alex wayman - two traditions of india - truth and silence

8/6/2019 Alex Wayman - Two Traditions of India - Truth and Silence

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Two Traditions of India: Truth and SilenceAuthor(s): Alex Wayman

Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Oct., 1974), pp. 389-403Published by: University of Hawai'i PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397800

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Alex Wayman Two traditions of India-truth and silence

In an earlier article I cited the Laws of Manu: manuat satyam visisyate ("Truth issuperior to silence") and turned the citation to my own purpose with the implica-tion, "Now is the time to speak out, because truth is superior to silence."1However, admittedly the celebrated Indian law book had something else in mindwith this intriguing maxim. In this study I shall attempt to clarify the two tradi-tions called "truth" and "silence" and to show that they borrow from each otherbut maintain sufficient contrast to allow the later philosophical schools to treatthem as though distinct.It should be acknowledged that the findings of this article differ rather strikinglyfrom the generality of the surveys of Indian philosophy and religion. Also, thejuxtaposition of materials from diverse traditions of India requires a reorganizationfrom the original discovery order for communication purposes. To justify thatthese traditions of truth and silence can be treated in contrast, I have preparedindividual sections devoted first to the silence and then to the truth which theLaws of Manu takes to be superior. As a consequence of these main findings, itturns out that there are two Upanisadic traditions, although not in terms of truthand silence; and that some later philosophical formulations, such as "conventionaltruth" and "absolute truth," take their inceptions in the old Upanisads. Thisshows a sense in which later Indian philosophy develops from the early religionand mythology.THE MUNI TRADITION

For "silence" the word used was mauna (Pali, mona), related to the word muni(one who has the vow of silence), used in the .Rg-vedahymn X, 136: "The munis,girdled with the wind, wear garments soiled of yellow hue. They, following thewind's swift course, go where the gods have gone before." The word muni isimportant in Buddhism, where the founder has the title sakyamuni (muni of thesakya clan). The Buddha is called "great muni," and he adopted for his order (theSaigha) the soiled yellow hue of dress that was alluded to in the Vedic hymn.2The Chdndogya Upanisad, VIII, 5, 2, in the course of its progressive explanationof brahmacarya (the pure practice of the student), says: "Now, what they call'silent asceticism' (mauna) is really the pure practice (brahmacarya), for only afterfinding the self by the pure practice, does one think about it."3 This passageapparently explains mauna (ascetic silence) as a thinking about, or contemplationof, the higher self.The Uddnavarga, which is the northern Buddhist expansion of the Dhammapada,has an important muni verse in its Nirvana chapter (XXVI, 27): "According as theMuni, with the state of being a muni4 derived from himself, understands in thisplace (i.e., in Nirvana), then is he freed from form and formless, from all suffering." 5Along the same lines, but not using the words muni or mauna, Aryadeva states in

Alex Wayman is Professor of Sanskrit at Columbia University.


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his Catus'ataka,as cited in the Prasannapadd:"He who knows how to ward off atfirst sin, then to ward off the self, andfinallyto ward off everything,he is the sage(buddhimat)."6Also,it appears hat the ubiquitousBuddhistterminologyof body,speech, and mind, stems from the muni tradition. The Recital Sermon(Sangiti-Suttanta,of the Digha-nikdya, II) allows me to use the word "muted" n the sense"renderedmute, silent, muffled" n his entry amongthe threefolditems: "Thereare threestates of beinga muni(Pali: tini moneyydni):mutedbody, mutedspeech,muted mind."ElsewhereI cited Vasubandhu'scommentaryon the Dasabhimika-siitraon how to classifythe five supernormalaculties (abhijni)by theirrespectivepurificationof the acts of body, speech, and mind. The one called magicalability(rddhi)purifiesthe acts of body; the divine hearingand knowingthe makeup ofothers' mind, those of speech; the memory of former lives and the vision of thepassing away and rebirth,those of mind.7Therefore,this is the theory of super-normal faculties consistent with the muni tradition.

As to how a muni describeshimself, the Udanavargahas these verses in itsTathagata chapter(XXI, 1-4)-the words attributed to the Buddhaimmediatelyupon his enlightenment (my translation):

I know all, have overcome all, am forever unstained by the dharmas,haveeliminatedeverything,am free from all fear;havingcometo fully understandby myself, who can teach me!I am the Tathagata,teacherof gods and men;have comprehended nlighten-ment as a revealerby myself; having reachedomniscience,am endowed withthe powers; incomparableand unequalled,who can teach me!I am the Arhat in the worlds;I am incomparable n the worlds;and in theworlds with their gods I am the Victor (jina), the conquerorof the Maras.As there is no one like me, none can be my instructor(acarya);alone in thisworld, I am fully awakened,have attained the ultimate, complete enlighten-ment.

