sponberg, alan (1979) dynamic liberation in yogacara buddhism.pdf

8/16/2019 Sponberg, Alan (1979) Dynamic Liberation in Yogacara Buddhism.pdf

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THE JOURNAL OF THE

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

BUDDHIST STUDIES

E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F

A . K. Narain

University

of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

E D I T O R S

Heinz Bechert Leon Hurvitz

Universitat Gottingen FRG University of British Columbia

Vancouver

Canada

Lewis Lancaster A . W . MacDonald

University

of California, Berkeley, USA

Universiti de Paris

X,

Nanterre, France

B. J.

Stavisky

Alex

Wayman

WCNILKR,

Moscow,

USSR

Columbia

University, New

York

US A

A S S O C I A T E E D I T O R

Stephen Beyer

University

of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

Volume 2

1979

Number 1


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T A BL E O F C O N T E N T S

I . A RT I CL E S

1.

T he Mongo l K ha ns a nd Ch ine s e Buddh i s m a nd T a o i s m ,

by

Sechin Jagchid

2. Fro m M ad hy am ika to Yogacara , an Analysis of M M K,

XX IV. 18 an d MV,

1.1-2,

by

Gadjin m. Nagao

3 .

Dyn amic L ibe ra t ion in Yogacara B ud dh ism ,

by Alan

Sponberg

4 .

Yogacara and the Buddhis t Logic ians ,

by A lex Wayman

I I . S H O R T P A P E R S

1. Sambodhi in ASoka 's 8th Rock Edict , by A . L. Basham

2 . Can Medi ta t iona l Prac t ice be Measured? A Repor t on a

Quant i t a t ive Survey , by Jacques Maquet

3 .

Ni rvana and Me taphys ica l Expe r ience ,

by Ismael Quiles

I I I . B O O K R E V I E W S A N D N O T I C E S

Reviews:

1.

W o r l d C o n q u e r o r a n d W o r l d R e n o u n c e r ,

by S.J. Tambiah

2 .

Com pa r a t i ve E th i c s i n H indu a nd Buddh i s t T r a d i t i ons ,

by

Roderick Hindery.

3 .

Mahayana Buddhis t Medi ta t ion : Theory and Prac t ice ,

by

Minoru Kiyota, assisted by Elvin W. Jones

4. C h a n d i B o r o b u d u r : A M o n u m e n t o f M a n k i n d , by Dr.

Soekmono

Obituary:

1. Paul Demieville, by A lexander W. Macdonald

81

84

91

99

1 3

1 6

1 8

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DYNAMIC LIBERATION

IN

Y O G A C A R A

BUDDHISM

by A lan Sponberg

I. Introduction

Why d id Sakyamuni Buddha , hav ing rea l i zed l ibe ra t ion

from the world, choose to give up the seclusion of his enl ight

enment and go for th again in to tha t same world? Why did he

take on the task of preaching the content of his real izat ion to

all th e being s stil l en sn ar ed in the net of de ath a nd re-b ir th?

The ear ly Buddhis ts seem to have had some di f f icul ty account

ing for the apparent paradox in th is dec is ion . In the Ariyapa-

riyesana-sutta

of th e

Majjhima-nikaya,

one of the earl iest accounts

of the B ud dh a 's en l ig ht en m en t , we f ind the fo llowing ref lec

t ions a t t r ibu ted to Sakyamuni :

Then I though t , now I have ga ined the doc t r ine , p ro found ,

ha rd to pe rce ive , ha rd to know, t r anqu i l , t r anscenden t , be

yond the sphere of reasoning, subt le , to be known by the

w ise. . . .

But i f I were to teach the Doctr ine , and o thers d id not

understand i t , i t would be a weariness to me, a vexation.

Then a l so the re na tu ra l ly occur red to me these ve rses un

heard be fore :

T h ro u g h painful s t r iv ing have I ga ine d it,

Awav with now proclaiming i t ;

By those beset with lust and hate

Not easily is this Doctrine learnt.

This Doctr ine , f ine , agains t the s t ream,

Subt le , p ro found , and ha rd to see ,

They will not see it , lust-inflamed,

Beneath the mass of darkness ve i led .

Thus ,

m on ks , as 1 ref lec ted , my m ind tu rn ed to inac tion ,

no t to t each in g the Doc t r ine . Then Brah m a Saham pat i

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knowing the de l ibera t ion of my mind thought , "ver i ly the

wo rld is bein g des tro ye d, veri ly the w orld is goin g to de stru c

t ion, in that the mind of the Tathagata , the arahat , the ful ly

enl ightened , tu rns to inac t ion and not to teaching the Doc

t r ine . " Then B rah m a Sah am pa t i , ju s t a s a s t rong m an migh t

s t re tch out h is bent a rm, or bend h is s t re tched-out a rm, so

d id he d i sa pp ea r from the Brah ma -wo r ld and ap pe a r be fo re

m e . And a r r ang ing h i s uppe r robe on one shou lde r he ben t

dow n h is c lasped n an ds to me and sa id , "may the rev eren d

Lord teach the Doctr ine , may the Suga ta teach the Doc

trine. . . ." '

What was i t then that f inal ly overcame Sakyamuni ' s ini t ia l

hesi ta t ion? In this and other vers ions of the incident we are

told that the fa teful decis ion was made only a t the behest of the

god Brahma, who, in the in te res t o f the be ings , descended

f rom h i s Brahma Heaven to in te r cede in a

dens ex machina

m a n

ner.

Th is exp lana t io n was app a ren t ly no t ad eq ua t e fo r some

however . With the Mahayana innovat ion tha t made expl ic i t the

in tegra l l ink be tw een comp ass ion an d wisdom , an add i t iona l

means of reso lv ing th is puzz l ing ques t ion was provided . The

enl ightenment rea l ized by Sakyamuni was seen to compr ise

b o th Gr e a t W is d o m

{mahdprajnd)

an d Grea t Com pass ion

(mahdkarund);

w h e r e u p o n h is p r e a c h in g c a r e e r b e c a m e p e r

fectly con sis tent with the very n a tu re of his en l ig h te nm en t. I t

would thus have been inconce ivable—with or wi thout the in

te r ces s ion o f Brahma—for Sakyamuni

not

to have sou gh t the

l iberat ion of other beings as well . This solut ion was one par t

of a br oa de r universa l is t ic tend enc y in M ahaya na B ud dh ism ,

a deve lopment which ra ised addi t iona l problems tha t were to

become the focus of fur ther soter iological innovations in the

la te r Madhyamika and Yogacara schools . Once the idea l of un i

ve r sa l s a lva t ion th rough the agency o f en l igh tened Buddhas

an d bodh isa t tvas was asser ted , the proble m re m ain ed of ac

count ing—both theore t ica l ly and prac t ica l ly—for the re la t ion

s h ip b e twe e n th e s u p r a m u n d a n e a n d t h e m u n d a n e , b e twe e n

the Absolu te and the ind iv idua l . How can the t ranscendenta l

inte ract with th e wo rldly? H ow is the bodh isat tva to function

at the same t ime in two mutually exclusive realms? In what way

does the bodhisa t tva a f te r rea l iz ing the t ranspersona l Absolu te

stil l retain some individual personality active in the relative

world for the sa lvat ion of other beings?

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The two pr inc ip le schools of Mahayana Buddhism each

sought to work out answers to these basic quest ions , answers

tha t a re probab ly best seen as co m ple m en tary ra t he r tha n con

t rad ic tory . Both schools shared a good dea l o f common ground

an d cer ta inly a co m m on basic proble m at ic . I t is in this co nte xt

that the doctr inal di f ferences between the two schools must be

examined . The thes i s upon which the present a r t i c le hopes to

shed some l ight can be stated simply as the view that

M adh yam ika and Y ogacara repre sen t two d i f fe ren t , yet para l

le l , approaches to the same se t o f p roblems: Madhyamika fo

cus ing its a t te nt i on pr im ari ly on the logical an d phi loso phical

issues involved and Yogacara concerning i tse l f more with the

practical and psychological issues.

