjur, Rgyud hgrel, Ha, 94a-I) writes: "His eye (i.e. of Mahdvajradhara) seesby means of a perfectly pure 'diarnond eye'." (/dehi spyan ni bright light; and that is the hog gsal bas rnam par dag pas gzigs pa gan yin de ni rdo rje spyan teD. In the Amndya-mafijari(op. cit., Vol. 55, p. 245-2), Abhayakaraguptaquotesthe scriptural passage:"O Mafrju5ri, in regard to that, the Tathagata, by means of the six supernormal faculties which see everywhere,seesthe sentient beings passing away and beigg reborn, also proceedingto a good destiny or a bad destiny. Likewise, the Tathdgata seeswith the u,rpi;a; likewise, he sees with the urpa-koia,' so also with each characteristic". The same again in his Muniauthor quotes the last portion of this passage it as matdlarykdra(Photo ed., Vol. 101 , p.268-3) and hereidentifies (No. 201 in theTohoku coming from tl'te,sraddltabatadhqna-siltra in Mahdyana literature cat.). That relatesto numerous passages narrating that from the Buddha's ugqti;aotthe crown of his head, or from the urryd-koia it the middle of his forehead there arose streamsof light, illuminating all the worlds, and the like. Hence, the usnisa and the urnd-koia as well as the remaining thirty-two (laksarya) function as a sort of eye,answeringto the characteristics description of the "diamond eye". According to the Bhqdrakalpita-sutra,the light emanatingfrom theu$nisa is the fruit of the "perfecti on of insight" (pr ajiidpdr arnitd).r0 The urltd-koia in this senseof an eye is presurnably equivalent to the "third eye" depicted frequently on tantric deitiesin Asian art, especiallyTibetan.

10Ascited by Hjam dbyans bzad pabi rdo rje inhis Mthak dpyod of Chapter 8 of the Abhisamayqlarnkara(Tibetan text).

DEPENDENT ORIGINATION_: THE INDO-TIBETAN TR.ADITION

INrnooucrroN In the Mahd-niddna-suttantaof the Digha-Nikdya, the Buddha reproved Ananda for saying that while Dependent Origination looks deep it is clear to him. The Buddha announcedthat it both looks deep and is deep. In this casethe Buddha was on the side of the gods, becausethe Brhadaranyaka-Upani;ad (IY, 2,2) says, "The gods love that which is hinted at darkly, and hate that which is uttered directly." As William Blake puts it, the "dim Windows of the Soul ... leads you to Believea Lie When you seewith, not thro', the Eye"-because Dependent Origination not quite "is" and not quite "isn't". This signalsthe difficulties which authors of the past and present have experienced with the Buddhist formula. They considered Dependent Origination as something before their eyes to see in clear relief, as one might see a book. This essay claims that Dependent Origination could not become clear in such a way, since there are two distinct and contrasting interpretations of the series,the first one which I label "discovery and seeing", and the second "lives of a person," and since both interpretations are required for understanding the formula. The first, without concern for particular persons, attempts to develop the Buddhist Doctrine. The second, recognizing individuals, showsthe role of defilement lives. In order to demonstratethis incontiand karma in successive

164

BLrddhist Insight

nuance of mv previous published materialsl on the subject, it would lead me too far afield to deal with the rnultitudeof theories advancedby sympathetic authors or to counter the hostile criticism that the Buddhist forrnula does not make sense.2 I shall report the Indian tradition through the well-known Phli or Sanskrit works, and for the Tibetan part especiallyrely on the Dependent Origination section of Tson-kha-pa's Latn rim chen mo. oRrcrNarroN ":";^DENr The essentialpoint of dependent (pratitya) origination (samutpada) is the requirementof a condition (pratyaya)for somethingto arise.l The standard sequence of twelve such conditions in Sanskrit and my English translation is this: l. nescience (auidyd),2. motivations (sorpskdra), 3. perception (uijfidna), 4. name-and-form (namarilpa), 5. six sensebases(saddyatanq), 6. sense contact (sparia), 7. feelings (uedcmd),8. craving (ty,rqd), f. indulgence (updddna), 10. gestation (bhaua),ll. birth (jAD, 12. old age and death (jardmarana)- I stumbled upon a possibility of trvo kinds by finding in Asanga's Yogdcdrabhilmithat there is a nescience"unmixed with defilement" and in another placethat Dependent origination can be classifiedin terms of defilem ent (klesa),karma, and suffering (du/tkha), where nescience is labelled as a defilement.a Evenrcf. thearticles referred to below in notes 38or 46,and51;andthework in Note 37. zAmongthe many treatments, I mention here A. B. Knrru, Buddhist Philosophy in India and ceylon(India reprint),pp. 105-109, for someof the older Europeantheories. Eowrno J. Tnovrls, The History of Buddhist (1933, Thought with reprints), the causation chapter, for a number of views from Buddhist tex-tg. S[gtonr_Iida, in a mi-meggl4phed paper-eqtitlg{ "r6f,.ti"i"g.-couiu-u's wheel of causation--an lnterpretationof the dvadaffiffi9d3, anclfor a numberof
lTFLq, VarrBn PousslN, Thdorie des douze causes

I. T',n Two KrNns

nd, 1913), for a still valuablesurveyof the scholastic theoriesof the causal chain. K. N. Jay,qrlrrrrr, Early Buddhist Theorl, of Knowledge (London, 1963),esp. pp. 445-457,for a Pali specialist's evaluationof the theories. 3Cf. J,qyarILLEKE, Early Buddhist Tlrcory, p. 449, for the basic statements and canonicalreferences:'owhenever A is present,B is present" (imasmtryt sati idary hoti), and whenever I is absent, B is absent" (imasmiryt asati idary na hoti). 4Asarigaexpoundstwo kinds of nescience (avidya)in the part of his Yogdphoto edition of the Tibetan Japanese carabhumicalled Viniicaya-sarpgrahaltt,

_.The Dependent Origination Indo-Tibetan Tradition

165

tually, I took the first kind as discovered by Gautama Buddha and as unconcerned with particular beings. The second kind is applied to lives of an individual rvhosekarma is differentiated or unshared. My division also follows the implications of Ndgdrjuna,s Madhyamaka-kdrilcdxxrv,40: "The one who seesDependent origination, seestltis (idam) precisely (caiua) as suffering and the Source, precisely (eua ca) as cessation and path." This verse afforded the commentators a splendid opportunity, which they seemnot to have taken, to point out that Nagdrjuna's association of voidness (iilnyata) with Dependent origination makes it possible to see Dependent origination as any one of the four Noble Truths, i.e., one can seeit as the "tree of suflerin g" (infra.) and as any other one of the four Truths.5 SinceDependent origination is not areal thing, seeingit one way does not prevent anyonefrom seeingit another way. Hence I offer this explanationin terms of the present article: The first two Noble Truths of suffering and source are associatedwith the first kind of Dependent origination that dealswith beingsas a whole and not with particular ones. The last two l{oble Truths of Cessationand path are associated with the second kind of Dependent origination concerned with lives of individuals including the specializedones who follow the Path. As to the "seeing" itself, later I cite various passages. I.1. The First Kind o.f DependentOriginatiort There is a celebrated account in Pdli, Sarpyutta-Nikaya, ii, 2s, presentingthe twelve membersin reverseorder: "with the condition of birth, o monks, there is old age and death. with the
canon, vol. 110,p. 28-1-5,ff. I gatheredmaterialsfrom many placesof his Yogaccirabhumi and organizedthem in e papcr ,,Nescience and Insight According to Asahga's Yogacdrabhumi",for the volume Bucldhiststudies in I{onour of the venerablewalpola sri Rahula (Gorclon Frazer,London, l9g0), cf. esp. pp. 154-255, and n. 11. This essay is published in this volume. sAmong the commentaries that do not face up to the issue is Canrlrakirti,s Prasannapada, the chap. xxIV of which is tra'slated into Frenchby Jacques prajfitrpraclipa, May (Paris, 7959);Bhavaviveka's the chap. xxlv of which is availablein a draft translarion into Engtishby Ryushin Uryuzu, locally distributedin Madison, wisc., Nov. 1966,for a seminarin Madhyamika philosophy; Abhayakaragupta'sMunimatalarnkaraphoto ed. of ribetan canon,Vol. 101,pp.220-223.

166

Insight Buddhist

condition of gestation, O monks, there is birth..." And then, "Whether Tathagatas arise or do not arise, there remains this realm (dhatu), the continuance of dhamma,the rule of dhamma, the having of this for condition. This the Tathagata has discovered; this he fully understands;and having discoveredit and fully understood it, he teachesit,..." And finally, the Arya disciple, having rightly understoodit, doesnot let his mind run to past tirne, thinking, "Did I live in the past?" and so on. The important feature of this passageis that the discovery and concordant teaching of DependentOrigination is not concernedwith whether Tathagatas arise or r.vhether sentient beingsarise,existedin the past, will exist in the future, etc. As to the meaning of such expressions as "continuance of dhamnta," "ru,le of dhammc," there is also the pithy utterance, "Whoever sees Dependent Origination, sees the Dharma."6 There is nothing mysterious about this: Once the Tathagata had discovered Dependent Origination, he taught it, whereupon it became the Dharma. This must be the Dharma among the Three Jewels; so it is the Buddhist Doctrine, or an essentialor salient part thereof. But also the Sar.nyutta-Nikaya,ii,120, saysin the Vakkali-sutta. ..Whoever,Vakkali'seesthecl|nmn,,4,SeeSme;@, sees the ciltantnta." Since DeiF-dent @nadffi;J-f-t[

aM ed with whether lathagata$ ari$_q.gr.,nq!,it fdlffisTbqill-rg not coniernedwith whether dhqmm-(singll-lar orQlilral) ariles olnot. A similar identificationof dharma (the
Sanskrit equivalent to the Pali dhamma) with the Tathd.gata is made in the Mahiyina scripture "Meeting of Father and Son" (Pitdputrasamdgama-sutra).t Here, after a discussion of Dependent Origination, it teaches: "Therefore, by understanding De* pendent Origination, one understands the dhqrmadhdtLt," anp_ "Lord, the TarhagataffiiisTics(/akio,io , ; is 'riue -

Tnusnesil Dharmadhatu,

End fbhnafroli). Att dharmus

are also bhutakoli. Therefore, all dharmas are the Tathagata." The foregoing suggeststhat the Buddha's discovery of Dependent
aCf. Satistambasutra in La llarlir PoussrN, Thiorie de-sdoy4s ggU-es, p. 70 : yo, blt<jglel4lrliurs:ffi@g! to'a-Eor^o,n po{yari; wtrite (Majjffia-Nikaya, I, l9[ITs in a discourse by Sariputrg/ inlhe Pali Gml attributed to Buddha \/ TPhotoedition of Tibetan Canon, Yol. 23, chapter on "Instruction of the ff. B1'halphala Deities," p. 181-1,

Dependent Origination-TheIndo-Tibetan Tradition

167

Origination involved no perceptual reach of particular sentient beings, ordinary or advanced; or of particular dharmas, ordinary ones like love and hate or supernal ones like Buddha natures. Along the same lines, the discourse to Kaccdyana (S3nqyotlu{ikayg=iii,134-135)andNdgdrjun4usi6T-I[-#-$

c@anskrit

namercatvay@trffi

uiinyamatca-

kdrikd, show that the middle doctrine or path of Dependent Origination avoids the attributions of'"The world exists" or "The world does not exist," hence also avoids such formulations as "The Tathd.gataexists" or "The Tathigata does not exist," or again, such formulations as "He is happy," or "He is unhappy." To further clarify this kind of Dependent Origination, I shall translate below a Pdli Sutta (Sapyutta-Nikdya, Nidana Book, ii, 2) which has no mention of such matters as karma and transmigration. In particular, by explaining nescienceas ignorance of any of the four Noble Truths, it avoids any direct implications of defilement (kleiq). Asanga also denies that ignorance of the four Truths is defiled since it does not involve waywardnessof thought (citta-uiparydsa).8 Rather, the ignorance of the four Truths is tantamount to not knowing Dependent Origination. The early nature of this Pdli scripture is also confirmed by certain nonstandard listings, such as its detailing of o'name" in o'name-andform" and of the member "feelings."e When the Buddha was dwelling at Sdvatthi,he said: "Monks,I will teach you, I will analyzeDependentOrigination.lo Listen to sThis passage is in the Yogacarabhumi in thesame referred to above, Note4. gives (i.e.,not mixedwith HereAsanga two kindsof "unmixed nescience" "the confusion defilement), of not comprehending" conand the "undefiled fusion". He expressly the failure of attentionto the Truth of mentions Sufferilg,etc. underthe heading of the "unmixednescience," and gives the
term cittaviparyasa. sThat is, this Sutta has for 'oname"the five items, feelings,ideas, volitions, sensecontacts, and mental orientations. It is usual to have, as does the SAlistambasiltra, the four "formless" aggregates,of which "feelings" and "ideas" are the first two, followed by "motivations" and "perceptions". More rarely, as in the Dependent Origination section of Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga, "name" includesonly the three middle aggregates, leaving out "perceptions". Again, the detailingof feelings as born from the six sense basesis not standard. It is usual to have three kinds, painful (duhkha), pleasantgukha), and neither prinful nor pleasant. 10Itis of interestthat the Buddha'sanalysis setsforth the last two members,

r68

BuddhistInsight

it, orient your mind well, and I will explain" "Agreed !" those monks responded to the Lord. The Lord spoke as follows: "Monks, with the condition of nescience, there is motivation. With the condition of motivation, there is perception. With the condition of perception, there is name-and-form. With bases. With the condition of name-and-form,there is six sense the condition of six sensebases,there is sensecontact. With the condition of sense contact, there is feeling. With the condition of feeling, there is craving. With the condition of craving,there is indulgence. With the condition of indulgence, there is gestation. With the condition of gestation, there is birth. With the condition of birth, then old age and death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dissatisfaction, perturbation, appear tcgether. Such is the source of this entire mass of suffering. "And what, monks, is old age and death? Whatever,of this and that sentient being, in this and that group, is aging, decrepitude, falling apart, whiteness of hair, wrinkled skin, affiiction faculties, this is called old age. What. of life force, spent sense sentient being, in this and that. group, is ever, of this and that passing away, separation or disappearance,death falling or which is concretedeath, the appointed time, collapseof personal aggregates, laying down of corpse, severance of life faculty, this is called death. Such is this old age and this death, that is called old age and death. o'And what, monks, is birth? Whatever, of this and that sentient being, in this and that group, is birth-process,the begetting, the entrance (into life), definition and differentiation, acquisition of sense manifestation of personality aggregates, organs, this is called birth. "And what, monks, is gestation? There are three gestations:i' gestationin the realm of desire,gestationin the reaim of forpn{ gestationin the formless reahn. This is called gestation. ( , o'And what, monks, is indulgence? There are four indul- \ gences: indulgence in desires (kdma), indulgence in (false) views (drsti), indulgence in (fruitless) rules and vows (S.

birth, and old age and death, by sets of terms that are near-synonyms (5. paryaya), and the remaining ten members by varieties (5. prabheda).

Dependent Origination-The Indo-TibetanTradition

169

iilaurata), indulgence in the self-theory (S. dtmauada). This is called indulgence. "And what, monks, is craving? There are six partite cravings: craving for forrns, for sounds,lbr odors, for tastes, for tangibles, for mental objects (dhamma, S. dharma). This is called craving. "And what, monks, is feeling? There are six partite feelings: feeling born from eye-contact, feeling born from ear-contact, feeling born of nose-contact,feeling born of tongue-contact, feeling born of body-contact, feeling born of mind-contact. This is called feeling. "And what, monks, is sensecontact? There are six partite sensecontacts: eye-contact,eavcontact, nose-contact,tonguecontact, body-contact, mind-contact. This is called sense contact. "And what, monks, is six sense bases?The eye-base, ear-base, nose-base, tongue-base,body-base,mind-base. This is called six sensebases. "And what, monks, is name-and-lorm? Feelings (5. uedand), ideas (S. saryfiiia),volitions (S. cetand). sense contacts (S. sparia), rnental orientations (S. manasikdra)-this is called name. The four great elements and the forms derived from the four great elements-this is called form. Such is this name and this form that it is called name-and-form. "And what, monks, is perception? There are six partite perceptions: perception with eye, oerception rvith ear. perception with nose, perception r,vith tongue, perception with body, pcrception with rnind. This is called perception. "And what, monks, is motivation? There are three motivations: rnotivation of body, motivation of speech, motivation ot nrind. This is called motivation. "And what, monks, is nescience? Whatever ignorance (S. ajiidna) of Suffering, ignorance of the Source of Suffering, ignorance of the Cessation of Suffering, ignorance of the Path leading to the Cessationof Suffering-this is called nescience. 'oThus,monks, with the condition of nescience, there is motivation; with the condition of motivations,there is perception;... (and so on down to)...perturbation. Suchis the sourceof this entire mass of suffering. But with the utter dispassion and cessationof nescience, motivation ceases. With the cessation

170

Insight Buddhist

... (and so on down to)...perof motivation, perceptionceases turbation. Suchis the cessation oithis entife massof sufferins. 1.2 The SecondKind of DependentOrigination But also, from its inception Buddhism never denied that a Tathagata arises,or that dharmasarise.l1 It was claimed that anything that arises,arisesdependently. Therefore, there must be a usage of DependentOrigination to cover the arising of particular beings or natures. Indeed, some Pali specialists hold that this is what the Buddhist formula amounts to. For example, Jayatilleke asserts that the formula expiains rebirth and karma anilifie-arising gf suffering while avoiding the extremes of atman-eternalism and nihilism of Materialism.lz Now rebirth is necessarily the rebirth of a particular being, and so this is the secondkind of Dependent Origination as applied to lives of a particular being. This kind of Dependent Origination has been popularized in the West by reproductions of the "Wheel of Life" especiallyfrom its Tibetan version. To further clarify this kind of Dependent Origination, I shall translate below from Sanskrit a passageof the @lhyantauibhdga along with Vasubandhu'scomment.ls Defilem'enffi p6minenlly sufgested by the verb kliiyate ("is tormented or defiled"). The glossfor "perception" (uijnana)rendersit "a conducting" (nayana), i.e., to the birthplace, and the comment brings in the "habitenergy of karma." This pa.ssage is therefore concerned with the past, present,and future life of some person or being: The world is tormented by a covering (chadana),a quickening (ropaqa), a conducting (nayana), a circumscribing (sarpparigraha), a finishing (pura7a), a trisection (triparicclteda), an experience (upabhoga), af,L attaetion (kar5a4a), a bondage (nibandhana), a confrontation (abhimukhya), a sorrowing (dwltkhana). (MadhyantauibhagaI, 10)
11And see Jrcroo TATASAKT, A study on the Ratnagotravibhaga (Rome, 1966),p. 35, for the information thzt a chapter of the Mahayana scripture Avatarpsaka with title Tathagatotpattisarytbhavanirdeia ("Dealing with the Arising of the Tathagata") was translatedinto chinese as an independent S[tra in the 3rd century, A.D. l2Jayartnnrcn, Early Buddhist Theory, p. 450raCf. GaouN M. Nacao, Madhyantavibhaga-bhasya (Tokyo, 1964y,p.Zl.

Dependent origination-TheIndo-Tibetan Tradition

l7l

(vasubandhu's cornment:) The world is tormented (or defiled), among those, by 1.a covering, i.e., by nescience's hind.eringof the view of how things really arc.2.a quickening,i.e., by motivation's depositing in perception (uijiiana) of the habit-energy (udsand) of karma. 3.a conducting,i.e., by perception's reachingof the birthplacer 4. a circumscribing, i.e., by name-and-form's embodiment (atmabhaua), 5. a finishing, i.e., by six sensebases. 6. a trisection, i.e., by sensecontact. 7. an experience, i.e., by feeling. g. an attraction, i.e., by the craving for re-existence(punarbhaua) cast by karma.9. a bondage,i.e., by indulgences in desires, etc., that agreewith the occurrenceof perception. 10. a confrontation, i.e., by gestation'splacing-in-front for yielcling the maturation in reexistence of the kqrma previouslyenacted.ll-12. a sorrowing, i.e., by birth and by old age and death. This formulation can be traced back to the Mahd-niddnasuttanta of the Digha-Nikaya, where the Buddha asks Ananda (Digha, ii, 63): "If perceptionwould not descend into the mother's womb, would name-and-form become consolidated in the womb?" And Ananda replied that it would not. II. I)rscovnny AND SnuNc

I' short. the Buddha discoveredthe formula of Dependentorisinatio'; and when he ta*ght it, the forrnula becaml the Buddiist Dharma or Doctrine. The later disciple can repeat the process_ discover the formula in the reverse order (12--_l) and see the Dharma in the direct order (l-12). II. l. Discoueryby the Buddha Asanga alludes to this first kind of Dependent origination in his Paramdrthagatha along with his own commentary. There are two parts to it: "the dhartnaspossessed of cause',are the first seven members, frorn 'onescience" down through ..feelings,'-here the creatures are caught by delusion. "The suffering possessedof cause" is the last five members, from "craving', down through "old age and death"-[e1e the creatures are caught by cravinglrn According to the suggestionsof the pdli scripture and later the lacf. Arsx wrvuAN, Analysis of the sravakabhumi Manuscript (Berkeley, 1 9 6 l )p. , 181.

172

Buddhist Insight

Lalitauistara. wlten Gautama was meditating beneath the tree of enlightenmenthe thought: There is this oid age and death and the massof other suffering. What is its condition for arising?Indeed, it requires birth. And birth requires a gestation (or a pregnancy), and this requires an indulgence (the taking of it, grasping, and so on), and this requires a craving. Thus, Gautama, working backwards, re-discoveredthe finding of the Vedic seer who, searching with his intelligence (manipa) for the original principle, found "desire" (kdma) as the first-born and as the bond of the existent in the non-existent. Gautama stressed it somewhat differently: It is the first two Noble Truths: the Truth of Suffering, and the Truth of the Cause of Suffering. Here the cause is specified as "craving"-trsttd in Sanskrit, or tanhd in Pali. Even so, the Vedic account is apparently continued in Buddhist dogmatics by the karma theory, since o'craving" along with the bondage confirmed by indulgence establishesman's free will by permitting a new bondage and so a new karma ("gestation"), and could be said to connect the existent habit with the non-existent future. But Gautama did not stop there. He thought: What is the condition for the arising of craving? And concluded: It is feelings. And this requires sensscontact, and this requires the six sense bases, the five outer ones and the mind (manas) as the sixth. Searchingfor the condition enabling the six sensebasesto arise, he concluded it was "name-and-form" (ndma-rupa)-an important term of the old Indian Brahmanas and Upaniqads. As its condition he assigned "perceptions" (uijfidna); and for this, "motivation" (sarTtskara);and for this, "nescience" (auidyd). According to the Pdli scripture, the Third Noble Truth of Cessation is applied to nescience in order to undo the whole seriesthat Ieads to the mass of suffering. It is a curious feature of Dependent Origination that while "craving" is the source or cause of suffering, once suffering has become the regular thing one can get rid of it only by the cessation of "nescienca". But this accords with human experiencegonerally: the broken leg is not healed simply by eliminating the cause of the broken leg. Asanga's statementhelps with this group becausehe refers to these seven possessed members as "the dhanna,g of cause." This ties in these Buddhist members with tbe Abhidharma theory of "all dharmas" (skandha) (:'onameas included in the flve personal aggregates and-lbrm"), twelve sensebases(: "six sense bases" multiplied

Dependent Origination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition

173

for personal and objective bases), and eightecn realms (dhAtu) (: "contact," the six objects, the six sense organs, and the six perceptionsbased thereon).15 Since the dharmas are included by membersNos. 4-6, it follows that membersNos. 1-3 are the "cause" of the dlrurmas. Member No. 7, "feelings," also a dharma as a personal aggregate.is left over to culminate the deterministic series,or the old bondage. The following tabulation of the discovery order includes the subdivisions accordingto Asanga'sschool: 12. old age and death j 1 1 .b i r t h Suffering

10. gestation I f. indulgence F 8. craving ) f 7. feelings I 6. sensccontact i 5. six sense bases f 4. name-and-form J I

Cause of Suffering

Dharmas

3. perception I 2. motivations I Cause of Dharmas l. nescience ) Naturally, the Buddhist works do not refer to the pre-Buddhist religion (the Veda and ancillary works); hence they are sketchy and probably incomplete as regardsthe "discovery" of the series. In a partiai unravelling of this discovery, I have already observed that the first four members, starting with "nescience," curiously match tl-Le cosmic development of the Brhaddra4yaka-Upanisadla II.2. Seeing by the Disciple Since to see Dependent Origination in this senseof "seeing" is tantamount to seeingDharma, the later writers could fill in. This expansion was conservative at the sutra level, as evidencedin the 15Cf. NAnlon, A Manualof Abhidhantma.(Kandy, pp. 348-350, 1968), for thecomprisal of "all" (sabbc) in the personal aggregates, the sense bases, and the elements, with the usualtranslations followed by moderntranslators from Pali. Of course, the "all" is the abbreviation for 'oall dhamma" in sarvadharmdl4. Sanskrit 16Ar,Bx WlvuAN, "The Intermediate-State in Buddhism", Dispute Buddhist in Honourof LB. Horner eds.L. Cousins Studies et al. (Dordrecht,1974), p. 230. This essay is includedin this volume.

174
t.

BuddhistInsight

I sg,veralprafit),asantutpdda-typescriptures available in Sanskrit.rz lzlldgdrjuna's works on the subject are just as brief.18 The Abhidharma schools of course rlilated the mernbers. vasubandhu, whose early years were devoted to the Abhidharma. has a rather large commentary on pratit),asamutpdda, and in the Tibetan Tanjur this is followed by Gu4amati's still larger commentary.le These Abhidharma works inevitably introduce differentiateddoctrines of Buddhism beyond the primitive Dharma alluded to in the phrase o'whoever sees Dependent origination, sees the Dharnta.'o Frowever,the foregoing leavesopen the question of whether the "seeing" of d/zarma ot dharmas, when one 'osees" Dependent origination, is the concrete'oseeing"as done with eyesight, or is away of speakingtantamount to "understanding" or is something else again. The teacher Asanga has a section about this in his encyclopedic work Yogdcdrabhilmi, in the portion called vastusamgraha4i,second division devoted to analysis of sense bases (dvatana). After detailing various superlativebenefits, such as calming the mind, to be gained by seeing crharmas, Asanga explains what is entailed by "seeing" a clhar.me:zo There are two kinds of seeing dharmas: seeing constructed natures (sarltskrta-dharma)and seeing unconstructed natures
lTTheseare now conveniently collected in p.L. vaidya, Mahayana-s[ttrasarhgraha, Part I (Darbhange,lg6l), namely,two versions of the Salistambasutra and two versions of the Pratityasamutpada sijtras. lsl-a Varre'p Pousstrq presents the Tibetan version with a French translation of Ndgarjuna's Pratityasamutpadahrdayakarikain Thdorie des douze caLrses, pp. 122-14. Ndgdrjuna briefly expands upon those seven verses in his Pratityasamutpddahrdayavyakhyana, preservedin the Tibetan Tanjur. And just precedingthose two works in the Tanjur is his Arya-Salistambaka-karika. Besides, he devotes twelveverses to the topic as chap. xxvl of his Madhyamaka-karika. leGrussppBTuccr, 'A Fragment from the pratityo.-samutpada-vyakhya of vasubandhu',Journal of the Royal Asiatic society Jury, 1930,pp. 611-623, prese nts someSanskritfragments of vasubandhu's ccmments on membersl. nescience, 7. feelings,8. craving, f. indulgence, and 10. gestation. z0Photo edition of Tibetan Tanjur, vol. III, p. 175-3-g, ff. The equivalent chinese is in Taishd vol. 30, p. 924-c-2, ff. Tibetan and chinese agree on the term "name-and-form" (nama-rupa);but whereTibetan continues ..called the 'own-nature of a man' " prior to the question"what is trutho' the Chinese text has a seriesof severalwords beginningwith ..man,'.

Dependent Origination-The Indo-TibetanTradition

r75

(asorytskrta-dharma). Among thern, seeingconstructed natures (is as follows:) Just as there is here some place of tn-rth, he rightly knows it as it is, and rightly knows as it is the truth (thereof). What is a place of truth? name-and-form. called the'oown-natureof a man" ('i'manu.tya-suarupa). Whatis truth? Conventional truth (satlturti-satya) and supreine truth (paramartha-satya). What is conventional truth? Any idea (sary.imQ regarding that place of tr uth that it is a self, a,sentient being, a living being, or a person. Also, the thesis "f seeforms witlr the eye," ... (and so on, down to) ... "f perceivedharmas with the mind". Also, the attribution, "Accordingly, his name is called this," ... (and so on, down to, as previously) "His measureof life amounts to this." Anything involving the idea of it, the thesis, the attribution, is conventional truth. What is supreme truth? Attaching to that place of truth that it is impermanent,... (and so on, down to, as previously) it arises in dependence. And thinking that according as there is impermanence, so there is suffering. Any monk who, in regard to a place of conventional or absolute truth, rightly knows the conventional truth as conventional truth and the absolute truth as absolute truth, he is worthy of being called one who seesconstructednatures.What is seeingunconstructed natures? Any monk who attaches to a place of truth with skill in the two kinds of truth; and taking recourseto that skili, engages his mind with the view that all the personal aggregates (skondha)are exhausted,Nirvd4a is calm ... (and so on, down to, as previously ) there is liberation; and has the thought, "I see unconstructed naturss," he is worthy of being called one who seesunconstructed natures. Besides,one should know that there are three kinds of persons who see dharmas: (1) the one who engagesdlnrmas consistent with dharmqs of the ordinary person. (2) the one who is skilled in and heedful to equipoisehis mind, and methodically coursesin dharma(s), and accordingly sees the points of instruction. (3) the one beyond training whose fluxes are exhausted. Nigdrjuna's equivalent statement for seeing "unconstructed natures" is in his Yuktisastrikd (k. 10-l IAB):zt "Having seen zlThe1-1/2 verses aretranslated from theTibetan version in theDarjeeling publication,Four Minor Madhyamaka Texts in TibetanTranslation Also

176

Buddhist Insight

(: clear vision) rvhat has arisen with the with right knov,'ledge 'motivation'], condition of 'nescience' there is no apprehenli.e. sion at all ol either arising or passingaway. That very thing is \u,.::r3;s tiris life (:the dltarruaseen),22 and the requirement is i.-,:: ' -. :e-ki't)'a)." Here is a version from the Bodhisattuapilaka.:,. ' ; . . r \ lahay dna s c ri p tu re .2 s | t\' \\-hatever is the meaning of Dependent Origination, is the meaning of Dharma; whatever is the meaning of Dharma, is the meaning of Tathagata. Therefore, whoever seesDependent Origination, seesDharma; rvhoeversees Dharma, seesthe Tathagata. Also, seeingthat way, and accordingly fully understanding in the senseof Thusness,still one seesscarcelyanything. What is that "scarcely anything"? It is the Signless and the Non-Apprehension; the one who seesin the manner of the Signlessand the Non-Apprehension seesrightly. I Those passagesby Asanga, Ndgirjuna, and in the Bodhisattuapilalca, agree that the "seeing" is not the ordinary concrete o'seeing." But also, these works persist in using a word meaning "seeing." Sthiramati ri'ould erplain: because it is without discur(rtirt'ikalpa).2t sive thou_sbt In the terminology of "eyes" it is exI h.*"*k"- i,'rou..ountthecontext in which iscitedin Abhydkaragupta's tl-ris
.\[urtitttcttdlan*ara. op. cit., p. 220-2-2. ::Nigir'juna apparentlyusedin the original Sanskritthe term drstadharma, u'hich is rvell known to signify in Buddhisttexts"this life". However, since he associated it with the precedingverse which employs the verbal form "having seen,"it may be concluded that he intended a doublemeaning for the term, so dr;tadharma also means "the dharma that is seen," or "the visible dhorma." Thus, Ndgarjunaimpliesthe seeing (which amountsto not seeing of the unconstructed dharmaNirvana. But sincethis is the Nirvdna of this rery life, this Yukti;astilca passage helps explain Ndgdrjuna's famous verse in the Nirvdqa chapter of the Madhyanmka-karika(xxv, 19): "There is no difference between Nirvala and Sams6ra; there is no difference between Sanrsdra and Nirvd4a." :sPhoto edition of ribetan Tanjur, Yol. 23,chapteron "Inconceivabilityof the Tathagata," p. 19-5-2,ff. :rSthiramati's Abhidharmakoiabhasyalika-tatvartha-nama, photo edition .''f Tibetan Tanjur, Yol. 147,commentaryon Samipatti chapterof the Abhidlnrntakoia, p. 274-2-1,in the course of explaining the jfiana-dariana, comments on the word dariana ("vision"): "vision bears comparison with eyeperception (cakSur-vijffdna), because it is without discursivethought" (mthon ba ni mig gi rnam par Sespa dan mtshuns par ldan pa ste/ rnam par mi rtog pa phyir ro).

Dependent Tradition Indo-Tibetan Origination-The

177

pressly stated to be the o'eyeof insight" in the SAtistambasfitra.zs In agreement, Buddhaghosa's Visuddhinxaggaplaces the consithe Insiruction of lnsight {eration of nep@-in @amiiA);and the bhilmi theory of Mahdydna Buddhism includes that consideration in ttie Perfection of lnsight (ptygimdpdramita) -predominate in the Sixlh !tag6 @humi). Furthermore, &Id t" Asanga pffits'out that tlie "seeing" differs according to the person who "sges." The manner in which a person may'osee" Dependent Origination is set forth in the Sixth Stage of the Daiabhumika-sutra. The presentationhere is based on Tson-kha-pa's citation and discussion of the passagein his Tibetan commentary on Candrakirti's Madhyamokduqtdra:26 (The Bodhisattva on the Sixth Stage) reflects on Dependent Origination (pratnyasamutpdda) in the forward direction (and so on down to:) Thus he thinks. Only this heap of suffering, this tree of suffering develops, devoid of a creator, a feeler (kdraka-uedaka). This occurs to him: Becauseof the clinging to a creator, activities are known; wherever there is no creator, there also activities are not perceptively reached in the absolute sense. This occurs to him: These three realms are this mindonly; whatever those twelve members of generation,all those, while explained by the Tathdgata in multiple aspect (prabhedaias),infact dependon a singlecitta(ekacitta). In the Sfltra itself this passage is embeddedin a long exposition of Dependent Origination. The S[tra states that the tree develops devoid of a creator; so Tson-kha-pa says, "Having denied an eternal self as the creator, (the Bodhisattva) understands that the creator is just the conventional (sarpurti) mind-only." Or, as Asanga mentioned in the previous citation, the conventional mind has the idea of it, the thesis,the attribution. The Bodhisattva
25Ll VarrfB PoussIN,Thdoriedesdouze p.T2.However here it is the catrses, Buddha using the prajffa-eye that is mentioned. 26Thepassage cited is in Sanskrit original in J. Rahder, ed., DaSabhumika' p. 48 and p.49:' RYUKO KoNo6, ed., Daiabhumi' sfrtra et Bodhisattvabhumi, p. 97.13 and p. 98.6-10: (evap hi bodhisattvo) SvarondmdMahaydnasutrarn, 'nulomikdrar.n pratityasamutpadampratyavekqate1...1 evam ayaln kevalo (and so on, down to) sarvdnyekacittasamaSritani/. Tson-kha-pa'sdiscussion Vol. 154,p. 7l-4 to 72,1. extravolumes, is in Photo edition of Tibetancanons,

178

Budclhist Insighr

is said to reflect: "becauseof the clinging to a creator', which is done by 'onescience", "activities" (: .,motivations") ,,are known," to wit, by "perceptions," the third member--thus inaugurating the Dependent origination in the forward direction. Then, to show how the seriesis eliminated, so that finally, in the absenceof "nescience", "perception" does not arise, the Sfrtra says: "wherever there is no creator (i.e., as delusivelyheld by the conventionalmind), o'there also activities"( : those "motivations',) "are not perceptively reached in the absolute sense" (i.e., "perception" does not perceivethem). Nag6rjuna's way of statingthe same point in that Yukti,raptrikd verse is to deny any apprehension of the arising or passing away of that "motivation," whereupon the Dharma seenis Nirvd4a. Besides,Nigdrjun a's Sunyaffisaptati (k. 9-10) states:22 ..When there is neither permanence nor impermanence, neither self nor non-self, neither purity nor impurity, neither pleasure nor pain, then there are not the waywardnesses. In their absence,there is no possibility of the nescience born from the four wayward.nesses (uiparyastz). In its absence,motivations do not occur. and likewise the remaining members." This agrees with Asanga's distinction of "nescience" as defiled (through wayrvardness) and undefiled. There is the striking conclusion that when the Bodhisattva meditatesin the manner prescribedby the Daiabhumika-siltrahe eliminates the defiled nesciencethat heads the second kind of Dependent origination, but still has not eliminated the undeflled nescience, wherefor he is still a Bodhisattva2s and not a Buddha. 27The two verses are translated from the Tibetanversionin Four Minor
Madhyamaka Texts in Tibetan Translation (op cit.). 28La Vatl-p'r PousstN p. v, note, mentions that , Thdorie des clouzecauses, accordingto certainsoLlrces, which he does not name, the meditationon the twelve causesis reservedto Pratyekabuddhas.Indeed,the attribution of a Bodhisattva meditation in the Daiabhumikasfttraseemsto be simply due to this text being a Mahdyina scripturethat expoundsthe stages of the Bodhisattva. But as far as the expositionof DependentOrigination is concerned, the meditation on it does not seemto require a Bodhisattva. Tson-kha-pa placeshis Dependentorigination sectionin the portion of his Lam rim chen mo devotedto the training of the middling person,accordingto the description in Ati6a Bodhipatha-pradtpa: "whoever, turning his back on the pleasuresof phenomenalexistence, and averting himself from sinful actions, pursuesonly his own quiescence, he is known as the middling person." This is the second kind of person,and the Bodhisattvais the third kind and calledthe superior person,

Dependent Origination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition

179

According to Tson-kha-pa's indications, the Bodhisattva on the Sixth stage when reviervingthe tr,velve members seriatum emphasizesthe subjectmind to the neglectof the objectiveform; thus he is awakening from the dream of defileclnescience. In lotus symbolism this is the budding of the lotus. The Tath agata,when grasping the whole series with a singre thought (citta),emphasizes the objeciive form to the neglectof the subjectmind. This is the fullblown stateof the lotus. This lotus symbolismis applied to kqrma: and we must observe that in the Daiabhumika-sutra as in Ndgdrjuna's Dependent origination commentary, the two karmas are members No. 2 "motivations" (sarp,skdra) and No. l0..gestation" (bhaua).Tson-kha-pa maintains in the same place that all the diverserealms (the bhdjana-loka)of the sentientbeingsare formed by the shared (sadhdrana) karma accumulated by the minditself, which must refer to a group karma. The sentient beings also have unshared(asadharana) or individual mental karma. Tson-kha-pa employs the metaphor of the "variegated eye of a peacock'stail', (mecakain sanskrit) for the unsharcdkarma. and the metaphorof "variegated petals and colors of lotuses" fb" the shared karma of sentient beings, which generates the variegated receptacle realms. The metaphoric language agrees with the distinction of two kinds of Dependent origination, because the lotus symbolism, applying as it doesto sharedkarma and to the process of enlightenment,must be associated with the flrst kind of Depend_ ent origination that is not concernedwith particular beings and specializedkarma. It is the second kind of Dependent originatiorr whose karma would have t/ii metaphor of the .,variegated eye of a peacock'stailt / There remains to be eftplr{ned, the SDtra referenceto the development as the "tree of suffering". According to the Arthauiniicayalikdzs rhe first seven members of Dependent origination show the development of the tree: 1. 'onescience" is the manure covering, 2. "motivations" is the field, 3. fluxional 'operceptions", the seed; 4. "name-and-form," the sprout; 5. "six sensebases," the leaves and twigs; 6. "cont aet," characteristic flowers blooming;7.'ofeelings," characteristic fruit matured. In agreementwith Asanga's attribution to the last five members of the role, ..sufferzgrhepassage is takenfrom the Arthaviniicayalika (authorunknown)in DergeTaqjur,Sna-tshogs, Vol. No. f. Z7b-4. f.

180

Insight Buddhist

ing possessed of cause," the Arthauiniicayatikd account continues; Someone craves that fruit ("craving"), takes it (("indulgence"), moistensit with water and eats it ("gestation"), whereupon sharp pains arise ("birth"), he shrivels up and dies ("old age and death";.so The "tree" thus exhibits the two karma members as the "field " into which the seed is cast, and as the "eating" or digestion process. III. LtvEs on'a PnRsox

This section is much indebted to Tson-kha-pa's Dependent Origination section in his Lam rim chen nto,31 where he describesthe formula as applying to one life, two lives, and three lives of a person. This treatment undoubtedly draws much from Asanga's encyclopedic work, the Yogocdrabhumi and its summation in Asanga's Abhidharmasamuccayq. In particular, there is Asanga's grouping of the twelve members as available in Sanskrit from the motivalatter work: "The downcasting members are nescience, name-anddown are cast tions, and perceptions. The members form, six sensebases,contact, and feelings. The producing members are craving, indulgence. and gestation. The members pro"downduced are birth, and old age and death."32 The expression (sarylsdra). casting" means casting down into the cyclical flow Besides, the Tibetan treatment accepts Ndgdrjuna's brief exposi30Inthat Dependent Tson-kha-pa mentioned, sectionalready Origination 'perception' as "explainingthat the seedof refersto the SAlistambasfitra of the (vijftana) in the field of karmawhichhas manure onescience' is planted with the waterof craving,andthenthe shoot (avidya); andthat is moistened ' in the wombproceeds to completion." The Sanskrit of oname-and-form causes, p. 84 3rd paragraph.Anyway, passage desdouze is in Thdorie waterwith "craving",andthismayhavealso the metaphorical thisassociates
account of the 10th member been the intention of the Arthavini1cayatika's the water of "craving". "gestation," to wit, that the fruit's moisteningsuggests slThe Lam rim chen mo js Tson-kha-pa'sencyclopedicexposition of the path to enlightenmentfor the three orders of persons(cf. n' 28, above). The many quotations in the part containing the Dependent Origination material has numerous quotations from such works as the Lalitavistara emphasizing the sufferingsand ills of the world, representingit as a kind of prison. One should understanclhow all this mass of suffering came about, and how to escape. Accordingly, such teachingsas that of Dependent Origination are expounded. text, p. 26, lines 20 ff. s2Pnersan PnADHAN,ed., AbhidhQrma-samuccdya'

Dependent Origination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition

181

tion in his Pratityasamutpdda-hrdaya-kdrtkd, in part that three defilements-nescience, craving, and indulgence-give rise to two karmas-motivations and gestation-which in turn give rise to the seven sufferings, namely, the remaining members, and that 'othus the wheel of becoming (bhauacakra) itself revolves again and again." Tson-kha-pa's treatment introduces the terminology of 2-l/2 and 4-l/2. By 2-l/2 is meant the members 'onescisnce," "motivation," and then the visionary half of "perception" which is called the "causal uijfidna". By al/2 is meant the members beginning with the fallen half of "perceptions" which is called the "fruitional uijfidna". One should note about all the above terminology that it agreeswith the second kind of Dependent Origination, involving karmo and rebirth of the person. Besides, it is necessary to clarify the member No. l0 "gestation" (bhaua)as a karma. The ancient explanation by varieties of three worlds (desire, form, and formless) immediately associates the member with the Buddhist theory of food; and it will be recalled that in the detailing of the "tree of suffering" the eating of the fruit was credited to this karma member. The Samyutta Nikdya, ii, 98, sets forth four kinds of food "for maintaining the sentient beings who have been born or for aiding those who wish to come forth." The standard order of the four is morsel food, coarse or subtle; sensecontact (sparia); volition (manaltsarycetand); and perception (uijfiana). The Abhidharmakoiu (chap. IIf explains that the first two foods nourish the being already born-extend its life-and that the last two foods enable the being not yet born to come into existence. The kinds of food that are necessarydiffer according to which one of, the three realms the sentient being aspires to or lives in.s3 Hence, the role of this member as the new karma by the act of eating. while I employ the rendition "gestation," the words "digestion" arrd "brewing" probably also apply. My "gestation" for bhaua agreeswith its representation as a pregnant woman in the Tibetan wheel of Life. There is partial confirmation from a definition in the Satistambasutra suggesting that this bhquais a self-perpetuating entity. According to the pdli Abhidharma it both looks behind (Epimethean) and looks ahead 33The above discussion of thefour foodsis based onmy treatment in Analysis of the Sravakabhumi Manuscript,chapter v, "Asanga'sviews on Food," pp. 135ff.

182

Insight Buddhist

(Promethean). Perhaps this member gives the mane bhaua-cakra (Wheel of Becoming) to the whole seriesof tr,velve members.Ba The follorving, based on Tson-kha-pa's Dependent origination section, probably cannot be worked out in the commentarial tradition consistent with the Theravdda. of course. all these Buddhist schoolsbelievedin rebirth. One Li/b of a Single Person l. Nescience, and 2. motlation, constitutean Intermediatestate that forecaststhe destiny. Nescienceforecasts either a good or bad destiny,to r,vit,confusion (sammoha) about karma and its fruit forecastingan evil destiny, confusion about the meaning of reality (tattua) forecastinga good destiny. Motivations are virtuous, nonvirtuous, and indeterminate. 3. Perceptions,4. name-and-form, 5. six sensebases,6. sense contact, and 7. feelings, are a set going with the destiny. perception (uijiidna) is imbued by motivation (sarytskdra) with habitenergy (udsand)either for good or bad destiny. Good destiny is said to be gods and men; bad destiny, animals, hungry ghosts Qtreta), and hell beings. 8. Craving, and f . indulgence,again and again foster the habitenergy of the destiny. 10. gestation-no information, but presumably it would be a repetition of the realm, whether desire,form, or formless, with the same 'food' being eaten over and over. 11. Birth, i.e. rebirth, means that again and again one repeats in this one life the same destiny. 12. old age and death; finally one sees the trouble or disadvantage(adinaua)of the destiny. This explanation of Dependentorigination seemsto go with the "tree of suffering" previously mentioned to agr:ee with the phases of sevenand five members. The first sevenare the growth of the tree. The last five reinforce the habit-energyof the destinyand reap the consequence. Finally, "old age and death" furnishesthe realization that the destiny is deplorable, and the being determinesto leave it. III.2. Two Liues of a Single Person (l) The past life:life no. l. l. nescience(as delilement) Saofcourse, "existence" and "becoming" are established meanings of the III. l.

Dependent Origination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition 2. motivation (as karma) 3A.. casual uijfiana (as suffering:last perception)

lg3

(defilement, with |craving r (death and indulgence objectnor defined) [intermediate state) J ,7 10. gestation(asKarma) :" karmq-pi11e1"ss J (2) The present life ..-life no. 2, as effect. 38. resultant uiifidna \ 4. name-and-iorm I 5. six sense bases | (the seed of later suffering) 6. sensecontact I ) 7. feelings I 1 . bir r h ? 12. oid age and deattr tttre present suffering) J There are various casesin Buddhist theory to which this fortetm bhava. Still, whereBuddhisttradition callsthis bhavaa karmamember of Dependentorigination, one wondershow such renderings .,existence,, as convey the connotation of the warned-of hells and glorified-of heavens for good and bad acts (the karma. of course) of laity and monks ! A Tibetan work included in the canon, probabry of the earry ninth century, with reconstructed title P r at i ty asamutpdda-gaqta ndnusrir erja ci t ta sthapano p ay a, Japanese photo edition of the Tibetan Kanjur-Tanjur, vol. 145,;. 278-2-2, mentions that there are four ways to summarize the series,to wit, by count, nature, denotation, and grouping. Under the category of denotation (5. Nirukti, Tib. nespa'i tshig) the unknown author presentsthe list that happensto be in the salistambasutra,Thdorie des douz causes, p. B1; N. Aiyaswami sastri, ed., Arya ,gcilistamba Sutra (Adyar Library, 1950),p. ll; p.L. Vaidya, Mahayana-sutra-sarhgraha, part I, p. 103-30to p. to+.i. when the list comes to bhava,it haspunarbhavajanandrthena bhavart.,,rt is bhavabecause it engen_ dersbhavaagain." While the term punarbhava is usually rendered,.rebirth,', such a renderingin the presentcasewould imply that the definitionrefersto the following member, 11. "birth" (iati), for which the definition should have had instead punarjanma. However, none of the other ,,denotatior-r,, is in terms of the immediatelyfollowing member, but is stated in terms of the member itself. Accordingry,this definitio' of bhavais simprya recogni'oexistence" tion that the word means but that we should regar,cit here as signifyingthe promotion of re-existence (hencemy translationof the term in vasubandhu's conment on the Madhyanta-vibhaga verse,supra). In short, that bhavais a self-perpetuating entity. rt both looks to the past and looks to the future according to c.A.F. Rhys Davids in her Hastings'EREarticle, vol. 9, p. 672,giving the pari scholastic tradition of two kinds, kamma-bhava "fruition of past actions" and upapatti-bhava..result in future life,,. 35For the "karma-mirror", cf. A*x wAyltaN, ,,The Mirror as a panBuddhist Metaphor-Simile",History of Rerigion"v XIII: 4, May 1974, pp. 264-265. This essayis pubrished ersewhere in this volume.

184

Insight Buddhist

mulation of the members may apply. For example, there are many popular stories of lcarma where something happening to a person is explainedas due to his previous life.36 There is also the caseof the Arhat, who is in his last life, for which reasonhis preceding life is called "having one more lifc." Then there is the theory, so much identified with Tibetan Buddhism, of the incarnate Lamas. It was held that certain high Lamas could be immediately reborn, e.g., the Dalai Lama series;and so it would be pertinent to refer to the last life and the present life. The Srimdlasutra has a remarkable specialization of the theory called the "inconceivable transference" of Arhats, Pratyakabuddhas,and Bodhisattvaswho have attained power. These beings are held to have a special kind of nescience,presumably undefiled, called and a special kind the nescienceentrenchment (auidyduasabhumi); (andsraua-karma). karma of motivation described as non-fluxional With those two members as conditions, they have a specialkind of causal-uijiidnarefened to as "bodies made of mind," with which they have the "inconceivabletransference"to another life.3z The formulation of members also seemsto accord with a tantric description in rvhich the three members 8, 9, and 10, are called "Gandharva cgnsciouSin the Sequence, "rebirth consciousness" ness," "Indulgence-in-desire consciousness", and "Seizing-ofbirth consciousness".s8 III.3. Three Liues of a Single Person:

Here there are two solutions. A. Solution in Tson-kha-pa's section, with no Intermediate State explicit. Besides, the BoThere literature of thekarmastories. Buddhist is anenormous kxtant in Tibetan). One thereis the Karma-Sataka tales, Jdtaka numerous
may signal also the huge Arya-Saddharmasmttyupttsthana'sutrafor popular accounts of getting into the heavensand hells. The extensiveverse section of this scripture, with numerous kArmq verses, has been edited in Sanskrit, Chinese,and Tibetan versions,and translatedinto French with title Dharma' by Lin Li-kouang, lst part (Paris, 1946); 2nd and 3rd parts samuccaya by A. Bareau,J. W. de Jong and P. Demi6ville posthumouslywith revisions (Paris, 1969 and 1973). 37Cf. AI-Bx WlvuaN and Htosro WAYuAN, The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala; a Buddhist Scripture on the Tathagatagarbha Theory (New York, 1974), pp. 29-31. g8Arrx Wayua.N,"Buddhist DependentOrigination", History of Religions, 'Eastern' Tradition"' 10:3,Feb., I97t, p.195, in the Table"An

DependentOrigination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition

185

Life No. I : the producing life, the previops life. This consists of 8. craving, f. indulgence,and 10. gestation.se Life No. 2:the life produced, the present life. It is possible to have a seriesof these. Each such life consistsof 38. resultant uijfidna,4. name-and-form,through 7. feelings; and these constitute a set included within 11. birth, and 12. old age and death. Life No. 3: the forecast life, the future life. This consistsof 1. nescience, 2. motivation, 3,\. causal-uijfidna. This formulation also can be interpreted to go with a number of Buddhist situations. This essayhas previously indicated that 8. craving, which is usually of sullied character and conceivably so in the present formulation, has the decisive role of altering destiny becauseit leads to a new bondage. But also it might be a virtuous craving for the religious life. For example, in the Indian Buddhist tradition there was a disciple phase called "entering the stream," rvhich would be Life No. 1, when a set number of lives, say seven, could be predicted for progress up to the Arhat-fruit, each of which lives could be counted as Life No. 2, with the Arhatfruit itself counted as Life No. 3, with the "causal-viifiana" as the "body-made-of-mind" already mentioned. Then, Mahdydna Buddhism sets forth its hero called the Bodhisattva, whose vow and action irr faith would be his Life No. 1; the lives necessaryfor the first sevenBodhisattva Stagescould be counted as Life No. 2; and when he attains the status of a Bodhisattva of the Eighth Stage,this could be his Life No. 3, with the "inconceivabtetransference" mentioned in the Srimdld-sutra. This agrees with the tantric maxim, "By passion the world arises; forecast by passion it goes to its end. By knowledge of the diamond passion, the

seVasubandhu, that in other op.cit.,p.621,states in Tucci,"A Fragment," ('gestation') is the five "grasping aggregates" the Lord saidthat bhava stitras in his Madhyathis explanation accepts "(paftcopadana-skandha). Nagarjuna to accordratherwell with seems XXVI, 8. This interpretation maka-karikc with the Origination. And it agrees the presentsolutionof Dependent implying"new karma". In contrast, the "Promethean" definitionof bhava, in the previous solution"Two Lives of a SinglePerson"should be bhava with the 'Intermediatekind, and agrees as the "Epimethean" understood
a variety of bhavawhich Vasubandhuacceptsin Tucci, State' (antara-bhava), "A Fragment," p. 621,line 6. As the Therav6da denies an Intermediate rather than antard-bhava. State,it usesthe terminology kamma-bhava

186

Buddhist Insight

mind becomesthe Diamond Being.',no Besides,Ndgdrjuna concludes his vigrahauyduartini by bowing to the Buddha ..who explained voidness (iunyatd), Dependent origination, and the Middle Path (madhyama-pratipad) in the same sense." And according to the Sattstamba-sutra,when it was said, ..whoever seesDependent origination, he seesthe Dharma," the Dharma which he seesis the Eightfold Noble path.al And this is the path proclaimed in the Buddha's First sermon as avoiding the extremes of senseindulgence and flesh mortification. Now, in order to treat Dependent origination as the lvliddle path, it appears that this formulation in three lives of one person works out the best for the reasons given above. B. Solution of the Theravada, which denies an Intermediate State.a2 Past Life: 1. nescience,2. motivation. Present Life: 3. perception,down to 7. feeling. This is rebirth process. 8. craving, f. indulgence, 10. gestation.This is karma process. Future Life: I 1. rebirth, 12. old age and death. The remarkable difference between this solution and the preceding Tibetan solutions, by suggestion of Asanga's workq is that while the Theravdda Abhidharma tradition assigns the last two members-birth, and old age and death-to the future life, the Tibetan solutions all place these two members in the category of suffering of the present life. what they all, including the Theravdd.a,agree upon is that the sequenceof twelve conditions does not by virtue of that order constitute a temporal sequence. There is a time factor, and it is stated in terms of "past life," "present life," and .,future life.,' In Asanga's school, as the Dependent origination section of the Lqm rim chenmo puts it, there are "two cyclesof causeand fruit."
a0The Dakini-vajrapafijra, as cited in the subha;ita-saqngraha (Bendall edition). aTThdor[e des douzecauses, pp. 7l-72. azcf. Nyanatiloka, BuddhistDfctionary (colombo, 1950),p. ll4; and, with more complications, Ndrada, A Manual of Abhidhamma, Diagrams XVI and XVII.

Dependent Origination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition

lg7

This means that the chief temporal factor of the series is the alternation of cause(hetu) and fruit (phala) ifl terms of lives, while the sequenceof conditions (pratyal,a) is the sufficiency causesfor the members to arise. The two cyclesare Asanga's groupings of the members into o'downcasting" (Nos. 1-3A) and "producing" (Nos. 8-10) as against the members "cast down" (Nos. 3B-7) and "produced" (Nos. ll-l2l.at Asanga's structuring permits the solutions in the Tibetan tradition to shift blocks of members, differing in this matter from the Theravida which sticks to the usual order of the twelve terms. Another difference is that the Theravada, by not accepting an Intermediate State, was obliged to place nescience and motivation in the past life. A more subtle differenceis that the Theravdda had only one solution in comparison with the three from the Tibetan tradition's working over of Asanga's teachings. This indicates that the Theravdda insists on a single interpretation of the series, and so followers of that traditicn would likely not accept my organization of materials into o'two kinds" of Dependent origination-and in terms of "original Buddhism" they might be right. IV. TsB Buoollrsr Fonuura AND rHE SAyrurvl The Buddhist doctrine of Dependent origination can be further clarified by corrrparison with a non-Buddhist system,the Sarykhya. My foregoing materials have presentedtwo kinds of Dependent origination; and it turns out that the classicalSar.nkhya and even the kind of Sir.nkhya attributed to the teacher Ard{a, the older contemporary of the Buddha, are to be discussed along with the second kind, of Dependent Origination, as foliows. +srhus, Tsor.i-rsa-pA, in theDependent origination section, mentions from

Asanga's Bhumivastu (the first part of the yogacarabhumi): ,,The members reaching from viifiana down to vedana have the characteristic of being mixed with the members birth, old age and death; that being so, why does one teach two kinds? For the purpose of teaching the difference of characteristic as the basis of suffering, and for the purpose of teaching the difference between the downcasting members and the producing members." By further citations of Asanga, Tson-kha-pa shows that the rnembers vijftana (No. 38) down to vedana (No. 7) are the "seed" of suffering , while jati (No. 1 l) and, jara-mara(ta (No. 12) are the manifest suffering.

188

Buddhist Insight

The initial comparison is with the third member, "perception" (uijfiAna). Previously, it was shown that "perception" is referred to metaphorically as the "seed" (btio). So also Aryadeva in his Catuhiataka (XIY , 25): " Vijfidna,is the seed of phenomenal life; the (inner and outer) objects are its field (of apperception). When the seedof phenomenallife ceases."44 it seesthe object as selfless, That tlus uijfidna is the Buddhist equivalent to the dtman or "field-knower" of the pre-Buddhist literature is supported by ASvaghota's portrayal of the future Buddha's visit to Ardda (Buddhacarita, Canto XII, 70-7 3) :as For I deem the field-knower even though liberated from primary matter (prakrti) and secondary characters has the attribute of giving birth and the attribute of being a seed. For even if the purified soul (dtman) be deemed to be liberated, again it will be bound by reason of the real presence of the conditions. It is my belief that just as a seed does not spring up through lack of the season,earth, and lvater; and springs up by reason of theseand those conditions, so also does it (the soul). And rvhat is imagined to be liberation through abandonment of (the three things) act, ignorance, and craving (: Buddhist Dependent Origination Nos. 2, I , and 8) is ultimately not a complete abandonment of them as long as there is a soul. Along the lines of the previous finding of this paper, one may infer that when the Buddha denies a true liberation of the purified self it is because the purification is from defilement (kleia), so from defiled nescience and from craving as well as from concordant acts; while there is still no liberation from undefiled nescience which, serving as the condition for an appropriate motivation, provides a condition for the seed-no matter which seed-to again spring up. Now, I have elsewherediscussedthe terminology of 2-l/2 and 4-l/2 members and concluded that the first l/2 of "perception" is the equivalent to the Sdr.nkhyabuddhi and that the second l/2 of "perception" is the equivalent to the SaankhyaaharTtkdra. They aaTranslated in the contextof its citationin Tson-kha-pa's Lam rim chen (vipafyana) mo, Lhagmthofi section. Cf. V. Bnetucsaxvt, TheCatuhiataka p. 230. of Aryadeva, 45E. (ed.),TheBuddhacarita, p. 137. H. JouNsroN Part I (Calcutta, 1935),

Tradition Indo-Tibetan Origination-The Dependent

189

roughly correspondto the two selves,supremeand individual, of the early Upanisads, which stem from the B.g-ueda; although Buddhism does not call those halves of "perception" "Selves"or o'perception" a higher and a lower self, and in fact only counts (uijfrdna) once to be the third member of Dependentorigination.4G To carry the comparisonfurther, just as "perception" in Buddhism was shown above to be the seed of phenomenal life, in the Sar.nkhyasystem it is buddhi or Mahat that is the initial evolute, o'reconinaugurating the phenomeual series. In Buddhism, the the Abhidharma necting perception" (pratisarTtdhi-uiifidnaof traclition) first arises as the "appropriating consciouslless" (dddna-ui.ifidna of the dlay,auiiiidnatradition), i.0., the vision of the phenomenal abode (the future parents); this is rather close to the Sdr.nkhya Mahat as a field knower (k5etraifia)-the first creation (sarga) of the Anugitd (of the Mahdbharata). Thus the first half of "perception" has the role in Buddhism of establishing the initial division into subject-object by perceiving an object, as does the Samkhya buddhi which cognizes "thatness" and which 'oascertainment" in Sdfnkhya-kqrikd No. 23 has the function of (adhyauasdya). The reconnecting "perception" then falls into the womb as the fruitional consciottsness(orpakauijfidna ot iiuitendriya), rather close to tire Simkhya aharykdra-the second creation of the Anugitd. The second-half uijfidna is followed by lame-and-form just as in Snmkhya the aharykdra,accordancl the six sensebases, ing to Sdrfkhya-kdrika No. 24, through its function of conation (abhimana)gives rise to the various organs and elementsconstituting the body. According to the Viifiaptimatratdsiddhi the beings o'I" (suam take the alayauijfiana ("store consciousness") as their abhyantarant dtmdnanx or sua adhydtmika dtman) because of its continuity and homogeneity, but one should not take it as a ooself."47This text of Yogdcdra Buddhism thus makes it equiva'I' " (aharytkdra),but insists that one should not lent to "calling call it that way. Now reverting to the first two members of Dependent Origination I shall continue the comparison with the Sdpkhya in a 46WlvuaN,"BuddhistDependent Origination",p. 202. 4Tl-ours TomeI, pp. 150 and Vijfiaptimatratdsiddhi, or La Vanfe PoussrN, 181.

190

Buddhist Insight

manner employed some years ago, while interpreting the celebrated Yogacdra work Marthydntauibhdgato have two realities: "Thus, the Buddhist text replaces the sarnkltya purusa with the 'imagination of unreality ' (abhutaparikalpa) and repla prakrti ces with 'voidness' (iunyatd). In this tsuddhist system, both the 'imagination of unreality' and 'voidness' are real, co-exist, and are yet distinct."a8 Enforcing my theory, "nescience" and "motivation" are added to the replacement correspondences: Dependent Origination Madhyantauibhdga Samkhya terminology terminology terminology nesclence motivations imagination of unreality voidness purusct

prakrti The Buddhist formula starts with "nescience,'(auidvd); Sdlnkhya holds that the puru.ws emergein the new developmenteach with their specific auidjd.4s Next Buddhism places ..motivations,, (sarpskdra),the karrna of body, speech,and mind; here Saqnkhya has its prakrti (also with three strands, the gunas). prakrti and, samskarahave the sameverbal root, and in both systems have the role of causing a development-in the Sdmkhya, prakrti as the original cause (pradhana); in Buddhism, ,oqrriar:o as the efficacy of former karma to attain a fruit. Moreover, the sdlnkhya sets forth an irreducible duality of purusa (pure consciousness, not the agent) and Prakl'ti (pure matter, the impersonal agent); while Buddhism sets forth a primeval duality oi auidyd (nescience, not the agent, but metaphorically the manure) and samskdrcr (motivations, the impersonal agent, but metaphoricaily the ground). As to the "voidness," Tson-kha-pa'sgreat commentary on the Abhisantaydlarykdra helps, becauseof his section .,the subjective knowledge (yul can ye .fes) and the objective voidn ess(1,ur ston fiid)," showing that no matter how many the void.nesses, e.g., the list of twenty, they are all objective, the ob.iectof the knowledge or insight that discerns them.b0 Thus, the ..Imagination or a8A. wavlrAN, "The yogicdra Idearism(Review Articre),,, philosophy Eastand West, Xy:1, Jan. 1965, p. 66. 4esunswonANATH DAscuprA, A Historyof Indianphitosophy, vor. I, p.249.

5'Tso*-rga -pA, Bstan bcos mnon rtogs rgyan'grer pa dan bcas pa,i rgyacher bSad,"Legs biad gser phren,, (Sarnath, Varanasi, 15'TOy Vol. I, p.407,

Dependent Origination-The Indo-Tibetan Tradition

lgl

Unreality" has cnly voidness (: the void Dharmadhdtu) as its object,just as Puru$ahas only prakrti as its object. The "Imagination of unreality" is deflnitelya form of nescience; and the Madhydntauibhaga(I, l l) states that from this "imagination" proceed the twelve members of Dependent origination beginning with 'onescience." The "rmagination of unreality" may therefore be this Yogdcara text's expressionfor what Asanga calls the unmixed nescience,or undefiled nescience. This text, as previously pointed out, counts the series as "defiled." or "afflicted," and vasubandhu in his comment accordingly explains o'nescience" as the first member to be the positive irnpediment to the view of reality. In summary, the Madhyantauibhdga agreeswith the Sar.nkhya in positing two preexistent realities that are on an equal footing. In contrast, the Buddhist Dependent origination has the first and subjective member, nescience, serving as the condition for the arising af the second and objective member, motivations. And in any case, it was never my position that correlation and replacement of terms meant identiflcation. one should grant that the Buddhist series,no matter of which Buddhist sect'sinterpretation, develops quite differently from the Sdr.nkhyaevolutes, even though there are some striking parallels. There is another way I compared Dependent origination with the Sdr.nkhyain an early and admittedly speculativeeffort.bl Here, partly by suggestion of the Kdlacakra and,other Buddhist Tantric material, I set the first three members of Dependent origination, namely, nescience, motivations, and perception, in correspondencerespectively with the three kinds of Ahankdra of the classical Sdr.nkhya system, namely tdmasika-, rdjasika-, and sdttuika-ahantkdra. f'his is tantamount to saying that if one succeededin abolishing the tr,velve fold Dependent origination, one would be at the level of Mahat, the cosmic intellectual substance. I do not deny a possible merit of a comparison involving even late works like the Buddhist Tantras, but there is no point in following up this kind of comparison in the present essay.

51A. wavuaN, "Buddhist Dependentorigination and the Sarhkhyagu4as", Ethnos(1962),pp. 14-22.

t92 V. CoxcrusroN

BuddhistInsight

Certainly much more is written about the formula of Dependent Origination in the Buddhist canon and commentarial traditions than can possibly be conveyedwithin the limits of this paper. In the application of writings from a long time span,it was inevitable that the "discovery" and "seeing" of the serieswould be intertn'ined. It could also be argued about the two kinds of Dependent Origination that if one can 'osee" Dependent Origination, one can see both kinds in the form here organized, or perhaps "see" just one kind. But if what I have tried to show is indeed the case. much of the past argumentation misses the mark. Those theories were not based on "seeing" Dependent Origination, but rather on the premise that if one theory about the series is right, the others must be wrong.

9,

NESCIENCE AND INSIGHT ACCORDING TO ASANGA'S TOGACANrcUAMT

Th.e topic treated here is of enormous importance to Buddhism. "Nescience" is adopted as the translation of auidyd to include "ignorance" (ajfidna) and "waywardness' (uiparyasa ). For uidya I accept ooclear sight," opposed by nescience's blindness. "Waywardness," the seeondkind of nescience, has its "traces" (anuiaya) and 'oentrapment" (paryauasthdna\. "fnsight" is my usual translation of prajfia, and the paper shows its association with light and vision; it is the chief facuity to counteract 'onescience"in the senseof ignorance, and to erase the "traces" of "waywardness." Asanga, circa 375-430A.D., rvho wrote in Sanskrit, is probably the most famous author of the Buddhist school called tiie Later Mahi5dsaka; and the vielvs of this school have the most extensive corpus of preservation in Asanga's encyclopedic work, the Yogacdrabhumi,which also includes some Mahdydna positions especially based on the scripture Sarytdhinirmocana-shtrql. Tltrs Yogdcdrobhumizby Asanga has five major divisions (sometimes incorrectly entered in catalogues): Bhilmiuastu or Bahucomprised of seven bhtTmilca, t een bhwmis r aharyi, ; Vinii caya-sot?tg tlre exegesisin order of those seventeen; Vastu-sarTtgrahani, by
1C1'. A. WavuaN, Analysisof tlrc Sravakabhilmi Manuscript(IJriv. of Calif. pp.25-29. Berkeleyand Los Angeles,1961), Press, 2Paur DBMrdvrrr-s, La Yogacarabhumi de Ssngharak;a,BEFEO,44 (Ig54), shows that there were other works of the sametitle.

r94

BuddhistInsight

basic Buddhist topics, sa:skdros, etc.; Parydya'sarpgrahalti,of synonyms, etc.; Viuara4a-sarytgrahapi,misceilaneous explanabhfimis are: tions. The seventeen (1) Stage associatedwith the set of five perceptions (paficauiiayuktd bhumi). iidnakdy a-saqnpr (2) Stage of mind Qnanobhumi). (3) Stage with inquiry and with conclusions (sauitarkd sauicdrd bhilmi). {4) Stage without inquiry and with only conclusions (auitarkduicdra-mdtrti bhumi). (5) Stage without inquiry or conclusion (auitarkd'avicdrd bhilmi\. {6) Stabilised stage (somdhitd bhumi). (7) Unstabilised stage (asamdhitd bhumi). (8) Stage with thought (sacittikd bhumi). (9) Stage without thought (acittikd bhfimi). (10) Stageconsistingof hearing (irutamayi bhumi). (11) Stage consisting of pondering (cintdmayi bhumi). ,(12) Stage consisting of contemplation (bhduandmaytbhnmi). (13) Stage of the disciple (Srduakabhumi). (14) Stage of the self-enlightenedperson (pratyekabuddhabhumi). (15) Stage of the Bodhisattva (bodhisattuabhumi). bhumi). (16) Stageof Nirvapa with remainder (sopddhikd (17) Stage of Nirvdqa without remainder (nirupddhikd bhumi). It is necessaryto mention these divisions becausevarious ones will be ref'erred to in rny following materials. The entire work is preserved in Tibetan and Chinese translations, and portions are extant in original Sanskrit. Bhlrmis 3-5 are grogped as Sauitarkddir bhumi in V. Bhattacharya's edition of the Sanskrit text which ends with Bhumi No. 5.3 Tnn Two KtNos oF NESCIENCE The two kilds of nescienceare ignorance and waywardness. It is well to include here from Tson-kha-pa's Lam rim chen mo an exceptionaily clear explanation icientifying the ignorance kind as of AcaryaAsartga, BVronusnr,KHARA BnnrracnnRvn, The Yogacdrabhumi 7957). of Calcutta, Part I (University

Nescience andInsightAccording to Asanga

195

the first member of Dependent origination (pratttya-samutpdda), which I now translate from the Tibetan:a Nescience is as stated in the (Abhidharma) Koia (in III, 28): "the contrary of clear sight like enmity and untruth." Besides, one should not regard enmity and untruth as just the negation of friendliness and truth, or as just different from those two; rather, as the opposite side which actively opposesfriendliness and truth. Accordingly, nescienceshould not be regarded in the senseof an opposite as just the negation of clear sight or as just different from it; rather as the contrary side which actively opposes clear sight (uidyd). Here, the opposing clear :sight is the clear sight with the meaning of right selflessness of person (pudgala-nairdtmya), so it is the view which destroys its enemy, the positing of self in person (pudgala-dtmagrdha)such was maintained by the great acarya Dharmakirti fPramdnaudrttilca, I, 2l5cd-2l6abl. Acdrya Asanga and his brother (i.e. Vasubandhu) maintained that from among the adhering to waywardness about the right meaning or just the confusion about the right meaning, it is the latter; in short, that from among the deviant reflection and the intellect (buddhi) that does not understand, it is the intellect that does not understand. However, this is tantamount to maintaining that the chief opponent to the opposing side is the insight @rajrta) which understands selflessness. When one analyzes that confusion, there are two: confusion about karma and its fruit, and coniusion about the meaning of reality (tattua). According to the (Abhidharma) Samucce))e,with the former, one amassesthe motivations (sarytskara)that send one to an evil destiny, and with the latter, one amasses the motivations that send one to a good destiny. since this is an explanation of nescienceas the first member of Dependent origination, it emphasizesthe flrst kind of nescience, that of ignorance (ajiiana) or confusion (sarytmoha), as contrasted, with the second kind of nescience, that of deviant reflection or waywardness,as regards Asanga's position.s aThe editionwhichI useis theTashilunpo one,andthepassage is translated from the Dependent origination section, as part of the instructionto the "middlingperson". 'The Meaning sForthe two kindsof nescience,cf. my earlyarticle, of Un-

tg6

Insight Buddhist

Now, Asanga includes within the Cintdmayi bhumi these verses of the Paramdrtha-gathd(nos. 10-11):0 One finds that creatureslie in two categories. They are heedlessin sensefields; moreover, deviantly setting out. Truly those caught by delusion are those deviantly setting out. in sensefields. While those caught by craving arc those heedless Asanga's self commentary relates this classification to Buddhist of Dependent Origination in two parts: "the dharntaspossessed (auidyd) cause" are the fi.rSt seven memberS, front "nescience" down through "feelings" (uedand)-here the creatures are caught of cause" is the last five by delusion. "The suffering possessed members, from "craving" (trsUa) down through "old age and death" (jard-mara4a)-here the creatures are caught by craving. That explanation shows that in Asanga's position, when one has eliminated "craving" he has overcome "the suffering possessed Of cause," while when one has eliminated "nescience" he haS of cause." This implies that understood "the dharntaspossessed (pudgala-nairdtmya)is personality" "non-self of in his school, "non-self of dhaymas" while "craving," eliminate to a realisation (dharma-nairdtmya)is a realisation to eliminate "nescience."7 ((text' This nrust also be why he states in the Bodhisattuabhumi ',r\mong pratyeka' and irduakas the of all lineage the them, p. 3), buddhas becomes pure through purification of the hindrance of defilem ent (kleia), not through purification of the hindrance of the knowable (ifieya). However, the lineage of bodhisattuas becomes pure not only through purification of the hindrance of defilement, but also through purification of the hindrance of the knowable."s This indicates that when Asanga mentions that "creatufes lie in tWo categories" he means also those follorving *@ilosophyEastandWest,YII:|-2.,April,Ju|y,|957, " but my conclusions "unwisdom, pp. 21-25. I no longer usethe rendition present study. the with consistent thereare
\Analysis o.f the Sravakabhumi Manuscript, pp. 169, 180-181' in opposition zThis observationsets the position of Asanga-Vasubandhu of Tson-kha-pa's, to that of Dharmakirti, according to the previous passage of person(pudgalaDharmakirti as assigningselflessness where it represents as the first member of Dependent nairatmya) the role of countering nescience Origination. sAnalysis, p.29.

to Asafiga Nescience andInsightAccording

197

the religious life in the Buddhist sense. Some (the irduakas and pratyekabuddhas) manage, by non-self of personality, to be not caught by craving with its attendant defilement. Some (the bodhisattuas) manage not only that, but also, by non-seif of dharmas, to be not caught by delusion. Previously it was mentioned that in Asanga's school, the first kind of nescience , that of ignorance, is the first member of Dependent Origination. That leavesthe problem of where in Depenof the secondkind of nescience, dent Origination is the emergence that of waywardness. In this case there is an irnportarrt passage in the Pdli scripture MadhupiqtQika Suttcr of Maijhima-nikdya (I, 111),in my translation: (Yary uedeti taryt saiijdndti, yam safijdndti, tar.nuitakketi, yatV papaficeti...) What one feels, on has an idea uitokketi tarTt about. What one has an idea about, one inquires about. What one inquires about, one develops upotr.e This passageshows that the "feelings" member, last of the first seven members, has a concomitant inental state involving discursive thought, with the possibility of "way'nvardnessof idea" (saryi,4d-uiparydsa). Hence, when o'craving" arisesin dependence on "feelings;" these feelings, according to a passageof Asauga's I shall later cite, may be associatedwith the three "poisons," lust, hatred, and delusion; and, to anticipate tire later finclings, these psychological poisons lvould be in the form of "traces" (anuiaya). Thus r.vhile'ocraving" has the frecdot,r to inaugurate but is suliied a new bondage, it is usually not a pure "cra-/i119" with deviant leflection. Asanga himself expounfu two kinds of nesciencein the Vinii(PTT',10 caya-sar.ngrahani Vol. 110,p. 28-1-5,ff.). Before translating it from the Tibetan, I sirali outline the main elements of the passage. And before that, it should be menlioned that Asanga evidently means by "nescience" here the auidya of Dependent Crigination independent of the life of a single sentient being, since
eCompare with the translation by Bntrcuu NiANaNaNn a,, Conceptand Reality (Buddhist Publication Society,Kandy, 1977),p. 3. 10PTTis the abbreviated reference to the "Peking Tibetan Tripitaka," the photographicreproduction in Japan of the Peking edition of the Tibetan

198

Buddhist Insight

two types of persons are mentioned, and so there is a nescience without defilement.l1 A. Unmixed nescience (: ignorance) a. The confusion of not comprehending d. The undefiled confusion B. Having the mental conco,mitants of defilement (:waywardness) b. The confusion of heedlessness c. The defiled confusion The translation follows : Among them, what is nescience (auidyd)? The obscuration ('gebspar byedpa fiid) and the hindeing (sgrib par bycd pa fiid) in regard to the reality of the knowable that of consciousness is to be comprehended. Moreover, it is to be understood briefly as four kinds-the confusion (saqnmoha\ of not comprehending; the confusion of heedlessness; the defiled confusion; and the undefiled confusion. a. The confusion of not comprehending is the ignorance (ajfrdna) of not seeing and not hearing, and not analyzing the variety, and not perceiving the meaning of the knowable. b. The confusion of heedlessness is the ignorance, when having seen,heard, analyzed the variety, and perceived it (the meaning of the knowable), one has mental straying and forgetfulness. c. The defiled confusion (klipla-saanmoha)is the ignorance through waywardness of thought (citta-uiparydsa). d. The undefiled confusion (aklisla-sarTtrnoha)is the ignorance free from waywardness uThis positionof Asanga's of a nescience that is unmixed withdefilement, apparently the nescience whichis the first member of Dependent Origination, seems directlyopposed to Ndgirjuna'spositionthat the lst, 8th, and 9th membersarc kleia (defilement), as set forth in A. W.ryrrlaN, "Buddhist Dependent Origination,"History of Religions, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Feb. l97l), esp. pp. 188-189. Ffowever, in the Viniflcaya-sarygrahaqti, on the first two bhDmis, (PTT, Vol. 110,p. 269-4) Asanga also states that the lst, 8th and 9th members(avidya,tr[Ud, and upaddna) arc comprisedby kleia. The seemingdiscrepancy may be resolvedby noting that when Asangasays, 'creatures lie in two categories,' he is usingthe formulaof Dependent Originationin its discovery orderby Gautama Buddhaand independent of applying it to a single sentient being. Whentheformulais so interpreted, it is possible to speakof a nescience that is unmixedwith defilement. But whenthe formulais applied to a single life, two lives, or three livesof a sentient being, one thenspeaks of thelst member, avidyd, being comprised by kleia.