W. Woodville Rockhill, in the appendix to his translation from Tibetan of theUddnavarga, ites the commentary preserved n the Tibetan Tanjur.He says:

I translate the following lines to show how very nearly the Commentatorfollows the received Pali version of the events that occurredshortly afterGautamahad become a Buddha. "Whenhe (Bhagavat)had obtainedperfectenlightenment, Brahmathe lord of the universe, humbly begged of him toteach the dharma.Then the great Munithought, 'To whom shall I first teachthe law?' Rudraka had died seven days before that moment, Arala Kalamahad also passed away. Then he thought, 'I will teach the five.' So Bhagavatstarted for Varanasi,and on his way, an Ajivaka saw Bhagavat, and said tohim, 'AyusmatGautama,your senses(appear)composed,your complexionisclear, your garments clean; who is your master (upadhyaya)?Ayusmat, towhat sect do you belong? In what doctrine do you find pleasure?'Then heanswered, 'I am the Jina who has conqueredMara (the evil one).' 'Then,AyusmatGautama,you say that you are the Jina?''TheJinas are all like me,'he answered.'Where are you going, Ayusmat?''I am going to Varanasi."'8


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Sir John Woodroffe cites the Hindu tradition about the word muni to the sameeffect: "As the Mahabharata says, 'The Veda differ, and so do the Smriti. No oneis a muni who has no independent opinion of his own (ndsau munir yasya matamna bhinnam)."'9 This practically admits that the only person who could start anew religious movement in India must be, or must have been, a muni.The word muni is understood as "the capable one" in Tibetan translation.According to Buddhaguhya, "The munis are pratyekabuddhas: because they havetheir own religious practice, pledge, and vow, and are capable by themselveswhile lacking a master, they are the capable ones (muni)."10 This explanation isconsistent with the account about the Sanskrit name Rsipatana (Pali, Isipatana),another name of the Deer Park where the Buddha gave his first sermons:1lFormerly when the time approached for the Buddha Kasyapa to appear in theworld, there lived on that hill five hundred Pratyekabuddhas. They learned from amessage given by the devas that the Buddha was to manifest himself. By theirmagical power they soared up to the sky and equipoised themselves in the elementof fire (tejodhdtu).The fire that issued from their own bodies burned their materialbodies, and the ashes fell to the earth. It was said, "The Rsis have fallen," and forthis reason the place is called Rsipatana (the falling of the Rsis).Hence, in consideration of this silence, there are the silent persons called munis,who are called pratyekabuddhas since they are enlightened by themselves withoutdepending on another teacher, and who are also called Rsis or seers. The associationof the munis with flying, as mentioned in the Vedic hymn, was contained byother names, pratyekabuddha and rsi.12 That the association of the munis with thesky or space was not forgotten in later times is apparent in the Samdhivydkarana,an explanatory tantra of the Guhyasamdjatantra, in a Sanskrit passage I haveedited from the Pradipoddyotana manuscript:

Thus, the Reality, was heard by me on a certain time extraordinary.The Bhagavat, diamond lord of mysteries, with the supreme pledge of thetriple vajra,Was dwelling as the Mahamuni (great silent one) in the pure heart of theworld, in this unique self-existence of sky having the modes of omniscientknowledge, in the all-Tathagata gnosis having the inconceivable perfectionof merits; beyond existence, non-existence and both, called "place of nolocation." 13

While the foregoing has been mainly based on Buddhist sources, it should beobserved that the muni tradition is part of the great ascetic non-Vedic traditionthat became incorporated into Hinduism with worship of the god Siva, as R. N.Dandekar has well described,14 although this Saivitic incorporation apparentlytakes place after the advent of Buddhism. It is well known that Samkara, thegreat Advaita Vedantin, was a follower of Siva and insisted that knowledge (jiidna)is the main thing for liberation (moksa). His followers use, among other works, theAstavakra Samhitd, in which Astavakra says (chap. XVII, 1): "He has gained the


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fruit of knowledge as well as the practice of yoga, who, contented and with purifiedsenses, ever enjoys being alone (ekakl)."15 All this gives a new complexion to theHindu opponent's challenge to gamkara-that he was a "Buddhist in disguise."This is often misconstrued as having doctrinal implications. In fact, the criticismwas a rejection of Samkara's monastic retreat system, which afforded and stillaffords individuals an opportunity to leave society for seeking divine knowledgein solitude.

There are several forms of the Buddha's silence. First there was his asceticsilence; then upon his enlightenment, when he hesitated to teach, deeming hisdoctrine too profound for people at large, this was the first withholding type ofsilence. Later, he sometimes refused to answer certain questions dealing withultimates, with a selective silence. A certain Buddhist sect had a tenet "TheBuddha never said a word."16 Of course, the Hindu opponents of Buddhismwould not lose the opportunity to argue cogently that it is a fine thing to knowthrough ascetic silence, but that this does not furnish validity for the Buddha'steachings, since he would have to renounce the ascetic silence in order to teach,and so what proof is there that the teaching itself reflects the omniscience of thesilence? Presumably it was through such attacks that Buddhism was forced intoits multiple-body theory, with the Dharmakaya remaining silent and omniscient,and another body, such as the Nirmanakaya of the Buddha, doing the teaching.17Also the buddhas were said to help chosen disciples of a progressed nature withadhisthdna (blessing, empowerment, or spiritual support), a kind of silent power.Thus, in Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha came to have a role tantamount to thesolar deity.THE TRUTH TRADITION

For "truth" the ancient Indians generally employed two words, satya and rta,which have respectively a subjective and objective reference. Satya is the truth ofmen and gods; and rta is the truth of the universe-that the sun will rise and setand that seasonal characteristics will recur.