The s ign i f icance of th i s common problemat ic and of the sub

sequent di f ferences between the two schools can most c lear ly

be seen in the contras t in the formulat ions of the ni rvana doc

t r ine in the two schools . Unfor tunate ly , th is has not as yet been

ful ly apprecia ted. While a great deal has been wri t ten in the

West on the Madhyamika concept ion of ni rvana, very l i t t le has

been sa id about the cor responding Yogacara doc t r ines of un

f ixed nirvana

(apratisthita-nirvdna)

and non-d i sc r imina t ing cog

ni t ion

(nirvikalpaka-jndna),

a ra th er s t r iking ref lect ion of the cur

rent s ta te of Yogacara s tudies .

2

We are still a long way from a

comprehens ive account of the p lace of Yogacara in Buddhis t

th ou gh t ; ce r ta in ly on e necessary s tep is a pre l im inary exam i

nat ion of these two key doctr ines .

/ / .

Soteriological Innovation in Yogacara Buddh ism

It is these two do ctr ine s that repr es en t th e major soter io

logical innovat ion of Class ical Yogacara Buddhism:

M i

a dynamic

concept ion of l iberat ion formulated to br idge, in pract ice , the

ap pa re nt g ap be tw een the ind iv idua l an d the Ab solu te . The

Yogacarins fel t the need for a formulation of nirvana that

would shed l ight on the practical aspects of the psychological

t ransi t ion in the individual to the Absolute . The doctr ine of

unf ixed n i rvana

{apratisthita-nirvdna)

expressed the Yogacara

unders tanding of l ibera t ion as a s ta te of en l igh tenment in

which the prac t i t io ner is no t per m an en t ly es tab l ished in e i ther

the Abso lu t e o r t he mundane human r ea lm, and the concom

i tan t doc t r ine of in tu i t ive or non-d isc r imina t ing cogni t ion

(nir-

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vikalpaka-jnana) elucidates the special cognit ive process in

volved in that dynamic state of l iberation.

T h e Mahayana-samgraha as a Source

The bes t p r imary source for a pre l iminary s tudy of these two

doctr ines is the

Mahayana-samgraha

of Asanga,

4

best because it

p rovides an in t roduc t ion to the mos t impor tan t fea tures of the

two tha t is bo th deta i led a n d systemat ic . R efere nce to the two

terms can be found, a t leas t impl ic i t ly , in a number of other

Yogacara works: in some—e.g. , the

Abhisamayalahhdra,

th e

Rat-

nagotravibhdga,

th e

Sandhinirmocana-sutra

and the

Lahkavatara-

sutra

—that m ost l ikely p re d at e the

M ahayana-samgraha,

and also

in o thers—e.g . , the

Mahdyana-sutralahkdra,

th e

Madhyanta-

vibhdga, th e Trims ika and the Ch'eng-wei-shih-lun—that are m o re

c lose ly contemporaneous wi th , o r o f l a te r compos i t ion than ,

th e Mahayana-samgraha.

5

For the most par t however , these

other re fe rences a re e i ther very cursory or a l ready presuppose

a basic familiari ty with the doctrines. Thus, as is generally the

case with Yoga cara stud ies, o n e is well advised to beg in w ith th e

Mahayana-samgraha.

Before consider ing the two doctr ines individual ly i t wi l l be

useful to review the organizat ion of the Yogacara system pre

sented in the

Mahayana-samgraha.

This wil l give us some idea

of the place and the significance of these two doctrines in the

broader contex t o f Yogacara so te r io logy . The a r rangement of

the ten chapters of th is work provides us wi th a concise out l ine

of c lass ic Yogacara thought . Extrapolat ing f rom the l is t of top

ics in the int roduct ion and f rom the content of each chapter

we can devise the fol lowing summary:

I . The Base of th e Know able" {jneydsraya), i.e., th e

s tore -cogni t ion

{alaya-vijnana),

eighth of the eight

modes of mental activi ty and the basis for tnat

which can be known.

I I .

The Ch aracteristics of the Know able {jneyataksarui),

i .e . , the three natures—the Imaginary, the De

pendent , and the Absolu te—that charac te r ize

that which can be known.

I I I . The E ntr an ce to the Ch aracter is t ics of the Know -

able

{jnnalaksana-pravesa),

i .e . , conceptualization-

onlv-ness (vijnaptt-malrata), the ph i losophic pr in

ciple assert ing tnat the world, as we experience i t ,

is no th in g but con cep tual izat ion .

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IV. The Cause and the Fru i t o f the Entrance (tat-

pravesahetuphala),

i .e . , the six vir tues or perfec

t ions (pdramitd) of the bodhisat tva .

V. The Var ious Degrees of Cult ivat ion of the Cause

and Fru i t o f tha t Entrance (taddhetuphala-

bhdvanaprabheda), i .e . , the ten lands or stages

(dasabhumi)

of the bodhisat tva .

V I .

T h e Tr a in in g of Su pe r io r Mora li ty (adhisilam

siksa),

i .e . , the bodhisattva discipline

(samddhi)

in

volved in the above cultivation.

V I I . T h e T r a i n i n g o f S u p e r i o r T h o u g h t

(adhicittam

siksa), i .e . , the var ious medita t ive trances or con

c e n t r a t i o n s

(samddhi)

involved in th e c ultivatio n.

VI I I . T h e T r a in in g o f S u p e r io r W is d o m

(adhiprajnam

siksa), i .e . , the intui t ive or non-discr iminating cog

nit ion

(nirvikalpaka-jndna)

involved in the culti

vat ion.

IX. The Sever ing which cons t i tu tes the Fru i t

{phala-

prahdna),

i .e . , the unfixed {apratisthita) nirv ana of

the bodhisat tva character ized by a basic revolu

tion

(dsrayapardvrtti)

in which he rejects all defile

m e n t s

(samklesa)

an d ye t does not ab an do n the

m u n d a n e rea lm subjec t to de a th and re -b i r th

(samsdra).

X. Cogni t ion of the Fru i t

(phalajndna),

i.e., the triple

body (trikdya) o f the B ud dh a .

T h u s ,

Chapters I and I I discuss what is to be known and

how we ar e to know i t; C ha pt ers I I I , IV an d V treat the en

t rance to and the progress ion of the prac t ice ; Chapters VI , VI I ,

VIII discuss the types of t ra ining involved in the pract ice; while

C h a p te r IX treats th e decis ive tu rn in g- po in t tha t is the f rui t of

the above act ivi ty , and Chapter X discusses the var ious modes

in which the f ru i t is exp er ien ced or know n. T h e im po r tan t

chapters for the present s tudy are the IXth, which is complete ly

devoted to the Yogacara notion of l iberat ion, i .e . , unf ixed

nirvana , and the VHIth , which presents the spec ia l form of

cognit ion that leads to and const i tutes that l iberat ion.

The pivotal posi t ion of these two doctr ines in the system is

apparent f rom the p lace of the i r respec t ive chapte rs in the

above out l ine . I t i s a lso impor tan t to note the concomitan t re

la t ionship between the two. Asvabhava indicates this in his

Upanibandhana; comment ing on the t rans i t ion in the Mahdydna-

samgraha

f rom C ha p te r V I I I , on non-d i sc r imina t ing cogn i t ion ,

to C ha pt er IX, on the sever ing br ou gh t abou t in unf ixed

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nirv ana , he says , " T h e non -dis cr im ina t ing cog ni t ion [ topic of

Chapter VII I ] i s ab le to counter every th ing tha t i s to be count

ered [ i .e . , i t is the antidote

{pratipaksa)

for every in stan ce of

oppos i t i on (vipaksa)]. I t necessari ly implies the severing [that

cons t i tu tes n i rvana] , and so the au thor [Asahga] immedia te ly

co nt i nu es [in C h ap te r IX] to discuss the dis t inct ions of th is sev

e rance . "

7

Asahga ' s p resenta t ion in the

Mahdydna-samgraha

is thus se

quent ia l . The present ana lys i s wi l l employ a more heur i s t i c ap

pr oa ch , be gi nn in g with a discussion of the features of unf ixed

ni rvana and then proceeding to cons ider the par t icu la r , i f no t

to say peculiar , type of cognit ion that leads up to and consti

tutes i t . I t wi l l remain necessary to bear in mind, throughout ,

the connect ion between the two, the s ta te of l iberat ion and the

type of cogni t ion that makes i t possible .