Nescience and Insight According t o Asafrga

199

of thought. All those kinds of nesciencernay be summarised as two kinds: having the mental concomitants of defilement, and unmixed. B. The one having the mental concomitants of defilement is in the case where someone seeks that there be no confusion and that no defilement arise, but still there are present other defilements from the group of lust, etc., and nescienceis present. A. The unmixed nescienceis in the case of some person of dull insight who, while not entrapped by the other group of defilements, lust, etc., has the wrong method of orienting his mind to the Truth of Suffering, etc. and (the Truths) do not appear to him in the genuine way as they really are; and there is obscuration, hindrance, entrapment, and darkening of consciousness. It is noteworthy that Asanga qualifles the two kinds of nescience in terms of persons following the Buddhist path. This is consistent with my observation that he did not lose sight of the distinction alluded to in the Paramdrtha-gdthd,"One finds that creatures Iie in two categories." In the outline f reversed the order in which he presentsthese two persons so as to preservethe order in which the two kinds of nesciencearise in this interpretation of Dependent Origination. Asanga's order is consistent with the passage I cited above from tus Bodhisattuabhumt. He scarcely disguises his implication of the irduakas who seek to eliminate the hindrance of defilement, and yet there are still present other defilements, namely, the "traces" of lust, hatred, and delusion. And then there are the bodhisattuas,whose nescience is unmixed with the defilementsof lust, etc., and yet their insight is not strong enough to eliminate the hindrance of the knowable. It is this passagewhich may be the one that led to Tson-kha-pa's remark that in Asanga's position it is insight (prajfiQ which is the main opponent to nescienceas the first member of Dependent Origination. The foregoing should make it clear that Asanga does not refer to the two kinds of nesciencewhen in his Vastusarpgraha(ti (PTT, Vol. 111,p. 138-1)he saysthat nescience two states, formerhas the state of "traces" (anuiaya), and later-the state of "entrapment" (paryauasthdna). But then the question arises of which one of the kinds-or is it both?-that has the former and later states mentioned. Asanga discusses these two terms ootraces"

200

Buddhist Insight

and "entrapment" at length in ltiniicaya-samgrahani on his Sauitarkadir bhilmi, PTT, Vol. 110, p. 281-4, through p. 282, and to p. 283-1. For exarnple, he says (p. 281-4), "On account of the state of waking, there is entrapment; on account of sleep, there are the traces."12 Furthermore (p. 281-5), "When one has eliminated entrapment, but has not eliminated the traces, again and again the entrapment arises." Asanga (p.282-$ settles on the number eight for the o'traces"in connectionwith the Truth of Source (samudaya-satya). Here he means the eight-fold def;lementper Bhattacharya, (ed., text, p. tr61),with each defined (pp. 162-164). In the exegetical section he stressesthe "exaggeration of vielvs" (dr;li-pardntaria); and the rernaining ones are "deviant views" (mithyd-drsli), exaggeration of rules and vows (iilaurata-pardmaria), passion (raga), enmity (pratigha), pride (mana), nescience (auidya), and doubt (uicikitsa). These two states, being forms of defilement (kleia), cannot apply to the flrst kind of nescience, becauseas was shoivn above the first kind is "unmixed," i.e. unmixed vlith defilement. Therefore, they are statesof the secondkind of nesc;ence, that of waywardness. Now, the eight "traces" must be a fuller list of possibilitiesthat go along with the seventh member of Dependent Origination, "feelings." This is becauseat p. 282-2, in the caseof the suffering ranging in the "realm of desire," Asanga adds to the set of eight, "reifying view" (satkayadrpri) and 'nview holding to an extreme" (antagrdhadrp{i). This set of ten defilementstherefore applies to the five last mei'.lbersof Dependcnt Origination which Asanga described 'othe as sufferingpossessed of cause." It follows that the kind of meditation that gets rid of the entrapmentsthat are in the nature of those ten defiiements has not elirninated the traces of eight defilernents that iie deep and are vitalised in sleep, as Asanga mentioned. Thus, Asanga's scriptural authority, the Sarytdhinirthe defiletnocanq,says, "By means of meditation one suppresses their traces."13 Therements; by meansof insight one well erases fore, the power of insight must be applied to eliminate the "traces" 12For in sleep in termsof the three"poisons", illustrations traces of these of thesix senses.This Table1 gives dream defilements 2.1, where chapter see is reprinted in this volume. essay
l3EusNNs LAnaorrn, ed. and tr. Sarydhinirmocana Sfitra (Louvain, p. 132 (Tib. text) and p. 244 (French translation). 1935),

to Asanga and InsightAccording Nescience

201

of the second kind of nescience as well as. to counteract the "ignorance" constituting the first kind of nescience. Nescience as lgnorance Asanga in the latter part of the Sauitarkddir bhumi (text, p.20a) presentsa list of nineteen entities about which one rnay be ignorant, each with brief explanation. Then he mentions (text, p. : ff. : PTT. Vol. 109,p. 260-2-3,ff.) a list of sevenignorances 205.11, confusion about entity confusion about time (adhua-sollxmolza), (.uas dnti- "), confusion about t w"), confusion about transfer (sarytkr the excellent (agra-'), confusion about reality (tattua-"), confusion about defilement and purification (sarTtlcleiauyauaddna-"), confusion about pride (abhimana:). The same group of seven has been subdivided and partially explained in the Artha-uiniicaya-likd (author unrecorcled), in Tilretan (PTT. Vol. 145, p. 172-3). Here there ?.re sevorrkinds of confusion (sarytmoha) : .a. Three degreesof nescience(auidyd\confusion about reality 1. rninor nescience is delusion (moha'), (tattua). is nescience, confrision about defilement 2. middling nescience and puriflcation. 3. great nescience is blind obscuration, confusion about pride (abhimdna). b. Four fornrs of ignorance (aifiana)4. confusion about time (i.e. the three times), is ignorance. 5. confusion about entity (inner, outer, and both inner and outer), is not seeing (adariana). 6. confusion about transfer (i.e. karma ... Dependent Origination) is "not understanding" (anabhisamaya). 7. confusion about the excellent (the Three Jewu.ls of the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) is darkness (tamas). This subdivision helps to clarify Tson-kha-pa's remark as was prerriously cited: ooWhenone analysesthat confusion, there are two: confusion about karma and its fruit, and confusion about the meaning of reality (tattua)." That Artha-uiniicayclcommentary includes "confusion about realityl" as a degreeof nescience (auidya), and includes "confusion about transfer" (which involves .karma and its fruit) as a form of ignorance. This implies that it

202

Buddhist Insight

is the forms of ignorance, here listed as four, that constitute the nescienceheading Dependent origination that is the condition for the second member "motivations" (saqnskdra)of the type leading to an evil destiny. And implies that when one is nolonger plagued by this ignorance, it is the degreesof nescience, here listed as three, that are the condition for motivations toward a good destiny, and keep one in !'cyclical flow" (sarlesdra). Besides,Asanga mentions (Sanskrit text, p. 205, 17; pTT, p. 260-2-6) another list with five kinds of ignorance (ajfiaita), each called a "confusion", which are associated with the list of nineteen ignorances, in the follorving manner:la a. confusion about view (drsli-sarpmoha). f. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ignorance of prior limit (the past sarytskdras) ignorance of later limit (the future sarytskdras) ignorance of prior and later limit (with doubt) ignorance of the personal (one's own sarytskdras) ignorance of the other: person (the other,s saqnskaras) ignorance of the personal and the other person (in terms of friend, enemy, and neutral) 7. ignoranceof cause(believingin a creator lord, etc.) 8. ignorance of saqnskdrasgenerated from cause(the sinful, the sinless,and the mixed)

b. confusion about heedlessness (pramdda-'). f. ignorance of karma 10. ignorance of maturation 11. ignorance of karma and maturation (with waywardness), c. confusion about the meaning of reality (tattudrtha-"). 12. igrrorance of the Buddha 13. ignorance of the Dharma 14. ignorance of the Sangha 15. ignorance of suffering 16. ignoranceofsource 17. ignorance of cessation 18. ignorance of path laln the following,occasional extramaterialwithin parentheses, e.g."the pastsaqnskdres," constitutes minimalextraexplanation from the definitions ignorances of the nineteen in the Sanskrittext, (p. 204).

Nescience and Insight According to Asanga

203

d. confusion about pride (.abhimdna:). 19. ignorance of the special knowledge of the six sensebases as they really are (with waywardness of consciousness)l5 c. confusion about the entity (artha-saqnmoha). Under heading one places all nineteen ignorances" this

Therefore the comprehensive kind of ignorance called "confusion about the entity" is equal to the previously-mentioned kind of "unrnixed nescience" called "the confusion of not comprehending," where the creatures are caught by delusion. But some items add a "waywardness'o element. Nescience as Waywardness As was previously indicated, the second kind of nescienceenters the mind as a concomitant of the o'feelings" that are the seventh member of Dependent Origination. With this condition there arises "craving" the eighth member, which is followed by "indulgence'o (updddna), the ninth member. It is this ninth member which according to the Abhidhqrmakoia is of four kinds, indulgence in the five strands of desire (the five senseobjects), indulgence in any of the 62 views of the Brahmajdlosiltra,indulgencein rules and vows, indulgence in the self-theory. Along these lines, Asanga explains "waywardness" in the Sauitarkddir bhumi, (Sanskrit ed., p. 166): There are seven kinds of waylvardness(uiparydsa),as follows:' (l) waywardness of idea (sarpjfrd:), (2) waywardness of view (dfsli-"), (3) waywardness of consciousness(citta-"), (4) waywardness that considers impermanent as permarrent, (5) waywardnessthat considerspain as pleasure,(6) waywardnessthat considers impure as pure, (7) waywardnessthat considersnonself as self. What is the waywardness of idea? It is the discursive thinking (parikalpa) of idea that considers the impermanent as permanent, etc. What is the waywardness of rsThis category prideespecially regarding confusion about concerns Asafiga's. discussion of Arhat attainment, asin the viniscaya-sarygrahapi of the Nirvipawith-Remainder (PTT., Vol. I[, and Nirvd{ra-without-Remainder stages, p. 119-1, ff.) wherehe appears to hold that Nirvdna-with-Remainder keeps the six sense bases, while Nirvdna-without-Remainder lacks the six sensein termsof gotra (species), bases. For the inrplication seechapter12.

204

BuddhistInsight

view? Any acceptance,belief, settling on, or clinging right there to the so-discursively-thought idea. lVhat is the waywardness of consciousness? Any defilernentof passion, etc. in preciselythat so-clung-to (view). Here one should understand defilement by three aspects-There is defilement, the root of waywardness. There is r,vaywardness. There is the outflow of waywardness. Among them, the "root of waywardness" is nescience (auidya). "Waywardness" is the reifying view (sotkdysdfs{i); the onesidednessof view that adheres to an extrerire; the exaggeration of view and exaggeration of rules and vows; and passion. The "outflow of waywardness" is the deviant view (mitlrya-d75!i), the onesidednessof view that adheresto an extreme, enmity, pride, and doubt. Among those. the reifying view is the waywarclness that takes non-self to be self. The onesidedness of view that adheresto an extreme is the r,vaywardness that takes the impermanent to be permanent. The exaggeration of view is the wayrvardness that takes the impure to be pure. The exaggerationof rules and vorvs is the wayrvardness ttrrattakes pain to be pleasure. Passioninvolves the pair of rvayrvardnesses, the one th.at takes the irnpureto be pure, and the one thattakes pain to be pleasure. As Asanga mentions, one should understand defilementby three aspects. By defining the "root of waywardness" as nescience, he means the second kind, as he explains (Skt. text. p. 163): o'What is nescience? Any defiled ignorance-whether refecting upon or not reflecting upon the knowable entity (jfieya-uastu), be it (relying on) ignoble persons,flistening to heretic doctrine, orienting the mind in an improper manner, naturally] losing memory (smrti)."76 It is feasiblethat by the alternatives"whether reflecting upon or not reflecting upon the knowable entity" he intends the states "entrapment" and "traces." By mentioning o'waywardness'in terrns of the five "traces" he means them in application to the four "waywardnesses of idea,"as made explicit at the end of the citation. Then, the "outflor.v of waylvardness" includes sorne other "traces." Since the three aspectsof defllement include all ten of ttre defilementspreviously mentioned as going with "the suffering ranging in the realm of desire," it is roTheportion within brackets wassupplied from the Tibetantranslation, (PTT,Vol. 109, p.250-4).

and Insight According to Asanga Nescience

clear that Asanga means by that "waywardness" passage "the suffering possessedof cause." It will be iecalled that here the creatures are caught bY craving. Insight as qn Instruction The division established previously of two parts of Dependent Origination is consistent with the first sermon of the Buddha, setting forth th.efour Noble Truths (or Truths of the Nobles, the dryas), where the Buddhist path begins with operating on the implications of the last fi.ve members of Dependent Origination, and the candidates are those caught by craving and henceheedless in sense flelds. So in that sermon the Buddha stressed the avoidance of the extremes of indulgence in sensegratification and mortification. These two extremes may well be what were referred to among the ten defilernents as "passion" and "exaggeration of rules and vows." Furthermore, the Buddhist training was expressedby the three Instructions, of Morality, of Mind-control, of Insight. Asanga (Cintdmayi bhumi, PTT, Vol. 110, p. 18-4) says, "Thus the one rightly enterprising, basing himself on the morality set (adhiiila), generatesthe mind-control set (adhi-citta); basing himself on the mind-control set, generates the insight-set (adhipraiiid)." In his (PTT. Vol. I I 1, p. 244-5) he says: "By the Viuqrana-sarTigrahant Instructions of the morality-set and the mind-control set, there is non-lust, non-hatred, and non-delUsion. (Thus,) the absence belongs to the Stageof accumulating of the four rvayu'ardnesses (merit) (sarpbhdramarga)and to the stage ofl praxis (prayogamdrga). clear sight (uid|,a)and liberation (uimukti)belong to the Instruction of the insight set, the stage of vision (dariana-mdrga), stage of contemplation (bhauand-mdrga), and ultimate state (ni;lhdgamana-mdrga)." Here Asanga combines the early Buddhist theory of three Instructions with the Mahdyana classification, developed in the Prajiidpdramitd exegesis,of five paths (marga), although the Tibetan word sa in each case shows that Asanga used the term bhumi rather than marga.rT In the Viniicaya-saqngrahaltt, Asafiga points out that the four "The Obermiller, out in detailin Eugene is worked 1?The theoryof fivepaths
Doctrine of Prajfla-paramitl as exposed in Maitteya," Acta Orientalia, Yol. XI, 1932. the Abhisamayalar.nkara of

206

BuddhistInsight

aspects of the Truth of Suffering serve to oppose the four waywardnesses. That is, the aspect o'There is impermanence', opposes the waywardness that the impermanent is permanent; the aspect "There is pain" opposes the wayward.nessthat pain is pleasure;the aspects"There is voidness" and "There is non-self" oppose the waywardnessthat non-self is self.l8 Here the meditations on voidnessand non-self serveto counteract the reifying view (satkdyadrsli) that takes non-self to be self. In Asanga's position, the first two Instructions counteract the entrapment state of the defilements during the phase "the suffering possessed of cause." But, as was already pointed out, for liberation from the traces state of nescience,the Instruction of insight is required. According to Asanga's Srutamayi bhumi, (pTT, Vol. 109, p. 297-1,) among the members of the Eightfold Noble path, one cultivates Insight with Right views, Right conception, and Right Effort. consistent with assigning Right views, he says a little previously, (p. 296-5), that the faulty adhiprajfid is adopting any of the 62 wrong views (of the Brahmojdla-siltra). Also, he statesin the Srduakabhilmi (PTT, Vol. ll0, p.70-1): "what is the person liberated by insight? The person who has achieved in every last degreethe ending of fluxes (dsraua-k$aya), but rvho does not drvell accomplishingthe eight liberations as a 'rvitnesser rvith body' (k d1, a-sdk ;in) i' Terminology of Insight Asanga has a rather remarkable list in his parydya-sayngraharli (PTT , V ol. 111,p . 2 3 2 -1 ,2 ,3 ).So me c o rre c ti onsw ere made by consultation of the equivalent chinese section in Taisho, (vol. 30. 751).1e one of the most striking features of what follows is the set of similes emphasizing light, with five entries that are in the Pali "Book of Fours," Chap. XV. Here five paragraphshave the sarne form, e.g. "There are four olustres'(abhd), that of the moon, sun, fire, and insight, and the last one is greatest." Likewise, four "beams" (prabhd), "lights" (dloka), "secondary lights,' (obhdsa),and "lamps" (pajjota). But there is no hint in the pdli scripture that these similes have the implications which Asanga makes explicit. This is indeed a mystery of Asariga's sources.
l8'oThe Meaning of Unwisdom," p. 23. leMy wife Hideko aided me at this point.

to Asanga Nescience and Insight According

207

Taking the order of terms as in Asanga's text, I have grouped them by rather obvious headings. A. (1st group, 'oinsight" as the object, in sfitra passages): "obtaining insight" means any insight that is virtuous without qualification, or which is purposeful. "increasing, enhancing, and expanding insight" refers to an ascending scale of small, middling, and great. "perfectly pure insight" means the maturation at another time of the insight formerly and repeatedly cultivated. "equipped with insight" means the insight that recognizes defi"lement of the one which eliminates it. "fulfllling insight" is the proceeding to the ultimate state. B. (2nd group, "insight" qualified in various ways, in sfrtra passagesfor Sravokas): "non-retreating insight" is the insight that does not retreat, but goes on to the ultimate state. "speedy insight" is the insight that cannot be overtaken. "sharp insight"is what well comprehendsthe phenomenon and noumenon. "insight that conduces to liberation" (nairydltika-prajfiA) is what well comprehends the natures that conduce to liberation, as well as the freedom from mundane cravings. "insight that penetrates" (nairuedhika-") is what well comprehends the freedom from supramundane cravings. "profound insight" (ganfihtra-") is rvhat rvell comprehendsthe dharma possessed of profound voidness consistent with Dependent Origination, and what rightly reflects on the profound meaning and insight which the Tathdgatas enjoin. It is the great insight enjoined for the disciples (irduakas), in order that this insight would be for a long time and repeatedry cultivated. "favranging insight" is the one whose domain is boundless and infinite. "incomparable insight" is the insight unequalled by others. C. (3rd group, emphasisinglight): of insight" is the insight that is chief of all faculties (indriya), becauseit illuminates with a light like lapis lazuri's 'Jewel

208

Buddhist Insight.

among the gems of the Cakravartin. "Possessingit" means possessing the jewel of insight. "eye of insight" is the native insight (sahajdprajiid). "lustre of insight" (dbhd)is the insight gained from others, or lvhat arises through the generative praxis of others. "beam of insight" (prabhd) is the kind consistingof praxis, i.e. consisting of hearing (irutamayi prajfia) and consisting of pondering (cintamayip.). "li_sht of insight" (dloka) is the insight consisting of contemplation (bhduandmayi p.). "lamp of insight" (pradyota) is the kind which establishesthe profound scriptures expressed by the Tathagata, and which illumines. "torch (or meteor) of insight" (ulka) is the one which goes along only with the time of Teaching of the Dharma [i.e. during Gautama Buddha's teaching career]. "secondary light of insight" (auabhdsa)is the one which goes along with subsequenttimes, when the Dharma is well considered with insight in this and that way, and it is not directly realised by the body [i.e. after the Buddha's Nirvdna]. "insight free from darkness" is the one directly realised by the body [i.e. the Buddha's eye of insight]. D. (4th group, emphasisingfaculty or function): "faculty of insight" is the insight used to comprehendothers. "power of insight" is the invincible insight about principles and dharma used to comprehend the distinction of former and later of oneself. "treasure of insight" is the one r,vhichgeneratesamong lordIinessesthe best lordliness, which secures the consecration (abhi;eka) for one's own mind, which is best of all treasures, and q,hich is the basic causeof all mundane treasures. "s\r'ord of insight" and "knife of insight" is what cuts all the bonds of rebirth (sarytyoiana). "stake of insight" is the one which dispels the Maras ail the way from the "defilement" one to ths "son-of-the gods" one. "reins of insight" is the reins of the horse of mind-organ for virtuous practice. "expiatory insight" frees the body (of sins) and destroys (them).

Nescience andInsightAccording to Asanga

Z0g

'ofence of insight" (has only one gate), crosesoff the innumerable gates to the various defilements. "ladder oi insight" is the path arising frorn the praxis. "temple of insight" is the one concernedwith the ultimate. Asanga, Vastu-sawgraha4i, PTT, Vol. 111, p. 172_3_4, refers to insigtrt's weapon (mtslton) fol eliminating ail defllernent. As to the "bonds of rebirih" {s'atTtycjnna), Asaitga lists nias or"them, (ibid., p. 152-5)starting vrith entrapment by clinging to sentient beings and non-ssntien'r entities associate<l with householder,s life, and nine vrere narned (in Bhattacharya, ed., p. 16l). The "stake" suggests an iinpaling of the Miras, who arc of coursethe four, s'kailtii;a-', klesa-o deuaplttt,{t-" , nTerana-o .zo , and, It is intr;guing that Asanga's list seems to iiave no elernents drawn from Mahayd.naiiterature, arthough he is generaily taken as a Mahayanist. The list appears basedon the fow Agamas (th.eSanskrit canon roughly equivalent to tire fcur pdli I,{ikdyas)Insight as Metapharical Light Asanga's third group of terms, ernphasisinglight, obviously begins r,vith'Jewel of insight" as can be observedby the description "a light like lapis lazuli's". This group agrees with the translation of prajiid as "insight."zr The "eve of insight" as the native insight (sahajdprajfid) deserves more er'planation. Asanga himsellcxplains a iittle later (paryclyasamgrahat.ti, p. 234-1) that the native insight is aitained through birth (skyesnas thobpct). He contrasts (ibid., p. T2-$ the pronroted insight possessed by the learned man (pa;.t(ita) rvith the native insigirt possessedby the intelligent person (ui.irte. He defines(ibid., p. %3-g buddhi(-{. blo) as any narive insighi capable of differentiating (alternatives). Therefore, this native insight is present in every rational act of thinking.22 As such it is usually 20Cf.A. WAv.raN, "siudies in pp.112-114. yarna aild Mdra,', Vol. trII, No. 2,

21Tlre nou,n prajiia is ren<lered into Tibotan as .fes rab {"superior,,, rab,. "knowing," jfia), u'hcre pra- ?,sa nonrinatrplefix has ihis pcssible significance in classical sanskrit. In contrast, pta- as in prajanrTli ("[:iiolvs about',) keeps the oltl significa:rce of "f,orth" as a verbal prefix. zzln thc vastu-samgraltani (1st topic, saqnskara-pravicaya; prr, vol. lll, p. 137-3), Asanga gives five childish states belonging to chilCish (cr foolish)

2tO

BuddhistInsight

affiicted. Thus, Asanga in Srutamayt bhilmi, PTT, Vol. 110, : p. 2-3, givesa simile to show how the eye of insight is assailed For example, smoke is preceded by the element of fire and hurts the eye.... In the same way, craYing (typaa)is preceded hatred, and delusion; and hurts the eye of insight.... bJ' lr.rst, Asan-eaindicates a wide range of possibilitiesfor this "eye" (in ibid., PTT, Vol. 109,p.290-$: "With the eye of insight one sees all aspects (akara) of all dharmas, whether with form (rilpin) or formless (arupin)." He indicates an inferior and a superior Vol. ll1, p. 170-4,) speaking variety in Vastu-saqngrahani,(PTT. of "mundane eye of insight" in contrast with "eye of insight belonging to the nobles (drYa)." A feature of this "mundane eye of insight" is the developrnent of the coarse to the subtle prajfra as a discursive series, which Asanga mentions in Viniicaya-sarygrahanion Sauitarkddir bhumi, 'mental (PTT, Vol. 110, p. 281-3); "The coarsepraifid based on 'adumbration' (uitarka); ... the subtle murmur' (manojalpa) is 'thinking with signs' (uictira)." Whether this uitqrka-uicdra one is is a member of the First Dhydna of the "realm of form" or is the kind in the "realm of desire," it always constitutes the development of discursive thought, as speech motivation (uaksarytskdra), starting, as Asanga says, with "mental murmur". "Presumably the "arya" eye of insight is the three levels of praifid, consisting of hearing, pondering, and contemplation. Asanga states (Parydya'salngrahaUi, P. 231-4): "'Knowledge' (jfidna)is any insight arising from supramundanepraxis (lokottara'Obprayoga). It is the insight transcending mundane insight. taining insight'means any mundane insight obtained after (pfslhatabdhi) the supramundane insight." This is illustrated in Srutamayiblrumi, (p. 16-1): "With that eye of insight, he perceivesand witnessesthe Tathigata as the inner Dharmakiya. And when he seesthe body of form, a caitya, or an external painting, he thinks, 'indeed, in the absolute sense, this is not the right perfected Buddha."' Thus, after witnessing the inner Dharmakaya, he
persons (bata\, namely, 1. not having attained initially the native insight; 2. not having obtained insight arising by reason of others' words; 3. not having a.ttainedthe insight of the iryas; 4. remaining with entrapment of confusion; 5. conjoined with the traces of that (entrapment). Thus, Asaflga admits that the irrational personmay lack or be deficientin this native insight.

Nescience and Insight According to Asanga

2ll

returns to mundane discursive thought, but not with idle verbiage, to deny something "in the absolute sense." The foregoing involves the theory of flnal resorts (pratisaralta), including,in aclassicalstatement,o'Oneshould cultivate by resort to knowledge (jfidna), not by resort to perception (uijfrdna)i' This points to the superiority of supramundane praxis, and does not intend to deny the value of the mundane praxis. Asanga says (Parydya-s., p. %3-Q: "The 'exercise of insight' (prajfidpracdra) means any insight possessed of what is to be perceived higher and higher of perceiving the meaning by way of scripture, its recital in low voice, inquiries, the certainty of cogent discourse, and so forth." These provisional and final resorts are clarified in my previously published note:23 For the most obscure set-jfrdna and uijfidna-when we combine the references in de La Vall6e Poussin (especially from the Bodhisattuabhnmi)with RatndkaraSdnti's explanations, we arrive at the following: jfidna is supramundane insight (projfid) devoid of discursive thought, namely, insight consisting in creative contemplation (bhduandmayiprajfid), uijfidna is mund,ane insight, with discursive thought, namely, insight consisting in hearing (irutamayi prajfid) and insight consisting in pondering (cintdmayi prajfid). As to those three levels of prajfia-the first two, consisting of hearing and pondering; and the third consisting of creative contemplation, Asanga briefly explains them in Bhauandmayl bhumi (PTT, Vol. 110, p. 23-3): Taking recourseto the insight consisting in hearing itself, there arise three kinds of trust regarding the path and the fruit of the path which is Nirvaqa, namely, the trust that it exists,the trust that it has good qualities, the trust that oneself can attain it and learn the means. So as to accomplish the insight consisting of pondering, there is the trust that when one has isolated body and mind, with isolation from hindrances and reflections, and that taking recoursethereto, one is especiallycertain about the meaning-one accomplishes the prajiia consisting of zsArExWaynaaN and HroBro WayulN, trs. The Lion's Roar of eueen (Columbia Srlmata Univ. Press, p. 103. New York and Lonclon,1974),

212

BuddhistInsight

pondering. Taking recourse to that (i.e. the 2nd level of prajiia) when one continually performs contemplation and has the praxis and engagement of devotion, by this sequenceone attains in the meantime the prajfid consisting of contemplation, Taking recourse to it, one starts the conviction which views samsdro as base and starts the conviction which views nirud4a as superb. Repeatedly contemplating this, one attains the comprehension of truth (satya-abhisamaya), the path of vision (dariana-mdrga) which understands directly, the learned liberation (saik5a-uimukti),and views the essential(gli mthon bar'gyur). After that, by repeatedlycultivating the bhduandmdrga, one attains the liberation beyond learning (aiaik5auimukti) and completes the liberation. Now, the liberation which has bcen completed is, namely, only the Nirvd4a-withremainder realm (sop adhii e.r a-nirud 7t a-dhat u) . Regarding the "lights" associatedwith theseprajfid levels,Asanga explains in the Bhduandmayi blrumi, (p.25-2), that the "light" is a variety of the "idea of light" (dlolcasaryffid)meant to counteract one or another kind of darkness,such as the frequent darkening of consciousness lvhen one is trying to keep the mind on a meditative object. He points out that various kinds of "light" are set fortlr in the Samdhitabhilmi. Referring back to this part (PTT, Vol. 109,p. 268-5to p.269-1), rve find "abstinences" (an-dhara) (from darkness)explained as when there is "light" (dloka) and frequent mental orientation thereto. There are three kinds of lightthe opponent of darkness, the light of dltarma, and the light of ttre body. The "opponent of darkness" means at night the moon and stars, etc.; in daytime, the sun;and at both times, the light of fire, gems, etc. The "light of clkarina" means reflecting on the doctrines (dharma) as they were heard, as they were pondered, ancias they werefelt, or contemplating mindfulnessof the Buddha, etc. The "light of body" meansthe light whicir arisesfrom sentient beings themselves(as in certain states of yoga). Asanga says (Bhcluanamayi bhilmi, p.25-2) that in the presentcontext the "idea of light" is meant that is aimed at the "light of dharma". Therefore, in that seriesin the Pali "Book of Fours,"-u1ong the lines (I, 14)-the lights of moon, sun, fire, and of Sarytyutta-nikdya, insight, refer to the light of nighttirne, daytirne, both night and day" and the iight of dharma.

Nescience andInsightAccording to Asanga

213

Asanga explains in the same place that in the practice of calming the mind (iamatha) and discerning (uipalyand), there are various kinds of faults or darkening; and to counteract these darkenings, there are four "ideas of light" associated with the insight consisting of pondering, and seven associatedwith the insight consistingof contemplation. Thus, the "beam of insight" (prabh@ is the four "ideas of light" that counteract the four .damaging factors of the pondering, and the "light of insight" (dloka) is the seven "ideas of light" that counteract the seven damaging factors of the contemplation. It is the hope of the writer that the foregoing not only clarifies some matters of Asanga's positions on nescience and insight .concerningsome of the most fundamental problems of Buddhism, but also gives a taste of Asariga's encyclopedic work, the Yogacarabhumi, by excerpts from its great extent.

10
THE TWENTY REIFYING VIEWS (SAKKATADITTHI)

The Buddhists were fond of making lists of doctrinal terms and their varieties. Perhaps this bent justifies in part the Theravdda claim, which can be found in the translation of the Kathduattnu (Points of Controuersy,London, 1913), that the Buddha was a However, it is now difficult to Vibhajjavddin (an "Analyst"). determine rvhich of the many lists found in the Pali canon were so expressed by the Buddha himself or were added by later "Analysts." A splendid exampleof this type of analysisisthe Buddhisttheory of the "reifying view." This theory stems from the well-known Buddhist stresson "non-self" (andtman),especiallywhile analyz' ing man's make-up as five personal aggregates (slcandha), and o'self." The denying in four ways that any of these five is a commonplace view of man, thus denied, was referred to with a technical term I render "reifying view." This particular kind of analysis also serves to illustrate how subsequentteachersdisagreedabout these lists. This is because in this particular case,the opposing positions are well defined and each supported by eminent authorities. To anticipate my findings, on one side there is the scriptural statement in the SaryyuttaNilcdya, the evidence of the Palisambhiddmagga, artd the teacher Nagarjuna. On the other side there is the Abhidharma work Jfidnaprasthdna, the Vinaya commentator Vinitadeva, and the Sanskrit-Tibetan Buddhist dictionary Mahduyutpatti. Therefore,

216

Buddhist Insight

study of this topic may reveal a sense in which Nagdrjuna diverged frorn the Abhidharmists. Therc is a valuable article on sakkiiyadiyyltiby J. F.ahder,1 but it seenrspossible to make a modest aclvanceby considering the various bits of evidence. In the foilowing, 'F' will stand for Pali, 'S'for Sanskrit, e.g. (5. satl<dyadr;{i,P.sakkiij,adilyhi). The portion S. ,satkiiyaar P. sakkcl1,a isvaricusly Cefined,but the 'kr77'a, is frequently explained and provisionally acceptcdin this paper as rei'crring to the five pcrsonal aggregates (s. slcancfi'ta, F. khandlia).: in this acceptance,the full tern cr-rutrrl -l.e renclerecl "vier,v that the aggrcgates are treal," but th.is is an unrvieldy translation and I prefer to ernploy the rendition "reifying view." T'ranslators from Pali sometimes rencler it "theory of indiviciuality."s The trventy views (.5. drsli, P. ditrtrhi)are variously referred to, in the Di!trhikathd of the Palisambhiricimaggapaftof the KhucldctkaNikdya as an "aspect" (P. dl;ara), in the Abhidhannakoia (Chap. IX) as an "alternative" (5. kolika), iii Candrakirti's lvfadliyamakduatdra as a "piece" (S. atyia), in the Mahdtyutpatti as a'opeak" {iikhara). Those viervsare applied in four \\,aysto each of the five aggregates to give a total of trventy. since the listing of the twenty aspectsshou'sin each casean observingof self (dtman)in a r,vrong manner, it arnounts to a commentary on the waywardness (S. uiparydsa) in the traditional statement, taking as self what is nonself. Asanga explicitly statesthis:a "Among those, the reifying view is the waywardness that takes non-self to be self." Furthermore it is a 'oview" kind of waywardness.s At the scripturai stage,we may consult the Indian edition edited by Jagdish Kasyap of the Sarytyutta-Ir{ikdya,sect. 41, "CittarJ. RanorR, "La satkdyadrqti d'aprds Vibhdqd, 8',, Melanges chinois et bouddhique, I, l93l-32, p. 227-239. zSeeAbhidharmakoia, Chap. V, La VarrfB PoussrN tr.,p. 15-17. 3So BntrrHU The Path of Purification (Visuddhimag7a) by NAxauorr, Bhadantdcariya Buddhaghosa (Colombo, Ceylon, 1956). 4V. BuarrncHARyA, ed., The Yogacarabhfimi of Acarl,a Asanga (University of Calcutta, 7957), text, p. 166.19: tatra satkdyadStir anatmany atmeti viparydsall. sFor the three stages of waywardness, including the "view" stage, cf. ArBx and Hnmo Wavlraw, The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimata (Columbia University Press, 1974), p. 102, note.

The Twenty Views(Sakkayadighi) Reifying

217

saqnyutta,"3. Dutiya-Isidatta-sutta, Vol. III, p.256, for the passage beginning, "Well, then, your honor, how is there the reifying view?" ("kathar.n puna, bhante, sakkayaditthi hoti" ti?). The passagecontinues with the reply, in my translation: In that, householder, the ordinary person (P. puthujjana) who does not listen (to the Buddha's teaching), who does not observe the nobles, who is not skilled in the doctrine of the nobles, who is not trained in the doctrine of the nobles, who does not observeillustrious persons,who is not skilled in the doctrine of illustrious persons, who is not trained in the doctrine of illustrious persons, regards form (rupa, or body) as a self, or the self as having a form, or the self as in form, or form as in the self; regardsfeeling as a self ... or feeling as in the self; ideation as a self ... or ideation as in the self; motivation as a self ... or motivation as in the self; perception as a self ... or perception as in the self. Thus, you should know, householder, there is the reifying view. 'The scripture continues' "Well, then, your honor, how is there no reifying view?" And the reply: "trn that, householder,thenoble disciple,who listens(to the Buddha's teaching) ... (and so on, with the opposite of the foregoing statement, dorvn to). Thus, you should know, householder,there is no reifying view." One may find approximately the same statement in Majjhima-Nikaya, (III, l7-18). The scriptural style continues in the Dillhikatha which classifies the views under "nihilistic views" (P. uccheda-di1trhi) or under 'oeternalistic views" (P. sassata-dilthi).u The views, o'observes form as a self," observesfeeling, ideation, motivation, perception, as a self, constitute "nihilistic views." The views, ooobserves self as having form," "form as in self," "self as in form," with analogous views for the other aggregates, namely, feeling, ideation, motivation, and perception, constitute o'eternalisticviews." The point of the classification seemsto be that since form (or, body) in time perishes, the identification of self with form (rupa),likewise with the other aggregates, is the nihilistic view. On the GThe only editionavailable to me is AnNoro C. T.nyron, PaliText Society, Palisambhidamaggd; Vol. I, 1905,p. 150.

218

Buddhist Insight

other hand, if self is other than form, by reason of having it, form being in self, or self being in form, likewise self vis-a-vis the other aggregates,then the fact that form perishes, likewise the other aggregates,still leaves self to continue; and so this is the eternalistic view of self. Thus, five of the aspects are nihilistic views, and flfteen are eternalistic views. The twenty are listed in the Dhammasangani.T Buddhaghosa's commentary on that work, the Atthasdlini, has the remark:8 "A11 of them are to be consideredas blocking the way to the Path, as not blocking the way to happy rebirth, and as that which is to be slain by the First Path." By "First Path" is meant "Entering the Stream." For the tradition of Sanskrit Buddhism, we first notice Nagdrjuna's Madhyamokakarikd, Chap. XXII, especially verse l, which on first sight one would think to translate this way:e The Tathagata is not the aggregates(5. skandha); not other than the skandhas,' the skqndhas are not in him; nor he in them; he does not possessthe skandhas. What, then, is the Tathdgata? But in the context of Candrakirti's Madhyamakduatdra, citing this very verseunder YI,744,to Candrakirti points out that when one takes this verse as having five terms, when applied to each of the five aggregatesit would yield a total of twenty-five rather than the traditional twenty. He denies that there are more than four terms, and so we are forced to translate Ndgdrjuna's verse diffetently: The Tathagata is not the aggregates; also not other than the aggregates(skandha), to wit, the aggregates are not in him, nor he in them, nor does he possessthe aggregates. What, then, is the Tathdgata? Candrakirti's verses VI, 144-145 are especially devoted to the zTr. by CanorrNp A. F. Rnvs Davros under title A BuddhistManual of Ethics(London,1900), p. 259. Psychological aTr. by Pp MauNc TrN under title TheExpositor,ed. and rev. by Mns. RHysDlvms (London,1958reprint),Vol. II, p. 457. el-outsoE Ln Varies Poussnv, Mulamadhyamakakarikas avecla Prasannapada, p. 432: skandha na ndnyah skandhebhyo ndsmin skandhd na te;u sal.r/ tathigatah skandhavan na katamo 'fta tathdgata\. lol-ours on La Var,rf,e PoussrN, Le Musdon,lgll, p.311,-312.

The TwentyReifyingViews(Sakkayaditthi)

219

topic, and are among the few verses of his Madhyamakduatdra aha:11 cited in the Subhd;itasarytgr The atman is not the rupa, nor does dtman have a rf,rpa,dtman is not in rilpa, the riipa is not in dtman. Likewise, know all the skandhas in four ways. These are held to be the twenty pieces of the self-view. These are the high peaks located on the large mountain of reifying views. With the thunderbolt of enlightenment to non-self, the self is rent asunder, and along with them (the high peaks) the mountain of views collapses. La Vall6e Poussin points out in the note what is the first modification of position in comparison with the Pali Buddhism tradition set forth above. That is to say, there are here two kinds of reifying view; the first, the imagined (S. parikalpita), no longer exists among those who have entered the stream, the First Path; but the second kind, the "co-natal" (5. sahajS remains.l2 Tson-kha-pa, in his native Tibetan commentary on the Madhyamakduatara, Photo edition, PTT, Vol. 154, p. 89-4, explains that the one who has entered the stream has given up the bad doctrinal systems, and so no longer has the "imagined" kind of reifying view. The more subtle form of "reifying view," is still there. Now we move to the Mahavyutpatti dictionary, where in the Sakaki edition, item No. 4684 is the title, S. uirytiati-iikharasamudgatah.satkdyadr,rli-iailalt (the mountain of reifying views, high with trventy peaks). The twenty follow: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Form (5. rupa) is a self like a prince (suami). The self has a form like an adornment (alankara). Form belongs to self like a servant (bhTtya). The self is in form like a pot (bhaiana). Feeling (5. uedand)is a self. The self has feeling. Feeling belongs to the self. The self is in feeling. is a self. Ideation (S. sary{fi.a)

lrlbid.,p. 312-313. tzSee theoryof V, tr., p. 41,for an old Abhidharma Abhidharmakoid, Chap. p.239,pointsout "La satkayadrpti," Rahder, the two kinds. Furthermore,
that the Brahmajala-sutra two false views. says that the satkayadr;li is the root of all the sixty-

Buddhist Insight

10. The self has ideation. 11. Ideation belongsto the self. 12. The self is in ideation. 13. Motivation (5. sarytskaralis a self. 14. The self has motivation. 15. Motivation belongs to self. 15. Motivation is in self. 17. Perception {5. uijiiana) is a self. 18. The self has perception. 19. Perception belongs to the self. 20. The self is in perception. Virritadeva, in his Vinaya-uibhafiga-pada-uydkhyana,part of his commentary on the "Fourth Defeat" (PTT, YoL 122,p. 310-1,2), gives the iist of trventy as in the Mahauyutpatti, and, moreover, repeats for each of the aggregatesthe similes, "like a prince," "like an adornment," "like a servant," and "like a pot." Since his is a commerfiary on the words of the Vinayauibhanga(of the Millasarvdstivddin Vinaya), it follows that in all likelihood the Mahdryutpatti list stems from this Vinaya, r,vhichrvas the only Vinaya acceptedin Tibet. Vinitadeva, p. 310-1-4,explains that the reifying vier,vs are said to be like a mountain because they are difficult to shatter. Candrakirti s expression "thunderbolt of enlightenment" (bodhakulria) also occurs in Vinitadeva's account by the same Tibetan translation, and with the explanation, "because the defilementsthat are simultaneously destroyed are eliminated by the path of vision (dariana-mdrga)." Notice the difference from the Pali formulation of the four terms, which obey a pattern of quasi-inflections, "nominative," "genitive," "locative", "locative", as follows: X is a self, or the self has X, or the self is in X. or X is in the self. The Mahauyutpotti in common with the Mfrlasarvistivddin Vinaya has a list with apattern of quasi-inflections, "nominative," "genitive," oogenitive,""locative," as follows: X is a self, or the self has X.

TheTwenty Reifying Views(Sakkayaditthi) or X belongs to the self, or the self is in X.

22t

In short, the Mahauyutpatti reversesthe third and fourth aspects, and substitutes "X belongs to the self" for "oX is in the self." While this is a definitely formal departure from the old pdli Buddhist formulation, still in terms of the division into "nihilistic views" and "eternalistic vier,vs" it would make no difference. This is becausein the Mahduyutpattt account, the first one would also be "nihilistic view" and the next three, all involving the self as "other," would be "eternalistic" just as in the Patisambhidamagga,n.b., if indeed the Mahauyutpatti list belongs to atradition which is classifying the twenty vielvs, as "nihilistic" or "eternaiistic", but this is not borne out. Rahder's article shows that the vibhdsd cites the Abhidharma work Jfidnaprasthdnawhich takes five of the views to be "view of self" (dtnnadrgli), and the remaining f,fteen to be "view of what belongs to self" (atmtyadr,rli); that this work mentions that the Buddha expressedthe list of twenty views, and that Sdriputra when explaining thern did not divide them into dtmadr5li and, dtrniyadrsli.L' It then appears that Sdriputra's explanation is the one found in the Palisarnbl'aidctunagga, with the division into "nihilistic views" and "eternalistic views." The Jiidnaprasthdna classification also furnishes a reason for the differencebetween the Mahduyutpatti list and the P51iliterary tradition, which is that the interpretation of the second, third, and fourth aspectsas dtmiyadr.rli favors the reinterpretaiion that substitutes"X belongs to the self" for "X is in the self." Hence, the Jiianaprasthdna is here consistentwith the Mfilasarvastivadin Vinaya tradition preserved in Vinitadeva's commentary and with the Mahduyutpatti list.la We may now conclude that Ndgirjuna in his Madhyamakakdrikd, Chap. XXII, is faithful to the old Buddhist scripturehe was probably using the canon known as the four Agamas, including the Sarytyuktdgama-in that he uses the four terms, o'X is a self," or 'otheself has X," or "the self is in X," or "X is in the
13RAHDER, "La satkdyaolqti," pp. 228-229. 14trn agreement with this conclusion,notice th:rt the Vibha;a,perRahder, o.La p.231, usesthe ternrinology,(1) rlrpa is the 6tman,and so on, satkdyadp.;{i," including, (2) vedand is the ornament of dtman,(3) vedana is the servant of dtman, (4) vedandis the receptacle of dtman.

222

Buddhist Insight

self," but of course denies each of them. Furthermore, in my retranslation of his verse XXII, 1, deciding that "not other" is a covering expression for denying the next three terms, we should note that Ndgirjuna has no implication of "not belonging to." Passing to Candrakirti, he is presumably familiar with the alternate tradition and affected by it sufficiently to empioy the terminology of a mountain with twenty peaks that is shattered by the "thunderbolt of enlightenment" (bodhakuliia); but since he is following Ndgdrjuna's school, the Mddhyamika, he does not depart from this in favor of the list r,vhichmade its way into the Mahduyutpatti. One may appreciate further this distinction by noticing Ndgdrjuna's treatrnent of the topic in Madhyamaka-kdrikd,XYIII, l-2. (5. skandha), it the aggregates 1: "If the self were Thus, verse passing trf it away. were other to arising and would be subject than the aggregates,it would exclude the characteristic of aggreg&tes."ls And verse 2: "When there is no self, how will there be what belongs to self ! By cessationof self and what belongs to 'I' or 'mine.' " Nd,gdrjunaexpresses in these self, there is neither versesti.vo quite different problems. Cessation of self automaticaily ends what belongs to self, bnt cessationof self per se does not end rvhat is other than self.16 Therefore, for him, the interpretation of the twenty aspects of the reifying view as a matter of self and other than self is incompatible with interpreting them as a matter of self and what belongs to self.rz For Ndgarjuna, apparently in agreement with Sariputra, if indeed he is responsible for what was recorded in the Palisambhiddmagga,the reifying view is not restricted to self and what belongs to self, but applies to self and what is other than self. Therefore. for him the
15For the last part of the verse: bhaved askandhalak$(tah. Candrakirti's Prasannapada commentary,text, p. 343.2,3explains:lyathahi gor anyo 'fvo na golak;a1to bhavatil "Just as a horse, being other than a cow, excludes the cow characteristic." 16Asin Candrakirti's illustration, when a cow characteristic passes away,this providesno information on what happensto a horse characteristic. 1?Inshort, Ndgdrjuna'sverseXXII, 1, citeCabove(note 9) showsa rejeciion of the Abhidharma position espoused by Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakoia, Chap.V. tr., p. 17,who, restrictingthesatkayadr;titobeliefin "I" and o'mine" shows an agreement with the Abhidharma tradition of t}:reJfianaprasthana, above. and so on, as was discussed

The TwentyReifying Views(Sakkayaditthi)

223

"kdyA" of the satkdyady,i/i is not only the personal aggregates (5, skandha), but also anything that is other.than those personal aggregates that could be understood as kdya (accumulation). This is consistent with classifying the 4X5 views as "nihilistic" or "eternalistic," since "nihilistic views" are other than"eternalistic views," and the ending of one set does not entail the ending of the other set, as would be the casewhen ending the view of self, the view of what belongs to self also ends. The present writer hopes the foregoing can be considered the modest advance promised at the outset.

11
Wi-{O UNIDERSTANDS TF{E FOUR AI-T"ERNATIVES OF TI{E BUDDHIST TEXTS ?

INtRopucrroN The Buddhist four alternatives are often referred to by their sanskrit naine cctuskoli, and given in the form that something is, is not, both is and is not, neither is nor is not, with observation that each of theseterms may be denied. As we proceed we shall see that this is not the oniy manner of presentin g a catu;koli. since so many authorities and scholars of ancient and modern times have discussedthis cardinal matter, sometimesheatedly, it is not possibie to deal rvith all the previous studies. Certain discussions wiil be considered herein within the scope of my five sections: I. The four alternatives and logic, II. The four alternatives in a disjunctive system, III. The four alternativesapplied to causation, each denied, IV. The four alternatives applied to existence,each denied, v. The three kinds of catugkoti,various considerations. My findings differ from those of the western schorarsthat have come to my notice, and the differences stem frorn my having published a translation of Tibetan work that deals in several places with the formulal. In fact, Tson-kha-pa's separationof rTsor.r-t<rrn-pA's Lam rfm chenmo, the sections "calming the Mind and Discerning theReal."Thefour-alternatives discussion in theo'Discernoccurs
ing the ReAl" section. see A. wavuaN calming the Mind and Discerning the. Real (Columbia University, New York, 1978),

226

Buddhist Insight

the causation and existence aspects of four alternatives,each denied, goes back to AtiSa (l lth century), who in hrs Bodhimorgapradipa-paiijika-nama presents four ways of realizing insight {prajfia), as follows:2 (1) the principle that denies existence by four alternatives (discussed in section IV herein). (2) the principle called "diamond grain" (uajrakaqa). He illirstrates this in his text by Ndgarjuna's Madhyamaka-karika (M.K.), I. 1, with alternativesapplied to causation (discussed in section III herein). (3) the principle free from singleness and multiplicity. He appeals to such an author as Santideva (especially his Badhicaryauatara, Chap. IX). {4) the principle of Dependent Origination (pratityassmutpAds). Here he means, for example, that the dkqrmas arise dependently and are void of self-existence. AtiSa's classificationis revealing of the meditative use put to the denial of four alternativeswhen applied to causation or to existence. The fact, then, that his listing does not allude to the disjunctive systemof the four alternatives,that I discussin sectionII, may be simply becausethis systemwas not put to meditative use. The tivo topics of causation and existencerelate to Buddhist teachings that are essentially distinct. Thus, in Buddhism the problem of how aTathagata or Buddha arisesby reason of merit and knowledge, that is, the problem of cause,is distinct from the problem of the existence, for exampie, of the Tathagata after death. Naturatrly, the causal topic is first, since a Tathagata trras to have arisenbefore there is a point to inquiring whether he exists after death. Historically, the first topic represents what the Buddha preferred to talk about, and the second topic includes matters which the Buddha sometimesrefused to talk about. eariier,my main sources are from Asian languages. As suggested I ail also indebted to certain Western writers, namely, Hermann Bernard Bosanquet Weyl for the limitations of symbolic systems, for treatment of disjunctive statements, and Willard Van Orman 'ologic" (bibliography herein). Quine for his use of the world 2The passage is in the Tibetan Tanjur,photoedition, vol. 103,pp. 39-4-8 to 40-2-2.

who understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

227

1. TnB Foun ArrrnNarrvEs AND Locrc Jayatilleke says, 'othere is little evidence that Nagdrjuna understood the logic of the four alternativesas formulated and utilized in early Buddhism."s This scholar v,ras not content with putting down Nagdrjuna, founder of the Mddhyamika school; for he concludes that scarcely any western scholars, ciassical Indian scholars, or modern Indian and Japanese writers have comprehended tiris logic either. Richard F{. Robinson. one of the western scholars whose theories on the matter were rejected for the most paft by Jayatilleke,subsequently replieclto him,a among other things, questioning the use of the word 'ologic" to refer to the four alternatives. F{e hacl written an article entitled, ,,some Logical Aspects of Nagarjuna's System,,,s which included a discussion of the four alternatives, and incruded a section entitled "Nagarjuna's Logic" in his book (Earty Madhyainika...\.a chataiian, in turn, assertsthat Robinson dicl not justify his use of the word "logic" in his book.z wjriie agreeingwith chatalian thus far, I am still puzzled by Robinson and Chatalian for their overattention to other persons'use of the word ,,logic.,, euine points out that while writers have used the term ..logic', with varying scope, a common part of their usageis called ..the science of necessaryinference", although he admits that this is a vague description.8 F{e then states that it is less vague to call logical certain locutions, including "if,', ,,then,,, ,,ar\d,,, ,,or',, .,not',, ttunless", ttscnlet', "alltt, ttevery", "arry", ,,itrr, gtc. Furth.ermore, he metrtions that a set pattern of ernploying theselocutions 'orhe Logic of 3K. N. JavannrBrE, philosophy Four Alternatives,,' East ,.Logic,'. and Vf/est, 17: 1967): 82; hereafter cited as Jayatilleke,
aRIcnaRo H. RostNsot't, book review of Jayatilieke,Early Bucldhist Theory, PhilosophyEast and west 19, no. 1 (Jan., 1969):72-8tr., seeespecialiy 75-76; hereaftercited as Robinson, book-review. 'osome sRrcnARo H. R-onnvsoN, Logical Aspects of Ndgarjunaos system," "Philosophy East and West 6, no. 4 (Jan. 1957): 291-30g. GRtcnano H. RosNsoN, Early Mcdhyamika in India and chirua (Madison, wisc.: The University of wisconsin press, 1967), pp. 50-5g: hereafter Robinson, Early Madhyamika. 7G. cnlrnlrAN, 'oA study of R. H. Robinson's Early Madhyamika in India and china," Journal of Indian philosophy I (i,g7z), section II, Logic and Argument, pp. 315-325. 8lvrrrlno vaN onuax Qunr, Elementary Logic (New york: Harper & Row, 1965),pp. 1-3.

228

BuddhistInsight

allows us to speak of the logical structure. This is tantamount to saying that every grammatical English sentencein the indicative mood has a logical structure. Then, when Ndgd,rjuna writes 8), in an English translation, (Macthyamaka-kdrikd, XV[I, "all is genuine or is not genuine-" this has a logical structure. Indeed, every statement with the paltern, "Every X is an a ot & b," has the same logical structure. Quine further qualifies a. statement as logically true if its logical structure alone yields 'ologic" involves truth and truth; and thus his use of the term falsehood in this sense. Other writers have used such terms as ..formally valid," "analytic proposition", or "tautology" as closely related to this usage of "logic.o'e Accordingly, the application ofsymboliclogic to Ndgdrjuna's statements,to prove them logically true or false, goes along with such a title as "the logic of the four alternatives": and this application of symbolic logic has been engagedin by H. Nakamura, Robinson' Jayatilleke, R. S. Y. Chi, among others, including Shohei Ichimura in h.is recent dissertatioo,"A Study on Nigarjuna's Method of Refutation." It does seem that both Jayatilleke and Robinson were justified in using the term "logic" in a study of these matters when tirey employed symbolic logic. This still leavesthe important problem of whether Ndgarjuna's statements are indeed logically true, and thus have truth or falseness according to their logical structure regardless of content, regardlessof what is given. By "given," what is meant here is the usual "granted, assumed." This involves a problem of translation, becausewhen Ndgd,rjuna's statements are assumedto be at hand, the rnere fact that there are marks on a page in th-e English language purported to be his statements does not prove that tl-ley faithfully relay Nd:girjuna's intention by marks on a page in the original Sanskrit language. Here there are two pointr: If the statements do not have an easily isolated logical ^structure, it is hazardous and probably contraindicatod to apply symbolic logic. Even if they do have an easily isolated logical one structure, one asks if they are also so complicated that and truth sho'v or sift to requires a symbolic representation
eCoNrER,HsnulNN WEYL, Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science as (Princeton,N. J.: Princeton University Press,1949),p' 13; hereaftercited Weyl, PhilosoPhY.

falsehood.

Texts? of the Buddhist the Four Alternatives Who Understands

229

We may start to solve this problem with its two points, by Iecourse to Weyl's remarks regarding "constructive cognition":10 "By the introduction of symbols the assertionsare split so that one part of the [mental] operations is shifted to the symbols and theleby made independent of the given and its continued existence. Thereby the free manipulation of conceptsis contrastedwith their applicatiotr, ideas become detached from reality and acquire a relative independeltce." Thus Weyl, an eminent mathematician, is frank to admit that the pule operations of mathematics are independent of the existenceof the given. In the case of the catupko!i, the given is a rather considerable corpus of material in the Pdli scriptures and then in Ndgd,rjuna'sworks, not to speak of contributions by later Asian authors. And there is the assumption that this corpus is at hand in a translated form of English sentencesthat are susceptible,in whole or part, of being converted from their natural form to the artificial language of a symbolic system. Now to the first point. Let us assumethat the catuskoli statemerrts do not have an isolatable logical structure, and yet symbolic logic is utilized. If one would grant the applicability of Weyl's remarks. even if there were a valid utilization of symbolic logic, it could not account for the full corpus of the given, as the '"given" has been explicated earlier. So it may be merely a sectionor subsetof the given whose logical structure is not isolatable. But then the application of symbolic logic is a matter of mastering the art of the symbols. And so one may presumethat it is an arrogated comprehensionof the -siven-although in fact the symbols are independent,partially or rvholly, of the givenwhereby an undeniably brilliant rvriter as Jayatilleke takes the stance that he virtually alone understands "the logic of the four alternatives," while claiming that such a renowned author as Ndgdrjuna cannot understand it ! Or claiming that a modern writer like Robinson cannot undersfand, because he does not apply the formal symbolic system right, that is, has not mastered the art. Thus the symbolic system becomes a vested interest, the usersjealous of its misuse,while they champion its misapplication to the given, and even to what may not be at hand, for example, a correct translation of a passagefrom an ancient text.
loWEYL, Philosophy, pp. 37-38.

230

Buddhist Insight

Then to the second poirrt. I do not propose to denigrate, in general, the employment of symbolic systems for representing propositions of Indian philosophy. But are the catuskoli statements so complicated that a symbolic restatement is necessary, with the implication of an understanding already at hand to certify the necessity? Perhaps there is working a psychological factor which could be called '"wonder." what mathernatics student getting the "right answer" with calculus has not at tirnes felt a wonder at the ability of the mathematics-beyond his native capacities-s&y, to determine the interceptedvolume of the cone? As Buytendijk has been cited: "wonder is charactefized, by a halting of the thing observed. This halting, which men call attention, is at the same time permeated by a premonition that light may be shed on this thing."' But this premonition of light thrcugh the symbolic system is a will-o'-the-wisp, a subtle infatuation. Becauselight can only be shed on the given, and the symbolic system is independent, in whole or part, of the given as it has been describedearlier. rt is like a person fascinated by a brilliant lamp and therefore is not seeing anything illumined by the lamp. The master of the art is hirnself masteredand uses the symbolism willy-nilly: even for the simplest computation, he needsthe computer. For centuriesthe Buddhists believedthat the given of the four alternatives, including the traditional exegesis, provides sufficient material for understanding-if a person can understand. Some of the modern writers have rendered the discussions into an artificial language, and then have dwelt on false issuesof whether this or that scholar's formulation is a 'ologic."

II. Tnr Foun ArrrnN,qrrvrs rN a DlsruNCTrvESysrEu Here by a "disjunctive system" is meant a system of statements subject to the judgment 'oA is either B or c." Either B or c is left and one of these two is excluded. Such a juclgment appears to be involved in the Indian syllogism, whose "reason" (hetu) is relevant to the "thesis" (sddhya)when the case referred. to in the thesis is agreed to be present in similar casesand absent in llconNpus vsnuosvrx, The Philosophy of wonder trans. Mary Foran (NewYork: TheMacmillan Company,1967), p. 38.

Who Understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

23I

dissimilar cases.12Anyway, the disjunctive judgment is a forin of inference (anumdna), and for a particular system it is necessary to state the rule of the disjunction. Jayatilieke has shown that various systemsof four alternativesfouird in the early Buddhist texts are in a disjunctive systemwhose rule seemsto be that when one of the alternatives is taken as "true" the rest are certainly false. He points to such systemsas: "A person is wholly happy... unhappy;...both happy and unhappy;...neither huppy nor unhappy". "X is a person who torments himself; ... torments others; ... both torments himself as well as others; ...who neither torments himself nor othetrs".13 Bosanquet has an apt illustration:1a "f supposethat the essence of such a systemlies in arrangements for necessarilyclosing every track io all but one at a time of any tracts which cross it or converge into it. The track X receivestrains fiom A, B, C, D; if the entranceforthosefrom A is open, B, C, and D are ipsofacto closed; if A, B, and C are closed,D is open, and so on." But the matter is not without complications. The Pali work Kathduqtthu recards a dispute between the two Buddhist sects Theravdda and Andhaka about the nature of the meditative state which is called in Pali neuasafiiidnasafiiiayatana(the base of neither the safifia nor non-rafifia), where saiid means something like "idea", and the disagreement was over the presence or absenceof safifitiin that state. The section concludeswith an appeal to the case of the "neutral feeling" (the neither-pleasurenor-pain), thus consistent with the traditional Indian syllogism which uses, as example, something well known to society (lokaprasiddha). Just as it rvould not be cogent to ask if that neutral feeling were either pleasureor pain, so is it not proper to assert there either is or is not sqfifid on the basis of neither the safiiid nor non-.rqfifid.taThis conclusion agrees with the previous observation that only one of the four alterna+"ives is the case at a
tzCoNFER, Tn. SrcnenBATSKy, Buddhist Logic (New York: Dover Pubiica. tion, 1962), vol. 1, pp.242-245. l3JayarnrEKr, "Logico', pp. 70-7l. 14BeRN.lno Bos,rNeurr, The Essentials of Logic (London: Macmillan and Co., 1948), p.125: hereafter Bosanquet, The Essentlals of Logic. lsCoNrnR in translation of the Kathavatthu, Points of Controversy, by Shwe Zan Aung and Mrs. Rhys Davids (London: Pali Text Society, 1915), pp. 155-156, where the term safifid is rendered "consciousness."

232

Buddhist Insight

particular time. Besides, we learn that the "neither...nor" alternative points to a neutrality with indeterminate content. Jayatilleke quito properly explains tb.e third alternative: "S is partly P and partly non-P".16 Thus for the content of the third alternative, stated as "the universe is both fiuite and infinite," the idea (safifil) the Braimta-jdla Sutta explainsthis as wh.enone h.as that the world is finite in the upward and downward directions, and has the idea that the world is infinite across. In agreement, Ndgdrjuna states in his Madhyamaka-kcirika, XX V I I , 1718: If the same place (elcadeia)that is divine were the same place that is human, it would be (both) permanent and impermanent. That is not feasible. If "both th"epermanent and the impermanent" were proven, one must also grant that the pair "neither the permanent nor the impermanent" is ilroven. and One should note about this passage(Jayatillekemistranslates misunderstandsit),17that Ndgarjuira does not here deny au aiternative of "both the permanent and the imperrnanent" per se; he deniesthis for one and the sameplace.This can be illustrated by his own verse(MK XXV, 14, cited later),implying thatniruana but not is presentin the Buddha and absentin ordinary persons, present and absent in the same place. Nagarjuna, in the present verses (XXVII, 17-lB), also makes explicit his position that the fourth alternative (neither the permanent nor the impermanent) is derived from the third one, and that tire third one (both the permanent and the impermanent ) combines the presumed first one (the permanent) and the second one (the impermanent). This brings up Ndgarjuna's remarkable verse (MK XVIII, 8): or is not genuine,or is both AII (sarua)is genuine (tathyahl),78 genuineand not genuine,or is neither genuinenor not-genuine. of the Buddha. That is the ranked instruction (aruSdsana) Accorclingto Candrakirti's comment ary "all" means the person(skandha), the realms (dhdtu), and the sensebases ality aggregates
l6Ja,varttrErt, "Logic," p. 79. 1zlbid., p. 82. 18My rendition 'ogenuine" is close to the dictionary. Confer, the negative forms atathya ("untrue, unreal") and avitatha ("not untrtte, not futiie").

Texts? of theBuddhist the Four Alternatives Who Understands

233

(dyatana).ls See,along the same lines, Kalupahana's discussion2o about the "Discourse on "Everything' " (Sabbasutta), available both in the Pali canon and in the Agama version in Chinese translation. Therefore the word "aIl" in Ndgd:rjuna's verse amounts to "anything," where the "anything" is any entity chosen from th.eset of "all" entities according to the Buddhist meaning, as just expounded.This agreeswitil Bosanquet'sobservation that the content of the disjunctive judgment "A is either B or C" concrete."21 "is naturally taken as an individual, being necessarily Next, the interpretation of the word anuidsana as "ranked o'marvels" instruction" comes from observing it among the three (prdtihdrya) of the Buddha's teaching. of which the f,rst one is o'magical performance" (rddhi), the second is "mind readingo', (ddeiand), and the third, "ranked instruction" (anuidsana), apparently made possible by the preceding "mind reading."zz This interpretation is confirmed in Vasubandhu's Buddhdnttsmrti' likd, saying in part, ".. .with the three kinds of marvels observing the streams of consciousness of the noble Sdriputra, and so on, and of otirer fortunate sentientbeings,teachesthe true nature of the Sravakayanaexactly accordingto their expectationsand th.eir potentialities."2s Th.is only clarifies rvhy Candrakirti's commentary on th.e verse interprets it as a ranking, and not vrhy his commentary interprets the ranking as follows: (a) The Buddha taught to u,crldly beings the personal aggregates,tlie realms,and sense with their various enumerabases, tions, in a manner that "all is genuine" ir. order to lead them onto the path by having them admire his omniscienceabout all these elements. (b) After these beings had come to trust
teln translation, see J. W. oe JoNG, Cinq chapitres dela Prasannapada (Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1949), p. 27: "il a enseign6 que ces agr6gats, 6l6ments et bases ... sont vrais." Hereafter cited as de Jong Cinq chapitres. 20D. J. KaLup.qFraNA, "A Buddhist Tract onEmpiricism," Philosophy East and West 19, no. 1 (Jan., 1969), 65-67. ztThe Essentlals of Logic pp. 123-124. 22See FnlNrrrN EoceRToN, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary,p. 392, Here the form anuiasani is used. undet pratiharya. 2 s T i b e t a nT a n j u r , p h o t o e d i t i o n , v o l . 1 0 4 , p p . 3 3 - 5 - 8t o 3 4 - 1 - 1 : . . ' p h a g s p a Sa-ri'i bu la sogs pa dan/de las glan pa skal pa dan ldan pa.rnams kyi sems 'phrul gsumbstan pas bsam pa ji lta ba dahl can gyi rgyud la gzigs nas cho ji pa'i flid ston cin...1 pa kyi chos ffan thos theg lta du ba bZin skal

234

Buddhisr Insight

the Lord, it was safe to inform them about all those divisions of the world that "all is not genuins", i.e. "all is spurious", because they rnomentarily perish and charrge. (c) Certain select disciples could be told 'all is both genuine and notgenuine'. That is, that the sarne element which is genuine to the ordinary person is not-genuine or spurious to the noble person who is the Buddha's disciple. He tells them this, so they may become detached,i.e. not see it in just one way. (d) To certain advanced disciples, far progressed in viewing reality and scarcely obscured, he taught that "all is neither genuine nor not-genuioe", just as in the case of the son of a barren woman, one asserts that the son is neither white nor black ( : non-white;.zc However, he seems to be following, in his own way, the four "allegories" or "veiled intentions" (abhisarltdhi) which are listed and then defined in the Mahaydna-Sutrdlarykara, XII, 16-17.25 The f,rst one is auatdrarya-abhi" (the veiled intention so they will enter), expiained as teaching that form, and sc forth, is existent, so as not to scare the irduakas from entering the Teaching. The second one is lolr,rana-abltio (the veiled intention about the character, namely, of dharmas), explained as teaching that all dharmas are ri'ithout self-existence,without origination, etc. The third one is pratipak,ta-abhi" (the veiied intention about opponents, namely, to faults), explained as teaching by taking into account the taming of faults. So far these terms agreequite well with Candrakirti's exposition. For example, in the case of the third one, the application to Ndgarjuna's line "all is both genuine and not-genuine" is the opposition (pratipaksa) to the fault of one-sidedness. It is the fourth one whose relevance is obscure: this is the pari4dmana-abhi" (the veiled intention about changeover, namely, to reality). In illustration, the Sutralarytkdracites a verse: "Those who take the pithless as having a pith abide in waywardness. Those who are mortified with the pains [for austere endeavor] [abide] in the best enlightenment." Candrakirti is at least partially consistent by saying 'oto certain 2aI have summarized.In full translation, seede Jong, Cinq chapitres pp. 27-28.
zsAsanga: Mahdyana-Sutralafnkara, p. 82. 6dite par Sylvain L6vi (Paris , 1907),,

Who Understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

235

advanced disciples, far progressed in viewing reality," because these ones would take the pithless as pithless. Jayatilleke26 refers to the samepassage of Candrakirti's and to a different commentary on Nagaijuna's verse in the Prajiiapdramitoidstra, both as presented in Robinson's book,zz to den.y that in th.everse cited above, the four alternativesare in a "relation of exclusivedisjunction" a{Ldto claim that they amount to the non-Buddhist relativistic logic of the Jains. However, Candrakirti's commentary is consistent with Nagarjuna's MK XXVII,17-18 (translatedearlier, herein) concerning the dependence of the subsequentalternative on the previous one or ones. Jayatilleke's hostility to Candrakirti's commentary on the verse may stem from the modern Theravadin's reluctance to attribute a ranked instruction to the Buddha. ordinarily the canonical passage cited in this connectionis, as Thomas rendersit: "Buddha replied, "What does the O'der expect of me? I have taught the Doctrine without making any inner and outer, and herein the Tathagata has not the closed fist of a teacher with regard to doctrines.' ')28 From the modern Theravddin standpoint, Candrakirti's explanation attributes to the Buddha precisely such an inner and outer, becauseit portrays the Buddha teaching worldly beings (: the outer) in the realistic manner, and then teaching those beings once they had become disciples (: the inner) in the illusional manner. And going on with a still different teaching to certain advanced disciples. But that same scriptural passage from the traditional, last sermon of the Buddha could be taken differently than it usually is, and perhaps consistently with Ndgdrjuna's verseas Candrakirti understood it. That is because the original Pali (Digha-Nikdya, ii, 100) reads: mayd dhammo qnantaraLn abdhirary karitud ("By me was the Dhamma preached without inner, without outer"). The phrase "without inner, without outer" can be restated as "with neither an inner nor an outer." And then just as the "neutral feeling" (neither pleasure nor pain) is not either pleasure or pain, so also one could not determine if the Buddha's doctrine was either inner or outer.
26J,qyA,rtttEKE, o'Logic," p. 82. 2TRoerNsoN, Early Madhyamika. pp. 56-57. z8Eow.q,RoJ. THouas, The Life of Buddha (New York: Barnes & 7952), p. 146.

Noble,

236

Buddhist Insight

and one homogeneous character, wearisome by repetition of the same doctrine over and over again. Ndgdrjuna's verse, by use of the word anuiasano,seemsto mean that the Tathagata, without the closed fist, would gladly communicate in a graduated manner so that disciplesin different stagesof progresscould have a teaching suited to their particular level. While this position may not be agreeableto some rnodern exponents of the Theravadatradition, it is not a "Mahaydna" quarrel rvith the earlier "Flinaydna" school, becausealso Buddhaghosa of the Theravdda tradition in his Atthasalini insists that the Buddha's teaching was fittingly modified in accordance with the varying inclinations of both men and gods.2e III. THn Foun ArrrnNarrvEs AppLrEDro CauslrroN. Eacu Dnuro

Starting with the Buddh.a'sfirst sermon, the four Noble Truths have been a basic ingredient of tsuddhist thinking and attitudes. Of theseTruth.s,the first is the Noble Truth of Suffering; and of th.e fourth Truth, the Noble Truth of Path explairied rvith eight members, the first member is called "right views" (sam1,ag-drpti). Sometimes "right views" \\/ere establishedby determining and eliminating the wrong t iervs. So in the Pdli Samyutta-Nikaya (II, l9-21),so the Buddha, replying to questions by Kassapa (KdSyapa),denied that suffering is causedby oneself,by another, by both oneselfand another, or neither by oneselfnor by another. Then, in answer to further questions,the Buddha stated that he knows suffering and seesit. Then Kassapa asked the Buddha to explain suffering to him, and was told that claiming the suffering was done by oneselfamounts to believingthat one is the same person as before, which is the eternalistic view; while claiming that the experiencerof the suffering is different from the one who causedit, amounts to the nihilistic view. Thereupon the Buddha memtanght the Dharma by a mear1 namely, the seriesof tr,velve ascondition bers which begin with the statement"having nescience
zsTheExpositor (Atthasalinr), trans. Pe Maung Tin, edited and revisedby Mrs. Rhys Davids, vol. I atd 2 (London: Luzac & Company, 1958reprint), l:246: 2:318-31,9. soAscited by I. B. HonNER, BuddhistTexts Throughthe Ages,ed.byEdward Conze (Oxford: Bruno Cassirer,1954),pp. 68-69,and my summary.

Who Understandsthe Four Alternativesof the Buddhist Texts?

237

the motivations arise" and continue with' similar statements through the rest of dependent origination (pratitya-samutpdda). The Buddha proceededto teach that by the cessationof nescience, the motivations cease,and so on, with the cessationof this entire mass of suffering. In agreernent, Ndgirjuna's Madhyamaka' kdrikd, I, 1 states: There is no entity anywhere that arises from itself, from another, from both (itself and another), or by chance. In this casethe given elernentis called the "entity" (bheua). The first two of the denied atternatives have the given element of "cessation" (nirodha) in MK YtrI, 32. The element is "suffering" The (duhkha) or "externat entity" (bdhya-bhdva)in MK XII' "Negameaning of the denial here is aptly stated by Bosanquet: tion of'a disjunction would mean throwing aside the whole of some definite group of thoughts as fallacious, and going back to begin again with a judgment of the simplest kind. It amounts to saying. 'None of your distinctions touch the point; you must begin afresh."'31 In the discourse to Kassapa, Io begin afresh amounts to accepting "dependent origination." This is also Ndgdrjuna's position, follorving the ancient discourse to Katydyana, as mentioned later in the Madhyamaka-kdrika, and as stated in Candrakirti's Madhyamakduatara,VI, 114: Since entities do not arise by chance, (i.e.) from a lord, and so Purusa, Nirayanat on (primal matter, time, atoms, suabhdua, and etc.), or from themselves,others, or both (themselves others) then they arise in dependence (ot causes and conditions).32 Besides, to begin afresh amounts to the establishmentof voidness(lunyata), for so the Anauatapta (ndgardja)pariprccha is cited: ..Any (thing) that is born (in dependence)on conditions, is not born (to wiQ: The birth of this (thing) does not occur by selfexistence (suabhdua). Any (thing) that is dependent on conditions, is declared void. Any person who understands voidness,
slBosANQUur, The Essentials o.f Logic, p. 125. s2Here translated from the Tibetan in the context of TsoN-rcra-pa's o'Discerning the Real" section. See Wayman, Calming the Lam rim chen rno, Mind and Discerning the Real.

238

Buddhist Insight

is heedful."33 since Ndgdrjuna begins his Madltyamaka-karikd with this theory of causation,it is reasonableto assumethat it is essentialfor the rest of his work. Also, since voidness ((Sunyatd) is establishedin the course of the causal denials, it is taken for granted in the denial in tcrms of existence, and so the attempt to establishvoidnessby way of existencebecomesa faulty point of view (dr;!i), as in MK XXII, 11: One should not say "It's void," nor ,.it's non-void.," nor ..It's both (void and non-void)," nor '.ft,s neither." But it may be said in the meaning oi designation. one should not say, "It's void," because the four alternatives applied to existence cannot establishvoidness. But in the meaning of designation (prajfiaptyarthom), as in the celebrated verses (MK xxIV, 18-19),there is the act of calring dependent origination "voidness" and the dharmas so arising "void"; and here Ndgarjuna adds that the act of calling when there is the dependency, is the middle path.se Besides,the denial of the four alternatives in the scope of causation (confer, MK I, l, earlier) rvas aimed at four philosophical positions, as follorvs:Bs l. The denial of arising from itself is the rejection of the
33For the various occurrences of the important verse, seeLouis DE LA varrf,r Foussin,Mfrlamadhyamakakarikas de Nagarjuro o|"" la prasannapadd cantmentairede candralcirti, Bibliotheca Buddhica, vol. 4 (St-p6tersbourg, 1903-1913), p. 239. 34HereI accept Matilal's correction of my earlier stateclposition; confer. Bimal Krishna Matilal,Epistemology, Logic, and Granrnar in Indian philosopltical Analysis (The Hague : Mouton, lg77), p. l4g-149; hereafter cited as Matilal, Epistemology,Logic, and Grammar. Flut now my understancling only partialiy agreeslvith his, to wit, o'Depenclent origination:Emptiness: Dependent cesignation:The Middle way." Because I would say that as far as Nagarjuna is concerned,dependent origination is the way things happen and that it is voidness,whiie the dharmasso arising are void, whethei cne recognizesthis to be the case. But r,vhilehis school designatesdependent origination voidness,this is not what every other Bucidhist sect does; and Ndgarjuna goes on to add that the act of so designating,when there is the dependence, is indeed the middle path. so it is not voidnessthat is desisnation. 85HereI have taken suggestions from the context of the Lam rim chenmo when MK r, 1 is cited,_andfrom the annotational comments of the Tibetan work called Mchan b/i.

Who Understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

239

Sdr.nkhyaposition, which is the satkdrywsdda (causation of the effect already existent). Murti is certainly right on this Point'so 2. Tlne denial of arising from another rejects the creator being (tiuara), and Kalupahana increases the list from a Jaina source for "caused by another": destiny (niyati), time (lcala), God (tiuara), nature (suabhdua),and action (karma). The later Buddhist logicians heid a theory of "efficiency" that belongs here.3? Murti incorrectly puts this kind of denial under the heading of asatkdryauada(the non-existenceof an effect before its production).38 3. The denial of arising from both itself and another is the rejection of the VaiSe+ika,who say the clay pot arises from itself (clay) and frorn the potter, wheel, sticks, etc. trn fact, this theory is in both the Nydya and Vai6esika philosophy, which Dasgupta,se in agreement rvith Shastri,aocalls the asatkdryaudda, the opposite of the Sar.nkhya'ssatkdryaudda. Here, the clay is the material cause; the stick, wheel, etc., the instrumental cause. 4. The denial of arising without a cause(or by chance), is the rejection of the Lokdyata (the ancient materialistic school), which espouses the arising from self-nature.alThat school held ttrrat consciousnessis just a rnode of the four elements(flre, 36T.R. V. Munrr, The Central Philosophy (London: George of Buddhisrn Allen and Unrvin,1955), pp. 168-169.
37confer, Davro J. KarupaHANA, causality : The central philosophyof Buddhism (Honolulu : The University Press of Hawaii, 1975), pp. 5, 46. For the theory of the Buddhist logicians as later expressedby Ratnakirti, see surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy,vol. I (London : cambridge university Press, 1932), 1:158-159.This is a theory that "efficiency" (arthakriyakaritva) can produce anything, ancl so a momentary, efficient entity is the 'oother" from which something may arise. The stream of consciousness is held to be of this nature, with one "moment" of consciousnessgiving rise to the next one. Hereafter cited as Kalupahana, causality. 38Murti. The central Philosophy, p. 170. rnisused the term asatkaryavada (for the correct usage,see below). gsA l[[story of Indian Philosophy. 1:320. 40DnanusNona Narn Snasrru. critique of Indian Realism (Agra : Agra University, 1964), p. 236. 41see now KarupanaNa., causality, pp.25ff, for a valuablediscussion of the svabhdvavdda in connection with the ancient Materialists, and on p. 3l he admits for them the appelation'non-causationists' (ahetuvada).

240

Buddhist Insight

air, water, earth): consciousness is not the effect of another consciousness.42 Hence, there is no denial of arising per se, but the alternatives are meant to deny the arising falsely ascribedto certain agencies, to wit, itself, another, both itself and another, or by chanceThis, then, is one of the "right views." V. TsB FouR ArrnnNATrvESApprrno ro ExrsrENCE. EacH Dexrrn The Buddha rejected each of the four alternativesregarding the existence after death of the Tathagata, becausenone of the four Ndgdrjuna devotes are relevant (na upeti), or defined(auydkata).a3 Medhyamaka-karikd, chap. XXV to the same topic, saying generally (XXV, 22): "Since all given things ("uastu\no are void, what is endless,what rvith end, what both endlessand with end, r,vhat neither endlessor with end?" Tiris refers to the celebrated fourteen "undefined given things" (auydkrta-uastuni).asSo in the is treated in verses5, 8, 13, 16; and the Lord chapter, nirudrya before and after cessation, in verses17, 18. For example,this is verse 17: "One should not inferaG that the Lord existsafter cessation (i.e. in NirvdrSa). One should not infer that he does not
a2The Tattvasafigrahaof Sdntarak;ita with the Commentary of Kamalaiila, trans. by Ganganatha Jha, vol. 2 (tsaroda : Oriental Institute, 1939), pp. 887-888. o'Logic," p. 81; and K. N. Jayatilleke,Early Buddhist a3Cf. JnvarrLLEKE, Theory of Knowledge(London : George Allen & Unwin, 1963),pp. 473-474. acWhile the verse in Sanskrit has the locative plural dharme;urather than vastLttu,Candrakirti's commerrtary makes it clear that the latter word is intended, becausehe promptly talks of the fourteen avyAkrtu-vastilniand does not mention any dharma-s:while in the Tibetan translation of the verse, instead of the stairdard translation for dharma (T. chos),one finds the term ditospo, which is frequently used to translate vastu; confer, Takashi Hirano, An Index to the Bodhicaryavatara Pafiiika, Chapter IX (Tokyo: Suzuki Repp. 273-27 6. searchFoundation,1966), 45EowaRo J. Tnouas, The History of Buddhist Thought (London : that they are actually & Kegan Paul, 1963reprint), p. I24, states Rotrtledge four, but become fourteen by stating them in different ways. aGMytranslation "should not infer" is for the Sanskrit nohyate.The verb uh- has a number of meanings,including "to infer", and the latter meaning with the verb root when there is the prefix abh[,withsuch is more associated a form as abhyuhya" having inferred."

who understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist rexts?

z4I

exist, or both (exists and does not exist),'or neither.,, Hence the rejections,again, are aimed against att phitosophical positions that resort to inference or to ordinary human reason in such matters.aT The failure of reasoning is clearly expressed in the Mahdydna work Ratnagotrauibhaga (chap. I, verse 9) when denying the four alternatives about the Dharma-sun as the ultimate nature: I bor,v to that Dharma-sun which is not existence and not non-existence,not both existenceand non-existence, neither different from existencenor from non-existence; which cannot be reasoned (aiakyas tarkayitum), is free from definition (nirukty-apagata!),, revealerl by introspection, and quiescent; and lvhich, pervasively shining with immaculate vision, removes the attachment, antipathy, and (eye-) caurs toward. all objects.as The question arises whether it is proper to interpret this to involve denial in tsosanquet'smeaning, what he calls, ..contrary negation."4e "As we always speak and think within u g.n.rul subject or universe of discourse, it follorvs that every denial substitutes sorne arlirmation for the judgment which it denies.,, one could argue that simply to deny onr ludg.ent and trrereby affirm another judgment would be a proceur or triinking that is negatedby the goal arlrrdedto in the precedingpassage, since the Dharma-s'n "cannct be reasoned." Floro.ii, if Bosanquet,s statement were altered to read "every cle'ial substitute, ,o,n" affirmation for the de'ial," it then appears to suit the state of azThis conclusion, however, goesagainst various speculative sclutions that havebeenadvanced to <ietermine particurar schools to go with thevarious denialsappliedto existcncc, namely,those of JayatilrJ<e. EarryBuddhist Theoryof Knowledge, pp. 243ff.: Murti. The Centralphitosophy, pp. 130_ 131: I(' v' Ramanan, phirosophy Nagarjuna's (varanasi : Bharatiya vicya Prakashan, pp. 155-158. 1971), It is noteworthy that thereis littleagreement between theseauthors'solutions, ancl their arbitrariness itseif stems from humanreason, while to ccuntersuchpositions Ndgdrjuna wourdalsohave had to use ordinaryhurnanreason.

aETheRdtfiagotravibhaga Mahdyanottcratdntraiastra. ed. E. H. Johnston (Patna: Bihar Researchsociety, 1950), pp. 10-il : confer, arso Jikido Takasaki, A study on the Ratnagotravibhaga (uttaratantrc) Roma : rnsti_ tuto Italiano per il Medio ed EsrremoOriente, 1966), pp. 163-166. aeBosauqurr, The Essentialsof Logic, p. I29.