It is well recognized that in the ancient Vedic tradition the deity Varuna was incharge of the rta, the universal order; and it was believed that liars incurred hispunishment in the form of dropsy, presumably because their lies constituted aviolation of the world order. In time, Varuna's supremacy faded, and a new deitynamed Indra came to the fore, to be succeeded by Visnu. The latter two deitieswere not especially associated with preserving the world order; and in time thesupreme spirit was generally called Brahman. With all these changes of terminologyfor divinity, the prestige of "truth" by the word satya continued unabated.For the meaning of satya, the adjective, I follow the late H. D. Velankar of theUniversity of Bombay who explained the word in the introduction to his retransla-tion of Mandala Seven of the Rg-veda.18This satyd is the undeniable, after being


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said, thought, or done by someone; that is, bound to happen.19 We shall observethat this meaning continues into the Chdndogya (below). Accordingly, one shouldreject the frequent translation of satyakdmCdbn this Upanisad as "real desires,"as though the word satya meant the "genuine," what is simply a fact. Instead, itmeans a fact that is productive.The Brhaddra.nyaka Upanisad (III, 5, 1) provides the first answer to what theLaws of Manu meant by saying, "Truth is superior to silence":Therefore, let a brahmana, after being satiated with learning, live as a child. Afterbeing satiated with childhood as well as with learning, let him be a muni (onevowed to silence). After being satiated with non-silence (amauna) as well as withsilence (mauna), let him be a brahmana." "In what manner (kena) is that brah-mana?" "In whatever manner he be, he is just the same in that manner;every thing else is afflicted." Thereupon, Kahola Kausitakeya held his peace(uparardma).That is, the state of a brdhmana, who is as he is, is claimed to be superior to thestate of a muni.

The whole verse of the Manusmrti (Laws of Manu, II, 83) runs: "The mono-syllable (i.e., Om) is the highest Brahman. Suppressions of the breath are the bestausterity. But nothing surpasses the Savitri. Truth is superior to silence." Mycommentarial edition does not help much. It observes that "truth" is verbal, butthis is the obvious part. However, it is easy to see the structure of the verse. Whenthe breath is suppressed, one does not speak-and this is the best austerity. Butsuperior to this is the Savitri, another name of the Gayatri, the celebrated mantrarecited by the Brahmans at their morning and evening devotionals; and this mantrais designated as "truth," namely-as we have observed-the undeniable that isnot in vain. And so truth is superior to silence. At the same time, the verse showsthe preference for the Brahmans who recite the Gayatri over the munis and otherascetics who engage in such austerities as suppressing the breath. The Gayatri(Rg-veda, III, 62, 10) is translated approximately as follows: "We meditate on ormay we attain, the great glory, of the god Savita, that he may inspire or whoinspires, our thoughts or works." It is preceded by the mantra Om in the latereditions.That remark in the Laws of Manu would equally apply to what is often calledthe "Act of Truth." This truth act is well known from the Hindu epic Rdmdyanaand from Buddhist sources. It has a traditional form: the performer announces, ifsuch-and-such be true, then let this or that happen. "Such-and-such" is, accordingto W. Norman Brown's helpful explanation, the superlative performance of theperson's duty (dharma), and "this or that" is what the gods are commanded tobring about as a miraculous intervention.20 In an earlier article I pointed out thatit was not sufficient for the person to have been extraordinary in fulfilling his duty,but it was also necessary for the person to verbalize this fact; and so this is averbal truth that is superior to silence.21 In short, that a person deserves to be


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aided by the gods is not sufficient; this person must in addition command the aid.The preceding makes one issue quite clear. The tradition of "truth" is followedby those who would be inspired by or would command the deity, especially thesolar deity. The tradition of "silence" is followed by those who, out of their ownresources, would rise to a status beyond ordinary mankind. And certainly theseroutes are distinct and in vivid contrast, and so command divergent allegiance.The Manusmrti definitely insists that the Brahmans who appeal to the sun deityat dawn are superior to the silent ascetics who try, like the Buddha, to beenlightened just prior to dawn.One complication comes, for example, in the development of Buddhism, wherethe Buddha began on the muni side, the Tathagata who became enlightened with-out reliance on another teacher. Then he moved to the other side as the Teacherwho inspires the disciples. But when the Buddha did decide to teach and gave hisfirst sermon, what he talked about was satya. The Buddha mentioned four kindsof satya of the dryas, meaning the persons who hearkened to his doctrine andbecame disciples in contrast to ordinary people (theprthagjana) 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 thepath leading to the cessation. And sort of analogous to the Vedic and Upanisadicusage of the word, there is more to it. So the Buddha in the first sermon (Settinginto Motion the Wheel of the Law) made explicit this something more. Sufferingis not only undeniable; it is also to be fully known; likewise, its origin is to beeliminated; the cessation of the origin is to be directly experienced; the path is tobe cultivated or contemplated.

In the case of the Laws of Manu, as a legalistic text, "truth" means the verbalkind; and this kind was observed above as intended in the magical function oftruth, illustrated in the "Act of Truth." This amounts to what is often called thekarma-kanda (section of rites). Indeed, this is the Buddhist sense of the FourNoble Truths, which are the announced truths of Buddhism establishing the normsof conduct, even though early Buddhism opposed the old Vedic ritual.