Apratisthita-nirvdna

What then i s meant by

apratisthita-nirvdna*

th e un fixed l ib

erat ion of the Yogacar ins , and what is the dynamic e lement of

th i s doc t r ine?

Apratisthita

is best un d er s to od as ref err ing to a

n i rva na tha t is no t pe rm an en t ly es tab l ished in , o r bo un d to ,

any one realm or sphere of act ivi ty .

9

The implici t contrast is to

the n i rvana of the s ravakas and pra tyeka-buddhas who a re c r i t

ic ized in several ear ly Mahayana works

10

for r ema in ing pe r

manent ly es tabl ished or f ixed

(pratisthita)

in t he t r ans cen den t

s t a t e o f n i rvana -wi thou t - r ema inde r {nirupadhisesa-nirvdna), a

notion of l iberation that was the ideal of the earl ier

Abhidharmikas , who saw in i t the f inal ext inct ion of both men

ta l and physical aff l ic t ions . The dynamic not ion of apratisthita-

nirvdna

g ra du a l ly de ve lop ed a s t he l a t e r Yogaca rin

Abhidharmikas came to re ject the ear l ier view as inconsis tent

with the Mahayana ideal of the sa lvat ion of a l l beings."

W hile this do ctr in e of unf ixed nirv ana is m en t io ne d in the

Mahdydnasutrdlahkdra, i ts soteriologica l im plicatio ns ar e dev el

oped much more ful ly in the

Mahdydna-samgraha.

I n C h a p t e r

IX of the la t te r work , Asanga in t roduces the doc t r ine in the

context of his discussion of the severing of al l obstacles

(dvarana)

12

that comes as the f rui t of the three types of t ra ining

discussed in Chapters VI , VII and VII I . He then goes on to

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present the fol lowing concise defini t ion:

This sever ing is the unf ixed n i rvana of the bodhisa t tva . I t

has as i ts characteristic

(laksana)

the revolu t ion of the dua l

base in which one re l inquishes a l l def i lements , but does not

abandon the wor ld o f dea th and reb i r th (samsara).

Thus the essential features of this Yogacara notion of l iberat ion

are that i t is a radical reorientat ion of the base of al l cognit ion,

an d tha t it a l lows the bo dh isat tva to enjoy em an cip at io n from

all defi lements (samklesa) w ith o ut losin g any salvific efficacy in

the rea lm of be ings who have not ye t achieved l ibera t ion . This

is the dynamic aspect , the aspect that resolves, a t least a t the

level of prac t ice , the apparent dual i ty of Absolute and individ

ual ,

o f n i rvana and samsara .

Asai iga cont inues in the

Mahay dna-samgraha

to gloss each of

the key terms in the above defini t ion:

The wor ld of dea th and re-b i r th

(samsara)

is th e defiled com

p o n e n t o f t h e d e p e n d e n t n a t u r e

(paratantrasvabhdva-

samklesabhaga), [ i .e . , the Imaginary] .

Ni rv a n a is t h e p u r e c o m p o n e n t of t h e d e p e n d e n t n a tu r e

(paratantrasvaohdvavyavaddnabfidga), [i .e. , the Absolute].

1 4

Th e d u a l b a se (asraya) is the de pe nd en t na tu r e wi th bo th

c o m p o n e n t s c o m b i n e d .

Th e r e v o lu t i o n

(pardvrtti)

takes place when, on the ar is ing of

th e d e p e n d e n t n a tu r e ' s a n t i d o t e

(pratipaksa)

on e rejects

f lU the def iled co m po ne nt an d red ee m s flfft the p u re

c o m p o n e n t .

1 5

In h is commentary to th is passage , Asvabhava develops two im

por tant connect ions . F i rs t , he points out tha t the ant idote (pra

tipaksa)

tha t in i tia tes the revolut ion is the non -disc r im inat in g

cogn i t ion

(nirvikalpaka-jndna).

u

'

H e the n goes on to i l lustrate

the ro le of the two key Mahayana v i r tues , wisdom (prajnd) and

c o mp a ss io n (karund), in this process:

The bodhisat tva dwells in this revolut ion of the base as i f in

an immate r ia l r ea lm (arupyadhdtu). O n the one hand— with

respect to h is own personal in teres ts (svakartham)—he is fully

endowed wi th super io r wisdom (adhipraind) an d is th us no t

subject to th e afflictions (klesa)\ whi le on the o th e r hand— with

respect to the in teres ts of o ther be ings (pardrtham)—he is

fu l ly endowed wi th grea t compass ion

(mahdkarund)

and thus

never ceases to dwell in the world of death and re-bir th

(samsara).

17

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Th is dyn am ic in te rac t ion of p ra jna a nd k aru na is an imp or

tant correlative feature of the unfixed nirvana. I t is clarif ied

fu r th er in a helpful passage from the Ch'eng-wei-shih-lun dis

cussing four types of nirvana, the last of which is the

apratisthita-nirvdna

:

T h e fou rth is unf ixed nirv ana : It is Th us -n ess

(tathatd)

free

from the obstru ct ion blocking what is to be k no wn

(jneyavarana); it is always assisted by great compassion

(mahdkarund)

and grea t wisdom

(mahdprajnd).

Because of this

the bodhisat tva does not remain f ixed in e i ther samsara or

nirvana; in working for the weal of a l l beings, though he

act ively employs [his compassion and wisdom] unt i l the end

of t ime, he nonetheless remains forever quiescent . Hence i t

is called nirv an a.

1 8

T h e fact tha t this nir va na is free from the

jneyavarana

indicates

that i t i s the prerogat ive of ful ly enl ightened bodhisat tvas and

not of the arhats , who succeed in sever ing only the obstacle of

the def i lements , or passions (klesdvarana).

Having thus reso lved the problems of formula t ing a n i rvana

doc t r ine tha t b r idged the gap be tw een A bso lu te en l igh tenm en t

and continued individual activity, and that allowed full play of

bo th the M ahay ana idea ls of wisdom and com pass ion , the

Yogacarins fe l t i t necessary to say something more about the

special kind of cognition in which one realizes this dynamic

sta te of l iberat ion. Along with the Madhyamikas, they recog

nized that the cause of our defilement and affl iction is the dis

c r imina t ing and conceptua l iz ing cogni t ion by which we cons t i

tu te our world and par t ic ipate in i t . Concerned pr imari ly with

the pract ical psychology of l iberat ion, they then asked what

manner of awareness or cogni t ion would a l low the bodhisa t tva

to f ree himself of th is world-construct ing involvement and yet

to continue to work actively for the weal of the beings st i l l en

snared in tha t wor ld . The doc t r ine of nirvikalpaka-jndna is the

Yogacarin ' s a t tempt to answer th is quest ion.

Nirvikalpaka-jndna

Vikalpa, for the Buddhis ts , is the discr iminat ion or concep

tualization by which we perceive and function in the world and,

correspondingly, by which we are inextr icably bound to th is

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world, with its inevitable frustration and woe. I t is a negative

activity, always with the implicit connotation of false discr imi

na t ion o r

vain

im ag inin g, because it is w hat prev en ts us f rom

rea l iz ing the t rue Thus-ness of a l l th ings , the Absolu te .

