meaning of vijnapti

8/10/2019 Meaning of Vijnapti

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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, Mad ison, USA

E D I T O R S

tL .M.Joshi Ernst Steinkellner

Punjabi University Universityoj Vienna

Patiala, India Wien, Austria

Alexander W. Macdon ald Jikido Takasaki

Universile deParis X Universityof Tokyo

Nanterre, France Tokyo, Japan

Bardw ell Smith Robert Thurma n

Carleton College

Amherst

College

Northfield Minnesota, USA Amherst Massachusetts, USA

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

Roger Jackson

Fairfield U niversity

Fairfield

Connecticut, USA

Volume 9

1986

Number 1


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C O N T E N T S

I . A R TI C LES

T h e M ean in g o f Vijnaptiin Va sub and hu ' s C once p t o f

M ind ,

by

Bruce

Cameron

Hall 7

Signless M edi ta t ions in Pali Bud dh ism ,

by

Peter Harvey 2 5

Do gen Casts Off W hat : An Analysis of Shinjin

Datsuraku,

by

Steven Heine 53

Buddhism and the Cas te Sys tem,

by

Y. Krishan 71

T h e Early Chinese Buddh is t Un der s tan d ing o f the

Psyche : Ch en Hui ' s Co m m enta ry on the

Yin Chihju Ching byW halen Im 85

The Specia l Theory ofPratityasamutpdda: T h e Cycle

o f D e p en d en t O r ig in a ti o n ,

by Geshe

Lhundub

Sopa

105

I I . B O O K R E V I E W S

Chinese

Religions in W estern Lang uages: A

Comprehensive

and

Classified Bibliography

of Pub lications in Eng lish,

FrenchandGermanthrough 19 80, by L au ren ce G.

T h o m p s o n

(Yves H er vo ue t) 121

The

Cycle

of

Day

andNight by Na mk hai No rbu

(A.W. H an son -B arb er) 122

Dharma and

Gospel:

Two

Ways

of

Seeing

edited by Rev.

G .W. Hous ton

(Ch r i s topher Cha pp ie ) 123

Meditation

on

Em ptiness,by Jeffrey H op kin s

Q.W. de Jo ng ) 124


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5.

Philosophy

of Mind in Sixth Century China, Paramdrtha 's

'Evolution of Consciousness, ' by D ian a Y. Pau l

(J.W.deJong) 129

D iana Paul Replies 133

J .W.deJong

Rep lies 135

6.

SevenWorksofVasubandhu: The BuddhistPsychological

Doctor by Stefan A nac ker

(A . W. Ha nson-B a rbe r ) 136

7. TsongKhapa s SpeechofGoldintheEssense of T ru e

Eloque nc e :Reason and Enlightenment in the Central

Philosophyof

Tibet

t ransla te d by Rober t A.F.

T h u r m a n

(Jan et Gyatso) 138

I I I . N O T E S A N D N E W S

1. Elec tion Re sults, IAB S 143

2. C o n f e r en c e A n n o u n c e m e n t s 1 44

8th Conference, I ABS 144

32ndICANAS 145

7th World Sanskrit Conference 145

3.

AAR B u ddh i sm G rou p 146

O B I T U A R I E S

L I S T O F C O N T R I B U T O R S

147

156


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The Meaning of

Vijnapti

in V asub and hu's

Concept of Mind

by Bruce Cam eron Hall

For the Mahayana it is determined that the whole of the three

realms isv ijnapti-on\y (vijnapti-mdtra), according to the sutra: It

is thou ght-only (citta-matra), You Sons of the Conqueror, that is

the whole of the three realms. Th ou gh t

(citta),

mind(manas),

awareness

(vijndna),

and

vijnapti

are synonyms. He re thoug ht

(citta) implies [thou ght itself] along with its concom itants. T h e

[word] only serves to rule ou t [external] referents(artha).

So begin s the Vimsatikd-vrtti(VV),

1

V a s u b an d h u ' s au to -co m

menta ry on the Vimsatikd-kdrikd (VK). The first stanza of VK

r e a d s :

2

Th is [universe] is certainly vijnapti-only,since there a re app ear

ances of non-existent [external] referents, as when someone with

an eye diseaseseesa non-existent knot of hair andsoon . /VK 1/

VK (with VV) and the TrimJikd-kdrikd (TK) tog eth er ma ke

up the Vijnaptimdtratd-siddhi, or Es tabl ish ing T ha t T h e re isVi-

jnapti-On\y

5

Clearly, vijnapti-mdtra is being equ ate d h ere wi th

citta-matra( m ind-only or thou ght-on ly ) , which is an a l tern ate

t it le for V asu ba nd hu 's Vi jnanavada phi losop hy. While theTrirh-

sika presents Vasubandhu 's own doctr ine in some deta i l , the

Vimsatikd (VK an d VV) is a polem ical w ork in the fo rm of a

d ia logue be tween Vasubandhu and an imag inary opponen t .