242

BuddhistInsight

affairs alluded to in the passage above. In short, the whole system of four alternatives would be denied in this contrary negation, thus to suggestthe retirement of convention (satpurti) in favor of absolute truth (paramdrtha-satya). In the preceding illustrations, it is the Tathagata or the Dharma or Nirvif a which is affi.rmed as the affirmation of absolute truth in the processof the denials, becausethese denials afe a meditative act-and acts succeedwhere theories fail-which downgrades the role of inference and human reason generally,and upholds the role of vision, so-as AtiSa indicated-to promote insight Qtrajfid). Therefore, it is now possible to evaluate two interpretations which seem to be starkly contrasted: (l) Murti's "The Md,dhyamika denies metaphysicsnot becausethere is no real for him; to Reason. He is convinced of a but becauseit is inaccessible (2) Streng's, "In Ndgdr(praifia)...."50 higher faculty, Intuition force is an effi"cient power reason of juna's negative dialectic the disthe that could argue One for realizing Ultimate Truth."51 mental as the taken to be is reason agreementis deceptive,sinceif processof making the denials which substitute an affirmation of the Real or Ultirnate Truth, then indeed while the Real is into reason,it cannot be deniedthat reasonbrought about accessible that higher faculty, the supernal insight(praifiQ, to which the Real is accessible, This very pointis madein the Kaiyapa-pariuarta: Ka$yapa, it is this way: example,for when two treesare rubbed together by the wind, and fi.re arises (from the friction), (that fire) having arisen, burns the two trees. In the same way. KdSyapa, (when given things are analysed) by the most pure discriminalion (pratyaueksalta). the faculty of noble insight is born; and (that Fire) having been born, (it) burns up that most pure discrimination itself.5z Hence, the very discrimination which is the kind of reasoning
50\{1rp1v,The Central Philosophy,p. 126. srFnpoEnrcr J. SrnsNc. Emptiness : A Study in Religious Meaning (Nashville. Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1967), p. 149. is translatedin the context of its citation in Tson-kha-pa's b2Thepassage Lam rim chen mo. lt is number 69 in A. Stael-Holstein.ed., Kaiyapapari' varta, (Commercial Press, 1926),but original Sanskrit is not extant for this passage.

Who Understandsthe Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

243

that deniesthe alternativesis describedmetaphorically as a friction which arousesthe fire of insight that in turn destroys this kind of reasoning. Turning to Tson-kha-pa's section,ssdefending the denial of the four alternatives, this concerns the presence and absence of entities. Tson-kha-pa states that there are only two possibilities for an entity, that is, accomplished by own-nature, and effi.cient. Then, if the first alternative is stated in the form, "An entity exists," this is denied-the denial meaning to the PrasangikaMadhyamika that, in the case of both truths (saryturti and paramdrtha), one denies that an entity existsaccomplishedby ownnature, while the efficient entity is denied in the paramdrtlta or absolute sensebut not conventionally. Likewise, the Prdsangika-Md:dhyamika rejects the nonexistence of an entity, should someone affi.rm the nonexistence of an entity accomplished by own-nature among the unconstructed rta) natures (dharma). {asaryt5k Likewise, this Mddhyamika rejects the simultaneity of existence of that sort of entity with the nonexistence of the other sort of entity. And he rejects that there are neither, even one accomplished by own-nature. While I have insisted that the ultimate nature is affflrmedby the four denials, it should be granted that tbe acceptanceof this absolute in Ndgdrjuna's Madhyamika is a matter much disputed by Western scholars; de Jong's thoughtful article5aon the topic deservesconsultation. In any case, Candrakirti's position is clear, as he stat:s in his own colnmentary on the Modhyamakduatara: Regarding this sort of suebhdua(self-existence)as written in particular (Madhyamqka-kdrikA, XY, I-2), received from the mouth of the acarya ( : Ndgdrjuna), does it exist?(In answer:) As to its authorization, the Bhagavat proclaimed that whether Tathagatas arise or do not arise, this true nature of dharmas abides, and so on, extensively. The "true nature" (dharmata) (of that text,:slssbhaua) (necessarily)exists. Which (elements) 5sReferred to in note1,herein.There weremanyTibetan controversies on this issue. 54J.W. oB JoNc. "The Problemof the Absolutein the Madhyamaka school,"Journalof IndianPhilosophy 2 (1972):1-6.

244

Buddhist Insight

have this "true nature" ? These, the eye, etc. have this suabhdua. And what is their suabhdua? Their uncreate nature and their non-dependence on another; the self-nature which is to be understood by knowledge (in dryasantapatti) free from the caul of nescience (and its associated habit'oDoes energy). When it is asked, that sort of thing exist?" who would answer, "No."? If it does not exist, for which goal do the Boddhisattvas cultivate the path of the perfections? For what reason do the Bodhisattvas, in order to comprehend the true-nature, assumemyriads of difficulties that way?55 fn short, Candrakirti explains the suabhdua of MK XV, 1-2, as the "true nature" of the scriptures, and in a manner equivalent to the dharma-sun of the Ratnagotrauibhagapassage.s6 Finally, the denials concerning existenceare also referred to as the rejection of four "views" (dys!i). So MK XXVII, 13: Thus whatever the view concerning the past, whether o'f existed," "I did not exist," "I both (existedand did not exist)," "I neither (existed,nor did not exist)," it is not valid. Such passagesundoubtedly support the frequent claim that the Midhyamika rejects all "views." But note that the views here are of existence,not of causation; and that Nagarjuna elsewhere adheres to the view of Dependent Origination, which in Buddhism rvould be counted as a "right view" (samyag-drsli). V. THE Tnnps KrNos or Cnru;KoTr, Vanrous CoNslonRATloNs It might be argued that there are not really three "kinds" of 55The passage occursin the Tibetan Tanjur, photo edition. vol. 98, pp. 151-2-3 preceded to l5l-2-7. immediately by Candrakirti's citation of it in Lam rim chen MK XV, l-2I l:evetranslated mo context. soWhile it is not possible to deal here with the many misconceptions in Ives Waldo, "Nagarjuna and Analytic Philosophy."Philosophy East and West25, no. 3 (July, 1975),one may observe that Candrakirti's passage (p. 283)that the acceptanc his remarks directlycontradicts e of "relational (pratyaya) a denialboth of svabhava entails conditions" and of nonrelational Because Candrakirtiaccepts, events." as doesBuddhism gene"significant
rally, the pratyaya in the causalchain of Dependent Origination, and yet he also insists here upon the svabhavaas well as on a significance (the bodhisattve's goal) that is perhaps nonrelational.

who understands the Four Arternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

24s

catu,skoli but simply different applications of the catu;ko1i. . Perhaps an exaggeration of contrast is involved in using the word "kinds." still I feel the word is necessaryto counter the frequent discussion of the catugkoli as though the catu-rko{i is at hand and the only difficulty is in how to explain it. Hence we may observe that the first kind of catuskoli, in a disjunctive system, is explanatory of the individual propositions, and thus serves as an introduction to the next two kinds or uses of the catuskoli, to wit, to apply to the problem of causation or to the problem of existence. There were disputes concerning each of the three kinds, but it is especiallythe causation and existence applications of the four alternatives that occasioned spirited disagreementsbetweenthe two main schoolsof the Mddhyamikathe Prdsangika and the Svdtantrika-disagreements which would require too many technical explanations to be treated in this article. Moreover, all three kinds of catuskoli arcfound in early Buddhism and later in the Madhyamika school. The first case where the four alternatives constitute a disjunctive system, rvith the individual terms not necessarilydenied, was well representedin passages of early Buddhism, as preservedin the pali canon; and then was included in Ndgdrjuna's Madhyamaka-kdrika in the verse about the ranked instruction of the Bucldha. The second case, denial of alternatives regarding causation, stating with the discoursesto Kassalra and to Kaccayana, is rnade much of by NagSrjuna as the basis of the Mddhyamika, but does noi seem to have been stressedas much in other schools of Buddhisrn. The third case,denial of four alternatives,has important examples in both early and later Buddhism, and, of course, is generously treated in the Mddtryamika. Therefore, when Jayatilleke says, "rt is evident that Ndgdrjuna and some of his commenrators, ancient and modern, refer to this logic with little understanding of its real nature and significanee,"s7these remarks define the limitations of Jayatilleke's own views of these problems, outside of which is his own "little understanding." Robinson answered Jayatilleke in a different way: "And since the catuskotriis not a doctrine but just a form, later writers were at liberty to use it in new ways, doing which does not itself prove that they misunderSUayarnrEKE, o'Logic," p. 82.

246

Insight Buddhist

stood the early forms."58 This is well stated and is meant not only to reject Jayatilleke's criticism of Ndgdrjuna and others, but apparently also to justify the application of symbolic logic. However, I have brought up sufficient evidence to show that Ndgdrjuna, in the matter of the catu;ko!i, is heir to and the continuator of teachings in the early Buddhist canon (in Pali, the four Nikd:yas; in Sanskrit, the four Agamas). Furthermore, I cannot concede that the catuskoli is just a form. Indeed, if Ndgdrjuna had used it in new ways, Jayatilleke would have been more justified in his attribution of misunderstanding to N6g6rjuna. Next, we observe by the foregoing materials that the flrst kind of catu;koli is a disjunctive system that was used to explain the Buddha's teaching. The second, applied to causation, each of the alternatives denied, is a meditative exercise,and besides serves to classify some of the philosophical positions rejected by the Mddhyamika. The third kind, applied to existence,each of the alternatives denied, is another meditative exercise, and besides serves to establish the absolute by negating the notional activity of the mind (sorytjfiaskandha) and its net of imputed qualifications.ss The priority of the causality to existencetreatments-as I have already insisted upon-is consistent with Ndgdrjuna's Modhyannka-kdrikd, which devotes chapter I to conditional causes (pratyaya), beginning with the denial of four alternatives concerning origination of entities, but in the same chapter begins alter"Neither natives of existence,nonexistence,etc. So MKI,6: condition valid a has an existent nor a non-existent entity (pratyaya). What non-existent has a condition? What is the use of a condition for an existent?" The next verse (I,7) shifts to the word dharma: "Whenever a featute (dharma) neither existent nor non-existent, or both existent and non-existent, operates, in that case how could an operator-cause be valid?" (and it is not valid.) MK chapteresIII, IV, and V, deal with the s8RouNsoN, book review,p. 76. CommenssThis by Red-mda'-ba's is well statedin the Tibetanlanguage "Four HundredVerses," ed. JetsunRendawaShonnu tary to.Aryadeva's p. 170:"The form andvariety 1974), : Sakya Students'IJnion, Lodo (Sarnath
of natures (dharma) are posited as different by dint of saryjfia (notions, ideas)" but not by reason of the own-form (svarupa) of given things (vastu)-because all of them being illusory, it is not possible to distinguish their own-forms.n'

Texts? of the Buddhist the Four Alternatives Who Understands

247

products of causes,namely, the sensebases,personal aggregates' and elements,that amount to "all entities" (sarua-bhaua,IV,J)Here again, "all entities" presupposetheir arising as products' so the causality. The establishment of causality in conventional terms and of existencein absolute terms is therefore implied in MK XXIV, 10: "Without reliance on convention, the supreme (paramdrtha)is not pointed to." I propose that it was by not distinguishing these uses of the catuSkoli that there has been in the past various improper of misleading attributions to this formula. For example, there is the problem of which two kinds of negations is involved: the (negation by denial) or paryuddsa-pratisedha prasajya-prati.sedha (negation by implication). Matilal concludes that the catuskoli is of the prasajya type and that so understood the catu,skoli is free from contradiction.co Staal after admirably explaining the two kinds of negation (the paryuddsa type negates a term; the prasajya type negates the predicate) agrees with Matilal that the catu;kotri exhibits the prasajya type, but ciisagreesthat this frees the formula of contradiction.cl However, r,vhenone considers this along with my preceding materials, one can promptly agfee r,vith Matilal and then with staal that it is the prasaiya negation which is involved with the catu;koli, nota bene, the four alternatives in their explicit form applied to existence,becausethe proposition "f bow to that Dharma-su,nwhich is not existence" 'x is of the prasojya type (confer, Staal: is not F'). But when one examinesthe propositions of the four alternativesin their explicit with Matilal form applied to causation,one can pfolllptly disagree and then with Staal, becausethe proposition "There is no entity anywhere that arisesfrom itself," is of the paryuddsa type (confer, Staal: "not -x is F'). And this paryuddsatype is of the variety implying action, for which there is the stock example, "Fat Devadatta does not eat food in the daytime." But "fat Devaooat datta" must eat sometime, so when? The world responds, night!"oz Also, the entities that do not arise from self, another,
60Mlrrrar, Epistemology, Logic, and Grammar, pp. 162-167.. GlFnrrs SrAat, Exploring Mysticism (London: Penguin Books, 1975), pp. 45-47; hereafter cited as Staal, Exploring Mysticism. 62Confer, DsrRsNoRa SuARMa, The Negative Dialectics of India (Leiden : E. J. Brill, l97O), p. 94; note where the example illustrates the Veddnta autho(arthapatti). rity (pramapa) called'presumption'

248

Buddhist Insight

both, or by chance, must arise somehol, so how? Buddhism responds, "in the manner of Dependent origination (pratityasamutpdda)." In illustration, the first two membersof Dependent origination are: (l) "nescience" (auidya), and (2) "motivations" (sarTtslcara). "Motivations" do not arise from self (motivations) or from another (nescience), or frorn both self and another (motivations and nescience), or rvithout a cause(that is, bychance); "motivations" do arise with "nescience" ascondition (pratl,aya); and since "motivatiolis" are a lcarmamember, have acause (hetu) which is karnia, hence the other lcarnta-member,which is (10), '"gestation" (bhaua)or "re-existence" (punarbha?:a).,'as But then lvhat of staal's position that even so (that is, allowing the prasajya interpretation for the catugkoli of existence),this cioes not save the prasajya propositions from mutual contradiction? saying, "In rejecting the tiiird clause, the denial of the principle of non-contradiction is rejected, not the principle of non-contradiction itself,"0ch.einterprets the third proposition in its literal forrn, denial that somethingboth existsand does not exist. However, at least in tlie Tsoir-kh.a-pa Prasangika-Miidhyamika explanation that I gave earlier, it is not possibleto uncierstand the four denials in terrns of existencejust by their literai form, because one must brin-e in tire tireory of two truths (,raryurti and paramdrtha) to unclerstand Nagarjuna's position. Iu such a case,the denial of th.e ttiirci proposition amounts in commentarial expansion to: This Madhyamika rejects, in the absolute sense (paramdrthatas), tl'e simuitaneity of existence by own-nature of that effftciententity rvith th.e non-existenceby own-nautre of the unconstructedentity. In short, it is here claimed that '.existence" and "non-existence" refer contrasting entities. Along the same lines, Nagdrjuna says(MK XXV, 14); How could Nirvina be both a presence and an absence? Like light and darkness, there is no existenceof the two in the same place.
63Foi Ndgdrjuna's classification of the two members, nos. 2 and 10, as karma, see, for example, A. Wayman, "Buddhist Dependent Origination," "History of Religions 10, no. 3 (Feb., 1971):188. I have gone much more into the cause and effect (hetu-phala) side of the formula in my forthcoming "'Dependent origination-the Indo-Tibetan Tradition," (special issue of Journal of Chinese Philosophy). See Chapter 8. 64Staal, Exploring Mysticism, p. 47.

Who Understands the Four Alternatives of the Buddhist Texts?

249

Thus the third alternative of this type of catuskoli can be resolved in various ways, for example, one may deny both a presence and an absenceof nirud4a, adding"that is, in the same place"i or, with a different subject, adding perhaps, "that is, at the same time"; or, with still other subjects,perhaps drawing upon the two truths, "that is, with the same truth." A11 these additions are consistent with Ndgarjuna's verses in the MK. Thus, in such interpretations it is not the intention of the denial, as Staal claims, to save a principle of human reason from default; but rather it is held that such is really the meaning of the third proposition, to wit, that a qualification of place, time, or truth must be added. However, it follows that the denials of alternatives appried to 'existence, while in their explicit form constituting the prasajya type of denial, turn out, by reason of the qualifications added in the Madhyamika school, to be paryudasa negations. Indeed, study of the two main traditions of the Midhyamika, candrakirti's Prdsangika and Bhdvaviveka's Svitantrika, will show that both of them insist on adding qualifications, especially in terms of the two truths (saryurti and paramdrtha), theft disagreement stemming from how such qualiflcations are made. But that a qualification should be added is consistent with most of the attempts of westerners to explain the catu.rkoli, because they usually added something, to wit, their theory of the catwskoli. So the Mddhyamika cornmentatorsand the western writers share this solicitude to rationalize, even in the case of the absolute, which was supposedto cut ofr the net of qualifications. Even so, as was indicated previously,the Madhyamika is not againstreason as the faculty which denies a self, denies the alternatives,and so on, becausethis reason leads to the insight which realizes the absolute.

CoNcrusroN Now we must revert to the initial question: who understands the four alternativesof the Buddhist texts? It is easierto define the personswho do not understand: as was shown, they are the ones who do not want to understand, or are not confident of their own ability to understand. Besides, no one understands the four alternatives, but perchance one does understand the four alternatives in a disjunctive system,or the four alternatives applied

250

BuddhistInsight

to causation, or the four alternatives, applied to existence. The four alternatives, disjunctively considered, constitute a preliminary orientation. The alternatives of causation, each denied, are a meditation with upholding of human teason with its inferences, definitions, and the like. The alternatives of existence, each denied, are a meditation with ultimate downgrading of human reason. Then to answer more along the lines of the way Candrakirti writes:-Whether one who understands arises or does not arise, "this true nature of dharmqs abides,"-the suabhduaof that sort. So Candrakirti says in his Prasannapadd commentary on Madhyamaka-karikd, chapter XV: By suabhdua one understands this innate nature, uncreate, which has not deviated in the fire in the past, present, and future; which did not arise earlier and will not arise later; which is not dependent on causesand conditions as are the heat of water, (one or another) of this side and the other side, long and short. Well, then, does this own-nature of flre that is of such manner (i.e. uncreate, not dependent)exist? (In of such sort) neither exists nor does not reply:). The (suabhaua While that is the case, still of own-nature. reason exist by the hearers, we conventionally frightening avoid in order to (such "It suabhaue" and "It is dhqras is make affi.rmations mata") and say it exists.6;

osl,a Vall6e Poussin, Mulamadhyamakakdrikds, pp. 263.5 to 264.4.

I2
THE INTERMEDIATE.STATE DISPUTE IN BUDDHISM

The possibility of life after death has always fascinated mankind. India was no exception, even with its metaphysical setting of rebirth theory. Then, with the belief in the extraordinary powers of yogins to delve into nature's secrets, it was held that some individuals could communicate what really happened after death: as when the Buddha used a divine eye (diuya-cak;us) to observe the sentient beings going from here to various good and bad destinies,and later told his disciples about it. But is there life between death and rebirth? It is well known that the theory of such an intermediate state (ontard-bhaua)was a disputed point among the early Buddhist sects. The ones agreeing that there is such a state were the PlrvaSaila, Sammatiya, sarvdstivddin, vdtsiputriya, and the Latet Mahisdsaka. The Buddhist sects that rejected the notion were the Theravadin, vibhajyavddin, Mahdsdnghika, Mahisdsaka, as well as the work Sdriputrabhidharmaidstra (of the Dharmaguptaka sect, which issued from the Mahi5dsaka).l In the Mahdyana period vasubandhu's Abhidharmakoia, Chapter III, and self-commentary, amassed strong scriptural evidence in support of the intermediate-state theory.2 Saigon 1955, 1Andr6Bareau, du Petit Vdhicule, bouddhiques Les sectes p. 283. work, gave sL. de La Vall6ePoussin, of Vasubandhu's in his translation
the main known references of his day, L'Abhidharmakofla troisidme chapitre, Paris 1926, p. 32, n. de Vasubandhu,

252

BuddhistInsight

At the outset it should be admitted that the material is abundant on the side of the sectswhich admitted the intermediate state in this sense, sinceit allowed a greatscopefor rnythological elaboration. In contrast, the sects which rejected this kind of intermediate state apparently did not make rnuch of a negative position; so their immediate textual contributions to the problem are meagre and their reasoning has mostly to be inferred. It is possible that the Buddhist sects did not always understand the expression "intermediate-state"the sameway, and so in somecases there is only a seemingdisagreement. our considerationspromise to relate early Buddhism to certain Brahmanical teachings,to clarify the position of the Buddhist teacher Ndgdrjuna, and also to tie in this intermediate-state dispute with Buddhist embryology theory. I. Trm Tnrsrs oF No INrEnurnr.q.rr-Srarr

The Theravada rejection of the intermediate-stateis set forth in Points of controuersy,s but the spaceis devoted to rejecting some arguments for the intermediate-statervithout giving in its stead a coherent alternate position. This is not to deny the relevance of criticism that only three realms are stated.in the scriptures, that of desire (kama), of form (rupa), and the formless realm. Perhaps this criticism forced the proponents of the intermediatestate theory-as this paper will show-to treat this state in terms of the three realms. Also, the Theravdda attempted to interpret the scriptural name antardparinirudyin as "attaining Nirvdpa before half of his life in a Brahma world ha.sexpired."4 vasubandhu arguesagainst this, charging that one could then reinterpret the other ones among the five Andgamins.s
sTranslation of the Katha-vatthz by s. z. Aung and Mrs. Rhys Davids, London 1915, pp. 212-13. 4Katha-vatthu(tr.), pp. 212-13; and Designation of Human Types (puggalapafifiati) (tr. by B. C. Law), London 1922, pp. 24-25. 5de La vall6e Poussin(tr.), rII, p. 38. vasubandhuappearstoargue that in such a case, we could say that the upapadya-parinirvaylr means one who attainsparinirvdqtaupon being born in a Brahma world, which is of course absurd. It seemsthat in his way of disputing, if a term is a member of a standardlist, a reinterpretationof such a term has implications for the other members of the list.

The Intermediate-State Disputein Buddhism

253

How then, does one cf the early sectsexpressits denial of an in a positive way? I appeal to the Mahisd:ninterrnediate-state ghikas, having shown elsewhere that the Srtmald-sutrq was a product of this school,6and it may be cited in this connection even though it belongs among the early Mahdyana scriptures: Lord, as to "cyclical flow" (sarytsara), no sooner do the sense organs for perception pass away than it (the Tathagatagarbha) takes hold of sense organs for perception, and that is "cyclical flow."? Presumably all the Buddhist sects-the Theravadin, etc.-that posited centers of consciousness other than the mano-uijfidna and also deniedthe interrnediate-state, would have someanalogous theoretical statement in terms of the senseorgans. Of such sects, the Theravadin irave a bhauanga-uififianq,the Vibhajyavddin a bhaudnga-uijfiana,the Mahdsdnghika a mulauijfidna, the Mahisisaka a saqnsdrakotrinislha-skandha-the forerunner of the alayauijfrdnaof the Mahdyanaa-and the Dharmaguptaka as an offshoot of the Mahisasaka inferentially the equivalent. Passingto the Mahdydna period in its philosophical sense,three reasons may be advanced for believing that Nigdrjuna did not subscribe to the thesis of an intermediate-state (antard-bhaua). (1) He writes in the Pratityasamutpddahydaya-uydkarana:s Just as in the caseof a flame from a flame, the reflectedimage in a mirror from a face, an impression from a seal, a fire from a burning crystal, a sprout from a seed.. a person is not taught to understand that the one is different from the other, so also in the caseof reconnection(pratisarpdhi)of the personal aggregates (skandha), the wiseperson will understand that there is no transfer. 64. Wayman (trs.) TheLion'sRoarof eueenSrtmala;a and H. Wayman Buddhist Scriptureon the Tathagatagarbha Theory,New york 1974,pp.Z-3. zlbid. p. 104. 8Bareau, pp. 72, 177, 187,and 240. Les sectes, sPhoto ed. of Tibetan canonefT).Vol. 103,p. 271-4: I ii ltat mar me las mar me dan I bLin las me lon gi gzugs brflan'byun dan / rgyalas rgya,i 'bur dan me Sellas me dan sa bon las myu gu danI . . I de dag kyan / / par slobma yin pa de bLin du / phun de fiid dan de las gtan no ZesSes po flin mtshams sbyorba yan / mi'pho bar yan mkhasrtogsbya /.

254

Insight Buddhist

Since the old skandhqs do not transfer, there is no intermediatestate for them, just as there is no intermediate-statebetween the two flames in the case of a flame from a flame. (2) He rvrites in the Madhyamaka-k,urikd (XXVI, 20): What be the limit of nirudpa is also the limit of salnsdra. There is nothing, however slight, intermediate (antara) be' trveen the two. This shows an aversion for intermediate states. (3) He does not refer to an intermediate-state in his Friendly Epistle.loalthough his description of the bells, and so on, in this work allows him a context to bring in an intermediate-state if this were his sectarian position; and this is the context in which do in fact mention it. those who espousethe intermediate-state Then what can we decidefrom this about Ndgirjuna's school? Now, the Mddhyamika school based on Ndgdrjuna always maintains that of the uijiianas, besides the five based on outer senses, he acceptedonly the mano-uijiidna. We arrive then at the striking conclusion that while Ndgdrjuna appears to be in the camp of he cannot be identified with those rejecting an intermediate-state, reject it. But since Ndgdrjuna any one of the knorvn sectsrvhich is an independentthinker of the early Mahd'ydna,there is no reason to insist that he be identified with any early sect. Perhapsthe most important doctrinal effectof the opposition to an interrnediate state is the interpretation of the flrst two members of Dependent Origination (pratitya-samutpdda)aspertaining to the previous life. This interpretation is deeply impressed on the Abhidharma literature, both in the Pali and Sanskrit languages.ll Of course, birth was standardized in terms of uiifiana, third member of DependentOrigination. Therefore, the first two members, nescience (auidyQ and motivations (sarpskcira)would perforce after No. 12, old age and death constitute an intermediate-state, (jordmara4ta), unless the first two members could somehow be understood to not follow upon death. A solution was to say that those two belong to the previous cycle. We can see this l0"Ndgirjuna'sSuhyllekha" (tr. by H. Wenzel in Journal of the Pali Text pp. 2-32). 1886, Society, 11See, Kandy, Ceylon, Ndrada,A Manual of Abhidhamma, for exar^rple, (tr.) III, pp, 62-63. DiagramXVII; and de La Vall6ePoussin 1968,

Disputein Buddhism The Intermediate-State

255

same theory in the Dependent Origination verses of the Mahiy6na biography of the Buddha called the Lqlitauistara, ,containingthis verse:12 By the wrong procedure engendered by the constructions of (auidyd)arisesand thereis no originator imagination, nescience provides the cause of motivations (sarpskara), of it at all. It and there is no transfer. Perception (uiifiana) arises with transference in dependence(on motivations). This is consistentwith Nd:gdrjuna'sstatement cited above (from his pratityasamutpdda commentary), becauseuiifidna, not the previous nescienceand motivations, now Starts the transferenceby descending into the womb, or other birthplace. Here uijfidna just as the face in the mirror depends dependson the old sarytskdra upon the model face. Thus the Lalitauistara agrees with the theory found in Pdli Buddhism that the first two members of Dependent Origination pertain to the previous life. Hence they are said to be reflected in the new series, started by uiifiana, the seed. But if the first two members of Dependent Origination are attributed to the previous cycle, the question arises: Where? A kind of answer is suggestedby the Pitaputrasamdganta-sutra:13 So, great King, a "first perception" (pratltamauiiiidna) arises having two conditions pertaining to "birth" (aupapatti)-by as predomireason of the "last perception" (.coramauifidna) reason of karma as (adhipati-prat1'a1'a) by and nant condition p (o r a t a ct). asupport condition r antba 4t 1' 1' In fact-as I have shown in a different contextl4-this passago takes "death" to be divided into two phases-expiration as the last perception and death vision as the karma. The karma is called p. 24 : 12F.Eocrntor.t,Buddhist New Haven1953, HybridSanskrit Reader,
sar.nkalpakalpajanitena ayoniSena 'sya kaScit bhavate avidyd na pi sar.nbhavako 'sti samskdrahetu dadate na ca salnkramo vijfldnam udbhavati sar.nkramanam Watitya ll 13As cited in Santideva's Sik;asamuccaya (ed. by the Mithila

Institute),

135, 12-13. 14A. Wayman, 'The Fivefold Ritual Symbolism of Passion', in Studies of EsotericBuddhismand Tantrism ,Koyasan, Japan, 1965,p. 133.This essay also appears in A. Wayman, Buddhist Tantras (Samuel Weiser, New York,

re73).

256

Buddhist Insight

in Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist mythology the *karme-mirror" of Yama's judgment hall.ls It is well accepted in the theory of Dependent origination, in the case where the f,rst two members pertain to the previous life, that member No. 2, sarpskdra,is the old karma, and furthermore that member No. 1, auidyd, is the state of previous defilement (kleia). Hence auidyd in this context is tantamoun.t to the "last perception" (caramauijfrana); and perhaps it is for this reason that vasubandhu compares this auidyd with a king who, when he comes, is accompaniedby his courtiers (the host of defilements).lo Then member No. 3, uijfidna, becomes the "first perception " (prathamauijfidna) in the new life. There is a remarkable foreshadowing of this death-fertility-death as the instigator of another life-in the Brhaddranyaka (Ipani,rad (I,2,2): "There was nothing whatsoever here in the beginning. By death indeed was this covered, or by hunger, for hunger is death. He created the mind, thinking, 'Let me have a self'. Then he moved about, worshipping. From this, thus worshipping, water was produced." Observe how neatly this fits the first four members of Buddhist Dependent origination in the interpretation denying an intermediate state: B rhaddrapyaka stat ement Dependent Origination "by death indeed was this covered" 1. nescience(auidyd\ "or by hunger, for hunger is death" 2. motivations (saryskdra) "He created the mind, thinking, 'Let 3. perception (uijfidna) me have a self"' 'Then he moved about, worshipping. 4. name-and-form (ndmaFrom him, thus worshipping, water rupa) was produced" (:uijfidna in the womb) In short, the Buddhist sects that deny an intermediate-state are consistent with the tradition, pre-dating Buddhism, that life comes from death. II. Tnn Tsnsrs oF AN INTERunnnrn-SrArE

There must have been flerce argument on the subject to have called 15Ihaveincluded a discussion of this matterin a paper, "The Mirror as Metaphor-Simile", a Pan-Buddhist History of Religions, 13: 4, May 1974, pp. 264-65. This essayis includedin this volume. rcAbhidharmakoia, III, 21a-b : / pDrvakleSadasavidya p[rvasar.nskaralr (tr.), III, p. 63. karmanah / And de La Vall6ePoussin

The Intermediate-State Dispute in Buddhism

257

forth from vasubandhu his spirited defence of the intermediate state. He says (Abhidharmakoia III, 12, commentary): lasaty antardbhave katham antaraparinirvdyi nama sydt/were there no intermediate state, how could there be the term [found in the scriptures] "a being who has parinirud4a in the intermediate state" ? This is part of the teaching that among the five kinds of nonreturnees (anagomin),there is the antard-parinirudyinwho, accordittg to the interpretation which vasubandhu follows, reaches Nirvdna in the intermediate state. He refers to the satpurugagatisiltra for varieties of the antard-parinirudyin (infra.). vasubandhu explains the intermediate-statebeing in two verses (ibid., IIr, 13-14): It [the intermediate-state being] has the configuration of what is to be the configuration of the future being, since it has the same forecastingi to wit, which is subsequent to the moment of birth and prior to death (i.e. the future being has the period of moment right after birth to moment just before oeattr;. It is seen by the pure divine eye belonging to beings of its class. It has the force of magical power of act. Its sense organs are perfect. It cannot be impeded or turned back. It feeds on odours (gandhabhuk). Vasubandhu's commentary refers to a saptabhauasiltralTfor the teaching that the five destinies, men, gods, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings, have their cause (sahetuka),namely ihl karma-bhaua, and have their access(sagamana), namelythe aitardbhaua. His commentary explains the term gandhabhuk as gandharua. He refers to the Aiualayana-sutra (presumably from the Madhyamdgama) for the reference to the word gandh-arua as some kind of being, to wit (as Miss I.B. Horner translatesfrom the equivalent Pali scripture, the Assaldyanasuttain the Majjhimanikaya): "But do you, sirs, know whether that gandhabba is u noble or brahman or worker or merchant?', And this question was preceded by the remark (her transration): 'owe do know, sir, how there is conception. There is here a coitus of the parents, ii lzde La vall6ePoussin, II, p. 13,states that the authenticity of thissfitra was contested.

258

Buddhist Insight

is the mother's season and the gandhabbais present; it is on the conjunction of these three things that there is conception."ls In the Vedic period the gandharua is a kind of spirit generally placed in the antarikpa (the intermediate space betweenearth and sky) along with the Pitaras (ancestors)and Asuras (demi-gods).1e The intermediate space can be understood as having Indra in the daytime and the Gandharva at nighttime for chief or typical deities.2o Besides being a musician, the gandharua in the Veda could be a cloud,2Landthis meaning was continued into Mahayana Buddhism as a simile of illusion (mdy\, the often mentioned "city of gandharuas", meaning the "castle in the aif ," a particular atmospheric phenomenon.2z Even this use of the word continues the association with the midspace. According to Vedic conceptionszs the gandharua was the second, of the three non-human deities that married a woman before she married a human male (:one born of woman), the first being Soma (:Candra) in the sky, and the third being Agni (:Yama) on earth.24 The gandharua, in these old Indian ideas, gave the woman her sweetness of voice. Of course, the Vedas did not contain the notion of gandharua as a disincarnate entity headed for rebirth; indeed, the rebirth theory has never been traced to the four vedas. However, since the theory of karma and rebirth has a sympathetic treatment in certain old Upanisads, the question arises as to whether the gandharuais mentioned therein along the lines of the Assaldyanasutta. Such a mention may be intended, although obscurely, in the Kalha Upanisad,which prgsumably is to be dated at about the same time as that old Buddhist scripture. The Kalha states(II, 3, 5): p. 349vol. II, London1957, Length sayings, 18I.8. Horner(tr.) TheMiddle pp. 136-37. 1897, Strassburg Mythology, lecf. A. A, MacDonell,Yedic in "climactic Timesin Indian Mytho20Atleastsuchare my conclusions logyandReligitt,"HistoryofReligions,4:2,Winter1965'p'300' & I(innaras in Indian Iconography 21R. S. Panchamukhi,Gandharvas 3. (Dharwar, 1951), P. -rrCf. Louvain Vertude Sagesse,I, Eii"rrn" famotte, Le Traitdde la Grande 1944, pp. 369-73. X, 85, 40' 2sTheMarriageHymn, $'gveda 2aMy interpretation, "Climactic Times", pp. 298-99'was written with in Tibetan accepted state" position,generally leaningsto the "intermediate Buddhism.

The Intermediate-State Dispute in Buddhism

259

As one seesin a mirror, so (Brahman) in.the dtman; As (one sees)in a dream, so (Brahman) in the world of the forefathers (Pit rloka) ; As (one sees)toward (pari) the water, so in the world of the gondharuas; As in light and shade, so in the world of Brahmd. If we interpret this passage of the Kalha as a progression, as Radhakrishnan thinks it is,25then the similes can be clarified as follows: simile "as in a mirror' n'as in a dream" referent progression Brahman in the dtman present life Brahman in the world state after death of the forefathers "as toward the water" Brahman in the world heading for of gandhoraas rebirth n'as in light and Brahman in the world uijfiana in the shade" of Brahmd heart26

since "toward the water" (apsu pari) implies "toward the female", it follows tbat the "world of gandharuas" may reasonably be identified with the gandharuas that are meant by the AssaIdyanasutta. Taking these gondharuasin the meaning of intermediate-state b_eings, we notice that a Mahdydna Buddhist scripture, the AryaAnanda-garbhdvakrdntinirdeia, classifies them so as to be within the Buddhist three wcrlds. It explains that beings headed for an evil destiny have in the intermediate state a displeasingcolour of personal aggregates,namely hell beings have a colour like the burnt stump of a tree; animals, like smoke; hungry ghosts, like water; and that beings headed for a good destiny have a pleasing colour in the intermediate state, namely, men and gods (in the zsS. Radhakrishnan, ThePrincipalUpani;ads, New york 1953, p.643, 26sostates Asafigain the Yogacarabhumi (part I, ed. by v. Bhattacharya), Universityof Calcutta 1957,24.18-19: tadvijflanar.n I yatra ca kalaladese ,.At the time sammtircchitar.n so 'sya bhavati tasminsamaye hrdayadesatr / that the viifianabecomes unconscious at wherever be the kalala,itsplaceis the heart." For the comparable idea in the Pali commentarial tradition,cf. Y. Karunadasa, BuddhistAnalysisof Matter, colombo 1967,pp. 62-66, in a discussion of the term hadaya-vatthu. Thecomparable upaniladic theory is in terms of the vijfianamaya-puruta.

260

Buddhist Insight

realm of desire),like the colour of gold; gods in the realm of form, the colour of abiding white; while gods in tbe formless realm are colourless for the very reason that the realm is formless (and therefore lacks both colour and shape)." This is presumably what Vasubandhu means by saying the being has the configuration of the future being, as one of the five destinies. and so accepts. Asanga, who belongs to the later MahiSd:sakaz8 the intermediate state, speaks along the lines of that Mahdyina, a scripture in his Bodhisattuabhumiwhen he saysthat the antar dbhau is of two kinds, the kind invested with darkness (tamalt-pardyalta)' like pitch-black nights, said to have a bad colour (duruarpa); andthe kind invested with light (jyotilt-pardyalta) like nights that are' The kind of a bad lighted, said to have a good colour (suuarrya).2e colour leads to a bad destiny; and the kind of a good colour leads. to a good destiny. Asanga also explains:3o Besides, there is its synonymous terminology. The term "intermediate state" is used becauseit manifests in the interval between the death-state and the birth-state. The term gandharua is used because it has access(gamana) by way of' odour and has growth (pusti) by way of odour. The term "made of mind" (manomaya)is used becausethe mind, taking recourse to itself, proceeds to the birthplace, but not because' its going to a body is going with an object-support (alambana). The "resultant" (abhiniruytti) is used because it is productive' in the direction of birth. The AbhiChqrmakoia (III,40c-4la) adds a further name "seeking (sarTtbhauaigin), which Asanga apparently includes in birth" "made of mind", according to his explanation.sl The denial of' 2?Inthe TibetanKanjur, Ratnakfi{a collection, PTT, YoL 23, p. 103-5. 28Cf.A. Wayman,Analysis of theSravakabhumi Manusuipt,BerkeTey 7961,. pp. 25-29. zsBodhisattvabhumi, (ed. by Wogihara),II, pp. 390-91. \oYogdcdrabhumi,I,20.9-13: punah parydyFt ity ucyate antardbhava I tasya antarile pridurbhdvat / gandhawaity ucyate maralabhavotpattibhavayor gamanidgandhena pultitaSca / manomaya gandhena ity ucyate tannisritya manasa upapattylyatanagamanatayi ca punar nilambana/ Sariragatyd, gatyd / abhinirvrttir apy ucyate upapatterabhimukhyena nirvartanatayd f: BrCf. Abhidharmakoia, (tr.), III, pp. 122-23.

The Intermediate-StateDispute in Buddhism

261

an object-support seemsinconsistent with the explanation for the name gandharua.sz So the proponents of the "intermediate state" also have here a problem that does not appear to be resolved.ss Anyway, the gandharua has perfect senseorgans, as Vasubandhu has already been cited. Besidesthere are the periods by weeks,found both in the intermediate-state theory and in the theory of intra-uterine development which could therefore be labelled the "lunar route." Thus, Asanga states:3a Also, the intermediate state lasts for seven days. But when there is not the condition for rebirth, and when there is the condition for rebirth-is an uncertain matter. And when this [condition] is not attained, then it lasts from seven days to seven times seven days after one has died, while the condition of rebirth is not being attained. When that period has elapsed certainly one attains the condition of rebirth. Sometimes in that very place there is the "resultant" (abltinirurtti) of the one passed away since seven days. Sometimes,in the case of one with bad fortune (or: who is unlucky) (a "resultant") elsewhere, for if another activity of the karma should change the course, it would cause that seed of antardbhaua to change course. Presumably what Asanga means by the "bad fortune" is that the 3zThat is to say,odouris ordinarily takenasthe object-support of thesense of smell.Compare p. 137: "The RV. adds MacDonell,VedicMythology, the touch that Gandharvawears a fragrant (surabhi) garment(10., 123?), whilein the AV. (l2.tzs1the odour(gandha) of the earthissaidto riseto the Gandharvas." 33One rationalization to avoid the object-support could be that the ganis "perfumed"by vdsand dharva (habirenergy), so provides its own odour. On the otherhand,it wouldbenaturalto rationalize thatthe odourof sexual unionis the odourwhichrisesto thegandharva, and this ordinarily would be construed (alambana). as an object-support saYogdcdrabhumi I, 20.4-8:/ sa punar antardbhavalr saptahar.n tiqthaty 'niyamal.r alabhe asaty upapattipratyayaldbhe / sati punahpratyayardbhe / punaS cyutvdpunahsaptdhar.n tilthati ydvatsapta saptdhani ti;thatyupapattipratyayam alabhamlna\I tata iirdhvamavaSyam upapattipratyayam labhate/ tasyaca saptdhacyutasya kaddcit tatraivdbhinirvlttirbhavati/ kaddcidanyatra visabhage I sdcetkarmintarakriyi parivartetatad antardbhavabijar.n parivartayati ll

262

Buddhist Insight

gandharua has contributed to the conception in the womb, and then has gone away. In the case of the intra-uterine development, there are the two garbhduakrdnti scriptures in both Tibetan and Chinese of the Ratnakfita collection. The smaller of these, the Arya-dyugmannandagarbhduakrdntinirdeia, was translated from Chinese into German by Huebotter.ss Both of thesetexts have the teaching that parturition occurs upon 38 weeks.36 Interestingly, this total of 266 days happens to be exactly the number stated by a modern biological work to be the full term of pregnancy.sT As the Mahdydna developed into tantric Buddhism, there was much made of the intermediate state, with differerrt kinds of bardo, as it is now frequently referred to by the Tibetan equivalent (abbreviated) of the word antardbhaua. My studiesinthis literature showed me one usage of the term "intermediate state" practically equivalent to the ten lunar months of intra-uterine development.ss Even the Points of Controaersy would not have objected to the "intermediate state" ifthe opponent had said that this is what it is. Indeed, Asanga's statement of the periods of seven-day multiples suggestsa coordination of this "intermediate state" with the early development of the embryo. However, the early proponents of the "intermediate state" doctrine necessarilyunderstood this in some way that put them at variance with; and made them opponents of, those who reject the intermediate state. Just as there are doctrinal implications in the case of those who reject the intermediate state, so there are such implications for those who accept it. Perhaps it is in the light of the intermediate-state position that Asanga has an alternate way of grouping the members of Dependent Origination, as found in Sanskrit in his Abhidharma-semuccqva :3e 35Dr. Med. et Dr. Phil. Huebotter(tr.), Die Sutra iiberEm pfdngnisund (DeutscheGesellschaft fiir Natur-u. Volkerkunde Ostasiens), Embryologre Tokyo 1932. s6Huebotte4 p. 2l; Tibetan for the same text,PTT, Yol. 23,p.99-3; atd PTT, Tibetan for the larger text, the Arya-Ananda-garbhavakrdnti-nirdeia, to P. V. Bapat, Vimuttimagga and VisudYol. 23, p. 107-4.But, according gives p. l29,the Vimuttimagga 42weeks for thesame Poona7937, dhimagga,
development. szMartin and Vincent, Human Biological Developmenf,The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1960. 38Wayman,"The Fivefold Ritual Symbolism of Passion", p. 130. 3sP. Pradhan (ed.) Abhidharma-samuccaya, 26.20 ff.

Disputein Buddhism The Intermediate-State

263

the groups [catled] How are the members grouped-[Into] members which cast downward, memberswhich are cast down' ward, productive members, and resultant members. What are the members which cast downward? They are nescience' motivations, and perception. What are the members which are cast downward? They are name-and-form, six sense bases,contact, and feelings. Whatare the productive members? They are craving, indulgence, and gestation. What are the resultant members? They are birth, and old age death. SinceAsanga does not classifythe first two members as "past life", it is not possible to make the kind of correlation that was done previously in association with the Brhaddraryyaka Upani;ad. One may conclude that the first three members-those which cast downward-are the intermediate state, although admittedly I have not found Asanga stating this explicitly. Moreover, when speaking of the species(gotra) of the religious family, Asanga raises the question as to whether it belongs to a single or multiple lineage, and answers in part, "That seed does not have the characteristics of difference as long as it stays apatt from the six sensebases(ga/dyatanA)."u0This remark immediately contrasts with the position previously cited from the Srmdldsiltra. When Asanga allows a possibility of the "species" staying apaft from the six sensebases, he assumesan intermediate state between the prior set of six sensebasesand the later set of six sensebases. PerhapsAsanga must take this position because of his emphasis on yoga training, with its premise that one may detach himself from the senses. But usually such detachment and Asanga allows such dewould be from the five outer senses, tachment also from the sixth sense,the manas. Turning now to the three kinds of antardparinirudyin in the theory of flve kinds of andgdmin,long ago Louis de La Vallde Poussin made a comparison of the Sanskrit version from the Satpurusagati-siltracited by YaSomitra in his Abhidharmakoiquydkhya, with the Pali version in the Anguttara-nikdya, vii, 52.a1 For the putpose of the present article, I have edited from the
aoWayman, Analysis of the Sravakabhumi Manuscript, p. 59. 4l"Pali and Sanskrit", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,1906, pp. 346-51-

BuddhistInsight

Bihar MS of Asanga's Srdaqkabhilmi his statement about three kinds, which I thereafter translate:a2 f antara-parinirvdyi pudgalah katamah f antard-parinirvdyilah pudgalds trayab/ / ekdntard-parinirvayi pudgalah cyutamd.tra evantaribhavdbhinirvartikale antaribhavam abhinirvartayaty abhinirvartate samakilam eva parinirvdti / tadyathd parittah sakalikagnir utpannaiv a parinftv ati f / dvitiyo'ntara-parinirvdyi pudgalah antardbhavam abhinirvartayaty abhinirvartate antardbhave tatrastha eva kaldntarena parinirvdti/ no tu yenopapattibhavas tenddydpy upanato bhavati / radyathdyogu{dniry vd ayahsthaldndm va diptdgnisar.nprataptandm ayoghanair *unmathitanam4r ayahprapatikd utpataty eva parinirvdti / / tvtryo'ntara-parinirvdyi pudgalah antarabhavam abhinirvartya yenopapattibhavas tenopanamati / upanatas ca punar anup apanna eva pari nirvat i / tady atha/ ay ahprapati ka u tp adya plthivyim apatita eva parinirvdti f taime trayo 'ntara-parinirvdyi4ah pudgali ekadhyam abhisar.nk$ipya antara-parinirvdyi pudgala ity ucyatef what is the person who attains parinirudna in the intermediate state? There are three persons who attain parinirudna in the intermediate state. The first person who attains parinirudna in the intermediate state is made to fulfill the intermediate state no sooner has he died, at the time of accomplishing the intermediate state. He accomplishes it at exactly the same time and attains parinirud4a. For example, a tiny flame of hay arises and immediately disappears. The secondperson who attainsparinirudryain the internrediate state is made to accomplish the intermediate state and accomplishes it, just staying there in the intermediate state and in the intervening time attains pariniradno, but where be the state of rebirth (upapattibhaua)does not just now head toward azThis is the manuscript utilizedin the work of n. 2g above.The present is not included excerpt in that work. The Tibetanequivalent is found in the TibetanTanjur,PTT, Yol. 110,p. 69-3tr. a8Part of this word was covered by a tackused whenR. sankrityayana photographed the manuscript in Tibet.

The Intermediate-State Dispute in Buddhism

265

that place. For example, just as wheniron ballsor iron plates aremadeburninghot by beingviolently struckwith iron hammers,and the massof sparksfrom the irons just ascends and disappears. The third person who attainsparinirudqa in the intermediate statewhen he accomplishes the intermediate statedoes head to whereis the rebirth state;and havingheaded there,without beingreborn,attainsparinirud?a. For example, just as when a massof sparksfrom the iron ascends and then whenfalling quite reachingthe earth, disappears. when onetakesthese threeafiara-pctrinirudyinpersons together, the expression "person who attainsparinirudpain the intermediate state"is used. so this is the theory repeatedby Asangaand his brother vasubandhu centuries after the points of controuersy rejected this interpretationof the word antardparinirudyin.But, upon inspection of the three kinds of antardparinirvdyin as Asanga states them,we find it is actuallyonly the second onethat hasan afiara.bhaua not accepted by the opponentsof such a state. This is because all the Indian Buddhistsects agreedthat thereis a death state followed by a rebirth statewithin the womb (in the caseof human birth), and therefore would not deny the antardbhauas which coincidewith the deathand rebirth states. But they would 'intermediate likely ask, "Then why usethe expression state' in 'these cases?"
III. FrNar. CoNsroERArroNS My investigation indicates that the old Upanisads and the old Buddhist scriptures both present the rival theories of "no intermediate state" and "intermediate state". perhaps in the upaniqads this reflects a contrasting orientatiorr of the "re-death" (per Brhaddraryyaka) and the "re-birth" (per Kalha) positions. In the Buddhist sectsthe difference is partly temperamental, to wit, those rejecting the state preferring to have a rational control of Buddhist doctrine; and those accepting the state willing to allow mythological exuberance. once one accepts the intermediate state, there is no end to the elaboration, as evidenced in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. This research also leads to the curious conclusion that the same

266

Buddhist Insight

ancient Buddhist scripturescan lead to opposing doctrines with partisansequally divided among the old Buddhist sects. This should unsettle the all-too-frequent posture among modern exponentsof Buddhism where someoneclaims that he knows better than others the Dharma of the Buddha. Of course,as there is no need disputeis concerned, far as the intermediate-state early to or "original" position the other over to attribute one Buddhism.

PART THREE

STUDIES INTERPRETATIVE OF BUDDHISM

13
NO TIME, GREAT TIME AND PROFANE TIME IN BUDDHISM

This essaymaintainsthat some important Buddhist texts contribute to a neat formulation of man's most treasured modes of' thought: No Time as the sourceof religion, Great Time as the source of myth, and ProfaneTime asthe source of reason. These, threeforms of Time are not so namedin the Buddhistworks. The limitation of data to Indo-Tibetan materials makes possiblethe' additionof an expression "No Time" to the two categories "Great Time" and "Profane Time" utilized by Eliade for worldwide cultural materials,while he marshalsthe evidenceand terminology that facilitate the integration of Eastern and Western spirit.l Eliade'sontologicalinterpretationof suchmodesis well known. The presentwriter is not therebyreleased from the obligationto rework the available of Buddata arcordingto his understanding dhism. Then-to anticipatethe development-without asserting any ontologicalstatusfor suchmodeselsewhere in the world, it doesappearthat in the Buddhist case,in the Indian context, the threemodesof thought alludeto threemodesof being. Thereis no claim to involveall of Buddhismin this treatment, althoughthe prevalentBuddhistgenesis legend,already studied, will play a significant role.z The metaphysicaldiscussionstems
rAmong the works of Mircea Eliade, the following have been especially important to this paper : Myths, Dreams and Mysteries (London, 1960); The Sacred and the Profane (New York, 1961). 2AIex Wayman, "Buddhist Genesis and the Tantric Tradition," Oriens Extremus, g (1962): 127-31.The essayalso appears in A. Wayman, Buddhist' Tantras (Samuvel Weiser, New York 1973).

No Time, Great Time, and Profane Time in Buddhism

271

Buddhismto be preconsidered some early WesternOrientalists eminently rational. Accononlc ro rHE MADHYANTA CnB.q,rtoN VmsAce Before setting forth the intended structure of three modes of thought, I shall separatelytreat the rather technical data of the which not only contributesdecisivelyto the Madhydnta-uibhdga, presenttopic but also conveysa rather different picture of the Yogdcira from the way the latter is depictedin current surveys of Indian philosophy. are calledabhitta' The two realitiesof the Yogdcdrametaphysics parikalpa and iunyatd, here translated respectivelyas the "fmaginationof Unreality" and "Voidness,"compatiblewith Stcherbatsky's respectiverenditions, the "Llniversal Constructor of states and the "Absolute." The Madhydnta'uibhdga Phenomena" (I,1): Therewas the Imagination of Unreality, And in it no duality (of subjectand object). in it, There was Voidness And it was in that (Voidness).5 Of the reality called "fmaginationof Unreality," what is the "IJnreality" (abhuta) and what the "Imagination" (parikalpa)? 'ob(I, 5): "What is imaginedis explainedas the The text states jective thing' (artha); what is dependent,as the construction process of unreality; and what is perfect,as the unrealityof both (subject and object)."6 And from the text (I, 3) andVasubandhu's we learn that the "Imagination" has its own four commentary, (sualak$a(ta), called "objective thing" (artha), "percharacters (sattua), "self" (dtman), and "representation" sonal organ" (uijfiapti): as the projectionof (sixkinds of) Perceptionwas engendered personal (five) organs, self (:mind), and objective things, (six kinds of) representations.The objectivething doesnot
sabhtrta-parikalpo 'sti dvayan tatra na vidyate / ftrnyatd vidyate tv atra tasyim api sa vidyate ll okalpitah paratantraS ca parinigpanna eva ea I arthad abhtitakalpdc ca dvaydbh6vdc ca de5itab //

272

Buddhist Insighr

belongto it (i.e.,perception). sincethe former (the objective thing) is unreal,the latter (perception) is also unreal.z The implicationis that when the Imaginationof unreality is not so imagining, its four characters are not groupedin zubject-object relation,and that when it is so imagining,the ..self" approa.h.* the "personalorgan," whereupon the "representation,' ialsely depicts the "objectivething." As with all suchultimate processes' the modus operandiof the primordial subject-objectemergence is wrappedin mystery. However,it seems to involvean interaction of the "self" and the "personalorgan" with voidness asDharmadhdtu("realm of Dharma"), which is the materialcause.8 The reality called "voidness" has this character(I, l3a-b): "the unreality of both (subjectand object),and the reality (subjacent) of this unreality."s rhis translation,following strh.rbatsky,is consistent with yogicdra definitionsin other works as typified by two statements, one of which specifies what is voided and the other of which specifies what remains not voided. The following verse(I, 14) clarifiesthe sense of the ..reality (subjacent)of this unreality" by names justifiedin the next, of voidness, (I, 15): verse Thusness (tathatd) becau senot otherwise, TrueLimit (bhiltako1i), because not wrong, Attributeless (animitta)because the cessation of attributes, ultimate state (paramdrthatd) because the domainof the nobleones, the Realmof Dharma(dharmadhdtu). because havingthe noble natures(dharma). versesI, 8-9 and vasubandhu'scommentary portray the ImaTartha-satvitma-vijfiapti-pratibh6sar.n prajdyate I vijflanam nasti cdsyarthas tad-abhivdt tad apy asat ll vasubandhu's commentary (Nagao, Madhydntavibhaga-bha;ya, pp. 1g-19), clarifies the word "self" (atman) as the "corrupted mind', (kti;lamanas) and the six things as objects grasped by the six sense organs (five by the word sattva), including mind as the sixth, in terms of six representations(vijfiapti)sSuch an idea is found near the beginning of Asanga's Srdvakabhtlmi,in a passagefor which original Sanskrit is lacking; here it is translated from Tibetan (Derge edition of raqiur, sems tsam, Sravakabhumi, 2b): ..Frowever, that seeddoes not have the characteristicsofdifference so long as it stays. apart from the six sensebases$adayatana). That seedhas been handed down in lineage from beginninglesstime and has states obtained through the six sense bases which are attained by means of 'true nature' (dharmata).,, sdvayibhdvo hy abhavasya bhavah Stinyasyalakqa?am.

No Time, Great Time, and Profane Time in Buddhism

ZTj

gination of unreality in a new role. Since its own characters (saalakgana) had projected the unreal perception, the younger Imagination of unreality is now precisely that unreal perception of the unreal objective thing: Now the Imagination of unreality was consciousness (of) and mentals, composing the three realms (of desireoof form, and formless). Perception ( - "consciousnessof ") sees the objective thing itself; its mentals seemodifications of the objective thing. The first one is the foundation-perception (: alayauijrtdna). The other ones pertain to experience. These are the mentals (namely, feelings, uedana)which enjoy, (ideas,sarltjfid) which distinguish, and (motivations, saqnskdra)which activate (perception).10 That passagecovers two stages of the process which the present essay intends to keep separate. They are "consciousness of," which sees the objective thing itself, and mentals, which see modifications of the thing. They are preceded by the atemporal state in which the Imagination of Unreality abides with Voidness deprived of the subject-object relationship. No Tlrua, THE Souncp or. RsrrcroN No Time means the revelation of reality, everywhere, always. Man may or rnay not intuit the dazzling ultimate. rtis other than Great Tirne rvhen nature predicts by omens and man obeys. It is other than Profane Time when man predicts by reason and nature obeys. The story of Buddhist genesisalludes to a mode of being pre* vailing as o'men of the flrst eon" while the lower receptacleworlds are reevolving after the periodic destruction. These men have bodies made of mind, are self-luminous, feed on joy, and are wherever they wish to be. Their actions have immediate fruition, and so involve No Time.ll In the Madhyanta-uibhdga,No Time is the mysterious truth of a voidness reality subjacent to the unreality of subject and loabhfitaparikalpaS ca citta-caittis tridhdtukah / tatrirtha-drqtir vijfidnaintad-viSe,se tu caitasdb ll ekam pratyaya-vijflinam dvitiyam aupabhogikam / upabhoga-pariccheda-prerakis tatra caitasAb II llWayman, "Buddhist Genesis."

274

Buddhist Insight

object-a reality neither joined to nor separatefrom the creative center called Imagination of Unreality. This Voidness is the goal to which the noble ones (the elect) aspire, because it has the noble natures, called in other Buddhist texts the "Buddha natures" (buddhadharma). Generally, Buddhist texts referred to this state as Nirvi{ra, more properly "Nirva4a without remainder." "Nirva4a with remainder" is approximately Great Time. The Mahdydna is all three "Nirva4a without fixed abode" (apratiglhita-nirudqta) Times. Gnner Ttltn, rsn SouncE oF MYrn Great Time is the marvelous beginning of time in the senseof an interval not always progressing in a continuous line, as does Profane Time, which has an anterior past, a present moment, and a posterior future. The interval of time is colored by a glorious quality, becausethen is the contact with earth by the hero, walking with erect stature. His fabulous and exemplary adventures need only be recounted in myth to inspire the imagination, and possibly also th.econduct of men in later Profane Time; especially men who are close to the soil. The myth of the Buddha's life also begins with this walking, as the child leaves his mother's womb by the right side, takes seven steps toward the north, and announces, "f am at the top of the world. . .)'rz The future Buddha's sevensteps are (No Time in) Great Time; his announcement is (No Time in) Profane Tirne. All those examples point to the touching of earth as constituting a symbolic moment which we could call Moment 1, as the preliminary moment to rnundane life (in case of infant), to spiritual life (in case of Buddha), to the symbolization of the spiritual life (in case of main body of the rite), to acceptance in marriage (in caseof the auspiciousbride). At Moment l, the being is not yet alive, but anticipates the whole future life. Astrologically, at the moment of birth the infant is at the center of the universe, in sympathetic communion with the planets and stars, which indelibly impress the being with a sort of centriPetal force.13 pp.110'15. andMysteries, rzCf.Eliade,Myths,Dreams l3Alex Wayman,"Climactic Times in Indian Mythology and Religion" 310-1I. 4 (1965): Historyof Religions,

No Time, Great Time, and Profane Time in Buddhisrn

275

This place where earth is touched is the center, of which Eliade frequently speaks. In the Buddhist story of genesis,on the rsurfaceof earth there appeared an earth essence-in the Tantric version called an ambrosia (am7ta)-which a greedy being tasted with his finger and then ate mouthfuls of. other beings followed suit. Thus they became dependent on subtle morsel food and no longer fed on joy. They gradually lost the body made of mind as their bodies became heavier and more substantial. The ones who indulged least proudly retained their beautiful form. The sun, moon, and year becameknown. Hell beings, beings in the embryonic states, and the gods involved with desire (kdmduacdradeua)still have the subtle kind of food which does not give rise to excrement or urine.la According to the Madhydnta-uibhdga, in the beginning the world becameinner-outer, or subject-object. That is to say, what was always there in No Time continued just the same. But an imaginary relationship was introduced among the four characters, semi-divine beings as it were, of the Imagination of Unreality. Perhaps in a magic square they projected their own being through Voidness into an Imagination of Unreality the younger. This is first the foundation perception called "basic perception" (dlayauijfiana) which has as object the objective thing itself. Since as yet there are no modifications (alsesa) of the objective thing, there is no error (bhrdnti) or specific illusion. Nevertheless,the objectivething is said to be unreal. The unreality here is the cosmic illusion, the begiiining of downfall. The fascinating objective thing conceals in its very freshness the specific illusion that is sure to follow in a subsequentremove of Profane Time. From the beginning, the world was pervaded by delusion (moha). It is as the Buddha tells: all constructed things (sarpskdra) are sufferiog. In Great Time, the suffering is of transformation. PnopaNe TlMn, rne SoURCE oF RuasoN This is horizontality. Man has nature down where it can be handled. But he believes that his inner knowledge stems from outer happenings. Time now, according to L6vy-Bruhl, is what laWayman, Genesis." "Buddhist

276 "our" minds-the minds of us, the "civilizedl'-take his graphic words:

Buddhist Insight it to be. In

extending indefinitely in imagination, something like a straight line, always homogeneousby nature, upon which events fall into position, a line on which foresight can arrange them in an unilinear and irreversible series, and on which they must of necessityoccur one after the other.ls As long as man lives a profane life, his best guide is reason, which is limited and superficial, accompanied by the latest "laws of thought." The remarkable achievements of science fall here. Profane existence proves itself by accumulations such as merchandise and books (religious and. secular), and also by desacralized leavings or residues. It is "the rest of life" after Moment 1. In Buddhist genesis, the beings began to subsist on coarse morsel food, which gave rise to excrement and urine. The distinguishing characteristics of male and female arose, along with sexual desire and relevant acts. Then the idea of "private property" arose with individual rice plots, followed by stealing and consequentviolence. Those beings electeda"great chosenone" (mahdsammata)to provide security.lo This shows the emergence of lust and hatred, then private property and the status of ruler and ruled. The Madhyanta-uibhagaalludes to this state of being by "mentals'o seeingthe modifications of the objective thing. These mentals pertain to experience,and are feelings, ideas, and motivations. They are also called the "evolving perceptions" (praurtti-uijfidna). This state is full-blown illusion. R.ecaprruLATroNs It is a basic feature of Eliade's writings that h.edenies a purely prcfane existence. The homogeneity of profane space is interrupted by certain "holy places" dear to the memory of even the profane rronreligiousman.l? While Eliade has not defined the profane life in the terms I have employed above, I seeno conflict with his position on this matter. I can therefore go on to agree lsl-ucienL6vy-Bruhl, Primitive Mentality(Boston, p. 123. 1966), 16Wayman, "BuddhistGenesis." 17So in Eliade,TheSacred and the Profane.

No Time,GreatTime,andProfane Time in Buddhism

277

with him on this denial of the pure profane. There is no need to repeat here his well-presented justifications. My methods of demonstrating this conclusion are additional. Here there are two kinds of recapitulation-that of childhood and that of the daily life of man. The Recapitulation in Childhood In a brief communicationls I called attention to the Indian theory of life stages, of which the first three are in point now. They are the first year of life under the Moon, the second and third years under Mars, and the fourth through twelfth under Mercury. In the first year-as modern child developrnent study shows-the baby begins with no distinction between himself and his environment, and so is akin to the nondual state of No Time, from which he gradually emergesduring the balance of the year. Recently emerged from the primeval waters called the amniotic fluid and still dependent on liquids, the infant is governed by the Moon. For purposes of our correspondences based on Indian classifications,the entire year will be taken conventionally as the "nondual state." About the beginning of the secondyear, the child starts to walk: this inaugurates the heroic stage of walking on earth. It is a kind of anabasis,"advance uphill" (classically used for "military advance"). Also in the next two years the child speaks magic syllables expressinghis desiresand commanding their fulfillment by parents. Morbid regressionsto this state could be called catabasis, "retreat to the sea" (classically used for "military retreat"). So the child during those two years is goverrredby Mars, the commander-in-chief in Indian astrology. This is childhood's type of Great Time. Phylogenetic recapitulation in Profane Time is shown by the last period of childhood, the fourth through the twelfth year, when the lad or girl develops the power of reasoning while playfully dashing hither and yon under the dominion of Mercury. Modern studies show that the child is now a "socialized being" and his gamesincreasinglyhave rules.le The ages assignedto these stagesare of course stated with generrality and. are not meant to deny individual differences. 18"TheStages of Life according to Varihamihira,"Journalof theAmerican Oriental 83 (1963):360-61. Society, leJeanPiaget,Play, Dreams (New York, 1962), andImitationin Childhood p. 142.

278

Buddhist Insight

The Daily Recapitulation Each duy, manos life exhibits modes that disguise the three times. Properly speaking, the disguiseis inaugurated by puberty, becausethe maturation of the sexually differentiated characteristics recalls rvhat in the Buddhist genesis legend inaugurated the last period, corrupted by lust and hatred. fn short, dreamless sleep corresponds to No Time, dream to Great Time, and the u'aking state to Profane Time. I must stress-and in a similar vein, so does Eliade20-that the kind of correspondencereferred to in the iternization of recapitulations does not imply identity with the three Times. Indeed, elements in correspondenceare both related in some way and differ in some way. No Time, Great Time, and Profane Time each have a universal or shared character. The recapitulations are personal or private. Thus, Great Time is the source of myth as held by a certain society to work out public problems while a dream is a private matter to work out private problems. The dream is also like Great Time in its shortened psychological distance between subject and object, evidencedby the conversion of discursive thinking into nondiscursive imagery, especially in dramatic presentation, and also by its premonitory character (in the sense of shorving trends). In contrast, dreaming is mostly inspired by experiencesof the waking state, preeminently Frofane Time, while Great Time is mostly inspired by No Time. Certain cases of unsuccessful(o'unresolved") dreaming even parallel the successful"walking" of Great Time by the striking act of somnambulism. The recapitulations of childhood are more faithfi.rl to the three Times (hence the Biblical advice for entering the Kingdom of Heaven). That the third period (agesfour through twelve), when the child is allowed to go out and play with other children, establishes Profane Time, is a matter to be justified" Buddhism generally explained that "discursive thought" (uikalpa) is the nescience (auidyQ, or causeof it, that heads the Dependent (pratitya-somutpdda) Origination constituting Phenomenal Life (sarysdra). This "discursive thought" is the basis of human reasoningwith its rules. Butachildplayingby itselfdoesnotdevise rules for games.zl Therefore, I understand the third period of
20Eliade, Myths, Dreams and Mysteries, p."1.7. 2lPiaget, Play, Dreams and Imitation, p. 142.

Time in Buddhism No Time,GreatTime,and Profane

279

childhood to be involved in the parable of the Buddhist Mahdydna scripture called Sdgaramatipariprcchd: "Now suppose this boy, being a child, would fall into a pit of night-soil while playing...." It turns out that this "pit of night-soil" is a term for salnsdra.zz While the recapitulations in both childhood and daily life are not identical with the three Times, they do share the universal character in a salient feature. That is to say, we can combine the childhood and daily recapitulations to observe that although the child, and then the child becomesan adult, are in aspectsof Profane Time, they do indeed still recapitulate all three Times. They do so irrespective of the degree of religious feeling in particular persons, do so irrespective of such rites as baptism, and do so whether or not people indulge in food and sex sacramentally. In every life the "Moment 1" is Great Time, the rest of life Profane Time, but throughout life there are these recapitulations, echoes, and intimations of the Sacred. This is why no person in Profane Time can be utterly dissociated from No Time and Great Time. In this light, an irreligious as well as a religious person may use with sincerity such expressionsas the "sanctity of the home." Breakthroughs By "breakthrough" I refer to the numinous experience as described by Otto (Das Heilige). It is an irrational revelation of overrvlielming majesty or of mysterious power. The complete otherness of the revelation makes it appear as a breakthrough from a superior, nonhuman realm. According to the classification utiiized above, this breakthrough would be from No Time into Great Time or from No Time into Profane Time. In the Indian context, the first case-overwhelming majesty of No Time in Great Time-is illustrated in the Bhagauadglta by Krishna's revelation of his cosmic form to Arjuna. This is also the saqnbhogalrayaof the Buddha preaching to the great bodhisattuasin the Akaniltha Heaven. The second case-the mysterious power of No Tirne in Profane Time-is illustrated by the Hindu-Buddhist Act of Truth. This act is done by Sita in the Hindu epic Rdmdyallq.and there are many examples in Buddhist scriptures. Here the performer declares the truth of his outstanding acts and 22The parableis quotedin Jikido Takasaki,A Study on the Ratnagotra(Rome,t966,) pp. 246-47, Uttaratantra) vibhaga(

280

Buddhist Insight

commands the gods to produce the desiredmiracle. The miraclean incredible event apparently violating "Nature's laws"-is the breakthrough. Anandagarbha contains this ritual statement in his Srparamddi-1tkd: "He should recite, 'oh Bhag avatyajrasattva, just as it is true that all dharmas are like a dream, by virtue of that truth may r be allowed to see and be allowed to hear the such-and-such desired dream t' ))zg Both kinds of breakthrough have been responsiblein numerous casesfor the striking religious phenomenon of "conversion." In the category of breakthrough I would also place some debatable religious experiences, of more or less sullied character, all for "ego-defense": battlefield traurna, epilepsy, young man in the whorehouse, psychedelic drugs (as indicated by such images of "shattering" as walls breached by sea-water). Participations There is also the attempt to ascend to higher states of consciousness as though to live integrally in them, reified as modes of being-a sort of rnystical immersion-or at least to be able to get into and out of those stateswheneverone lvishes. Hence we spea.kof participation in Great Time or in No Time. Success here can be understood as either discoveryor verification of spiritual truth, and also as the acquisition of supernormal powers. Eliade writes: up'n the plane of the archaic religions, participation in the condition of the "spirits" is what endows the mystics and the magicians with their highest prestige. It is during his ecstasy that the shaman undertakes, in the spirit, long and dangerous mystical journeys even up to the highest Heaven to meet the God, or up to the Moon or down into Hell, etc.za whatever be the truth in these cases, it is the human mind which so assertsit. It is a wonderful feature of Profane Time that it assertsthe truth of religion. The higher Times have truth but do not assert it. Great Time should include the Buddhist search za/ bcom ldan hdasrdo rje semsdpal.r bdenpa gan gischosthams cad rmi lam dan lldra bar mfiampa[i bdenpa desbdaghdodpat'i rmi lamche gemo mthonbarmdzod cig/ thospar,mdzod cigcesbrjodpar byaho l(KyotoTokyo Photographic reprint [1959-6U of Kanjur-Tanjur, vol. 72, pp.305-3). z4Eliade, Myths, Dreamsand Mysteries, p. 95.

t{o Time,GreatTime,and Profane Time in Buddhism

2Bl

for or experience of suffering as a Noble Truth. For this it is necessary to reduce, even to abolish, pslichological distanceman's advancing self-awarenessin Profane Time that he is differentiated from the object (nature), which curtails a person's empathy with beings located mentally by that person in other groups. This factitious grouping-the castesof India and the world-is the prejudice engendered during the third period of childhood (see *'Recapitulations"). Buddhism, in common with Hinduism, believed that by a regular course of conduct, such as restrictions on food and sex activity, and by finding the proper place and there a guru, a person (preferably male) could then undertake the somewhat arduous training for samddhi and thus ascend to various levels of consciousness, even the highest, the Incomparable complete Enlightenment of the Buddha. This meditative ascensionis usually stated in terms of sensory experience. The attainment of mental calm gradually brings out certain supernormal faculties, such as divine hearing. Eliade points out, 'oln short, throughout religious history, sensory ,activity has been used as a means of participating in the sacred. ,and attaining to the divine."25 In the bodhisattua doctrine of Mahdydna Buddhism this is also stressed.Thus. in Atisa's Bodhipathapradtpa (verses 35-36): Just as a bird with unspread wings cannot fly up to the sky, in the sameway the one without the power of the supernormal facultiescannot servethe aim of the sentientbeings. The merits of a single day that are due to the supernormal faculties would not occur in a hundred births for one lacking the supernormal faculties.26 rn that way, those bodhisattuas who are called "great beings" '(mahasattua) are in Great Time, vastly able to serve the aim of ,sentient beings by dint of the supernormal faculties. Extraordinary sensory experience is governed by the second instruction of the Buddhist path, which is arranged in three instructions : ( I ) m orality (adhii IIa-i i k t a), (2) concentration (adhisamddhi-Sik ; a), and (3) insight (adhipr ajfia-i ik sa).zt The implicati on zsEliade, Myths, DreomandMysteries,p. 74. 2oManuscript translation from Tibetanby Alex Wayman. 27Thefamous Pdli text, Buddhaghosa's visuddhimagga, is arrangedin three parts in accordance with three instructions.

t
j

I
ll

il

282

BuddhistInsight

of these instructions is that Buddhism is not seeking to attain Great Time or No Time just for the sake of doing so, or for the sake of gaining a striking experience. The old Buddhist aim was of liberation (No Time) and later came the Bodhisattva ideal (Great Time). Since Great Time had the seed of downfall into Profane Time, the Buddhist rationale of reaching that lofty state is to do it in circumstances whereby the concurrent hypnotic delusion is elirninated. And so it rvas taught that on top of the mental calming, the fruit of the second instruction, there should be the insight which sees things as they really are (what early Buddhism said) or which seesthings arising as in a dream (what later Buddhism said). The order of instructions places morality as the foundation for both mental calrning and insight. This is borne out by the assignment of certain rites to Great Time. Ritual action has this in comrnon with the heroic conduct of Great Time: one has to give up all random action and do things with exactitude in the performance of a rituai, and one has to give up all means and timid acts in order to have h.eroicconduct. That is to say, they both deexhibited mand the abandonment of the usual huriran weaknesses in Profane Time. Theserites have featuresin common with meditation procedures. I have in mind especiallythe map(a/a rites of rvhich are analogousto stepsof meditation. Tibetan Buddhism,2s Here one has to select the proper site, remove all the stones, potsherds, and other pains of the soil, and meditatively seizethe site by vowing to perform the reviewed rite. In Buddhist meditation one must also find the right meditative object, eliminate gross corruptions frorn the mind, and seize the meditative object by leaving off the usual mental dashing hither and yon to a multitude of sensoryobjects. 'oshortcuts" These meditative procedures-the old ways or the such as the Tantras claim to have-are meant to reach an otherworldly condition. It is here that the myth, especiallythe genesis legend, serves the function of reminding profane man of that mode of being he has lost and even suggestinghow he may return. Then, what does Buddhism have to say about participating in Great Tirne and No Time as modes of beins in the senses 28See Ferdinand D. Lessing trans.,Mkhasgrub rje's and Alex Wayman, ("Fundamentals of the BuddhistTantras"),(The Hague,1968),pp. 279 ff-

Time in Buddhism No Time, GreatTime, and Profane

283

suggestedby the genesislegend? It was believed in ancient Buddhism that by advanced meditative techniques one could draw from the physical body a duplicate of it called the "body rnade of mind" (manomaya-kdya), as recorded in the Digha-nikaya: Here a monk createsa body from this (his) body, having form mind-made, with all limbs and parts, not deprived of senses. Just as if a man were to pull out a reed from its sheath, he would know: "This is the sheath, this the reed. The sheath is one thing, the reed is another. It is frorn the sheath that the reed has been drawn forth."2e The Lankduatdra-siltra distinguishesthree degreesin development of this "body made of mind": (l) its potential separationduring stabilization in the pleasure of samadhi; (2) its separation due to reversal ofthe basis of the evolving perceptions and of the basic perception (dtayauijfidna), with a reorientation ("alteration of consciousness") toward dharmas (natures); and finally, (3) its becoming a body of the Buddha.3o The second stage, pervaded by "forbearance of the unoriginated natures" (anutpattikadhar' mak,sdnti),means living without terror in Great Time; while the third stage, when the "body made of mind" has been initiated as a Buddha, means living in No Time. These three stages of the "body made of mind" appear to reversethe three downward stages of the Buddhist genesislegendand, by masteringthe three Times, to prove the myth. In addition, there are ancient and modern claims that certain such expanding" (psychedelic), drugs, now called "consciousness cult Vedic as the current LSD-possibly tbe soma of the ancient of experience is in the same category-bring one easily to the Great Time. Drugs that arouse striking sensory images have precisely this intensemindfulness(smrti) in common with yoga.In the case of drugs, however, the experienceis of kaleidoscopic and o'one pointedness of somewhat distorted images rather than the mind" (ekdgrata-citta) of samddhi and is uncontrolled by the subject except for some affective preconditioning ("expectancy"). 2eSee Paravahera Mahdthera,BuddhistMeditationin Theory Vajiraffdqra and Practice(Colombo,Ceylon, 1962),p. 440:'and Mircea Eliade, Yoga: p. 165. (NewYork, 1958), Immortality andFreedon 30See Journal, Alex Wayman,"studies in Yama and Mira," Indo-Irdnian 1.19. 3 (1959):

:284

Buddhist Insight

Therefore, these drugs cannot supply the mental calm (iamatha) necessaryfor the supernormal faculties. They seemto amount to at least one of the two extremes rejected by the Buddha in favor of the Middle Path-the extreme of indulgence in a riot of sense images; possibly also they represent the extreme of mortification, of body chemistry. Indeed, an artist of the visionary type is more likely to live in Great Time than any drug-taker. This is becausewhen perception seesthe bare objective thing, that object, as "nature,,' has the upper hand: being the only thing perceived, it has virtual hypnotic value. Notice the words of picasso: There must be darkness everywhere except on the canvas, so that the painter becomes hypnotized by his own work and paints almost as though he were in a trance.... He must stay as close as possible to his own inner world if he wants to transcend the limitations his reason is always trying to impose on him.31 Jung writes consistently: "A great work of art is like a dream; for all its apparent obvjousnessit does not explain itself and is never unequivocal. A dream never says:'you ought', or: 'This is the truth."'32 The breakdown of formal profane structures through shortened psychological distance can bring types of religious experiencesto artists and drug-takers as well as to yogins. However, there is no special distinction in reaching Great Time or No Time somehow or other, no matter in how disoriented a manner; for, after all, there are the recapitulations which all of .usexperience normally without risk. CoNcl,usroN If one accepts the terminology of three Times associated with three modes of thought and further accepts that these modes of thought allude to modes of being, he can easily grant that there are various ways of reaching or plunging into those modes of being as a veritable transfer or flight of consciousness to a different slFrancoise Gilot and carlton Lake, Life with picasso (New york, 1965), p p . 110- 11. 32C. G. Jung,ModernMan in Search of a Soul(New york, 1933), p. 171.

No Time, Great Time, and Profane Time in Buddhism

28s:

field or domain, one that is initially strange and possibly. frightening. The threeTimesthemselves, and the corresponding procedure usedfor dealingwith them, area kind of thinking well known from the ancient Upanigads, or the background of which Buddhisrn itself arose. The states of Waking, Dream,and Dreamless Sleepare encompassing categories and are themselves. includedin the Fourth state (Turiya),which seems to be the forerunner of the Mahdyina "Nirvala without flxed abode.,' The useof the categories "No Time," "Great Time,', and ..profane Time" for subsuming d,isparate featuresof man's d,evelopmentor states of consciousness is not surprising since the mind of man is structurallytbe same,though given to different"ways of thought"; and, after all, one can select from varioussources the particular materialthat fits into a prearrangement. The formulation would be outstanding if it shouldprove to fit well with other salientfeatures of man's thought and life which personsat large might cogentlyadduceas worthy of inclusionin such schemathat is, if it shouldturn out to be a more convenientdescription for worthy data than other schematic descriptions in use. This, is for othersto judge.