Nirvakalpaka-jndna

is , for the Yo gacarins, th e an tid ot e to this

wor ld-cons t ruc t ing ac t iv i ty . When rendered l i te ra l ly as 'non

d isc r imina t ing cogni t ion or awareness , '

1 9

the neg ative aspect of

its m ea ni ng is readily ap p a re n t: it is a kind of cog nit ion or

aw aren ess tha t is f ree of th e discr im inatio n tha t bind s us to th e

wor ld of dea th and re -b i r th . A good dea l more than a s imple

lack-of-something is implied by the term, however . In this cog

nit ion there is not only the lack of discr imination; there is a lso

a more posi t ive aspect : the direct and intui t ive cognit ion of the

A bso lute . T h is is an essentia l featu re a nd sug gests som e f reer

transla t ion such as ' in tui t ive wisdom. '

2 0

While cor rec t in the broades t sense , th is render ing does not

have the d isadvantage of obscur ing the somewhat paradoxica l

aspec t tha t becomes apparent in the Sanskr i t te rm when we

reach the ful ly developed form of nirvikalpaka-jnana, the mode

which a l lows par t ic ipat ion in both nirvana and samsara , in the

s u p r a m u n d a n e Ab s o lu te a n d in t h e m u n d a n e r e a lm o f d is c rim

ina t ion . In th is mode of nirvikalpaka-jnana we shall find a non

d isc r imina t ing cogni t ion tha t , subsequent to en l ightenment , i s

sti l l able to function in the world of discrimination, the char

acteristic that allows the crucial dynamic aspect of unfixed

n i rvana . Th is in te rpene t r a t ion o f the appa ren t dua l i ty o f

nirvana and samsara must a lso be an essentia l feature of the

non-d i sc r imina t ing cogn i t ion .

T h u s ,

for the Yogacar ins ,

nirvikalpaka-jnana

has at once a

nega t ive , a pos i t ive , and a dynamic connota t ion : nega t ive , in

that i t is non-discr iminating cognit ion; posi t ive , in that i t is in

tuitive wisdom; and dynamic, in that i t gives access to the Ab

solute without yielding eff icacy in the relative.

A survey of the

M ahay dna-samgraha

chapte r tha t i s devoted

to the

nirvikalpaka-jnana

21

will m ak e these th re e features m o re

clear . There we f ind that there are three var ie t ies or degrees

o f non-d i sc r imina t ing cogn i t ion :

1 . pre l iminary non-discr imina t ing cogni t ion {prayogika-nir-

vikalpaka-jnana)

.

2 . fund am enta l non-d i sc r imina t ing cogn i tion {mula- ), and

5


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3. subsequently-acquired non-discriminating cognition (prstha-

labdha- )

22

The order of the three degrees or modes is progressive, and

the text discusses first the preliminary or preparatory stage of

non-discriminating cognition, the stage which according to Va-

subandhu's commentary is also known as conjectural wisdom

H &

vitarka/paritarkaf-prajnd

or investigative wisdom (par-

yesand-°)P

Vasubandhu says also that this first stage arises by

virtue of faith {Sraddha) and resolute conviction (adhimukti),

which is to say tha t initially a bod hisattva in tra ining hears from

others about the principle of being free from false discrimi

nation

(nirvikalpa-naya)',

though he is as yet unable to realize it

fo r

himself,

hearing of it does p rod uce a resolute conviction on

the basis of which he p roceeds to investigate the principle.

24

By

virtue of that investigation, non-discriminating cognition does

eventually arise, and thus the first stage is said to be the cause

(hetu) of the second.

25

It is with the second stage that we are dealing with

nirvikal-

paka-jndna

pro pe r, and hence it is known as the ro ot or fun

damental stage of non-discriminating cognition. Vasubandhu

adds that it is also known as introspective wisdom (pratydtmavedya-

prajna) or the wisdom of realization (sdksdtkdra- ).

2B

It is with this

cogn ition that on e realizes the Ab solute, and we are in fact told

that it is identical

(sama)

with Th us-ness

(tathatd)

27

With the

fundamental cognition, one is thus liberated from all obstacles

(dvarana); one becomes fully accomplished and perfected.

28

This being the case, why did the Yogacarins add yet a third

stage? In the second, fundamental stage we can see both the

negative, non-discriminating aspect and the positive, intuitive-

identification-with-Thus-ness aspect; the third essential fea

ture, however, is still undeveloped.

It is in the third or subsequently-acquired {prslha-labdha)

stage of non-discriminating cognition that we again see the

characteristic Yogacara innovation of an explicitly dynamic no

tion of liberation. This third stage is 'subsequently-acquired' in

that it is the result or fruit of the fundamental cognition. It is

also known as th e active or practical wisdom ^ffl3H : kriydf-

prajnd) o r as the sustaining w isdom

(samdhdrana- )

29

In his com

mentary on the Mahdydna-samgraha passage discussing the ad

vantage of the three degrees, Vasubandhu tells us:

53


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By vir tue of the power of this [subsequent ly acquired] cog

ni t ion of the bodhisat tvas, out of considerat ion for the weal

of al l sent ient beings, decide to be reborn in the world. When

they are reborn, however , they are no longer subjec t to de

filement by worldly cont in ge ncie s , viz ., the eig ht lok ad ha r-

m a s :

g a i n '

(Idbha),

loss

{alabha),

pra i se

(prasamsd),

c e ns u r e

{nindd), h o n o r (yasas), d i s h o n o r (ayasas), f rus t ra t ion (dufykha)

a nd ha pp i ne s s

(sukha).

Because th i s [ subsequent ly-acqui red]

cogn i t ion is bo rn of the [ fun da m enta l ] no n-d iscr im inat ing

cognit ion, i t is also called non-discriminating.*

1

That last s tatement raises a provocat ive quest ion. I f the sub

sequent ly-acquired cogni t ion al lows the bodhisat tva to be act ive

in the world, is i t st i l l non-discriminating

(nirvikalpaka)?

Jus t

how does non-discr iminat ing awareness funct ion effect ively in

the w orld of disc r im inat io n? T hi s is a var iat ion of th e cen tral

soter iological i ssue for th e Yog acar ins . As V asu ba nd hu himself

puts i t , " I f non-discr iminat ing cogni t ion thus succeeds in re

a l iz ing Buddha-hood, having become f ree of e f for t (dbhoga)

and menta l d i sc r imina t ion {manasikdravikalpa), how then does

i t accompl i sh the mat ter of br inging benef i t and pleasure to the

beings?"" The Yogacara masters had no doubt tha t th i s can in

prac t ice be done , tha t non-discr iminat ing cogni t ion can func

t ion act ively in the world of discr iminat ion without being dis

cr im ina t ing ; they recog nized , however , tha t it do es seem para

doxical—at least to the discr iminat ing mind. To side-step the

apparen t pa radox inheren t i n the t e rminology , t hey employed

a metaphor ica l explanat ion which Asahga expresses in one

concise verse:

Jus t as the prec ious gem

3 2

and the d ivine

musical inst rument™

Perform their respect ive roles wi thout

any conscious thought ,

, w

So are all the various activities of

t h e B u d d h a p e r f o r m e d ,

Also thus, qui te f ree of any conscious

thought .* '

In exp lana t ion Vasubandhu says :

The metaphors o f t he p rec ious gem and the d iv ine mus ica l

in s t r um en t in th i s verse de m on st r a te tha t ju s t as the wish-

fulfi l l ing gem, though devoid of discrimination, is st i l l ca

pab le of fulf il ling w ha teve r it is tha t beings desi re , an d m or e-

54


14/23

over tha t ju s t as the d iv ine musica l ins t ru m en t , w i thout any

one to play it , produces all varieties of sound in accord with

th e as pi ra tio ns of" th e be ing s in its pro xim ity, ju st so you

shoula know tha t the non-discr iminat ing cogni t ion of the

buddhas and bodhisa t tvas , whi le f ree of d iscr iminat ion , i s

nonetheless able to carry out all sorts of activity.