This opponent is a fel low Buddhis t , but a real is t or , one might

say, a literalist.

T h e vijnapti-mdtra of the Vijnaptimdtratd-siddhi has be en v ari

ous ly t rans la ted as repres enta t io n-on ly ,

4

ideat ion-only ,

5

7


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8

J I A B S V O L . 9 N O . 1

pe rcep t i on -on ly ,

b

an d so on . A l thou gh no ne of these glosses

is completely sat isfactory, the purpose of the present essay is

not to suggest another Engl ish equivalent , but ra ther to analyze

the t e rm

vijnapti,

i ts usage, and the concept i t des ignates . Such

analys is may help clar i fy the general concept ion of mind in the

so-called Yog acara ideal ism as pre sen ted by V as ub an dh u. Th is

ana lys i s amounts to a commentary on the f i r s t paragraph of

VV. The elements to be expl icated in th is commentary are: (1)

the t e rm vijnapti itself, (2) i ts equation with other terms for

m ind , (3) th e significance of th e only in m ind -on ly, an d (4)

how it is tha t th e wh ole of th e th re e rea lm s can be identified

as m ind-on ly . In add i t ion to the

Vijnaptimdtratd-siddhi

itself,

reference wi l l be made to four o ther works ascr ibed to Vasuban

d h u : Abhidharmakoia-kdrikd (AKK) , Abhidharmarkosa-bhasya

(AKB), Karmasiddhi-prakarana (KSP), and Pancaskandha-pra-

karana (PSP) .

7

T h e con t roversy over whe ther these works were

wri t ten by on e o r mo re Va sub an dh us is he re igno red : the a u th or

of the Vijnaptimdtratd-siddhi is ev ide ntly fluent in th e Sarv astiva-

din A bh id ha rm a, which is ou t l ined in AKK an d t rea ted cri tically

in AKB, KSP, and PSP.

/. The Term Itself

Vijnapti is a technical term of the Sarvas t ivadin A bh idh ar m a,

which Vasubandhu has here appropr ia ted and used in a spec ia l

sense. An invest igation of this term can i l lustrate in miniature

the widespread appropr ia t ion and redef in i t ion o f the

Abhidharma in Vi jnanavada ph i losophy . An in te rpre ta t ion o f

such a technical term shou ld con sider i ts ord ina ry use, i ts e tym ol

ogy, and its technical use (both in specific contexts and also in

relat ion to a c lus ter of o ther technical terms) . This ought to

revea l Vasubandhu ' s p rec i se in ten t ion in reapp ly ing the t e rm.

In o rd inary par lance vijnapti (Palivinnatti) me ans i n fo rma

t ion or the act of info rm ing som eo ne , that is re po rt or proc

lam at ion, especial ly a re po rt to a sup erio r , an d he nc e, req uest

o r en t rea ty .

Vijnapti

is a noun of act ion derived from the

causative stem (jnapaya-o rjnapaya-) of the verbroot jnd ( know )

with the prefix vi-.

H

Etymologically the term vijnapti would mean

the act of causing [someone] to know [something] d is t inct ly , or


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V A S U B A N D H U 9

in a concrete sense, that which causes [one] to know dist inct ly .

Ano the r impor t an t t e rm de r ived f rom the causa t ive oi'jnd (with

the prefixpra-) isprajnapti (Palipannatti), which m ean s dec lara

t ion or m ani fes ta tion in w ords , an d hen ce , verba l o r conv en

t ional des ig nat ion , o r pe rh ap s even conc ept .

9

An o t h e r p a ra l

le l form ation which wou ld be well kno w n to a B ud dh ist m on k

is the unpref ixed form jnapti o rjnapti (Pali natti), the technical

te rm for a formal m ot ion or pro po sa l in a m eet in g of the

monast ic communi ty , for example : the mot ion to orda in a new

m o n k .

1 0

These th ree t e rms sha re the sense of a public act of

ma k i n g k n o wn .

In the Sa rvast ivad in A bh idh arm a bo th

vijnapti

and i t s oppo

site, avijriapti, appear as technical terms, part icularly in the dis

cussion of karma. Here karma specifical ly means ethical ly s ig

nificant act ion: acts or deeds.