T4
THE ROLE OF ART AMONG THE BUDDHIST RELIGIEUX

This paper will flrst go into some generalitiesabout Buddhist art, then proceed to the aniconic period, the iconic period, and problems of discursive and non-discursive thought and art. An attempt will be made to compare meaningfully with some Western contributors to aesthetics theory, such as Herbert Read and J. P. Sartre. The comparisons are non-historical, witir the premise that these problems are common to man, of whatever period of The author hopes to communicate his own fascination time. with the topic as suggesting intriguing implications beyond Buddhist art itself. Among the significant findings is that the term "freedom" is employed in two contrasting senses. I. GnNnRarttIns

The term "art" is here employed for the visual arts-namely, architecture, sculpture, and painting-which constitute the greatest artistic achievement of Buddhism. In contrast, rnost of the versified Buddhist works are of a didactic nature, emphasizing the messagerather than poetical finesse. This is not to deny certain outstanding works of Buddhist literature, such as ASvaghoga's early Kavya and his drama, the works of Mdtrceta andAryaStrra, as well as Sri Harsa's dramatic work. Probably others were composed in the early A.D. centuries whose authors were not sufficiently appreciated in monastic circles to have their works

288

Buddhist Insighr

repeatedly copied and thus preserved. There is presumably a. sizeable body of Buddhist poetry in the various Asian languages; and the Buddhists along with other Indians were fertile in tales, often of an elegant form. whether or not original, Buddhist music does not appear to have been especially influential. Let. us then turn to the visual arts which are our concern here. Many flne Buddhist art objects are preservedin the great museumsof the world. certain monuments and art centers, such as sdffchi, Ajantd, and Ndgdrjunakop{a, are also well preserved at or near their original locations in India. Debala Mitra's Buddhist Monumenls (Calcutta, 1971) is a satisfactory modern coverage of most of the Buddhist monuments of the ancient India area, including modern Pakistan and part of Nepal. The remarkable outpouring of art was characteristic of Buddhism in every country in which it became followed by a sizeablepart of the population. one can gain an idea of how Buddhist art spread through south Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Far East, by consulting the comprehensive catalogue Guide du Musde Guimet I (Paris, 1966)Many Buddhist monuments have been irretrievably lost when they lay in the path of invading armies in Northwest India, or in other parts of Asia when they fell to marauders and depredation. As far as this writer knows, the only present-daycreativity of Buddhist art is in some of the best Tibetan tankas and carpets; and we should not overlook the continuing artistry of the Japanese. As to the origins of the aft, it seemsthat the groundwork was laid by instructions attributed to the last sermon of the tsuddha to allow a kind of division of labor for the monks and Buddhist laymen.l It was the laymen who were to take care of the memorial edilices called stupas which contained the relics. But about a century after the Buddha's passing, there was a schism in the Buddhist order with the splinter group called the Mahdsinghika, continuing alongside or geographically separatedfrom the school of the Elders (the Sthavira or Thera, as now called). It seems that the Mahdsdnghika came in league with these laymen who were probably among the prominent and especially devout of the Buddhist laymen, and began to make theological justifications tThe Mahaparinibbana-sutianw; cf. in English translation,T. W. and of the Buddha, Part II (London : Luzac& C. A. F. Rhys Davids,Dialogues p. 154. Ltd.,4thed.,1959), Company

The Role of Art amongthe Buddhist Religieux

Zgg

for stilpa worship.2 Be that as it may, the production of Buddhist art now as in past centuries is mainly by well-trained laymen, although of course sometimesmonks themselves were artists, as we find these days in the case of some Tibetan lamas. For the Gandhara Buddha-type, the local Buddhist establishment, or wealthy Buddhist laymen, perhaps hired some sculptors-say, from Rome.3 The preciousnessof this art is inclicated by the depiction of "donors" at various art sites and numerous inscriptions which name th.e benefactor. Besides,as is well known, gifts of art are made to show appreciation for servicesrenderecl. For example, there is the caseof Tson-krra-pain Tibet, founder of the yellowcap sect called Gelugpa, whose new school was sponsored by a powerful hereditary family calred 'ol tr(ha. Tuccia shows how by invitation of the family, Tson-kha-pa had the worn_away paintings of the local temple dcne over in accoidance with the way those gods had appeared to him in his own samddhis. Also, in ancient times temple icons were not saleable (apanya) according to the grammarian patafrjali's gloss on a panini siltra,s but thet were undoubtedly stealable. In the long history of Buddhist art, the most striking feature is perhaps ttre shift of subject matter. Basically it is the movement from aniconic to iconic type art, but there is much more to it than that. In the early days it was trre historical Buddha sakyamuni that was stressed, even if the art was aniconic. The former sevenBuddhas also appear in the aniconic period. Later, with the first icons, again it rvas Sakyamuni as the main theme. The artists.poured out a deluge of art around all t'e details of sdkyamuni's life, whether historical or somewhat legendary. But then the theme of heavenscame to include the iconic former seven Buddhas, the "Thousand. Buddhas of the Fortunate Aeon (bhadrokalpa)l' and the Buddha Amitdbha-Amitdyus. shadowy srhis is my deduction from the materials presented in Akira Hirakawa, "The Rise of Mahayana Buddhism and its Rerationstrip to the worship of stupas," Memoirsof the Research Depqrtment of the Toyo Bunko,No. 22 (Tokyo : The Toyo Bunko, 1963). 'cf. Alexander soper,"The Romanstyle at Gandha ta,,,American Journa\, of Archaeology, LY, 1951, pp. 301-319. .Giuseppe painted Tucci,Tibetan scroils(Rome,1g4g), 68. N. Puri, India in the Timeof patafijati(Bombay, vor. I, p.4r. |OSV, p. lg2.

2go

Insight Buddhist

flgures called Arhats, standardized as sixteen and then eighteen and appearing even in groups of five hundred, came in for a share of the art. The great Bodhisattvas, suctr as the future Buddha Maitreya, Avalokite6vara, and Mafiju5ri inspired many artists. Wiiletts's tableo shows that in the- century before the T'ang dynasty, near the Chinese Lo-yang eapital, Sakyamuni and Maitreya were the chief subjects, but that apparently starting with the T'ang near tfre same capital the Amitdbha-Amitdyus and Avalokitesvara types were dominant among the new art representations. His data should be compared with Soper's.7 The Tibetan art school, being later, missed the early stress on the founder, Sakyamuni, and went directly to the Amitd,bha and AvalokiteSvara types, and then to the host of tantric deities. The seerningreptacement of the founder of Buddhism, sakyamuni, with. these hosts of Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas, paraltels the ernergenceof a huge new religious literature, the Mahdyd:na scriptures, which seeminglyreplace the early Buddhism of the Pali canon. As I have elsewhere suggested, the local differencesof BuCdhist art involve an adaptation to the particular country, a showing that Buddhism is "at home" t"!rere. Doubtless the Southern Buddirist countries are more conservative, and in doctrine. In agreement,their both in art representations art keeps mainly the first state of iconic representation, the of his life (such as the Great Departure.). Buddha depicted in scenes In contrast, the Malay Archipelago being subject to later influences also exhibits Chinese-type deities and tantric art of later Indian Buddliism. But the contact with original Buddhism is not lost to the extelt it appears on the surface or at first giance. Deep sttrdy of the Matidyana scriptures shows not so much a replacement aS a reworking and overlay of the early canon. Again, it seeixs that certain Bcdhisattvas began as personifications of high ievels of the Buddha's life. Thus, Avalokitesvara may personify the Buddha's look, i.e. his surYeyof the living beings when he was seated under the Bodhi tree. MafijuSri may be the Buddha's insight (prajfiA). Arnitdbha may be Sakyarnuni's other-worldly I, pp. 348-349. Books,1958)' oWilliam Art (Penguin Willetts,Chinese ?Alexander Soper, Literary Evidence for Early BuddhistArt in China 1959). {Ascona,Switzerland,

The Role of Art amongthe Buddhist Religieux

Zgl

form, the Dharmakdya so called, hence a substitution. No matter what their inception, these Bodhisattvaq and other Buddha figures developed a life of their own in the course of time. It is ail Buddhist art and can be regarded as the oak tree that does not resemblethe acorn, from which by somo commonplace miracle it emerged. And yet the art forms become fixed by hieratic standards, such as the proportions and icon size, as though to preserve intact that tree. II. THp ANrcoNrc PnRroo It is well known that in its first period Buddhist art was aniconic. The founder of the religion, Gautarna tsuddha, was not at first represented in a human form, but rather by symbols such as: the elephant representing his conception; the auspicious marks such as his footprint representingprophecy; the tree representing the enlightenrnent as does the empty throne; the wheel as the first teaching set in motion; the parasol as the protective dome; the stilpa his Parinirvdf a. These symbols were images (in Greek, agalma) of deity, but not likenesses (Greek, eidon).8 As such they amounted to living embodiments; and this sense is maintained in subsequent centuries by the stupa (ot caitya). They are also "symbois for the unknown."e That certain images in the above sense were associated with pilgrimage, and so a Buddhist kind of ritual, is weli stated by Foucher, quoting fro;l the last sermon of the tsuddha:10 "There are four places,o Ananda, rvhich an honorabie worshipper should visit with religious emotion. wirat are these four?" Foucirer answers : "They are, as we know, those r,vhere the predestined one for ttre first time received iliumination and preachecl and those rvhere for the last time he was born and dieci. Now just in the devout practice of the four great pilgrimages resiclesany hope which we have of at last coming upon the long-sought point of departure. In order that we may grasp at once th.egerm and 8cf. FrancisM. cornford, Plato'scosmology (New york eclition,lg57), p. 99. scf. Herbert Read,Icon & Idea (Newyork, 1972repfint), chapterIII, pp. 53, ff. r0A. Foucher,TheBeginnings of BuddhistArt (paris, London, lglT), p p . 1 0- 11.

Buddhist Insight

the directing principle of Buddhist art, it is necessaryand sufificient to admit that the Indiarl pilgrims were pleased to bring back from these four holy places a small material souvenir of what they had there seen." Foucher has an excellent point about these theorized souvenirs, which would have been images (Gr. agalma) of deity. They would be invested with an intangible power through the religious zeal of the pilgrim who had travelled to the site-associated with legends of miracles-often with considerabledifficulty and sacrifice while filled with faith. Pilgrimage was ordinarily associated with the cyclical return of a certain date of the year, and group visitation at the given place. Thus many persons would participate in this auspicious concatenation of time and space. The image here is involved in a sort of spiritual synesthesia, a visual form somehow correlated with the auditory word which is the "insight consisting of hearing" (irutamayl prajfia), the sermon associatedwith the spot visited. The aniconic symbols reached triumphal expressionin elaborate stfipas. The bas-reliefs of Barhut suggest wealthy patrons of Buddhist art already in the 2nd century, B.C. The extraordinary and still-survivingstitpa of Sdiiclii implies that in the lst century" strongB.C., the sectionof India norv calied Madhya Pradeshr,vas ly Buddhist. In the samecentury (the 1st,B.C.) such Buddhist art, usually in cave and stupa elaboration r.vould be establishedjust south of the Vindhya range in a band that extended clear across India, and has such surviving centers as Ajanti and the morerecently discovered stupa near Nagpur. Sivaramamurti believes that the Amaravati Sttpa ofAndhra in South India by the Krishna River was founded by King ASoka in the 3rd century, B.C.11 Certain images-the tree, the wheei, and the stltpa-were in time rendered banal by appearing on punch-marked coins, the so-called"Buddhist" coins.lz Perhapsthis very rnultiplicationand dispersalof imageswould eventually result in a weakeningof the holiness associated with the images, furnishing a reason for the Buddhist world to becomereceptiveto a new form of art. But even after the iconic art appeared, the aniconic form exerted its 11C. Sivaramamurti, in the Madras Government Amaravati Sculptures Museum(Madras, 1'956), P. 4. pp. 14-15. 12Cf.Foucher,TheBeginnings,

The Role of Art among the BuddhistReligieux

293

,religious fascination. Thus Subramanian says:13"As late as the sixth century A.D. and even later, the Buddhist stupa^s continued to exercisetheir influence over the Andhras who visited the holy spots and showed their reverellce to them in the shape of benefactions and votive offerings." Now, let us attempt to fathom some of the aniconic symbolism. At the old Karle cave stilpa in present-day Mahirdshtra, on the facade by the entrance, there is a much-reproduced representation of a magnificent male and female pair: the woman depicted with rnature sensual corporeality, and the man as a well-built strong male. Inside there is the bare, unadornedstupa. There is evidence that at one time the cave walls were painted with Jdtaka-type scenes. It seems that the outside representations-and the cave paintings like the Jataka sculptures of Barhut would be an extension of them-are meant to show the "realm of desire" (kamadltatu) which is left behind or surmounted when one turns to the plain stupa. This produces a stark contrast betweenthe teeming scenesof "outside" and the spare 'oinside,"and serves for a much greater challenge to the sculptor (and later to the painter of the cave walls) than if he werejust to construct the stereotyped central stltpa. The symbolism of the one's being detailed and the other one's being plain apparently agreeswith Herbert ltead's descriptioala of the ti,vo principles of att: "vital image" or "vitality as an aestheticfactor", and beauty as the "still 6enf1e"-because the sculpturcs and later paintings of rire Karle monriment are the vital image, and tL'te stupa is the still centre. Indeed, if it is not stretphingthe caseto attribute "beauty" to the stiil centrc, rvhich is the central stupa,one can f,nd intriguingly applicable Keats's "Ode On a Grecian urn," at least in Gombrich's interpretation. I would be loathe to cite Keats's line "Beauty is truth, truth beauty," for fear of abusing the poet's intention by quotation here, were not theserema.rks of Gombrich's at hand: "For beyond the general neo-platonic faith in the truth of the artist's vision sucir as it is exp;:essed in Keats's letters, the idea that the realm of beauty can be entered by man only at the price of renunciation plays an important part in eighteenth century aesthetics.Thus Schiller's speculations turned round the contrast 13K.R. subramanian, Buddhist Remains (Madras,lg32),p. 16. in Andhra L4lcon, Chap.I, pp. 17,[f., especially pp. 32,33,

294

Buddhist Insight

between the enslavement of our animal nature and the freedom of aesthetic contemplation."ls Later in this paper I shall revert to the nature of this "freedom," so called. For the present, let us notice that the foregoing ties nicely with Read's two basic principles of art -the principle of vitality and the principle of beauty.16 If we take Keats's line in the above sense,we can split Buddhist art-as at Karle-into two: the "outer" with the vitality of our animal nature, to be renounced; and the "inner" with the beauty that is truth, where is the so-called freedom. Eventually the Buddhist Midhyamika school was to represent the "outer" as cyclical flow (sarysdra), referring to the vitalism as "effi.ciency" (arthalcril,dkdritd); and in this interpretation, the "inner" would be the absolute truth (paramdrtha-satya), the changelessbeauty of what never arose to pass away, like the Lover on the Grecian Urn. III. TsE IcoNrc Prnroo Buddhism in its inception was not hostile to idolatry, as was Islam. But that early Buddhist texts are simply silent on the matter has been disputed by scholars. Also, Foucher says the idolatry starts with what he calls the "Gandhdrian revolution," the consequence of the Greek incursions into India in the early centuries, B.C.; but his theory of the Greek-type has been countered by evidence taking the Gandhdra Buddha rather as a Roman Apollo type.tt Furthermore, others lean to the native evolution of the Buddha statuary, starting at Mathurd. The provenence is not very important to the role of art; becausethe main point is that the icons of the Buddha becamepopular, rvith their earliest remains belonging perhapsto the lst century,A.D. The icon, as was suggested above, is lifeless through being a likeness. Preciselybecauserecognized as a similitude, it is not taken as the residence of the Buddha; and so there are meditative practices-as will be illustrated later on-aimed at getting the Buddha to descend into the icon. In contrast, the aniconic symbols, such as the tree, are already the
15E. H. Gombrich, "Visual Metaphors of Value in Art," in Symbolsand Values: An Initial Study, ed. by Lyman Bryson, et al (New York, 1954), p. 271. t6Cf. Icon, p. 93. 1?PerSoper (n. 3, above).

The Role of Art among the Buddhist Religieux

295

seat of deity and so are not associatedwith meditation but rather with practices of faith, such as the circumambulation of stupas. The artists were not oblivious to the distinction; and in a compromise with the earlier form of art manage to include in the background the aniconic symbols, such as the tree, and a touch of vitalism, as with the hooded serpent-king who servesas a kind of umbrella or sun-shadefor the meditating Gautama. The shift from aniconic to iconic art might constitute a movement from impersonal reverence to the kind of personal devotion called bhakti (In Hinduism it is easierto trace the hhakti movement from its intellectual form in the Bhagauadgltd to the more emotional type centuries later in the Bhugauata-purdna and later to the erotic forms). Buddhist doctrine apparently supports the Bucidha icon by the insistence on the human state as essential for enlightenment. Asanga, doubtless giving the old teaching, deflnes "personal of the embodiment and heads the extended as Success SucceSS" list rvith "human state" (manu;yatua).rB Ndgd.rjuna's "Friendly Epistle" states the theory negatively as the "eight unfavorable moments" (ak5aym): "Adhering to wayward views; being born among the animals, among the hungry ghosts (preta), or among the heil-beings; being born rvhen the Buddha's promulgation is not present, or among the heretics in far-off places; having defective organs and stupidity; or birth among the long-lived godsthese are the eight unfavorable moments. If freed from these you should get a favorable moment, exert yourself to avoid the birth (of those eight)."r0 Nigdrjuna mentions the states to be negated in order all the more to affi.rmthe favorable state of being in the presence of the Buddha and, generally, the saints and gurus, and being able to listen with human intelligence and good organs. So also there is the ideal human representation in art to symbolize the condition o1' enlightenment.2o The iconic type (Betkeley, Manuscript rsCf. Alex Wayman,Analysisof the Sravakabhumi 196l), p. 60. from the Tibetan by rsCf. Nagarjuna's "Friendly Epistie," Translated p. 19. 1886, of the Pali Text Society, Journal Dr. H. Wenzel, there iconographically, represented 2oDoubtless. oncethe Buddhabecame the to justify it. So one may understand would be sometextualinsertions the paintingof the Buddhain suchworksof aboutthe passages mentioning NidanaSutra and the Chinese A.D., the Damamuka 4th and 5th centuries,

296

Buddhist Insight

thus has the role of constantly reminding the devoteeof the oorra bility of consummation by reason of human birth. In the later tantric period a goddess,such as Tara, as well as the male god, sewes the iconic purpose. Another kind of Buddhist teaching would oppose realistic arttypes. This was the instruction to the one in the reiigious life that he should have sense-restraint(inclriyosarltuara), tirat is, l-resl1ould avoid taking hoid of signs(nimitta-grdha)or taking hold of details (ndnuuyaiijanagrdha) from sensory experience that would incite sinful, unvirtuous natures.2lBut hell scenes could be represented.22 rt is feasible that in the old days this favored the aniconic representations. Indeed, the non-realistic form rs usual in Bucldhist hieratic art, granting the early and temporary exception of the Gandhdra Buddha with the wavy hair. The Buddha is normally represented with the ugnisaon his head and elongatecl ears,neith.er of which featuresare characteristicof the actual male head. These two elementsare included among the 32 standard characteristics of the Buddh.a; and various other characteristics, sucir as the abnormally lon-qarms, are also non-realistic. In a paper long ago I pointed out that tire variant lists cf the Buddha's g0 secondary nrarks favor in one case an interpretation as a great 1,ogitr,and. in another case, as a k'atri):a (the Buddha's reputed caste).2s In fact, the trvo interpretations give rise to tr,vo Buddh.a typesthe seatedone in meditation, and the standing one equivalent to the universal emperor (the Cakr.avartin). The non-realistic representations of the Buddha in tiine were corrrbinedwith meditation exercises. Numerous benefitswere set forth to be derived frorn contemplating the body of the Buddha wlriclr brcught calming of the rnind (iamatha), and then from
legend of King A6oka, as are citerl in ArexanderSoper, "Early Buddhist Attitr-rdes Toward ihe Art of painting," Art Builetin,xxxll, 2, June 1950, pp. 149-150. :1Wayman,Analysis,pp. 6l-62. zzNagdrjuna's "Friendly Epistle,"p. 24 (verse 84): "But thosewho, seeing a picture of hell, hearing (of hell), remembering (it), reacring(about it), or making images (of it), generatefear (of it), they certainly will experience immense rewards (vipaka)." 23Alex wayman, "Contributions Regardingthe Thirty-Two Characteristics of the Great Person," Sino-Indian Studies; Liebenthal Festschrift, ed. by Kshitis Roy (Visvabharati,Santiniketan, 1957),p. 255.

The Roleof Art among the BuddhistReligieux

297

making offerings thereto, confession of sins, etc., before the socontemplated Buddha. In this case, the icon servesas a sort of meditative prop to assistin transferring the likeness to the mind, since samddhi is not accomplished by what the outer sensesare .awareof, but rather by what the mind is aware of. So in Kamala,Sila'sBhauqndkrama III:2a In regard to that, first the )togin fastenshis mind on the formal body of the Tathagata as it is seen and as it is heard, and then is to accomplish calming. He orients his mind continuously on the form of the Tathigata's body, yellow like the color of purified gold, adorned lvith the (32) characteristicsand the (80) minor marks, di,vellingwithin its retjnue, and acting for the aim of the sentient beings by diverse means. Generating a desire for the merits cf tirat (body), he subduesfading, excitement, and the other faults, and should practice meditation until such timc as that (body) dwells in front and is seenclearly. 'concerning the remark "dwells in front," as I have written elservhere, "the god assumesa concrete attitude, reflecting the repose of the Dh.arrnadhatr"r, or rnergeslvith the external icon." Besides, shifting to the tantric literature, we know that showing an icon doesnot violate tantric secrecy, since the violation doesnot consist in revealing to the eye, but to the ear.25 Coomaraswamynnakes a sirnilar poiot about art creation: "Thus the artist's model is ahvaysa melrtal image."zo rhe sarneauthor has relevantremarks rvith someIndian terms.zz Here the term pratyctk.rameans "direct senseperception," hence of the icon; whiie the terrn parok.ra fireans "beyond the senses ," hence beyond vulgar experience. We may appeal now to a great line of the Buddl"rist logician Dharmakirti (Pramdna-udrttika, II, l32b): '"When the goal (:cessation of suffcring) and its cause (.:the means) are out of sight (pcro!r;a), to explain them is difficult." Difficult, but not impossible. Anyway, words rather faii to explain the santiidhi, the religious goal, and the artist's model.
zaAlex wayman, The Buddlist Tantras; Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism ,(New York, 1973), p. 58. 2,Ibid., p. 67. 26Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The Transformation of Nature in Art (Dover Publications, New York, 1956), p. 79. ztlbid., Chap. V. on Parokta.

298

Buddhist Insight

However, the icon-and the category includes the tantric icon as well-is exposed to direct sense perception (pratyak5a), and so is the basis for feeling. Buddhism explicitly statesthis situation in the formula of Dependent Origination (pratitya-sanautpada) where the first seven members are understood as the passive unrolling of causesestablishedin the o'previouslife" and run down to No. 5, "six sensebases," which establishpartite experienceand o'contact", of sense organ, serve as the condition for No" 6, sense object, and partite perception, which serveas the condition pleasurable, painful, and neutral. for No. 7, "feelings" (uedand), feelings, this includes of course the pleasurable and Therefore, not a matter of free will, since feeling aroused by an art object, are they are the culmination of the deterministic series. Besides, Buddhist scriptures insist that feelings are associated with the 'onaming faculty" (sarTtjiia),amounting to such particular views o'The pot is pretty," etc. Hence, one or judgments as "ft hurts," does not chooseto appreciate art. This is not necessarilyin conflict with Sartre's position, as cited in Kaelin: "For this is quite the final goal of art: to recover this world by giving it to be seen as it is, but as if it had its source in human freedom."28 As this paper will argue later on, the spectator seemsto have, although he does not have, freedom. It is the second part of Dependent Origination, beginning with member No. 8, "craving" (tr;ttd.., in Pdli taryha),furnishing the condition for No.9, "taking" otr "indulgence" (upadana), that amounts to free will, if it is at all to be adrnitted by Buddhisrn. This is becauseit is thesemembers which create the new circumstances, prepare the new destiny of the being. Sartre is remarkably parallel: "We have seenthat the act of imagination is a magical ona. It is an incantation destined to produce the object of one's thought, of the thirrg one desires,in a mannel that one can take possession perception, do in they not appear, as do it. . . . Next, these objects from a particular angle, they do not occurfrom a point of uiew. . . . For the rest, the object as an image is an unreality. It is no doubt present, but at the same time, it is out of reach."2eSartre further (The University of Wis28Eugene Aesthetic F. Kaelin, An Existentialist pp. 123-124. Madison,1962), consinPress, 2eJean-Paul tr. by BernardFrechtof Imagination, Sartre,ThePsychology p. 159. Press edition,New York, 1968), Square man (Washington

Religieux the Buddhist The Role of Art among

299

o'Certainly the agreeswith the old Buddhist series when he says: unreal always receivesand never gives."so This is the intention of Buddhist member No. 9, upddana,which always means "taking," and never "giving." Thus the new being is childlike and is free in desire,even though to perception it rnight look helpless. And like children, art products generally survive best in peacetime. ry. DlscuRstvE AND NoN-DtscuRSIvE Tsoucnr AND ART

This section is quite technical but hopefully will permit some further comparisons with modern aesthcticstheory. The Buddhists more than trvo millenia ago had gone profoundly into the matter of discursive and non-discursive thought. Was it solely by introspection? In this connection I recall Francis Galton's retort to Max Miiller who had claimed that all thought involves language or language-signs: "Prof. Max Miiller . . has fallen into the common error of writers not long since, but which I hoped had now become obsolete, of believing that the minds of every one else are like one's own. His aptitudes and linguistic pursuits are likely to render him peculiarly dependent onwords...."31 Now compare what Santideva writes in his Bodhicaryduatdra (IX, 25) : One illumines himseif by seeingsomeoneassociatedrvith other conditions. The pot that is seen through the adept's rite of eye-ointment is not just eye-ointment. Sdntideva's verse points to the supernormal facuity (abhiimQ ot knowing another's state of mind (paracittaiiidna), i.e. knowing it as impassioned if it is impassioned, etc. Sometimes this is referred to as a faculty or eye which is opened by the magical eye-ointment; but the object viewed by the supernormal faculty is independent of the o'eye-ointment" itself. Thus, one learns from others' minds the nature of one's own mind-just the opposite of IVIax Miiller's procedure of judging everyone else's mind by his own or what he conceives to be his own. goJean-Paul of Imagination, tr. by Bernard FrechtSartre,ThePsychology man p. 178. sLF.Max Milller on the Science of Thought(Chicago,The Open Court p. 4. Appendix, Publ. Co., 1909),

.3oo

BuddhistInsight

Modern aesthetics theory has had its own "idealists." Thus croce rejects the reality of the external world; and refusing to .admit an inner and outer in art, insists on the singleness of the intuition-expression. For Bernard Bosanquet's refutation, see his "croce's Aesthetic."B2 According to Bosanquet, rvhile an art work must originate in an artist's mind, its representationin external or material forms is an essential part of the art process. Langer in turn takes R. G. collingwood to task, questioning why '"he is anxious to deny craftsmanship any role in art and consequently to reject the concept of technique...."BB curiously, the Buddhist teacher Asanga-whom both oriental and western tsuddhologists usually associate with the idealist school of Euddhist philosophy-accepts an "outer" part of art rvhen he desclibes the parallelism of meditation and art tecirnigue:sq If he would be convinced regarding the rneditati.re object at a single time, he wor-rldnot again and again leave off the intense contemplation. His conviction (acihimok;a)does not become ever higher, completelypurified, conpletely cieansecl, up to the comprehensionu'ith direci perception of the knovrable entity. Hence again anc a-sain ire is convinced; again and again he leaves off tire intense contemplation. Hence his conviction becomes everhigher, more completelypurified,most completely purified, up to comprehension v,,ith clirect perception of the knor,vableentity. A case in point: suppose th.e pupil of a painter for the first time is engaged in the work of painting. F{e, having first had instruction from the master, takes a mod"el and, haviirg looked and looked, makes an image. Having d.oneit and done it, he leaves ofi the intense contemplation, destroys it, ar,d remakcs it. Just as, having rejected and rejected, he makes it, so also one declares his image ever higher, more completely purified, more completely cleansed. Being rightly engaged ihat way, after some time he becomes the equal of the rnasteror even his superior. Furthermore, if, without h.aving rejected that image, he were to make it
s2scienceand Philosophy and other Essaysby the late Bernard Bosanquet (Books for Libraries Press,Inc., Freeport, N.y., reprint 1967), especially p.417. ssSusanne K. Langer, Feelingand Form (New york,lg53), p. 3g3. saWaymen,Analysis, p. 119.

The Role of Art among the Buddhist Religieux

301

repeatedly by taking a stand on just that, never would that image of his become completely pure. So also in the present case one should understand the method (as that). The tantric cornmentator Buddhaguhya writes, "fn the manner that a thousand ounces of silver are changed into gold by using gold paint, it is said that one blessesthe defilement into purity by using the paint of samadhi-knowledge". Both the meditation and the painting art require undivided attention, like being rapt in wonder at an object.rs Asanga's passageenables us to define one kind of discursivs thought that is especiallyemployed in art creation. The improvement of meditation, comparable to the improvement of painting, seelnsto be what Read36calls the "truthful consciousness"which is "the foundation of all genuine art," as when he cites Collingwood: "And this is preciselywhat evel'y artist is doing when he 'This says, line won't do.'" This is the pursuit of perfection founded on despising one's olvn imperfection-the imperfect picture. This is apparently the kind of thinking which Asanga mentions in his Srauakabhumias when the yogin regards the lower planes as coarser and the higher planes as finer, and thus emerges from a given plane and attains the next higher stage of consciousness. In the last serrnon of the Buddha, the Mahuparinibbdnasutta, the Buddha is thus held to have surmounted the "realm of desire," and to have passedsuccessively through the planes of the "realm of form" and "formless realm," then to have proceeded downward to the lowest plane of the "realm of form" and upward to the top of the "realm of form," from which plane he is held to have entered Parinirvala. The emergencefrom each of theseplanes would, according to Asairga's indications, require this specialkind of discursive thought, which is the very kind of thinking as when the artist says,"This line won't do." Turning to the role of non-discursive thought, Langer says, 'oNow consider the most farniliar sort of non-discursive symbol, ? pictu1s."3z If the word "symbol" here suggestsan ontological status, Buddhism would probably not agree with her, since at 3sWayman, p. 94. TheBuddhistTantras,
36lcon,p. 92. sTSusanne K. Langer, Philosophy in a New Key (Penguin Books, 1948)". p.76.

302

BuddhistInsight

least the Madhyamika school does not allow such a status for "voidness"; and the picture is voidness in the Ratnagotrauibhaga ([, r'erse92): "Those painters are the aspects,Giving, Morality, F-orbearance, and so on; and the voidness, attended with all the best aspects, is said to be the picture (pratimd)." The full list of the "painters" (: the act of painting) adds to the three already named Striving and Meditation. The group of five, often catrtred the "meairs" (updya), is essentiallynon-discursive; although language can be employed to expatiate upcn the individual ones. This use of the word o'means" in connection with the painting process agreeswith Bosanquet's and Langer's point that technique is an indispensable part of art. But why would "voidness" be said to passage? Perhaps the be the picture, as in that R.atnogotrauibhaga answer is in a passage of the hfahdydna-Sutrolarykdra (XIII, l7) associated with Asanga, as cited by Coomaraswamy,ss "There is no actual relief in a painting, and yet we see it there" (citre... natonnatary ndsti ca, driyate atha ca). We flnd this as i,vell in the Lankduatdra-siltra (text, p. 91), where notice is taken that a painted surface (citrakrta-pradeia) is observed in relief (nimnonnata) though flat (animnonnata). Recalling that "voidness" in Mah6ydna literature is associated with illusion (mayd), we can get the point: the "painters" rvho are the Giving, Morality, Forbearance, and so on, are seenin relief, and yet the picture which is voidness is really flat: the "painters" are an illusion. In the earlier period of Buddhism, more given to realism, the relief portion is really there, as Coomaraswamy points out: "in Vinaya, IV, 61, a monk 'raises' (uwllhdpeti)a picture (cittam) on a cloth; and in Sariryutta 'raises Nikdya, Comm., II, 5, a painter up' (samu!{hapeti) a shape (rnpant) on a wall surface by rneans of his brushes and 'fhus, passages about the artist's techniques suggest colors."se the phiiosophical positions. Now, reverting to the topic of discursive thought, in Buddhist literature its importance is emphasized by assigning it the rather nefarious role of prornoting nescience(auidya). And yet rve were introduced previously to a kind of discursive thought tirat is improvement-oriented, the kind that serves for the Buddhist path, which is of course lauded in Buddhist circles. Sornetimes the 38The p. 145. Transformation, 3slbid.,pp. 144-145.

The Roleof Art amongthe BuddhistReligieux

303

is employed expression"right discursivethought" (samyag-uikalpa) for the right kind, observedpreviously by the ifustration "This line won't do." Now a challenge would be apropos : Certainly the goal of the painter and the gbal of the Buddhist path are different: Of course, they are sharing this right kind of discursive thought, and their goals are different. In addition to the rvord uikalpa for "discursive thought," previously we met with a kind of discursive thought attributed to the "naming faculty" (sary1ifia), which properly belongs to the determined, involuntar.v part of the psyche. But the philosophical discussions especially involve an archaic pair of terms-uitsrka-uicdrA, terms which occur in the traditional statement of the first meditation plane of the Buddhist "realm of form" (among the three realms), and are assumed for the "realm of desire." ft would certainly be a gross digressionin the present paper for me to treat this pair of terms with anything like the amplitude of the materials I have collectedfor a separate study. I should mention my renditions of "adurnbration" and "inquiry" for uitarka, and "thinking with signs" for uicdra; and that the Arthauiniicaya-sutra calls this pair "speech motivation" (uak-saryskdra). Suffice it to add that according to Asanga's Yogdcarabhumi, uitarka and uicdra always amount to discursive thought; but there is a discursive thought outside of uitarka and uicdra, especiallyin regard to supramundane knowledge (lokottarajfitina). Although Asanga does not name this distinguished type of discursivethought, this is surely the improvernent-oriented one, or "right discursivethought," rvhich we have already noted to be the one used on the Buddhist path as n,ell as by the good painter, and presumably by inventors, etc. Dharmaklrti's l,{ydyabindu (Chap. f, t has a term pratiti : "constructive thou ght (kalpana) is a cognitive dawnin g (pratiti) of a mental reflex able to coalesce with verbalism." The text refers to the initial universal (samanya-lakgaqta) wleich is the fielcl of inference,subsequentto the sericsof point-instants, the particulars (sva-laksaqta), that are the field of direct perception Qtratyakpa); and this pratyak.;a may be of the five outer senses, of the mind, of introspection, or of the yogin. The verbalism is the "naming faculty" (saanjfid),the idea that something is such-and-such. This pratiti (literally: "approach") seems to be the most primitive discursive thought, a sort of bed-fellow to the non-discursive thought, the mental imagery of sound,

304

Buddhist Insight

color, etc. After coalescingwith the name, this discursive thought could tend "downward" (hence, "wayward") toward the,.realm ofdesire" in the manner of aitarka-uicdra,or tend "upward" (hence, "right") in referenceto supramundane knowledge. our technical meanderingsdo have this positive result-to show that Buddhist teachings, based as they are on much meditation and practice, clearly differentiate between passive enjoyment and the creative imagination. This distinction was establishedby the Buddhist Dependent origination formula. Here the first seven members develop perception in a determinacy seriesand wind up witlr feelings and their associatednotions (uedana and saryjrta) in the manner of a syndrome. The last five members are headed by craving (tfsUa), which is the freedom to inaugurate a new destiny. An example of this freedom, becauseissuing from desire rather than perception, is Sanfideva's Bodhicaryduatdra VtrII, 120: "Whoever desires (icchati) to speedily rescue oneself and others too, should practice what is the highest secrets changing places between himself and another." This is the Mahayana, Buddhist version of 'ocreativeimagination." Therefore, when I claim that Sartre makes the same distinction, this is not said by way of explaining the Buddhist position. lndeed, this position had to be understood prior to the comparison with a Western theory. The reverseprocedure would have amounted simply to a projection on to Buddhism of some system of our culture, an attempt to make Buddhism come out or be in that manner. But that Sartre has a comparable position is clarified by Kaelin: "It will be remembered that for Sartre the perceptive intends a real object of the spatio-temporal conticonsciousness we normally call the real world, while in imaginative exnuum perience, consciousness intends an unreal or absent object which may appear only on the margins of the real world."4o Sartre's goes with the Buddhist first seven memperceptive consciousness bers of Dependent Origination which develop perception with an imputed realistic object, while what is here called "imaginative experience" (in fact, the creative imagination) goes with the last five members of Dependent Origination, headed by "craving.o' The foregoing permits an assessment of the word "freedom" as employed in more than one sense. That is, the "freedom of L0AnExistentialist p. 364. Aesthetic,

The Role oi Art amongthe BuddhistReligieux

305

aestheticcontemplation,'-which was brought up in tirediscussion of aniconic art-is different from the o.freedtm,, of creative imagination-which was used in treating ic,xic art. Th., first kind, of aestheticcontemplation, is not altereclessentiallyby travelling far to a grandiose vista as cofirparecl r.vitir the lowl}, gazing appreciativell; s6 the local sunset. since it involves perception of the object as a real thing, with feelings and the naming f*nction, it reduces to th.ebackyald-garden varieiy of having passive enjoyment and no creative imagination. we have already noticed ihat some authors trave regarded this "free,Jom" as reali;i freed.om, although it is not. Moreover, we find the .,freedom,, io be infatuation that the object is confolled by naming it. so Neitzsche in The Genealogy of Morals has the "masters' right of giving names . . they say 'this ls that, and th.at,' . . and take possession of it."4' Heidegger, in l4that is catted Thinking?, resumes this position: "By naming, we call on what is preient to arive.,,az To cite sartre again, it is "as if it had its source in human free_ dom." Tliat is, while the naming function has an involuntary character, following upon feelings pleasurable, painful, or neutrai these authors arrive at a seemingfreedom called o.masters, right,' to apply names. All the while they demonstrate that they liave learned nothing frorn others, having resorted solely to intro_ spection. In contrast, the "freedom" of creative irnagination is to be taken as the genuine freed,rm because it is not limited by pcrcep_ tion of this and that. sintideva's aspirationis of this iyp., u.causenot directedin particularity to this or that being_in a \,/orcl, what Buddhist texts called "equanimity', (upeksa). Thus there may be creative imagination as when an actor acts his role, r'vhetheror not he enjoys the make-beiieve, r,zhilethe spectators edoy what thcy take as a real object. Besides, my study of the Buddhist nependent origi*ation, divided as it is into trie deterrninacyand the reratively-free s.ries, indicatesthat there is neither incompatibility between the two, nor requirement of their conju'ction. In this Buddhist sense,one may have both passiveenjoyment a'd creative irnagination, as possibly does the creator of a piece of art. Atong the same alln HoraceB. Samuel's translation. (TheModern Library), p. 4. a2lnthe translation by Fred D. wieck and J. GjennGray (Ftrarper Torch* books), p. 120.

306

Buddhist Insight

lines, the lack of incompatibility betweenthe.first sevenand second five members of Dependent Origination (i.e. the Buddhists accept that "nescience", the first member, can cohabit with "craving", the seventh.one--called the "father" and the "mother"), permits a Buddhist solution for man's nature as a compound of determinacy and free-will. And, I suppose, this includes a nature with desiresand indulgence eYeryoung, and with perceptions and feelings ever older. Finally, whether it be the seemingfreedom of aestheticcontemplation or the genuine freedom of creative imagination, neither are equivalent to the Buddhist "liberation" (mok1a) or "release" (nirudpa). This is because for this liberation it is necessary to have cessation of Dependent Origination. In contrast, both kinds of "freedom" require Dependent Origination for a platform in cyclical flow (sarpsara). Accordingly, the vinaya work samantapdsddikd prohibits a monk from holding any of the images of a woman made out of clay, wood, or painting'as The monk is of course seeking liberation, not freedom in the aesthetic sense. But when a Tibetan monk keeps a miniature painting of his tutelary deity, the goddess Tara, and daily offers devotion to it, he h.asthe Mah6,yanaideal of enlightenment. This devotion is not opposed to either of the two kinds of freedom mentioned. In conclusion, the role of art among the Buddhist religieux involves their appreciation of beauty and creation of great art schools, the occasional monkish avoidance of some afi representations, the Buddhist description of the plocessesof art production in comparison with meditation techniques' and in general a sufficiently detailed and ratioralized presentation of their pc'sition to permit some comparisons with Western thinkers, provided one is able to make the comparisons. That is, the present writer believes in the feasibility of East-West comparisons on these matters, and that the actual comparisons have clarifled some important issues. Unfortunately, such comparisons are frequently made wittr insufficient background in Buddhist sources.

of Samanta' asshan-Chien-P'i-P'o-Sha; A Chineseversion by Sanghabhadra pasadika, by P. V. Bapat and A. I{irakawa (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, 1970), P. 368:

15

SECRE,'I OF THE HEART SUTRA

fNrRooucrroN commentaries on the Heart siltra: There are two distinct typesof commentariesof the Heart siltra (prajfidpdramitdhrdayaiatra): the Asian sectarian commentary,and the western non-sectarian commentary.Here thereis easilya rnisunderstand.ing, to wit, that whenan Asian talks in the west on the lreart sutrahe communicates his Asianlore, say,as an Asian Buddhist monk. This is not necessarily the case. For example,when Daisetz Suzuki wrote about the Heart sutra, it must be grantedthat he wrote out of his knowledge of sources especially in his nativeJapanese. But what he said,for example,l"as far as we can ascertain, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvaradoes not appear in any of the prajfldparamitd sttras..." is not whatwouldhaveeverbeensaidin the traditional Asian commentary on the Heart sfitra: it would havebeenconsidered impertinent and impugning the validity of the S[tra. In the western sensethis is a most helpful remark. It is quite apparentthat most of what Suzuki writes about the Heart Siltra is not the renditionof Asian commentary but ratherwhat he thinks the westerner,assumed to be an outsiderto the topic, needs to be told so that, hopefully, he will understandthis scripture. It is almost inevitablethat an Asian (whether chinese, Japanese,
lDaisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Essaysin zen Buddhism (Third series)London: Luzac and Company, 1934, p. 195.

308

BuddhistInsight

or Tibetan), were he to lecture to a Western audience on the Heart Sutra would start by assuming-and ordinarily quite correctly-that his audience members are ignorant of the fundamental teachingsof Buddhism; and so, without ever intending to depart from the Heart Sutra, would end up spending the time lecturing on general Buddhism and never really explaining the Heart Sutra itself. Such lectures thernselvesnray be quite informative of other matters. In contrast, the Asian sectarian commentary is the type found in the Tibetan Tanjur collection, and among Chineseand .Iapanese native commentaries. A good illustration from the Far East is Kfikai's "secret Key to the Heart Siltra."z In this casealso, it is a sectarian commentary filled with allusions to thc special tenets of Kukai's own school (the Shingon)-suctrr as the Diamond Realm and the Lotus Realm, and inCicating that portions of th.e Sltra refer respectively to the Srivakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and the Mahdyana Bodhisattvas. F{ence it is valuable for showing Kflkai's position. namely, that when a . There is easily another misunderstanding, Westerner talks on the Heart Sutra he cannot help but give a Western-typetreatment, or could not be expectedto speak as an Asian would. But just as the Asian can speak as a Westetner, so also the Westerner can speak as an Asian. My present commentary is probably to be describedas an Asian-type commentary composed by a Westerner. That is, it follows a certain type of explanations from sources in Asian languages, and could be understood by porsons with the appropriate background. Tiris background is especially in the Buddhist theory of meditation, for wirich I have used some Yogdcdra passagesof, Asanga (who understood), Vasubandhu (who poputrarized), and Sthiramati (who clarified); but the illustrious Mdrlhyamika Aryadeva also is helpful, as is the Vinaya master Vinitadeva. Backgroundof thepresenlcotntnentary.'Al'ouild the middle 1950's when I was a student at the University of California, Berkeley, tbe poet Gary Snyder had received a scholarship from the First Zen Institute of Nerv York to participate in the training of a Zen monastery in Kyoto, Japan. After a while he wrote me a note zYoshito Kukai : Major WorksNew York : Columbia UniS. Hakeda, 1972,pp. 262-75. versityPress,

Secretof the Heart Siitra

309

saying that while the monks recite the Heart Siltra every day, he had been unable to find anyone who could expiain what it meant, and asking me if I could find out wh.at it means. In those days I used to spend much time reading in the Tibetan canon, the Kanjur and Tanjur in the Derge edition at Berketrey. So I consulted the Tdhoku catalog of the Derge canon and located the six Tanjur commentaries on this sutra in the section devoted to Prajiiaparamitd scripture commentaries. One feature of these commentaries on the Heart Sutra struck me quite forcibly: each commentary seemed so different from. the others, and yet they seemed all to show in greater or less degreethe influence of the Mddhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy. The writers seemed to be experiencing some difficulty in exposition, as though they were not writing through having inherited a tradition about this scripture going back to its original composition, but rather were simply applying their particular learning in Buddhism to the terminoiogy of the sutra. That would account for the great variety of their cornments. Then, for tire most part being followers of the Madhyamike, tliey rvould sl:.olv this sectd.rianposition by their kind of citation. It occurred to me that perhaps the Heart Sutra h.ad a different theoretical basis than what these commentaries were irnpressing upon it, and that the basis might actr"iaily be of Yogacara nature. Certain commentaries gave explanations of the concluding inantras, and attempted to relate tlie structure of the siltra to what are calledin Buddhism the "three gates to liberation"-ysid1s55, rvishiess, and non-sign-source. Accordingiy, I made my own translation of the sutra, using the Max Mtiiler and Bunyiu Nanjio edition of the shorier version and taking into account some remarks from certain Tanjur commentaries. In those days I communicated my understanding of the sutra to the Berkeley Buddhist Church. Later I incorporated my interpretation of the lfeart Sutra rvithin a published paper, "The tsuddhist'Not this, Not this'. "3 From my presentvantage ground, the interpretation of tire Heart Sutra in this early essay suffers from various faults, such as a misappiication of the three gates to liberation; and I cannot commend it. There are perhaps only two important points that I saw or rendered correctly in those days, namely, 1) that the Tanjur commentaries, while helpsPhilosophy Eastand West,1l:3, Oct.,1961, pp. 109-13.

310

Buddhist Insight

ful on this or that phrase, still were not really explaining this siltra; and that it would be more fruitful'to consult Asanga's works; and 2) that the commentary by the author calling himself Vajrapd4i correctly related parts of the concluding mantra to earlier sections of the Heart Siltra. The present interpretation is based on certain findings in my researchon Buddhist meditation;a and in the case of the concluding mantra, based on my essay about mantras.s Furthermore, f now find Conze's editions of the longer and shorter Heart Sutra preferable to the editions of Miiller and Nanjio.6 For the purposesof my present explanation I have translated, the shorter version and added in parenthesescertain from the longer version that I deem essentialfor undersentences standing this sutra. As to translation of individual words, the rendition that most needs defending is my o'aftetwards" f,or tasmdt, which is usually and quite properly rendered as "therefore," o'hence," and "for this reason" as the "conclusive" interpretation of the ablative tasmdt, for which see Speijer.T This is the reasoned conclusion, which is a sort of logical afterwards for what went before. As is well attested, the purely temporal interpretation of the ablative in Sanskrit, i.e. as "after, " is rare' but as I have occasionally noticed, when the "after" interpretation is demandedby a context it may be overlooked for that very reason of rarity. Anyrvay, in the context of the Heart Sutra, the usual translation of the two tasnta-f-s as "therefore" strikes a janing note, since there is no obvious antecedentto appeal to as the reason for saying "therefore." Doctrinal introduction: This commentary of mine, called "Explaining the Difficulties," would not be comprehensible to the usual Western reader, unless prepared by introductory teachings, at least as concerns the Buddhist three worlds and the theory of two dharmas.
aSee Chapter 3. sSee Chapter 22. 6For these editions, see Edward Conze, Thirty Yearsof Buddhist Studies (Columbia, S. C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1968), pp. 148-67; F. Max Miiller and Bunyiu Nanjio, eds., "The Ancient Palm Leaves.." in Aryan Series,Vol. III (Oxford: ClarendonPress,1884), AnecdotaOxoniensia, pp. 48-50. U. S. Speijer, Sanskrit Syntax (Kyoto : The Rinsen-ShotenBookstore, 1968). Para. 444, p. 344.

Secret of the Heart Sfitra

311

a. Cessation of "motivations" in the three worlds. The second member of Buddhist dependent originatioh (pratityasamutpada) is "motivation" (sarpskdra),and one explanation of this member in the old Budcihist canon (the Pali scriptures) is that it has the varieties of body, speech, and mind. The Buddhist theory of three rvorlds (desire, form, and formless) is also ancient. In my essay on Buddhist meditation8 I have gathered the textual sourcesto show how three kinds of motivaticn successively cease in various parts of the three vrorlds. The following lay-out will show the nrain elements of the solution: Sulrriarr or ExrsrnNcn (bhauagra) 3. Cessationof ideasand feelings: cessation of "motivation of rnind" (manairsaryskdra); cessation of constructed dharmas. Fonnrnss Rparvt R.Barlr oF FoRM free from inbreathing and outbreathing; - cessation of "motivation of bodv" (kayasaryskara). pleasure by way of body. free from inquiry (uitarka) and investigation (uicara): cessation of "motivation of speech" (udk-saryskdra). inquiry and investigation. oF DEsIRE RB.q.rN{ b. The two dharmas. One may contrast the older and later religious aims of Buddhism. For the ancient view there is the verse in the Saryyuttanikdya:s As the tortoise in its own shell withdraws its limbs, so may the monk (withdraw) his mind's (outgoing) conjectures; resortless, not harming another, denouncing no one, proceed to Purinirudna.
sThe one of note 4, above. eSar.nyutta-Nikaya, I, p. 9 (in the India Devandgari edition).

2. Fourth Dhydna:

Third Dhydna: l. SecondDhyana:

First Dhydna:

312

Buddhist Insight

However, with the rise of the Mahdyanaideat of the Bodhisattva, who has opted to stay{n the world for the benefit of other beings rather than pursue the personal aim of liberation, there rvere in 'effect trvo gcals-the older one of liberation from the cyclical flavt (sc.titsaro),and the newer one of cleliberately postponing tliis iiberaticn to servercankind and later to acllieve complete eriiiglitenmcnt. The two are statecl this way in Aryadeva's Catuiilatal:a, XItr, 23 (:r,/erse 298), available in Sanskrit: T'he Tatiiaigatas have stated in shorl that the Dharrna is nonharming (of r:thers),and that .roidnessis Nirvana. Here there are only these two. As candrakirti e>rplains in part tiiis passage,"Non-harming and voidness-these two clharntasattain heaven (,ruarga)andliberation ,{apauarga)."r0 The Tibetan ar,-thorRed-mcla'-ba,in his lectures on the catttf#ataka, refers to tl-ris vory pessage along with a citation,ll "Tkrc i"dirvil4arvith rernaincler is explained as the two Forrnal Bodies [i.e. Sargbirogakava and Nirma4akayal; the NirvSla r,vithoutremaind.sras tire Dharrnakdya." Accordingly, non-harm leads to iiear:ea (sr:arga), and iir tlie l\4ahayana sense to the two Forrnal Bodies; ri,hile voidness ieacis to liberation (apauorga), and in th.e Mahdyana senseto ihe Dharmakaya. In the Frasqnnapa-do, where the verse is cited amidst the commentary on chap. xYuI, 4,72 the discussion appears limited to the voirlnessdhsrnca,sincr:.xvIII, 4, is concernecu'ith this sicle.The Bodirisattva path is the other one of ihe pair, lvith the dharma "non-harm." The Heart Sutra, r.,,ith its stress on voidness, mainiy presents the "dliarnta of voidness," but has hints of the other dharma. It is in connection with those two dharnrus that this essayis entitlectr"secret of the trreart siltra." .Ifrdnagarbha explains the rovidhushekhara tshattacharya, The catuhiatakaof Aryadeva (Calcutta: visva-Bharati Book-shop, p. 163:mi 'tsheba danstonpa iiid ces 1931), pa'i

.chosde gfiis ni mtho ris dai bvan grol thob par byed pa ste. lrRed-mda'-ba GZon-nu-blo-gros, Commentary to Aryadeva's,Foi.r Hundred verses', ed. by JetsunRendawashonnu Lodo. sarnath: sakya students' Union, 1974, p. 157. 12J.w. de Jong, cinq chapitres de la Prasannapadd paris: paul Geuthner, 1,949,pp. 10-13.

.Secret of the HeartSDtra

313

term 'osecret": "Because for immature sentient beings, the pro.found Dliarma is secret."13 Tsn PRnri{ApAnar,rrrAHBDAyA-sUrRA. TneNsrRrED FRoMTHE '1,/ERSIon-s, LoNcBn AND SHoRTER wirll THECoMMENTARy "ExPLRININGTHEDiprlcurrlEs" {And at tltat timc, you should k;tow, the lord was equipoised in tlte sctmddhi"profounC aDpeat"ance").Tlrc noble Bodhisattva Avalokitei,,,atre,while engaged in the pra.ctice of profuund pra.jfiaparamitd, ins:pactcd ond observe;! that theJive personality aggregaiesare void of "self-exi,stence".(The noble BoCkiscrttva great being Avalokiteiyara spoke as fellsy,s 7s tlrc venerable Sariptttra). 'There &re three persons mentioned: the Lord, i.e. the Buddha, is the enlightened one, the inaugurator of Buddhism; Avalokiteivara, ome of the great Bodhisattvas, the sons of the Buddha, is especially noted fcr surveying the sentient beings in compassionate mairner; Sariptltra, one of the great early discipies of the Buddha, is especially noted for preeminence of his insigirt (prajf;tt, in pAh, paiifra). The Heart s*tra represents the Buddha, wh.ile in the samddhi " Prafc,und Appearance," inspiring Avalokitefvara to instruct Sdriputra. it is claimed in Mahiyana Budcihism that the Buddha teaches Avalokitelvara rvith a body callecj the sambhogakal,a, and teachesthe discipleslike Sariputra witir a body ,called th.e Nirmatakaya. So the Buddhist master vasubandhu explainsin the Buddhdnusntrtilikd:Ia "According to tlle scripture (agama), the Lord (bhogauct), with the Sambhogakiya, staying in the abode of the Akani.rlha fheaven], teaches the Mahayana Doctrine to Avalokitesvara and the other grcat beings on th.e Tenth Stage, and with his hiirrnd.irakaya,staying in the range of 'desire for as long as the cyclical flow (sa4tsdra)lasis, observing the strcams of consciousness of the noble Sariputra, ancl so on, .and of otlr.er fortunate sentient beings, with the three kinds of 13T.T. vol. 109,Jfranagarbha's Aryamaitreyakevalaparivartabhd,sya (commentary on the Maitreya chapterof the sarpdhinirmacanasutra), 203b:Bto 2 0 3c : 1. 14TT . . , V ol.104. 3 3 e :5 to p .3 4 a :7 .

314

BuddhistInsight

marvels (pratihdrya) teaches the true nature of the Srdvakayana exactly according to their expectations and their potentialities.o' since Avalokitesvara teaches Siriputra, the Nirmalakaya is here represented by Avalokite$vara. Concerning the Samdclhi "Profound Appearance," the Sanskrit expression is gambhira-auabhdsa. The Pdli equivalent to auabhd,sa is obhdsa,' and Gautama tsuddha spoke thus to the monks in a passage preserved in Pali in the Anguttaranikdya (Book of Eights). The additions "profound" and "far-spread" are bracketed in my translation:15 Monks, before my awakening when being a Bodhisattva I was not completely enlightened, tr conceived [profound] appearances(obhdsa)but did not see[far-spread] forms (rupa). Monks, it occurred to rne, "If I were both to conceive [profound] appearancesand to see [far-spread] forms, in that case knowledge and vision would be better purifled in me." This expression "linowledge and vision" (5. jfidna-darSana) is important in early Buddhism in the theory of advanced meditation. Vinitadeva explains the expressionin his commentary on the Fourth Defeat of the Vinaya:16 "'knowledge' (jfidna) is the insight (prajfia) involved in search; 'vision' (dariana) is the insight after search." Thus vinitadeva's comment is directly applicable to that passage from the Book o.f Eights, to help explain the Samddhi "Profound Appearances." That is, the opening of the reThisis in the Book of Eights,chapteron Earthquakes, suttacalled"At GayE Nikaya(chakkanipdta, sattakanipdta i' in TheAnguttara and Atthakanipita), ed. by BhikkhuJ. Kashyap p. 391. Board,1960), @aliPublication +9. loVinitadeva,Vinayavibhangapadavyakkydna, T. T., Yol. 122-3ll: iespa bq'f flesrab bolmthori ba /es bya bani rjessutshol les bya ba ni rjes su'tshol ba'i fiesrab bol. Probablythe term rjes su tsholba translated a perfectform indicating completed action,eventhoughthereis evidentclumsiness with a possibility "rjes su" rneant"after". This is made certain that the second
in Ytian-ts'6's great commentary on the Sarpdhinirmocancts[itra, Maitreya chapter, in the Tibetan translation, T. T. Vol. 106:219 when, in the course of giving numerous explanations for the term jfidnadaridnd, he presents one that is the obvious expansionof Vinitadeva'sgloss, 219:e:5-6: "Also, any insight searching the dlnrma-.r is knowledge; any insight discriminating (them) after search is vision" I S2an yan chos rndms yoris su tshol ba'i Sesrab gari yin pa de iti iespa2es bya'olyons su btsal ba la(s) so sor rtog pa'i ies rab, gan yin pa de ni mthon ba Zes bya'ol.

Secret of the HeartSltra

315

Heart Siltra represents the Buddha entering the Samddhi "Profound Appearances" to inspire Avalokitesvira with the preenlightenment stages called "knowledge," i.e. when prajfid was involved in search, and was assistedby sentient beings.1? Besides,Avalokite6vara as an advanced Bodhisattva has certain abilities in proceeding through what Buddhism calls the "three realms": desire, form, and formless. As meditative attainments the realm of form is divided into the four Dhydnas (Pali, Jhdna), and the formless realm with its four "equipoises" (sarndpatti) is surrnounted by the "summit of existence" (bhauagra). Asanga's Sarndhitabhumiteaches that a yogin who is not pure can do no better than pass through these states sequentially, and likewise in reverseorder. But he says that a yogin who is pure can leap over the second one, and not the third which is too far, and comparably in reverse order: for example, jumping from the First Dhydna directly to the Third Dhydna. And finally, Tathagatas and Bodhisattvas of the last three stages, hence Avalokite6vara and other great Bodhisattvas, can enter any of these stagesfrom any other one.18 Finally, more can be said of Sariputra from the Pdli canon with 00... his Fali name Sariputta in the Majjhfmanikaya (III,29): speaking rightly he would say of Sariputta-'He is the Lord's son, born frorn his heart and his mouth, born from the Dharnma, a creation of Dharnma, an heir of Dtrramma,not an heir of material things.' " Asanga explains some of the terms of this sutrq passage in the Parydya-sarygrahaniof the Yogdcdrabhtimi:1s "Son of the Teacher" is the brief reference. "Born frorn his heart" means among the inner sons,because omitting ordinary persons (prthagjana) who are unadvanced. "Born from his 17TheMahayanasfrtralamlcara, Chap. XVI devoted to the Perfections
(paramita), agrees with this identification af prajiia with iiiana because in verses36 through 40 each of thefirst five Perfections(giving, etc.) is said to stay in the world with the assistance of knowledge(jiiana); and when coming to verse 41 to deal with prajfiaparantitd the text usesihe word jiiana instead of prajfra and says "with the assistanceof sentientbeings" (sattvaparfgraherya). 18For this leaping of a Bodhisattva, cf. Edward Cowe, The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom (Berkeley: University of California Press,1975),pp.7l73, and p. 502, note, containing the reference to J. May's article CffOfO (Hobogirin IV, 1970), which also includes Asariga's treatrnent. leT. T. Vol. lll:238a.

316

Buddhist Insight

mouth" means born from the words which teach the Dharma. "Born from the Dharma" means born frcim orienting his mind methodically to the Dharma and accomplishing the Dharma accordingly. Then Avalokitesvara spoke to Siriputra about how the Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva contemplate the five personal (skandha)to reahze"non-self of personality" (pudgalaaggregates nairdtmya): "Hcre, Sdriputra, form is voiclness, and voidness verily rJ is not dffirent from .form;Jbrm is not dffirent fo.rn't, voidness voidness. What is form, that is voidness;what is voidness, -fi"om that is form. The sqi?rc is the cnse with Feelings, Ideas, Motivatiott,s,and Percept ions." Here (iha) means the Second Dhyana of the "realm of form" where occurs the cessationof "speech motivation" (udk-saryskdra), since here there is neither "inquiry" (uitarka) nor "investigation" (as development of discursive thought) (uicdra). And here the yogin especiallycontemplatesrevolting objects,suchasthecadaver in decomposition, as suggested in the htahaydnasutrdlamkdra, XIX, 50, by mention of the sign-sourcein front; Sthiramati's subcommentary clarifies that this contemplation is meant to destroy the immemorial attachrnentto the sign-sourceof location (p r at i ; thdnimi t t a), the "recep tacle-realm" (bhAjanalok a), or sens ory objects (ui,raya).2o Form is voicilrcsr may be understood from Vimatramitra'scommentary this r,vay:21 it is void of self-existence whether form be a mode-of-being @hAua)or a designation (prajfiapti). Tire same would apply to the other aggregates-feelings, ideas,motivations,and perceptioits. Voiclness verily is form means according to Vimalamitra the voidnessof the "city of gandhalyss"-fusnce, also the voidnessof a dream, of the o'moon in the waters (of earth)," and so on. Using his hint, the statement voiCness vuily is form and a like statement for the other personal aggregates, can be illustrated by combining Asanga's explanations from two placesof his Yogdcdrabhumi for tlie similes of the ancient Buddhist canon:22 2oT. T. Vol. 109:99b-c.
2lArya-Prajfiapdramitd-tikA, T. T. Vol. 94:280. zzYogdcdrabhtimiin the edition of the Derge Tanjur, sems tsdm, vastuZi, f . l47b-2 to 6; and Parydyasarpgrahani,'i, sarygrahalti, f. 40a-5to f. 40b-6.

Secret of the Heart Sutra

317

"a lump of foamo' uerily i; form. form (i.e. the body) has arisenfrom the element Asanga: because of rvater, appearsas though it is a self while it is not a self, and is incapable of behaving as it wishes. "a bubble" uerily is feelings. Asanga: by way of a triple association,to wit, by way of cloud per(senseobject), soil (senseorgan), and rain (sense ception). 'oa mitage" uerily is ideas. Asanga: by way of the appearanceof a knorvable, and as though tormented (by thirst) and deluded. "a plantain trunk" uerily is motiuqtions. by way of (the noble disciple's) cutting the root which is Asanga: the reiiying view (satkdyadr"oli),which amounts to the diverse causes of many kinds of body (" upright shoots"); peeling it (pulling off the various volitions, cetand) he does not find a core. "an illusicn" uerily is perception. Asanga: by way of perception being a "magician" approaching (motivations) virtuor:s, unvirtuous, and unshaken; o'traveler at the crossroads" based on and being the four stations(i.e. form, feelings,ideas,and motivations). Voidnessis not dffirent frotn form; form is not different from voidness means according to Vimalamitra: there is no respective external entity (bdlryartlta) of form and voidness, that is to say, voidnessis not external tofarnt, and vice versa. This agreeswith the Mddhyarnika pcsition that positing voidness as an external entity would be reifying it. As with form, so also in the cases of feelings, ideas, motivations, and perceptions. As I take the is not different fromformtwcr statementsindividually voiclness a form, because ii differeat in the sense tltat voidness possesses likewise, feeling,s, ideas, moiivations, and percepttons-then 'ovoidness"would be reified as a self. And form is not different in that form is a layif different the sense voidness-bscause from percepttorts, upon ideas, motivations, and so aIso, out, feelings, paints for the could say that used lve also as a base-then voidness painting a picture are different from the picture, stand out as different from the picture which is the reified void base. Then Avalokitesvara spoke to Sariputra about how the,

318

BuddhistInsight

Pratyekabuddha and the Bodhisattva contemplate "all dharmas" to realize "non-self of dhqrmas" (dhanna-nairdtmya): 'oHere Sariputra, all natures (Dharma) huve the character of voidness;are not originated and not destrol,ed; not defiled and not ptre; without subtraction and without addition." Here (iha) meansthe Fourth Dhydna,free from the fault of inhalation and exhalation, i.e. the cessation of "body motivation" (kay a-sar.nsk dr a) . Vasubandbu' s Abhidharmakoi a (VI, 24) states: The Teacher (i.e. the Buddlia) and the rhinocerus (i.e. the Pratyekabuddha) up to (their individual) enlightenments at the upper end of (the F'ourth) Dhydna, have a single basis (i.e. of the four paths). Before that: what is conducive to liberation (i.e. the path of equipment). Hence here there are the two dharmas-non-harm and voidness, as alluded to in Aryadeva's verse. The character of voidness: Sthiramati, subcommentary on Sutralarykdra, XIX, 48, uses the term o'character of voidness" (iunyatd-laksa4a, Tib. ston pa fiid kyi mtshan fiid) in connection with the verse's "knowing as they really are" of the Bodhisattva starting with his First Stage.23 Thus "character" (laksapa) points to the "dharma of non-harm," becauseit involves the Bodhisattva's path as contrasted with that of the Pratyekabuddha. The Madhydntauibhdga says: 'oThe unreality of the two (subject and object), and the reality of the unreality, is the character of the void (funyalaksana)."2a All natures (dharma) means thepersonal aggregates(skandha), the elements (dhatu), the sensebases (ayatana). The Mahdyana scripture "Meeting of Father ond Son" (Pitaputrasamdgama) has this: "O great king. Thus all dharmos are the gateway to liberation."25 This points to the o'dharmavoidness " for the Pratyekabuddha. According to Asanga, Viniscayasaqngrahapt of the Samdhitabhumi, the gates to liberation-voidness, wishless, and
23T. T. Vol. 109:98d. ztM adhyantavi bhaga-bha; y a, ed. by Gadjin M. Nagao. Tokyo: Suzuki ResearchFoundation, 1964,p, 22: dvayabhava hy abhdvasyabhavah ifrnyasya Iakiaaarhl. 25T. T. Yol. 23:208e.

Secret of the Heart S[tra

319

non-sign-source-distinguish the Fourth Dhydna.z8 And further, it says in " Meeting of Father and son" :27 Great King, when one understands it rightly as it really is, the eye sense-base is void of the eye-sense-base. Why so? This eye-sense-baseis a non-sign-source (animitta). Why so? When the sign-source of the eye-sense-base is void of the eyesense-base-this is voidness. When the sign-source of the eyesense-base is free of sign-source-this is the non-sign-source. When it makes no wish, this is the wishless. Great King is the three doors of liberation. accordingly the eye-sense-base The eye-sense-base is directed toward liberation... Likewise, all dharmas are directed toward liberation. Are not originated and not destroyedmeansthe voidness gatewayi.e. is because the sign-source is void of the eye-sense-base, comparable to a dream.28 Not defiled and not pure means the non-sign-sourcegatewaybecauseit is sign-sourcesthat are defiled or pure.2e Without subtraction and without addition means the wishless gateway-because there is nothing to subtract or add for the eyesense-base to wish for. Having told the two dharmas related to heaven (suarga) and liberation (apauarga), and since there is no other dharma in Buddhism than those two in the sense'oborn from the dhamma" (as was said of Sdriputta), Avalokitesvara explained to Sdriputra the Truth of Cessation (nirodhasatya):30 26T.T. Vol. 111:11d. I surveyeC Yogdcarabhumi much of Asanga's for various explanations of the gatesto liberation, and the particularone here presented mostto fit the contextof the Heart Sfitra. seemed 27T.T. Vol. 23:201b, c. 28Cf. Pifiputrasamdgamasiltra, T. T. Vol. 23:201d:3-4 "O greatking, the (rgyal po chen po dela objects dream-like" sense organsare illusory; the sense po rnamsni sgyumalta bu I yul rnatnsni rmi lamlta buriespar bya stel). dban 2ecf. A. Wayman,Analysisof the Sravakabhumi Manuscript. Berkeley : p. 6l: "he doesnot takehold of sign7961, of CaliforniaPress, University (nimitta-graht) ot detailsby reason of whichsinful,unvirtuous sources natures (dharma) would flow in his mind." svThe Paftcavirltiatisahasrika Prajftaparamita, ed. by Nalinaksha Dutt (London;Luzac forth approximately & Co., 1934),pp.46-47, sets the same materialas in the Heart Stitra under the title "precept of cessation-truth" (nirodhasatyavavdda). Corue, Thirty Years,p. 158, calls attention to this ,similarity.

320

BuddhistInsight

"Afterw.ards, Sdriputra, in voidness there are no form, no feelings, no ideas,no motivations, na perceptions; No eya, eer, nose) tongue, body, or mind; no fcrm, sounds, sntell, triste, ttngibb, or mental; No reolm of eye ... [down to]... no realm of mind-percept I on: No nescienct, no ext[nctionof nescience ...ldown to]--no old age and deatli, ito extit'tciion of olC age and death; No sulfering, s'ource,cesscttion or path; No knowledge; No attainment, to non-attainrnent." Afterwards (tasmat): In the summit of, existence(bhauagra), there is cessation of "mind-motivation" (manah-sarTtskara)-referred to in the ancient Buddhist scriptures as "cessation of feelings and ideas" (sa4njfiduedita-nirodlta). since here there is cessationof all "constructed natures" (sarytskrta-dharma), this is not the state in which the Buddha discovered'all dharmas':five personal aggregates (form down to perceptions), twelve sensebases(eye d.ovrn to mind; form dorvn to mentals), eighteen realms (realm of eye down to realm oJ' mind-percaptlon);nor in which he discovered the twelvefold dependent origination and the manner in which it is extinguished (nescience down to old age and death; extinction of nescience down ta extinction of otd age and death); nor in which he discovered the four Noble Truths (su/fering down to patlt); nor in which he had the knov,ledge and the attainment. And in this condition there is no non-attainment just as one cannot speak of darkness, if there is no light. According to the Mahdparinibbanasutta, the Tathdgata took his leave of the monks and attained the First Dhydna, and successively the vari.rus equipoises (samdpatti)up to the base of neither idea nor no-idea, and ernerging from this base, reached the cessaticn of feelings and ideas. Then, according to the tradition, the venerableAnanda said to the venerabie Anurudcha, "Reverend Anuruddha, the Lord has passed. into Nirvdna.'" 'oNoy,brother Ananda, the Lorcr has not passedinto Nirvdqa; he has reachedthe cessationof feelings and ideas." Thereupon, you should know, the Lord emerging from the cessation,entered the base of neither idea nor no-idea, and successively the equipoisesdown to the First Dhydna; and emerging from the First Dhydna, proceeded again through the Dhydnas

Secret of the Heart Sutra

321

to the Fourth Dhydna, and emerging from the Fourth Dhydna, the Lord passedinto Nirvdna. Avalokitesvara explained to Sdriputra that afterwards the Bodhisattva returns to attainment by recourseto prajfidpdramitd: "Afterwards, sariputra, by reason of the non-ottainment, tlre Bodhisattva takes recourse to prajfiaparamita, and dwells without obscuration of thought.,, Afterwards (tosmdt): After proving that there is no attainment, and so also no possibility of non-attainmentin the cessationof feelings and ideas, the Bodhisattva of the upper three stages among the ten returns promptly to the realm of form. The M ohdydnasutr dIarykAr a (XIX, 28, 29), explains: For the right praxis of the wise in the six perfections is the giving of the one without wish, the morality of the one without enthusiasm for re-existence, forbearance everywhere, the striving to bring forth all good; likewise meditation (cthydna) apart from the formless realm,sl and insight (prajm@ tied to the means (i.e. the other five perfections). The Bodhisattva's meditation is apart from the formless realm, for this realm leads to the non-attainmentsummit. Besides,there is a theory that among the Dhyanas of the realm of form, the Bodhisattva of the EighthStage is in the First Dhydna, the one of the Ninth Stage is in the second Dhydna, the one of the Tenth Stageis in the Third Dhydnq.sz tskes recourseto prajfiaparamitd, and dwells without obscuration of thoughr: It is said, "He takes recourseto the wife of another," and explained: 'vrife of another' is prajfidpdrantitd; the ..other" is.
srvindrfipyar.ntatha dhyanary. azThistheory is presentedin Yiian-ts', commentary on sarnchinirmoconasfitra, T. T. Vol. l06:209e where he combines the Daiabhumil;asutra's deifying of the irreversible Bodhisattvas(those of the last three stages)lvith the Dhyana tradition, since each of the four Dhycinaheavenshas various types of deities.Thus, in the Eighth Stagethe Bodhisattvais Mahdbrahmd.This is not necessarily inconsistenti,vith the previous information that Sthiramati associates the "character of voidness" with the First StageBodhisattva,and my piacementof the informaticn under the Fourth Dkyana. This is because the present referenceto the irreversibleBodhisattvashas to do with their. return to the realm of form, wherein are the four Dhvanas.

322

BuddhistInsieht

defilethe Diamond being (Vajrasattva).33 He dwells without the stages, three upper the ment obscuration, as a Bodhis attva of in terms although still with obscuration of the knowable. Then, vinitafrom of the two kinds of "insight" previously mentioned called search in deva,s vinaya commentary, the one involved "vision" called "knorvled ge" (ifiana) and the one after search (dariona), this one is the "vision." And Gautama Buddha in that passagepreservedin the "Book of Eights" explained that when he (devatfl developed the "vision" he saw the forms of the deities of the different classes.sa at Avalokitesvara explained that the Bodhisattva has arrived the Summit-Nirvdna: o,Becauseof the non-existence of thought obscuration, he is at the summit' fearless, having transcended waywardness, Nirvdqa." on the sutrd' fearless; According to Sthiramati, subcommentary unexpectedl) oftemporal laqnkdra, there ur. i*o kinds of fear: of objective etc',2) floods, i.e. of rulers, robbers,fire, ne,ss(sadyas), sarysdra yoga, and (spatial) domains (ui;aya), such as planes of two the for fear itself.35 The Bodhisattva has no temporal ooafterwar "here-S" two the ds" (tasmat), and no spatial fear for (iha). waywardness: waywardness (uiparydsa) means taking the impermanent as permanent, pain as pleasure, nonself as self, and the impure as pure. There are three stagesof waywardness,to wit, therr of views (drsti) attached to the ideas, and of ideas (saanjfia), finally of consciousness(citta) with secondary defllements going with the view attachment.so Since the Bodhisattva does nothave thought obscuration (cittd-auarana) he cannot have tfie last stage 33TheCollectedWorks of Bu-ston,Part 14 (Pha) (New Delhi: Indian surveyof the Tantras the abbreviated Academyof Indian culture, 1,969), that Prajfldplramita goes on to explain (in Tibetan). Fol. no. 910.Bu-ston of sarpsdra, while side other the ('she at arrives') r,vho is the son mo at the other sideof sarytsara' is the sonpo ('he who arrives') Vajrasattva salnthe suttacalled "At Gay6" (cf. note 15,above). on XVI, 52' 35T. T. Vol. 109: 19c 2,3, 4, commentary

seCf . Tlte Liott's Roar of QueenSrinnla; a EudclhistScripture on the Tatha' gangarbha Theory, tr. by Alex wayman and Hideko wayman (New York : Columbia University Press,1974).p. 1'02'and note.

Secret of the Heart Sutra

323

ofwaywardness, that of consciousness(citta); and the sDtra intends this to mean the Bodhisattva has transcended.waywardness. The summit-nirvd(ta: He is at the summit (ni;lh\ where the Buddha entered Parinirvaqa, i.e. at the upper extreme of the Fourth Dhydna. Besides, Le Traitd gives the denotation of the word pdramitd (perfection) as applied to prajfrd:87 "she is called pdramitd, becauseshe arrives at the other shore (pdra) of the ocean of insight, because she arrives at the extremity (anta) of all the insights and attains the summit (niplhagata)i, Avalokitesvara then made the Mahdydna identification of Nirvila and enlightenment: "All Buddhas of the past, present, and future, after taking recourse to the perfection of insight, completely realize the incomparable, right complete enlightenment.,, with the sambhogakiya, they realize the complete Enlightenment at the top of the realm of form in the Akanittha heaven. Avalokitesvara then summed up all the foregoing by way of an incantation: "Therefore one should know the great incantation of prajfidpdramitd. The incantation of great vidyd, the incomparable incantation, the equal-and-unequalincantation, the incantation which allays stffiring, true because devoid of proclaimed in prajiidparamitd, the falsehood, as foilows: gate gate pdragate pdrasarytgate bodhi svdhd." The great incantation of prajfiapdramita, the incantation of great vidya is gate gate pdragate parasarTtgatebodhi svdha, because uidya means the female variety of incantation (mantra) and sudhd is the final mantra of a female formula.Bs Flaving referred to the mqntra in general terms, the sirtra now treats the individual terms of the marfira: The',incomparable incantation is gate gate because this means one has embarked (tirlta),'s with cessationof speechmotivation in the Second Dhydna. sTEtienne Lamotte,Le Traiti de la Grandevertu de sagesse,Tome II. Louvain: Bureal.rx du Musdon, p. 1066. 1949, s8cf. Wayman, "The Significance of Mantras,'(note 5, above). seFortheseterms tirrya,pdragata,and sthalagata, seeFranklin Eclgerton, Buddhist Hybrid sanskrit Reader, New Haven: yale Universitypress,1953, "Conversion of Sariputra and Maudgalyiyana,', p. 31.

324

Buddhist Insight

The equal and unequal incantation is pdragate because this means one is well on the way (pdragata), with cessationof body motivation in the Fourth Dhydna. The Pratyekabuddha, and the Bodhisattva, is equal to the Buddha in attaining the cessation of body motivation in the Fourth Dhydna. But these yogins are not equal to the Buddha as regards having attained the incomparable enlightenment in the Akanirtha, with the Sambhogakdya. The incantation which allays suffering is PdrasarTtgate,because' this means one has reached the dry land (sthalagata), beyond the swirling waters of sarpsdra. But is this cessation of mental natures to be called 'oNirvaqa"? True becausedevoid of falsehood is bodhi. "Enlightenment" (bodhi) is true, because devoid of the various falsehoods, by suggestion of PraSS.strasena's commentary and partial adoption of his remarks: devoid of the falsehoods of body, speech,and mind.ao Proclaimed in the prajfidpdramitd is sudhd because this is the clarification at the end.al Thus Avalokitesvara finished his instruction to Sdriputra. (Then, you should know, the Lord emergedfrom thot samadhi and told Arya-Avalokiteivara, " sddhu Sddhu"). According to Vimalamitra,a2 rvhile this sutra was expressedby' Arya-Avalokitesvara, it was in fact the Tathdgata's promulgation (ajna),'accordingly, AvalokiteSvara was empowered (adhitistha) by the Tathdgata in the Samddhi "Profound Appearance" (gambhtra' auabhasa).So the Tathagata, saying sddhu, sadhu (It is well, it is. well) indicates concurrence with Avalokiteivara's exposition. So ends the "heart" of noble prajfidpdramitd. Heart: There are two kinds of "heart" (hydaya)intended by this. scripture. 1) there is the "heart," i.e. the essenceof Mahdyina teaching with reference to Prajfrdpiramitd as the mother of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. 2) there is the "heart" witlt reference to the sonsof the Buddha, as was Sariputra, "born from his heart." So ends the commentary, composed by Alex Wayman, called "Explaining the Dififlculties" (paiijikd-ndma) of the Aryapraifid' p dr amit d-hydaya-silt r a. a0Edward Conze, "PraSistrasena'sArya-Prajfiiparamita-hydaya-!ikA," D. ReidelPublishing in Honourof I. B. Horner.Dordrecht: Studies Buddhist 1974,pp. 58-59. Company, crThis explanation by Ratndkaraof svahais from a tantric commentary of Mantras"(note5, above'). cited in Wayman, "The Significance Sdnti, 42T.T. Vol. 94:284e: 5, 6.