™

To th is Asvabhava adds:

The wish-fu l f i l l ing gem and the d iv ine musica l ins t rument

do not have the thought , "I shal l now radiate bri l l iancy " or

"I sha ll now give for th so un d " becau se they are bo th w i thout

any conscious thought ; never the less , by the power of the

mer i tor ious ac t ions and aspi ra t ions of the be ings in the i r

proximity and wi thout wai t ing to be p layed [etc.], they emit

all sorts of radiance and give forth all varieties of sound. You

shou ld know the non-d i sc r imina t ing cogn i t ion o f the bud

dhas and bodhisat tvas to be just l ike this: though completely

free of d iscr iminat ion and wi thout making any ef for t , they

are nonetheless capable of producing a l l var ie t ies of benef i t

and service in accord with the meri t and aspirat ions of the

be ings conver ted by them. '

7

T hi s is a crucial p assag e, for i t was this ana logy tha t conv eyed

for the Yogacarins the inner workings of the special type of

cognit ive act ivi ty that made their notion of dynamic or unfixed

nirva na v iable. I t is the i r exp lana t ion of how non -discr im inat

ing cognit ion can, a t the highest level , be act ive within discrim

inat ion .

These then a re the th ree degrees o f non-d i sc r imina t ing cog

ni t ion as presented in the Mahdydna-samgraha.^'lo i l lustrate th e

d i f fe rences be tween them, and the sequence wi th in , Asahga

summarizes the three in a ser ies of brief verses:

1. Like a m ut e seeking to co m pr eh en d som e objec t,

Like a mute who has succeeded in comprehend ing the

object,

Like a non-mute who has comprehended the ob jec t ,

The th ree cogn i t ions a re ana logous to these .

2 .

Like a fool , seeking to co m pr eh en d som e objec t,

Like a foo l who has succeeded in comprehend ing the ob

ject,

Like a non- foo l who has comprehended the ob jec t ,

Th e t h r e e ' " c o g n i t i o n s a r e a n a lo g o u s t o t h e se .

55


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3 .

Like the f ive modes of sensory percept ion, seeking to ap

prehend an ob jec t ,

L ike the f ive when they have succeeded in apprehending

the object,

Like manas

w

when it has co m pr eh en de d the ob jec t,

The th ree cogn i t ions are analogous to these .

4 . Like one who has not yet understood a t reat ise

Bu t seeks to unders t and i t , even tua l ly comprehend ing

[now the letter of] the doctrine and [finally] the

m e a n i n g ,

This sequ enc e is a m et ap ho r fo r the th ree cogn i t ions :

Thus shou ld you know the p re l iminary , e tc .

41

Accord ing to Asvabhava ' s commentary , the p re l iminary

stage of non-d iscr im ina t ing c ogni t ion is l ike a m ut e or a fool

seek ing to comprehend some ob jec t , because they can ne i ther

comprehend i t nor ta lk abou t i t—the mute lack ing the verbal

abi l i ty and the fool lacking the conceptual abi l i ty . Fundamental

co gnitio n is l ike the case of a m ut e or fool w ho has m an ag ed

to comprehend the object but is s t i l l unable to communicate h is

comprehension . F ina l ly , the subsequen t ly -acqu i red cogn i t ion i s

l ike on e with full verbal an d co nce ptua l po we rs who has com

p rehended the ob jec t and can a l so communica te h i s under

s t and ing .

4 2

Regard ing the th i rd verse , he exp la ins tha t even when one

has apprehended an ob jec t by means o f the f ive modes o f sen

sory percep t ion one nonetheless lacks the concep tual iza t ion o r

d iscr iminat ion

(vikalpa)

which is ad d e d by the sixth or co ord i

na t ing mode of percep t ion ca l led mano-vijnana.

In Vasubandhu ' s exp lanat ion o f the four th verse he com

ments tha t f i r s t one seeks to unders tand the t rea t i se , then one

comes to unders tand the words ; and f ina l ly one unders tands

the words and the mean ing . In the same way one p rogresses

th rough the th ree cogn i t ions .

4 4

The analog ies employed in these four verses re i te ra te and

summarize the most basic theme involved in the doctr ine of the

th ree deg rees o f non -d i sc r imina t ing cogn i t ion : tha t under

standing must be coupled with act iv i ty , that wisdom must in

c lude compass ion . The subsequen t ly acqu i red cogn i t ion i s no t

to be seen as a re lapse f rom the funda m enta l cogn i t ion— or

even as a voluntary retreat . Rather, i t is the fruit ion, the

ful

fillment, of that real izat ion . The verses make clear that both of

56


16/23

the la t te r two degrees are necessary . According to th is doct r ine ,

the en l ig h te nm en t o f the b ud dh as an d bodh isa t tvas is in fu ll

f lower only when the subsequent ly-acquired cogni t ion has de

ve loped

in addition to

the fun dam enta l cogn i t ion .

4 5

/ / / . Some Broader Implications

The preceding analys is of the doct r ines of unf ixed n i rvana

and non-d i sc r imina t ing cogn i t ion in the

Mahdydna-samgraha

suggests several observat ions on the place of these Yogacara

innova t ions in the b roader con tex t o f Buddhis t so te r io logy and

also , more par t icular ly , on the re la t ionship be tween Yogacara

and Madhyamaka. In order to br ing these in to focus i t i s nec

essary f i rs t to review the common ground shared by the two

schools .

Two main themes charac te r ize the rev i t a l i za t ion movement

in i t ia ted in the ear ly Mahayana scr ip tures :

1) a m ark ed t ende ncy tow ards ph i losoph ic abso lu t ism;

a n d

2) a co nc ern for the salvat ion of all sen t ient bein gs in con

trast to the earl ier focus on individual l iberat ion.

These two deve lopments a re , o f course , no t unre la ted . Bo th

may be seen as ins tances of a broader theme of universa l iza-

t ion . Ju s t as the B u d d h a was universa l ized f rom an h is tor ica l

individual to an abstract pr inciple , so also was the concept of

l ibera t ion universa l ized , in both content and extens ion.

The bas ic d i f ference tha t the Mahayana conver ts saw be

tween the i r not ion of l ibera t ion and tha t of the i r Hinayana

anta go nis ts is e loqu ent ly ex pre sse d in the Prajndpdramitd Scrip

tures

an d in the

Lotus Sutra.™

T h e n i rvana so ugh t by the

s ravakas and p ra tyekabuddhas was c r i t i c ized as the a t t a inment

o f a t r a n sc e n d e n t

(lokottara

o r

aparydpanna)

s tate , i r revocably

se p a ra t e d f ro m th e mu n d a n e sp h e re o f h u ma n e x i s t e n c e .

Nirvana and samsara were thus seen as total ly dist inct , an as

ser t ion ant i the t ica l to the emerging not ion of Mahayana ab

solu t ism. A pr imary objec t ive of the ear ly Mahayana scr ip tures

was to counter that view with a universal ized notion of l ibera

t ion tha t recognized no u l t imate d is t inc t ion be tween samsara

and ni rvana , and tha t encompassed the sa lva t ion of a l l be ings

as i t s u l t imate goal . This was the common ground shared by

a d h e re n t s t o t h e Ma h a y a n a .

57


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The task of working out the implicat ions of these new ideas,

both in theory and in pract ice, was subsequent ly taken up by

the later Mahayana masters. What was init ially a division of la

bor and inc l ina t ion among these Mahayan is t s even tual ly re

sulted in the division into the two main Mahayana schools. Fol

lowing the epistemological criticism implicit in the

P rajnaparamita

Scriptures,

the Madhyamikas focused the i r in teres t on the ab

stract a nd logical issues of th e basic Ma hay ana the m es ; on e may

say the i r ap pr oa ch was p r imar i ly ph i losophica l . T h e Yogacar ins

had no quarrel with the cri t ical philosophy of the Madhyamikas;

indeed, they assumed i t , while going on to take a rather dif

ferent approach. Fol lowing the systematic soter io logy of the

ear ly Abhidharmikas , the Yogacar ins focused the i r in teres t on

the pract ical and technical issues of the common Mahayana

themes; thus, their approach may be seen as basical ly psycho

log ica l. T h e two schools shared a co m m on prob lem at ic ; the i r

d ifference was one of method and point of v iew.