1 1

In chapter 4 of the Abhidha-

rmakosa V asu ba nd hu def ines karm a as : vo li tion an d tha t de

rived from it ,

1 2

qu ot i ng a sut ra: the re ar e two [kinds of] kar-

ma s :

vol it ion an d t he act sub seq ue nt to vol i t ion.

1 3

This two-fold

ka rm a is ex pa nd ed in to th ree types : m en ta l (co r respon d ing to

vol i tion ) , an d vocal or bodily (co rre sp on din g to post-vol i

t ion al actio n). Vocal an d bodily ka rm a is fu rth er classified as

inc luding bothvijnapti- a n d avijnapti-karma, man i fes t and un -

m anifest acts , that is , ka rm a manifest or no t m anifest to som e

consciousness.

One should note tha t , f rom an Abhidharmic perspec t ive ,

the co m m on -se ns e not io n of an act is analyzed into a succes

sion of momentary dharmas. In the case of vocal and bodi ly

ac ts the dharmas would be moments of sound or co lor-shape .

These audib le or v i s ib le forms are unders tood to be dharmas

inc luded in the aggr egate of m ater ia l forms (rupa-skandka),

s ince , g iven the m om en ta r ine ss o f ph en om en a , the A bh idha rm a

allows no real dist inct ion betw een acts an d thin gs . So far

th e A bh id ha rm ic analysis is clear. Difficulty arises in tha t th e

unm anifes t ac t is a lso inc luded as on e of the 75 dh ar m as

accepted by the Sarvas t ivadins , and th is dharma, avijnapti-rupa,

is a lso includ ed in the agg reg ate of m aterial for m s.

1 4

Contrary to what one might assume at f i rs t g lance, th is

unm ani fes t karm a is no t som e k ind of pr iva te ac t no t observed

by others, since an act is vijnapti (for the Sarvastivadins) if it

could be ma ni fes t to an ot he r consc iousness . [For the Vi-


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10

JIABSVOL.9NO.

jnanavadinsvijnaptimeans manifest to any consciousness, in

cluding that of the agent, and in this sense mental karma would

be entirely vijnapti since consciousness is, by definition,

self

manifesting.] Instead,avijnapti-rupa is used to explain karmic

continuity in certain contexts. A manifest vocal or bodily act

is karmic, in the sense of ethically significant, because of its

dependence on volition. But, since it is also dharmic, that is,

a momentary event, how can one account for the connection

between this momentary act and its future consequence? The

explanation of karmic continuity is a general problem for the

Sarvastivadins, and

it is

in this context thatavijnapti-rupa

is

added

to the list of dharmas. Th e following sequence is postulated: (1)

[manifest, mental] volition, (2) [manifest, m aterial] vocal or bod

ily act, (3) [unmanifest, material]avijnapti-rupa (4) [manifest,

material] consequence [that

is,

a

later, consequent manifestation

ofrupa].Since both the preceding vijnapti)act and the succeed

ing vijnapti) consequence are material, it follows that the in

tervening avijnapti) dharmas, although imperceptible, are also

material that is, they belong to the rupa-skandha.

This notion of

avijnapti-rupa

is filled with difficulties, and

Vasubandhu presents it with considerable qualms in the

Abhidharmakoia. In

the

Karmasiddhi-prakarana the whole concept

of

vijnapti- Iavijnapti- rupa

is rigorously criticized and finally

rejected, and all karma is reduced to volition.

15

Given this, it is

tempting to see the title

Vijnaptimdtrata-siddhi

as Vasubandhu's

proclamation that he has solved this problem by eliminating the

category ofavijnapti.In any case, theVijnaptimdtratdsystem re

fers the problem of karmic continuity to the concept ofalaya-vi-

jnana the store-consciousness which contains the residue

vdsand) of past acts and the seeds bija) of future ones. The

new meaning assigned tovijnaptican best be explained by con

sidering next the other three terms equated with it in the open

ing passage of VV.

//.

The Other

Terms for

Mind

The translation of

citta manas

and

vijnana

above as

thought, mind, and awareness should be understood as

merely tentative. In fact, much argument has been devoted to


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VASUBANDHU 11

the problem of t ransla t ing these terms. Brian Gal loway, for

exam ple , has a rg ue d tha t the correc t t rans la t ion is m ind

(citta),

consciousness

(manas),

and pe rcep t ion

{vijriana),

and

tha t the former ly preva i l ing t rans la tions a re w ro ng .