PART FOUR

IEXTS OF ASANGA SCHOOL

l6
THE SACITTIKA AND ACITTIKA BHUMI TEXT EXP TRANSLATION

The brief text here edited is from the photographic Srduakabhumi manuscript, and is a portion of the encyclopedic work YogdcdrabhAmi by Asanga (circa 375-43A,A.D.).t The Sacittikd and Acittikd bhumis occupy only one folio side in the manuscript and yet constitute Nos. 8 and 9 of the seventeenbhumis. They have an importance far greater than their length might indicate, since the Sacittika and Acittika text is Asanga's most extreme summarization of the psychological states that rvere discussed extensivelyin ihe first five bhilnis (edited in Sanskrit by V. Bhattacharya), and then discussedfrom another standpoint in bhhmis Nos. 6 and 7 (samohitd and assmAhifi bhilmis). Asanga then deals r,vith the traditionatr three levels of proiiia (insight)-bhumis Nos. 10-12 (irutamayi, cintdmayi, and bhduandntayibhuntis). F{e then exposes the three vehicles (yAna)-bhumis Nos. 13-15 (srduaka-, pratyekabuddha-, and bodhisattua-bhumis). He concludes with the fruits (phola) of the path-bhunzis Nos. 16 and lV (sopadhiiesd and nirupadhiie sa bhumis). Sacittika Acittika ca Bhumih / sacittika'cittikd ca bhflmilr katamd / sa dvidhdpi paiicabhir cittaFrkarak veditavya / bhtmiprajflaptivyavasthdnato'pi rCf. Alex Wayman,"The Sacittika and AcittikaBhumiand the Pratyekabuddhabhumi(Sanskrit texts)," Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies pp. 375-379. (Tokyo), 7:1, 1960,

328

BuddhistInsight

bhrdntivyavasthanato'py utpattyanutpattivyavasthdnato'py avasthdvyavasthanato'pi paramarthavyavasthanato,pi // f tatra bhfimiprajfiaptivyavasthdnatah paffcavijfianasamprayukti bhlmir manobhfrmilr savitarka savicara ['vi]tark6 vicdramatrd ca bhfmir ekantena sacittika / avitarkdydm av ic aruyar.nb hfl m au samapattyupapattikam asar.nj frikam niro dhasamapattim ca sthdpayitvd tadanya sacittikaiva bhumih samdpattyupapattika lasam] iffiko nirodhasamdpattis ca td (a)cittika bhnmih // / tatra cittabhrantivyavasthanato yat caturviparydsap viparyastar.ncittar.n tad bhrdntam ity ucyute/ yat punas caturbhir viparydsendviparyastar.n tad abhrantam ity ucyatef tatra yad bhrdntacitta(r.n) tad acittam ity ucyate (p)r(akrti)bhra;tlat / tadyathil lokair vacas uktam f unmattakqiptacittar.ndrptvd '[yam purusapudgalo 'citta unma]ttah ksiptacitta iti I tad anena paryayena yad bhrdntary cittarp tad acittikd bhumir yat punar abhrdntap tat sacittikl, // 'ttabhih karaqaih / tatrotpattyanutpattito cittasyotpddo ['nutpado] va / tadyatha indriyaparibheddd viqayd:ndbhisam ayandd manasikaravaikalydd apratilabdhadvirodhdt prahdldd nirodhdd utpadac ca f etad viparyaydd utpddo drastavya{r kqaya(e)va karataib / tatra ya utpddakaraqais cittasyotpidah sa sacittikl bhflmih / ya\, punar anutpadakara4air anutpddah sd 'cittikd bhnmi\ // thanatab pa{ avasthdh sthdpayi tvd sacittika / tatr av asthdvyavas bhumir veditavyd / ;ad avasthdb katama tadyathi acittikamiddhdvasthd'cittikamurchavastha'sa4rjfrasamdpattir dsar.njffikam nirodhasamdpattir nirupadhiSesanirvd4adhdtur yd punar etah qad avasthd iyam acittik[ bhnmi\ // / tatraparamarthavyavasthdnato nirupadhiseqo nirvdnadhdtur acittikd bhumih / tat kasya hetoh / tatha hy alayavijffdnar.n niruddhar.n bhavati f tadanyasv avasthasu pravrttivijfidnar.n niruddhary bhavati / yenacittika bhfimir ity ,rtu,. / Filayavijfrinary tu na niruddhap bhavati / panmirthato 'cittika bhunrir ity ucyate // / yogacarabhflmau sacittikd bhlmir acittika ca samaptalf Translation of Asanga's Sacittika and Acittikd Bhumi with minimal additions from Asanga's own comments in V ini i cayasarltgr ahan i.

The Sacittikiand AcittikaBhDmi, Text and Translation

329

What is the stage "with thought" and. the one "without ,thought"? Each of these is known under five categories: establishment in terms of stages, establishment of thought delusion and non-delusion, establishment of (thought) occurrence and non-occurrence, establishment of states, establishment of the ,absolute. EsranrrsnrvrENT lN Trnus or, Sr,c,crs 'These stagesare in each casea stagewith thought: l. Association with the five (sensory) perceptions (uijfidna), 2. Mind (manas), 3. With inquiry (uitarka) and deliberation (uicdra), 4. Without inquiry and with only deliberation. A stage"with thought" must be apart from 5. without either inquiry or deliberation, under which there are non-ideational equipoise,non-ideational existence, and cessationequipoise. Non-ideational equipoise, non,ideationalexistence,and cessationequipoise (each) constitute a istage"without thought." EsranllssMENT or TsoucHr DnrusroN nNo NoNr-Drlustotr A thought wayward with four waywardnesses is said to be deluded. Any thought not wayward with the four waywardnesses is a nondeluded thought. Among those, the deluded thought is said to be "destitute of intellect" becauseit has lost its primal nature. For example, when worldly personsseesomeoneof insane, distracted mind, they say, "That person is 'destitute of intellect,' insaneo his mind distracted." Hence,in those terms, any deludedthought is a stage "without thought," and any one not deluded is ,'with .thought." Esr.q,srrsHMENT op OccunRENcEAND Nox-OccuRRENcE Thought occurs or does not occur by eight causes,as follows: f . impairment of senseorgan (six in number), 2. non-appearance of sense object (six in number), 3. lack of attention, 4. nonattainment (of other realms, such as the Dhyana heavens, by reason of not accomplishing the path), 5. opposition (to a thought by another thought which is present,as when experiencing pleasure

330

Insight Buddhist

one does not experiencepain), 6. elimination (of a thought by the path leading to the elimination, as when lust, hatred, and delusion are eliminated by the Eightfold Noble Path), 7. cessation (i.e. statesnos. 3-6 in "Establishment of states," below), 8. occurrence' already (i.e. having finished occurring, as in momentary theory). The opposites of those constitute origination (of thought), just when there is ending of those causes. Among them, any originaof origination, is a stage"withthought." tion of a thought by causes And any non-origination by causesof non-origination, is a stage "without thought." EsrasusHMENToF STATES One should knorv the stage "with thought" as exclusive of six states. What are the six? As iollows: 1. state of sleepdevoid of thought (:dreamless sleep), 2. state of faint devoid of thought, 5. cessa3. non-ideational equipoise,4. non-ideational existence, tion-equipoise,6. Nirvd0a-realm without residual basis. Furthermore, thesesix statesconstitute a stage"without thought." oF TI{EAssorurP EsrasrtsHMENT This is the stage "without thought," Nirvafa-realm without residual basis. For what reason? For the reason that there is cessation of the "store consciousness" (dlaya-uiifidna). In the other (five) states, there is cessation of evolving perception (prauytti' uijfidna), and consequently they constitute a stage "without thought" (in the conventional sense),but (in those flve) there is no they do not conscessationof alaya-uijfidna: in the absolutesense, tho Sta-se With is thought." Finished titute a stage "without the in Yogacarabhumi. Thought and Without Thought According to Asanga, there are four casesfor possessionof al ayauij ii dna andf o r evolr'ing perceptio n (p r aurt t i-uii iidna) : 1. Possessingalayauijiidna and not possessingevolving perception: personsin statesnos. 1-5 in "Establishmentof states." alayaevolving perception and not possessing 2. Possessing aijiidna: Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas, irreversible Bodhisattvas, 'owith thought." and Tathagatas, when in stages 3. Possessingboth: persons other than those (mentioned above), when in stages"rvith thought." neither: Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas,irreversible, 4. Possessing

andAcittikaBhumi,fe*t arrJfranslation TheSacittikd

331

Bodhisattvas, and Tathagatas, when in cessation-equipoise, or in Nirvdla-realm without residual basis. The evolving perceptions are mind (manas) and the five sense perceptions. Together with dlayauijfidna, they make a set of seven uijfidna. The set can also be counted as eight by taking the sixth fidna, the seventh as "defi led mind" (k li ; ! amanas), uij fidna asmanouij and the eighth as dlayauijfiana. The set of eight is more common. The associate natures (caitasika-dharma) that go with all the uijfrdna, are: attention (manasikdra), contact (spar,ia), feeling (aedand), idea (sar.njfid),volition (cetand). Besides, the mind (manas) has many other mental elements associated with it. There are fi.vemental elementsnever associatedwith dlayauiifidna: longing (chanda), conviction (adhtmoksa), mindfulness (smrti), one-pointedness(samddhi), insight (pr aifia). The four waywardnesses are to regard the impermanent as permanent, suffering as happiness,non-self as self, and the impure as pure. Asanga in the foregoing mentioned only "Nirvdqa without residual basis." BothNirvir:as (with and without residualbasis)are treated in the comments to the Paramdrtha-gathd.The two kinds of Nirvifa constitute two stages(Nos. 16 and 17) of the seventeen sections. priorto the exegetical bhumi of Asanga's Yogdcdrabhumi "nonequipoise," "non-ideational the three stages, Regarding essay "Medithe equipoise," and ideational existence," "cessation tation in Theravada and MahiSasaka" above and Asanga's Srduakabhumiexplain the "non-ideational equipoise" (or "equipoise without idea") as that of the ordinary person, and the "cessationequipoise" as that of the drya (noble person),and relate this terminology to the "formiess realm." The term "non-ideational existence" (dsaryjfiika) refers, according to the Abhidharma' koia, II, 41, to a class of deities abiding in the Dhyina heaven Bphatphala,placed as the highest of the three divisions of the "fourth Dhyana" in the "realm of form." Speaking generally, Asanga states in his Vastusalngraha4i (PTT, Vol. 111, p. 134-3) that elimination of ideas(sarnifiilhappensin the samadhi of "signless mind" (dnimittacitta). (See my essay "secret of the Heart Sutra"). Asanga points out there also that some outsiders (wrongly) attributed the two kinds of Nirvdla to this Brhatphala heaven.

T7
ASANGA'S TREATISE, THE

PARAMAnTUI-;A,r uA

The intrusive folios in the unique Bihar Srduakabhilmi manuscript include a large portion of the cintdmayt Bhumi, an earlier section of the Yogdcdrabhumi. The intrusive folios of that bhumi contain the Paramdrtha-gdthd and the complete text of Asanga's comments thereon; the Abhrprdyikdrtha-gdthd, with incomplete text of Asanga's comments; and the first part of the Sqrirartha-gathd, small sets of verseswith Asanga's comments. Long ago I edited and translated the Paramdrtha-gdtha and commentary in my doctoral dissertation at the University of California, Berkeley, published as Analysis of the SrduakabhumiManusuipr (1961).r Now I shall present this text and translation with various corrections.z Some introductory remarks are necessary. The bulky work called Yogdcdrabhumiwas composed for persons in the Buddhist religious life. Thus "yogacara" in the title 'oStages (bhumi) of Yogdcara" does not stand for the Buddhist philosophical school sometimes referred to as "yogacara luniversity of california Publications in classicalphilology, vol. 17 (University of CaliforniaPress, Berkeley and Los Angeles,196l),pp. 163, ff. for details of this text as originally editedand translated, bibliography for the Asian renditions, and so on. 2FromFranklinEdgerion's generous reviewin Language, vol. 3g, No. 3 (1962), I haveadopted all his suggestions except one(on verse3g). Besides, I havemademinorimprovements throughout the translation aswell as major (nos.4 and 38). correction of two verses

334

Insight Buddhist

philosophy." Much of the large work is given over to Buddhist abhidharma-type doctrinal categories; and, generally ,speaking, the treatise exposes extensively the doctrine and practice indications for one aiming to follow the Buddhist path, either in the old senseof early Buddhism or in the later sense of the Mahd:ydnaBodhisattva. However, the work does contain an early form of what is called "Yogacara philosophy," especially by Asanga's use of the term "store consciousness"(alayauiifidna) and his three lakpa7a-s or suabhdua-scalled "imaginary" (pari' k alpi t a), " dependency" (p arat antr a), and "perfect" (p ar ini ;p anna), The Paramdrtha-gdtha themselves do not clearly evidence any technical o'Yogacara philosophy," but Asanga's comments do bring in some indications of this philosophical position. The verse that most needs some explanation in this senseis no' 4,withtwo mentions of the word "self" (atman). The translation especiallyAsanga's of the versefollowed commentarial suggestions, use of the word parinippanna, which, as a grammatically passive participle is possibly controlled by the instrumental of another word, thus forcing the term dtmanas (genitive or ablative) to be interpreted ablatively in overlap of instrumental function. So my translation of dtmano ndsti as "is not by way of self." When the verse states that the "self" is imagined in reverse manner, it follows that it is imagined to be "by way of self." Asanga's comment with the word parini5pannaimplies the other two terms of the three lak;aua. Thus, the "self" is "imagined" in reverse rnanner-the "imaginary charactet." The "dependency character" is shown by the phrase "not by way of self," sinceAsanga's Srduakabhumi examines the "non-self" aspect of the Truth of Suffering by the one aspect "non-independence" (asudtantrya).t Finally, the "self" is not the "perfect character" (parini;powrulakSaqta). Asanga's interpretation of the verse no. 4 is not inconsistent with the {Iddnauarga, I, 20, including: f dtmeua lty dtmano ndsti lcutoputrd lruto dhatto* / , since kuto (: Skt. kutas) is abiative; thus, "For the seif is not through self. Through what the sons? Through what the wealth?" In short, one should realize ooindepenclent" self, and that the self is not autonomous ; that an sons and wealth is an illusion. one that "possesses" sCf.V/ayman, Aspects of the Four NobleTruthsand Their "The Sixteen placewith n. 17. Opposites,"

Asanga's Treatise, the Paramdrtha-gdthi

335

For the meaning of the word paramArtha, we note that the commentary on Sutrdlarytkdra, VI, l, says that paramdrtha .("absolute meaning") is non-two meaning (aduayartha). Asanga, (PTT, Vol. 111, p. 162'5) says: "By the in his Vastusaqngrahaqti 'world' (loka)-arisen manner of paramdrtha one should know the and cognition (ifiana); theme44$ ofcomby dint of ideas (saanjfid) 'world'-iightly knowing as it really is the ing to the end of the arising-transformation of aspectsbelonging to the six sense bases 'world'-apprehending the end of of contact; and the end of the 'body,' (after ending the craving for any senseobject."a Ending ) the craving points to Nirva0a with residual basis; the end of '"body" points to Nirvdla without residual basis (cf. gdthd 42). Hence "non-two meaning" of paramdrtha signifies-this way and no other way. The Paramdrtha-gdthdss

'pi ni6ceqtaatha ced vartatekrtyd dharmdl,: sarve // There is no proprietor at aIl, no doer, no feeler; Although all the dharmas are inactive, yet possible activity evolves. 2. dvddaS aiva bhavdn gini skandhdyatan adhlfiava\ / vicintya sarvarty etdni pudgalo nopalabhyate l/ The trvelve members of phenomenal life are the aggregates (skandha),sensebases(dyato.na), and realms (dhotu). Pondering all those, a person (pudgala) is not found. 3 . Silnyam ddhydtmikar.n sarvar.nSunyar.nsarvar.n bahirgatary / 'pi ka6cidyo bhdvayati Strnyatarnl/ na vidyate so Void is all within; void all rvithout. Nor exists anyone who contemplatesvoidness. 4. atmaiva hy dtmano ndsti viparitena kalpyate /
aI havecondensed usingjust his words, from the Tibetan Asanga'spassage, version. 'By gc\thaAsanga apparently meant the ancient versesor verse portions that he pieced together to make this set of forty-four. This meaning is certio'master fied by his own commentarialconclusion,calling this group of verses lineage" (aptagama), i.e. scriptural authority. Flence, the commentarial dha (he says) refers to the Buddha.

t . svdmi na vidyate ka5cin na kartd ndpi vedaka\,/

336

Buddhist Insight

naiveha sattva dtmd vd dharmds tv ete sahetukift // For the self is not by way of self; it is imagined in reverse manner. Here there is no being or oneself. But these dharmas have their causes. 5. ksapikah sarvasamskdrdasthitdndm kutah kriyl / bhfltir yesar.n kriydsau ca kdrakah saiva cocyatef f AII the saqnskdras are momentary; how could there be the activity of transient things? Preciselytheir arising is the activity as well as the agent. 6-7. caktuh paSyati no rlpar.n Srotram Sabddm Srnoti nab / ghrdqary jighrati no gandhdm jihva ndsvddayedrasam / kayah sppsatino spar5dmano dharmdn nakalpayetf ndsti caisam adhitthdta prerako vidyate na ca // Neither does the eye seeform; nor the ear hear sounds. Neither does the nose smellodord; nor the tonguetasteflavors. Neither does the body feel tangibles; nor the mind conceive dharmas. And these have neither controller nor instigator. 8. na paro janayaty enam svayar.n naiva ca jayate/ pratitya bhdvi jdyante niqpurdpa nava navd // Another does not engenderthis; nor is it engendered of itself. Entities arise dependently. They are not old, but ever new. 9. na paro nd5ayaty ena{n svayar.nndpi ca nalyati / pratyaye sati jiyante jatdh svarasabhahgura\ // Another doesnot destroy this; nor is it destroyedof itsetf. When there is the condition, things arise; and having arisen, are perishable by their own essence. 10. pakqadvaye ni5rita hi janatd upalabhyate f pramatta viqayeqveva mithyd coccalitd punab // One finds that creatureslie in two categories. They are heedlessin sensefields; moreover, waywardly advancing. I 1. mohenapahptds te vai mithyd uccalitasturyef t1'qfayd:pahftdste tu pramattd viqayequye // Truly thosecaught by delusion are those wayward.lyadvancing. While those caught by desireare those heedless in sensefields. 12. sahetukatvad dharmS-n5"r.n duhkhasyeha tathaiva ca / maulam kle6advayarykltva dvadaSangodvidhd krtab // Becausedharmas have their cause, as does also suffering,

Asanga'sTreatise,the paramirtha-satha

J5 |

Since one has createdthe two fundamental defilements, there are the twelve mernbers,of two kinds. 13. svayamkrta kriyir naiva tatlta parakpta na ca f paraf kriyiqn na karayati na ca nasti kriyd pur,a\ // The activity is not created by self, nor created by another; Another (life) doesnot causeilie activity; but also the activitv does not fail to exist. 14. nddhydtma{n na bahir va ca nantarale tayor api / anutpanno hi saryskarah kaddcid upalabhy ate // Whether within, without, or between the two, The sarpskdra that rras not (yet) arisen is nowhere found. 15. utpanno 'pi ca samskaralrtendsaunopalabhyate / anagatam nirnimittam atitam tu vikalpy ate // Even 'rhen the sarpskarahas arisen, it is not thereby found. The future is devoid of sig*. But one imaginesthe past. 16. kalpyate 'nubhtrtary (na) ca ninubhutar.n ca karpyate / anadimantal.r sarpskdr6 idiS caivopalabhyate // one imaginesnot just the experienced, but imaginesalso the not-experienced. The saqnskdras are beginningless.still, a beginning is found. 17-18. phenapirl{opamarprlparp vedani budbudop ama/ maricisadlSi sapj nd sarirskdrdlr kadalin ibhab, / mdyopamaln ca vij fi dnam uktam adityaban dh.and / ekotpad.i5 ca samskara ekasthitiniro,llinah // The solar kinsman has proclaimed formation to be like a lurnp of foam; feeling like a bubbre; ideation like a mirage; motivations like plantain trunks; and perception like an illusion. The sarytskdra,s arise alike, abicleand perish alike. 19. na moho moirayed moirar.nparam naiva ca mohayet f na paro mchayaty ena4-lna ca moho na vidyate f Delusion does not delude delusion, nor cloesit at all delude any one else;nor doesany one elsedeludeit; and yet delusion does not faitrto occur. 20. ayoni6omanaskaratsarnmoh.ojdyate sa ca f ayoni5omanaskAro nasarprnu$hasya jAya& l/ Thai coni'usionis born of unmethodical mental orientation, And tlie unmethoclicalmental oricntatioir is born of one not free from confusion. 21. pu1.1ya aputyd anifl1'ya sar.nskdrds trividhd mata\ /

338

Buddhist Insight

22.

23.

24.

25,

26.

27.

28.

trividham cdpi yat karma sarvar.netad asarlrgatam // Meritorious, demeritorious, and motionbss are the motivations (and) held to be threefold; andwhichever be the threefold karma, alI that is disjoined. prabhangura vartamana atita na kvacit sthitd/ ajatah pratyayadhinal. cittar.ncipy anuvartaka\n l/ The present ones are disintegrating; Those of the past abide nowhere; The unborn depend on conditions, And the mind evolves accordingly. atyantikah sar.nprayogoviprayogas tathaiva ca f na ca sarvair hi sarvasyacittary copagam ucyatel/ In an absolute sensenot all (mind) has associationa). dissociation likewise-with all (sarTtskdr It is said that mind evolves accordingly. punah / tasmin srotasya vicchinne sadp6isadpSe kriyate samvrtih tv iyary // dtmadfqtyanusarena (of consciousness) has similar and dissimilar Again, the stream disruption, but this convention works by follorving the view that there is a self. 'pi nalyati bhidyate rupakdyas ca namakdyo f 'pabhogaSca paratreha nirucyate svayar.nklto // The setof formation breaksup; the setof namesalso perishes; and the self-doneis declared "fruit-eating" both in this and in the other worid. paurvaparyef a cdnyatvdt svahetuphalasamgrahAt / sa eva karta vetta ca anyo veti na kathyate // 'odoer" and the "feeler" through difference prioriof That is the ty and posteriority, and through comprising in itself the cause and thefruit. But one should not explain (that) as "different." hetuvartminupacchedit simagryd vartate kriyit / svasmad dheto6 ca jayante kurvanti ca parigrahaTn // Given that the course of causes is not disrupted, activity evolves by reason of the asseinblage(of causes).They are born by their individual cause and take control. prapaflcibhirati hetu tatha karma SubhdSubham / sarvabijo vipdkaS ca ittdniqtatn tatha phalar.n// When the causeis delight in elaboration, likewise the action (karma) is good or evil. When any seedmatures, likewise the fruit is desirable or undesirable.

Asaiga's Treatise,the Paramdrtha-gathi

339

':

29. sarvabijo vipiko 'bhijdyate atmadar5ana\nf pratyitmavedaniyo 'sau arDpi anidar6anab // When any seedmatures, the view of self is reproduced. what is to be known of one's own self is that it is formless, invisible. 30. kalpayanty antarutmdnar.n tam ca biid ajdnakA\ / dtmadarSanamdSritya tatha bahvya5 ca dy;taya\ // And that is what the immature and ignorant imagine to be the self within, having based themselves on the view of self. Thus there are many (false) views. 31. pindagrdhdtmabijdc ca ptrvabhydsdt sahayata\ / Sravaldd anukildc ca jayate dtmadar5anaan// As a result of the coheringseedof self,the former concomitant habitual practice, and (present) hearing in conformity therewith, the view of self arises. 32. snehas tatpratyayam caiva adhyatmam upajayate I anugrahabhild+aS ca bahih sneho mamayitarg l/ Attachment originates in addition to that condition within; And attachment craving for acquisition (originates in addition to) the cherished thing without. 33. yato bibheti loko 'ya\n tan mohitmar.n haraty asauf pfrrvar.nniveSanarykptvd tenopaiti prapafrcita\n // whatever this world fears, that brings the self of delusion. Having formerly made an abode,it undertakesthe elaborated. 34. yat ian nivesanatn krtar.n tad arya duhkhato viduh / yena duhkhita sadd baldh ktairamatram upaSamito nahi l/ Whatever the abode that is made, that the noble ones know as suffering. Thereby the imrnature always suffer, for it is not appeased even for a rnoment. 35. vain"rpyaparigatarycittam acinoti duhkhar.n tathdvidha\n / yada cittary bhavati baldnam ahar.nkdrasukhaduhkhapratyayarp // The mind that is filled with variations gathers suffering of like kind. Whenever it is a mind belonging to the immature, it is the condition of egohood, happiness,and suffering. 36. yatra saktdl.rsarvabdli6dhparike patati kuffjaro yathd / sar.nmohas tatra cadhikah sarvatragah sarvaceqtitetatpara\ // Where all fools are stuck, as an elephant sinks in a bog, There is the remaining confusion, proceeding everywhere,

Buddhist Insight glven over to every actlvlty. vinirbhedaya ylni loke srotdrysi viqamdni / 3 7 . sarvasrotasdr.n 'tiSoqayed anyatra naitad asty agnir na vayur na bhdskaro dharmacaryayA// No fire, wind, or sun could dry up those unbearable streams in the world, so as to destroy all streamsNothing but the practice of the Dharma. 3 8 . Duhkhi duhkhito 'ham asmity atmanary sukhito v[ duhkham vyavasyati f parikalpo dpqtisamutthdpakah sa tasmdj jdtas taj jinayaly z api // When suffering, one thinks, o'f am suffering;" or "I am happy,o' when he ascertains himself suffering. Imagination is the arouser of (right and wrong) views. It is produced from them and generatesthem in turn. 39. sahotpannaniruddham hi kle6aih kli+tam manalr sada / tasya nirmokqo na bhlto na bhavi;yati l/ The defiled mind always arisesand ceases together with defilements. Its releasehas not occurred and will not. 40. na tad utpadyate pa5cacchuddharn anyatra jiryate I tac ca plrvam asar.nkliltamkle5ebhyomuktam ucyate // That does not arise later. On another occasion it is born pure. Precisely that which formerly was nnstained is called "freed from defilements." 4r. yat kli;tam tad ihatyantac chuddham prakytibhisvara\n I kaScitkutaScidvipi Sudhyati ll na ceha Sudhyate That which was defiled, here in the end is purified, with its intrinsic light. Anything not purified here would surely not become pure anywhere ! 42. sarvabijasamutsddit sarvakleSaparik;aydt / tatraiva c6py asarpkleSaddvidhdbhinnar.n pradarSita\n // By reason of the utter destruction of all seeds-the total elimination of all defilement; in the satne place, as well, by reason of no stain, a portion of trvo kinds is specifled. 43. pratyatmavedaniyatvdd duhkhamdtraparik;ayFft / tathaiva nilprapafrcatvat sarvatha na prapaficayet // Through what is to be known of one's own seif, through elimination of suffering only; just so, through no elaboration, one does not elaborate at all.

Asanga'sTreatise,the Paramdrtha-gdtha

341

44. pravahe pudgaldkhyd syad dharmasatnjry ca lakqane / na veha kascit sa(nsarta nirvdty api na kalcana // The terrrr "person" (pudgala) means "continuous stream" and the expression "natufe" (dharma) means "character." Neither is there any transmigrator here, nor is anything allayed (in pariniruapa). CorraunNraRy / pudgalanairdtmyar.nparamdrthatas tadadhikdrat paramirthaln gdthd / samaropdpavdddntadvayapratipakpfa / tatta sudmi parigrahasya karta kriyd4dr.n uedakalz/ tat phalind:rir gdthdrddtmdndm pratikqipati / dharmalt dhendrthantaraparikalpitam sorue 'pi niice;ld iti dharmdfdm evatmatvary pratiksipati I etena samaropantary parivarjayati / atha ced uartate kriyety anena parivarjay ati f tatr a kriya trividhd dharmastitvena cd,pavdddntar.n svdmikriyd karakakriyd vedakakriyd ca / yayd kriyaya svami prajflapyate / karako vedako vd katame te dharmd iti noktam ata itha / duddaiaiueti gdthdrddhap yatha bhavdngakramena ye vartante skandhds tdn parid ip ay ati / skandhadhdtvdyatanagraha\ary\ I svdmikdrakavedakagrihakapratipakqela cak$uh pratitya rupdi:i cotpadyate cakpurvijfrdnaqnphalagr na tu iuicid uedako 'stity dhatubhir vedakibh6vam paridipayati f suami aqtddaSabhir nd uidyata ity uktar.n/ sa punar yatha na vidyate tat paridipayati / etdni pudgalo nopalabhyata iti f uicintyeri tribhiir uicirttl'a serL:dr.tj' pramanaih pariksya / tasmin na vidyamdne katham ddhyatmikabdhyavyavasthanarlr sidhyatity aba I iilnyant adhyatntikary soraaryt iunyatp saruatn balirgatarpf vyavasthanamltraln tv etad than atn sidhyatiti iti j fl apay ati I kathar.n parik gyaparikpakavyavas 'pi yo bhduayatiiilnyatamiti f katham kalcid /Ahal na uidyate so aryapythagjanavyavasthanar.nsidhyatiti I ?rha f dtmaiua hy dtm' eno ndsti uiparitena kalpyata aryappthagjanatmaiva taddtmanah parinippanno nasti viparyasena tu kalpyata iti jrt,apayati / katham paratmavyavasthanam sidhyatiti / aha naiueha sattuo y av adanavyavasthanar.nsidhy atiti / frtnna ueti I katharlr sar.nkle5av aha dhqrmds tu ete sqhetukAk / na sa$klista na vyavadita va 'pi niiceg[a ity uktar.n na tuktar.n kaScid astiti f dharmalt sarue / kathap ni6ceptaitiI ataAhaI ksanik{tit saruasarpskaraasthitanaryt kutah kriyeti I atha ced uartate kriyety uktar.n/ tat katham asatydin kriyiydan kriyd vaftata iti aha I bhutir yetArytkriyasau ca kdrakas saiua cocyata iti I phalatvdt kriyi hetutvat katakah I tam punar

342

Buddhist Insight

bh[tir yayatanebhyo vijfianotpattyd sfrcayati tadutpattya ca / I caksurddinap ndntarena tatsiddhel,r dharmah sarue 'pi niice;la ity / uktary / tary niscestatarysaptavidhdrn darsayati kiritraniscegta/ tary cak;ult paiyati no rilpam ity evam ddind /anuvidhdnanisceqiatlnp / nasti cai;dm adhistrhdtd prerako uidyate na ceti f svdmikdrakabhavdd yathdkramary yasyanuvidhdnam kuryuh/ utpddananiScestatdryna paro jo.nyaty enam iti utpattiniscestat am suayaryt / naiua ca jayata iti / samkrdntiniscestatdr.n prattya bhaud jayante nispurd?d naudnavditi vindsananiScestat aryf na paro ndiayaty enqm iti vinastinisce;tatdnl f suayamndpi ca naiyatiti / kiyathd,pratitya jdyante tatha pratitya vinaSyantifi / aha f pratyaye sati jdyante jafik suarasabhafigurdl3 dharmds tu ete sahetukd ity uktam / f atas tan samklesasvabhdvdn gr-hasthapra.rrajitadharmansahetukan paridipayati / palc;aduaye niiritd hi jantateti dvabhydr.n f gathabhydm avidyatrst d.hetuparidipandt ata\ param paff cabhir / gdthdbhis tam eva saryklesam prabheda tab dsrayatatr hetutah / kdlatas ca samdarsayati f tatra sahetuka dharmlh avidya ydvad vedana sahetukary duhkha{n trud ydvad jaramarana etena trividhar.n klesakarmajanmasamklesaln darsayati maulary lclesaduaf y arytk rtueti / kle(;asapklesat pradhanaklef agraha+ar.nd,arsayati / suayantkrta kriya naiueti karmasamklesasya puna[ ppthagjanarp vacanar.n tatkrtatvad vaicitryasya f tadvipikasya cdcintyatvltt / tatra na svayamkrtaiva kriyd pdpakalydlramitraparopasatnhdras caksanan na parakStaiva purusakardpekqandtf na para euakriydryt karayati / plrvajanmahetvapek qa4at nq bahir uety / ndcthydtmarn anaya gathaya / anitgatasritasamklesasambhavaqr pratyutpannd.titasar.nskirasritasamklesam darsayati f utpanno,pi sarpskdralt tenaiva na vikalpyate 'ndgatarlt tu nirnimittatudn navikalpyate / idam idlpm vd bhavi sy atity anavadhdrartdd anyathahi kalpitam I anyathaiva kaddcid bhavati f atitarp tu uikalpyate nimittakaralid idary caivam cabhud iti / na kevalam anubhltam eva kalpyate / ananubh[tary canagatary vikalpyate vindpi nimittikarela etena kalpandhetukary saryklesary pratyutpannar.n sar.nskdrisrayar.n darsayati / anddimantah saqnskdrd ddii caiuopalabhyata iti / sar.nkl eS asya kdl ar.ndafi ay ati/ anddikaldnugatatvdd abhin avotthipanac ca / atah parar.n vyavadandpakqary darsayati / yathlt parik-syamano vyavadayate / svalakqanato rDpadindry phenapin{ddyupamayEt, sdmanyalakranatah sa4rskptalaksanasamdny6d ekotpat t ist hi t inir odhataya sar.nvptiparamarthasatyatas ca f tathit hi na kascid mohako na ca / moho ndsti pratitya samutpannah

Treatise, the Paramirtha-gdthd Asanga's

343

sar.nvgtydaa moho mohayatity ucyate I yan namuQhasl'dyoni tasmad asau mohary na mohayatiti / paridipayati / Somanaskdrqh tatha hi vijfldnary puqtyddisaryskdropqgamucyate saryv$yd para' marthatas tu nopagacchati / trtuidha matd ity atitdnagataptatyut' panndh I triutdharytcdpi yat karmeti kayddikarma snruam etad qsarygataryx / paraspare4asamadhdndt tatha hi prabhangurd uartamdndk I atitd nakuscit sthitdft | aiAffiftpratyayadhindh cittaln capy anuruartakarTt/ teqdfnyattatsalnprayuktam I atoyathd pulyd:dindr.n saryskarir.rdr.n sailgamo ndsti I tatha tat samprayuktasydpi cittasyeti katharyr tasyopagatatvaqr bhavi-syatiI yad dhi cittain yena saryskarena sar.nprayukta4rvd, i viprayuktar.n vd / na tarp tena f kadicid asar.nprayuktaln va I aviprayuktaln vd va uiprayogo va f bhavati I na ca sarvasya cittasya sar.nprqyogo evar.nparamarthataScittasyopagatatvam asiddham / cittaryxcopagam ucyatef saryv5tyayena karaqena tad darSayati 1 tasmin srotasya uicchinna iti gathnyaTn saryturtikkriyate tu iyam ity upagam ity eqd yathd cdsati kdrake / vedake ca paramdrthatah suoya\nkrtopabhogah sarllttya nirucyate I yatha ca punah sa karoti / sa prativedayate I anyo ueti to vydkriyate I tat paridipayati / paurudparyena cdnyatuAd ii I gifihayd evar.n paramafthatah sviminy asati karake vedake va hetuphalamdtre ca sati codyaparihdrain hetuphaialak$alar.nf tatra cdtmaviparydsar.n / pafrcabhit gitlrabhih paridipayati I tatra yathdtmany asati punarbhavo bhavati / nocchedahl yathd ca hetuto yugapat phalary nabhavatif yatha ca sarvatal] sarvar.nna bhavati / yathd ca yasya hetuvartmanah ucchedo na bhavati I tad ekayd gathaya paridipayar.n6 caturvidhar.ncodyar.nparidip ayati harati / caturbhil: padair yathf,kramaln dvitiyayd. hetuphalalakianafn / tisrbhis tatranatmani hetuphale yathatmadgqtiviparyasah I tat punar dlambanata\ / afuayatab phalatalr hetuta5 ca paridipayati / tasydlarnbanam ekayd gathayaf tac ca pratyatmavedaniyatvam arupitvdnidarsandbhydr.nsd,dhayatyatarkyatvat / rnpa1d hi tarka4d sirtra ukta / 'desanaya a*ayary phalap ca anidarSanatvac ca f parebhyo f dvitiyaya/ bald a6rayastadanya drqtayah phalam hetur.ntstiyayd/ tatra sahajdtmadyqlipiadagrahasvabrjatca tadanuSayaj jayate / parikalpitn tirthikatmadlstih purudbhyasdd iti I sa ca tirthikadrqlih abhyastd bhavati f ayonii;aSceha tarkayati f tadanukular.n vdsaddharmaql paratab Slnoti / ity a6rayamanasikdrdlambanadotaiir parikalpitasyatmadarSanasyotpattir.ndarSayati I atall paratn yathd: tad, dtmadarianaryt / sarnudayanuplrvam dubkham

344

Buddhist Insight

nivartayati / yathd ca tad"duhkham punah sdhainkdrayor dvayor dubkhatayoh karapa4n bhavati / yatba ca moksasya vibacrdhdya bhavati / tat paflcabhir gathabhih paridipita ry f tatra pratiamaya gathayi samudayar.n darsavati/ dvitiyatptiyibhydr.noulrmrasar.nskiraduhkhafrsar.ngrhitam ilay avijfiitnar{r ay au7 tad. n iuei qnaqn krtuti f tenopdti prapaficitam bhavisyami na bhaviqyamity evamadi f niueianam ity dtmabhavaparigrah ary, / tac ca duhkhar.n sarvakalanusaktatvat f rc;arlam,trant apy anupaSantarp I catuithyi yatha duhkham anyayor duhkhavor atrarnkarasyaca pratyayo blravati f paficamya yatha p*nar moksasya vibaddhaya bhavati sarytrrtohas tatra ca(thikah / itariibhydrr-r duhkhatabhyam antikat f sawairagal3 sarvaved.itanugatatva.t sarucce.r{ite kusa/ lakusaidvydkl'te / tasyeclanim iirayavijflanasarygrrritasya duhkhasya sarah.sa-r.pyaqi darsayitva visoqagarp dharmacarltqiy^ 6o;Ftt/ tatra ui.ramani srotdmsi caksuradini pa! paflca gatayall trayo dhitavas ity evamddini ti4r ca dharmacaryary I bandhamoksaparijfraya darSayati I tatra bandhaparijna yad evar.n parijdniti / duhkham eva vyavasyati yo out trritatr sukhito,smiti / atmana4r vyavasyati / sa ca parikalpo ci19!el3 samutthapakas tata eva / dpsterjdtas tajjanako bhavati moksaparijiidm sesa/ bhih pdbhir garhabir.irr paridipay ati saltotpannaniruddhaqn I hi kleiaih kli;lary ntanah sada kresebhyastasya nii.mokso na bhuto yadi klesais sahotpannary na bhauisyati yada tai\ sahanirud/ dham yada tarhi muktam ,cyate tat samciarsayati tad eva I paicdc chuddham utpadyate 'nyatra sucldhanamano jayate f tac ca pfrrvam evasamkii,<tatvad rnuktam ity ucyatef etam evarthary punaf sadhayati I yot kli;larr tad ihatyantdct it,t anayagSthayd tary ca / moksap dvidham darsayati kiefamokqarp vastumok/ ;ary ca f sarvabijasamusadena klesaparik":ayat klesamok qa\n / tatraiva capy asar.nklesad vastumokqary/ yo bhikqavas caksuqi / chandaragas tam prajahita f evary ca tac caksul.r prahi4ar.n bhavigyatiti / sltrapadanyayenaf eva41 sopadhisesary moksarn dar5ayitva nirupadhiSelar.n dar(;ayati pratl,61n.taueclaniy,ataya / f tasyacintyatirp clarsayati I abhavamAtragrahavyudasartham dultkhamctrakscyenopadhiricqapanayary tatai; ca sarvathapy / aprapaiicaniyatvam f anyo vd sah ananyo va bhavati vi f parary maraqan na bhavati vety evamadi / saty api ca banclhe mokse ca I yatha na pucigalo na dharmah sar.nsarativa parinirvati vd tat paridipayati I praudhe pudgaldkhyd syad ity anaya gitthayd I samaptam ca paramarthagdthdn amaptagamavyAkhydnary II

,Asanga's Treatise,the paramdrtha-gdthd

345

TRaNsrauoN oF FaRaviARTHA CoMMrNranyo


-/l

L$t-af adversary to the extremes of affirmation and denial, there are the verses of suprerne Meaning, referring to ..non-selfhood of a person" (pudgalanairdtmya)from the standpoint of supreme rneaning. Among them, the "proprietor,' is of property; .odoer,,, of activities; "feeler," of the latter's effects. By the half-gdtha [la_b] he r;fates the self (dtman) imagined of other meaning. ny sayinj "Althougb all the clharmas are inactive', [1c],herefutes the posses;sion of self by the dhermas. frrereby he removes the extreme of affirrnation.By saying "yet activity evolves" [id), through existence of the dltarmas, he removes the extreme of denial. Here activity is of three kinds: activity of the proprietor, of the d.oer, of the feeler. The proprietor is pointed out by the activity, likewise the doer or feeler. what those dharm{ts are, has not been (so far) stated. Therefore, he saysthe half-verse"The twelve. . . ."f2a-b] so that he may exponnd those personal aggregates (skandha) r,vhich evolve according to the sequenceof the tnembe.s of phenomenal life [i.e. pratityasamtttpddalT;(expound) the sensory object, that is, ..personality aggregates" (skandha), "realms" (dhate, and ,.sense bases" (ayatana);8 and (expound) that the fruitional eye-based. perccption arisesdependently on the eye and formse with exclusion of a subject, tirat is, 'oproprietor,,, .,doer,,' and o.feeler.,,
eQuotations in 1hs ccmnentary of rire gathtis ai'e tier-e identified by the gatha nunrber and by pados,l:ibelcd a through cl. TThe "members of phenomeual life" are the twelve of dependent origination, referred to in gathas Z, 1l-I2. srho f,ve personal agglegates are iisted by similes in gathas 17-1g. The twelve sense bases, six personal (eye, etc.) and six objective (forms, etc.) are listed in gdthas 6-7. The eighteen rearms, mentioned below in the cornmentary, are arrived at by adding six "perceptions" (vijiiana), e.g. perception based on the eye, to the twelve sense bases, making a total of eighteen ihatr. 9Asanga here accepts the ancient doctrine, as in the stock P6li phrase (cf. saryyutta-Nikdya, Pafi LY, salayatana-vagga, 32): I cakkufi ca paticca rupe ca uppajjati cakkhuvififiuryary / "The eye-basedperception arises dependenrly on the eye and form." Note that Asanga admits vijfiana is fruitional. This shows that the frequent translation of the termvijfiana(Pdlivifiiia4a) as .,conssciousncss" badly misses the meaning, since the word .,conscionsness,'is ordinarily used as a faculty independent of and preceding *'con.ciousness of (something)." the function

346

Insight Buddhist

By saying "There is no feeler," he expounds the non-existenceof the feeler in the eighteen realms. It was said, "There is no proprietor"; and he now expounds how there is none with the words, 'person' (pudgala) is not found" "Pondering all those, a [2c-d]. "Pondering" (uicintya) means inspecting by means of the three authoritie s (p r amd4a).1o In the light that there is none, how does he prove the establishrnent of inner and outer ? He says [3a-b] : "Void is all within; void all without." (Thu$ he teaches the mere establishment. How does he prove the establishment of the thing inspected and the inspector ? He says [3c-d] : "Nor exists anyone rvho contemplates voidness." How does he prove the establishmentof the noble one (c\rya) and the ordinary person (prthagjana) ? He says [aa-b] : "For the self is not by way of self; it is imaginedin reverse manner." (Thu$ he teachesthat it is preciselythe self of the noble one andof the ordinary person that is not perfect (parini;panna) by way of their self, but is imagined in reverse manner. How does he prove the establishmentof another and oneself ? He says [4c] : "Here there is no being or 919ry]!" How:{ogqhe prove the ?' establishment of stain (sarykleia) an4 pqdfication (uyauadana) He Jivit4d1 ' "th. se dharmashave their causes"; that is, there,!-s nonfeither stained or-pure. tt-was slated, "Although all the dharmctsare inactive," but it was not stated how they are inactive. Hence hd says [5a-b] : are momentary; how could there be the acti"All the saqnskdra,r o'yet possible activity ?" It was stated, vity of .transient thir-rgs evblves.;' Then, in the light that activity is unreal, how does activity evolve ? He says [5c-d] : "Precisely their arising is the activity as well as the agent." From the standpoint of effect, it is activity; -that from the standpoint of cause, it is the agent. Further-nao{-e, (uiifiana) perception production the of indicates by he arising at the sensebases(ayatana) and by the production of that through accomplishing it in a manner not apart from the eye, and so on. It was stated, "Although all the dharmas are inactive." That inactivity he shows to be sevenfold : {' 10Thethree "euthorities"(pramarya) (pratyak;a), are direct perception
inference (anumatn\, and master lineage (aptagama), as described inAsanga's hetuvidya section of the Yogacarabhtimi, a section I have translated ("Rules of Debate") for inclusion in a separate work.

Asanga'sTreatise,the paramdrtha-githa

347

l. Inactivity of agent, by [Gatha 6] "Neither does the eye see f o r m. . . . " 2. rnactivity of obedient evolving, by (Gatha 7) ..And these have neither controller nor instigator', for which they would make obedient evolving in proper order-because of the nonexistence of the proprietor and the doer. ..Another 3. Inactivity of generator, by the words does [ga] not engenderthis." ..Nor 4. Inactivity of generation, by the words is it engen[Bb] dered of itself." .,Entities 5. Inactivity of transmigration, by the words [gc-d] arise dependently. They are not old, but ever new.,, 6. Inactivity of destroyer, by the words [9a] ..Another does not destroy this." 7. Inactivity of destruction, by the worcls [9b] ..Nor is it destroyed of itself." Is it the case that as they arise dependently, so are they destroyed dependently ? He says [9c-d] : "when there is the condition, things arise . and, having arisen, they are perishable, by their own essence." It was stated, "These dharmas have their causes." Hence he (norv) expounds the dharmas,having the nature of stain, of householder and monk, with their causes, by expounding the nescience,,creatures craving causesby means of tr,vogdthas [ncs. 10, 1l] : lie in trvo categories.. . . " Moreover, by means of five gathds [nos. l2-16], he shorvsthis stain in varieties : thatof basis(diraya), cause (hetu), and time (kale. Among them [l2a-b], the clharmas possessed of causesare [the seven,viz.] nescience(auidya) through feeling (uedand); the suffering possesseclof causes is [the five, viz.l craving (trsud) through olcl age and death (iarimaroaro),. Thereby he shows the three kinds of stain (sarykteia): defilement (kleia), action (karma), and birth (ianma). with the words [l2c] "since one has created the two fund.amentaldefilements,,he shows the chief defilement object by way of 'defilement stain' (kteiasarytkleia). with the words [13a] "The activity is not created by self" (he shows) furthermore the ordinary-person parlance of "action stain" (karma-satTtkteia)that is manifold by way of what was (formerly) done and has its maturation in an inconceivable

348

Buddhist Insight

way.ll Here the activity "not created by self?' is what is brought about by others-sinful and beneficial friends, through advice; that "not created by another" is with reference to human effort. The words Ii3c] "Another (life) does trot causethe activity" refer to a cause from a preceding1ife.12 With another gdthd [no. 14] he shows the non-origination of stain that is based on the future and of stain that is based on "Even rvhen satflskdra has arisen" present and past saqnskdra,t. [15a] it is not thereby imagined; the "future" one [15c], because "devoid of sign," is not imagined. Since therc is no assurance of the type, "This, or similar will occur," it sometimeshappens in one way r,vhile imagined in another way. "One imagines the past" [15d] through making a sign expressing"So this arose." Not only the experiencedis irnagined [see 16a-b], but also the unexperienced future is imagined without sign construct. Thereby he shows the stain which is the cause of imagination to be With present as the basis (diraya) of motivations (sarytskdra). a Still, beginningless. are the vrords [6c-dl "The soqnskclras reason of beginning is found," he shorvs tlr.e time of stain, by time and by reason of generatingit following it for beginningless anew. Nor.r, he shou's the category of purification. In the same v,'ay as one purifies by inspecting from tfuestandpoints of conventional and absolute truth, that is, (by inspectiirg) forrnations and so on from tire standpoint of individual characteristic (sualak;a4a) by the similes of "himp of foam," and the iike [GAthA 171te and (by inspecting) the generality of constructed characteristic from the standpoint of generalizing characteristic (sdmanyalak.ra7a)by "like arising, abiding, and perishing" lcatha 18]. So also [Gathas lg-2O]-there is no deluder at all; there is no rrThis remarkmay referto the popularusage of the wordkarma,as when
peopiespeakOf "my kormo," and "your kertna," as though the unpredictable resultsrnu:t h.avebeen due to the different actions of former lives, not of the presentlife. 12In the casesof the human effort and causefrom a previous life, Asanga accepts the usual Indian terminology of "human effort" (puru;akdra), but o'callsefrom a previous life" (pilrvaianmahetu)for the usual daiva substitutes (fate, or u'liat is due to the gods). 13For Asanga'sexplanationsof these similes, cf. Wayman, "Secret of the Heart Siltre," place with n. 22.

Asanga's Treatise, the Paramdrtha-githa

34g

delusion arisen dependently, and one says (only) by convention that delusion deludes; hence, the unmethoclical mental orientation of one not free from delusion he expounds with tire words "It (i.e. delusion) does not deludo delusion" [19a]So also lcatha 21]-by convention it is said trrat perception evolves after motivations (sarpskdra) neritorious, and so on, but from an absolute standpoint it does not evolve. "Herd to be threefold" means past, future, and present. "And lvhichever be the threefold karma," that is, karma of body, and so on,14 ,,all that is disjoined" for the reason of mutual unlike receptacle (asama-dhdna)So also lcatha 22-26]-"rhe present ones are disintegrating; those of the past abide nowhere; the unborn depend on conditions; and the mind evolves accordingly" [Githa 22], associated with them, as the casemay be. still, inasmuch as there is no joining of the motivations meritorious, and so forth, howcan themind associatedtherewith evolve accordingly ? Since the mind is either associatedor dissociated with a motivation, it is neither entirely unassociated nor entirely undissociated with it. And not all mind has either association or dissociation. Thus, from an absolute standpoint, there is no proof that mind evolves accordingly. By convention "it is said that mind evolves accordingry" [23d], for which reason he sh.owsthat. In the gdthd lno. 24l "Again, the stream has. . . . disruption," the vzords "this convention works" mean "evolves accordingly." while the doer and. feeler is unreal from the absolute standpoint, "The self-done is declarecl 'fruit-eating"' lin 25c-d] by convention. Moreover, how that creates, experiences,and is not determined as different he sets forth by the gdtha [no. 26]'o...through <iifference of priority and posteriority. ." Thus, while frorn an absolute standpoint the proprietor is unreal, iikewise the doer or feeler; and, while causeand-result-only is real, the characteristic of cause-aird-effect removes objections. And among those (gdthds), he expounds the delusion of seif (dtman) with five gdthas [nos. 27-31]. F{ere, (a) how, while the seif is unreal, rebirth occlrrs undisrupted; (b) how ttre effect does not occur simultaneously with the cause; (c) how nothing at all occurs; and (d) how its courseof causesis not disrupted;-setting
laThe reference is to karma of body, of speech, and of mind.

350

Buddhist Insight

forth that rvith one gdtha (no. 27), he sets forth and removes a fourfold objection with four pddas in sequence.With the second (Getha 281 he sets forth the characteristic of cause-and-fruit. With three (Gathds 29-31) he sets forth how, whiie cause-fruit is without self, there is the delusion of self-view (dtmadrili); and that he sets forth from the standpoints of consciousness-support (dlambana), basis (diraya), fruit {phala), and cause (hetu). With the first gdthd lno. 291 he proves its consciousness-supportwhat is to be known of one's own self since it is formless and invisible; namely, since it is non-rational; in the siltra "conception of form" (rupand) was declared "rational" (tarkaaru); and since it is invisible : through non-display to others. With the second lcatha 30] he sets forth the basis (diraya) and the fruit (phala) : the immature are the basis; other (false) views are the fruit. With the third [GathA 3l] he setsforth the cause (hetu). In that (verse), it is generated from the self seed-the natural coherence of the self-view, which is its traces (anuiaya). "As a result of the former habitual practice," there is the irnagined heretic view of self. Not only is that heretic view habitually thought, but also one unmethodically reasons in this world. Or one hears from another a non-illustrious doctrine consistent therewith. Thus he shorvs the origination of the imagined view of self by the faults of basis, mental orientation, and consciousness support. Now, with five gdthos [nos. 32-361he sets forth how that view of self arouses suffering following upon its source; how that suffering then becomes the reason for two kinds of misery (duftkhatd) accompanied by egohood; and hor.vit becornesan obstacle for release. Among them, with the first giithd [no. 32] he shows the source (of suffering). With the second and third [Gathas 33-341he shorvsthe store-consciousness (dlayauijiidna) that incorporates the suffering-(dultkha) and motivation-(samskara) miseries (dultkhata).tu That is to say, 'oHaving (formerly) made an abode, it undertakes the (verbally) elaborated" (33c-d]-"I shall be," "I shall not be," and so forth. "Abode" means the lsThere kindsof "misery"(duhkhafi) arethree foundin theancient Buddhist (cf. Sarytyutta-Nikaya, scriptures Part IV, Saldyatana-Vagga,259), the two that Asanga mentions plusthe as incorporated by the "storeconsciousness"

o'misery of change" (vipariqtdmadukkhata). Ferhaps the "misery of change" is incorporated by what the Yogdcdra philosophy calls the "evolving consciousness" (pravytti-vijfiana).

Asariga's Treatise, theparamirtha-gathi

351

possessionsof the ernbodim ent (dtmabhaua). And that suffering, by reason of adhering to it in all time, "is not appeasedeven for a moment" [34d]. with the fourth lcatha 35] he shows how suffering becomes the condition for two other sufferings [or, miseriesl as well as for egohood. wirh the fifth lcatha :01 rr. shows that it then becomesan obstaclefor release. ..There is the remaining delusion" [36c], because closeto the other two miseries; "proceeding everywhere," because following after all feelings; "to every activity," that is, to virtue, non-virtue, and the indeterminate. Now, having shown [Gatha 37] that this suffering comprised by the store-consciousness compares with a lake, he shows its drying up: just "the practice of the Dharma," for drying it. In that (verse), "unbearable streams" means the six (senses) of eye, and so on, the five destinies,the three realms, and so forth.16 He shows that practice of the Dharma by complete knowledge of bondage and release.Among these, there is complete knowledge of bondage when one so recognizes:he ascertainsit as just suffering. But [38b] he who thinks "r am happy," when he has ascertainedhimself as suffering, has an imagination that arouses a (false) view; and (imagination) born of just that (false) view is a generator of that (view). He setsforth the complete knowledge of releasein the remain_ ing six gathds [nos. 39-44]. "The defiled mind always arises and ceases together rvith defilements" [39a-b]. ,,Its release" from defilements"has not occurred" [39c] rvhen it arises together rvith defilements,and "will not" [39d] rvhen it ceasestogether with them. The time when it is called "freed" [40d], he shows that : just that later arisespure. At another time, the pure minci arises; and precisely that, by reason of its prior non-stain, is called "freed." Moreover, he proves precisely this meaning by the gdthd [n o .4 1 ] " T hat whic h wa s d e fi ]e d , h e re i n th e e n d ...., , And that release he shows lcatha 42] to be of two kinds : reieasefrom defilements (kleiamokpa) and release from materials (uastumokrc). There is releasefrom defllements by destroying all
five destiniesare the gods (deva)and men (manu;a); and evil destiny(durgati) consistingof the animals (tiryagyoni), hungry ghosts (preta), and hell denizens (noraka). The three realms are the realm of desire (kamadhatu), the realm of form (rupa-dhatu), and the formless realm (arupadhatu).

16The six personal sense bases were previously listedin gathas 6-7. The

352

Buddhist Insight

seeds as a consequenceof ending defilement; and in the same place, as well, there is releasefrom materials as a consequence of no stain. The sutra says : "O monks, whatever be the sensuous lust in the eye, abandon that ! So also wiil the eye disappear." ltt In the manner of that text he thus shows the releaservith rernaining basis and then shows the one without remaining basis. Becauseit is "what is to be known of one's own self" lno.43al he shows the inconceivability of that (release)so as to elirninate the positing of mere absence. He sholvsthe removal of the remaining basisby "elimination of sufferingonly" [no. 43b]. As a consequence, he shows the condition with nothing at all to be (verbally) elaborated; for example, "He becornesdifferent, or not different, or beyond death does not exist," and so on. Furthermore, he sets forth how, while there is bondage and release, no "person" (pudgala) or 'onature" (dharma) revolves or is allayed lin pariniruapal; namely, with the gdtha lin sar.nsaraf 441 " term'person' (pudgala) means'continuousstream.. . "' The lno. The explanation of the master lineage named Paramarthagdthd thus ends.

17A similar statemgnt occurs in Sa4tyutta-Nikaya, Part IV (SoldyatanaVagga), 7: I yo cakkusmiry chandaragavinayo chandarogapahanam I idarn calckussa nissaranarp | "That restraint of sensuous lust, that elimination of the sensuous lust in the eye-that is the way of release from the eye."

l8
ASANGA'S TREATISE ON THE THREE INSTRUCTIONS OF BUDDHISM

The sanskrit title of this treatise Abhtprdyikartha_gdthd signifies the gdthd set on the meaning of what was intended, or iiplied (in the Buddha's teaching). It seems that the word gdthd is here used for verses that summarize sutra teachings about the three instructions in a way to bring out the sutralntentions_which perhaps amounts to the school called Sautrdntika. Thus, these gathd are not pieced together as were the poramdrtha_gdthd that immediately precede the present set in the cintdmayi Bhumi of the Yogdcdrabhumi, but are presumably the author,s own composition. There are fifty-one gdthd, first one for Brahma,s question, then fifty for the Bhagavat's reply. These verses on the three instructions are among the same intrusive folios from which I drew the paramdrtha-gdthd. r edited the gdthd both from the separate verses and. from the partially extant commentary, which cites each of the verses.l Some bad places in the manuscript of the gdthd required. reconstructions of a few terms. t'the gathaandcommentary areon plates 3A-Bandl5A-B of the Sravakabh*mimanuscript, a description of whichmay befoundinwayman,Anarysis of the sravakabhumi Manuscript (1961). The extant commentary (at least onefolio is missing) goesfrom the beginning downthroughciting verse g; it resumes with the commentary on verse30 and continues through verse 51.

354

Buddhist Insight

that are italicized.2 I add my translation including commentarial xcerpts. One verse that deservesspecial mention is no. 38 : "One should not adhere to one's own view, discarding the old lineage (paurd1tam dgamam). .." This verse supports a conclusion I made long ago in my Analysis of the SrquqlcqbhumiManuscript, p. 29, that when Asanga was converted, according to the legend, to the Mahdydna, he did not forget or reject the four Agama (sometimes called "Hinayana"). The verses also prove that Asanga is a "moralist," and believed that the three instructions-of Morality, Mind Training, and Insight-were prornulgated for the monks, not for laymen. He evidently considered that of the three instructions it was the morality one that needed the most exposition. Of course, Asanga does not neglect the other instructions. His Paramdrtha-gdthd emphasizes the instruction of insight, and his following extended section in the Yogdcdra' bhumi-the Sartdrtha-gdthd-deals much with Mind Training. atha khalu I tatra abhiprayikafthagathdvyavasthanatah // brahmd sahirypatir yena bhagavdrys tenopasarykranta upasar.nkramya bhagavatab pddau Sirasi vanditvd ekinte nyalid(ad) ekintanipalno brahmi sahir.npatir bhagavantaln gathabhigitena praSnar.nprcchati sma f (l) {2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) Sik;asupiramipraptah sarvasar.nSayandsakta\ / Sikqim udglhite pf$Io ydnuSik+d suSikqaAn// adhi5ilam adhicittam adhiprajflam ca mari;a / tisrah Siksdh samasena Srrru yd td su5ikqaqLa // bhavet qa{angasar.npannaS cittasthitisukhdnvita\ / catursu caturdkdra(h) jflanaSuddhah sadd bhavet l/ supratisthitamllab yaS cittasyopa6ame rata\ / samyuktavyd visamyuktavya drqtyadptyaryanarya /l adi5uddho dhydnantab satye ca kuSalo bhavet / utpddayed (vi)varjayed brryhayet satyam eva ca /f Sikqdpadequvidyante catasro gatayas trisu / vivarjayitvd dvigati dvigati samudinayet // dve dvayapratyupasthdne ekd nirvdtagdmini / anupfrrvopanisadabhinnasarybhinnabhavita / /

2Thereconstructions in 16, vyalambana; in 25, civarasarptu;ta; in 49. possibly prihi-are certain; while in 29. ca yacitavyarTt-is not the original term.

Asanga'sTreatiseon the Three Instructions of Buddhism

355

(8) nirkaukrtyo bhaved ddau paScdc ca sukhit o yatah f ddydsau sarvaSikqa{rir.n yatra Sikseta parygita(\) // (9) yato viSodhaye jfrdnar.n Sucotpattisukhanvita\ / madhydsau sarvaSikqanam yatra Sikseta paqgitah // (10) yato vimocayec cittatn prapaflca(m) ca nirodhayet / Sreqthdsausarvasiksapdr.n yatra sikqeta paaditah l/ (11) aSuddhagdmini pratipat tathd sugatigamini / ddyd pratipad ukteyary sa ca niskevald mald // (12) viSuddhagdmini pratipad na sarvatyantagAmiii / madhyi pratipad ukteyary ndpi niskevala matd l/ (13) vi6uddhagdmini pratipat sarvatyantagamini / Srqthd pratipad ukteyarir sa naivadvayakevall // (14) Sikseta yo na Sikqetaubhau tau pa4{itau matau f sikqeta yo na sikqeta ubhau tau balau sarymatau ff (15) parigrahaparityagdd dautthulyapagamat tathd / pratyakqatvdc cajfreyasya sikrddinam tridhi bhavet // (16) sdlamband v(ydtambana) slkqmoddrikasar.nhird / sdmdddnaprdvivekyaghoqadbhogasar.nh rA / / (17) eka ekd bhavec chiksd sadvitiyd paro bhavet f ekasydtmd tltiyaiva td budhah samatikramet // (18) ahrastaSilah SiksAt(sa)pratijf,eyagaro bhavet / agarhitasamdcdralt paf,casthdnavivarjitab // (19) anapattaye vyutthdtd niskaukrtyo ,tha kaukrtya / Sikqam agamayet tatra pratipadyeta bhdvatas // Q0) pratydkhydnar.n na kurvita jivitdrthar.n na nalayet / pratipattau sthito nityar.n pravrttavinayo bhavet // pratijf,aan Sodhayer pfrrvam djivam api SodhayetI QL) antadvayar.n varjayitvd praqidhd,nary vivarj ayet // (22) antarayakardn dharma(n) ndbhigrdhyet karhary cana f cittakpobhakardn dharmdn urpannd(n) nadhivasayet /i (23) natilino ndtisltalr sadd supasthitasmitih / maulasamantakaiir Suddham brahmacaryar.n bhaved api // Q4) bhaved drabdhaviryaS ca nityar.n d1{hapar akramah / niqevati pramddarp ca paflcingasuprati;thitayn // Q5) bhavet salnchannakalyir.rah tathd vivltapdp aka\ / lDhena vd pranitena (ciuarasarptu;!)AdinA // Q6) alpena vartayed mdtr6r.n 1[hen6pi ca vartayet f dhttdn gutdn samdddydn samarthar.nkle5ava{ita\ // Q7) syid irydpathasar.npanno mdtrdp kurydt pratigrahe / tadarthar.n kalpitdm irydr.n kurydn naiva katha$ ca na //

356

Insight Buddhist

(28) atmands ca gu+an bhutdn na ldpen ndpi liryayet / tdn gur:rin atha cdrthitvary nimitteria na datsayet /f (29) pares[m antikdt kramin na yacfrary ca ydcitauydry f dharmenopagatary labham ldbheneha na sar.ncayet // (30) labham naivdbhigldhyeta satkdratn ca kathar.n cana f drqtiS ca nibhinivi6et samaropapavd,dikar$/l (31) lokdyatdr.nstathd mantrdt nirarthan na paramlSet / apdrthary dhdrayen naiva utsadar.n pdtracivara\n // (32) Brhasthaih sahasar.nsargamna kurydt klesavarddhanar.nI' kuryaj jfldnaviSodhanary // dryais tu sahasar.nsargar.n (33) kurydn mitrakular.n naiva Sokavydkgepakdraka\n / duhkhasya janakdn klesan utpannd(n) nddhivdsayet /l (34) Sraddhndeyatnna bhufljita kathar.n cic ca ksatavratah / pratyikhydnarn na kurvita saddharmasya kathatn cana/f' (35) paresary skhalite do$e andbhogasukhi bhavet / jffdtvd: vivlScaydt puna\ // dtmanah skhalitam doqar.n (36) dpattir.n ca tathapanno yatha dharmar.n prakalpayet f tatheti kara4iyesu svayar.nkdri patur bhavet // (3i) buddhd,nd:r.n Srd.vakdndm ca anubhdvar.n ca desanary f' 'vadyadar5i ca ndbhyacakpita satvatha Srdddho // (38) sugambhiresu dharmesu atarkavacare$u ca / paura4am igamaln tyakqvo svadrltir.n na par4myiet /[ (39) vyavakpqtavihari syit prdnte hi Sayanasane / ku5aldn bhavayed dharmdn d1{haviryaparakrama\ // (40) acchadrikaS chadrajito apradusto vidl$alah / nirmiddhaS caiva middhi ca kale Sinto na ca stfutah // 'tha ca kdnkqati (41) niskaukl'tyalr sakaukrtyo nihkdmkqvo / sarvatha sarvada yukto bhavet samyakprayogavdn// (42) nudano bodhanaS caiva tathd samyojanopatah f naimittika snehanaS ca tatha vilasanoparuh // (43) nispidanas ca paramah snehanah kalpa ucyate f kdmaragasya janakas tam budhah pativatjayet ff (44) atrptikarakdh kdmd bahusddhdralds tathd / adharmahetavaScaiva tatha trqna(m) vivarddhakd\ // (45) satdry (vi)varjaniyds ca ksiprar.n vilayagdminab / pratydyeqv aSritalr kamdh pramadasya cabhnmaya\ /f (46) karanka-sadlSd:h kamdh malnsapesyupamdstatha / tr4olkisadr6ds caiva tatha agniSikhopamA\ l/ caiva tatha svapnopamil.r punah / (47) aSiviqopamdS ydcflydlar.nkdrasadlSds tatha vskqaphalopamdh //

A,sanga's Treatiseon the Three Instructions of Buddhism

357

evar.n kdmdn paijnaya nabhigrdhyet katham carLa f saddharmar.nSrtu yo nityar.n cintayed bhivayed api // {49) Sdnto ddrikadar6i prag yavan aikdntiko bhavet / prthi yo kle6adauqthulyam prahd4e carato bhavet // (50) mimatmakah sydn nimitte prayogaparamo bhavet / kurydc ca kamavairigyar.n rDpavairagyam eva ca ff (51) satyabhisamayam kurydt sarvavairagyam eva ca f dftte dharme ca nirvayat tatha upadhi(r.n) saryksayifi // For the following translation of the gdthd,I have selectedportions of Asanga's commentary to go with relevant versesor verse groups. since half of the sanskrit commentary is missing, it is practical to add commentarial remarks from the Tibetan version.g However, the extant Sanskrit portion was consulted for editing the verses,and will be cited in a few placesof the commentarial remarks. Then, you should know, Brahmi Sahaqnpati went there where was the Bhagavat, and having bowed with his head to the feet of the Bhagavat, went to one side; and remaining at one side Brahmd sahdrypati put a question to the Bhagavat by reciting a verse : (1) You have been perfected in the Instruction and have cleared all doubt. whatever be the training and the points of instruction, pray tell how one embracesthe Instrnction ! (commentary advancesthe vieri' that in considerationof persons being fearful of too many rules and tending to raziness,the Buddha presentedthe Instructions compactly as three kinds :)a (2) Exalted friend, Morality, Mind Training, and Insight are the three Instructions in short. Listen, what be the training ! (3) one should be equipped with the six members (of uroralation from the sino-Japanese versions of the text in the yogucarabhumi, namely, chinese trans., T30 [no. 1579i, pp. 365-67;Japairese trans., Kokuyaku Daizokyd, Rombo 6, pp. 462-82. Asanga'sfurther commentarialremarks make it clear that he has in mind the Brahma sutras of the sarltyuktagama (in pali, the sa4tyutta-Nikdya, i, 136-138), with the implication that since personsare of widely different character and ability, there should be an appropriate teaching for the lazy person as well as for the enterprising one.

(48)

3. Besides, nlY wife Hideko gavesomevaluable suggestions for thetrans-

358

Buddhist Insight

lity), endowed with the pleasure of mind-fixation; and the four kinds among the four should ah,vayspurify knowledge. The six menbers are: l. one$remains in possession of morality; 2. is restrainedby the Pratimoksa vow; 3. has perfection of good behavior (dcdrasarytpannah);4. has the perfection of lawful resort (gocarasarltpannalt); 5. views fearfully the major and minor sins; 6. rightly takes and learns the "points of instruction" (iiksapada). The Instruction of Mental Training is fixation of mind (cittasthiti) of four kinds, namely the four kinds of Dhyina; its pleasure by way of beatific dwelling of present life. The Instruction of Insight is the purification of knorvledge by the four kinds for each of the four Noble Truths. (4) (Namely, respectively,) a) have what is the well-established basis; b) have joy in the pacification of mind; c) take on the nobie right view and leave off the ignoble wrong view. (5) He should be pure from the outset; have the pleasure of Dhydna; and should have skill in truth, to wit, he should (respectively) generate, eliminate, and promote truth. He should generate the truth of path; should eliminate the truths of suffering and source of suffering; should promote the truth of cessationby cessation of defllement whettrrerminor, rniddling, or great. (6) When there are ti'le ttrree "points of instruction," there are the four destinies,to wit, having warded off two destinies, one should acquire two destinies. He should ward off two destinies, the bad destiny (durgati) and the good destiny (sugati) of the realm of desire; and should acquire two destinies, the "upper" destiny of the realm of form and formless reaim, and the Nirvana destiny. (7) Two are based on two; one is the Nirv64a-road. One should cultivate th.embecoming in sequencea basis, unmixed and mixed. Of the two, Instruction of Morality and Instruction of Mind Training, the first one, Instruction of Morality, is the basis for both the Instruction of Mind Training and trnstruction of trnsight. The second, middling one, the Instruction of Mind Training, is the basis for the Instruction of Insight and that part of the Ins-

Asanga'sTreatiseon the Three Instructions of Buddhism

359

truction of Morality as pertains to the "restraint of meditation." The best one, namely, the Instruction of Insight, is the road to NirvAna. One should cuitivate them unmixed (abhinna), i.e. consistent respectively, and mixed (sarpbhinna),i.e. consistent in leading to the goal.5 (8) Wherein the wise one trains, that one should be at first without regret, next happy-this is the first of all instructions. In sequence,be without regret through the Instruction of Morality; and be happy through the Instruction of Mind Training. (9) Wherein the wise one trains, whereby knowleclge is for purification and one has pleasure in arousing purity-this is the middling one of all instructions. The Instruction of Mind Training especiallypromotes the root of virtue (kuiala-mula). (10) Wherein the wise one trains, whereby one would liberate the mind and destroy verbal elaboration-this is the best one of all instructions. This refers to the Instruction of Insigirt. (11) The path said to be first, nameiy the impure way, likewise the way to good destiny-this is held to be by itself (keuala). Through failure of the Instruction of Morality, there is the impure way rvhich is the way to bad destiny. Through adherence to the Instruction of Morality, there is the rvay to good destiny. And either one is accomplishedby one instruction alone. (12) The path said to be middling, namely the path which is the pure way and not the final way-this is held to be not by itself. This path is pure of the defilements of the realm of desire. But it is not free from the defilementsof the realm of form and formslt appears that the "unmixed"exposition oi the threeInstructions is presented in thefollowing gatha nos.8-10, since thethreeare defined individually withoutreference to theothers. Likewise, it appears that the'omixed', exposition is presented in gatha nos.11-13, since thethree aie explained in terms of "peth" and in consideration of whetherthey are lrevala (by thenrelves).
Hence, the Tibetan translation of the two terins as .so .r, "respective,' for the abhinna, anrl.'dren mo "guiding" for the sarybhinna. This information can be added to Franklin Edgerton's Buddhist Hybrid sanskrit Dictionary, p. 5g0-

360

Buddhist Insight

less realm, becauseit has not erased the tracps (anuiaya) of sensuous lust. It is not the flnal way, since by itself, i.e. without the first and the best (instructions),it does not fulfil. (13) The path said to be best, namely the path which is the pure way and the final way-this is not by itself, i.e. not without the two. The way freeing from all defilements of the three worlds and finishing off the traces, is not accomplished without the prior two (instructions) or by itself. (1a) The one who trains and the one who doesn't train, both those are held to be wise (pa4{ita). The one who trains and the one who doesn'ttrain,both those are held to be fools (bate. The one The not one who trains rightly with the three Instructions, and the rvho does not train in a wayward manner, is the wise one. one who trains in a wayward manner, and the one who does train rightly, is the fool.

(15) The taking of the Instruction is threefold by way of a) renouncing possessions,b) elirninating contaminations, c) and direct perception of the knowable. Possessions are home, wife, etc. contamination s (dau;trhulya) are the discordant elements lo samddhi. The knowable are the four Truths. The versepoints to the three Instructions in their order. (16) They are accompaniedwith meditative object or devoid of meditative object, are subtle or coarse; and are accomplished by rightly taking, solitude, word, and bent. The trnstruction of Morality does not have a defined meditative object; the other two do have; thus the Instruction of Morality is "coarse," the other two "subtle." The Instruction of Morality is accomplished by rightly taking; the Instruction of Mental Training, by solitude of body and mind; the Instruction of trnsight, by the word of another and the bent (abhoga) of rightly orienting the mind within. (17) one Instruction (the first) is a single one. The Instruction with a second one is the subsequentone. The third Instruction is the nature of one. The wise person should surmount those.

."Asanga's Treatiseon the Three Instructions of Buddhism

361

The Instruction of Morality is single. But.the Instruction of Mental Training needs a second one, the rnstruction of Morality. The Instruction of Insight shourd not lack those two. The one "beyond training" (aiaik;a)and the Arhat have surmounted those three Instructions. (18) His morality should not fall away from the Instruction; he should be possessed of the vow; he should not condemn good behavior; and he should avoid flve places. The Instruction is that of Morality. The vow is the prdtimokqa. Not condemning good behavior, he does not lose good behavior. The monk adheres to proper resort by avoiding five places, to wit, the royal palace, butcher shop, liquor shop, prostitute quarters, house of outcast. (19) when he regrets that he cannot again sin, he should rise with no regret. one should rely on the Instruction and practice therein sincerely. He should view fearfully the major and minor sins, and rightly .take the "points of instruction." (20) one should not repud.iateit; not lose it even for life's sake; should always be stationed in the endeavor; should be involved with the discipline (uinaya). These in order are the four o'roots" : permanenceof morality; firmness of morality; no interruption of it; staying in it ,oniinuously. (21) one should purify his former vow, and should also purify his life. Having eliminated the two extremes,he should reject the (wrong) aspiration. The two extremesare indulgencein sensedesiresand ascetic auste.rity. He should reject the (wrong) aspiration for heaven, for this .constitutes merely the pure Instruction of Morality. (22) one should not at all hanker after natures that create obstacles. one should not acquiesce in natures that have already arisen that disturb the mind. (23) with mindfulness always present, he is neither overreiaxed nor overly spirited (in mind). His pure conduct (bral'rmacarya) is purified by the main part and threshold (of .the four Dhydnas).

362

Insight Buddhist

Q$ He should begin his striving and always have a steadfast forward step by staying close to heedfulnessthat is well based in five members. Striving means the kind that is armored and does not retreat from the praxis. Staying close to heedfulness shows distinguished purification of the Instructions. The fi.ve members of heedfulness are of 1. past,2. future, 3. present-time, 4. action (with from previous (striving), 5. practice in conformity striving). (25) He should be reserved about his virtues and confess his. sins; be satisfied with his religious garb, etc. whether inferior or fine. (26) He should abide the amount, even small; and abide it, even inferior. Rightly adopting the virtues of a purified man, he should eliminate defllements for the purpose of calming. (27) He should be possessed of dignified posture, and should be judicious in acquisition. On that account, he should in no case ever assume artiflcial postures. (28) One should not say one's own merits are real, or induce' someoneto say it. Besides,one should not reveal those merits by signs in terms of desired objects. (29) One should not ask for alms forcefully in the presence of others. When what was received came righteously (with dharma), one should not speak badly of what was received.G (30) One should not hanker in any way for receiving things. or for respect. One should not cling to views that over-emphasize or under-value. (31) One should not adhere to the meaningless mantras of the Lokiyatas.T One should not uselessly bear the begging bowl and religious garb in excess. 6Asto "should speak badly"for the reading satncayet, both Tibetanand in the agree on the rendition.While this readingis definitely Sino-Japanese it shouldbe understood manuscript, as thoughavaiatpsiyat. ?Asariga in the ancient docsnot employthe nameLokdyata sense of the but ratherin his commentary school, hereas a term of disrespect materialist that are bad (kuiastra)with bad views for authorsof worldly treatises
(kudr;ti), referred to in the gatha as "meaninglessmantrA.s." To adhere to preventsthe disciplefrom getting rid ofthe five upddanaskandha, such treatises (grasping aggregates).

of Buddhism Asanga's Treatise on the ThreeInstructions

363

One should not wear the religious garb and begging bowl in excessso as to receive material things and respect. (32) One should not associate with householders, who promote defilement. One should associatewith the nobles, who purify knowledge. (33) One should not make residence rvith friends who cause grief and distraction. One should not tolerate the defilements that have already arisen that generate suffering. (34) One who has lost his vow should not utilize in any case what is to be gained by faith. One should not repudiate in any case the illustrious Dharma. (35) Should one have thoughtless pleasure in a stumbling fault of others, he should reflect upon his own stumbling fault and in turn confess it. (36) According as an offence has occurred, one should apply the appropriate Dharma (right act). The wise person should involve himself in duty for the matter concerned. (37) With faith in the power and teaching of the Buddhas and their disciples (irduakas), one should never blame by noticing faults. (38) One should not adhere to one's own view, discarding the old lineage (paurdltam dgamam) regarding the profound doctrines (dhsrma) which are not in the range of iogic.s (The gatha-s 18-38 present various aspectsfor purifying the Instruction of Morality). (39) Should he be dwelling in solitude, using a resting cot in the outskirts, he should contemplate virtuous natures, with steadfast forward step of striving. So as to fulfill the praxis, he has solitude of body and mind, a resting cot concordant with his samadhi. Contemplating only virtuous natures, he is not oppressed by secondary defllements such as "fading" (laya) and "scattering" (auddhatya) (of the meditative object). This is a special means of the Instruction of Mind Training. (40-41) Should he, having been without longing, have longBThe phrase "not in the range of logic" is a frequent one in Buddhist scriptures, starting with the Brahmajala-sutta,para. 28.

364

Buddhist Insight

ing arise; having not blamed, be blaming; been not sleepy, at this time sleepy; not abiding with calm; been without regret, now regretting; been without lusts, now lusts,-he should get yoked in every way at all times, possessed of the right praxis. This means he must purify his mind from the five hindrances : 1. sensuouslust, 2. ill-will; 3. torpor and sleepiness; 4. mental wandering and regret; and 5. doubt. This right praxisistheright Instruction of Mental Training. (42-43) "stirring" and "awakening"; likewise being fettered; grasping sign-sourcesand passion; also given to multiple pleasures; being 'opressed,"and sensual climax-are called "irnagination" (kalpa), the generator of sensuouslust (kdmaraga). This a wise man should thoroughly eliminate. There are eight kinds of such imagination : 1. "stirrin g" (nudana) is any imagination that instigatesthe mind along with an improper mental orientation in a sensual object Qtudanouikalpah yo rafijaniye uastuni / ayoniio manaskdra sanxprayuktai ca cittasya prerakalr). 2. "awakening" (bodhana) is the being attended with awakening enrvrapment oi lust toward precisely that object (bodhanalryat tasminn eua uqstuni prabuddhardgaparyauasthdnasaryxprayuktait). 3. being fettered (satTtyojana) is the seeking for precisely that object (samyojanas tasyaiu(t uastunaitparyeSakal). 4. grasping sign-sources (naimittika) apprehendsvarious pleasant signs in precisely that object (naimittikas tasminn eua uastuni uicitrqiublrunimittagrdhakah). 5. passion (snehana) is the clinging to this object when it is obtained (snehanaltprapteh tasmin aastuni adhyauasanasorylprayuktalt). 6. given to multiple pleasures (uilasana) is the engagement from various sides in multiple sensuous enjoyment in that object (uilasanai ca tasminn eua uastuni uicitraparibhogdbhild;andndntukhapraurttak).7. being pressed (ni,rpidana)is rvhat is at the tirne when two unite the two sexual organs (ni.rpidanal1 yo duayaduuyendriyasamdpatt ikale). 8. sensual climax (porama-snehana) is what is at the time of sexual discharge (paramosnehanahf J)o dsrauiuipramok;akale)s. eWhile this sequence ofeightisexplicitlystatedintermsofsexual attraction and union, a generality for the process of addictionmay also have been intended.

Asanga's Treatise on theThreeInstructions of Buddhism

365

(44-45) Desires are not satisfied, and have many cohorts; likewise cause bad conduct (adharma) and promote craving (tf;rtd).They should be avoided by illustrious persons and quickly brought to destruction. Desires are based on conditions (pratydya), and are the stagesof heedlessness. (Commentary indicates that one sees the trouble of desires and avoids them by the eight identifications of the verses 44-45). (46-48A) Desires are like bones, like a piece of meat, like a torch of hay, like a peaked fire; like a poisonous snake, like a dream, like a borrowed ornament, like the fruit of tree. Having recognized desiresin this way, one should not hanker' after them at all. Like bones, because they do not satisfy; like a piece of meat, because they are frequent and common and occasion wrong conduct; like a torch of hay, becauseif not hurled away, but left in place, they burn one up; like a peaked fire, because while promoting craving, they dry one up; like a poisonous snake, because they are to be avoided by illustrious persons. They are like a dream, because they quickly perish. They are like a borrowed ornament, because they are based on conditions. They are like, the fruit of tree, because they are the stagesof heedlessness. (48B-51) Listen to the illustrious Dharma, whoever would ponder it and cultivate it ! First one should be calm and farsighted, and continue on up to single certitude. Rejoice, whoever is engagedin eliminating the contamination of defilement ! Should he analyze the sign-source, he would become uppermost in the praxis. He would eliminate desire of the desire-realmand eliminate desireof the form-realm. He would bring about the clear realization of truth and the dispassion toward everything; would attain Nirv6{ra in the present life; and would erase the (remaining) basis. The verses48B to 51 shorvthe pure Instruction of Insight in terms "reaof the seven mental orientations.l0 Of these, the first o11e, lizatiot of the characteristics" (laksaua-pratisarytuedt), is shown 10See discussion of thesesevenmental orientations, now Tson-kha-pa's in theSravalcabhumi,inA.Wayman, translator, exposition based on Asanga's
Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real (Columbia York, 1979), pp. 165-169. University Press, New

366

Buddhist Insight

by listening to and pondering the illustrious Dharma. The second, n'made of conviction" (ddhimokSika), is sh'own by cultivating this Dharma. The third, "seclusion" (prduiuekya), is shown by the expressions"calm" and "far-sighted." The fourth,'oattraction of rapture" (ratisarygrahaka) is shown by "continue on up to single certitude." The fifth, "orientation with comprehension" (mimar.nsa-manaskdra), is shown by "should he analyze the sign-source." The sixth, "final stage of application" (prayoganis(ha), is shown by "would become uppermost in the praxis." The seventh, "fruit of the final stage of application" (prayoganislhaphala),is shown by "He would eliminate desire of the desirerealm and eliminate desire of the form-realm; would bring about the clear realization of truth and the dispassiontoward everything. This seventh mental orientation (manaskdra), namely, "fruit of the final stage of application," is the mundane fruit, Nirvdr.ra with remainder; and the supramundane fruit, Nirvdqa without remainder.