This d i f ference in approach between the two schools re

sul ted in two paral lel formulat ions of n irvana.

4 7

C o n c e r n e d

with the logical refutat ion of dual i ty , the Madhyamika discus

sions of n irvana are character is t ical ly negat ive in expression.

In one o f the bes t known summaries o f the Madhyamika con

cep t ion o f n i rvana , Nagar juna s ta tes :

W hat is no t ab an do ne d an d no t a t ta ined ,

Not cut off and not eternal ,

W hat is no t sup pre sse d and no t p rod uc ed ,

T h a t is cal led n irv ana .

To which CandrakTr t i comments :

That which cannot be abandoned l ike g reed and the o ther

[affl ictions] and also cannot be attained l ike the fruits of re

nunciat ion , that which cannot be cut off l ike the aggregates ,

etc.

and a lso i s no t permanent l ike non-empty [p r inc ip les] ,

tha t which by its na tu re is no t supp resse d and no t p ro du ce d ,

that which has as i ts characterist ic the cessation of all vain

discourse, that is what is called nirvana.

4 8

The in ten t ion o f the Madhyamika no t ion o f n i rvana i s to

break down, by means o f the via negativa, the duali ty implicit

in al l conceptual formulat ion . The Absolute is inexpressib le;

ult imately, one must realize that there can be no duality, that

58


18/23

there can be

neither

samsa ra

nor

n i rvana .

The above analysis of the doctr ines of unf ixed nirvana and

non-discr imina t ing cogni t ion has shown the Yogacara concep

tion of l iberation to be characteristically more positive in

ex pre ss io n. T h e de lusio n of duali ty is s till to be resolved, bu t

in the i r f ram ew ork the em ph as is is d i f fe ren t : the A bsolu te

mus t be shown to encompass o r in te rpene t r a te both n i rvana and

samsara a t one and the same t ime .

4 9

The Madhyamikas were pr imar i ly concerned wi th c r i t ica l ly

examin ing the ph i losoph ic na tu re o f bondage . By examin ing

the log ica l inadequac ies of language and d iscurs ive thought ,

they sought to explain why we are t rapped by the duali ty of

samsara and n i rvana . The Yogacar ins , accept ing tha t c r i t ique ,

tu rn ed away f rom the pure ly ph i losophic is sues to ad dres s the

m o re im m ed ia te ques t io n of how one is to rea lize tha t non -

duali ty in pract ice . By analyzing the psychological s tructures by

which be ings become t rapped in the dua l i t ies of d iscurs ive

thought , they sought to char t the pa th by which one may, in

p rac t i ce , e scape bondage .

Bo th schools reco gn ized tha t we are b ou n d to the world of

our exper ience and that this inevitably leads to f rus tra t ion and

suffe r ing . M ad hy am ak a sou gh t to exp lain logical ly how this

exper ience was u l t imate ly a de lus ion; i t genera ted thereby a

cr i t ica l and soter iologic philosophy of language. On the basis

of that cr i t ica l analysis of delusion combined with their own

interes t in medita t ive pract ice , the Yogacar ins sought to ex

amine the menta l process by which we perpe tua te the wor ld-

con s t ruc t ing de lu s ion , an d to expla in in prac tica l te rm s how

one is to escape f rom tha t process . They , in turn , genera ted a

speculat ive and soter iologic psychology.

In this sense , we may see Yogacara as the old Abhidharmic

ente rpr ise car r ied on in the new l igh t of Madhyamika c r i t ica l

ep is temology, an en te rpr ise tha t required—now in i t s Yogacara

guise—an innovat ive and dynamic re formula t ion of the not ion

of l iberat ion, one that would go beyond the s ta t ic duali ty of the

HTnayana

nirupadhisesa-nirvana

and one tha t would a lso com

plement the pract ical auster i ty of the r igorously negative

M adh yam ika n i rvan a . An d, ind eed , th is is p rec ise ly what we

see in the doctr ines of

nirvikalpaka-jfidna

a n d

apratisthita-

nimana.

59


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NOTES

A summary of this ar t icle was presented under the t i t le "Soter iological

Innovat ions in Yogacara Buddhism" at the Asian Studies Paci f ic Area Con

ference (ASPAC) held at Evergreen State Univers i ty, Olvmpia, Washington.

J une 1979 .

Al l t rans lat ions are those of the author unless otherwise noted. In the case

of passages from the Mah dydnu-sa nigra ha and i t s commentar ies (see n. 4 he-

low),

t rans lat ions are f rom the Chinese vers ion of Hsi ian- tsang (1:1594.

X X X I. 132c-l .

r

>2a) unless otherwise noted. References to the

C.iieng-ivei-shdi-

lun

ar e ci ted from th e ed it ion of SA EK I Jo in fefS^ilt

Shindd Jo-yuishiki-ron

$T#$. $alislhita-ni)vdna do ctr in e in the most

commonly used surveys of Buddhi sm, e .g . . E . Thomas ' History of Buddhist

Thought, E. Conze 's Buddhism: Its Essence and Development an d Buddhist Thought

in India, A. K. Warder ' s Indian Buddhism, David Kalupahaua ' s Buddhist Phi

losophy,

etc. M ore su rp risi ng is the om ission of th e do ctr ine in A. K. Ch at-

terjee's The Yogdcd ra Idealism atul also the very sum m ary a nd ina de qu ate

t r ea tment in Th. S tcherbat sky ' s Conception of Buddhist \'in>dna (pp. 185)1 He

204 n) wh ere it is m en t ion ed only parenth et ical ly as an ins tance of Yogacara

havin g "dev iated f rom s tr ict M ahi iyanism."

Some discussion of

apiatisthita-nitvdna

in we stern- la ng uag e sources is

found in the ann ota t ion to the app ro pr ia te sect ions (see below) of L. de la

Vallee-Poussin's t ranslat ion of the (Ji'eng-wei-shih-lun (Vijhaptimdttatd-siddhi)

and E. Lamot te ' s t rans lat ion of (he Mahdydna-samgraha, also in I). T. Suzuki's

Outlines of Mahdydna Buddhism (London: Luzac and Co. , 1907) , pp . 345-340;

A. B. Keith's

Buddhist Philosophy

(Ox ford: Cla ren don Press . 1923), pp . 257-

25 9 ;

J . Masuda's

Per individualistiscli Idealismus

(Heid e lberg , 1920), pp .

49ff.,

J . Ki tayama's

Metaphysik des Buddhismus

(Stut tgar t : W. K ohlh am m er , 1934) .

p p . 104-105; H. von Glasenapp ' s Unsterhlichkeit and K rliisung in den indischen

Heligionen (Halle, 1938), p. 02; N. Dutt 's Mahdydnu Buddhism, new ed. (Delhi:

Moti lal Banarsidass, 1977). p. 250, n. 3 . These lat ter secondary works for the

most par t s imply pa ra ph ra se the on e shor t passage from th e

Ch'eng-wei-shih-

lun

translated below in this ar t icle.

60


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3 . The histor ical de ve lop m en t of Yogacara doctr ine is s till a very co ntro

versial subject. Provisionally, I would suggest a division of the Yogacara li t

era ture in to (a t least) three main his tor ical per iods: Karly Yogacara (pre-

Asanga) , Classical Yogacara {Asanga and Vasubandhu, esp. the

Mahdydna-

samgraha),

an d Late or Scholast ic Yogacara (post-V asub and hu) ; m ore ref ine

ment mus t awai t fu r ther tex tua l s tud ies—the Yogdcdrabhumi and the

Abhid-

harmasa-muccaya, for example, should go in the first period in spite of then-

associa t ion with Asanga. Contrast Jacques May's proposal for a Vijnanavada

per iod iza t ion in "La ph i losophie bouddhique idea l i s te , "

Asiatische Studien

(Etudes asialique),

25 (1971) : 26 5-3 23 ; and see a lso Lam ber t Schm i lhausen ,

"Zur L i te ra tu rgesch ich te der a l te ren Yogacara -schu le , "

Zeilschrift der

Deutschen Morgenldndischen (ieselhclmft,

Supplementum I, Vol. 2 (19r>8), pp.