This is not to insist, however, that "truth" (satya) was employed in the oldUpanisads solely with this verbal sense when, as though by magic, it was un-deniable. That it was already used in the more philosophical sense of truths thatare understood or realized, and are sometimes inexpressible (anirvacaniya), isclear enough in the celebrated Pfisan verse. This frequently cited verse abouttruth is the first of four verses that appear both in the Brhaddrainyaka(V, 15, 1-4)and the brief Isa Upanisad (15-18), and which constitute the prayer to the sun godby a dying person; S. Radhakrishnan mentions, "Even to-day they are used by theHindus in their funeral rites."22 The first verse can be translated: "The face oftruth is covered by a golden bowl. Unveil it, O Pisan, so that I who have truthas my duty (satyadharma) may see it!"This verse foreshadows, on the one hand, the later terminology of absolute and


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conventional truth (paramdrtha and samvrti satya); and on the other hand, thedistinction between direct view (pratyaksa) and the out-of-sight (paroksa). InBuddhist literature, both approaches are explainable in terms of the Four NobleTruths. Thus the Madhyamika commentator Candrakirti in chapter 5 of hisMadhyamakdvatdra explains why the truths of Suffering, Source, and Path areconventional truth, while the Truth of Cessation is supreme truth.23 In the case ofthe Upanisadic verse, the "face of truth" would represent absolute truth; and"truth as duty," conventional practice of a distinguished type.The later formulation of view distinction is found, for example, in Dharmakirti'sPramdnavarttika (II, 132): "The compassionate one applies himself in the meansso as to destroy suffering. When the goal (= cessation of suffering) and its cause(= the means) are out of sight, to explain them is difficult."24 The eminentTibetan commentator of Buddhist logic, Rygal-tshab-rje, expands this verse inhis brief work "Guidance on the path of authority" (pramdna-mdrga):25As to the perfection of application:-the person possessed of great compassion atfirst himself comprehends directly the ultimate condition of the four truths; and inconclusion properly strives in the application. But when the two truths of thecausal means and the two truths of the fruitional goal are out of sight or are notearlier clear to the intellect, there is no capacity to explain them completely and inerrorless manner to others.Here, the two truths of the causal means must be the truths of suffering and sourceof suffering; while the two of the fruitional goal must be the cessation of sufferingand the path leading to the cessation. Interpreting the Piisan verse along the samelines, only when a person first has truth as duty can he subsequently commandthe exposure of the face of truth.THE TWO TRADITIONS OF TRUTH AND SILENCE

In setting forth two traditions of India, as has been done with truth and silence,it is tempting to list various sects under one or another column. One can, forexample, place the Brahmanical lineage-faithful to the four stages of life-in the"truth" column, and the ascetic groups (muni or sramana) in the "silence"column. This runs into the immediate difficulty that the Buddha, who is called"great silent one" (mahdmuni) and "great ascetic" (mahasramana), announces thefour drya truths and is held to be the teacher of gods and men. His followers neverdepart from this, eventually-although centuries later-making much of twotruths, conventional and absolute. And again, the Brahmanical lineage has itsemphatic visionary side; and all sects have their silence, even when merelyexclusiveness. Indeed, it may be principally the opponents who classify one oranother school under a particular heading, thus to attribute a limitation of actionor view to an adversary.


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However, it should have already become apparent that the two traditions called"truth" and "silence" are roughly equivalent to the Vedanta classification, thekarma-kdnda and the jaidna-kandEa,where "truth" in its sense of the magical verbaltruth amounts to the karma-kdnda, and "silence" as the attainment of the with-drawn ascetic amounts to the jiana-kdnda. Expounding the gamkara position,Surendranath Dasgupta says:The teachings of the other parts of the Vedas, the karmakdnda (those dealing withthe injunctions relating to the performance of duties and actions), were intendedfor inferior types of aspirants, whereas the teachings of the Upanisads, thejndnakdnda (those which declare the nature of ultimate truth and reality), wereintended only for superior aspirants who had transcended the limits of sacrificialduties and actions, and who had no desire for any earthly blessing or for anyheavenly joy.26But the Laws of Manu takes the opposite point of view, declaring that the ritualperformance of the Savitri at dawn is superior to the silence-with whatever itsknowledge (jndna)-of the yogi meditating during the night. The celebrated lawbook is forced into this position by its defense of dharma, the Hindu code of duty.It has been called to my attention that Kumarila-bhatta (the seventh-centuryA.D. commentator on the Mimami.s), when discussing the nonorthodox systems asauthority (pramana) for dharma (ad Jaimini-sitra I 3.11-14), asks whether theBuddhist dharma, being as it is a prayoga-sdstra (statement of norms for properperformance), is authoritative; and thus deals with the Buddhist dharma as analternative to the brahmanical karma-kdnda and not as an alternative to theUpanisads.27 Naturally, this observation is quite consistent with what has beenpresented, namely, that one can indeed separate the two traditions, especiallyfrom how commentators treat the opponent. Consequently, there is a competitionas to what properly constitutes the verbal truth (= karma-kdnda) as well as to thecontent of silence (= jiina-kdnda). In illustration, Buddhism not only presentsan alternative dharma, but an alternative enlightened person (the Buddha as theMahamuni). At the same time, it is comprehensible that these Indian systems wouldnot and do not treat themselves in the manner that the opponents do. Therefore,Buddhism does not separate itself into two traditions, the dharma and the Buddha;rather it insists that the dharma comes from the Buddha and has its authority(pramdia) accordingly.THE UPANISADIC DISPUTE OVER "TRUE DESIRES"