PART FTVE

HINDUAND BUDDHIST STUDIES

t9
TWO TRADITIONS OF I}.{DIA_ TRUTH AND SILENICE

Elsewhere I cited the Laws of Manu : maundt satyarn t,iii;yate ("Truth is super:ior to silence;'; and turned the citation to my own purpose with the implication, ..Now is the time to speakout, becausetruth is superior to silence.,,1 However, admittedly, the celebratedIndian raw book had something else in mind with this. intriguing maxim. rn this study I shall attempt to clarify the two traditions called 'otruth" and ..silence,, and to show that they borrow from each other but maintain sufficientcontrast to allow the later philosophical schools to treat them as though distinct. It should be acknowledgeclthat the findings of this article differ rather strikingry from the generarity of tie surveys of Indian philosophy and religion. Also, the juxtaposition of materials from diverse traditions of rndia requires u ,Jorgu' izationfrom the original order of discovery for communi cation purposes. To justify that these traditions of trutrr and silence can be treated in contrast, tr have prepared individual sections ,Jevoted first to the silence and then to the truth which the Laws of Monu takes to be superior.As a conseqllenceof these main findings, it turns out that there are trvo Upanisadic traditions, althongriot in terrnsof truth and silence;and that some later philosophical formulations, such as "conventional truth" and .,absolute truth,,, take their l"observationson Transration from the crassicar Tibetan Language into European Languages," in Indo-Iranian Journal14,nos. 3-4(1972):r92.

370

BuddhistInsight

inceptions in the old Upaniqads. This shows a sensein lvhich later Indian philosophy developsfrom the early religion and mythology. Tnr Mtnu TnaotrioN For "silence" the word used was mauna (PAli, mona), related to the word muni (one rvho has the vow of silence), used in the &gaeda hymo X, 136: "The munis, girdled with the wind, wear garments soiled of yellow irue. They, follorving the rvind's swift coufse, go rvhere the gods have gone before." The word muni is important in Buddhism, where the founder has the title Sakyamuni (muni of the Sakya clan). The Buddha is called "gtaatmLtni," and he adopted for his order (the Sangha) the soiled yellow hue of dress that was alluded to in the Vedic hyrnn.z The Chdndogya {lpanisad, VIU, 5, 2, in the course of its progressive expianation of breltmqcarya (the pure practice of the 'oNow, what they call 'silent asceticisrn'(tnauna) student), says: is really the pure practicc (brahmacarya), for only after finding the self by the pure practice, does one think about it."3 This passageapparently explains mqunt (ascetic silence) as a thinking about, or contemplation of, the higher self. The tlddnauarga, which is the northern Buddhist expansion of the Dhammapada,has an important muni verse in its lt{irudrya "According as the Muni, with the state of chapter (xxYI,27): being a munia derived from himseli understands in this place to ManfredMayrhofer(Kurzgefasstes zTheSanskrit word muni, accatding Heidelberg:Carl Winter, Unides Altindischen Worterbuch etymologisches pp. is cognatewith our word 654-655) 2, volume 1963, versitdts-verlag, o'mllte"through Greek words,and this cannot be doubted. It has been ntaentis, the Greek to is related it is not settled-that arguecl-butthe matter powers), this beilg in the group our word "mantic" (giftedwith prophetic of wordsincluding"mania," from the weak gradeof the Indo-Germanic in many Dictionarysaysis represented whichthe OxfordEnglish root mert, be this would In Sanskrit etc. emotions, wordsreferringto mentalstates, etc.The Indiangrammarians "to think,to deem," the verb meaning moi.t-, but asolutioncannctbe found the word muni with the verb n?an-, affiliated of this vowel a justification it requires for alone, context Indian the within languages' in the early Indo-European change evatat / brahmacaryena brahmacaryam ity [caks,ate z. I athayan maunam hy evd 'tmdnam anuvidYamanute /. followingFranklin Edgerton, mauneya A..State of beinga muni" translates

Two Traditions of India-Truth

and Silence

371

(i.e., in NirvdTa), then is he freed from form and formless, from all suffering."s Along the same lines, but not using the words muni or mauna,Aryadeva statesin his Catul#ataka, as cited in the Prasannapadd: "He who knows how to ward off at first sin, then to ward off the self, and firrally to ward off everything, he is the sage(buddhimat)."0 Also, it appears that the ubiquitous Buddhist terminology of body, speech, and mind, stems from the muni tradition. The Recital Sermon (sangtti Suttanta, of the Dighanikdya, III) allows me to use the word "muted" in the sense "rendered mute, silent, muffied" in this entry among the threefold items : "There are three states of being a muni. (Pali : tiyti moneyydni) : muted body, muted speech,muted mind." Elsewhere I cited Vasubandhu's commentary on the Daiabhumikasutra on how to classify the five supornormal faculties (abhijfrfl by their respective purification of the acts of body, speech, and mind. The one cailed magical abiiity (yddhi) purifies the acts of body; the divine hearing and knowing the makeup of others' mind, those of speech;the memory of former lives and the vision of the passing away and rebirth, those of rnind.T Therefore, this is the theory of supernormal faculties consistent with the muni tradition. As to how a muni describeshimself, the Uddnauargahas these verses iir its Tathagata chapter (XXI, 1-4)-the words attributed to the Bilddha intmediately r.rpon his enlightenment (my transIation) : I knorv all, have overcome all, am forever unstained by the dharmas, have eliminated everything, am free from all fear; having come to iully understand by myself, who can teach me ! I am the Tathagata, teacher of gods and men; have comprehended enlightenment as a revealer by myseli; having reached omniscience, am endowed i,vith the powers; incomparable and unequalled, rvho can teach me !
Buddhist Hybrid ^\anskrit Grainmar and Dictiorcry (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press,1953),p. 441. sFraru Bernhard, Udanavarga, Abhandlungen der Akademie der WissensKlasse, Third Series,l.lr. 54 chaften in Gottingen Philologisch-Historische (Grittingen, 1965). ol-ouis de La Vall6e Poussin, ed., Milla-Madhyamaka-vrtti-prasannapatld, p. 359. ?See Chapter 7.

312

Buddhist Insight

I am the Arhat in the worlds ; I am incomparable in the worlds; and in the worlds with their gods I ani the Victor (jina),the' ionqueror of the Maras. As there is no one like me, none can be my instructor (acarya); alone in this world, I am fully awakened, have attained the ultimate, complete enlightenment. W. Woodville Rockhill, in the appendix to his translation from Tibetan of the Uddnauarga,cites the commentary preserved in the Tibetan Tanjur. He says : I translate the following lines to show how very nearly the Commentator follows the received Pali version of the events. that occurred shortly after Gautama had become a Buddha. "When he (Bhagavat) had obtained perfect enlightenment, Brahmd the lord of the universe, humbly begged of him to teach the dharma. Then the great Muni thought, 'To whom shall I first teach the law ?' Rudraka had died seven days before that moment, Alara Kaldma had also passed away. 'I Then he thought, will teach the five.' So Bhagavat started for Vardfasi, and on his w&y, an Ajivaka saw Bhagavat, and said to him, 'Ayusmat Gautama, your senses(appear) composed, your complexion is clear, your garments clean; who is your master (upddhyAya)? Ayusmat, to what sect do, you belong ? In what doctrine do you find pleasure ?' Then 'I he answered, am the Jina who has conquered Mdra (the evil 'Then, Ayuqmat Gautama, you say that you are the one).' 'The Jinas are all like me,' he answered. 'Where Jina ?' are you going, Ayusmat ?' 'I am going to Vard4asi."'S Sir Jotrn Woodroffe cites the Hindu tradition about the word 'The Veda muni to the same effect : "As the Mahdbharuta says, differ, and so do the Smriti. No one is a muni who has no independent opinion of his own (nasau munir yasya nmta;p na bltinnem)."'e This practically adrnitsthat the only person r,vhocould start a new religious movement in India must be, or must have beerr. a muni. The lvord muni is uncterstoodas "the capable one" in Tibetan
sUdanavarga : A Collection of Verses from the Buddhist Canon (London, 1892), pp. 209-210, slntroduction to Tantra Shastra (Madras : Ganesh & Co., 1952), p. 30.

Two Traditions of India-Truth andSilence

373

translation. According to Buddhaguhya, "The munis arepratyekabuddhas.' becausethey have their own religious practice, pledge, and vow, and are capable by themselveswhile lacking a master, they are the capable ones (muni1."to This explanation is consistent with tho account about the Sanskrit name Rsipatana (Pali, Isipatana), another name of the Deer Park where the Buddha gave his first sermons :11 Formerly when the time approached for the Buddha Kdsyapa to appear in the world, there lived on that hill flve trundred Pratyekabuddhas. They learned from a message given by the devas that the Buddha was to rnanifest himself. By their magical power they soared up to the sky and equipoised themselves in the element of fire (teiodhatu). The fire that issued from their own bodies burned their material bodies, and the ashesfell to the earth. It was said, "The l.{qis have fallen," and for this reason the place is called gsipatana (the falling of the Rlis). Hence, in considerationof this silence,thereare the silent persons called munis, who are called pratyekabuddhas since they are enlightened by thernselveswithout depending on another teacher, and who are also callecl Bqis or seers.The association of the munis rvith flying, as mentioned in the vedic hymn, r,vas contained by otirer names,pratyekabuddha and r,ri.72 That the association of the munis lvith the sky or spacervasnot forgotten in later times is apparent in the SaiTtditiul,dkarapa, afl explanatory tantra of the Guhyasamdjatantra,in a Sanskrit passageI have edited from the Pradipoddyotana manuscript : Thus, the Reality, rrrasheard by me on a certain time extraordinary. The Bhagavat, diamond lord of mysteries,wirh the supreme pledge of the triple uajra, Was dwelling as the l\{ahamuni (great silent one) in the pure heart of the worlcl, in this unique self-existenceof sky having
loAlex Wayman, "Buddhism," Historia Religionunt(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971), vol. 2, p. 397.Buddhaguhya's p:rssage is from his commentary on the Sarvadurgatipariiodhana-talxtra in the Tibetan Tanjur. 11Wayman,"Buddhism," pp. 397-399. rzrhis flight of the asceticis shown in later rndian art by beings called vidyadhara(holders of the mystic science).Also, the Buddhist Tantra had heroes called {aka or khecarin (sky-walkers).

374

BuddhistInsight

the modes of omniscient knowledge," in the all-Tathagata gnosis having the inconceivable perfection of merits; beyond existence, non-existence and both, called "place of no location."13 While the foregoing has been mainly basedon Buddhist sources, it should be observed that the ruuni tradition is part of the great ascetic non-\redic tradition tirat becameincorporated into l{induism with worship of the god Siva, as R. N. Dandekar has well described,r4although this Saivitic incorporation apparently takes place after the advent of Buddhism. It is well known that Sar:rkara, the great Advaita Veclantin, was a follower of Siva and insisted that knowledge (jfiAna) is the main thing for liberation (mokga). His followers use, among other works, the Aslduakra Saryhitd,in which Aqtavakra says(chap. XVII, 1): "Hehas gained the fruit of knowledge as well as the practice of loga, who, contented andwithpurified sensgs,ever'enjoysbeing alone (ekakt1."ts All th.is gives a new complexion to the Hindu opponent's challenge to Sar.nkara-that he was a "Buddhist in disguise." This is often misconstrued as having doctrinal implications. In fact, the criticism was a rejection of Sarykara's monastic retreat system, which afforded and stiil affords individuais an opportunity to leave society for seeking divine knowledge in solitude. There are severalforms oi the Buddha's silence. First there was his ascetic silence; then upon his enlightenment, when he hesitated to teach, deeming his doctrine too profound for people at largc, this was the first withhoiding type of siience. Later, he sometimes refused to answer certain questions dealing with ultimates, with a selectivesilence. A certain Buddhist sect had a tenet "The Buddha never said a word."16 Of course, the Hindu oppora / evar.n mayi Srutar.n tattvam ekasminsamayesphule/ trivajrasamayottama(D bhagavdnguhyavajreSas II

sarvatathdgatejfldne acintyaguqasampadi/ isar.nj fl ini // aydtlte asthdnasthit sadasaCubh ikdSaikasvabhave'sminsarvajfiajfldnabhdvini / jagaddhrdi viSuddhnkhye vrjahira mahdmunih ll 1a"Hinduism," in Historia Religionumvol. 2, seeespeciallyp. 247. l5Swami Nityaswarupananda, trans., A$avakra Satnhita,3d ed. (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1969), p. ll4. reCf., A. Bareau, Les sectes du Petit Vdhicule(Saigon: Ecole bouddhtques

Two Traditions of India-Truth and Silence

375

nents of Buddhismwould notlosethe opportunity to argue cogently that it is a fine thing to know through asc'3ticsilence, but that this does not furnish validity for the Buddha's teachings, since he would have to renounce the ascetic silence in order to teach, and so ri,hat proof is there that the teaciring itself reflectsthe omniscience of the silence ? Presumably it was through such attacks that Buddhism was forced into its multiple-body theory, with the Dharmakaya remaining silent and omniscient, and another body, such as the Nirmaqakaya of the Buddha, doing the teaching.rz Also the buddhas were said to help chosen disciples of a progressed nature with adhiglhana (blessing, empcwerment, or spiritual support), a kind of silent power. Thus, in Mahdydna Buddhism, the Buddha came to have a role tantarnount to the solar deity. Tsp Tnurn TnlntrtoN o'truth" the ancient Indians generally employed two words, For satya arrd rta, r,vhichhave respectively a subjective and objective referenco. Satya is the truth of men and gods; and rta is the truth of the universe-that the sun will rise and set and that seasonal characteristics wiii recur. trt is well recognizedthat in the ancient Vedic tradition the deity Varula was in charge of the rta, the-universal order; and it was believed that liars incurred his punishment in tfueform of dropsy, presumably becausetheir lies constituted a violation of the world order. In time, Varu4a's supremacy faded, and a new deity by Vilnu. The named Indra camo to the foie, to be succoeded latter two deitieswere not especially asscciated with preserving the rvorld order; and in time the supreme spirit was generally
p. 60, amongthe thecries of the Maha1955), Francaise d'Extrdme-Orient, they rernain eternally in The Buddhasneversay a word, because sanghikas: wotds, leap frorn contemplation; but beings,thinking they havepronounced jov. 17Thismatter is set forth at length,of courservith Buddhistdeflense, in the of Santaraktitarvith the Pafiiikd commentary of KamalaTattvasarytgraha the senses" the entity that transcencls Sila, chap. 3l, "Examination observing (atindriyarthadarii-partk;a),which is the last chapter.The text has beenreedited by Dwarikadas Shastri in two volumes (Varanasi:BauddhaBharati, to me at present. 1968).The Englishtranslationby G. Jha is not available

376

Buddhist Insight

.called Bratrman. With all these changes of terrninology for divinity, the prestige of "truth,, by the word. shtya continued unabated. For the rneaning of satyd, the adjective, I follow the late H. D. veiankar of the university of Bornbay who explained the word in the introduction to his retranslation of Mar.r{ala seveir of the $g-ueda.l8 This satyti is the undeniable, after being said, thought, or done by someone; that is, bound to happen.le we shall observe that this meaning continues into the chanclogya (i:elorv). Accordingly, one should reject the frequent transiation o,f satyakdmdit in this upanisad as "real desires," as though the word. satya meant the "genuine," rvhat is simply a fact.Instead, it means a fact that is productive. The Brhaddrspyaka [Jpani,rad(rrr, 5, r) provi.Jes the first answer to wh.at the Laws of Manu rneant by saying, ,,Truth is superior to silence" : "Therefore, let a brcThma4ta, after being satiateclwith learning, live as a child. After being satiated with childhood o, ,u.ll as with learning, lct h.im be a nitmi (one vowecl t,l silence). After being satiated rvith non-silcnce(cmatma)as well as i,,,ith silence(maiina),let him be a brijltmana." "In what manner (kena) is that brdltriia4ia?" "rn rvhatevermanner he be, he is just the same in that manner; every thing else is afflicted.,' Thereupca, Kahola Kausitakeya held his poace Qqararatna). That is, the state of a brdhmana, who is as he is, is claimed to be superior to the state of a muni. The wholc verseof the Manustnrti (Laws of Manu,II, g3) rllns: "The mcnosyllable (i.e., om) is the highest Brahman. S*ppressions of the breath are the best austerity. But nothing surpasses the Savitri. Truth is superior to silence." My commcntarial edition does not help rnuch. It observes that "truth" is verbal, but this is the obvious part. However, it is easy to seethe struclsRgvedaMa4(ala VII (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavair, 19d3),iv-x. relt is of interest that a different way of expressing ,.trlle," the acljectivc to wit, by the sanskrit word a-vitatha 'onot untrue" (that is, "not contrary to the fact"), has a secondarymeaning "not vain or futile"; and so, like the word satya, indicates that what is true is not in vain. rn contrast, for lying, .a prohibition of the ancient five Buddhist layman vows, the expressionmr;dvdda was used, rather than a negation of the word satya.

'Two

Traditions of India-Truth andSilence

377

ture of the verse. when the breath is suppres$e,J, one dces not speak-and tiiis is the best aasterity. Bui superior to this is the savitri, anr:ther name of the Gayatri, the cerebrated mantra recited by the Brahmans at tireir morning and eveningdevotion_ als; and this mantra is designatedas ';truth,,, namely-as we have observed-the undeniable that is not in vain. And so truth is s,perior to silence. At the same time, the verse shows the pre_ ference for the Brahmans rvho recite the Gdyatri over the munis and other asceticswho engage in sucrr austerities as suppressing the breath. The Giyatri (!?g-uecra,rfr,62,l0) is translated approximately as follows: "we meditate on or may we attain,the great glory, of the god savita, that he may inspire or who inspires, our thoughts or works." It is precededby the mantraom in the later editions. That remark in the Lows of A,Ianurvoulcl equalry appry to what is often cailed the "Act of Truth.', This truth act is well known fro:n the Hindu epic Rdmdyana and.from Buddhist sources. It has a traditional forrn: the performer announces, if such-andsuch be true, then let this or that happen. ..such-and.-such,, is, according to w' Norman Brown's herpful explanation, the ,up.rlative performance of the person's duty (dharrna), and ..this or that" is what the gods are commanded to bring about as a miraculous interve'tion.2' In tire following essay ipoint out that it lvas not suficient for the pcrson to have been extraordinary in fuifilling iris duty, but it rvas also necessaryfor the person to verbalize this fact; and so this is a verbal truth that is superior to silence.2lIn short, that a person deservesto be aided by the gods is not sufficient; this person must in addition command the aid. Tiie prececiingmakes one issue quite clear. The tradition of . "truth" is follov,zedby trrose *,ho rvould be inspirecl by or would command the deity, especiallythe solar deity. The tradition of "silsnca" is followed by thosc who, o't of their own resources, would rise to a status beyond ord.inary mankind. And certainlv 20"The Basisfor the Hindu Act of Truth," in Review of Religion (Nov. 1940): 36-45. I-{islatest articleon the subject is.,Duty as Truth in Aqcie't lndia," in Proceedings philosophicat of theAmerican sicrety ll6, iro. 3 (June 1972): 252-268. 2rSee Chapter20.

378

Buddhist Insight

these routes are distinct and in vivid contrast, and so command divergent allegiance. The Marusmfii definitely insists that the Brahmans who appeal to the sun deiiy at dawn are superior to the silent ascetics who try, like the Buddha, to be enlightened just prior to dawn. One comolication comes, for example, in the development of' Buddhism, lvhere the Buddha began on the muni side, the Tathigata who becameenlightenedwithout reliance on another teacher. Then he moved to the other side as the Teacher who inspires the disciples. tsut when the Buddha did decide to teach and gave his first sermon, what he talked about was satya. The Buddha mentioned four kinds oi satya of the dryas, meaning the persons, who hearkened to his doctrine and became disciples in contrast to ordinary people (the prthogjana) who do not hearken. The satyas, as was already exposed, are the "undeniables"-that there is suffering, there is the origin of suffering, there is the cessation of the origin, and there is the path leading to the cessation. And sort of analogous to the Vedic and Upanipdic usage of the word, there is more to it. So the Buddha in the first sermon (Setting into Motion the Wheel of the Law) made explicit this somethingmofe. Sufferingis not only undeniable; it is also to be fully known; likervise,its origin is to be eliminated; the cessation of the origin is to be directly experienced; the path is to be cultivated or contemplated. In the case of the Lqws of Manu, as a legalistic text, "truth"' means the verbal kind; and this kind was observed above as intended in the magical function of truth, illustrated in the "Act of Truth." This amounts to what is often called the lcarma' kdryda (section of rites). Incleed, this is the tsuddhist senseof the Four Noblo Truths, which are the announced truths of Buddhism establishing the norms of conduct, even though early Buddhism opposed the old Veclic ritual. This is not to insist, however, that "truth" (satya) was employed in the old upaniqads solely with this verbal sensewhen, as though by magic, it was undeniable. That it was already used in the more philosophical sense of truths that are understood or realized, and are sometimes inexpressible (aniruacaniya),is ctrear enough in the celebrated Pfllan vefse. This frequently cited verse about truth is the flrst of four verses that appear both in the Brhaddranyaka (Y, 15, I-4) and the brief isa {Ipanisad (15-18),

Two Traditions of India-Truth and Silence

379

and which constitute the prayer to the sun god,by a dying person; S. Radhakrishnan mentions, ooEvento-day they are used by the Hindus in their funeral rites."22 The first verse can be translated: "The face of truth is covered by a golden bowl. Unveil it, O PDsan, so that I who have trutir as my duty (satyadharma) may see it !" This verse foreshadows, on the one hand, the later terminology r t i saty a) ; of absolute and con.,zentional truth (p ararndrt ha andsarytu (praview and on the other hand, the distinction between direct (parok;a). literature, tyak,ra) and the out-of-sight In Buddhist both approaches are explainable in terms of the Four Noble Truths. Thus the Mddhyamika commentator Candrakirti in chapter 5 of his Madhyamakduatdra explains why the truths of Suffering, Source, and Path are conventional truth, while the Truth of Cessation is supreme truth.z3 In the case of the Upanisadic verse, the "face of truth" would representabsolute truth; and "truth as duty," conventional practice of a distinguished type. The later formulation of view distinction is found, for example, in Dharmakirti's Pramdnaudrttika (II, 132): "The compassionate one applies himself in the rneans so as to destroy suffering. When the goal (: cessationof suffering) and its cause (: the means) are out of sight, to explain thern is difilcult."2a The eminent Tibetan commentator of Buddhist logic, Rgyal-tshab-rje, expands this verse in his brief work "Guidance on the path of ga) :25 authority" (p r amdpa-mdr As to the perfection of application:-the person possessed of great compassion at first himself comprehends directly the ultimate condition of the four truths; and in conclusion properly strives in the application. But when the two truths of the causal means and the two truths of the fruitional goal 22The p. 577. Principal Upani;ads York : Harperand Bros.,1953), CNew z3Wayman, "Buddhism," pp. 423-424. zaI daydvdnduhkhahdndrtham updyegv abhiyujyate / parok;opeyataddhetos taddkhyanary hi duskarar.n ll 26Tshad ma'i lamkhrid(Varanasi reprint),pp. 36-37: / sbyorba phuntshogs la sfiinrje chenpo danldan pa'i ganzaggi thogmar ran flid bdenbZi'i gnas lugsmnon sum du rtogspa mthar thug pa la mnon par sbyorba'i brtson 'grusmdzadrigs te byun 'brasbu'i / thabsrgyu'i bdenpa gflis dafl thabs pa gfiis gyur pa'amsion du gyur kyanblo mi gsalba'i lhagma bden lkog tu pa /. lus na gtan la phyinci ma log par 'chadmi nus Zes

380

Buddhist Insight

are out of sight or are not eariier clear to the intellect, there is no capacity to explain them completely utio in errorless manner to others. Here, the two truths of the causal means must be the truths of suffering and source of suffedog; rvhile the tr,vo of the fruitional goal must be the cessationof suffering and the path leading to the cessation.Interpreting the PDsan verse along the same lines, we see that only when a person first has truth as duty can he subsequentlycommand the exposure of the face of truth. Tsp Two TR,qorrroNsoF TRurs aNo SneNce In setting forth two traditions of India, as has been done with truth and silence,it is tempting to list various sectsunder one or another column. one can, for exarnple, place the Brahmanical lineage-faithful to the four stagesof life-in tlie ,,truth', ,blumn, and the asceticgroups (muni or sramana) in the ,,silenca,'column. This runs into the immediate difficulty that the Buddha, rvho is calied "great silent one" Qnahdmuni)and "gteat ascetic',(mahdsramarya),announces the four tirya truths and is held to be the teacher of gods and men. His followers never depart frorn this, eventually-although centuries later-naking much of trvo truths, conventional and absolute. And again, the Brahmanical linea-ee has its emphatic visionary side; and all sects have their silence, even r'vhen merely exclusi.reness. Indeecl, it may be principally the opponents who classify one or another school under a particuiar heading, thus to attribute a limitation of action or view to an adversary. Holvever, it should have already become apparent that the two traditions called "truth" and "silence" are roughly equivalent to the vedanta classification, the karma-kdnqla and the jiidnakrlt.tdct, where "truth" in its sense of the magical verbal truth anrounts to the karma-kdn{a, and o'silence"as the attainment of tlre r.r'ithdrawnascetic amounts to the jiidna-kdatda. Expounding the Sar.nkaraposition, Surendranath Dasgupta says: The teachings of the other parts of the vedas, the karrnakdt.trJa(those dealing r,vith the injunctions relating to the performance of duties and actions), lvere intended for inferior types of aspirants, r,vhereas the teachings of the upanisad.s, the jfianakaada (those which declare the nature of ultimate

Two Traditions of India-Truth

and Silence

381

truth and reality), were intended only for superior aspirants who had transcendedthe limits of sacrificial duties and actions, and who had no desire for any earthly blessing or for any heavenly joy.ru But the Laws of Manu takes the opposite point of view, declaring that the ritual performance of the savitri at dawn is superior tJ the silence-rvith whatever its knowredge (iiiana)-of the yogi meditating during the night. The celebrated.law book is forced into this position by its defense of dharma, the Hindu cod.e of duty. It has been called to my attention that Kumdrila-bhatta (the seventh-century A.D. comrnentator on the Mimdrysd), when discussing the nonorthodox systems as authority lpramd4a) for dharma (ad Jaimini-sfitraI 3.ll-14), asks whether the Buddhist dharma, being as it is a prq)oga-iastra (statement of norms for proper performance), is authoritative; and thus deals with the Buddhist dharma as an alternative to the brdhmalical karma_ kdrtda and not as an alternative to the upaniqads.2? Natu rully, this observation is quite consistent with what has been pres.nt.i, namely, that one can indeed separatethe two traditions, especially from how commentators treat the opponent. consequently, there is a competition as to what properly constitutes the verbal truth (: korma-kaqt(a) as well as to the content of silence (: jfidna-kdat(a).In illustration, Buddhisrn not onry presentsan alternative dharma. but an alternative enlightened person (the Buddha as the MahdmunD. At the same time, it is comprehensible that these Indian systemsrvould not and do not treat themselves in the manner that the opponentsdo. Therefore, Buddhism does not separateitself into two traditions, the dharma and the Buddha; rather it i'sists that the dha,na colnes from the Buddha and has its authority (pramdrya) accorciingiy. Tlln UpaNrgADrc DispurB Oven ,,TRUEDESTRES,, while my main purpose has been to expose two traditions in 26Histor! of hdian philosophy 5 vols.(cambridge: press, at the university 1932), l:436. 2Tcommunication from Fred lllorgan,lecturer in AsianReligicns, Univer_ sity of Bristol,in connection with my article,',The Buddhist.Not This,. Not This'," Philosophy Eastand LV'est,2l, no.4(Oct.,1961):gg_I14.

382

Buddhist Insight

terms of "truth" and "Silence," I must acknowledge that such a classification may imprison the mind in categories and lead to a kind of game in which different schools and sects are mechanically placed within this and that categorY, irrespective of how in reality. Categories should not be those schools are constitr-rted just for the sake of making them. The importance of formulated a classification is what one learns or brings forward in the course of making it. Now, while collecting materials, as previously organized, on this topic, there was no intention of bringing the Brhaddraryyaka and Chandogya into conflict-but this is exactly what happened. According to the Chandogya, when one finds the self, he finds and achieves all desires-which that text qualifies as "true"; according to the Brhqdaraltyalca,when one finds the self, lie overcomes ail desires. Indeed, my anaiysisagrees with Dasgupta's advice: "It vrill be better tbnt a modern interpreter should not agree to the claims of the ancients that all the Upaniqads represent a connected system,but take the toxig independentlyand separatelyand determine their neanings, though keeping an attentive eye on the context in lvhich they appeaf."2s A disagreementbetvreen the Brhaddraryyaka and the chandogya was long ago noticed by Paul Deussen : "Betlveen the two great Upanishads, Brhaddra0yaka, which servesas toxt-bock for the studentsof the (white) Yajur-veda, and Chindogya, rvhich servesfor the students of the Samaveda, ate tc be observed Inany, often Verbal agreements, but side by side with iirese, certain traces of a thorough-going polemic, which is shown, among other things, by the iact that teachers,wfuo appear in the one Upanishad as the highest autfuorities, oocuty only a subordinate positicn in tlie otirer. Thus, for examplo, ushasta.. . .)'2s The present essaydefiles tlie polemic in terms of the attitude torvard tire desires (kanta) that are "true" (satya). The meaning of the word satya as the undeniable is continued into the well-known chapter 7 oit the "City of Bratrrnan" in the Chandogya. Within this city of Brahman is contained all creatures (bhuta) and all desires (kama); and the Upaniqad says, zsHistor!of Indian Philosophy, l, p. 42. Johnston (Delhi: Motilal zsThe trans. Charles of the Veddnta, System 1972),pP. 146-147. Banarsidass,

"TwoTraditions of India-Truth andSilence

3g3

"Those who depart hence, having found here the self (annan) and those desires (koma) that are satya-for ttem in all worlcis there is engagernent with the desircs." That is, their desires are unclr-niable(satya), as illustrated in section 2 of the chapter 7, "If he desires the worid of the fathers, by his very conception, fathers arise." Likewise, the world oi the rnothers, the world of brothers, the rvorld of sisters, and so with tire worlcl of friend.s, of periumes and gariands, of food and cirink, of song and music, and fnally the world of r,vomen. His desires, being sa1)a, upon being thought, are bound to happen. Then, in section 3, the upanisad continues, oorhesesaffre are true (i.e. undeniable)desires, with a covering of the false (anrta, the negation of rta)." And it goes on to illustrate what is meant by the false : "Just as those who do not knolv the field walk again and again over the hidden treasure of gold and do not flnd it, even so all creatures here go day after day into the Brahman-ivorld and yet do not flnd it, for they are carried av/ay by untrutli." This shows that the creatures are carried away by disorder, since snrta is the negation of the objective truth of regularity and universal order. This chdndogya position v/as not forgotten in subsequent Upaniqadic literature. The Mu'qt{aka Upani;ad (III 1, 6), coming after the rise of Buddhism, f,urnishes modern Ind.ia's motto "Trutir alone conquers" (satyam eua jayate). This has political overtones and rich slogan-connotation rvlr.entaken out of its context : "Truth (i.e., tire undeniable) alone is victorious, not untruth (artrta, i.e., disorder). By truth is laid out the path feading to the gods by which the seers (rsi) who have their desires fulfllled prooeed to r.vhereis that supreme treasure." This treasure, according to the Chandogya, is in the Brahman-world. But the Byhaddraqryaka (III, 5, l), rvhen setting forth progressive renunciation as the way to know Brahnlcn, has a significant opposrtion to the chdndogya's and ttte Mur3r.laka's emplrasis on reahzing desires : Norv l(ahola Kausitakeya asked him, "Yajfiavalkya,', said he, "explain to me the Brahman tirat is directly experienced and not indirectly experienced, rvhich is the self (dtinan) rvithin everything." "This is your self which is within everything." "Yajfiavalkya, rvhich one is r,viihin everything i', "The one which transcends hunger and thirst, sorrow and delusion, old age and death. The brdhmanas, having recog-

394

Buddhist Insight

nized (uidituO that Self, having overcome the desire for sons, the desirefor wealth, and the desirefor'worlds (loka),live the life of rnendicants (bhiksr). A desire for sons amounts to a desire for wealth; a desire for wealth amounts to a d.esire f,or worlds; for both of these amount only to desires.Bo And if that passagedid not sufficiently castigatedesires,BThadoraryyaka, rY, 4, 6-7, drives home the point. After mentioning forcefully that the man who desires (lrdmayamdnal) is simply reborn, it gives this verse for the man who does not desire : "when all the desires(kamQ that abide in his heart are renounced, then the mortal becomes immortali he here attains Brahman." But the question immediately arises : what is in back of this disagreement, the Brhaddragyaka eschewing all desires, and the chdndogya pushing for true desires. The answer appears to be : their creation myths. The two positions of those upanisads probably both have in their background the S.g-ueda "Hymn of creation" (x, 129), where it was said, "Desire enterecrthe one in the beginning : it was the earliest seed... the bond of being in non-being." Then the question arises: Does one attain_ the highest state by reverting to the beginning condition ? The Brhaddranyaka, and Buddhism as well, answers,No. The Chandogya, and inferentially any other treatise that lines up with it, answers,yes. The Brhadarapyaka would not recommend getting back to the original state because(chap. l, sec. 2) it says : ..There was no particular thing here in the beginning. only by death was this covered, or by hunger, for hunger is death." The Chandogya (chap. 3, sec. 19) has a different story, called '''The Cosmic Egg.', The sun is Brahman-so it is taught. This has an explanation: In the beginning this (worid) was non-existent (asat). It became existent (,sat). It grer,'r.It changed into an egg. It lay for the e;r.tent of a year. It burst open. trn the egg-shell there were the silver and the gold. what rvas the silver, that is this eartir. what was th.e gold that is the sky. v/hat rvas the outer member (i.e. the chorion) is the mountains. what was the inner membrane (i.e. tire arnnion) is the mist with the soThis passage precedes immediately the previous citationof Brhadara4yaka Il I, 5, 1.

Two Traditions of India-Truth

and Silence

385

clouds. what were the veins are the rivers. what was the fluid of the membranous sac is the ocean. Ancl that which was born, it is yonder sun. As he was being born, shouts and cries rvere directed toward him, as were also all creatures and. all desires. Therefore, at his rise and at his every return, shouts and cries are directed toward him, as are also all creatures and all desires. He who knowing it in this way, repeatedly meditateson the sun as Brahman, is one to whom welldisposed shouts would be directed, and they would gratify him, yea, gratify him. Thcrefore, in the chandogya lineage, it is an appropriate aim to return to the original condition, namely, to find in the city of Brahman all creaturesand all desires, to be as the sun when it was being born. About the true desires, the Bhagauadgtta(III, i0) says in appareat agreement: o'of yore when the Lord of Creatures created. men with sacrifice,he said : 'By this may you bring forth, and may this be for you the cow which grants desires (i$akfunaclhuk,\.,,, There were other rvords in Indian literature : cintdma4ri (the fabulous gern which grants all desires to its possessor),kalpaurlcsa (the wishing tree in Indra's paradise). However, K. N. upadhyaya regards "disinterested action" (nipkama-karmq\ as the "crux" of the tshegauadgitd's message.slTherefore, it rnight be the case that the Bhagauadgtta was attempting to reconcile the Upanisadic dispute exposed earlier rvith a formula that nonattachment to the desirable is eventually rewarded by all desires.If this possibility has not hitherto been recognize,l by interpreters of the Bhagauadgitd,it may be simply due to the fact that they failed to acknorvledgean upanipdic dispute which the Bhagauadgtta might try to bridge. As to schools affiliated to the BThadararlyaka,tr make bold to point to Bu<ldhism,becausethe tsuddhist goal of niruiina is also beyond desire. And Buddhisrn heads its formula of Dependent origination with nescience(auidyi)-a word. which is not found at arl in th.e Bhagauacigfta.sz At least once Budclhism says nescienceis the father,and craving(tr;pa)isthe mother (per LankdstEarlyBuddhism (Delhi,IgT1.l,, and the Bhagavadglta p. 146. s2Surendranath Dasgupta, History of Indianphilosophy, vol. 2, p. 49g.

386

Insight Buddhist

uatdra-sfitra);33but the commentary on "the (Iddnauarga says nescienceis the mother.sa The Buddhist genesismyth in the Pdli and other scriptures starts out with the sentient beings in bodies made of mind that are wherever they wish to be, and who feed on joy (compare Vedic creation hymn). Their fall begins with greed stemming from delusiol; next there is lust arising from Buddhism not only eating; and finally hatred due to stealing.so has negative procedures-removal of deflling conditions-for but also a positive reversion to a superior plalle of consciotlsness, requirement for adding knowledge arrived at in samddhi attainment. The Vedintic currents that stress knowledge (ii;dna) as the main requirement for liberation QnokSa)thereby agfee on this particular point that one does not simply return to a primordial condition. Consequently, our previous observation that Buddhisrn and the Upaniqads fuave a rival jfidna-karyqlashould be rnodified to admit the possibility that Buddhisrn shares to some of the Brhadararyyaka.At least this is a extent the jiiano-kaat(.ta partial breakthrough in the mystery of the Buddhist relation, if any, to the Upanisads. Holvever, it should be noticed that the categotizing of the old Upaniqads as the jiidna-kdncla in contrast to the preceding Brah' malla ritual literature categorized as the karma-ktiltc.lats again an ovelsimplification that becomes strained when one examines the facts. The Chdndogya naturally exemplifies the previously exposed connotation of "trLLth," because it is an appendage to the sdma veda (rneaning the collection of vedic hymns to be chanted), and the word "Chando gya" means singer of these chants. This Upaniqad is therefore ooncerned in part with the Vedic meters rvhich, by their proper utterance, would satisfy the Laws of Manu use of the word "truth" (satya); but this belongs to the karma-kc14(a, The Brhaddra7yakq has a mantra section and many other topics that are not easily subsumed under a single rubric, so it is by no means to be thoroughly qualified as a ifiana' kduda. Presumably, the over-all inclusion of the upanilads in the jfiana-kaAqla intends the emphasis or principal object of the Sutra (London, l93Z), ssDaisetzTeitaro Suzuki, trans., TheLankavatara p. l2l. saCf., note 8 herein, PP. 210-211. pp. 428-430. 3bWayman,'oBuddhism,"

Two Traditions of India-Truth and Silence

3g7

upanipads; and, in particular, the part of the Upaniqads which most interests the Advaita Veddnta. The subsequent Tantric currents-mainly of Saivitic or of Buddhist character-also have their two sides. As van Gulik writes : "Above all, they enumerate what desires can be granted by reciting this dhdrapt and how many times it should be recited. certain rites are required to accompany the reciting in order to obtain the fulfillment of certain d.esires.,'s6 But this recitation of dhdraqtis,whether incantations or spells, is in the ample category of ritual utterances,including the sdvitri, which the Laws of Manu plainly counts as 'otruth". D. L. Snellgrove, in the introduction to his work, The Heuajra Tantra, says, "To dislike the tantras, is but to dislike the r,vorst tendenciesin man, and of the terrible existenceof these tendencies we have ample experience in every generation. The tantras claimed to remove like by like, and sc of r,vhat else should they tell ?"37 By removing like by like, snelrgroverefers to such lines as the citation in the Dohi commentary, "By passion the rvorld is bound; and precisely by passion it is rereas ed'; (rdgerya badlryate loko rdge\aiua hi rnucyare). His remark about disliking the tantras is consistent with what I consider to have been a serious cleavage between the Brhsdaranyaka and the chdndogya following. Because-even ii modern scholars do not transfer their dislike of the tantras to the Chdndogya Upanipad_the fact still remains that the chdndogya theory of desiresin the hearr could be paraphrased,"By false desire the world is bound; and precisely by true desire it is released." so, as often happens, people clo not know what thev dislike. CoNcrusroxs In the foregoing I have attempted to set forth a rivalry of two traditions, "truth" and "silence," while admitting that the traditions becorne distinguished especially by the opponent to a sect, who finds it easier to mount a "refutation" by tieating somelvhat 36R.H. van Gulik, siddham;An Essayon the History of sanskrit studies in china andJapan(NagpurInternational Academy of Indian culture, 1956), p.77. 37The HevajraTantra: A criticat study (London:oxford universitypress, 1959),part I p. 42.

388

Buddhist Insight

artificially, a single aspect of an opposing sect. Then, while acknowledging that the Upaniqads themselves are not distinguished by the two ffaditions, the same investigation shows that the Upaniqads are indeed distinguished by the attitude to "true desires." The traditions thus made salient appear more fascinating than what T. R. V. Murti sets forth in The Central Philos* ophy of Buddhism as the "two traditions in Indian philosophy"the acceptanceor rejection of the permanent dtman or self of the Upaniqads. Therein Buddhism is characterized as rejecting this permanent dtman in favor of a changing, impermanent self. Of course, Buddhism does have its positive disagreementswith the Upaniqadic position, especially as concerns this theory of dtman. The Upani;ads do agree on stressing a Self, even though obviously disagreeing about some matters, such as the role of desire. Murti's classification is faithful to the usual commentarial style of distinguishing the orthodox and the non-orthodox among the Indian schools. A value of exposing the Indian traditions in the manner of the present article is the readiness of the classification for problem solving, that is, for explaining in contrast to simple portrayal. For example, one can immediately find a plausible solution for the term satydgraha in the modern movement associated with Gandhi.38 In the light of the rich connotation of such words as satya and anrta, Gandhi did not really have to deliver a learned exposition of his term satydgraha (adherence to the truth). In fact, the power of the term dependsin part on its not being rationalized or intellectually explained. It insimrated that the produce of the spinning wheel was satya, to wit, undeniable and not in vain, and therefore victorious, while the British stuff was anrta, to wit, disordered and a lie, and therefore the sure loser to satya. The wornen doing the spinning-for the most part illiteratewould not have read the Upaniqads. They were raised in a culture steeped in the connctation of the word satya. Further, the meaning of satya as explained by Velankar is its usage in ritual and politics, while the meaning in the Plqan verse turns out to be its philosophical usage in subsequent centuries. Finally, the precious book by Max Picard, The World of Silence,
sBGandhi ; An Autobiography : The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Boston : BeaconPress,1965),pp. 318-319.

Two Traditions of India-Truth

and Silence

389

reminds us of the spiritual resources that develop in silence, consistent with the Tibetans' translatingthe word muni by the "capable one" (thub pa). Picard also writes, in agreement with the Lows of Monu, "Languageis more than silence because truth is manifestedin language."

20
THE HINDU.BUDDHIST RITE OF TRUTI{-_ AN INTERPRETATION

some years ago at the university of california professor Murray B. Eunxenu r,vas teaching a class in Aryastrra's Jatqkamald*hi+ it r,vasmy privilege to attend-and during the reading of the Siuijataka called attention to two articles : (l) Eugene watson BunrrNcaME, "The Act of Truth (Saccakiriya) : A Hindu Spell and its empioyrnent as a psychic motif in Hindu Fiction," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1917, 429-467; (2) W. Norman BRowx, "The Basis for the Hindu Act of Truth," Reuieiu of Religion, Nov. 194A, 36-45. The contribution of BunTTNGAME is to collect many examples oi this motif; and for the process involved he goes no further than to assert, "An Act of Truth is a formal cleclaration of fact, accolnpanied by a command or resolution or prayer that the purpose of the agett shall be accornplished." BnowN decidesthat"inevery casethe basis of the Trutir Act is the singlenesswith which the performer, or some other person used by the performer as a dynamic reference, fulfils his personal duty...In this way ihe individual achievespersonal integrity and fits the cosmic purpose. Life then becomes a sacrificial act, a rite (kriya), and as such, when perfectly executed, it can accomplish any wish, compelling even the gods, as we are taught in the vedas and the Brahmarlas is possible through the sacrifice." There is an obviously different approach in those two articles_ BuRrwcal,rn is more interested in the Truth Act and the results credited to it as elements in stories than he is in real life masic.

392

Buddhist Insighr

BnowN treats them as miracles, which, while related in stories, are neverthelessgrounded in the religious outlook of the people who therefore regard these miracles as possible even though 'exceptionally rare. In the "real life" approach, one then lvonders why the people think such events might occur, and Bnowx well states the case in terrns of the person u'ho so succeeds : he has been superlative in doing his duty, the Hinciu clharnta, whatever it may be--as, s'y, the dha,nq of a king, of a wife, of a courtesan. BnowN was aware that there is more to it than this, becausethat person doing the Truth Act must verbalize the fact of his superhuman performance of dharma. So Bnowx rightfuliy brings into the discussion "the confession ritual perforrned. at the varunapraghasas,when the priest asks the sacrificer's rvife rvith whom she consorts other than her husband." And he continues, ,,rt is essential for her to speak, not becausespeakinglessens the sin, but because it brings exactitude, that is 'truth', into the rite. And it is significant that she speaks out before varuna, r,vho is the vedic custodian of the rtq, cosmic truth or order.,, It is of interest that thc spoken appeal is also to varrina in the case of the four ordeals-the balance, fire, water, ancl poison.l But in the casesboth of the varunapraghdsas and the ordeals the object is the ascertainment of the unknown truth; whereas in the case of the Truth Act, the emphasis is not on ascertainrnent of the truth however unpleasant, but on teiling the truth that is extraordinary, superhuman. In the Pali expression saccakiriyd, tbe lciriyd (skt. kriya) is the doing that is here the ritual speaking. HrnRrsoN states that in Latin, Sanskrit, and Greek there are nominal iormations based on the verbs o'to do, make " that have side meanings of .,ritual operations of a magical character," but provides no textual references.2For the case of sanskrit she cites the word kytya. our present word kriya also conforms to her view : one of its standard rneanings is "rite." Magical aims are certainly behind the performance of many rites in ancient times, while certain social rites, such as those of marriage, may also have had in an1Dr. Ludo RocHrR, vacaspati Miira, vyavahdracintamani listiscle Eljdragen: Gent, 1956), pp. 320 ff. zJane Ellen HAnnrsoN, Themis, Meridian Books, p. g2. (Gentse orienta-

'The

Hindu-Buddhist Rite of Truth-an Interpretation

393

cient times some magical associations. Therefore I employ the ' rendition "Rite of Truth.', The classicalsourcesof the Rite of rruth are the Hindu Ramayqrla and the Buddhist Milindapafiha. However, the vedic literature already sets forth the creative nature of truth, especially in these two passages of the Atharua-veda and the yajur-veda : It (Td-qeqqrTl( tq f,rarTq( il"{o 1{, 1, ? | "That becameTruth, by That was produced (the world)."
l1l

q q'i.. 3r fr 3r* 1l,io mtrf,r{ rrqojc, { |


"May my Truth and my Faith bringlabout (the wish) through ,sacriflce!" The former passage posits Truth in a way comparable to the doctrine of the Logos, an intermediary between the Divine intellect and the created r,vorld.3The latter passagedepicts the method by which man may duplicate the primordial achievement : by sacrifice he will copy the plan of the Divine intellect, by Faith convince himself of the eiticacy of the procedure, and by Truth bring about the desired extra-normal results. This tenet of the verbal component acting as an intermediary between mind and the objective lvorld is worked out in a variety of ways in old Indian lore and classicalIndian metaphysics.we need only recall the role of vak (the female personification of speech) uttiog as the iqkti, or power, for the lord to reveal himself in the world. This doctrine was elaborated with vak as a group of phonetic powers, the mdtrikd, and Kashmir Saivism as well as the Tantric 'schools wrote extensively on the emanation process of these mediating phoneme mothers.a The verbal form of the Rite of Truth is not a tradition al mantra. It is rather analogous to the upanisadic expressions called vidyas,

,dans certains textes tantriques, Publications de I'institut de civilisation indienne Fasc. 21 (Paris, 1963), especialry chap. v, ,,L 'dmanation .phon6matique".

3cf. H. J. Rosr,Religion in Greece andRome, HarperTorch-books, p, 132. +cf. Andr6 PAooux,Recherches sur Ia syrnbolique et I'dnergiede la parole

394

Insight Buddhist

which are really updsand-s or meditative exercises.5 As K. Narayanaswami Aryan points cut,6 there are three fruits of these Vidyd-s, namely (1) Duritaksaya, the warding off of calamities; (2) AiSvaryaprdpti, gaining of the Siddhi-s or occult powers; and (3) Krarnamukti, progressive liberation. The standard examples of the Rite of Truth e-xhibit fruits falling within the first two categories.For example, in AryaSfira's Jdtakamdld the first categoryis exhibited by the Rite of Truth in three jdtakas, i.e., No. XIV, The Story of Supdraga, to turn a ship back frorn its perilous position near the fabulous Mare-mouth, site of the submarine fire; No. XV, The Story of the Fish, to call down the rain, thus averting the calamity to the fish in a lake almost exhausted of water; No. XVI, The Story of the Quail's Young, to turn back a forest conflagration. The second category is exhibited in No. II, the Sibilatat<a, wherein the Rite, of Truth achieves for King SiUl the divine eyes. Arya6Dra'sformulation of the Sibijataka around fourth century, A.D., not only employs the Upaniqadic trptisana aspect of the rite but also contains elements of considerable interest and relevance to an understanding of this R.ite of Truth. In the first part of the story, Indra appears in the form of a blind beggar before tire generous King Sibi and asks for the King's eyes,which the King with great delight gives to the beggar. In the second part, the King is seatedwith crossedlegs at a lotus pond, indicatitrg that he is in meditative retirement-his "blindness" suggesting allegorically the blindfold of the candidate for initiation.T There is the humming of a swarm of bees (madhukaraganopakujita); later on, when the King obtains two eyes of divine sight, large drums (dundubhi) of the gods sound forth with deep pleasing sounds-the former and latter sounds suggestingthe first and Indra last of the five andhata sounds going with yoga success.s

sCf. Dr. V. RacnavaN's introduction Atutx, The to K. Narayanaswami 2nd ed., 1962). Thirty-Two Vidya-s(Adyar; IVladras, elbid., p. 9. zCf.Giuseppe (Rome,1949), p. 247. Painted Tucct, Tibetan Scrolls
sSriSaChandra VASu, tr. The Shiva Sanhita (Allahabad, 1905),Chap. V, bee, next verse2T : "The first sound is like the hum of the honey-intoxicated that of a flute, then of aharp; after this by the gradual practicc of Yoga, the destroyerof the darknessof the world, he hears the sounds of ringing bells.

The Flindu-Buddhist Rite of Truth-an Interpretation

395

decides it is time for the King to get his eyes back. Why cannot Indra, the porverful one of the Gods (Deuendra),simply go ahead and restore the eyes ? As a preliminary answer to this question, Indra is now made to say, "Hence I shall endeavour to have his eye produced by showing away." The word updya is used for this w&y, or approach, which turns out to be the Rite of Truth. Later, AryaSura will give a Buddhist dogmatic answer in terms of the requirement of two causes (hetu and pratyaya) fot a thing to arise. Indra asks Sibi why he still has his mind on the mendicants, suggesting that the answer will remove the condition of blindness. The King replies : "Why is there this urging of your honor that I be made to boast ? (ko yam asmdn uikatthayitum atrabhauato nirbandhalt). But, Devendra, pray lend ear ! Just as at that time and at this time, the mendicants' words, which are certainly expressions of mendicancy, are as pleasing to me as if made of benedictions, so may one eye of mine appear." The narrative continues, "Then, by the king's power of truth blessing (satyddhislhdna) and by his outstanding accumulation of merit (pu4yopocaya), no sooner had he expressed those words, than one eye appeared,..." Let us consider the implications of Arya5ira's account. First of all, we observe that the Rite of Truth is conducted before Indra, so Buddhism is here preserving a bit of the old Indra religion for the goal of AiSvaryaprapti. It could be expected that after Indra dethroned Varufa as the chief Vedic deity, Indra would have to carry on in some fashion certain functions formerly the business of Varula. While Varula was the upholder of the rta and satya, Indra becomes the one who tests the satya and besiovrsappropriate reward or punishment. However, in the three stories Nos. XIV, XV, and XVI, for the goal of Duritakqaya there is an indiffflerentrelation to Indra. In No. XIV, the R.ite of Truth is done before the sea-traders(visible witnesses)and the gods in the sky (invisible witnesses).In No. XV, it is done before the King of the Devas (deuardja), who in this case is probably Indra incorporating the function of the rain-god Parjanya; and the story continues with a eulogy by Sakra, Indra among the deuas. In No. XVI, it is done before the fire-god, Agni.
then soundslike roar of thunder." The original Sanskritof this text wasnot available to us at the time of writing.

"396

Buddhist Insight

Next, we observe that the basic cause (hetu) of the eye is the accumulation of merit, which professor BRowN's article enables us to identify as a substitution for the Hindu dharma. This is entirely puruSakdra, obvious acts of men, as is also the Rite of Truth, constituting the updya as well as the anu5thdna for a corresponding adhislhdna. The blessing (adhis{hane by the deity is rhe conditional cause (pratyaya) and constitntes a sort of daiua dispensation. But note that in the Milindapaiiha account set forth in BunrmcAME's article, pp. 437, ff., the Buddhist monk N6gasena holds that through the Power of Truth and no other cause, King Sibi received heavenly eyes. consistent with early Buddhism's rejection of the necessity for an Isvara or lorcl, Nagasena rejects any need for the adhi;trhanaprovided by the deity. Nagasena'smeaning of the word for "truth" implies th.ecreative agency of vak incorporated by Truth. This is the implication also in the category of Buddhist scripture said to be promulgated by "mind truth-force," for exampie, "the r,vord.s of the doctrine (dharma), which proceed from mountains, trees,vralls, ancl so forth, through the force of having been uttered by the Bhagavat rnentally with the power of truth (satya-bala)."s In such case, tire successful performer of tire Rite of Truth is himself the deity; and truth is not simply the ethical kind, included by tire Buddhists in the "accumulation of merit," but has in addition a metaphysical implication of "reality" as the word scfiya is translated in Upanisadic contexts by Deussen.lo In the oldest vedic literature Nagasena'sposition would be untenable becausethe first mortal to become exemplary in dharma u'as the celebrated yama and so he received the title Dharmaraja; but in the old tradition he did not become a god : he was tantamount to a deua with the commensal relation of drinking with the gods,1l and presumably also with the interlocutory relation of talking to the gods, as is the situation in the Rite of Truth. Finally, there is the explicit element of boasting, which rong gFromtheMs. translation by F.D. LsssrNcand Arex wayuaN of Mkhas grubrje'sFundamentals of theBuddhist Tantras, (Mouton,The Hague, l96g), Chapter Two. 10Paul DnussrN, ThePhilosophy of theupanishads, auth. Eng. tr. by Rev. A. S. GEnrN, (Edinburgh, p. 162. 1906), 1lcf. our "studiesin Yamaand Mara," Indo-Iranian Journal, III (1959), p. 50.

The Hindu-Buddhist Rite of Truth-an

Interpretation

397.

ago attracted my attention. It is a feature of r4any vedic hymns that the deity proclaims his prowess in a boasting manner or the poet boasts on the deity's behalf. For example, the goddess vdk boasts (RV, x, 125,5) : "I myself announcethis thing favorable for gods and men. whomever the man I love, him I make mighty, him a brahman, him a seer, him a wise man." As long as men believe in gods, they are not held in vain to boast or have their deeds boasted of, because they are believed to perform in fact the acts as stated. But holv can puny man claim such superhuman action except with the hurnan fault of boasting ? AryaS[ra suggeststhat boasting ceasesto be a fault, and hence becomes divine, when it is uttered in the Rite of Truth. This feature of boasting seems to have an eiernent in common with what anthropologists call "the breaking of the taboo" in the case of "primitive" societies.For example, the classic exposition by cn.q.wtnv12 uses this terminology for marriage breaking the taboo involved in segregation of the sexes. If it is permissible to apply this description to Hindu rites or festivals, certain ones, such as the Holi festival in its older form, and Tantric rites with their striking indulgence in foods and sexual partners-seem to be more appropriately char acterized.thereby than is the Rite of Truth. In a negative way, the latter Rite exhibits a weak aspect of taboo breaking. In a pcsitive way, the Rite has some feature .o incorporate of rvhat is called a "rite of passage,"rs and confirm an individual in a new group, in this casethe society of the gods. The performer has an interrnediary, a meditative utterance, the uidyd-which is a goddess (strtdeuatd),ra in this caseVak, the Truth of himself, producing the desired reification.

l2Ernest CRAwLry, The Mystic Rose, Meridian Books, Inc. lsArnold van GBNNTp , Les rites depassage,available in Englisir translation, The Rites of Passage, a Phoenix Book, university of chicago press. 14cf. Yoginitantra(venkatesvarapress,Bombay,1962), p. 40r : mantravidyavibhage tu dvividhar.n jdyate priye I mantrdh pumdevatih prokti vidyah stridevatdh smrrah //.

2l
SIGNIFICANCE, OF DREAMS IN INDIA AND TIBET

Dreams exert a perennial fascination on the lvaking mind. whether or not we accept a certain western theory of dream archetypes, it is certain that in the fact of clrearning itself, in that an individual culture attributes significance to it and makes consequent use of it, we find a common bond of mankind. The allusions to drearns and the recording and classification of thenr in India (by the word suapna) and in Tibet (by the rvord. rmi-lam) usually occur in brief passagesin biographies, psychological rrrritings, Mahdyd.na Buddtrist and Tibetan tantric iexts, and in general literature, or at most in chapters cf rvorks on medicine and astrology and in Jaina omen books. There are, however, some treatisesrepresentedby title to be devoted entirely to dreams, pre-eminently Jagaddeva'ssuapnacintdmar3i, which has a Gerrnan translation, as well as the brief works such as suapnddhydya, in Sanskrit with Hindi translation, and the suapnauicdr,in Hindi. There are undoubtedly such brief tracts on dreams in all the vernaculars of India and of course in the ubiquitous Gypsy d.ream book in English which one can purchase from sidewalk book displays in large Indian cities.l lDreambibliography for the Vedicliterature is referred to in an articleby the Japanese Sanskritist N. Tsuji, "on the Adbhuta-br6hma4a" (in Japanese),Annualof Orientaland Religious (original title in Japanese), Stuclies p. 41. Indian dreams No. 1 (1964), and their interpretation have a briei popularizingsurveyin French by Anne-MarieEsnoul, ..Les songes et leur

400

Buddhist Insight,

A. DREAMS POPULARLY BELIEVED AND AS THEMES IN LITERATURE

we may cite first the d.reamswhose importance is independent of whether they were really dreamt, it only being necessary that people at large think so. Thus the dreams of parents establishing sacred mother-son or father-son relations. The dreams attributed to the mother of Mahavira, historical founder of the Jaina sect (i.e. , the fourteen, beginning vrith the white elephant), as well as to the mother of Gautama Buddha (e.g., the white elephant entering her womb) are of this type. It would be difficult to prove that a different social order (polyandry) is responsiblefor the fact that to both the father and mother of rson-kha-pa, founder of' the Gelugpa sect in Tibet, are attributed the dreams by which Tson-kha-pa was regarded as all three bodhisattuas,Maffju6ri, Avalokitesvara, and Vajrapdti.2 Again, the dream theme of literature depicts dreams in roles that may or may not have occurred in reality. The parallel dream is illustrated by the tale in Kathdsaritsdgaraof how king Vikramaditya and the princess Malayavati first met in dream and were flnally united in reality.s fn the work attributed to Bh6sa, the SuapnaudsauaCatta, the king goes to Padmavati's empty bed, falls asleep on it, and dreams of seeing Visavadatti and talking to her, but there in fact she happens not to be dreaming. This example, cited in Bhoja's Srngdra Prakdia, illustrates the capacity of a dream to breed love and thus serveas a literary theme.aIn this connection the Tamil classic Tirukkural (No. 1216)rnay be cited : And if there tvere no waking hour, my love In dreams would never from my side remove.s interprOtation Oans l'fnde," in Les songes (Paris: fAi et leur interprdtation pp. 207-47.' tionsdu Seuil,1959), Thereis a psychological treatment from rnedical, Indian philosophical, and Abhidharma Buddhist in a chapterby Jadunath sources Sinhain his Indian (Lonclon,1934),pp. 306-23. Psychology : Perception 2These dreanrsare in the brief biography calledZur ltdebsrnam thar legsbiadkun hdus,in Tson-kha-pa's Gsunftbum(Collected Works), Lhasa edition. The identification of Tson-kha-pa with the three bodhisattvas poemof the Gelugpa is in the well-known secitradition,Dmigs brtse rna. 3Esnoul, op. cit., pp. 226-27. aV. Raghavan, Bhoja's,iyngara Prakasa(Madras : publishedby author, pp. 738,895. 1963), iTirukkural,with translations in Englishby Rev. Dr. G. U. Pope, Rev. W. H. Drew, Rev. John Lazaras,and Mr. F. W. Ellis (Tirunelveli,1,962).

Significance of Dreams in India andTibet

40I

As also Kdliddsa's The Cloud Messenger : "Wretch, I saw thee in a dream caressingsome woman or other."6 The ominous drearn appears in the Shilappadikoram.' "The Pdndya queen spoke : 'Al a s ! I s aw, in a d re a m ..th e n i g h t d e v o u ri ng the sun....I saw the rainbow shining in the night....Alas !"'?

B. CLASSIFICATION OF DREAMS

with regard to dreams in general, the Indian genius for classifying comes into play. There are some differences between the Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist works as well as much in common. The simplest division is into auspicious (iubha) and inauspicious (aiubha). The division is seen to be very ancient by the words sDapna and dultsuapnato mean good and bad dreams and also much later in a chapter of mundane astrology.8 Esnoul points out that the key words for good dreams and bad dreams stayed fairly constant from the earliest lists down to the tv;elfth-century work by Jagaddeva.eThe Suapnddhyayais based on this twofold division by the words i;laphala, 'ohaving desirable effect," and anisyaphala,"having undesirable effect." This work begins the good dreamsby saying (s1.2-4):"rf a man seesa crossingover of a stream or body of water, the sun rising into the sky, a blazing fire, the vision of moon-disk among the asterisms and. planets, a mounting in palaces or to the summit of temples, he attains success."It begins the bad dreams (Sl. 39-40): "If one seesthe sun or moon devoid of light or the asterisrns and other stars tumbling down; or sees the ASoka tree, the Oleander, or the Pald6a tree in full bloom [apparently all of red blossoms], he attains sorrow."lo
eKdliddsa, The Cloud Messenger,trans. Franklin and Eieanor Edgerton (Ann Arbor : IJniversity of Michigan Press, 1964),p. 79. zllango Adigal, Shilappadikaram by Prince llango Adigal, trans. Alain Dani6lou (New York : New Directions, 1965),p. 126. sTsuji, op. cit., p. 41. Seealso the words used in N. P. Subramania Iyer (trans.), Kalaprakaiika (Tanjore : Lawley Electric Printing Press, l9I7), chap. xlii. eEsnoul, op, cit., p, 221. toSvapnddhyaya, with Hindi commentary (Bombay : Venkatesvara Steam Press, 1927): yathd / / nadi-samudra-taraqamakdSa-gamanarn / bhiskarodayanar.n caiva prajvalar.n tar.n hutd1anamll2ll

402

Buddhist Insight

Nebesky-wojkowitz reports that in Tibet it is believed that various deities and demons produce dreams : "If one saw a snowy mountain or a soaring white bird, then the lha fdeua]caused this dream. . . . To see snakes,frogs, girls with a pale-blue skin, and mountain-meadows,are mirages caused by the klu [naga]... . and if one trembles with terror and fear in the sleep, this is due to the influence of the bdud [Mara]" (to mention only those due ro spirits identifiable with Indian deities).l1 The Jaina work R.islasamuccaya says : ll2. Dream is twofold. One is that which is told by the god and the other is a natural dream. That drean is a dream told by a god vrhere a mantra (sacred formula) is recited. li3. The other (viz., a natural dream) occurs when one, void of worries and well-poised body and r,veli-proportionedhumours, gets [it], indeed, without (muttering) a mantra (sacred formula).12 The expression "lacking well-proportioned humours" suggests the threefoid division rvhere pathologicai disorders are explained in the medical works to involve imbalance of the three hurnours, "wind," "bile," and "phlegm." In the sixty-eighthPariSista of the Atharuu-Veda men are said to h.ave the temperaments bilious (fiery), phlegmatic (watery), and sanguine (windy). Different dreams are attributed to such persons respectively: for ttre bilious, dreams, for exampie, of arid land and of burning objects; for the phlegmatic, dreams, for example, of nature in splendor and burgeoning life; for the sanguine, dreams, for example, of racing clouds and of forest creatures running in terror.re In the QuesI graha-nak$atra-tdrdndrncandrama4dala-darsanarnI pi va ll3ll / harmyelv irohanam caiva prdsada-Sikhare / evam ddini samdrttvd naral] siddhim avdpnuydtll4ll adityarn vdtha candram vi vigatacchavikamyathd ll patar.nta cdtha nak.:atramtarakddim6ca vd Vadill39ll a6okaln karaviram v6. paldSamvdtha pulpitam / svapndnte yas tu pa5yetanaralt Sokamavdpnuydtll40ll. 1lRene de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet ('s-Gravenhage : Mouton & Co., 1956),p. 466. lzDurgadeva, Ri;tasantuccaya, trans. A. S. Gopani (Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1945),p. 56. 13Esnoul,op. cit., pp. 215-17.

Significance of Dreams in India and Tibet

403

tions of King Miltndo, there are said to be six men who d.ream : the foregoing three, (4.)those under influence of a deity, (5)'those who dream under influence of their experiences, and (6) those with prophetic dreams. The text adds tlat only the last-named dream is true.la The basic Jai'a classification in the wonderful book of omens, Afigauijjd, is into cliitrha, .,seen,, -auyakta-clr,t{a), ; rta_di1tha, "unseen"; and auatta-dillha (sanskrit : .,inscrut_ ably seen" (or both seen and unseen).1s Various lists increase the number of sense organs invoived. Trre tsuddhist Mah ayana text "Meeting of the Father and son" (pityptrtrasamdgama) gives 'dreams based on all six senses, the usual five plus the mind as the sixth sense; but here again the basic classification is three-fold by the three "poisons," lust (:atftaction), hatred (:repuision), ancl delusion (:incapacity), because the text gives a sampledrearn for each of the three in termsof each of the r*r.r, shown in Table 1.16 TABLE I

sEEi-i
f
Hearing

wrt.illrenomv Isc"r]nnerTrt """" "' fffi T,rt','iF-[31,J?, ir,"^i"iia :"1"Tr"'iokli, i i


and beine confused wit[ fear

I Hears ,]"gilq ff.T lame'tation I Hror. ro_ething und, ,11."illt1llmgn!{ I yop" _"ih;;t';; I | ,u,o, music or theberre
of the land

pleasantthing

ritrr..'i--affi, Jr I uoon iori- oi''


ony I |

dersrand the -;i ,rl."ning

i,?il6r. ro un-

smelling t, t^hq ctinging 't;il ; ^^,T.li:il;l"g^_ 1..l'] srnels I t.tlinlii,t,"r, bocly with iandre_ ;{"; I i,ii,i,lir "ili";;?;;", | orher
I^9.?d pcrfumed g.
sub I

snake

of _dog, muii, o, I

rasting

,o j *uu.oot1s hsresortsrnu, hehas rost I "{i?,1[r".:rr. satratronvery sa- | tqeating tire seeds I
voryfood i

rouching

tix*,if,'J'* o,,?lg" tffii'['ff.i.? -^i^1il.";ui.,r"'fv yi:lreilnue, I "i:lf',;lu'rn:":l; I -^?,,i:1 | l?:^1.h"*5-_::.']:.: i ,q4: ana |

I i":f"

j Empr,i-ce; the waist i d;i:; bene

of pLinrpkiri-- i| gourds and other (disagreeable) seeds

hl;-^r_"i' rasre

"f

of theI ing

r#[,"

"opp.i ;i;b i ,i; i*i.?|:!

Tiu:r: ] rnat he haslost

,:',1,'5 ;5;;g}#;#tl *i,'" i;,'i:".I;..*i*,diYl


magrclan

tslbid., pp. 232-33. tsAngavijjd (Prakrit Text society No. l) [Banaras: prakrit Text society, 19571j Introduction,p. 51, and texi, pp. tdO_gt. 16 Pit rputrasamaeain-mahali rrtt iir;lky oto-rotyo photographic reprint of Tibetan-canon), *xIIl., ioI!+' a;A' tr'

q4

Buddhist Insight

The Indian medical text Carakasarnhitd adds the category of dreams as mere past experience (anubhuta) though immediately apprehended, and the category as mere imagination (kalpita)' though based on memory data. Some dreams are wish fulfllment (prarthita), the principal category in the Western Freudian classification, and some are prophetic (bhauika). The Buddhist category of recurrent dreams seems to amount to the VaiSesika "dreams due to the intensity of subconsciousimpressions" (tornAccordingly, Santideva quotes the Sirphapariskdrapdtraua).1' prccha, "Therefore in all his births he loses not the thought of' enlightenment. Even in dreams he has this thought : much more if he be awake."18 The Jaina text has a classificationof the beings in the dream. Under "gods in dream" are gods and goddesses. In human variety are the dead, the living, the unborn, women, men, and the sexless.Under animals there are five : (l) birds, (2) four-footed animals, (3) reptiles, (4) aquatic creatures, (5) insects.leThe category of dead persons is consistent with Emeneau's study, "Toda Dream Songs", showing that in Toda belief' only dead men sing in the dream.2o

C.

PROPHETIC ASPECT OF DREAM

In the Atharua-Veda it was said that the dream comes hither from Yama's world.z1 Yama, the lord of the dead, is stationed in the south. Therefore, we see the reason that the Adbhuta-brdhmana, as analyzed by Tsuji, requires that one divine the dream while facing south.z2 Caraka and Sudruta both describe certain dreams as prognostics of impending disease or death.23A similar view

l?Sinha,op. cit., pp. 314-15. rsSdntideva, Sik;asamuccctya, trans, C. Bendall and W. H. D. Rouse (London : John Murray, 1922),p. 54; and Sanskrittext, ed. P. L. Vaidya (Darbhanga : Mithila Institute, 196l), n ? ? nArtgaviia (cited in n. 15). zoMurray B. Emeneau,"'Toda Dream Songs," Journal of the American' Oriental Society, LXXXV, No. I (January-March, 1965),39-44. zrWifliam Dwight Whitney (trans.),Atharva-Veda-Sarphita (Delhi: Motilaf , II, 993-94. Banarsidass,1,962), 22Tsuji, op. cit., p. 41. zsSinha,op. cit., p. 321.

,Significance of Dreams in India and Tibet

405

was held by Aristotle.za rhe Indian view is that the prophetic 'character of the dream is the adyg{a(the unseen agency), namely, the merit and demerit (dharmadharma)of the dreamer.2b Prophetic dreams (bhauika) did not imply a fatalistic belief, because palliative measures were indicated. The suiruta-sam,hita says : "If one has a sinister dream, he should not relate it to anyone, but should pass three nights in the temple to honor the pretas (the deceased).He will then be delivered from the bad dream."26 rn the Malini school of Kashmere Saivism, if the worshipper seesa good dream he may express it to his disciples 'and if otherwise he should perform the homa (burnt offering;.zz rn the Buddhist work Mrtyu-uaficana ("cheating Death"), the author states several portents of death of the dreamer himself, for example, the dream that a shepherd is wandering at night without a companion and is unable to see the moon or stars. 'To counteract such a portent one performs the ritual of Amitayus, the Buddha of "Eternal Life."28 rn the above-cited Buddhist text classifying dreams by the three poisons and the six senses, the position is taken that the psychological poison first shorvs in the dream and subsequentlyin actions of body, speech,and mind.2e similarly, the tantric work Arya-Tdra-xurit ulle-kalpa says, "when the sign appears in the dream, the siddhi [occult power or success]will arise automatically.,,B0This agrees with other Buddhist tantras, where auspicious dreams that come true indi2aPedro Meseguer, s. J., Thesecretof Dreoms (westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1960), p. 19. zsSinha, op. cit., p. 315. 26Esnoul, op. cit.,p. 225.

zTPandit Madhusfidan Kaul, Malinivijayottara Tantram (Bombay, 1922), fntroduction, p. xxxi. 2sMrtyu-vaficana (Kyoto-Tokyo photographic reprint of Tibetan .canon), LXXXVI, I21. zeThisremark occurs in an almost invariant formula after each dream example. Fortunately, one such dream with the stanclardremarks was cited by sdntideva,op. cit., Sanskrittext, p. 135,showinghowthe dream of lust, becausefor the while believed in, establishes a propensity leading to three bad actions of the body, four of speech, an,cthree of mind : /so .bhiniviftal: san' anuniyate/ anunitah sar.nrajyate / samrakto rigajam karmdbhisaryskaroti... trividhar.n kayena, caturvidhar.nvdcd, trividham manasa /. soArya-Tard Kurukulle-kalpa (Kyoto-Tokyo photographic reprirt of Tibetan canon),vol. III., p. r20, fol. 2: / rmi lam mtshan ma ston zin 7 onos grub ran flid hbyun bar hgyur /.

406

Buddhist Insight

cate approach of the tutelary deity and successin the meditative process as contrasted with the bad dreams indicating that the deity stays far away as does the succes s (sidcthi).3lHere the dream, especially the one with psychologicai poison, reveals the tendency; and Buddhism in common with Hinduism always maintained that one need not follow a portentous jnclination because both religions have their regular ways of purifying pollution.s2 Prophetic dreams are well known in the traditional life of Gautama Buddha. The Pali text Anguttaranikcya relates the five dreams Gautama had as premonitory of his full enlightenment.s3 sixteen dreams are attributed to the King of Kosala in the Mahdsttpina-Jdtaka. For example, No. 2 : "Methought little tiny trees and shrubs burst through the soil, and when they had grown scarcea span or two high, they flowered and bore fruit.,' Then the Buddha, cast in the role of a dream oracle, explains the dream as foretelling the degenerate times when men wjll be shortlived and young girls will cohabit with men as mature women do and so conceive and bear children.BaHere also we see the metirod of dream interpretation : tiny tree of dream equals young girl in actuality, interpreted in context by the dream oracle. This contrasts with the set meaning of a symbol in lists of good and bad dreams. The dream attributed to a king in the time of the former Buddha Kdsyapa in the Buddhist Sarvdstivddin vinaya about eighteen men pulling on a piece of cloth and unable to rip it, as a prophecy of Gautama Buddha's doctrine, is obviously fabricated after the rise of the eighteen Buddhist schools, which hopefully coull not pull Buddhism apart.Bb The life of AtiSa, the great Indian pandit who debated the invitation to teach in Tibet, shows him worshipping Tdrd to receive a dream advice : o'His tutelary gods directed him in a d.reamto go to the great Tirthika city called Mukhena in the neighborhood of srMkhasgrub rje,Mkhasgrub rje's Fundamentars of the Buddhist Tantras, trans.F. D. Lessing and Alex wayman (Indo-Iranian Monographs, vol. VIII ['s-Gravenhage : Mouton & Co., 1966D. 32rnthe Hindu case, the brahmins maketheexpiatoryoffering (prayaicitta arghya), especially in the earlymorningalongwith the gayatririte. The Buddhist monks have confessional and meditative procedures. 33Esnoul, op. cit., p. 237. 34H.T. Francisand E. J. Thomas, JdtakaTales(Bombay: Jaicopublip. 48. shingHouse,1957), 35One of the talesin Mkhasgrub rje, op. cit.

Significance of Dreams in India and Tibet

vikrama Sila, at the centre of which there stood on a hillock a small Buddhist temple. He rvas told that there he would meet witir a female ascetic who coulcl tell him all that he wished to know."36 Also, Tson-kha-pa's biography contains many prophetic dreams. In some caseshe first saw in dream a teacher later to be important in his life, as in the caseof the aged larna Khyunpo-lha, repository of the Yoga tantra.B, once he and a disciple" Tsha-go-pa,fasted and worshipped near the Jo-bo statue of Sirkyamuni in Lhasa, and both had dream omens. Tsha-go-pa saw in dream two great white conchshellsdescendfrom the sky and fall into his coat flap. Instantly they merged into one. when he took that in hand and blew upon it, it soundedan unfathomably great sound. This was an auspice of a great spread and enhancement of the Buddha's teaching.Bs It was also a prophecy about Tsonkha-pa, dreamt by a second person. In the Appendix to the Tibetan Gesar epic there is a page devoted to each dream analysis in terms of good and bad omens. Among the auspicious ones, if one dreams of the sunrise and dispelling of darkness,this portends happinessof oneself and country. If one dreams of hearing tales of praise while surrounded by a retinue of servants,it is an auspicefor movingupward in society. Among the ominous omens, if one dreams that a house cavesin or is ruined by fire, one fears for men and others in the house and should call upon Sitatapatra (the v,'hite Umbrella Lady).se The Atharua-veda tradition holds that dreams in the first rvatch of the night bring their fruit in the year, those of the secondlvatch in six months, while those of the third watch are alread.y halfrealized.a' The Kdlaprt kaiika, written much later when the night was divided into quarters rather than thirds, says : "The effect of sosaratchandra Das, Indian pandits in the Lancl of snow (calcutta : Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, p. 66. 1965), sTManuscript of Tson-kha-pa's biographycompiledby Arex wayman. The card files of the late F. D. Lessing call attentionto the story that the Emperor Hsuan-tsung dreamed that he hadmet an eminent monk oi unusual appearaoce. "The Emperor, applying the paints himself, portrayed(the dreammonk) on the wall of his hall. when shan-wu-woi arrive<l, he (found him to be) identicalwith (the monk) of the dream.,' s8Manuscripi of Tson-kha-pa's biography. selohponTcnzin Namcak(ed,.). (Delhi : sper khan, TheEpic of Gesar 1965)' Appendix. seeaisothelistin Nebesky-wojkowitz, op. cit., pp. 465-664oEsnoul, op. cit., p. 217.

408

Buddhist Insight

'dreams during the first quarter of the night will be realized in a year; that of dreams of the 2d quarter, in'six months; the influence of dreams in the 3rd quarter will be evidcnt in a month; 'dreamsbefore dawn will be realized in twelve days; dreams before sunrise announce their effects in a day."al Again, the Afigauijjd claims it is important to notice whether the dream occurred in the increasing phases of the moon or decreasingphasesand, in each, whether in the first part, middle part, or last part, which each .amount to sixty degreesof lunar motion.a2
D. THE NATURE OF A DREAM

philosophical treatment of the dream is especially interesting. Mahdydna Buddhism and Hindu Vedanta compared the world to a dream in the sense that it is unreal but works regardless of whether we understand it. The viewpoint is well stated by Ramakrishna : "ft is not easy to get rid of illusion. It lingers even after the attainment of knowledge. A man dreamt of a tiger. Then he woke up and his dream vanished. But his heart continued to Palpitate."Ea The classical schools of Indian philosophy took two basically 'different interpretations of a dream. Sinha adopts the Western terminology "presentative theory" and o'representative theory." The Nyaya-VaiSeqikaschool mostly held to the presentativetheory wherein a dream cognition is explained as a perception of the mind itself in retirement when the external sense organs have ,ceased to function. The Mimarysakas with Prabhakara as spokesman held to the representative theory that dream consciousness amounts to a false recollection. In the Indian philosophical context, Prabhdkara's representativetheory comes in for weighty blows f,rom many quarters, including Sankara, the great Veddntin.aa To make th.e two positions clear, I should say that they just involve the belief or disbelief in the rnind as a sixth sense;in which the Buddhists generally believed. If the eye as a sense organ enables perception of forms, and not sounds, which require an arThis is the wayIyer,op.cit.,p. 236,understands passage. the Sanskrit azAfigavijja, p. 190,II. 30-33.
a3Ram krishna, Tales and parables of Sri Ramalcrishna (2d ed.; Mylapore : Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1947). 44Sinha,op. cit., pp. 308-10.