8 1 1 - 8 2 3 .

1 ag re e w ith S chm itha use n (p . 81 In) that , as a generic ter m ,

Yogacara is pre fera ble to V ijnana vad a.

4 . T h e M aha yan a-sam grah a d oes no t su rv ive in Sanskr i t , bu t we do have

four t ransla t ions in to Chinese and two into Tibetan, h t ienne Lamotte ' s La

Som m e du Gr an d Vehicu le d 'Asan ga (Louva in : Burea ux du M useon , 1938 ;

rpt Louvain: Universi te de Louvain, Inst i tu te Orienta l is te , 1973) includes an

edi t ion of the Tibetan text and an excel lent French t ransla t ion from the

Tibe tan wi th annota t ions f rom the two pr inc ip le commenta r ies . Vasuban-

d h u ' s

Mahdydnasamgraha-bhdsya

and Asvabhava(?) ' s

Mahdydsamgraha-upani-

bandhana.

For deta ils of th e diffe ren t version s of th e origi nal work an d its

commentaries, see Lamotte, Vol. 1, pp. v-viii . In this article references will

be given to the Taisho edition of the Chinese translations; this allows easy

refe ren ce to Lam otte ' s t ransla t ion of the Tibetan which gives the cor res po nd

ing Taisho page n um be rs a f te r each sec tion .

5. For de ta i ls on these re fe rences an d o th ers see Lam ot te .

La Somme.

pp .

*45-4() and *47-48.

(). In Sanskri t

jneya,

the passive future or opta t ive par t ic iple of Vjiid: "to

know," means both "that which is knowable" as well as "that which is to be

known." Hsi ian-tsang expresses both aspects in his rendering of Vasuban-

dh u 's gloss fWI§Pj*nj &£#ffc] (T :X X X I.3 2 2 b2 9- cl ).

7. T:XXX 1.434cl6 17.

8. The ge rm at least of this idea is to be fou nd alr ea dy in th e Aslasdhasrikd-

pdram itd; cf. apratisthilamdnaso hi lalhdgato 'than samyak-

sambuddhah/ sa naiva samsktle dhdtaii slliilo ndpy asamskrle dhdtau sthito na ca lato

vyutthituhl

(ed. of R. M itra, Ca lcu tta, 1888, p. 3 7). The earliest occ ur ren ce in

a Yogacara context seems to be in the

Sillidlankdra

where i t is mentioned

several t imes (see Lamotte ,

La Somme,

p. *48 for the references).

9 . The term has been var iously re nd er ed into W estern lang uag es: " the

nirvana that has no abode" (Suzuki) , "nirvana without basis or s tav" (Keith) ,

"das absolut f re ie Nirvana" (Kitayama). "a l t ruis t ic n irvana" (Stcherbatskv) .

"Timmortel e t ac l i f Nirvana" (La Vallee- l 'oussin) , and " le Nirvana instable"

(L a mo t t e ) .

Nirvana,

of course , means l i tera l lv "ext inct ion" and represents in

the broadest sense the Buddhist concept ion of l i l>erat ion, del iverance, sa l

vation, etc.

19. See fo r example Mahdydiiasulralankdm X V I I . 4 2 :

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avistanam krpaya na t is that i manah same krpalCinam

kuta eva lokasaukhye svaj lvi te va bhavet snehahh

sarvasya hi lokasya laukike saukhye svajlvite ca snehah/ tatrapi ca

n i h s n e h a n a m s r a v a k a p r a t y e k a b u d d h a n a i n s a r v a d u h k h o p a s a m e n i r v a n e

pra t i s th i tam manah/ bodhisa t tvanam tu karuna-vis ta tvan n i rvane ' | ) i mano

na pra t i s th i tam/ /

Which S. Levi

(Mahayannsfihalankaw.

Vol. II , p. 217 ) tran slat es:

Les C om pa t i s san t s , t ou t pene t r e s de C om pass ion ,

n 'arretent pas leur espri t c lans la Suppression.

C o m m e nt d on e se p rend ra i en t - i l s t l 'a i l ec tion po ur

le h o n he u r mo nd ain on pout leur v ie?

Le moncle entier, i l est vrai, aime le honheur mondain et t ient a sa vie.

Les Audi teurs e t les Bouddhas-pour-soi . qui ne t iennenl n i a I 'un n i a

Paul re , ar re ten t clu m oins leu r espri t d an s le Nirv ana, qui est le sous-

Apaisement de toute douleur . Mais les Bodhisa t tvas , penet res qu ' i l s sont

de Compass ion, n 'a r re tent pas leur espr i t menie dans le Nirvana .

11. Lam ber t Schm i thausen has p resen ted a ve ry im po r t an t docu m e nt in

the development of the Yogacara concept ion of l ibera t ion in Der Nitvana-

absdmitt in der Viniscayasumfryahanidcr Yogaahabhiitnih (W ien : Herm ann B oh-

laus ,

1969, pu b. as Os ter re ich ische A kad em ie de r Wissenschaf ten: Sitzungs-

bnidilc, 264 .2) . Whi le the te rm apxttisthiiu-nnvana is ap pa ren t ly not to be

found in the Yogacumbhitmi, th e do ctr ine is fore sha do w ed in this sect ion

which ref lects a dist inct ion between the stat ic nirvana of (he arhats and the

dy na m ic nirv an a of the lath ag ata (see esp . I. 9-1 L pp . 53 -59; and also no te

159,

p. 159 -160). The dist inct ion is ex pla ine d with referen ce

{oniiupadliisiyi-

nirvuna: a l t e r en te r ing the t r anscenden ta l n i rvana -wi thou t - r em a inde r the

la thag ata , in cont ras t to the arh a t , chooses to re tu rn . As Sch mitha usen sug

gests (p. 7) this very l ikely represents an earl ier and t ransi t ional s tage in the

deve lopm ent o f t he apratisthita-nirvana do ctr i ne that is found in later works

like the Mahayumisutmltniknm and the Maliayainisawgraha.

12. V asu ban dhu (T :X X X I.3 22 c2 0-2 I ) identi fies these as the obs tac le of

the afflictions or passions (klcsdvmmin) and the obstacle blocking what is lobe

k n o w n (jfwyCivamna). For a sum ma ry accoun t of the impo r tant Yogacara doc

tr ine of the two obstacles see C h't'iig-wi-shilt-lun ix.5b-8b alon g with LaVallee-

I 'oussin 's an no tat io ns . N ote especial ly the different m ea nin g ol' jneyavmmm

in a Yogacara as opposed to a Madhyamika context .

13 .

T : X X X I . 1 4 8 c l 4 - 1 5 .

14. In C ha p. I I (T:X XX 1.140 c7- l 1) Asang a has a l ready exp la ine d tha t

the def iled com po ne nt i s the Imag inary

(parikalpita)

a n d th e p u r e c o m p o n e n t

is the Absolute

(parinispanna),

whi l e t he Dependen t

(paralantra)

com pr i ses

both .

15.

T : X X X I . 1 4 8 c l 5 - 1 8 .

16. T : X X X I . 4 3 5 a 6 - 7 .

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17. T : X X X I . 4 3 4 c 2 1 - 2 3 .

18.

S : x . 9 b ; T : X X X I . 5 5 b l 6 - I 9 .

19 . The Sanskr i t ve rba l -noun jnana (cf. vijndna) should r eq uire as an

equivalent an Engl ish word express ing an act ra ther than a s ta te ; hence 'cog

ni t ion. ' In Buddhis t Chinese , however , jnana is consis tently ren de re d with f}

which is general ly translated into English as 'knowledge' or 'wisdom.' Also,

the equat ion of -jtldna a n d

°-prajnd

in this con text as indicated below sho uld

be borne in mind.

2 0 . Cf. La m otte 's "le savoir

intuitif.