While my main purpose has been to expose two traditions in terms of "truth" and"silence," I must acknowledge that such a classification may imprison the mindin categories and lead to a kind of game in which different schools and sects aremechanically placed within this and that category, irrespective of how thoseschools are constituted in reality. Categories should not be formulated just for the


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sake of making them. The importance of a classification is what one learns orbrings forward in the course of making it. Now, while collecting materials, aspreviously organized, on this topic, there was no intention of bringing theBrhaddranyaka and Chdndogya into conflict-but this is exactly what happened.According to the Chdndogya, when one finds the self, he finds and achieves alldesires-which that text qualifies as "true"; according to the Brhaddranyaka,when one finds the self, he overcomes all desires.

Indeed, my analysis agrees with Dasgupta's advice: "It will be better that amodern interpreter should not agree to the claims of the ancients that all theUpanisads represent a connected system, but take the texts independently andseparately and determine their meanings, though keeping an attentive eye on thecontext in which they appear."28 A disagreement between the Brhaddra.nyakaand the Chdndogya was long ago noticed by Paul Deussen: "Between the twogreat Upanishads, Brhadaranyaka, which serves as text-book for the students ofthe (white) Yajur-veda, and Chandogya, which serves for the students of theSamaveda, are to be observed many, often verbal agreements, but side by sidewith these, certain traces of a thorough-going polemic, which is shown, amongother things, by the fact that teachers, who appear in the one Upanishad as thehighest authorities, occupy only a subordinate position in the other. Thus, forexample, Ushasta ...."29 The present essay defines the polemic in terms of theattitude toward the desires (kdma) that are "true" (satya).The meaning of the word satya as the undeniable is continued into the well-known chapter 7 on the "City of Brahman" in the Chdndogya. Within this city ofBrahman is contained all creatures (bhuita)and all desires (kdma); and the Upanisadsays, "Those who depart hence, having found here the self (dtman) and thosedesires (kdma) that are satya-for them in all worlds there is engagement with thedesires." That is, their desires are undeniable (satya), as illustrated in section 2 ofthe chapter 7, "If he desires the world of the fathers, by his very conception,fathers arise." Likewise, the world of the mothers, the world of brothers, theworld of sisters, and so with the world of friends, of perfumes and garlands, of foodand drink, of song and music, and finally the world of women. His desires, beingsatya, upon being thought, are bound to happen. Then, in section 3, the Upanisadcontinues, "These same are true (i.e. undeniable) desires, with a covering of thefalse (anrta, the negation of rta)." And it goes on to illustrate what is meant by thefalse: "Just as those who do not know the field walk again and again over thehidden treasure of gold and do not find it, even so all creatures here go day afterday into the Brahman-world and yet do not find it, for they are carried away byuntruth." This shows that the creatures are carried away by disorder, since anrtais the negation of the objective truth of regularity and universal order.This Chdndogyaposition was not forgotten in subsequent Upanisadic literature.The Mundaka Upanisad (III, 1, 6), coming after the rise of Buddhism, furnishesmodern India's motto "Truth alone conquers" (satyam evajayate). This has politi-


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cal overtones and rich slogan-connotation when taken out of its context: "Truth(i.e., the undeniable) alone is victorious, not untruth (anrta, i.e., disorder). Bytruth is laid out the path leading to the gods by which the seers (rsi) who havetheir desires fulfilled proceed to where is that supreme treasure." This treasure,according to the Chdndogya, is in the Brahman-world.But the Brhadaranzyaka(III, 5, 1), when setting forth progressive renunciationas the way to know Brahman, has a significant opposition to the Chdndogya's andthe Mundaka's emphasis on realizing desires:Now Kahola Kausitakeya asked him, "Yajfiavalkya," said he, "explain to me theBrahman that is directly experienced and not indirectly experienced, which is theself (dtman) within everything." "This is your self which is within everything.""Yajiavalkya, which one is within everything?" "The one which transcendshunger and thirst, sorrow and delusion, old age and death. The brdhmanas,havingrecognized (viditvd) that Self, having overcome the desire for sons, the desire forwealth, and the desire for worlds (loka), live the life of mendicants (bhiksa). Adesire for sons amounts to a desire for wealth; a desire for wealth amounts to adesire for worlds; for both of these amount only to desires.30

And if that passage did not sufficiently castigate desires, Brhadara.nyaka,IV, 4, 6-7, drives home the point. After mentioning forcefully that the man whodesires (kdmayamdnah) is simply reborn, it gives this verse for the man who doesnot desire: "When all the desires (kdma) that abide in his heart are renounced,then the mortal becomes immortal; he here attains Brahman."