'The

lSignificanceof Dreams in India and Tibet

'ear, so also the mind-"because it is a senseorgan like other sense organs," as Bhdvaviveka stated itab-would have its own partite reality of object not shared as object by the other senses.Therefore, when it retires into itseli in sleep,the d.reamis its own object, hence a presentation of that perception alone, to which the five external sense organs cannot contribute. Bhavaviveka explains that th.e perception that is based on the sixth-sensemind (manouijfrdna) and that has the dharmas ("mentals" or "natures") as 'object is what perceives the dream.a6 Hence this manouijfiana is equivalent to Kashmere Saivism's buddhi, conceived of as mirrorlike because it not only reflects external objects as perceived, through the five outer sensesbut also displays the revived.traces (satytskdras) "at the time of free imagination, remembrance, and 'dream."a? Dandekar explains that in the Ftrindu view the subtle body (silk,rma-iartra)is the basis for dream consciousness, having become equivalent to th.eprdrtamaya (vitar), ntanomaya (mental), and uijiidna (intellectual) sheaths(koia) ali taken together.a8This subtle body of Hinduism agrees with the Budd.hist manouiiiidna as a kind of body that can detach itself from the coarse body ,and wander, thus perhaps similar in regard to dream as the wandering soul of so-called primitive peoples, although the texts I have seen do not spell out the 'owand.ering.,' The philosophical interpretation of dream in India began espe'cially rvith the upanisadic formulation of four states : waking, dream, deep sleep, and a state that is the first three all in all. certain later upanisads took a metaphysical and rnystically physiological rather than philosophical turn and gave rise in time to the special viewpoints of the tantra. Thus, they teach that the '"person" (puru;a) has those four states when dwelling in the four places, namely, waking state in the navel, d,ream in the neck, 'dreamless sleep in the heart, and the fourth in the head,.,'ae rhe Buddhist tantras explain that the white and red. elements of the
46Ibid. 47K. c. Pandey, Abhinavagupta; an Historical and philosophical study .(Benares : Chowkhamba, 1935), p. 252. 48R. N. Dandekar, "Man in Hindu Thought," Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, XLIII, Parts I-IV (1962), p. 9. aeMircea Eliade, Yoga : Immortality and Freedon (New york : pantheon ,Bocks, 1958), p. 128.

asBhdvav iv eka,Tar kajvaIa (Ky oto-Tokyo photogra.phi c reprint), xcv r, 9z.

410

Buddhist Insight

bodhicitta passing up and down the o'centralchannel" of the body generate those respectivestates and hence stay in the neck at the time of dream.b' There were also numerous speculationsin corresponding terms. So, in the theory of four forms of vdc, or "speech," the madhyamd "middling" form correspondsto d.ream and, in the southern Saiva formulation, is the kind of speech dissociated from consciousness.El It makes us recall the Jaina verse above cited about the dream being told by a god when a mantra is recited. This alludes to the state when the constant repetition of a mantra rcaches the point where it seems to sound by itself and, being imagined as independent of the mind, is believed to be pronounced or told by a god.sz In fact, the sound with this life of self-sounding is the dream condition of sound, or,onames,, as things. This formulation of the situation rationalizes the abovementioned correspondenceof dream to dissociated speech. This theory of creating a dream state by repeated incantation, thus to evoke a deity, implies that the bulk of Lamaist iconography-those fierce and mild deities-amounts to sets of controlled dreams. Indeed, the production of an artificial dream state is. prevalent in the Buddhist tantras and in certain ones is called "purifying or exerting the dream" (rmi lam sbyan 6a). Furthermore, the tantric machinations aim at a mixing (sre ba) of the, states of dream, deep sleep, and waking to attain the fourth state. These methods are rnuch practiced by Tibetan lamas, and the method of one of thesesectsis well set forth by chen-chi chang,rs. as also in a work by Tson-kha-pa showing his standpoint.ba The above cursory survey of the subject should attest to (l) a spirited interest in dreams, both in India and ribet, in regard to their nature and purport and (2) to the attempt to use them widely in literature and even in some techniques of yoga. I could have, soAlex wayman,"FemaleEnergyand symbolism in the Buddhist Tantras," Historyof Religions, g4. SeealsoA. wayman,Budrr, No. | (1962), dhist Tantras(SamuelWeiser,New york, (1973). 51P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar,outlinesof Indianphilosophy (Madras : Adyar,. p. 160. 1909), szMkhas grub rje, op. cit., Kriy6 and caryd, Tantrasection, meditation of' "dwelling in the flame and in the sound." saChen-chi Chang,Teachings of TibetanYoga(New Hyde park, N. y. : UniversityBooks, 7963), pp. 88-94. sarson-kha.-pa, Dmar khrid (Kyoto-Tokyophotographic reprint), vor.. CLIX.

Significance of Dreams in India andTibet

411,

stressed more the differences between the Indian and Tibetan traditions, but enough has been presented to suggest that Tibet, despite being swamped by Indian Buddhism in its classical and late forms, has a distinct tradition of its own, perhaps affiliated with the rest of the Flimalaya area as well as with china.

22
THE SIGNIFICANCEOF MANTRAS, FROM THE VEDA DOWN TO BUDDHIST TANTRIC PRACTICE

The subject of mantra is of course too vast for a single article, although Gondal in one essay has an excellent coverage, especially in terms of secondary sources. I find it possible to treat the principal issues in even briefer compass. The old word mantra came in time to have specializedusages,and, in Buddhist literature, to be paired with dharapi and sometimes to overlap this latter word. our procedure will be to lay a foundation of the theme in the old Brahmanical literature, then show that the performance of mantros is in terms of varieties, and finally to venture conclusions in the disputed topic of the meaning of mantras. An OId Indiqn Theory The old Indian division of the Veda was into Mantra and Brdhmalta. Dasgupta writes, "The word Brahman originally meant in the earliest Vedic literature, mantra, duly performed sacrifice, and also the power of sacrifice which could bring about the desired result."z Therefore, in the standard division of the Veda, the Brdhmallas are texts dealing with the actual performance of the sacrifice, while the Mantra is the sacrifice itself. Pdlini also
U. GoNoa, The Indian Mantra, in "Oriens", 1963,pp. 244-295. zSuRrNoReNarn DescuprA, A History of Indian Philosophy, Cambridge,. 1932, Yol. I, p. 2ll.

'41'4

Buddhist Insight

opposes the terms "Mantra" and "Brahmzila."s .brd,hmanastates4:

rhe Satapatha-

"Make ye Agni's paths to lead to the gods !"-as the text so the meaning;. . "making the parents young again,'_the young parents, doubtless, are speech and mind, and these two fires are speech and mind. But the Satapathabrdhma\taalso record.s a dispute between speechand mind as to which was the better of thetwob. Inagreement with the other passagethat these two are paths leading to the gods, they appealed to prajdpati for a decision. when he picked mind, saying speech was only its imitator, speech, being dismayed, 'omiscarried" and refused henceforth to be Frajipati's oblation-bearer. Hence, in the sacrificefor prajapati the performer speaks in a low voice, since the Goddess of speech refusesto speak out on these occasions.G The Anuglta of the Mahdbhdrata expands upon the story?. when Prajapati chose the mind., speech reminded him that, after all, it was she wxro yielded his d.esiress. 3V. S. Acnawara,Indiaas Known to pdryini,2ded., Banaras, 1963,pp. 319-320, saysthat for Palini the mantrameansa sacred formula whethera vedic stanza (rich)or in prose(vajus), and that theBrahma\ds arc norr-nxantrA literature. M. GaNcaNarHA Jua, The purva-Mimarytsd-sutras of .Iaimini, Allahabad, pp. 163-164, 1911, citesprabhdkara for mantraas including.oall thosevedic passages to whichthelearned menapplythat name',.The Siltras saythat the name"Brahma4a" is appliedto the rest of the veda.Also both "Mantra" and "Brdhmelxa" are referred to as ,,vidhi". aJ. EccsrrNc, tr., Satupathabrahmarya, part IV, StsE,Vol. XLIII, pp. 723'124, from VIII, 6, 3, 22. 5J.EccnrrNc,tr., Satapathabrdhmarya, PartI, SBE,Vol. XII, pp. 130-131, from I, 4, 5,8-12. 6Pt. GaNca PnasanUnaoHyaya, Satpatha Brdhma4am, Vol. II, Delhi, 1969,p. 318,mentions for this story particularlyAum prajapataye svaha
Idam Prajapataye idam na mama, as on oblation spoken silently. However, the injunction is general in the yajiia. 7K. T. TeraNc, Tlte Bhagavadgitawith the sanatsujatiya and the Anugitd, SBE, Vol. VlI, pp. 263-266.Critical ed., A|vamedhaparva, Section 21. 8Cf. Anrsun BsRRrnoaLE KElrn, The Aitareya Ara1tyaka, London, 1969 reprint, p. 180 : "Speechyields all desires, for by speechman expresses all desires.Speechyields all desiresto him who knows this". So from I, 3, Z. Also, Sotapathabrdhmaila, YI,1, 2, sets forth Prajapati's union by his mind (manas)with speech(vac) to createcreatures, to wri the eight Vasusto inhabit the earth, the eleven Rudras to inhabit the intermediate space, the twelve Adityas to inhabit the sky, and the All-gods to inhabit the quarters. Thus, Vdc yielded Prajdpati's desires.

"The significance of Mantras, veda and Buddhist Tantric practice

415

Prajlryati mollified the goddess by declaring tliat there are two " kinds of,mind, the stationary $thauara)and tle moving (iangama). The stationary was his own. The rnoving, to ouit, uny mantra, or letter (uarna), or sound (suora), was in the dominion of the cowlike goddess, from whom comes the twofold flowing. Thus the Anugttd sayss: "rt (speech)always proceeds aioud, or noiseless after birth; and of these two, the noiselessone is snperior to the one aloud." These two kinds are apparently the trvofold flowing. In the later refinement of thi Agnipurdna, chapter ccxcflI (Mantraparibhdsd, verse 2g), there woutd be a .,fourfold flowing"ro ' The traditionll is that one uttered in a low voice is superior in the recitation by tenfold merits that loud ones have. trn the case of recitation by tongue, a h.ilndredfoid inerits (superior), by mind a thousandfold. The foregoing is instructive of the ancient metaphorical language. speech was a fire when it was a duly performed sacrificerr, leading to the gods; and it was a cow when it brought the desired resultl'. Taking the two metaphorical referencesas a guide, one can separatoout the instruction. Thus, when speechis a fire, there is the practice of reciting certain formulas three times, ior thc gods cannot be contacted,by random action. In agreement, Goirdala cites the Maitrdyaqtisaryltitdr,4,g,..becausethe gods are three times in accordance with truth." Also, in Buddhist nongCritical ed., 14,2I, 16 :
gho;i4i jatanirgho;d nityam eva pravartate I tayor api ca gito;inyor nirgho;qiva gariyasl ll rc. roAnanddsrama ed., p. 47I : uccair japad viii;yalr syad uparlciur daiabhir gu1taift I jihvajape Satagu4ahsahasro manasah, smrtak ll 2.g. uThe tradition is alluded to in h[anusntrti, ch. II, g5. 12cf. Ksrrn, The AitareyaAraltyaka.from rr,4, r: o.Fromthe mouth carne speech, from speech fire". 13K. N. ArvAR, The Thirty-two vidyd-.r, Adyar, Madras, 2d, ed., 1962,p. 58, points out that there is no vidya devoted to vik itself, and thrn Brhadaranyaka,Y,8, 1, for the meditationon speech "iti, as Dhenu (milch cow). Two of her udders, (the btja-s) svdha and vafat, fecd the Deva-s; a third Hanta, feedsmen; a fourth one, Svadhd,the pitrs. Her bull is pr64a and calf Manas. This calf, the manas,is presumablyAnugitas..moving" mind. uThe Indian Mdntra, p. 267.

416

Buddhist Insight

tantric as well as tantric practice the voWs are repeated three times by the disciple after the preceptor, and this implies that the vow constitutes a sacrificial truth. So also the three times of circumambulation.ls One recalls here the theory of the "act of truth" (satya-kriya), as has been discussed in several articles by Brown and in one by myself above.16 This act requires the prior surpassingperformance of duty (dharma) it the Hindu usage,or to have accumulated much rnerit (puuyo) in the Buddhist usage. But in addition the performer must declare his appeal or command to the deity : the fact that the person desiresaid from the deity does not suffi.ce.One may observe that in this o'act of truth" there is no implication of relative loudness for expected degreeof fruit. Thus, even though the "act of truth" traditionally involved an attempt to derive an extra-normal fruit, the emphasis is on communication with the gods; and so it must be included with speech as a fire. When it is the case of speechas a cow, there is the emphasison the role of the guru. Accordingly we may understand the Agnipurdna, same chapter, v. 20B,-2lA : "A mantra heard by chance, by deceit, by power (i.e. forcibly), found on a leaf; and in gdtha form, one would generate in vain". Presumably this is because, v. 20A, "the guru should bestow the mantrt". Hetrce,getting the mantra in any way except from the guru renders it worthless. The guru is responsible for setting up the ritual circumstances, starting in Vedic times with imparting the celebrated Gdyatri or Sduitri of the Veda, according to P.T.S. Iyengar's eloquent remarkslT : By sacramental use is meant the recitation of a mantra for producing a saryskdrq conceived as a subtle change in the mind and body of the reciter. A sarpskdra renders a man fit to perform some mystic duties...The Aitareya Brahmaryam (1, i, 3) describesthe dtksha for yajfias,' in it the candidate for
15Cf. AnrnuR BeRRrsoarp KErrn, RigvedaBrahma4as,Harvard Oriental Series, Vol.25; Deihi reprint, 1971, Aitareya Brdhma4a, ii, 5, 5, "Thrice Agni goeth like a charioteer"(he says), round the sacrifice "for he like a charioteer goes round the sacrifice". 16W.Norman Brown's most recent article on the subjectis Duty as Truth in Ancient India, in "Proceedings of the'American Philosophical Society", Vol. 116,No. 3, June 1972,pp.252-268.My own articleis Chapter20. 1?P.T. SRrNrvas IyrNc,l,n, The Gayatri, Madras, 1922,p. ll.

The Significanceof Mantras, veda and Buddhist Tantric practice

417

initiation is clothed with a skin to symbolize the foetus being encasedin the arnniotic membrane. The sduitrt mantra is the chief one ussd for bringing about Saviia, the generator. This is the general implication of mantras down the ages, namely, that they involve the freedom to alter destiny by ushering in a kind of rebirth. Also the initiate of the Buddhist yajrayana enters a new and rnysterious world, as suggestedby the Guhyasamdiatantra.rs "The pledge (samaya) and vow (saryuara) said to be liberated from worldly conduct, when protected by all the 'diamonds' (uajra), is pronounced 'practice of mantras' ". VaRrprrrs rN TnRus op Fnurrs These textual statementsof mantravarieties exemplify speech asthe "cow-of-plenty". The previously mentioned varieties in degrees of loudness of course also belong here. Turning to the much later Puralic classifications, we apoeal to the Agnipurdna, the Mantraparibhd;d, chapter, v.14-15.le One should imagine them, beginning with the Siddhas, a$ follows : The Siddha, by reason of surpassing merits. When there is Siddha, the Siddha is through recitation (japa). The Sadhya is by way of recitation (japa), worship (puj\, oblation (huta), etc. The Susiddira by just meditation (dhyana). The
18-B. BgarrAcHARyA, ed., Guhl,asamaja Tctntra, Baroda, reprint, 1967. p. 156.16-17. rcAnanddsramaed., p. 471: siddhadin kalpayed evaln siddho 'tydntagu4air api I siddhe siddho japat sadhyo japapujahutadina I I 14 susiddho dhyanamatrena scdhakdry ndiaysd arih I yaft sydn mantralt.sarvavinfnditaltll 15. du;tarryapracuro On the occasionof the SecondWorld Sanskrit Conference, Torino, Italy" June 1975, ProfessorFleleneBrunner infolmed the writer that these terms, according to varioustexts,refer to a given disciple.Her positionis justified in a valuablework, "Una tantra du nord.'/e Netra Tantra", in BEFEO, Tome L){I, 1974,p. 169. However, in Raslr Vrrnnr JosHr,Le rituel de la divotion Kr;uaite, Pondich6ry,1959,pp. 20-21,the terms are used for magical squares each containing four smailer squares,which the master e',zaluates to determine how the incantationwill work for the disciple.Even here the terms siddha,etc., carl be understood as types of mantras in agreementwith the Agnipuraqa. There seemto be different traditions for the use of these terms, and so the Agnipurdlta'sversion is justifiably understood at face value.

418

Buddhist Insight Ari would destroy the performer (sddhaka). Whatever mantra abounds in bad letters should be completely shunned (saruauinindita).

Here the varieties called Siddha and Sadhya evidently agree with the Vedic mantra, according to Haug's description.zo The Agnipurdqa chapter (verses 1-3A) starts with the varieties in terms of syllables : "O twice-born one, the 'garland-mantras' (mdld-mantra) are said to be mantras with more than twenty syllables. 'Mantras' have more than ten syllables. Less than that (todarudg), they are called 'bijas"'. The author thereby clarifies that performance is by way of a variety, and points out that the varieties establish the speed and degree of success, namely enjoyment (bhukti) and liberation (mukti), with the longer the mantra the shorter the time. The Agnipurdga continues (verses 3B-5A) with a well-known division by sex or genderzl : "The speciesof mantras are of three kinds by way of the female, male, and neuter. The female mantras end with the wife UAyil of Vahni (the Fire God) (i.e. Svaha). The neuter ones end with nqmah. The remaining ones are the masculine ones, and these are approved in the casesof subduing and ruining (of an adversary). The female ones (approved) in the cases of eradication of disease, and minor acts. The neuter ones (approved) in other situations". Here the varieties concern the type of siddhi aimed at, the female ones for appealing to inimical forces to d.esist,the male ones for domineering the opposing side, and the neuter ones otherwise, and so for miscellaneous fruits. Tucci in his l92B article cites the Sdraddtilaka (Calcutta ed., 2d palala,57-58) for a further clarification of the three genders, saying : "... .amqntra must end with one of the following words: phatr,sudhd,namalt. According as a mantra is concluded by hur1t, the first two syllables or the third or the fourth, it is called masculine, ferninine, and neuter."zz He points out that the Bud.dhist 20Manrm HAuc, TheAitareya Brahmanam of theRigveda, Vol.I,Bombay, p. 2. 1863,Introduction, 2rAnanddsrama ed., p. 470: strtpuryndpurysakatvena tridha syur mantrajatayah ll 3
strimnntra vahnijayanta namontai cd napurpsakah I fe;dh pumdrylsaste Sastd vaiyoccdandketu ca ll 4 k;udrakriyamayadhvarpsestriyo'nyatra napurpsakaft l. 22Glusnppe Tuccr, Notes on the Lafikavatara,in "Indian Historical Quarpp. 553-556. terly", lV-3,1923; he discusses the Lankavatara-sfitra's dhdrapi-s,

TheSignificance of Mantras, veda andBuddhist practice Tantric

4p

Tantrashave a crassification of mantra and oidyd, but of course Hindu Tontras, such as the yogint_tanri Ji_; have this.z' In this case, the Agnipurdrla's"mare mantra,,' (puf,tmantra)is calred simply "montr," : and the "femare montra"'iriii-*ontra) is cared "tsidyd". The Buddhist rantra susiddhikara-mahdtantra-sddhanopdyika_ palala, extant in Tibetan translation, sts.tssza; Mantras which pl. few syllables and have Orn and. Sudhd, speedilyaccomprishalr propitiatory rite; (idntika_karma). The mantraswith a prenitudeof vowersuod and are equippedwith Hurn as well pha!, "onronants as u.. ur.o by the wise for harsh rites (abhicdruka_korrna). The wise should apply mantras other than the preceding,and which have the field of the supreme (paramdrtha) word,, for prosperity rites (pauslika_karnta). In this description, it is a manlrausefuifor prosperity ritesthat is the logical candidate for equivarence to the neuterone of the other classification.The third verse of the susiddhikorq,s exposition doesnot contain the word namalt,but possiblyalludesto it by the terminology"supreme word" since namart is used to express homage to a deity or beingsuperiorto the humanstate. The preceding arrd further indication, ;;;resent paper for the fruits of the uidydpermit an "f ,oriparison immediur. with the upanipadicuidyd-s.Thus K. N. Aiyar points o* ,t... kinds of fruits of those uidyd-saccording to the veddnta-sutras : (r) durizsYoginitantra, yenkatesvara press, B_gmbav, 1g62,p. 401 : purndevatah l mantralt prokta vidyak strtdevatdksmytaft/. See also RaNrERoGNoLr, Zace dellesacrescritture (Tantraroka)diAbh113u3,upta, Torino, 7g72,p.71g, but herethe vidyd isnot associateO wlth SieUl,and later (p. 721),when assignins the respectivefunctions or operations of cerrain ;r;;;;, ;ii;;';r";;:,1;:o "l'oblazione" as one would expect ror its operation i" ,r.l ,to vedic ritual; and there is no suggestion of iis being a femaremantrq al menrorred in the sourceswhich I cite. 24Because of textuar difficurties wijh_ t^rre peking Kanjur version of the Japanese photo edition,.vol. 9, p. 5i4-5.3,I alsoi*rri"o the Narthang Kanjur version, from which I adopied the reading aor-aii' trnig (paramdrrha_ pada), o'supreme word". Both editions were unsatisfactory for what I trans_ late "vowels and consonants" (the presumed originar Sanskrit beingarikati, for which see F' EoceRroN, iraitrt ltybrid sanskrit Dictionary). There was no difficulty with the remainder of the three verses-

420

Insight Buddhist

the taksaya, warding off of calamities; Q) aiiuaryaprdpti, gaining (3) krama* invincible; possessor the render occult powefs which releaseby way of knowledge, thus reaching the mukti, successive female Sagurla Brahman.2s These fruits appear to go with the Agnithe illustrate to also seem and norv called uidyd, *irtro meditation to amounting purdrya,s '(dhyona),susiddha type of mantrq especially referred to as updsand-s or meditative exerof the cises in the upaniqadic context. Therefore, the aidya-s tantric later the of (Jpani5aclsmay be taken as the forerunner "female mqntra". A Tibetan text in my possessionwith numerous examples of be the three kinds of mantras (male, female, and neuter), may four "the cited.zo This includes the mantrqs of the group called gods of the sublime heart", stressed by Atisa, the influential Buddhist paafit who came to Tibet in 1042 : l. ortt nlune mtme mahdmuneye sudha. This is the mantra of Gautama Buddha, but it is also the uidyd of the A5lasahasrika Prajfidpdramitd, and so the suahd emphasizesthe female side" insight (praifiA) of the Buddha. 2. Ortt muni paclme hilttt, the celebrated six-syllabled mantrq of the male deitY Avalokite5vara. 3. Ottt tdre tuttdre ture sudhd, the ten-sytlabled uidyd of the goddessTaru. huan pha1, the ten-syllabled mantra 4. Ortt canqlanruhdro,rqna the blue Acala. deitY, male of the fierce In further agreement with the classiflcations, the formula Gate garc parogate pdrasalngate bodhi lyal suahd. is the uidyd of the formula concludes the celeloddess Prajfldpdramitd since the brated Heart-sutra (Praifiapdramita-hrdaya-sutra).And when we fincl the formula for the "Healing Buddha" (Bhai5aiya-guru) to conclude with a sudha, this may be understood as the female healing f,unction, as a fruit of the female formula according to previous citation of the Agtripuraqa. This same Tibetan text has many illustrations of the namalt formula, as a thircl kind. It is intriguing that this so-called "neupp. 9-10. 25The Viclyas, Thirty-'s,,r6 pa'i mtshan I bka' danI debzhingiegs zoThe sriags book is entitled: Gzuns

,gyur siiin po sogs kha 'don byed rgyu zab mo'i rigs phyogs gcig tu bkod pa don siiig lhun grub ces bYa ba l.

The Significance of Mantras, VedaandBuddhist TantricPractice

4Zl

ter" (napurysaka) formula was always translated into Tibetan, while the formulas referred to as 'omale" and "female" lvere transcribed phonetically. This does show that the fidelity of pronunciation of the "male" and o'female" ones is an important issue, lvhile a possible mispronouncing of the "neuter" one seemsnot to have been an issue. For example, the text includes : "Reciting ''I bow to the Tathagata Aksobhya' [completely translated into Tibetan], one purifies all the obscuration of evil karma and sin, and is born, by transformation from a lotus, in Aksobhya's field (ksetra)". Since this text always specifiesa fruit from the recitation of a namah formula, and only does so for a few casesof the "male" and "female" formulas, the implication is clear that this text agrees with the Agnipurdna in assuming a well-definedfruit from the "male" or "female" kind; while the "neuter" kind, standing for all the miscellaneous cases,must have a particular fruit specified in each case,since there would be no rvay of inferring the fruit from the mere fact that it is a "neuter" kind. Speaking generally, Abhaydkaragupta in his Munimatdlarykdra (extant only in Tibetan translation) states : "Furthermore, mqn is knowledge; traina is protection. This knowledge (which knows) and compassion (which protects) is referred to by the term mentra; and the syllablesof such affiliation are also called mantras. Those for the purpose of eiiminating nescience(auiC1,a) and promoting clear vision (uidyQ are the uidyd-s".zz The overlapping with the rvord dhdrani can be observed from .Jfrdnavajra's commentary on the Vajrauiddra1ta-dhdrani(a Tantra of the Buddhist tantric deity Vajrapd4i). Again from the Tibetan: "Dhdrani is of two kinds : uidyd-dh.and mantra-dh. Of these, the present work is called a mantro-dh".28Notice that the varied usage of the word rnantra resulted in adding the word dharapi in this type of classification to indicate the respective evocation of female and male deities, and in the present case, as Jfrdnavajra mentions, it is a mantra-dhdraqti since the male deity Vajrapdiri is evoked. An earlier usageof the word dhdrani, as Tucci mentioned in the 7928 article, was to indicate a long formula made up of a series of mantras. Jfldnavajra states in agreement, "Be27Inthe Tibetantranslation, pa'i dgons Thub pa'i rgyan,TibetanTanjur, Photoedition, Vol. I0[, p. 241-2.2,3. 28Inthe photoed. of TibetanTanjur,Vol. 78,p. 169-4.3.

422

Buddhist Insieht

sid,es,because it retains many meanings and terms, it is called dhdrayi. The vajraiekhara states that the dtiaroryt both provides a basis for all virtuous dharmas, and renders the meaning unforgotten".zs Hence, the word dhdrapi practically has the usage of memory", but more generally I render it o'retention".s0Among the two kinds, the mantra-dh. is obviously the dhdrani made up of a string of mantras, while the uidyd-dh. is perforce a dhdrapi made up of a string of uidyd-s. If one were to translate the two. expressions-granted the hazard-it could be somethjng like "retention of incantations" (mantra-dh.)and "retentionof charms" (uidya-dh.) ElsewhereI translated an explanation of three kinds of mantra: mqntra, uidyd and dhdraryi.rn short, the mantra constitutes a non-duality type of recitation, i.e. the non-duality of insight upon the void, and protection from signs and discursive thought. The uidyd opposes nescience (auidyd). The dhdraryi holds, i.e. retains, the Buddha-dharmas.sl This classification is consistent with the preceding explanations of this essay except for having dhdrarlt as a third kind. The meaning of a dhdraryi as a separate type from both mantra and uidyd can be observed as a memorial device. For example, there is the A-RA-?A-CA-NA formula of the large Prajffdpdramita scripture of Buddhism.Bz Thus the scripture states, "The syllable I is the gate to all dharmos, because of their non-birth from the beginning" (ddy-anutpannatudd). Each of the remaining syllables is said to be a gate to all dharmas, RA "because they are free from dirt (rajas)"; pA 'obecause of the settling of the supreme meaning (paramartha)"; zelbid., Vol. 78, p. 169-5.3, 4, andworth giving : I yan na dontshigmnn' po 'dzinpas gzuis so I rdo rje rtse mo lds dgepa'i chosthamscadkyi rtenpa byedpas na yari gzurisso I yan na mi brjedpa'i dongyis nn gzuis zhesbya'o l. 3oThis appears also to be the meaningof dharaptas in Asafiga's Bodhi(U. WocTHARA sattvabhilmi ed., pp.272-274) where four kindsare givenand defined: ooretention of doctrine" (dharma-dh.). "retention of meaning"' (artha-dh.) "retention of mantrd" (mantra-dh.), and "retention for acquiring
patience" (k ; anti labhaya-dh.). 3lArpx Wayua,N, The Buddhist Tantras; Light on Indo-TibetanEsotericism, New York, 1973, pp. 64-65. 32Thefollowing exposition of the A-RA-PA-CA-NI formula is basedboth on Eowano CoNzE, The Large Sutrd on Perfect Wisdom, Berkeley, 1975, p. 160; and on the Munimatalaqnkdra,Tibetan translation (cf. note 27, above), p. 240-5 to p. 241-1.

The significanceof Mantras, veda and Buddhist Tantric practice

4zi,

cA "becausetheir decease (cyauana) and birth are not the object of consciousness"; NA "becausethey are free from names (ndma)". The syllablesstem from the initials of the respective terms. Therefore,A-RA-?A-1A-NA is a formula for remembering in the given order the five statements about all dharmas, and thus illustratesdhdraptas a memorial device. For other ways of referring to varieties,we may resort to the Agni-purdpa. rn its Mantraparibhd,rd chapter, verses g-r0, it speaksmysteriously ;aa A mantra which is sleeping, or has merely been awakened, does not attain success. The time of sleepis the great evocatron (maha-duaha). The waking state is the conveyance by way of the right. One should ascertainthe waking time of the Agneya-Manu from the oppositeof that of the Saumya-mantra, i.e. the day of both respectively. (The suara) should avoid the Manu-s when there are hostile letters, etc., bad asterisms(1kp a) and" zodiacarsigns (rdii), etc. The suara (should avoid) the Kurus when an enemyhas intervened to the purpose of attaining the kingdom. Here, the term "Manu" is known to mean a mantro,but also the Manu-s in Purd{ric tradition representthe solar lineage; while the Kuru-s represent the lunar lineage.Hence,the ..Kuru,, is also employed for a certainkind of formula, and it is evidently the "female" kind in contrast to the Mqnu as the ..male,, mantra. This is made certain by the end,of the abovecitation, "when an enemy has intervened. to the purposeof attainingthe kingdom", at which time the suara should be of the Manu-typ" that subdues the adversary and not of the Kuru-type, which being female,serves for eradication of disease, etc. on-the other hand, when the stellar signs are unfavorable,what is neededis the female'mantra, or Kuru, to appease the gods,and not the malesaAnanddsrama ed., p. 470: suptaftprabuddhamdtro vd mantraft siddhrry na yacchati I svdpakdlo mahdvdho jdgaro dak;i4dvahaft ll g dgneyasya manol.t sdumyamantrasyaitadviparyaydt I prabodhakalarp janiyad ubhayor ubhayor ahah ll g dutlark;araiividve;ivarnddtn varjayen maniln ll rajyaldbhopakardya prarabhyarill svaralt kurun ll 10

424

Buddhist tnsight

mantra which would only make matters werse. This interpreta(v.1001.a4 tion is consistent with the Siuasuarodaya "During the flow of the Moon, poison is destroyed; the Sun leads to control over the powerful. During Susumna, there is liberation. One deua stands in three forms." Here the flow of the Moon is equivalent to the female-nwntra or Kuru; the flor,vof the Sun is equivalent to the male-mantra ot Manu. The "Manu" and the "Kuru" are respectively the mantra and the uidya of the previous terminology. Furtherrnore, tite Agnipurarya apparefttly intends the fiery mantra (Agneya-Manu) to be taken as the male-mantra, and the mild (,Sartmya) one to be understood as the female-mantra. Hence, when the male one is awake, the female one is asleep, and vice versa. This terminology of "alvake" and o'asleep" r-nay amount to a striking way of emphasizing the fact that they cannot be simultaneous,since the fiery or male mantra and the mild or female mqntra servecontrasting pu{poses.But since both are expressions of the goddessVac, the goddessherself is neither awake nor asleep. The phrase "conveyanco by vray of the right" for the waking state agrees with my citation elservhereof the Buddhist Tantra Sarpuarodaya: "Having entered by the left, the right is the path of leaving".35 Here expiration of the breath is said to be by way of the right; in-breathing by way of the left. The Anwgitd (Sect. : "Then the Praqta appeared,strengthening 21, verse 15) says36 speech. Therefore, it (prana), having reached expiration, speech never speaks up." According to the Agnipurdqta,this is the time when Ihe mantra is successful.There must also be vrhat the Anugita calls the "moving" (jangama) mind, which is in the dominion of the goddess. In apparent agreement, there is Sri-Laksmi's comment on the Buddhist tantric lvork Paficakranta: "The cause 'realis prdita, the effect is mantra,' and their reality (tattua)-isthe ity of mantrA' ".37 scThe popular GuptaBookeditionof Banaras City, BihD ThakurPrasad .seller, reads : I
candracare vi;ahate (src. for -hati) suryo balivaiatp nayet I suSumnayarn bhaven mok,rd. eko devas tridha sthitalj ll 35lVavuaN, The Buddhist Tantras, p. 159. s6Critical ed. : tatalz praqtalt prddurabhud vacam apyayayan punah I tasmad ucclnasam asadya na vag vadati karhicit ll15 szThis passage is in my Yoga of the Guhyasamajatantra; the Arcane Lore af Forty Verses, (Motilal Banarsidass, Deihi, 1977).

"The Significance of Mantras, Veda and Buddhist Tantric Practice

425

Now, the AnugftA also says (Sect. 21, ver$e l4): "Verily, the goddess speech always dwells among the prdpa and Apdna" (prdpdpondntare deui ttdg uai sma tis[hati). The Anugita said. eariier (verse 7) : "The Apdna, having become lord (pati), consequently summons tbe apdnata. That (apdnata) (the inhalation) one declares the intelligence (mati) of the mind (manas). The mind in consequence considers".ssAccordingly, this mind must be the "stationary" (sthduora) kind, which being prajapati's own, is superior to the goddess. But what does the Agnipurdnq mean by saying, "The time of sleep is the great evocation ?" we suppose that the rsls were en.gagedin the "great evocation" per Brhsddeuatq (i.3): "at the time when the seers had their vision of the mantras" (75tttd4tmantrady,r{i,ru).3s The Jaina rvork Ri5{asamuccar-a (verse 113)says:..That dream is a dream told by a god where a mantra (sacredformula) is recited." In an article citing this Jaina passage,I pointed out that the dreai:r level of vac is calleclmadhvamd. and,is the kind of speech dissociatedfrom consciousness;and so the mantra by repetition reaches the point where it is objectified as told by a god, as in a dream.a' Hence, the mantra is heard in the normal "waking state and is seen (as by the r;zs) in a yoga state of dream. The author of this chapter of the Agnipurdryaapparently wished to rcassure the reader that he r,vasnot denying that an extraordinary kind of sleepis a "great evocaton" (as would also be the message of the Mdnc.lukl,a upani;ad) rvhen he stated that ,,a marttra lvhich is sleeping,or has merely been awakened,does not attain success." ssCritical ed. : tam apanall patir bhnna tusmAt preryaty apdnatam I

tam matirp manasalt prahur manastasmadavek;ate ll 7 sevarious tales of rpi-s seeingmantras are relatedjntheAitare),aandKau;itaki Brahma4as.There is the celebratedstory of Kava$a Ailula (the .,Sudra R$i"), who saw the hymn of fifteen verses cailed the Aponaptriya. The Gods, because able to see the "silent praise" (tu;nimiarysa)invisiute to the Asuras, were able to defeat their enemy. rn the episodeof rndra,s fight with v1tra, when the Gods were frightened away, and rndra's friends, the Maruts, ex'ostrike, horted him saying, o Bhagavat ! kill (v1tra) ! show thy prowess !,,according to Martin Haug's translation (The Aitareya Brahmananr,vol. II, Bombay, 1863,p. 192)"This saw a Rishi, and recordedit in the verse vrtrasya ...." KrtlH, Rigveda Brahmanas, p.777, agrees but is lessclear. a'wavvaw, significanceof Dreams in Inelraand Tibet, in ,.History of Reli_ gions", Yol. 7, No. 1 (Aug., 1967),pp. 4,11. This essay appears above.

426

Buddhist Insight

Tns MnaNrNG oF MANTRAS The preceding section should have mad.e it clear that when the texts themselves speak of varieties of m,ntres, the intention was to relate them to designated fruits. However, there is anotherway of classifying mantrqs, and this is in terms of their meaning. The skepticism about the meaning of mantras is very ancient in India, but we shall see that the problem involves different species. of ritual utterance. certain differencesof ritual formuras emergefrom initial considerations. Thus, there would appear to be an inherent d.ifference between the kind of formulas which abound among the minute. details of a ritual, and the kind of formulas which a candidate cherishes and repeats daily. For example, in Buddhist tantra ritual the candidate is drawn into the near retinue of the ma4(ala deities as he pronounces the so-called 'odiamond pledge" (uajrasamaya),AH KHAM uiru HCM41; but this doesnot seem to occur in another ritual circumstance.4z Among the daily recitation types of formula is of course the Gdyatri of the Hindus and the formula oM maui padme HaM of the Buddhists. It can be stated generally that the disciple daily repeats the formula associated with his tutelary deity (istradeuatd). of a different nature are the three mystical utterances (uydhrti), which the Satapathabrdhmana ascribed to prajapati.a' He uttered Bhur which became this earth, subsequently to ue described by the layers of Pdtdla, the underworld. He uttered Bhuaalt, which becamethis firmament, subsequentlyto be describedby the stories of the "upon-world," the bhilmi-s. He uttered. suar, which became that sky, later the pinnacle of existenceor heaven (suarga).. In the Buddhist Tantras there is a set of seed syllables, o,fl,-Ak, Hu1n, repeated innumerable times. The three are correlated to, 41wavuax, The Ritual in Tantric Buddhism of the Disciple's Entrance into the Maq/ala,in ..Studia Missionalia", Vol. Zi (tgl+), p. 45. a2ln Brahmanism probablythe most extensive collectionof these occasionalmantrasis now to be found in the Srautokoia, of which the English sectionhas been published in two monumental volumesby the vaidika. SarhSodhana Ma{rdala,poona, l95g and 1962. asAccording to the satapathabrahmaua, xI, r, 6, z-4, prajdpatiwas born alongwith theyear,and whenfirst he spoke the wordsBhfir, etc., did so like, a child with wordsof one and two syllables; cf. J. EccsLrNc, tr., part v". SBE XLIV, pp. 12-13.

The significance of Mantras, veda and Buddhist Tantric practice

427'

the threemysteries of the Buddhaand to the r[rmerous threefold groups.Thereis something in commonbetween the threeuydhrti-s of the Brdhmanicliterature and the three seedsyllablesof the Buddhist Tantras.That is, both sets have an element of the memorial device, the dhdraui.By this I would suggestthat in reciting the setsof three one may recall the associations-in the caseof the three uydhrti-s,the contentsand deitiesof the three worlds;aa inthe caseof the threeseedsyllables, the variousthreefold sets, as with orp rcmemberingthe night, with Ah the day, and with Hurn the juncture of day and night.asSo underrtooi, the memorial syllableshave no meaningin the ordinary sense; their meaningis in what they intend by way of the respective associations. on the other hand, numerous mantras,and the vedic onesare principallyof this nature,consistof, or includewords with meaning to thosewho understand the language (here Sanskrit).Naturally, evenallowing for such meaning, thereis occasionally some obscuritywith difficulty of interpretation.In the classification of mantra as the male formula ar,.d uidydas the femaleone,thereare numerous caseswith formulas having standard word meanings, with additional syllablesat both ends that are of the memorial type. since the Tdrd uidyd (or7t tdre tuttdre ture sudhd)occurs in the Guhyasamdjatontro, chap. xIV, Ratndkaraidnti in the Kusumd fijali-guhy as amdj a-nib andh o-ndmahasaverse(his own ?)a6 : Preciselybuddhi (discrimination)is the root of knowing. It achievesthrough offering. Hence, at the beginning oi th. mantra is or7t,and it is made clear at the end with sudhd. This verseexplainsthe orp as associated with buddhi, the root of knowing, which comesfirst; and explains the sudhdas the
arro which may be added the three strides of viqnu according to Satapathabrahma4a r.9,3,10. vilnu strode on earth by means of the Gayatri meter, in the air by means of the Tri$ubh meter, and in the sky by means of the fagati meter. 45cf. wavlvraN, The Buddhist Tantras, Tables 14 and 15, for a number of threefold sets going with the three seed syllables. cerhis is in the Tibetan Taqiur, Japanese photo ed., vol. 64,p. 16g-3: I blo tsam frid ies rtsa ba yin I mchodpa las ni rab tu byed des na sriagskyi thog I mar Orp I mthar ni Svd-ha zhesgsal byed l.

.428

Buddhist Insight

clarification or revelation at the end.4?The same work explains the Tard uidyd : Tdre ("O Tard.") because she rescues by bringing to the other side (i.e. is the pdramita). Now tud-is pain; tuttd, suffering; Tuttdre ("O Tdrd, from suffering"), because she rescuesfrorn pain. Then Ture ("O Tura, the fast one"), because she is fast, i.e. rescuesspeedily. Thus Ratndkaraidnti explains the uidyd as composed of two kinds of elements, the syllables Ont and Sudhd which have a general intention no matter what the uidyd, and then the individual words of the particular utdya which have meanings of the iexicons along with grammatically defined inflexions. in this case the vocatives. But also, even when the words of the mantra appear to have the ordinary meanings of words, thero can arise an argument over their meaning and their function, just as happens in the case of any other ancient sentencewhich now can occasion an argument between prospective translators. For example, in the NyayaMaiijari (section translated in "The Calcutta Review", Oct. 1955), the opponent had argued that a mantra renders its assistanceto .a Vedic rite only by its recitation, referring to the case of the rnantra,'ol:[ear, oh slabs of stone l" (ir4tota grdua4alt), and observing that stonescannot hear. The author of the Nydya-Mafiiari repliecl : "$rnota grdudi.tah is..a miraculous act by the influence of which slabs of stone can even hear". In this case,both sides of the argument have a point. The opponent could argue that this remark just comes up in the course of the ritual, and evocation is more to be ascribed to the daily-recited formula like the Gdyatri. The Nydyo-Mafiiari author is also on good ground, becausehe is emphasizing the role of faith or conviction, that those going through the ritual should believe that events take place as stated
47For some other explanationsof Orp, seeK. V. G.nnNoRAGADKAn, Neo [tpanishadicPhilosophy,Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1959, pp. 26-29. It should be understoodthat RatndkaraSanti's explanation has been specialized for the caseof a vidya, as shown by the Svahaat the end. That is, the attributed to the vidya. Ory is here the seedfrom which comesthe successes Since the preeminentsuccess of a vidya is the divine knowledgeleading to liberation, the Ory is here explainedas the root of knowing. The term buddhi is here involved, apparently since it is the processleading to the Buddha, who has been enlightened.While the term is employed in various ways in the Indian texts, the usage here seemsabout the same as in the Bhagavadglta, Chap. II, verse 39, including : o'associated with which buddhi, O Pdrtha, you will get rid of the bondageof karma".

The Significance of Mantras, Veda and Buddhist Tantric Practice

429"

(whether or not they do), this flrm belief ensuring the successof the whole ritual. In any case,this shows that the insiders of a cult frequently do not agree on the meaning or function of a mantra; and so, the meaning or use of mantras cannot be established by the criterion that all the followers of the cult agree upon it.48 Then notice also how some formulas which seem meaningless are ascribed meanings in the cornmentaries ! Once I noticed in a commentary on the Buddhist dhdrani of Vimalopqita theseuidyd-s/ ksaqtak;aqta / ksitti ksini f ksuUu ksunu /.nn At usual thesewere transcribed into phonetic Tibetan letters. The explanations were translated; and the three pairs were explained respectively : "Guard, guard !" (sruns iig sruns ^flg),"Rescue, rescue !" (skyobs Sig kyobs ,fig), "Nourish, nourish !"(tshos fig tshos .flg). Besides, it appears tnat any mantra which is o'meaningless"in terms of its constituents might also be consideredmeaningful in terms of the intended fruits to be derived from the ritual utterance.so Still another case is when a mantra appears meaningful, and yet the commentary ascribes an unexpected meaning.sr Thus a work called Bolimdlika- preserved in the Tibetan Tanjur canon, consists of mantras transcribed into Tibetan, and a translation into Tibetan is regularly added. Once I noticed therein the mantra hana hana, which we would expect to mean "Destroy, destroy !". But the translator added the Tibetarl snun snun, which means. "Prick, prick !" and seemsto preserve a Vedic meaning of the verb han-, "to hurl a dart upon".sz a8Cf. pp. 43-54, Jna, ThePurva-MImarysa-Sutras, whichtakesup various arguments by the opponent to the effectthat mantras are meaningless and
then replies defendingthe significance of nnntras. aeThisdhara4i has a very long title, and l.heauthor of its commentaryis known in Tibetan as Lhan cig skyespa'i rol pa (*sahajalalita); it has No. 2688 in the Tohoku Catalog of the Kanjur-Tanjur; and the passage is in Derge Tanjur, Rgyud, Vol. Thu, f. 2B5b-1,2. 50Jne. The Purva-Mimanxsa-S[itras, p. 53, informs us "Examples of the interpretation of apparently meaningless manftas are given in the Tantravartika (Translation, pp. 100-101)". 51Or, again, as Asanga'sBodhisattvabhumi (Wogihara ed., p. 273) puts it: "Preciseiy this m:aning of them (i.e. the mantra words) is, to wit, fruitlessness" (ayam eva cai$am artho yad uta nirarthatd). 52I originally consultedthis work in the Derge Tanjur, where it is included in the Rgyud (Tantra commentary)sectionbut in the Narthang as well as the Peking Tanjur editions it is placed among the miscellaneous works concerned lvith grammar and lexicography.

430

Buddhist Insight

In conclusion, the chargethat mantrqsare meaningless is to be grouped with the innumerableother chargesof meaninglessness that have been traded back and forth in India in past millenia, and the natural retort is that the opponenthaseither not beenin .a position, or has not taken pains to ascertain the meaning.And it is also obviousfrom the presentstudy that later religiouspractices of India, suchas the Buddhist Tantra, have a profounddebt to the Vedic religion.

23
THE GODDESS SARASVATI-FROM INDIA TO TIBET

rn the vedic period, vedic lore and rearning deveroped on the banks of river Sarasvati in North-west India. This river once flowed to the sea, but in time disappeared in the desert sands,as though to bring the vedic period to an end. Thereafter the goddess of the same name, sarasvati, would convey this learning, as the inspirer of eloquence became calred 11d by the Hindus Vdgdevi or the goddess of speech. swdmi Prajfrdndnanda (Historicar Deueropment of Indian Music)r conveniently presents the essentials or the vedic worship of this deity. she was one of a triad of goddesseswho, according to the commentator sdyana, were conceived as three blazing flames of fire (agni); and sarasvati in time became preeminent as a fire by which there was comm'nication with the gods. This author writes (p. 5r): "In the mytho-historical riteratu re, Deui sarasaati, the presiding deity of learning and all arts, was described as the tongue of the sacrificial fii (agniiihud sarasuati),,. And again, "The ancient authors on music conceived and deified the primal sound, Ndda, as a symbol of the goddess ,saras nati.,, He refers (p. 56-57) to rhe satapatha-Brdhiarya (yrr, 2.4.r-7), for the legendary association of ihe godder, *ith the Gandharvas, the celestialmusicians. The Gandharva visvavasu had stolen the nectar Soma from Gdyatri (which is a certain meter, and also rPublished by Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, Calcutta" 1960.

432

Buddhist Insight.

when the' the charm, uidyd, addressedto the Sun dgity at dawn). maiden Deuaslearned of the theft of Soma, they sent the beautiful are said to be vdc or vdgdevi to rescue Soma. The Gandharvas they fond of women and beauty, so when vdgdevi approached, yours be the soma went to the gods (the deuas), and said, "Let lrad thus Gandharvas the Since ours." be and let Vdc or Vdgdevi in excelled they time that from ranks, their secured Sarasvati ior godthe Laksmi, or sri that mentions music. This author also from Sarasvati dess of good fortune, was gradually separated her' though frequently paired with proJ. N. Banerjea-line oeuelopment of Hindu lconography)z As period' Hinduism vides the main details for the classical with connected sometimes known by the Purd4as, sarasvati is and sometimes Brahma, both as his daughter and his consort, The Jains thrives). (who with vitqu as one of his consorts, Pupli Vidyddevis' the put her at the head of the Srutadevatis and she is usually i, uo independent goddess (i.e. not a consort), as four-armed, described in such texts as ttre Vi;ryudharmottara with many white colored, dressedin white garments and decked of ttre following ornaments, holding in her four hands any four instrument, objects : manuscript, r,vhite lotus, rosary, musical the possibly is instrument musical The ott. ,o *ut r-n.rsel, and the manuscript is' oldest emblem associated with her, although with Brahmd; also old. A late Gupta form shows her in association (uaramudrd), gesture gift-bestowing she is four-armed, with (uiTd), and the instrument musical the the rosary (aksamala), is names of her one arms. four her water-ves sel (kamaudatu) in autumn the also autumnal," is Sarada, wtricil means "she who moon;andthenamealsostandsforakindofVi4aorlute. B.Bhattacharya(ThelndianBuddhistlconography)sSummaperiod, namely rizes the forms of surutuati in the late Buddhist with three faces form a and four types of the two-handed goddess, : foll0wing the urro si* arms. From his work comes (1)Mahasarasvati,resplendentliketheautumnmoon,rests' gift-giving (uarada) on the moon over the *hit. lotus, shows the white lotus with the g.rtor. in her right hand, carries in the left is extre(smeramukhi), is stem. She has a smiling countenance ' 1956' zPublished by the Universityof Calcutta Calcutta'1958' Mukhopadhyay' L' K. sPublished by Firma

The GoddessSarasvati-from India to Tibet

433

mely compassionate,wears garments decorated.with white sandal decked in many ornaments; she appears a maiden of twelve years, and her bosom is uneven with half-developed breasts like flowerbuds; she illumines the three world.s with the immeasurable light that radiates from her body. She is surrounded by four goddesses who are apparently facets of herself : Insight (prajme in front, cleverness (medha) to her right, Memory (smrti) to her left, and backed up by Intelligence (mati). (2) Yaravi+Ft Sarasvati. She is distinguished by carrying in her two hands the Vild, and she plays upon it. (3) As Yajrailarudi (deification of the autumn), she has a crescentin her crown: is three-eyed, and two-armed, carrying the book in the left hand and the lotus in the right. (4) Aryasarasvati is also called vajrasarasvati, a common name of sarasvati among the Buddhist tantrics. She is a maiden of sixteen, in the prime of youth, has white complexion, and in her left hand holds a lotus stalk on which rests ihe prajRdparamitd. book. No mention of what is in her right hand is made. The other form which Bhattacharya found is vajrasarasvati, with three faces and six arms, in pratydttdha dsana (this means right foot bent forward, left retracted), on the red lotus. She is red in color, with right face blue and left face white. In her three right hands she carries the lotus on which is the prajfrdpAramitd. book, the sword and curved brade; and in the three left, the skull borvl of Brahma, the jewel and the wheel (cakra). An alternate description has a simple lotus (no mention of book on top) and. a sirnple skull bowl (no mention of its being Brahma's). Passing to the Tibetan tradition, I have used the collection sgrub thobs kun btus, vor. Kha,a which is mainly given over to. rituals of the three insight deities : Mafrjusri, Sarasvati, and the white Acala. The sarasvati section has seven works occupying. consecutivefolio side numbers 394-546,or about 150 folio ;id.; which I have surveyedfor this paper. First some general remarks. may be made. (a) since there is only one goddess, namely sarasvati, among the three "insight" deities, it follows that prajfr FryFnamita(who is occasionally depicted iconographically)s is here incorpoiated aDehradun. G. T. K. Lodoy,N. Gyaltsen andN. Lungtok,rg70. sSee frontispiece in Edward conze,selected sayings from the perfection, (The BuddhistSociety of Wisdom : London,195t.

434

Insight Buddhist

in the Sarasvati treatment. The reason is suggestedby a Mahdyana scripture that was popular in both Tibet and china, the which devotes a chapter to Sarasvati Suuarnaprabhdsa-sutra, setting forth her sddhana, together with the rite of expanding insight (prajmfl and cognition (buddhi).u At several places in the Tibetan materials, e.g., at f. no. 472, tbere is a discussion of the nature of prajfid. At f. no.524, the Praiiidlatakais cited.? "Prajfla is the root of all merits, whether seenor unseen. Since it accomplishes both, first one should endeavor to promote insight". And the same folio side States: "Among the numerous means for promoting insight, the one that is best is the reliance on Devi Sarasvati." (b) There were numerous sddhanas, or evocation rituals of deities, translated into Tibetan; and the iconographical descriptions are not always included in Bhattacharya's pioneer and still invaluable work. Thus, he did not include a four-handed type; but in this Tibetan collection the Sarasvati of the Bo-don school is a four-handed one embraced by a four-handed Mafijughoqa, although not having in her four hands the four hand symbols of the Gupta forrn previously mentioned. Both Furdlic legends afe fepresented in the collection : The white Sarasvati of the Brahmin Kilas school is called "Brahmd's daughter," although also referred to as a metamorphosis of Arya Lokesvara's great tooth, a legend contained iL Mkhas grwb rie's Fundamentalsof the Buddhist Tantras.e The Sarasvati in the lineage from Bo-don pal-chen phyogsJas-rnam-rgyal makes her an emanation frorn Vi+lu (in Tibetan, khyab' jug). (c) It is of interest that where the age was given I could not find in the iconographical descriptions of this Tibetan collcction the age "twelve" that was prevalent in the types Bhattacharya presented. The preferencefor the 16 yeared Sarasvati in these sddhanas is also evidenced by the description of the breasts, usually "round, firm, high, and large." There is some significancein this Chap. XV, 66, suggests, switch, becauseas the Guhyasamdjatantra, the twelve-yeared girtr or boy was ernployed as a vesselfor divieCf. FerdinanriD. I-essing and Alex Wayman,Mkhasgrub rje's Fundap. 111. (Mouton: The Hague,1968), Tantras of theBuddhist mentals TThis to Nagirjuna. in theTibetanTanjur,andattributed work is included sSanskritized from the Tibetanname,Bram ze phur bu. eSee note 6 above.

The GoddessSarasvati-from India to Tibet

435

nation of ritual success.l0The 16-yearedforrn loses the possible divination connection, and by the suggestion of nubility fits the form of Viplu's consort, called Pupli ("thriving"). Also, the age of 16 agrees with the well-known Buddhist association of "insight" (prajma) with the sixteen voidnesses(iunyata); and sarasvati's epithet vdgdevi agreeswith the sixteen vowels of the sanskrit alphabet. (d) These Tibetan materials help solve a problem allud.edto by Madame Mallmanll in her study of Maffjusri's iconography where she mentions (p. 16) that Mafrjusri's association with sarasvati was previously pointed out by A. Foucher and by s. L6vi (the latter in his Le Ntpal), but that"so far she has not found this in the sanskrit text she consulted. In the esoteric sdclhana of the red Sarasvatidescended from the KashmirianpayrdirBhiksaparama, the statementis made (at folio no. 52r . 2) : o'Now, here the esoteric evocation of the red Sarasvati is explained according to the KTspayamdritantra." This indicates that the association of sarasvati wiih MafrjuSri is in the tantra devoted to his angry form called yamdri or yamdntaka. Therefore, it should be in such a Sanskrit text that sarasvati would be thus set forth. (e) These Tibetan sddhanasbring up some of their own problems. Thus, the divorce from the original association with the Sarasvati river seems complete by such remarks as frequently occur, "Sarasvati dwells at the shore of the southern ocean." More fully (f. no. 481): "o11the shore of the southernocean,the divelling of the gandharua maiden, in the pleasure grove of the vidyddh.aras." The term "gandharua" should be unclerstood by the previous expianation, narnely, "heavenly nusician.', The vidyddharas seem also to be flying spirits {cf. Kramrisch's illeistration "Flying Vidyddhara"rr). The Tibetan materials at f. no. 444 call Sarasvati thelvife of the Gandharva Tambura. Now prajfrdndnanda when discussing
dyotana cornmentary on the Guhyasamajatantra,in the Japanese photo edition, vol. 158,p. 125-3-4,5, is the sexuar isoration, hence, .,puberiy crisis,, unmixed with the other ssx. chap. XV oi the Gwhyasanzdja especially concerns dream and other auspices. uMarie-Thdrdse de.Mallmann, Etude,iconographique sur Mafijuiri (Ecole francaise d'Extreme-orient: paris, 1964.) rsstella Krarnrisch The Art of hdia (phaidon publishers rnc. : London, 19s4). P1.68.

10The reasons, as pointedto in Tson-kha-pa's annotaticn of the pradrpocl-

436

BuddhistInsight

(p. 384) the varieties of ainds, says : "Tambyra, tamburd or tdna-purd is known as the tumburu-ueend".Thus, the name o'Gan-dharva Tambura" probably means o'Gandharva who plays the' tumburu-uinii". In Mallman (p. 94),PafrcaSikha, king of the Gandharvas, is playing a Virtd; and this entry is followed immediately by reference to "Sarvarthasiddha, king of the Vidyadhara,'" thus pairing the Gandharvas and Vidyddharas, as in the Tibetan text cited above. An. unsolved problem of the Tibetan sddhanasis the epithet of Sarasvati at f. no. 520-3,4, "messengerof Sila."13 As to the descriptions of the goddessin this Tibetan collection, there are three basic forms: 1) the independent white goddess;, (2) the independent red goddess; (3) the goddess as a consort. (1) Here there is the white Sarasvati of the Brahmin Kilaschool,, f. no. 413 : The officiant goes through the various preliminariesn such as bathing, taking a comfortable seat, taking refuge, generating the mind of enlightenment, and contemplating the four boundless states. Then he purifies the void with the mantrc "suabhdua", etc.la Thereupon he contemplates that from the realm of the void appears a temple inhabited by the gods and the host of accomplished rpis and gandheruas)surrounded by delectable herbs of a Mt. Meru grove, within a white and pure ocearl of milk. From a PAM appears a trunk of white lotus with large, petals; and frorn an A a moon disk, and thereon a white HRIII from which arises Vdg-devi Sarasvati, with white body, one face,. two-armed, her face calm, smiling, and lovely with charming youth of sixteen years, breasts firm and high, naffow waist, in squatting posture; with her hand holding an instrument of many strings of lapis lazuli, and evoking it with the fingers of her right hand, producing an ocean of sounds. The back half of her black glistening hair is tied together, and the remainder freely hangs. dorvn. She is beautified on the crown of head with a crescent moon, and on her head is tied a garland of white lotuses; and her tressesof hair are beautified with various jewels. The upper part of her body is covered with white silk, and the lower part
rsThe name o'Sdla" was transcribed into Tibetan phonetically. laThe mantra is given fully on f. no. 541 : Orp svabhavaiuddhah sarvadharmah I 'oor.n. svabhdvasuddho'haml All dharmas are intrinsically pure. I am intrinscially pure".

The GoddessSarasvati-from India to Tibet

437

wound around in variegatedfashion like a rai4bow. she is adorned with strings of gems and jewels and with nets having small bells. Her body, lacking self-existence,emits light rays without end ,and has in back a shining curtain in the form of a moon. The officiant contemplates in his own heart a lotus stalk with flowers that had been suspended downwards, that becomesdirected upwards and takes on the aspect of a red lotus opening up; that within the flower is a moon, and on it a white o\4. And he contemplates that while he hardly breathes out, the nddar| of theo$ '(meaning the small circle on top of the oM) emits white rays, which pass out through his right nostril, and enter the left nostril 'of sarasvati like the one he has contemplated (in front) but dwelling in the entrancing glade of the vidyadharas on the shore of the southern ocean, and there entering her heart, attracts sarasvati in the gnosic form together with retinue, blazing with light, which leaving via her right nostril, like the rising moon of autumn, in an instant appears in the sky in front (of the officiant), trlling the heavens with offering clouds. He offers flowers, etc. with the appropriate mantras, and then invites the godd.ess, while muttering with barely audible sound, while he holds breath within. He contemplates that the shining circle enters by his left nostril and merges with the oM in his heart. Then the oM transforms into a rvhite eight petalled lotus with sarasvati and retinue. . (and so on down to) pervades his whole body with light, which dispels the darkness of ignorance and expands the light of intelligence directed without hindrance on all the knowable (and so on, for the concluding part of the ritual). (2) There is the secret evocation of the red Sarasvati in the lineage from the Kashmirian poryfit Bhiksaparama (f. no. 505). The aim is to expand the fulfilment of praifid. After the various ritual preliminaries, much the same as in the case of evoking the white Sarasvati, the officiant meditatively ascends to the void contemplating all dharmas as void and without self. He contemplates that from the realm of the void there appears an eightpetalled lotus, that upon it his own mincl changes into a red. HRIH, which sends out rays that make offering to the nobles, chase away the darkness of nescienceof the sentient beings, and.
vati.

lscompare theprevious mention of ndda asa symbol of thegoddess saras-

438

BuddhistInsight

amount to the light of prajfid; then returning, change into a knowledge mirror. That melts into light, and himself (i.e. the offfrciant)imagines that he becomes the Devi Sarasvati with body red like the color of coral, with one face, two hands, the right hand holding the rvish-granting jewel (cintdmaryi) and the left hand with right leg bent holding the knowledge rnirror (jfianddar,"ra), forward and left retracted, breasts firrn and large, with head ornament of various jewels, earrings, necklace, hand bracelets, a girdle belt of pearl, a garment of variegated silk that flares out, the rrraiden aged exactly sixteen, countenance calm, smiling, and charming, (body) sending out innumerable rays; and he imagines that appearances are devoid of self-existence, like reflections on the mirror; and imagines on the head a white OM, on the neck a red AH, and in the heart, a black HUM. (Then the officiant, as in the earlier rite attracts from the shore of the southern ocean Sarasvati in the gnosic form just as he has imagined her above). In explanation of the meditation procedures in the above cases of the white and the red Sarasvati, the officiant first evokes the Ceity, here the goddess Sarasvati, as the symbolic being (samayasattua)-a conventional representation; then attracts tire knowledge being {jfianasanua)-usually from the sky, but here from the shore of the southern ocean, perhaps meaning the Milky Way; and the entrance of the knowledge being or circle into the officiant to be lodged in his heart, is held to establish the lineage of the deity in that person, who thus unifies the symbolic and knowledge beings.16 (3) Here, for the red Sarasvati as a consort in the Bo-don lineage, the offrciant follows preliminaries somewhat along the lines of the preceding evocation of the red Sarasvati, leading (f. iro. 542)to the officiant's becoming meditatively Vajradevi VagiSvari, the venerable Sarasvati, whose color of body is red, with one face, four arms, of which the trvo basic ones embrace the male deity; and with the two remaining ones, in the leftholds a precious musical instrument of many strings that is resting on her left side, which with the fingers of her remaining right hand she slowly plays, producing an ocean of musical sounds with the
rGCf. Lessing and Wayman, Mkhas grub rje's Symbolic Being and Knowledge Being.

The GoddessSarasvati-from India to Tibet

439

full gamut of notes, gratifying all the Buddhas; while her two feet are in the lotus intertwine. Next to her is the Lord, the venerable Mafljughosa, with body red-yellow, one face. and four arms, with the two basic arms embracing the goddess; and with the two remaining ones, in the rightwields a sword thatblazeswith light rays, and in the left holds a blue lotus on top of which is the Prajfiaparamitd book. Both of them have bodies wondrous to see,adored with all manner of jewels, and dwell amidst a furious light display. on the petal to their East is Insight (prajfra), on the southern one is Intelligence (ntati), on the western one is Memory (smrti) and on the northern one is cleverness (medho). Each of these have one face, two arms, hold a sword with the right and, a white lotus with the left, are each adorned r,vith silk and jewels, and stand with their two feet together. The central deities and the retinue all have on their forehead an o\{, on their neck an AH, in their heart a HUM. In this case, there was no indication of the goddess'sage, although the presumption is that she is here also sixteen years old. Finally, the elaborate ritual of the white sarasvati in the lineage from Bo-don pap-chen phyogs-1as-rnam-rgya1 mentions a role of the goddess'sutpa in the yoga of the watches (at f. nos. 473474). This has to do with the yoga procedure of evoking the goddess at the sandhis, especially dawn and dusk, taking rest rvith the goddess'sblessing,and being aroused by the sound of her tiltcT.The text sa)'s : "The great music from the sounding of the ui\ta, of the profound and far-reaching dharma. ar,vakens him from all the inner and outer sieep; and he seesdirectly her face". In conclusion, the powerful goddess personality of sarasvatl that had developed in the vedic period continued unabated through the many centuries,even though the iconographic details varied. Despite the adaptation of the goddess to later tantric meditation procedures, the goddess's ability to promote insight and inspiration did not suffer serious detraction even when she advanced from twelve to sixteen vears.

24
THE TWENTY-ONE PRAISESCTFTARA, A SYNCRETISM OF SAIVISM AND BUDDHISM

Dr. A. S. Altekar's wonderful and often-moving work named,The Position of women in Hindu Ciuilisation from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day mentions that Tantric writers joined the crusade against the Sati custom. Using the Mahdnirud4atantra (X, 79-80) as authority, "They pointed out that woman was the embodiment of the suprerne Goddess, and boldly declared that if a person burnt her with her husband, he would be condemned to eternal hell." The Buddhist Tantras also stress the sacred nature of all women, and the fourteenth of the fourteen fundamental transgressions (milldpatti) of the Anuttara-yoga-tantra 'code is "to disparage women, who are the self-presence of Insight ,(prajfiit-suabhaua)".1 Inthe latter texts "fnsight" (prajmfl is a name of the Great Mother. There is no need here to dwell upon the importance of the Mother-goddess in India or upon the antiquity of the cult.z In
lA6vaghola's Mulapattisarygrahais not completely availablein Sanskrit, as edited and translated by Sylvain Levi, Journal Asiatique (1929), 266-7. 'The fragment did not go down to the fourteenth one, which, therefore, is translated here from the Tibetan version. 2Among the numerous discussions of this subject, one may refer to the treatise by Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sircar, "The Sakta pi!has,', J. R. A. S. B. Letters, XIV (1948), 1-108, especiallyAppendix YI, Siva and Sakti in the ,Orthodox Indian Pantheon, pp. 100, f.

442

Buddhisr Insight

the west, the analytical psychologist c. G. Jung has pioneered a theory that this is an archetype in the hurnan psyche. The worship of the Supreme Goddess under the name Tara began r,vith the Bucldhists, and subsequently Tal:- was admitted to the F{indu pantheon. This is recognized by Handiqui.s The briei text wirich forms the basis of the present essay covers the various moods, calm and fierce, of the Goddess,and doesso with 'a frank employment of both Saivitic and Buddhist terminology. It coirtains a rare use of the word iqkti (fernale power) in application to a Buddhist goddess. Such a syncretism is also rare. Ordinarily, Buddhist works, and perhaps the same is the case with other trndian schools, disguise the influence of rival sects by adopting ideas and changing the terminology. The situation is comparable to that of a manuf,acturer whose product is really not different from that of a rival firm, but who maintains through packaging and advertising a distinct image in the public mind. While there are probably personsin every age who seekthe underlying unity or secret resemblance, they usually gain little appreciation for their efforts because these do not appear to serve sectarian interests. Yet, the u.nknor,vnauthor of our tsxt managed to strike a winning coinbination. Waddell, who made a rather unsuccessfulattempt to translate the versesfrom Tibetan,a mentions that the hyrnn is very popular among Lamaist people in Tibet, Sikkim, etc. The circumstances that originally caused such a text to become prominent are probably those depicted by Dutt in his essay "Buddhism in Kashmir". Speaking of the Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Ts'ang's (or Yuan Chwang's) observations in Kashmir in the 7th cent., Dutt writes, "He saw 100 monasteries, but the religion followed in them, he remarks, was mixed, hinting thereby that the people r,vorshipped both Buddha and Siva."s The Sanskrit for the text irere edited r,vastranscribed in the third chapter of the Tibetan translation of the SaruatathdgatasKrishan Kanta Handiqui, Nai;adhacarita of Srihar;a, Poona, 1956, 548-51. 4L. A. Waddell, "The Indian Buddhist Cult of Avalokita and his Consort illustrated from the Remains in Magadha," J.R.A.S. Tird 'the Saviouress,' (1894), 7l-4. sNalinakshaDutt, Gilgit fuIanuscripts, Vol. I (Srinagar, 1939),"Buddhism. in Kashmir," 36-'/.

TheTwenty-one Praises of Saivism andBuddhism443 of Tdr6,a Syncretism mdtrtdrduisuakormabhauatantra-nAma. The text was also translated as a separatework in the Kanjur collectibn, which was presumably Waddell's source. This information was found in a native Tibetan text on the Tantras by Khai Dub.6 Using the transcribed Sanskrit, which is treated in that Tantra as a dharaqti, and the Tibetan translation, I made a draft edition and translation. Then I compared my materials with Godefroy de Blonay's edition of the text, based on two manuscripts, in his Matdriaux pour seruir a I'histoire de la ddessebuddhique Tdrd (Paris, 1895). Of course, most of his edltion is correct, but many a verse has some serious fault-which may be the reason that he did not present a translation. However, the Kanjur transcription in the Derge edition has several corruptions, and there are also a few places where this transcribed Sanskrit does not agree with the Tibetan translation. Therefore, I was glad to have de Blonay's edition, and it proved helpful in several details. Also the edited colophon is a modiflcation of the one in his edition. The Tibetan Tanjur collection has a number of works based on this Tard text. However, they are not true commentaries, but rather ritual works dealing with the twenty-one aspects of Td:rd. These are principally by the dcdryas Suryagupta and Candragornin. The first work by Sfiryagupta is the sddhano,or iconographic description for evoking the deity, for each of the twenty-one forms of Tard. This rvork is plesumably the source of the rough descriptionsgiven by Waddell in the same article.? It is beyond my present essayto deal with these Tanjur texts. Some of them are important in Tantric Buddhism, but they could contribute little to the type of annctations which would bring out the original syncretic intention of the text. I expectto draw out this intention in annotations to rnv translation that follows the edited Sanskrit.

{q rRrd' {qE, ilTt T q1t eTut{ldiq'ridr fu)+qqrrrqf,dr"qfi{s'rc+:q'tgi I|1II


GThiswork by Mkhas grub rje, has been translatedfrom Tibetan by Dr. F. D. Lessing and myself in collaboration. It appearsas Mkhas grub rje's Fundarnentals of the Buddhist Tantras,(Mouton, The Hague, 1968). zWaddell (op. cit.), 83-9.

4M

Buddhist Insight

TU:v1-6vlFffrrfxuir.qFt I ilrtrqffiflrx-{HRfipnscq}' rrRrr rq: mqsffiqqqlqr+R r il{fr4dq:qnfqmilqnbrmrH 1 1 1 11 rqq 6Trq1ffi1qk{q5ft-qrfruft I sqls@rrvrr

aqffir
qcil*frz;rrff,rfl. ;fq:@f fr:viqa6iquq- | I{ |I q I1 1 1 laiarwr;eriTqqerg{6} anq ateflowa.il<q{q*"6rqf(h r

ftqrtrffitrq-rtfqr|qGftrr{frwfr rrsrrt qqq gt rrfl*t qrqm{r[qrfa r


C

ilct l

rrlqt r ruq fa-<a'gcr g:6urwrfufr s1f@qrfr+;{'fiT5fr rrrrr


;rq: qqfEil-afqqgeTferffirt(q'1 r qVeryC -rnUtqr{dTrq{'ttnf{ || i o1 I E'q: ttwf,rrTFilTeqrqr.iurertr mTg=Tf,-f,mrrqq.iq{mm II I I I I qq: ftrqu-squiq3arwufrsrqt r

erf+rarrwErqr{lTTFqTfs'q{e'rr1Rrr q'q:sflT.rilGow'se'TcTTrFff.T{fte{t r en-dtatR?irqatrgq+f,EqrfqrfE || 1I rr Tg: s'kt"TTvra*vn6o5t I Tgats'Qffiltiy11 ;Ft: fqf* {ri qnfr qn'FilHrmffi r r*-6xur+q+t vqmrvsq-rfqrfrI| 1{r r q'q:sq|<ilr+aRguraxrtffi I TTTrfiqnrtqsris,rcft'fqt rr1qrr rq gtrcrqrtf,+T <ffir<frfqt r tqq;En*,crsyra+arfoh II1e||
8 I have accepted here the reading of the Sanskrit transcription in the Kanjur against both de Blonay's edition, iikhijvalakulojjvale,and the Tibetan which agreeswith the latter, me kbar hkhrug pa fin tu ftbar ma.

The Twenty-onePraisesof rird, a syncretism of saivism and Buddhism 44s,

nr:S@qtr
dT{AeEdft-r,{riTffiaq-.gffi-

;rq:gT{rurTeqerg{ffifufr r

tt 1 c Ire

3ilqdq"fEilTffieq:eqcq'1Tf$t{ | | Qrr I

@vrgtr
ilCr@nRotl arq@qf,qt1 TEEdrrqeI{rur;rRrfqsrq.t gt ftRI il rqTeFrE Ff,td;rqFs.risf:{qm, I 4: qeffi"ftfiqT{ |eq.'t rrt+-aq.qf}qn: 1?Rlr Trq ET qkrcceTTq.. Fqtq{trrqT{ | tr*wqqrrsfietUfmmqTqrrR rr R srnTnE{il} rriqui sqftfwrqmefrT. r efrrFwqtaqrq-{v}st qtarE ilifl l?ytl ffr ilFr rqr*r {sT.trRETeT wg.q.r w<qrerezrznfd qrfqil fltT+{ qT tfR{t I r-gaTtqqTtrTirEqrfrtffirq-r+i r qeiqt qq triqmf fafMrrqfum ttRqtl ff,friqi^ il*t36 em6* e,fu r q,+nrqri.acfrfd r f+i: Tfirdqt nR\erl . Tt:Rrs'"q'Sdtirfud rrT*ffiaqr qqr+-riqffiirEaj-a 1u1-t{il_ qt{d Ht3i H.'qT r art FflBr I
HorrlecE ro TAnA 1' Adoration ! o Tdrd, the quick one (ture), the heroine, brighteyed with twinklings; Who has sprung from the opening flower on the lotus face of the lord of the three worlds lro er havetakenthe ribertyof writing pharkarair aie.!a,arthough both the Kanjur transcription and de Bronay" pnoiii,a ase;a. l'The threeworrdsin the epic "artion nuu" are Bh'rr.ka, nnuuu.iotu,and svarr.ka. Possibly theseare what Buddhism cails the Rearmoi D"ri." (kdmadhatu), Realmof Form (rupa-dhatu), andFormless Realm(arupadhatu). In thehuman body, the threeworrdsappearto correspond to (1) naveldownwards, (2) neckdownto naver, (3) head.These divisions of the foo",.." Iegaily recog_ nized in Kautilya'sArthaiastra, XIX, 195 (translation ty R. Shamasastry,.

-446

BuddhistInsight

2. Adoration ! O Lady whose canopy faoe is full of a hundred autumn moons; Who blazes with the laughing beams of a thousand starry clusters ! 3. Adoration ! O Lady adorned with hand-held lotus colored blue and gold; Who ranges in giving, striving, austerity, peace, forbearance, and meditation !11 4. Adoration ! O Lady of boundless movement in the victory of the Tathagata's u;Ui;a; Who is frequented by the Victor's Sons who have attained every single Perfection lLz Adoration ! O Lady who fills the quarters, intermediate directions, and space with the sounds of Tuttdre and H[m; Who pressesdown the seven worlds with Thy steps and is able to summon all !13
p. 219). As will be demonstratedmore specificallyby verse 12, TdrE"is the sacredGafiga which flows from Siva's matted hair. She is the Gangd in heaven, or the Milky Way. According to Indian legend, once Tdrd, understood as an asterism,was carried away from her husband Bihaspati by Soma or the Moon. When she was recovered after a waro she gave birth to Budha, or the planet Mercury, and confessed that the latter was fathered by Soma, not by Brhaspati. 11with Saivitic flavor, austerity and peace here substitutefor morality (iila). The Sanskrit word titik;a substitutes for kfinti, both meaning "forbearance". Thus, she who ranges in givlng, etc. is the Perfectionof Insight (prajiiaparamita). She ranges in the first five Perfectionsof the Victor's Sons, namely, in Giving, Morality, Forbearance, Striving, and Meditation. In Mahdyana Buddhism, she is regarded as the Mother of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. 12She is {Jlnilavijayd, born from the characteristic(lak;aua) of the Great Person(.mahapuru;a) called the uyti;a. This is represented in Buddhist images as a spiral hairlock of the Kapardin type on the head of the Tathdgata,one who o'hascome the same way" or "understood tlie same" as the former Buddhas. This characteristicrem.indsus of Rudra, of whoni Sir R. G. Bhandarkar writes in ooVaifnavism, Saivism, and Minor Religious Systems,"p. 147: 'oHe is calied Kapardin, or the wearercf mattedhair, which [in the Satarudriya] epithet is probably due to his being regardedas identical with Agni, or fire, the funres of wirich look iike matted hair." The Victor's Sonsare the Bodhisattvas.They unite the sixth Perfection, that of Insight, with the first five, giving, etc. (verse3). Hence, she (Prajfla or Ulnilavijaya) is frequented by them. lsRegarding the seven worlds, E. Washburn Hopkins, "Mythological

"The Twenty-one Praisesof Tird, a Syncretismof Saivismand Buddhism 447

6 . Adoration ! o Lady worshipped by Indra, the Fire God. Brahma, the Maruts, and Vi5veSvara; i Placed above all by the elementary spirits, vampires, songster spirits, attendants of Siva, and secret folk ! 7. Adoration ! o Lady who defeats with the souncls of Trat and Phat the magical diagrams of others, while Thy left foot is placed forward and Thy right retracted, and Thy wild glance blazes like fire !1a B. Adoration ! o thou quick one, most-fearfur Lady, who destroys the heroes of the Mdras; who slays all the enemy by contracting the brorvs of Thv lotus face !15 9. Adoration ! o thou adorned with the heart's ..thumb,, marked by the seal of the Three Jewels; The distraught Lady whose own beams in bundles adorn all the directional wheels.16
Aspects of Trees and Mountains in the Great Epic,', J.A.o.s. vor. 30 (1909),373,says: "rn the Purd4as, e.g.VP. 2.7. l f., thereis fully developed the idea of the planetary spheres(not Dvipas) which go by the nanresMaliarI6ka, Janaldka, Tapardka, and satyardka, superaddeld uion the order Bh[rI6ka and Svarldka or svargaldka (theseare epic) with the intermediat e bhuvas as Bhuvarl6ka.,' laHere we recall the legend that glance a from siva's third eye recluced Kdma to ashesand that such a glancedestroysthe gods and all thi'gs at the encisof certain aeons. In any case,the u.rr" i, "rrut.,i emphasizing fire in ils destructi'e sense. The secondritual work by srryaguptu Gqo. l6g6 in the TohokLr Kanjr-rr-Tanjur catalogue), contains for each of the twenty_one Taras the rite (vidhf) constitutinga karmanga.In the case of the seventhiaJ, the rite is called Gofi du hprto ba (sanskrit ilrddhva-sr6tas), ,,going up*u.d, in the sti:eam", strryag'pta mertions here (Derge Tanjur, Rgyud l:gier, sa, 13a-5): / i.ichi bdag bdud ni gzom pali phyir/hero ba rnams la srog styin zin / "so as to defeat the Death Mdra (mytya-mara),(she) gives life force (praaa) to the living beings." lsThere are four Mdras in Mahayana Buddhism. Their narns are usuaty given as skandha-mdra, Klesa-mdra, Mltyu-mdra, and Devaputra-mdra. r have explained the word mdra to mean ..death" (understood metaphorically) in my essay "studies in yama and Mdra, ,,Indo-Iranian Journar, vor. rII (1959), Nr. 2, 113. 16TheThree Jewelsare of course the Budclha,his Doctr ine (dharma), and the order (sarygha).The "seel" (mudra) of trresejewers is thei*v-uoti. representation,perhaps as discnssedby Tarapada Bhattacharyya, The cult of Brahma (Patna, 1957),168. The dharmajewel is usually representedby a wheel (cakra). The heart's thumb is presurnably the heart's liiga, und,erstood to be erect.