2 1 . T h e e igh th cha p te r on the "Tra in in g o f Sup er io r W isdom "

(T :XXX1.147bl9-148c l 1 ) : E r i ch F rauwal lner ' s Die Philosuphie des Buddhismus

(Berl in: Akademie-Verlag, 1969) includes a translat ion of some brief selec

t ions from this chapter (pp. 345-347) and also a discussion in which he draws

attention to the key posi t ion of nirvikalpaka-jndna a n d prsthalabdha-jnana in

Asanga ' s thought .

2 2 . The text d iscusses the di f ference between the three modes a t some

length before the speci f ic terms are actual ly in t roduced a t T:XXXI.148a23-

2 8 . Later scholast ic works in Chinese refer to the three also as the ini t ial &J,

the m iddle ^ . and the subse quen t f£ .

2 3 . T : X X X I . 3 6 3 c l 5 - 2 0 .

2 4 . T : X X X I . 3 6 5 b 2 3 - 2 6 .

2 5 . T : X X X 1 . 3 6 3 c 2 I .

2 6 .

T : X X X 1 .36 3c I 5 - 2 0 .

2 7 . T : X X X I . 3 6 4 b 2 4 - 2 5 .

2 8 . Mahay ana-samgraha

T : X X X I .1 4 8 a l - 2 a n d V a s u b a n d h u ' s

Bhdsya

T : X X X 1 .36 5 c 2 - 5 .

2 9 . Hsu an- t s ang t r ansla t es $8J$ (T :XX X1 .36 3c l9 ) ; Lam ot te r econs t ruc t s

ddhdra-

0

,

but that seems less likely since

samdhdrana

("holding together") i s

used specifically in the sense of "s up po rt in g l ife," etc. Also $ 5 $ for

samdhdrana is attested in Hsiian-tsang's translation of the Kosa, T :X XIX . l l c lO.

3 0 . T : X X X I .36 5 c l O - 1 4 .

3 1 .

T : X X X I . 3 6 6 a 2 8 - 2 9 .

3 2 . Th is is the

cintdmani,

the wish-fulf i l l ing gem or philosopher 's s tone

that fulfills its possessor's every wish.

3 3 . This i s a mus ical ins t rument (turya) tha t p roduces wi thou t be ing

played jus t w hat the po ssessor wishes to hear . Hsiian -tsang's

X^

is prob ably

elliptic for ^^ gg § (or

%.)

P a r a m a r t h a ' s

X$£

.

3 4 . In Hs i i an- ts ang ' s Ch inese ^g J normal ly r en der s acetanam, " u n c o n

scious ly ," "wi thout conscious in tent ," e tc . Paramar tha (T:XXXI.128c3) says

"wi thout d iscr iminat ing" in the second hal f of the verse; Buddhasanta

(T:XXXI.109a6-7) speaks of "non-discr iminat ion" in the case of the gem and

musical ins t ru m ent a nd of the Bu dd ha 's "unf ixed [ni rva na]" in the second

half. Dha rm ag up ta (T :XX XI .30 8a7-8) has " fr ee from d i sc r imina t ion" in

both cases .

3 5 . T : X X X I . 1 4 8 a l 7 - 1 8 . L a m o t t e , La Somme, p. 245, points out that this

verse is very close to Mahdydnasutrdlankdra IX. 18-19.

3 6 . T : X X X I . 3 6 6 b 4 - 7 .

3 7 . T : X X X I . 4 3 1 c 2 3 - 2 8 .

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23/23

3 8. Each of these is fur th er analyzed in the text (T :X X X I. 148a23 -28) in to

various sub-species—three, three , and f ive respect ively . These fur ther dis

t inc t ions a re exp la ined in Vasubandhu ' s and Asvabhava ' s commenta r ies ( see

L a m o t t e , La Somme, pp . 248-250) .

3 9 .

Fol lowing the var iant g iven in the notes T:XXXI.148.

4 0 . Va su b a n d h u (T :XXXI . 36 6 a 5 ) a n d Asv a b h a v a (T :XXXI . 4 31 b 27 -28 )

both specify the

manas

t ranscr ibed in the text to be

mano-vijndna,

the sixth

mode of mental act iv i ty

(vijnana).

4 1 . T : X X X I . 1 4 8 a 5 - 1 2 .

4 2 . T : X X X I . 4 3 1 b l 5 - 2 3 .

4 3 . T : X X X 1 . 4 3 1 b 2 3 - 2 9 .

44 . T :XXXI . 36 6 a 7 -1 2 . T h e c o mme n ta ry e x p la in s t h e th i rd l i n e o f t h e

v e r se, s a y in g th a t " th e d o c t r in e ( & :d h a rm a )" me a n s " th e wo rd s ( i ^ ) ,"

i .e. , what i t says as opposed to what i t means.

4 5 .

T h e re is an unfo rtu na te e rr o r in La Vallee-Poussin 's d iscussion-of th e

th ree cogni t ions tha t obscures th i s impor tan t po in t

(La Siddhi,

p . 634) . In a

paraphrase of the f i rs t of these same four verses f rom the

Mahdyana-samgraha

he says that the prel iminary cognit ion corresponds to " le muet qui ne sa i t

pas" ;

the fundamental cognit ion, to " le muet qui sa i t" ; and the subsequently-

acqu i red cogni t ion , to " le non-muet qu i ne sait pas ( e mp h a s i s a d d e d ) . T h e

who le point of the analogy, howev er , is that the subseq uently -acq uired cog

n i t ion is a s tep beyo nd the fun dam enta l : i t co r resp ond s to som eon e who bo th

knows and can act, in th is case , ta lk about or preach his real izat ion to others .

4 6 . Pe rha ps th e best s tudy con trast i ng the differences betw een the var ious

notions of n irvana in the Hinayana as opposed to the Mahayana schools is

found in Nal inaksha Dut t ,

Mahayana Buddhism

(see above, n. 2), pp. 178-254.

4 7 .

I t is surely no coincidence tha t , of the pr incipal adv ersar ie s in the

modern deba te over the meaning of Buddhis t n i rvana , S tcherba tsky , who

advoca ted a more nega t ive concep t ion , worked espec ia l ly wi th Madhyamika

works in Tibetan, while La Vallee-Poussin , who advocated a more posi t ive

unders tand ing of the te rm, worked espec ia l ly wi th Yogacara works in

Chinese . Consider a lso in th is l ight Stcherbatsky 's evaluat ion of apratisthita-

nirvana as a Yogacara deviat ion from "str ic t Mahayanism" (see n . 2 above) .

4 8 . This is verse XXV.3 of the Mulamadhyamakakarikd a long wi th Can-

drak l r t i ' s

Prasannapadd

c o mme n ta ry .

aprahinam asamprdptam anucchinnam as'ds'vatam/

aniruddham anutpannam etan nirv&nam ucyatell

Vr t t i :

yad dhi naiva prahiyate rdgddivat ndpi prdpyate srdmanyaphalavat

ndpyucchidyate skandhadivat yac cdpi nanityam aiunyavat tat svabhdvato 'niruddham

anutpannam ca sarvaprapancopas'ama-laksanam nirvdnam uktaml

T h e Sanskri t text is fou nd in the revised an d enlar ge d edi t ion of Stche r

batsky 's The Conception of Buddhist Nirvana (ed. by Jaid eva Singh , Varanasi :

Bhara t iya Vidya Prakash am ) , p . 40 o f the app end ix . For S tcherba tsky ' s som e

what different t ransla t ion of the same passage, see pp. 288-289 of the Singh

ed. or pp. 186-187 of the or iginal ed.

4 9 .

T h e s ignif icance an d p rom ine nc e of th is 'posi t ive ' e le m en t in

Yogacara thou gh t is too qu ick ly d is re gard ed by those who would rep res en t

Ind ian Buddhism as nega t ive and wor ld -denying in con t ras t to Chinese Bud

dhis m w hich is posi t ive and world-aff i rm ing.

sponberg, alan (1979) dynamic liberation in yogacara buddhism.pdf

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