But the question immediately arises: What is in back of this disagreement, theBrhadaranyaka eschewing all desires, and the Chdndogyapushing for true desires.The answer appears to be, their creation myths. The two positions of thoseUpanisads probably both have in their background the Rg vedic "Hymn ofCreation" (X, 129), where it was said, "Desire entered the One in the beginning:it was the earliest seed... the bond of being in non-being." Then the questionarises: Does one attain the highest state by reverting to the beginning condition?The Brhaddranyaka, and Buddhism as well, answers, No. The Chdndogya, andinferentially any other treatise that lines up with it, answers, Yes.

The Brhadaranyaka would not recommend getting back to the original statebecause (chap. 1, sec. 2) it says: "There was no particular thing here in thebeginning. Only by death was this covered, or by hunger, for hunger is death."The Chdndogya (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 beginningthis (world) was non-existent (asat). It became existent (sat). It grew. It changedinto an egg. It lay for the extent of a year. It burst open. In the egg-shell therewere the silver and the gold. What was the silver, that is this earth. What was thegold that is the sky. What was the outer member (i.e. the chorion) is the moun-tains. What was the inner membrane (i.e. the amnion) is the mist with the clouds.What were the veins are the rivers. What was the fluid of the membranous sac is


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the ocean. And that which was born, it is yonder sun. As he was being born,shouts and cries were directed toward him, as were also all creatures and alldesires. Therefore, at his rise and at his every return, shouts and cries are directedtoward him, as are also all creatures and all desires. He who knowing it in this way,repeatedly meditates on the sun as Brahman, is one to whom well-disposed shoutswould be directed, and they would gratify him, yea, gratify him.

Therefore, in the Chdndogya lineage, it is an appropriate aim to return to theoriginal condition, namely, to find in the City of Brahman all creatures and alldesires, to be as the sun when it was being born.

About the true desires, the Bhagavadgitd (III, 10) says in apparent agreement:"Of yore when the Lord of Creatures created men with sacrifice, he said: 'By thismay you bring forth, and may this be for you the cow which grants desires(istakdmadhuk)."' There were other words in Indian literature: cintdmani (thefabulous gem which grants all desires to its possessor), kalpavrksa (the wishing treein Indra's paradise). However, K. N. Upadhyaya regards "disinterested action"(niskdma-karma) as the "crux" of the Bhagavadgitd's message.31 Therefore, itmight be the case that the Bhagavadgiti was attempting to reconcile the Upani-sadic dispute exposed earlier with a formula that nonattachment to the desirableis eventually rewarded by all desires. If this possibility has not hitherto beenrecognized by interpreters of the Bhagavadgitd, it may be simply due to the factthat they failed to acknowledge an Upanisadic dispute which the Bhagavadgitdmight try to bridge.As to schools affiliated to the Brhaddranyaka, I make bold to point to Buddhism,because the Buddhist goal of nirvana is also beyond desire. And Buddhism headsits formula of Dependent Origination with nescience (avidyd)-a word which isnot found at all in the Bhagavadgita.32 At least once Buddhism says nescience isthe father, and craving (trsnd) is the mother (per Lankdvatdra-sutra);33but thecommentary on the Uddnavarga says nescience is the mother.34 The Buddhistgenesis myth in the Pali and other scriptures starts out with the sentient beingsin 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 fromdelusion; next there is lust arising from eating; and finally hatred due to stealing.35Buddhism not only has negative procedures-removal of defiling conditions-forreversion to a superior plane of consciousness, but also a positive requirement foradding knowledge arrived at in samddhi attainment. The Vedantic currents thatstress knowledge (jidna) as the main requirement for liberation (moksa) therebyagree on this particular point that one does not simply return to a primordialcondition. Consequently, our previous observation that Buddhism and the Upan-isads have a rival jiina-kdnda should be modified to admit the possibility thatBuddhism shares to some extent the jiina-kdnda of the Brhaddranyaka. At leastthis is a partial breakthrough in the mystery of the Buddhist relation, if any,to the Upanisads.


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However, it should be noticed that the categorizing of the old Upanisads as thejnina-kanda in contrast to the preceding Brahmana ritual literature categorizedas the karma-kdnda is again an oversimplification that becomes strained when oneexamines the facts. The Chlndogya naturally exemplifies the previously exposedconnotation of "truth," because it is an appendage to the Sdma Veda (meaningthe collection of Vedic hymns to be changed), and the word "Chandogya" meanssinger of these chants. This Upanisad is therefore concerned in part with theVedic meters which, by their proper utterance, would satisfy the Laws of Manuuse of the word "truth" (satya); but this belongs to the karma-kdnda. TheBrhaddra.nyaka has a mantra section and many other topics that are not easilysubsumed under a single rubric, so it is by no means to be thoroughly qualified asa jiina-kdnda. Presumably, the over-all inclusion of the Upanisads in the jidna-kdnda intends the emphasis or principal object of the Upanisads; and, in particular,the part of the Upanisads which most interests the Advaita Vedanta.