48

BuddhistInsight:

10. Adoration ! O Lady whose garland is tossed about the diadern as you swell with delight; Who domineers the world of Mdra with the laughing, mocking sound Tuttare ! 1 1 . Adoration ! O Lady able to summon the multitudes of all the Local Genii; Who liberates all in distress with Thy Hlrm of shaking contracted brows ! t2. Adoration I O blazing Lady of the diadem ornament with the plumed crescent; Who is the constancy of radiant beams from Amitdbha's mass of braided hair !17 1 3 . Adoration ! O Lady who lives amidst the garland blazing like the flre at the aeon's end: Who overcomes the enemy circle delighted in the circular band of right foot forward and left drawn back !18 14. Adoration ! O Lady who strikes with the palm of her hand and pounds with her feet the surface of the earth;
ttCf. Nai;adhacarita, XXII, 142 (translatedby Handiqui, op. cit., p. 352): "The sixteenthpart of the moon is called a digit, but only fifteen digits round off the moon, growing from the new moon to the full moon night. Was then the rernaining digit, which had no lunar day allotted to it, taken out of the moon, an<lmade an ornament for Siva ? And, in its place, do I see in the moon a dark cavity, namely, the lunar spot ?" Jitendra Nath Baneriea, The Development of Hindu Iconography (Calcutta, 1956), p. 486, discussesthe of Siva : "Siva releasesGangi pent up in his matted Gangadharamtlrrti Iocks by stretchinga coil of hisjatas with his back right hand, while caressing with his front right hand his principal consortUm6...." The Buddha Amitibha, whose name means "infinite light," here substitutes for Siva. In Tantric Buddhism, Amitabha is the progenitorof the Lotus Clan(padma-kula), is the master,and the red-coloredTdrd is the Mother. of which AvaldkiteSvara The latter, by reason of white dress,is also known as Pandard, and is often describedas being "16-yeared". 18TheSanskrit for "circular band", abaddha(or is it abandha?), is here translated into Tibetan by kun nas bskor, "completely circumambulating". The Sanskrit expressionis a substitution for the rak;d-cakra ("protective circle"), which is the name of the rite for the thirteenth Tdrd in the work by Sfiryagupta used above (note 14). In this rite, it is customary for the hierophants in the cardinal directionsto adopt the egoity and posture of an appropriate rvrathful deity (krodha). Thereby, an inner circular region is freed from inimical elements,and the ma4{ala may be drawn. It is not clear why the outer enemycircle should be delighted. Perhapsa type of hypnotic fascination is involved.

The Twenty-onePraisesof Tdrd, a Syncretismof Saivismand Buddhisnr 44g

15.

16.

17.

lB.

who shatters the seven underworlds with the Hrlm mad.e by her contracted brows lle Adoration ! Lady of calm, Lady of virtue, Lady of peace, who ranges in the quiescent Nirvdqa; who is attended by the sounds svaha and or.n, who destroys. the great sin ! Adoration I Lady who crushes the bodies of the enemy delighted in the circular band; who is manifested from the H[m of the magical formula clnsisting in the arrangement of ten syllables !20 Adoration ! o Lady seededwith the appearance of the H[rn syllable, who strikes with the feet of Ture, shaking Meru, Manddra, Kaildsa and the three world.s !"21 Adoration ! o Lady who stays in the hand aspected.by a divine lake and marked by a deer; who dispels all poison with a twice-uttered Tdrd and the sound Phat !22

2rshe is seeded in the sequence depicted by the Advayavajrasaqngraha (edited by Haraprasad shastri), p. 50, line 7 : sunyatdbddhirobijaanbijad bimbam prajayate. "From the realization of voidness proceeds the geimsyllable; from the germ-syllable,the image of the deity.,, 22.'Markedby a deer" signifiesthe moon. Together with "a divine lake"n this is the "moon in the watet". The referenceis presumably to the level hand gesture (sarndhita-mudra)which symbolizes the samahita-citta or equipcised minrl that seesthings as they really are. Therefore, the poison that is dispelledmay be understood-besides the external poisons-as psychological poison. Buddhism speaks of the three poisons-hatred (dve;a), lust (raga), and delusion (rnoha).In connection with the mention of poison here, fever-

lsrhe sevenun,cerworlds (patata)are of course,in order : Atala, yitala,. sutala, Patala, Mahdtala,Rasdtala,Taldtala.cf. Fausta Nowotny,.Eza durch MiniaturenerlauterteDoctrina mysticaaus srinagar (,s-Gravenhage, 1958),30-1.In the samework (p. 2r), we read: saptupaftlamayr prtivi, "Earth ccnsists of seven underworlds,'. 20InTantric-Bucdhism, a vfdydis a manifestation in female form, or the magical thoughts, utterances, and gestures whichprocluce that manifestation. Hencethe worCis translated here"magicalformula". The ten syllables are in a sddhana of Td,rd. translated by B. Bhattacharyya in TheIndianBuddhist Iconography (calcutta,1958), p. 23 : om Tdr6 TuttdreTure Svihd; ..This is the lord of all Mantras,is endowed with greatpowers,and is saluted, worshipped and revered by the Tathagatas." when the versespeaks of the HDry of the magical formula,it is not clear whetherit refersto theentire setof ten syllables as a H[ry, or intends the middleterm,TdreTuttire Ture, to constitute a HDm. The latter case may be the intentionof thenextverse.

450

Insight Buddhist

7 9 . Adoration ! O Lady visited by the supefintendent of the host of gods as well as by the gods and the horse-headedmen; who destroys quarrel and bad dreams with the delightful winding of the circular band ! 20. Adoration ! o Lady of bright light in (both) eyes that are filled with the sun and moon; who dispels the terrible fever by a twice-uttered Hara and the sound Tuttdre ! 2 t . Adoration ! o Lady endowed with the Power (sakti) of siva to dispose the state of the Third; Who destroys the host of, possessingspirits, vampires, and secretfolk ! Most excellent Lady ! O quick one !23 22. With clear cognition and full of reverencetoward the goddess, one should recite this Praise, which is both the basic montra and twenty-one adorations.

23. At dusk or rising at daybreak he should rernember (this


praise), which grants complete fearlessness, dispels all sin, destroys every evil fate.2a 24. He would be initiated speedily by sevenmyriads of Buddhas. Arriving at greatnessherein, he would proceed in the end to the rank of a Buddha. 2s. trf he has eaten or drunk a terrible poison, stationary or locomotive, he dispels it as soon as he remembers (this Praise).25
in verse 20 and fire elsewhere,one shor"rldnote that of the Atlnrva-veda Sir Bhandarkar (op. cit., p. 148) mentions, "Rlldra is implored not to bring on consumption,poisott, and celesiialfire (XI, 2,26)." The deity in whose dominion the particular misfortune lies, is naturally tho one who can avert that misfortune. F{ence,Tdrd ("the Savioress"),as the power (!akti) of Siva, can saveone from thoseCangers. 2BThe third one of the Hindu triad is Siva. The relation betweenSiva and has been lvell describedby S. K. Das in Sakti or Divine Pov'er (Calcutta, Sakti that Saktiis nothing e, p. 75, "In reply to this Bhairavaasserts lg34), for exarnpl 'one who fashions,sustainsand in of aspect the (Svarupa) self but Hrs own withdraws the world' Bhairava is of course all three-Bratrlmi, Vilnu, Siva." The preseni verse refers only to Siva. Hence, Tdrd is the destructiveself or ability of Siva, who withdraws the lvorld. zaln tsudclhism the three evil fates or destinies (durgati) are of animals (tiryagyonikc), ghosts (preta), and hell-beings (naraka). 2bThetwo kinds of external poison of classicalIndian medicineare meant. For example,poison of plants is the stationary type; poison of snakesistr

The Twenty-one Praisesof T6rd, a syncretism of Saivism and Buddhism 451

26. By repeatingit twice,thrice or seven times, he removesthe great pains, pains of seizure,fever, and poison, of even other sentient beings. 27. D esiring$ons,he obtains sons. Desiring wealth, he obtains wealth. He achieves all his desires and is not frustratedbv obstacles. completed and endedis the praise consisting of Twenty-one Adorations of Her Lordship, Taru, the Goddess,together with the merit and benefit, expressed by the samyaksambuddha. Hail, Tdra !

locomotive type. r have pointed out a third externalcategory,createdpoison, for example that made from quicksiiver or from amyta, in my little essayin honor of Leonardo olschki, "The concept of poison in Buddhis m,,, eriens, Vol. X (1957), 107-109.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
"Buddha as Savior," StudiaMissionalia,29(l9BO),pp. l9I-207. Reprintedby permission. "Ancient Buddhist Monasticism,"studia Missionaria, 2g (1979), pp. 193-230. Reprintedby permission. "Meditation in Theravdda and Mahisasaka,"studia Missionalia, 25 (1976), pp. 1-28.Reprintedby permission. *'The Bodhisattva Practice According to the Lam-Rim-chenMo," The Tibet SocietyNewsletter, l:2 (July-December 1967), pp. 85-100. Reprintedby perrnission. "The Sixteen Aspectsof the Four Noble Truths and their opposites,"The Journalof the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 3-2 (1980), pp. 67-76.Reprintedby permission. *'The Mirror as a Pan-BuddhistMetaphor-Simile,"History of Religions,13:4 (May 1974),pp. 251-269. Reprinted by permission of the university of chicagoPress and copyright (c) rg74 by the University of Chicago Press. n'The Buddhist Theory of Vision," Afijali, Wijesekeravolume (1970), pp. 27-32.Reprinted by permission. "Dependent origination; the Indo-Tibetan Tradition," Journal of ChinesePhilosophy,7 (1980), pp. 275-300. Reprintedby permissionof D. Reidel PublishingCompany and Copyright (c) by D. Reidel PublishingCo., Dordrechr. "Nescienceand Insight According to Asanga'syogdcdrabhurni," Buddkiststudiesin honourof walpolaRahulo, (]-980). Reprinted by permission and copyright (c) 1980by Gordon Fraser, London. "orhe twenty reifying viervs(sakknyaditthi),"studiesin pali and Buddhism, Bhikkhu JagdishKashyapmemorialvolume (1979), pp. 375-380. Reprintedby permission of B. R. publishingcorporation and copyright (c) 1979by B. R. publishingcorporation, Delhi.

454

Buddhist Insight

"who understandsthe Four Alternatives of the BuddhistTexts," PhilosophyEast and West, 27:l (Januiry 1977),pp. 3-21. Reprintedby permission of the university Pressof Harvaii. "The Intermediate-State Disputein Buddhism,"BuddhistStudies in honourof I. B. Horner (1974).Reprintedby permission of D. Reidel Publisiing Companyand Copyright (c) 1974 by D. Reidel FublishingCompany,Dordrecht. "No Time, Great Time, and ProfaneTirneinBuddhism," Myths and Symbols; Studies in Honor a/' Mircea Eliade (1969), pp. 47-62.Reprintedby permission of The University of Chicago Pressand Copyright (c) 1969by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 'oThe Role of Art among the Buddhist Religieux," East-\4/est Dialogues in Aesthetics (1978),pp. 2-15.Reprintedby permission of StateUniversity of New York at Buffalo and Copyright (c) StateUniversityof New York at Buffalo. "secret of theHeart shtra," Prajfidparamitd and Relatedsystems; Studies in honor of Edward Conze (Igl7), pp. 135-125. Reprintedby permission of Regents of the Universityof california and copyright (c) 1977by Regentsof the university of California. "The Sacittikd and Acittika Bh[mi," text and translation, is basedon "The sacittika and Acittika Bhumi and the pratyekabirddhabhfrmi(sanskrit texts)," Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, 7:l (1960), pp. 375-379. Reprintedby permission. "Asanga's Treatise,Patamartha-gatha," is a corrected version of the text and translationin A. Wayman, Analysis of the sravakabhumi Manuscript" (Liniuersity of california pubticationsin Classical Phtlosophy, l7 (1961),pp. 167-185. Reprinted by permission. "Asanga's Treatiseon the Three Instructionsof tsuddhism" is simultaneously being publishedin a volume on Buddhismin India, with different introduction. Reprinted by permission. East "Two Traditions of India-Truth and Silence,"Philosophy and West, 24: 4 (October 1974),pp. 389-403. Reprinredby perrnission of the UniversityPressof Hawaii and Copyright(c) 1974by the UniversityPressof Hawaii. "The Hindu-BuddhistRite of Truth-an Interpretation," Studies '* in Linguistics, Murray B. Emeneau volume (1968),pp. 365369. Reprintedby permission of the LinguisticSociety of India

Acknowledgments

455

and Copyright (c) 1968 by the Linguistic Society of India, Poona. "significance of Dreams in India and Tibet," History of Religions, 7: 1 (August 1967), pp. 1-12. Reprinted by permission. 'oThe Significance of Mantras, from the Veda down to Buddhist Tantric Practice," Indologica Taurinensia, III-IY, pp. 483'497, slightly altered from the original in BrahmauiCya : the Adyar (1975), pp. 65-89. Reprinted by Library Bulletin, XXXX permission. ',The GocldessSarasvati-from India to Tibet", Kaila,sh; a Journal of flimalayan Studies, V:3 (1971), pp. 45-25tr. Reprinted . by permission. "The Twenty-One Praises of Tdrd, a syncfetism of Saivism and Buddhism," Journal of the Bihar Research Society, A. S. Altekar Memorial Volurne, 45 l-4 (1959), pp. 36-43. Reprinted by permission.

INDEX
.Abha_yakaragupta ^ 133,159,161,165n, Ak ; ayamat inirde ia-sutra | 6, | 56 175n,421I4l, 421.See.iBuddha.', Abhidharnlx (p.. Abhidhamma) 37, S,kuoU.lv+ (:Ardda). _tBB, tB7 37 2 Sglam? 1.2 7 . t 7 2 _ 1 7 4 ' .lj3il z?, 85. 91, 117_119 otqyav rJ nar ta (store_consciousness, ban6 , ,1 8 9 , 1.8 2 1 6 , 2 2 12 , 2 2 n ' , sr-cperceptron) 92_93, 97. 130. f !f , 1-8_3 254, 334. 40an 189,2s3,273, 27s,)81" !11-!14, Abhidharmakoia 20, 58, B4-g5. 90n. l, 334, 350,'350n. S".' .;r,j'J i10-3.i ll7-1r8, t23_12s t. 57_158 1,8 i ; iidne." ?1._ L21,?03, 216,222n, ZSt, ZSti, )AO', Arnitabha.:6-38, 147, 2gg-290,44g, 318, 331 AmirayLrs, 405. Sce.;Budl A.b hidltarmakoia- bharya 59n iflX"; A bhidhar makoi abha;y ayik a-|at n ar tha_ Amnq,a-nnfijar i 1 59, 161 nama lTGn 4 moghapa iakatparaja 160 A bhi dharinakoi a-vy akhya 263 A n a n d a 3 7 - 3 8 , 1 3 9 , 1 4 2 , 1 6 3 ,1 7 I , 2 g l , Abhicllnrmasamuccaya' Ig0, lg 5, 262320 263 280 dnandagarbha oblr1flA^ (supernornral faculty) !2_13, Anan da-gar.bh a vak r dn t i ni r cle S a 259, ' ,1 4 6 , 1 5 4 . ' i 6 - 0_16i. _ 2 5 2 n ?9, 35, 97. 113 :80-:8t. :3.1. 299, :zi. s G Anapanasati 70 " rdr{hi." _ "tacult_v." Aila.v.a I ap I a- t nga r oja- pa r ip r cclt ii 237 Abhiprd,rik,Trrlta-gJtha Chapter lg; A n d h l k a s e c t 2 3 1

(cit t i kablturni Chapier 16; 194 Ad.arSamukha, a tiing t43 Adbltuta-brahmana4e4 adhi;yhana(blessing,empowerment. sprrrtual foundation) 2A_23,324', 375,395-396 Advayn vajrosan graha 449q AgSltr _(scripturc) 25, 131, Z0g, 221, . ! ( t . 3 t 3 ; - . t i n c a g c ' 3 5 43 , 'i i ' . 2 3 . 3? A g n i 2 5 _ 83 . 9 5 . 4 1 4 ,4 1 6 n ,4 4 6 n , 4 4 7 Agnipurano 415-421, 417n, 423_425 anql(}ry - (egohood) t88-199, t9l. 3 4 [ r . 3 5 0 - 3 5 1 . : s e t]f 3 i ..3J9. Ar-fcrayaArap.vaka414n, 415n Brdhnaqa ' 416,'416n, 425n lilareTa Aiivaka" sect 372 ALuiqinu, a heaven21,85, 147,l4g, _279,3133 , 23 !kafikkeyvcsutta 69 Akadagarbha67. See.'BcChisattva.', ak;?4o _(unfavorable moment), the eight 295

7,4.,-74n, 132,-153l54, 261-, ilq-,'{2)', 446 4_4t s, 415n, 424_425 abhi t e!;a(consecrrtion, inii iation)20g, K:; 13;::\41 Aristotle 405 394,417 abhiltaparikalpa(Imtgi nation of Un_ Arhar 3p)^42,88, 105,126,157,lg41 8 5 ,2 0 3 n 2 , 9 0 ,3 30-33t, reatrt$ | 90-1 :Oi ;-i tre 9 | . 27l_27 s s.r.xtegn, etc.290;asepithet Acala, a deity 420,433 of Bud-

Ab hisama carik a (Bhik ; uprakir qaka) 60n ltg, 161n, 190 llliymatalarTkdra

Aitgavtjjct 403, 404n, 4Ag Anguttara-nikaya 12, 33-35, 35rr, 57.

o P rai n a a raP "u,'i,' if,r,:;Y1; 1Y';n i{ "

o,persons.,' . dha 12, 372. See Arjuna 279 Arthaiastra 445n A.rt hav ini i caya- sfi t ra 92, 303 Artltaviniicaya-rika 120-122, I 79-l g0, 201

Aryadelsa's "Foltr Hundred Verses,,' to 247n _ Commentary 4ryagayalir,ra 22 r p aj iirt aratnitd-tik ci 316n lrya-p .{ryaSr-ira 287, 3g1,.391-395, 3g7 Arya-t ara-k urukuIIe-lcat ps 405 At^"lgl.. Ch-iprers 9. t6-18; t5-17,26. 30, 44-45.55,57_58, 64-65. 70.' 7t: ',15t. 74. 75-77, llg-126, t30_1.15. 1 6 4 . 1 6 8 . 1 7 1 - 1 8 01 , 86_187 . i. l9 2i 5. 234n. 259n,26C-265. 270 ^ 27:;'. ?21. 3oi):rcl, 363, 3lo, 315-3te; 335n,.3.45n, 422n; meCitetiv. irrol grcssin Asanga'sschool. 7g-95

l'{?f*"

20,43,188, 308,372, 3rB,

458

Buddhist Insight

ASoka, a king 39, 48, 2 9 2 , 2 9 6 n ;a Bhumi-vastu80 Blake,W. 163 tree 401 dsrava (fluxes) 35-36, 125, 157, 175, Blue Annals 53 (Spyod'jug) 24-26, Bodhicaryavatara 184,206 l, 226, 299, 304 101-104, 109-11 A;lasahasrika Prajfiaparamitd 23-24, y iivaturapafiji k a | 40n 26,138, 420; Great Commentary Bodhicar bodlticitta(thought or mind of enlighton 110 enment) 100-103, 149-t50, 436. Altavakra 374 tantric 410 Allavakra Saryhita 374 afijika 9 6n, 225 Bodhimargapradipa-p ASvaghola188,287,44ln Asva Iay anasutra (P., Assalay anas utta) Bodhipathapradipa178n, 281 Bodhiruci 24 257-259 Atharva Veda393, 402, 404, 407, 450n Bodhisattva77, 153, 157, 177-179, 178n, 184-785,194, 196-197,244, 778n, 225,242, 2Bl, AtiSa 96, 100-102, 244n, 270, 281-232, 312, 446n; 406,420 greet, celestiai, suprantundane22attaehrirent(sanga) 44-45, I44, 339 2 4 , 2 8 , 9 5 ,1 3 3 ,1 3 5 ,1 3 8 ,2 7 9 , 2 8 1 Atthasalint 75n 218, 236 315n,321n,330-331, 282,290-291, 22,28, 159, 290, 400, AvalokiteSvara Chap400. See"Path," "persoits'o; 42A, 448n. See "Bodhisaitva"; ters4, 15. Chapter i5 Il2, 134. I9'+, 195, Bodhisattva-bhilmi l70n Avaiarytsaka 199,zIt, 260, 327, 422r^t avidya (nescience,ignorance) Chap15,1-155,176 Bodhisattvapitaka-sutra ters8-9; 150,160,164,236-237,244, 254-256,263, 2i8, 3A2, 306,320, Bo-don school 434,438 347,421,437;fivk e i n d s2 0 2 ;s e v e n body (kaya, Sarlrt) 103, l4l, t43-144, 1 4 6 , 1 5 5 , 1 6 9 ,1 8 9 , 2 0 6 , 2 A 8 , 2 1 0 kinds 201:' nineteen kinds 202; -cravins. 374 212,217, 260, 283-284,3ll, 316317, 320, 335-335,349, 350,363, Ay u; tnanictn r dntini r d.e 3a rlag arbhi valc 373,4*2-403,199,,138 ; subtir 409; 262 733, nradeof ttitd (tnatrcnn-','akd;'a) 2, 73, 275, 283, 155, 153, 18-1-135 20-25,270, 386.409;ofthe BudCha Balinnliki 429 283, 296, 375 (Nirmina-kaya 20, Bhadrak aIpi :a-s il tra 16I 375;Saubhoga25, 270, 312-313, 279,295, 385, 428n BhagavadgltA kd,ya21, 25, I49, 270, 279, -112295 Bhdgavata-pilrana Dh.arnra-kiya21, 25, 313,323-324; ("Healing Buddha") Bhai-sajya-guru 210,270,291, 312, 375); of deitY, 28, 420. See"Blrddha." tr:ntric409149, 433,436-438; 1.35, Bhasa 400 410: -satnskara317,318, 324;: I, 79-80; II, 80; III, Bhavar:fikrarna tlre three worlds 445r,.:bodY and 297 mind 35A, 353, 416. See "bo':1y, Bhavanrsnmy t bhumi 194,2II-212 speech,and mincl"; Chapter 3. Bhdvaviveka249"439 body, speech, and nind (kctya-vakBhik;aparama435,+37 citta\ 19, 110, t54, 190, 371, 324, bhik;u (monk) 30, 117, 165, 167-169, 350, 371, 405, 4A5n.See "body,'o 302, 306175, 183n, 283, 288-2'39, "speech,t'oo citta." 307, 311, 315, 320, 3t7, 352, 354, 351" 384, 395, 4A7n; fivc s:Jient Boehme,J. 75 bY Brahrnd L3-14,252, 252n, 259, 353, points of 33; five placesavoicied 357, 372, 432-434,447, 450n; as 351; "defeats" of 60-51(See"offecelestialBodhisativa 32I rt n-ces");cornpare l to brahmana 56' ya, -cdr i n (b'Lirm t-conduct, 53, 406n. See "persons"; ChaPters brahnrucar chrsie p:rscrt) l:. 30. 48. 55, 572-3. 58, 361, 370. See "persons"' (nun) 31, 35, 42-58,67,lll; bhiksutti "defeats"of 61,62(See"offences"). Brah,majala-sutra 203, 206, 2l9n; -sutta 232, 363n See o'porsons";Chapters 2-3. Brahman 259, 376, 382-385, 413; Bhiktutti-vinaya 6ln Saguira-420 Ehcja 400 383; comoared 327, brahisna 3C,375-378, 193-194, bh'litti (st::ge)seventeen to bhik;u 56-58, 406n. See "Por333; as stories of thc wotl.d 426sons." See "Patlt," "stagosof life."

Index

459

Brahmaltas172, 386, 391, 4I3, 414n. 186-187,190, 196, 200, 202, 205-226,.236-241, Seetitles. 206,225 244-248, 250, Brahmanical tradition 252, 380-3E1. 255, 257, 297-299,336, 338, 346'ostages 413-414,426n. See of life." 350, 348n, 379-380,395-396,424; Bralrmin Kila school 434, 436 the eight 329-330; material cause ByhadaranyakaU,pani;ad 33, 163,173, 239, 272; insirumentiii cause 239; :reason 229. See "condition." 256, 263, 265, 376, 379" 382-397, 415n Chandogya Upani,sad370, 376, 382Byhaddevatq425 384,386-387 Brhatphala,a heaven331 Ch'an schocl 131, 140-141 Bstan bccs mnon rtogs rgyan'grel pa Chao Lurt: The Treatisesof Seng-chao (:Book of Chao) 149 .... 190n Budclha Chapters 1, 14; epithets of clraracieristics(or charact.:rs)(lak1l-14; symbols of 291; boCiesof ;aqta;P., lakkhana)166,234, 272n, (Sce"body"); the seven,the thou318, 348-349, 366: rhree 19, 120sand 289; the Thirty-Five Buddhas 122, 334 four 277-272,275; thirtyof Confession 66; suprarnundane t w o 1 6 1 ,296-297,446tt 22, 26-28, 105-109,136, 142, 160 Cintdmayi-bhfini 97n, 122, 194, 205, (See names); dynamic and static 327. 333.353 24-251' as Jina 372; Nilyanda-Bud- citta (thovght, minC, consciousncss) -170, dha 149; Samyaksaqrbuddha 451; Chapters 177,179, 3, 6, 1.6:157 as Vilr-hajjavadin (Analyst) 215. t94, 1gg, 203-'204,211, 239-240, See "Sikyamuni," "Tathagata," 2 4 5 n ,3 2 2 - 3 2 33 , 3 8 , 3 3 9 ,3 5 8 , 3 5 0 "Caktavartiil," "Arhat," 'o Sra361, 383, 423. 449n: Aspiration ntoi.lf,lr" "l?lttni." See also "eyer" thought104-105, 107-108 ; Enrrance ' jcivel," t'persons." Thotrght 104-10-s; ekagratci-citta Budrlitacarita 183 283. See "men{!s," "bodhicitta," "iametlta." Buddhaghosa 35, 59, 72-76,126, 138, 167n, 177, 216n, 218,236, 28ln Cloud Messenger401 BuCdhaguhya 301,373 compassion(karuna) 22, 87, 99-IA2, Buddhc1n usrnyt i-t tk u 233, 313 1 1 2 , 3 1 3 , 3 7 94 , 3 3 ;g r e a t1 3 , 2 2 - 2 3 ; (intellect,cogniiion, discrimibudc!hi Boundless State of 102 natingminC,discriminatior) 20,26, condition (or conditional catse)(pra7 2 . 9 6 ,1 3 5 ,1 4 1 .1 4 6 . 1 5 9 . 1 9 s . 2 C 9 . tyaya) 123-124,137, 140, 164-166, 4?1. 4i3n. 434: -nnt (sag-',y 158-169,187-188,236-237,244n, 371:. in Saivisn t 0 g ;i n S 5 . n r k h l ! 4 ;S : 3 - 1 8 9 246, 248, 250, 299, 335. 338-339, Buddhist art Chaptet 14;.40'7,407n, 3 4 7 , 3 t 1 9 ,3 5 1 , 3 { t 5 , 3 9 i . 1 } 5 . S e e "ca,r-lse. 446n; music 432-433,438-439 " BuddhistCouncils37-38 confession 58-59, 66-69, 362, 392, Buidhist genesis 60, 269-270,273406n; Thirty-five Buddhas of 66 278" 282-283.386 conficlences, the four 1C8 Bu-ston146,322n conversion103, 1C5; four means of (sarygrahavastu-) Byafi cltub lam gyi sgroil tna ("A Larnp 16 on ihe Path to Enlightenrneilt") 100 "Conversion of Sarioutra ancl Maudgalyayzna" 323n craving (or desire) (tr;tta; P., taqtha) Cakravartin 13, 2A8,296 96, ll-1, 124,149,ig6-197,203,207, Candragomin22, 443 210, 263, 298, ?'04, 306, 335-335, Candrakirti 138, 140, 149-1.50, 159, 339, 365, 385; nescicncl-craving 165n, 177, 216-222, 222n,23?,-235, 347. See o'desire"; Chapter 8. 237, 240n-,243-2+4,244n, 249-25O, Cullavogga38 312, 379:. tire tantric 161 Caraka 4A4 Caraka,samhifi 404 dakini 146; Narc-dakini 145; fuka Cdrvdkas 124 373rr.Seeoodeity." CatuhSataka 20" 188, 312, 371 D cikini -vajr apaiii ara 186n catutkoti (the four alternatives) Chap- Damam[ilia NidCna Sfitra 295n ter 11 Daiablifintika-sntra 121,|i7 -179 ,321n, cause(or basic cause)(hetu) 123-125, 371 137, 140-142,171, 17-2,180-183, Daiabhilmivvalc hvana I 54

-460

Buddhist Insight

Dbait don 160 mirror of 141-142;-sun 241, 244, deafh Chapter 12; lll, 144-145,l4g, 247; dharynadharma ("merit and 1 5 ! , 1 6 l , 1 6 9 ,1 9 6 , 2 2 6 , 2 g l , 3 2 0 , demerit") 405; Dharma-kaya (See 347, 352, 393-394, 404_405. "body"); Dharmadhara38; DharSee Chapter 8. m a d h a t u1 5 1 , 1 5 6 , 1 6 6 , l g l , 2 7 0 , ,deity (deva, devata) 26-27, 135-136. 272, 297; Dharmatd 120,243, 250, _259, 163,2s8 280', 272,n;dharmardja395. SeeoJewel," !!\-tg. 144-145, 289,295-296, 322, 332, 348n,351n, "wheel." 370-390, 398,391,394-397. 402-404'. Dharmaguptaka sect40, 64,251,253 409, 414-4'16,415n, 419,'423-427'. Dharrnakirti 118, 118n, 195, 196n, 425n; images of 291-292; Asurai 297,303,379 258, 425n; as irreversibletsodhi- Dharma-samuccaya l84n s.ltlves321n, 420; tutelary 144,306, dhatu (realms), the three (:three 406,426; tantric 290,421;."passion worlds) 293,301,303-304, 311, 315gcds" 157, 275:wrathful448n:four 3 1 6 ,3 2 1 ,3 2 1 n ,3 2 3 , 3 3 1 , 3 5 1 ,3 5 8 ilods of thc sublimc heart 420: 360. 365-356. 427. 433, 445,445n, Divine inteilect 393. See namesi 447n,449:defined351n "(dkini," "gati." Digha-nikaya 25, 33-34, 69, 74, 145, Dependent Origination (pratityasa158, 163, 171, 235, 293, 371 mutpada)Chapters8-9; 19, 53, 92. dispositions (car ita) 72-7 3 124, 139. 155, 2)5, 237-238, 244. Dirthilcaths 216-217 262-263, 278, 298', Dmar khrid 4l0n ?/:8, ?i1-256, 304-306, 3ll, 320,345. 385 Dmigs brtse ma 400n desire (kfitrta)365, 381-388.414-416. Dohd 387 4-14n, 451; eight similesof 365; as Don gsal157 the goJ Kinra 447n: sensuous iust Dpal na ro mkha' spyod dban mc'i lqm (kc1ma-ruga) 352, 360, 364. See riin pa giiis. . . .145n "craving," o'poisorI,"'":dht\! tt.,, drean {svapna) Chapter2l: I0l,133Dge-'dun-grub 27 134, 136-137, 749, I7g, 259, 279, pa rab gsal 149n .Dgons 280, 282, 291-295, 316, 3lg, 330, Dhammapada 17, 19, 93, 370 365, 4.25,435n, 450; Gypsy dream Dhamma,sangani 218 bock 399 .dhara7i (retention)Chapter 22: 387, duitlcha(suffering, pain) 15, 19, 100, 413, 421-423,427, 429, 443; four 102-103, lrl, l2a-127 , 196,200-206, kinds 422n. Sec"morrtre." -299,305, 2_14-237, 275, 280-281, 297 dharma (P., dhammrz)(natures, fea320-321, 330-33 l, 336,339-340, 350tures)73,19,93,105,107,ll2, l2l351, 358, 363, 371, 379-380, 429, 122,130,1,34-739, 741-14.2, 156-l59, 450-451;sevenfold179-180;duhk67. 166-t 170-!7 s. 195-197 . 207,210, hati (misery) 122-123, 350-351, 234, 238, 243,24.6, 245n, 250, 280, 350n;:Pi1q1 Noble Truth (See 283, 31{n, 319-32CI, 324, 331, 335"truth". S3e "tree"; Clraptcr 8. 336, 341, 345-347, 352, 361, 371, D ut[ya-I si d,ttt a-sutta 217 422-423,437; seven dltarmas of a nronk 34-35;,:mental ob-iects 169, '-111, 409; consiructcd174.-175, 320; earth 274-275,282, 316-317, 373, 406, unconstructed i74-17 5. 243: virtu414n, 425, 427:t, 448, 449n; dirt o u s 3 3 , I I l - 1 1 2 ,3 6 3 .4 2 2 ; u r r v i r t u 4?.2:dry lanJ 324, 351,402 ous 296: iliusory 231' Buddha- Egg, Cosmic384-385 natures 105,107-i09, 167,27A,274, Enligirt:nment (bodhi) 100-101,105, 422; ttoble 272, 274. See "eye." 112,133, 738, 142, l4g, I53, l5g, Dharma (P., Dhairrnre) (Doctrine, 219, 234, 270, 295, 306, 314, 3lB, -324,371-37 Teaching,Laiv) 13, 17-19.25, 37323 2, 374, 404,(Incorn38, 51, 64, 10'.1., l0g-114, 122, 154parable) Complete 281, 312, 323, 156, 163" 166. 171, 173-178, 186, 372; thnnderbclt of 219-22A, 22I. -237,255,340, 207-208, 212,217,233 See"bodlticitta." 351, 362-363,-?65-366, 372, 374, equipm:nt (sarybh,lro), as thirteen 378-381, 395, conditions78 'ogo3l,"of two 406-407,447n; kinCs310-312,318- eye Chapter 7; 19,27, 103-104, 127, 'J,41, 319; born from 315-316: as Hindu 163,1.69, 175,177n,I79, 241, "'dlrty" 377-381, 392, 396, 416; 244, 297, 299, 335, 345-347,351-

fndex 352, 352n, 382, 394-395,408; of flesh155-159; divine 160,251,257 , 394, 396; of divinity 445, 4501' of insight 16, 96, 155-159, 177, 209210; of knowledge 155,159; dlnrmaeye 132, 139, 155-156,158-159; dianrond-eye 160-161 ; Buddha-eye 14, 732,155-159: threefoldor third -ointment 433, 447n; 160, 299

461
Guhyasamaja-tantra l4l , 157 , 16l , 373, 417,427, 431 gu4a (quality, merit) 362; of a puri_ fied nran (dhutagulta)49, 54-55 Gunabhadra150nGunamati 174 guru 281,295,416 Gzuns-sfiagsdanlde b2in giegs pa'i mtsharil... 420n

faculty (indriya) 193,399;keen or dull Haribhadra 138n 74, 132; insight as chief 207, 2081' Harivarman 119-122 Harca 287 ^ .slrpernormai(See "abhijrta") faith (prasada) 142, 185, 263, 292-293, heart (hrdaya) 142, 145-148, 259, 315, 393,429 324, 373, 384, 4AE-409,420. 437_ fatlrer 103,I07,306,383,386,400,403, 4 3 8; t u o k ; n c s3 2 4 ;h c ; r t ' s . . [ h u l n b ' , ,,Ileert : liiga '147 415n , 447n. See faults 397: three 131 Sutra." fear 371,403.450: two kinl,s 322 Heart Siltra (Prajiiclpr\ranitahrdayafeeling (vedana) 197, 200, 203, 217, s[itra) Chapter 15; 331, 420 219, 231, 235, 263, 273, 276, 276, H e g e l G , .l72n 299,3A4, 305-306, 311,316-31 7,320- Heidegger, M. 305 3 2 1 , 3 3 1 , 3 3 7 , 3 5 1 . S e eC h a p i e r 8 . Hevajra Tantra 387 ^ fire 212, 250, 253, 264-265,322. 340, hinCrances the five 76,79, Qivrlra1ta), 365, 373, 40I-402, 437, 445n-M7n, 364 447-448,4-{0;r;sermcrl 74; speech hou_seholder (glhastha)45, 48, 50,57, as 415, 424; of insight 242-243; lI0, 209, 217, 347, 363. See .,perglance as 447n: ordeal 392. See sons." "Agni," "Vahni," "Sarasvali.,' Hsuan Ts'atg 442 fog{ 45, 14-s7.60. 62.64. 87,276.27s, F{suan-isr-rn g 407n 2 8 1 ,3 8 3 ,3 8 6 , 3 9 7 , 4 0 3f:o u r k i n d i Hui-neng 141 o f 1 8 1 - 1 8 2s ; u b r l e2 7 5 Hui-yuair 43 forebearance, perfection oi 23, I05- "Hymn of Creation," Vedic 384.3g6 106, 109-112, 302, 321, 446,' 1trl6n _ ft"_*{o"t 287, 294, 298, 304-305,337, 351, 360, 371 ideas(or iCcation) (saryifia) 44-45.273. -340, 2 7 6 , 3 l l , 3 1 6 - 3 1 73 , 20-J22,'331'. 115, ]]J: as naming facutty 298', gandharva (P., gandhabba)145, I58, 303,305 -261,316, 431-432. 184.257 435_436 impermanence(anitya) 79, 95, 120'123, G a n d h i3 8 8 ll5, l7g, 203-204,206;,, 322. ' Gangd 446n,448n 331 . See "characieristics." three. gatesto liberation,thc three l3l-133. In{.q 258; 375, 394-395, 425,t, 44'/;: 309,318-319 Sakra 13 gari_(destinies) 13, 121, 142,156-158, I n d r a b h t r tIi 5 5 n - 1 5 6 n !91_,1q2, 195, 202, 251. 257, 259', insight(prajfiu: F., pailiia) Chapter 9: 27-5,295, 2gg, 304, 351, 35g_359; 13, 22. 24. 96-98, 100,106,1l'8. 126: 380, 397, 404; def,necl 351n. 2 0 9 r r - 2 1 02 n2 . 6 ,2 9 0 , 3 1 J - 3 1 5 n,l ' 450n;-q;yali 239:as Nirvana 358 420, 422, 434-435,438-439:.three 'oG&ya,At" (a sutta) 3l4n l^e1^els^gf 19,?6,96-97, tt3-114, tg4, GA1,9 r,t' i,(7 S.qv! rr t) 377, 381,387,406n, 208, 2A9-212, 292, 327; two kinOj 416-417, 426, 427n, 428 3t4, 322; terrninology of 206-209: Gelugpasect 100, 289,4A0 noble -242;personified433,439,447'; Gesarof Ling 147,407 as light 209-Zl3;as jcwel 2A7-ZO9. giving (dana) 16-17,61, 104-110.ll2as ocean 323; eye of (See .,eye")i 114,2gg. 302, 321, 432, 416,446n. - m i r r o r 1 3 0 ,1 4 9 - l 5 l :a m o n g. , i h r e 6 See"perfections." instructions"69,74,95-98,125.177. grace 1l, 23, 136. See"adhi;!hdna.,, 205-206,282 (SeeChapter t8). Se6

462 "perfection of insight," "instructions." instructions (or traini nes) (adhifikta), three Chapter 18; 69-71,74, 108, 126, 155, 205-206, 281-282.See '"rncraliiyr" o'meditationr" "in" srgnt. inteimediatespace(antarik;a) 21, 145, 258 intermedia te state(antar dbhava)Chapter 1,2;145, 157-158, 182-187; two kinds 259-261 Iia Upani;ad 378 lslam 294 I-Tsing 44n, 59,66 399,401 Jagaddeva Jainism 235, 239, 399-404,410, 425, 432 Jdtakanwla 20, 41, 130, 143, 150, 160, 184n, 274, 293, 391, 394, 406 jewel (ma4,) 110, 1,45,207-209, 433, 436-439; three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sar.ngha) 44, 46, 50, tlz, 1.66,2AI-202, 447, 447n (See each member); cintdmani 67, 385, 438 Jfidnagarbha313 Jffdnaprasthdna 215, 221, 222n Jfidrravajra158, 160, 421 joy 105,t12, 273,275, 3Bl, 386,375n; BoundlessStateof SympatheticJoy

Buddhist Insight 242" 245,405


KaSyapa-padvarta242 Kathasaritsagara 400 Karha Upani;ad 258-259,265 Kathnvatthu (Points of Controversy) 215, 231, 252, 262, 265 Katy-ayana(P., Kaccf,yana)167, 237, 245 Kau; italci Brahinana 425n Kaulilya 445n Keats" J. 293-294 Khanda-vaggaISn Khuddaka-Nikaya 216 Khyun-po-lha 407 kleia (defilement) 18 22-23, 81, 95, ll4, 123, 125, 132, 141, 163, 167, 170-17 7, 77g-179,192-194, I gg, 1gl, 1,96-197,198n, 199-201, 204-205, 207, 209, 220,256,301, 319-319, 322, 337, 337, 340, 346-347,351, 359-360, 362-'365, 386; three 181, 358; four 44-45; eisht 2A0-201 ; ten 201, 205; sarpkleia (stain) 346-347, 352,37I knowiedge (or cognition) (.ifiana; P., iiAtta) 21.0-211, 225, 314-315, 3203 2 2 ,3 3 5 , 351, 359-359 3,6 3 , 3 7l - 3 75 , 378,380-391, 395-396, 420-421, 427, 428n.450 303-J04 ; srrorainrrndlne ; :vidyti, five kinds of 133; -sqttva 438; eye of 155. SeeChapterc7,9. Kokuyalcu Dafzdkyd 83n KrWa 279 Kf ; tta.y amari -t antr a 435 lc;atriya 296; five salient points of 33 KDkai 150-15tr, 308 Kukuri-pd 160 Kumarajiva 149-150 Kurnirila-bhatta 38i kuiala+nula(root of virtue) 15, 17, 44, 1 0 s . 3 5 94 . 34 Kusumaii.i aIi -g uhyasamaja+tibandhandma 427 Kutos(lrasufrai) Ky:o{yishinshc 25n, 26-27, 143 Lakqrni424,432 Lalitayistara26, 127n"I72, 1E0n,255 Lama 184,289"4I0,442 lamp 19, 144,206, 208, 230 Lam rint clten mo (includiirg "Calrning the Mind and Discerning the Reai") Chapter 4; l3n, l8n, 14n, 4 9 t , 5 7 t , 5 9 , 7 3 n , 7 7 n , 7 9 n ,1 5 0 n , 164,180, lE5, 178n, 180n,194,225n, 242n,365n Ianguages 228, 288, 299, 302; of scripture 39-40

ra2

Jung, C.G. 284, 442 Kahola Kaulitakeya 376, 384 Kalacakra-tantra 142, 147, l9I Ka lapr aka3i lra 40I n, 407 Kalidasa401 Kamala6ilat56, 297, 375n kalpita (inaagination) 336-337, 346, 348, 404, 410, 417,438; of eight kinds 364. See "vika!pa." "parikalpa." karma (act) 19, 123,137, 142, 144-145, 156, 795, 241202,248,255-258, 261, 338, 347, 348n-1319n, 335, 396-397, 421; two 179-181; three 190, 338; onc hr:ndreC59; ten paths of 34; -mirror (Sec "rnirr,:r"); Truth Act (See"truth"). Karma-iataka 1,84n I(arrnavaccrna 53n Kar unoday a-natna-blmvanujapavi dhi 160 kasirya(5., krtsna) (totalities) 72-77; bases of 76-77, 89, 9l-94. See o'meditation." KdSyapa (P., Kassapa) 107, 236-237,

-ic3

Larikavatdra-stltra 17, l3l, 133, 135, Mahdydnasarpgraha I3jn" I 7-tn. I83n 1,41, 149-150, 158,2U, 302,385-386 Mq@yury-SuftAlatttkAra 20. 59, ig, 9-r,-112,722, Large Surra on Perfcti Wisdon3ffi., 135,156,2_t-1, _191, 316; 422 318, 321-322, 315n,335 of Manu 56-57, 369, 376-378, Mahisasaka Laws sect Chapter3; 40, 15l, 3 8 1 ,3 8 7 ,3 8 9 2 5 3 , 3 3 1 ;t h e L a t e r 1 9 3 , 2 5 1 , 2 6 0 person. lay Maitrayanlsaryhin 415 See"persons." ga) Maitreya 134, 270n, 290, 314n. See liberation (mok; a, vimok; a, apavar "Bodhisattva." 76-77 , 88-94,lt3 , 306,312,318-319, 359,374,386,394, 4lB, 424, 428n; Mai t r ey akevalapar i vartabha;y a 313n eight206. See"gatesto liberation." maitri (love) 84, l0l-102; Boundless li9ht 23C,259-260,320, 340, 346, 401, State of Love 102 433, 437-439, 448n,450; three kinds }'IaitripFlda 144 of 212; insightas 193,205-213,438 Majjhima-nikaya 13, 74, 766n, I97, liitga 447n 2 r 7 , 2 5 7 ,3 1 5 Logos 393 Malayavati 400 Lokatitastava 140 Malinlv ijayottara Tantram 405n Lokayata school 239, 362, 362n menas(mind, phenomenai ',1.94, minC) 134Lokottaravidin sect40 135, 146, 172, 209, 263, 271, lotrs (padma) 1.4,27, 132, 179, 394, 299-300,304, 3ll, 320, 329, 337, 421, 426, 432-433, 436-437, 439, 336, 349, 351, 403, 409-410, 414445-447;Realm 308 415, 415n, 424-425; two kinds 415; kli;!a- 272n, 340, 351; -sarTtskara 31.1, 320; mqnoma),a (rnade of Madhyanulgann 257 mind) 260, 409 (See "body',). See Madhi'amika school53, 113,124,136"citta." 147, 150, 159, 221-222,254.,294, maltlela 282,426,448n 302,308-309, 317,379.SeeChapter Mandilkya Upani;ad 425 11. Manene,a goddess 147 Madhyamaka-karika 136, 140, 165, Mafljugho;a 434,439 767, 174n, 175n, 185n, 218, 222, Mafijufri 22, 28, 16l, 2gO, 433, 435. 254. SeeChaoter1l See "Bodhisattva." J I arlh.t aniaka va.iara 138, 149-1 50, 158, I\{afljusrimitra 136 1 t - 7 .2 1 6 - 2 t 9 . 2 3 7 . 2 1 3 .3 7 9 Ma iij u! r i-namasarytg i t i -cak 9ur-vi dhiIladhyrlnravibhdga 170. 190-191, 183n, nanu 736n 270-276, 318 Manorathanandii-r 118n Madhyantavibhaga-b hu; ya 170n, 270n, nlantia (sacred frrmula, incantation) 272n,378n Cfgpt-er22; 77,309-310,323424, Madhy anta- Vibhaitga 270n 462, 395-397,393, 402, 410, 436_ Madhupi nrlika Sutta 197 337, 449n, 450; ol prajrtaparatnita Mahabharata 189, 372, 414 3.23-324 426-428, ; Ory 377, 419-420,Maha mudr osi ddhdntopade i a | 44 428n, -437-439, 449; svaha 323-324', Malru-nidana-sut tanta 163. 1,7 1 418-42A,419n, 427-428,428t. 449'. Mahdnirvonatantra 441 See."dhuranl," "vilya"; "secd," Mahdparinibbana-sutta 25, 142, 288n, svllables. 3 0 1 ,3 2 C Manuat of Abkirlhamnn 254n Me lt ripraj fi apd ram i t alo stra (Le Tra i tc Manual of a hfysyfs ]6 de la Grsnde Vertu de Sasesse de Manusmrti 376-378. Naglrjuna) l:-13, 60n, 70, 76, 85, M4!u l3-I4" 18,91,114,145,I5B,'372, 93it, 96-97, 737, 139-l4l 235, 323 4C7,447-448; the four-203-20),372. Ma in- Sak u !adayi-su t ta 74 447, 447n: "scn-,;f-the-go,js" Mara iVlahasan'lghika-sect 38-40, 59,'1.32, 84, 9tr ,209; Deaih Mara 209,447n; 251, 253, 2gB, 375n acts of 76 Maltds upi tia- J Atuka 406 Maruts 447 Mahivogga 32-33, 66, 66n Mq{r{I, basesof (rzDhibhvdyatana) 76Mahdvairadhara 161 77" 90-94 Mahavastu 40-41, 117, !32n Ml.ticeta 287 Mahdvira 400 Maudgaiyiyana 47,132 Mahavyutpatti 71, 120, 215-216, 219- mcA:r,s (upaya)22, 100, 106-107,118. 222 297, 302, 321, 379-390,395_396'
r . f -

464 medicine 399, 400n, 402, 404, 450n meditation (dhyana:P., jhana) Chapter 3; 200, 206, 226, 231, 242, 246, 250,291-283, 294-297 , 300-301 , 303304,306, 309-3 11, 314,331, 3gl, 395, 393-394,397, 406 406n,415n,4t7, 420, 437-438;four Dhyinas 35, 57, 210, 315-316,320-324,321n, 329, 331,358,361;perfection of 23,106, 108-109, 113,302,445, 446n (See "perfections"); objects of (See "kasitn"); among "i.hree instructions" 100, l0B, 126 (See "instructions"). nerit (punya) 44, 395-396, 415-417 fuIetta-sutta53 Mimdrysaschool381,408 nrindfirlness 76, 83, 91, 144,212,283, 331,361 mind-only (cit t a-mat ra) 177 nrirror (adaria) Chapter 6; 253, 255, 259, 409; of the law 142; karma144-145, 183,256; knowledge438; prajfia- 130,149-15l Milindapafiha (Questionsof King Milinda) 393,396, 402-403 Mkhas-grub-rje (:Khai Dub) 136, M3 Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentalsof tlte BuddhistTantras21,25n,38n, 39n, 93n, 95n, 135n,282n, 396n, 406n, 410n, 434, 434n, 438n, 443n monastery Qihara) 42-58, 308 monasticismChapter 2; 374 moon 316, 401,405, 408, 424, 432, 436-437, 445, 445n, 448n,449n, 450 nrorality(ftla) 69,71; threekinds 110111; six members of 357-358; four roots of 361; as sevenabstinences 34-36;perfection of 23,61, 106-1 13, 302, 321,446n (See'operfections") ; among "three instructions" 57, 59, (SeeChapter 18). 126,205,281-282 See Chapter 2. mother 102-103, 107, ll3, 145, 274, 3A6,324,383, 385, 393, 400, 403, 441, 446n. See "iakti," "Tdrl.." mountain 219-220 rtltu-vsii.ana (Cheating Death) 405 1.1 1t uIapatt isarytgraha441 n JI il Iasarvast ivadanik ayaik aiat akar man 59 \{Irlasarvdstivddasect 38-40, 42, 4951, 53, 59, 63, 65,220-221 Millasarvastivdda Vinayav ibhariga 32, 42, 62-63,143n,22A Mundaka Upaniwd 383 nuni (silent sage)370-375;Buddha as 380-381.Seeo'Buddha." mahd-muni

Buddhist Insight Munimatdlarykara 133, 16l, 165n, 176n,421s 422n Nagarjuna43, 53, 173,124,130,136737,139-140 ,5 5 r r , 1 1 6 5 ,1 6 7 , 1 7 4 180,185n,186,198n,215-216,2I8, 221-222,252-255,295, 296n, 434n. SeeChapter11. Nagdrjunako4da288 Nagasena 396 Nai;adhacarita 448n Nalanda University 43 n-ame-and-fo rrn (nama-r upa) 256, 263. SeeChaptei 8. Naropa 142, 145n,147 Netti-pakarana l19n Nietzichs, f'. :OS Nikayas 25, 42, 209, 246. See titles. Nirmana-kaya See "bcdy",. of the Buddha. nirvdna (release) 15, 19, 23, 86, i051 0 5 ,1 0 9 ,l l g , 1 2 2 , 1 2 7 ,7 5 5 ,1 5 5 n , 175,176n,I78, 794,208, 2ll, 232, 240,242, 249-249,252, 254. 274, 306,312,320,323-324, 359-359, 365, 370-371,385, 449: with remlinCer 203n, 212, 274, 335, 352, 365-366: without renuindcr 2C3n, 274. 312. 330-331, 335,352,355; wirhrut fixed abcde 106,274,285,374 Surnmit257; parinirvdna 17, 78,9l , 97, 252n, 257,264-265, 29I,301,3I I, 323,341 " 352 N i ; pannalt 0g4vali | 47n Noble Truths, four See "truth." non-self (andtman) 18, 19, 95, ll2, 111, 120-125, l3g, 179, 1gg, 195197, 203-204, 206, 195n, 316-318, 322, 331, 334, 345, 437-439. See "chau.cteristics," three; " iunyata"', "sslf"; Cha-oter 10. Nyaya-Mafijari 428 Nydya school 239; -VaiSeqika 408 offences59-65: the worst as four "defeats" (parajika) 60, 64-65, 3141' fourteen transgressio as 441 'Od srun gis 2us pa ("Questionsof KdSyapa")107 'Ol I(ha family 289 ordination 46-54: compared with oostages of life" 48-49 PadmSvati400 Pali Chanting Scripture with Thai and English Translation 53n Paficakrama 424

Index

465

178,r. l0l. lilj-155. J-''l: >ir kinls atisdhasr ilcd P r ajiiaparani ta Paficavirnfi 403; six religiouskil.i: l,-r: tlrree 319n Ce.gt'ecs or"reiigicu:99: ;. .. '. . .:.:oPaqini 289, 413, 414n ')rsitions 72-7 3 : fir'e cirr!- , ii I -r Pafijika 375n 2l0n; orilinary (pitlrtgjtt,r:r) \1. I t', paramartha (absolutesense,sllpreme, 77, BB,122,149,157,167 5. :17, Chapter17;'1"56suprememeaning) , l'.i 2 3 2 , 2 3 4 , 3 1 5 , 3 3 1 , 3 4 5 - 3 4 73 , 17246-247,3298, 210-211, 1 57,177-17 -kA) 378; lay (upasika, 44-45,50, 63, 330, 335, 338, 345, 349, 419,422; 110, 183n, 228, 354, 376n (See truth 18, 106, 114, 175, 242-243, "householder"); novice t4, 30, 45, 248-249, 294, 369, 378-381; -ta 47-53; directing ordinatron 49-52; (Ultimate State) 272 noble (arya) 14, 17,84, 123, 166, Paramdrtha-gatha(Versesof Suprene 205, 210, 217, 234, 272, 331, 339, Meaning)Chapter17; 17l,196,199, 346, 363, 378, 431, 437; lazy 357, 337,345,352-354 3-57n. Sec trtles. Pdramitd-samasa (Phar plD,in bsdus persuasions, pa) l0l-lll I'our t09, lt4 , .284 parikalpa (imagination) 219, 272, 334, P i c a s s oP ra (Meetiiry of 340, 345, 350; : dissllrsivetl-rinking Pitftpufrasaniigama-sfit F a t h e ra n d S o n ) 138-139,157n,166, "kal203. See'oabh[itaparikalpa," 2 5 5 .3 1 9 . 4 0 3 pite," "vikalpa." Platform Sutra of the Sixth Pairiarclt p arinirvdna See' o nirvapa.o' l4ln parivrdjaka (onegoneforth) 30,31,45, poison 392,424, 449-451, 450n-451n; 49-50, 78. See"persorls." (lust, hetred, dethe three'Poisons Parjanya 395 Itrsicn) 14, 30, 76, 96-97,197, 205, Paryaya-sarygrahaqti44n, 206, 2A9210,330,386,403,405,449n(among 2 1 0 -3 1 5 ,3 t r 6 n "dispositions"72-74) Patafljali 289 Path (marga) Chapters2-4; lI9, 125' postures,fout 72; "walkiirg posture of the Buddha 12-13 127, 165, 1,99,202, 205, 212, 2lB220,233, 281, 302-303,320, 327, powers,ten 108 383, 424; as Prabhakara408 329-330,334,359-360, 161, 373, 435n a ladder 209 the,four 318; the five Pradtpoddyotana 205; Eightfold Noble Path 19, 126, praj iici See" i nsight.o' rami ade 3a 79 186, 206, 236, 330, 358, 378-379; P raj iiap11 t abhavanop 426n 4!4n, 425-426, Middle Path avoiding extrenes 55- Prajdpati 414-415, 345; Frajiicipradlpa 165n 56, 58, 167,186,205,238,234, stagesof BodhisattvaPath 41, 95, Prajialataka 434 -179,185, prakTti (primal netuie) 1.90-191, -t58, 177 237, 149,157 107-108, 329 244, 312-315, 3i8, 321-322, 32rn, 333; :Fourth Noble Truth (See pramd4ta(authority) 381; three 346, ootruth.") 346n hidamagga215-216, 221-222 Prarnrinavdrttika118-119, 195, 297, Patisamb 379 Pavdra4dceremony56 penance Prdsangika-Mddhyarnika school 24363-5E perception See" vijfidna." 245,249 perfection of insight (prajfia-p aramifi) PrasannaJta;1,: l39n-140n, 140, 165n, 2 2 2 n ,2 3 3 n , 2 5 0 ,3 1 2 ,3 7 1 1,1 3 - 1 1 4 1,3 8 , , 06-108 2 5 - 2 69 , 6 - 9 71 324 4 , 4 6 n ; Pra5dstrasent 1 5 0 ,1 6 1 , 1 7 7 , 3 1 3 ,3 2 1 - 3 2 4 personified321-324, 322n, 420, 433, pralrobdhi (caihrrtic) 80-81, 84, 95, 98,113 445n, (See "mother"); mattra of 323-324;as a type of literature 130- Prdtimokia (F., Pitimokkha) (Liberl4l, 205, 422, ation-Onset) 30-42, 52-54, 58-68; 133, 1,34,136-138, (SeeChapter15).See"pertwo kinds 35-37 16, 433,439 , I 19n; -saqnvara 33-34,59,358, 361 (See'ovow"). fections," "insight." perfections (paramita) 244, 323, 428; Prdtimok ; a-s[itra 30-42, 59-60 gaitandnus dre4acit six Chapter 4; 16, 23, 61, 104-114, P r at ttyasamutp ddatusthepanopayal83n 302, 321,315n, 446,446n. See"givp ddaing," etc.; "perfection of insight." P rat i ty asarnut hydaya-kAri k a 18 y dkara4 persons 180-187, 195n;two kinds 198- Pr ati ty asamutpddahydaya-v three kinds 175, 1,37, 253; -vyakhyana174n 1.99, 360, 380-381;

466 PratitydsamutpadaSutra 174n P rat i ty asamutpada-vy ak hya l7 4n pratyak{a (direct perception, direct view) 297-298, 300, 303,346n,360, 379 p r aty ek abuddha (self-enlightened one) 1 3 8 ,1 8 4 , 178n, 7 6 , 9 6 , 1 0 01 , 0 8 ,1 1 0 , 194, 196-197,308, 316, 318, 324, 330, 373; as rhinocerus 318. See ttpersons." pudgala(person,personality)139,1,56, 775, 195-796, 196n, 264-265, 316, 335, 341, 346, 352 Puggala-pafifiati (Designation of Hu' man Types)1,6,72, 252n 423,432, 434, Purdnic tradition 41.7, 447n Pure Land (Sukhavati)26-27 purus. 190-191, 237,396,409 a (person) ; maha- 446n sd-Sutr as 429n P firva-M imdqn PurvaSaila sect 251 388 Pu;an 378-380, Rajavagga 33 279,377,393 Ramayalra Ratnacu(ap arip ycchd 22, 26 Ratnagotravibhaga241, 244, 302 Ratnikara6 dnti 27, 79, 211, 324n, 428, 428n Ratnakirti 239n Ratnakuta138, 154, 260n,262 Ratncvali 139 rddhi (magical power) 77, 89, 93, 154, 233, 257, 371, 373. See "abhiifrd," "siddhi." four 101 reasons, 246n,312 Red-mda'-ba 12; the refuge (iararya).Buddha as oJewel." taking of 46,50, 105. See \g-veda 189, 370, 376-377,384 Rgyal-tshab-rje379 Ri ; tasamuccaya402, 425 rite (kriya, vidhi) 291, 378-381,386388,397, 406n, 417-419,426-429, of truth ChaP433-439,447n-448n; 397; of eye ointter 20; of passage ment 160, 299; of mirrorwashing 392; homa 405, confession 135-136; pilgrimage 291-292; sacrifice 381, 416n. See 385, 391, 393, 413-416, "mcn(ala"; Chapter 22. Rnam snan mnon byari ("Revelation Enlightenment of Vairocana") 106 Rii (Seer)373,383,397,425,425n,436 Rudra 446n, 450n; -ka 372 Sabbasutta (Discourse on "Everything") 233

Buddhist Insight Sa bcupa ("S[tra of Ten Stages")107 Sacittikabhumi Chapter 16; 194 -148,410, (evocation)145,147 sddhana 428, 434-439, 449n; defined 443; Sadhya 417-418; sadhaka 418;: avaha 423, 425 Saddharmapu4(ar ika | 43 Saddharmasmyty upasthana-sil t r a l84n iparip yccha 279 Sagaramat Sahajalalita 429n Sa'iJha-mo brtan-ma (Earth God- dess)147 Saivism Chapter 24, 135, 374, 387, 393, 405, 409-410,442, 446n iakti (power)393,442,450,450n.See 'oTdt-a." - "mother," Sikyamuni 27-28,35, 54, 56,289-290, 370 Saldyatana-Vagga122, 345n, 350n, 352n Safistambaka-karika137. 17 4n SAlistambasutra137, | 66n-167 n, 1,7 4n, 1 7 7 , 1 8 0 n , 1 8 11 ,86 samadhi(concentration, one-pointedness,meditation) 55-56,67-69,788 4 , 8 9 , 9 8 , 1 0 9 - 1 1 01 , 26,155-158, 281, 283-284, 289, 297, 301, 313315, 324, 331, 360, 363, 386; Diaof "knowledge mond-like 84, 1571' and vision" 84; of "love" 84 Samahitabhumi76, 83-84, 86-90, 92, 94, 194,212,315, 318,327 S1mofiiia-p hala-sut ta 34 Samantapds adika (Shan-Chien-P' i-P' oSha) 35n-37n, 45n, 55n-56n, 61n, 63n, 64n, 67n,306 samdpatti (equipoise) 80, 82, 84, 88, 90, 92-94, 97, 159, 175, 313, 315, 320,329-33t,373, 449n iamatha (P., samatha) (calmine) 66, 7 7 , 8 1 , 8 8 ,1 1 3 ,l l 8 , 1 7 4 , 2 8 1 , 2 8 4 , 296-297, 362, 364-366, 436, 442, 449; combined (:yuganaddha) with o'discerning"82, 95, 213; among three "instructions" 69-71,74, 78, 95, 125-126. See "meditation," "vipaSyand"; Chapter 3. Sama Veda382,386 sarrbhavai;tn, a being 158 Sambhoga-kaya See "body", of the Buddha. 79, 130, 134, Sarpdhinirmocana-sfitra 193,200, 3l4n,32ln Sarydhivyakarapa373 Samgha (P., Sangha) (Congregation, Order) 235, 370, 447n; eighteen early sects40, 406(Seenames). See oJewel"; Chapters 2-3. Sarnkhya-karika 189

Index

467

Chapter15; 313,331,442 secret 239 Samkhya school 125, 1,87-791, "secret Key io the l{eart Sutra" 308 Sammatiya39-40,251 seed (btja) 179, 183, 187n, 188-189, SatTtpula-tilaka-tantra155n, 159 253,255, 261, 263, 272n, 282, 338sarytsdra(cyclical flow, phenomenal syllabies418, 340, 350, 352, 4491' l i f e ) 1 7 - 1 88 , 2 , 1 0 6 , 1 7 6 n1 , 8 0 ,1 8 8 -254,278-27 426-427,427n-428n,437-439, 449n. lB9, 202,212,253 9, 294, o'mantra." See 306, 312-313,322, 322n, 352; as 121,138, self(atman)18, 95, 102,104, swirling waters324 159,169-170, 175-178, 188142-1,43, (motivations) 92-94, 1,20.sarytskdra -249,27l-220,237, 248, 189, 195, 203-204, 206,247 123,191-19 5, 202"21.7 271, 317, 322, 33r-340, 345-350, 254-255,263, 273, 276, 303, 3ll, 388, 350n, 352, 370-371, 382-384, 316-317 346,348-350, , 320,336-338, Upanipadic 256, 259; as kli,rlama404,409,416(See"skandhe"; Chap:aharykdra nas 272n; 139. See ter 8); :traces 409; :gsnstructions "non-self"; Chapter10. 120, 122, 174-175, 275 (See 149-150 Seng-chao "d/1arma"\ sense lrases (iyatana) 169-172, 175, ,saynvarodaya Tantra 144, 146, 424 179-180,182-183, 203, 233, 247, sar.nv rti (conventional) I57, 242, 247, 263, 272n, 298, 318-320, 335, 345330, 338, 349,438; truth l05, ll4, 346,345n 775, 243, 249-249, 349, 369,379; Sgrubthabskun btus 145n,147n,433 mind 178 130.145.280 sham:rn Saqnyuktagama 227, 357n o-Shz See" SamanSamyutta-nilcaya75, 16, 19, 74, 77, Shan-Chien-F'i-P' 97, 122,132,158,165-167,',212,215- taDasadrKa." 140 216,236, 302, 3ll, 345n, 350n, Shen-hsiu Shilappadikaram 401 352n, 357n Shingo;rschool308 Sanghabhadra 118n, 306n S h i ns c h o o l 2 4 , 2 6 Sanghabltedavastu 33n Shinto 130 Sangharakla193n Shiva Senhita 394n Sangiti-Suttanta (Recital Sernton) 37| Sibilatata 391,394 Sankara374..381.408 Safisrgya.rso lna'i mfionrtogs. . . . 15n Siddha417-418,417n siddhi (success, magical suscess, Sdntarakrit t 240n.375n -102, 124n,139n, 405occult power) 136, I48,394, SintiCeva24-26,1.01 o'rdChi," 406, 418. See "abhijiia," 226, 255n, 299, 3M-305, 404, 405n "Siddhe." Saptabhavasiltra257 (pcints of Saradatilaka 4I8 iik;rlpada (P., sikheryada) 30-31,34,50, 59, 175 Sarasvati Clttpter 23 - instruction) 22, 26, 101, 124n, 24, 47, 132, Sik;asarnilccaya Siriputra (P.. Sariputta,) 139n.255n ^ 4041t 3e .e 15. Chapter - 1 6 6 n , 2 2 1 - 2 2 2 , 2 3S Sila See"rnorality." S-ar iputr abhidharma!dst ra 251 S.iryhapariprccha 404 Sarirdrtha-gAtha333, 354 Si;yalekha22 Sarvad urgatip ar ii odltana-t ant r a 373n 'Sarvistivdda 251, sil, 279 40, 406 h- Sitdtapatr6 (White llmbrella Lady) Sar vatathdgatamat rt ar dvi i vakar rnab 407 avatantra 442-443 Satapathabrdhmana 32, 414, 426, Siva 374, 442, 446n, 447, 447n-448n, 450. 450n 426n-427n,431 Sivasvarodaya424 Satpur u;agati-siltra 257, 263 15, 53, SatyasiddhiSastra ll9 skandha(personal aggregates) 'Sautrantika 158, 172-173, 123, 138-139, 95, 12'.1., sect 118,353 232-233, 246-247, 253, 259, 313, Savita377, 417 316,320,335,345,362n. SeeChapSavitarkddir-bhumi t94, 200-201,203, ter 10. 210 Sdyala 431 smrti (memory) 283, 372; personified 433,439 Sbas pa'i don lcun gsal ba l46n 'Schiller, J. 293 Sriassrim chen mo 160 soma 283: personified 259, 432, 446n sciences, five 113 (vdi), and mind 414, 4l4n; seal Qnudrd) 67,135, 138, 253, 447, speech -sarnskdra 210, 303,311, 316, 323; 447n.449n

468

Buddhist Insight

as fire or cow 415-417, 4l5n: oer348, 422, 436-437: sixteen kinds sonified 393, 39G-397,410.' 414. - 435. See "gates to liberation." 414n-415n. 424-425, 431-432. 435: $ilnyatasaptati l7B 436. See "rrio;:lrG,"'obody, speech, S-fi r atigamasa mq{ti ti,g ilt r a 145n and mind"; Ctraptcrs tg-:26,ZZ.' Silra;igamaSiltra I44 (i Sraddh l,a|(1 r!hii na sttt rtt | 6l SDryagupta443, 447n-448n Srayaly (\., satntt.ta;(as.;ctic)30, 34, Susi ddltilcara-nmhdtanira-sarihattopay55-57,67, 3ai. 374-315, i ka-parala Tantra 419-420 375" 3e}i o1" f'oLrr kilr:!s30. tsuCdliir *s'nw!ru- SuSruta404 . , p , r . u o i r . ; ' Suiruta-sarythittl405 , 3 8 0 ; . f e r n r l e 4 0 7 .S u c Srautakoia 426n Suttavibhanga 34n, 45n,55n,60n, 62n. irdvaks (disciple)30, 36, 76. 95-97. See'oVinaya." 1 0 0 ,i 0 B ,l t 0 , t ! 1 , l t 9 , l 3 s . t 5 7 : Suvar napr abhus{t-sutra 434 1 7 3 . 1 9 4 . 1 9 ( , - 1 t 7t . 9 9 , 2 0 7 : 2 1 7 ' . svabhava (self-existence, intrinsic na5 1 , 3 0 8 , 3 1 3 , 3 t 6 _ 3 1 7 ' , turo, olrl-n:1ture,nature) 721, I34, ?r-219, 2 363, 415; :hearers 250. See.,per139, 142, 157-158, I74n, 226, 234, so-lis," 237-244. 244n, 248, 250, 316, 334, 3 7 3 , 4 3 8 ; a s m a n t r a4 3 5 , 4 3 6 n Sraval;abhtimi l5n.l7rr, 30n"55n. 57. 7-Qry,72r1r76-7'd, BO-Eu. 8.9, 399 I I8, l7l i.r, Svap;::ic;ntannni 181 n . 1 9 4 , 1 9 . i n , i 9 6 n , 2 0 5 . 2 C + . ' SvopntTdhyaya 399, 40t 260n,263 n. 27Cn, 271n,l9-;;r,29on. Svaytnava t a 400 savadat i 9 9 ' r ,j Q 1 , 3 1 9 4 3 ) 7 , 3 3 1 ,3 3 3 - 3 3 4 ; Sltapnavicdra399 3 5 3 n , 3 5 43 .65n par i cche tir thannmd S't, nada | 18n Sred nicd kyi brtsl,,t pn (..eucstions Svdtantrika-Madhyamikaschccl 245, I 14 249 - of Nar'dyana") (Ti:c Lion's Rcar of syr,rbol (sanmya)tr.17,117n, 205-209, SrimC{rj-siiit'o eit,Slin-ti /i) 18-+-1 85, 2lln, 215i, 291, 293, 294-295,301, 406, 4I7, Qu-e 431, 434, 437 *, 447 ;t, 449tt;-sattva - 253,263,322:t S-r ipar anii d:-t i k C 280 438. See "Bu.icihistart"; Chapter Sri-ParamAdya 107 6-7. \rngcrra Prakaia 4A0 Srutamayi-bkumi 194,2A5, 210 stagr.sat life 277. tsrallaran;c 380 T anfta.130, 135-1 36, l4l-14.2,145-t47, (contp;rr;d wirh Iil'r:of a tsir:l<lu56I 60-i61,184-1 85,191, 262,275, 282, 58; conri:;l'edr.viihBulrlhist or.di29A,296-298, 301,322it,373,'s73n, nation 48-49). See"bhfirsti.', 387, 393, 399, 405, 409-410,433Sthaviraseci 38-39.288 435, 439-4'43, 419n; Caryi 410n; Sthiramati 85, 9:;, 130n, I5T, 176. Kriya 4tr0n; Yoga 407; Anuttara270ir,308, 3\6, 318, 321n, 322 yoga 411. See tities; Chzpter 22. strcaril 340.i41 , j-i9, 35! -J5:. 401 . Tantrayurtika 429n . i , a r c r 447n: 1 5 , 1 9 , 3 0 , 1 4 2 ,l B 5 . Tara Chrpter 24; 25-28,29.6, 'Idrl,27-28, 306, 406, 218-219;oi cr::rc;cusn:s.; 99-104. 420; White 147; vidya 1 0 9 ,1 7 1 , l l 4 , 1 5 7 ,2 3 3 , 3 1 3 , 338 of 320,427-423;as Gangd 446n; (cf. mind as u arcr 130-| 3l) as FanCara 448n. See "mother," strivirrg 108, 352, 353; three kinds "iakti." porfection of 23, 706,108, 1 13, !12; 302,321, 446, 446n (See "perfec- Tarkajvala 409n Tathigatagarbha 253 tions") Tattvasarpgraha 24Cn,375n stupa 44, 64, 288-289"291-292: see Theravaia sect Chapter 3; 4I-42, 49, caitl'a 291 63, 182, 186-187,785n, 215, 231, Subha 185n, 219 t i ta-sarytgraha 235, 236, 251-252,288, -731 Subhrrti23-24 Thusness(tailtata) 12, 155, 166, 176,. Suhrllclrka (Fi'icndly Epistle) 254, 295 189,272 iunya (voiri) or i{tnyato (voiCness) 22, Tibetan Book of the Dead 265 , 2A-721 2 5 , 2 7 , 1 0 7 - 1 0 91 1, 3 1 - 1 3 3 , time (kalct)Chapter'13; 201, 239, 323, 736,139-14A, 113-14,4,148, 150,157, 347-343,362, 359, 373, 395, 406: 159, 165, 136, 190-191,206-207. 408,439 -239,240 27C-27 237 4, 275, 302,309, Tirukkural400 " 312-313,316-320, 321tt, 335, 346, "Toda Dream Songs" 404

Index

469

tree-242, 259.Z9l-292,294, 317. 365. Vajrapani 310,40A,4Zl wishing-385: boaii Vajrasarasvati 433. 438 226,_4911406; Vajrasattve (Dianiond Beine | 142. t8.6. 2!Q; -husbandof praJniparal Tr i rni ik ubha; ya l30n-l3I n mitd 322.322n tripila+a (Three Baskets)37 Vajraiekhara 422 Vajravi dar a1t a-dhdr a pl- Tantr a 421 Y ajraydna See"Tanira.', 358.376n, 403; the two tiulfii iS-# Vakkali 166 Vakkali-sutta 167 VaraharnihiraZ77n Varuqa 3-75, 392,395;-praghdsas 392 vayy! (habit-energy) lZO:t7t, IBZ, ) : 6 ) ; a n d s i l e n c e( S e e C h a p t e r ^ 1 9 ) : 244.261n riie or Act of 160,'ztg, iiTISJS,'ii6 V5:savadatta 400 Chapter20) _ (_See Vasttnorpg rahani 174, I99, 209 n, 209T4na-ma'i'brjed byan chen mo l|gn 210, 316tt,331. 335 rshad ma'i lom khrid (,,Guidanceon Vasubandhu 58. 84, 91, 117,122,154. path of Authority") 379 1 5 6 ,1 7 0 - 1 7 1 _ ln" .7 4 , ' t 9 1 , 1 183n, 185n. rsna-go-pa 407 196n, 222n, 233,2SI-252,256: l9_1, Ts91r-kj1al-g1 Cfraprer 4; l5n, 18, 49_ 257, 260-261. 265, 25| tt, 252n.270n. 3,0 3 ,3 1 3 ,3 1g , 3 7 1 __ 2 7 0 - 2 7 2 Vatsipr,rtriva sect 251 Yellytq !a7n, 380, 386,408; Advaita 374.387 Vedarim-,satras 419 _ J.o?n,400, 407, 410, 435n V"!!: 145, 172-173,25B, Z6in, 283. ratnagila lS5, 176,21g;definedIl, 370,372-3763 , 7 9 , 3 S 0 ,3 S 6 . 3 ' ,t i : See ChaptercZZ_23. __}?3,. 395-397. Tufita, a heaven 270 Vibhqjravadin 257, ZS:; :nuOOtra 215 Viblta;A221 vidya {clear vision, clear srght; charm, mrgical fornrula)12, lg3, tgS. Zii393, 4.22, 431; ihree fruits of 394-dhura 373n. 4-15-437: 419-42O; of 40e-4r0 (ruriya zes).-sre f c m r l c n n t l r r a 3 2 3 , 3 9 7 , 4 1 5 na, $as _ ;ffrS: 42t.r_42-1, 42i-429. 428n.4lg, 449n: Upa sam-padajfiapt i h 46n of Tdra 420. 428, 449n. See ,,aii.. . dyd."_"lcnoul+Cge." ntentre.', vterv(dr.cti:P.. ditrhi) 158,200. 239([,tti;a 161, 296,446, 446n 3 2 : , i J 8 - 1 3 9 ,3 5 0 , 3 5 4 . 3 7 9 ; f o u i u t tf{a tant ra (: Ratnagot ravi bhaga) false, deviail 200', 203?11; Q?,.1, 2 0 4 , 3 5 0 - r 5 1 .3 5 8 , 3 6 2 n ; r e i f v i n s 240..2A+ 206,317 (See ChaptertO;l norning to an extremc 200, 204: VacaspatiMiSra 392n right l9-10,2OS, 237, 240,244.35g Vahni 418 "Parh," "eightfoid; _..(Se? Vaibhaqika sect1lB Vigrahavyivartini 186 Vairocana 106. See.,Buddha.,' vij fiu rta (perception, conscio usness)74VaIr ocandbhisar7t bodhi -t ant r a | 60 194,209_21 l, 217_220, zfi: !2,, l5-8_, varse$rka school 239, 404 2^16., 2?2:259n,263,Z7I-273, 283Vai$nava traditiott 125 316_3 17. 320, ?91, ??9, 303-306,. vai!! ldi+rylond,rhunderbolt)I 85_l 86, 329,337,345-346,'345n, 40g-409i 21.6,417; triple 373: _iord 373; prav i254, 27 rtt 134, 6. 293. 330_33 I: 349, 350n; adtrnaIteatq 308; -ptedge426; cf. kuliii 130; cau;al lgl_ (urunderbott) 219-220, 22L See 1 8 5 ; f i ' u i t i o n a l l 8 l - 1 8 5 ,l g 9 . 3 4 5 r i : "Va.;rasattva." -kosa409. See ryalo- 253-254,409:. VajracchedikA156 g. a layavijfrarua" Chapter ; -.'.' Vajramala 135 Vijfrdnavada Sec'.yog6cara.,'

; orsuttering 12,t,t fl ].ol+ iTia2eo

"\k!'f l{g'[,'3r'^i'ru]?i;-?l3i?1o'.

,'i3fli: T#"# ig: {6': {,',1' f!;1"'t: I3Z',393',123:'r\'r?33t331'3ii;131;

l{i;',oi;ojllx: ,trt". 225_n. 237 n, rorT";1!1, |o'J., 1il;

ii:t'l+'2,'ltul12;'_l?a,'l];_i:;.'ilio,. . r80n. 184.

j i?,i 1 "llt :'t1'u Jr'i zl!,';',f!; "0#,,

- 2,3 37 o 8 6 {,t;::r :z::gq .'l; -l!,0 37

^ "fi:]i:?'% :T :,ts? *?Ji;j,1",' 5 :

470

Buddhist Insight

vijfiapti (representation)137, 271,-272 sattvavow 101, 104-106. See.,pr6vij iiaptimatr atasiddhi 20, l8g timok$a." vikalpa (discursivethought) 108, 113, 137-739,149-1 50,176, 197,210-211,, 278, 297, 2gg, 301, 302-304, 316, wl1e9l (cakra) 291-292, 433, 447; of 422; right 303; :i*ugination 337. Dharma 15, ll7, ll7n, 127, 153. See" k aIpi ta," " par i k alpa," 378, 447n; of Life or Becomins Vikramdditva 400 (bhavacakra)63, 170, 182: spinninE Vimalamitia 316 388;rak;a-cakra448n. See.,Cakral Vimalotnila 429 vartin." Vimuttimagga 262n (dulkrta), the fifteen 64wickednesses Vinaya (discipline)24, 30-42,215,22065 221, 302, 306, 314, 322, 361, 406; woman 306, 383, 388, 401-402,404-_dlrdra34, 38, 40, 51. See titlesi 406, 432; sacred nature of 441: Chapter 2. detractionsof 13. See "bhik;u4i,,t Vinayavastu53 "mother." Vinaya-vi bhanga-pada-v y akhy ana 220, 374n Vinaya-sarytgr altapi 45n Ydjfiavalkya 383 Wniicayasaqngrahani 77, 122, 131n, Yajur-veda382,393 734n, 157, 164n, 197, 198n, 200, Yama 145, 158, 256, 258, 396, 404 203n, 205, 210,318, 328 Yassamdisam-sutta 33 Vinitadeva 32-33,42, 59, 62-63.215. yati (restrainer) 30. See "persons." 220-221,309, 314,322 yoga 56,212, 263, 283,322, 374, 394, viparydsa (waywardness) 21.6, 234: 324n, 410, 425, 439. See "Path"; Chapters2-3. 1!!e" stagesof 322; four 123, 178, 322,329,331; seven 203. SeeChap- YogacarabhumiChapters 9, 16; l6n, ter 9. 70, 76-77,126, 157, 164, 764n-165n, vipaiyand (P., vipassana) (discerning. 1.67n,175, 187n, 216n, 259n-261n, clearvision)69, 108, ll3, 118,176, 303, 315-316,333, 315-316,333, 190;amongthree"instructions" 346n, 353-354, 357n; meditative 78. 95; conrbined (-yuganaddha) with progressin 78-96 "calming" 82,95,213. See"iama- Yogdcdraschool 53, 95, 130-134, 150, tha"; Chapter 3. 156, 189-19 l, 270-27 3, 309-309, 333vision (cak;us; P., cakkhu) (dariana; 334; as vijfianavada93 P., dassana)Chapter 7;' 314, 322, yogin 251, 284,297, 301, 303, 315-316, 380. See "eye," "insight." 324,381 Vilnu 375, 42in', 432, 434-435,450n Yoginitantra397n,419 Vfiuudharmottara 432 Ytian-ts'0 3l4n,32ln Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification\ Yukti;a;likA 175,178 55, 69, 72-76,73n, 7 5n, 95-96,126, 138, 167n,177,216n,262n, 28ln Yisvesvara 447 Zen schcol 308 Vivar ana-salngrahani 205 Zhan Blon, a deity 146 vow.(samvara) 168,200, 204, 282, 361, Zur'debs rnam thar legs biad kun'dus 363, 373, 376n, 416-417; Bodhi400n

Вам также может понравиться