The subsequent Tantric currents-mainly of Saivitic or of Buddhist character-also have their two sides. As van Gulik writes: "Above all, they enumerate whatdesires can be granted by reciting this dhdrani and how many times it should berecited. Certain rites are required to accompany the reciting in order to obtainthe fulfillment of certain desires."36 But this recitation of dhdranis, whetherincantations or spells, is in the ample category of ritual utterances, including theSavitri, which the Laws of Manu plainly counts as "truth."D. L. Snellgrove, in the introduction to his work, The Hevajra Tantra, says,"To dislike the tantras, is but to dislike the worst tendencies in man, and of theterrible existence of these tendencies we have ample experience in every genera-tion. The tantras claimed to remove like by like, and so of what else should theytell?" 37By removing like by like, Snellgrove refers to such lines as the citation inthe Doha commentary, "By passion the world is bound; and precisely by passionit is released" (rdgena badhyate loko rdgenaiva hi mucyate). His remark aboutdisliking the tantras is consistent with what I consider to have been a seriouscleavage between the Brhaddraniyaka and the Chdndogya following. Because-even if modern scholars do not transfer their dislike of the tantras to the ChdndogyaUpanisad-the fact still remains that the Chdndogyatheory of desires in the heartcould be paraphrased, "By false desire the world is bound; and precisely by truedesire it is released." So, as often happens, people do not know what they dislike.CONCLUSIONS

In the foregoing I have attempted to set forth a rivalry of two traditions, "truth"and "silence," while admitting that the traditions become distinguished especiallyby the opponent to a sect, who finds it easier to mount a "refutation" by retreatingsomewhat artificially, a single aspect of an opposing sect. Then, while acknowledg-ing that the Upanisads themselves are not distinguished by the two traditions, the


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same investigation shows that the Upanisads are indeed distinguished by theattitude to "true desires." The traditions thus made salient appear more fascinat-ing than what T. R. V. Murti sets forth in The Central Philosophy of Buddhism asthe "two traditions in Indian philosophy"-the acceptance or rejection of thepermanent dtman or self of the Upanisads. Therein Buddhism is characterized asrejecting this permanent dtman in favor of a changing, impermanent self. Of course,Buddhism does have its positive disagreements with the Upanisadic position,especially as concerns this theory of dtman. The Upanisads do agree on stressinga Self, even though obviously disagreeing about some matters, such as the role ofdesire. Murti's classification is faithful to the usual commentarial style of dis-tinguishing the orthodox and the nonorthodox among the Indian schools.A value of exposing the Indian traditions in the manner of the present articleis the readiness of the classification for problem solving, that is, for explaining incontrast to simple portrayal. For example, one can immediately find a plausiblesolution for the term satyagrdha in the modern movement associated withGandhi.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 satyagrdha(adherence to the truth). In fact, the power of the term depends in part on its notbeing rationalized or intellectually explained. It insinuated that the produce ofthe spinning wheel was satya, to wit, undeniable and not in vain, and thereforevictorious, while the British stuff was anrta, to wit, disordered and a lie, and there-fore the sure loser to satya. The women doing the spinning-for the most partilliterate-would not have read the Upanisads. They were raised in a culturesteeped in the connotation of the word satya.

Further, the meaning of satya as explained by Velankar is its usage in ritual andpolitics, while the meaning in the Pusan verse turns out to be its philosophicalusage in subsequent centuries.

Finally, the precious book by Max Picard, The World of Silence, reminds us ofthe spiritual resources that develop in silence, consistent with the Tibetans'translating the word muni by the "capable one" (thubpa). Picard also writes, inagreement with the Laws of Manu, "Language is more than silence because truthis manifested in language."

NOTES1. "Observationson Translationfrom the ClassicalTibetan Language nto EuropeanLanguages,"in Indo-IranianJournal 14, nos. 3-4 (1972): 192.2. The Sanskrit word muni, according to Manfred Mayrhofer (KurzgefasstesetymologischesWorterbuchdes Altindischen Heidelberg: Carl Winter, Universitats-verlag, 1963) volume 2, pp.

654-655) is cognate with our word "mute" through Greekwords,and this cannot be doubted. It hasbeen argued-but the matteris not settled-that it is relatedto the Greekmaentis,ourword "mantic"(gifted with prophetic powers), this being in the group of words including "mania," from the weakgrade of the Indo-Germanicroot men, which the OxfordEnglish Dictionary says is representedinmany words referringto mental states, emotions, etc. In Sanskrit this would be man-, the verbmeaning "to think, to deem," etc. The Indian grammariansaffiliated the word muni with the verb


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man-, but a solution cannot be found within the Indian context alone, for it requiresa justificationof this vowel change in the early Indo-Europeanlanguages.3. / atha yan maunam ity acaksate brahmacaryameva tat / brahmacaryena hy eva 'tminamanuvidya manute /.4. "State of being a muni" translates mauneya following Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist HybridSanskrit Grammarand Dictionary (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1953), p. 441.5. Franz Bernhard, Udanavarga,Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaftenin GottingenPhilologisch-HistorischeKlasse, Third Series,Nr. 54 (Gittingen, 1965).6. Louis de La Vallee Poussin, ed., Mila-Madhyamaka-vrtti-prasannapadd,. 359.7. Alex Wayman, "The Buddhist Theory of Vision," in Aijali, WijesekeraFelicitation Volume(Peradeniya, Ceylon:University of Ceylon, 1970), pp. 27-28.8. Uddnavarga:A Collectionof Versesrom the Buddhist Canon(London, 1892), pp. 209-210.9. Introduction o TantraShastra(Madras:Ganesh& Co., 1952), p. 30.10. Alex Wayman, "Buddhism," Historia Religionum(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971), vol. 2, p. 397.Buddhaguhya's passage is from his commentary on the Sarvadurgatiparisodhana-tantran theTibetan Tanjur.11. Wayman, "Buddhism," pp. 397-398.12. This flight of the ascetic is shown in later Indian art by beings called vidyddhara holdersofthe mystic science).Also, the Buddhist Tantra had heroescalled .dakaor khecdrin sky-walkers).13. / evam maya srutam tattvam ekasminsamaye sphute /

bhagavan guhyavajregastrivajrasamayottama(h) /sarvatathagatejiane acintyagunasampadi/sadasadubhayatiteasthanasthitisa.mjfiini/akasaikasvabhave 'smin sarvajiiajinaabhavinijagaddhrdivisuddhakhye vijahara mahamunih //14. "Hinduism," in Historia Religionumvol. 2, see especially p. 247.15. Swami Nityaswarupananda,trans., AstavakraSamhitii,3d ed. (Calcutta: Aduaita Ashrama,

1969), p. 114.16. Cf., A. Bareau, Les sectesbouddhiques u Petit Vehicule Saigon: Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, 1955), p. 60, among the theories of the Mahasanghikas:The Buddhas never say a word,because they remaineternally in contemplation;but beings, thinking they have pronouncedwords,leap fromjoy.17. This matter is set forth at length, of course with Buddhist defense, in the TattvasamgrahafSantaraksita with the Paijikd commentaryof KamalaSila,chap. 31, "Examination observingtheentity that transcends the senses" (atindriyarthadar?i-pariksa),hich is the last chapter. The texthas been reedited by Dwarikadas Shastri in two volumes (Varanasi:Bauddha Bharati, 1968). TheEnglish translation by G. Jha is not available to me at present.18. RgvedaMandala VII (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1963), iv-x.19. It is of interest that a differentway of expressingthe adjective "true,"to wit, by the Sanskritword a-vitatha"not untrue" (that is, "not contraryto the fact"), has a secondarymeaning "not vainorfutile"; and so, like the wordsatya,indicates that what is true is not in vain. In contrast,for lying,a prohibitionof the ancient five Buddhist layman vows, the expressionmrsviida was used, ratherthan a negation of the word satya.20. "The Basis for the Hindu Act of Truth,"in Reviewof Religion(Nov. 1940): 36-45. His latestarticle on the subject is "Duty as Truth in Ancient India," in Proceedingsof the American Philo-sophicalSociety116, no. 3 (June 1972): 252-268.21. "The Hindu-Buddhist Rite of Truth-an Interpretation,"in Studies in Indian Linguistics;Emeneau Sixtieth Birthday Volume (Poona, 1968), pp. 365-369.22. The Principal Upanisads (New York: Harperand Bros., 1953), p. 577.23. Wayman, "Buddhism," pp. 423-424.24. / dayavan duhkhahanarthamupayesv abhiyujyate /

paroksopeyataddhetostadakhyanamhi duskaram//25. Tshadma'i lam khrid(Varanasireprint),pp. 36-37: / sbyorba phun tshogs la snin rje chenpodaft Idan pa'i gal zag gi thog mar rafnnid bden bzi'i gnas lugs mnon sum du rtogs pa mthar thug


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pa la mnon par sbyor ba'i brtson 'grus mdzad rigs te / thabs rgyu'i bden pa gfiis daf thabs byuni'bras bu'i bden pa gfiis Ikog tu gyur pa'am sniondu gyur kyafi blo mi gsal ba'i lhag ma lus na gzanla phyin ci ma log par 'chad mi nus zes pa /.26. History of Indian Philosophy 5 vols. (Cambridge:at the University Press, 1932), 1:436.27. Communicationfrom Fred Morgan, lecturer in Asian Religions, University of Bristol, inconnectionwith my article,"The Buddhist 'Not This, Not This'," PhilosophyEast and West,21, no. 4(Oct., 1961): 99-114.

28. History of Indian Philosophy,1, p. 42.29. The System of the Vedanta,trans. CharlesJohnston (Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1972), pp.146-147.30. This passage immediately precedesthe previous citation of BrhadaranyakaII, 5, 1.31. Early Buddhismand the Bhagavadgitd Delhi, 1971), p. 146.32. SurendranathDasgupta, History of Indian Philosophy,vol. 2, p. 498.33. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, trans., The LankavataraSutra (London, 1932), p. 121.34. Cf., note 8 herein,pp. 210-211.35. Wayman, "Buddhism," pp. 428-430.36. R. H. van Gulik, Siddham;An Essay on the History of Sanskrit Studies in China and Japan

(Nagpur InternationalAcademy of Indian Culture,1956), p. 77.37. TheHevajraTantra:A CriticalStudy (London: OxfordUniversity Press, 1959),part I, p. 42.38. Gandhi:An Autobiography:TheStoryof My Experimentswith Truth(Boston: Beacon Press,

1965), pp. 318-319.

alex wayman - two traditions of india - truth and silence

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