1 6

Unfor

tuna te ly, the correc t t rans la t ion is no t so easy to com e by. N ot

only do the Sanskri t te rms have severa l meanings and various

uses ,

but the suggested equivalents are a l l imprecise terms in

Engl ish. Any t ransla t ion wil l thus mean something different

de pe nd in g on wha t a vague wo rd such as consc iousness

suggests to each t rans la tor or rea de r. On ce again, w hat is need ed

is not s imply another Engl ish equivalent , but an explanat ion of

the ac tua l usage of the Sanskr i t t e rm. Fur thermore , one should

not forget tha t , in any case , these three terms are here s ta ted

to be synonyms.

VV pre suppo ses tha t :

citta, man as,

a n d

vijndna

have a single

m e a n i n g .

1 7

All three are terms for mind, not as a substant ia l

en t i ty , but a s a s t ream of momenta ry menta l dharmas . Al l three

s igni fy the same dharma or dharmas . Why, then , does Vasuban-

dhu use three different terms for the same real i ty? One might

answer that , as a member of the Buddhis t scholast ic t radi t ion

tha t em ploys these three te rm s , V asu ba nd hu is obl iged to ex

pla in them. One might a l so sugges t tha t us ing three words , and

thus point ing a t the same real i ty from severa l perspect ives , pro

vides a depth of descript ion that a s ingle word could not . The

Abhidharma l i tera ture consis ts largely of intersect ing and cross-

re fe renced lis ts of t e rm s . T h e three m ain te rms for mind ap pe ar

tradit ionally in different l ists , with a different connotation and

context .

Citta

is pe rh ap s the mo st basic te rm for m ind or tho ug ht .

It is the term that signifies a single thought, or better, a single

t h o u g h t - m o m e n t .

Citta

is also used to designate a particular

m ind as op pos ed to o th er min ds , tho ug h in th is sense the pr op er

technical term is

citta-samtdna,

thou ght -se r ies , a synony m for

vijndna-srotas,

st ream of consciou sness .

Citta

is the mental as

contrasted with the materia l

(rupa),

and bare consciousness as

contrasted with menta l s ta tes

(caitasika, caitta,

o r

citta-sam-

prayukta-samskara).

[In the present passage, however, i t i s s ta ted

tha t

citta

h er e m ean s consciousness a lon g with i ts concom it

an ts , the m enta l s ta tes ; it is m ind or consciou sness in th e

most genera l sense to which the equat ion ofcitta,

manas, vijndna,


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12

J IABSV OL.9N O. 1

a n d

vijnapti

refers . ] In the Sarvas t ivadin Abhidharma, the older

classification of th e five ag gr eg at es

(skandhas)

is replaced

(schemat ically a t leas t) by the tabu lat ion of the 75 dh ar m as u n de r

the five hea ding s of m ater ia l form

(rupa),

consciousness

(citta), disposi tions conjoined wi th consciou sness

(citta-sarh-

prayukta-samskdra),

disposi t ions dis jo ined from consc iousness

(citta-viprayukta-sarhskdra),

and t he uncon d i t i oned

{asamskrta).

In th is context , the s ingle dharma,

citta,

takes the place of the

aggrega te o f awareness

(vijnana-skandha).

Manas,

on the oth er ha nd , is the term for m ind as the

sixth of. the six or ga ns o r facult ies of per ce pti on (sensory or

m en tal) in th e list of twelve sense -fields

(dyatana):

th e six sen se

o r g a n s

{indriya)

an d six sense objects (vi$aya).H e r e , m e n t a l

is con tras ted not wi th m ater ia l bu t ra th er wi th sensory. Per

ception can also be analyzed into three aspects: the object of

cogni t ion (dlambana), the organ of cogni t ion (dsraya), an d the

corr esp on ding act o f awareness

(vijndna).

In this way, the twelve

sense-f ie lds become the eighteen

dhdtus

(e lements o f percep

t ion) ,

with the addit ion of visual , auditory, olfactory, gustatory,

tact i le , and mental vijndna (per cep t ion or aw areness) . M ental

perc ep t ion s a re s tr i ct ly -menta l perce p t ions that is , perc ep

t ions of

ideas,

con cep ts , or men tal objects , w he the r der ive d from

prev ious sensory percep t ion o r no t . Vasubandhu ( in AKK-AKB

1.16-17) f inds no dh arm ic dis t inct ion betw een m ind

(manas

as an o rgan ) an d m enta l perc ep t io n

(mano-vijndna).

Al

tho ug h the log ic o f the schem e requ i res a cor resp ond ing orga n

(dsraya

o r

indriya)

for each object an d pe rce pt io n, the org an

for m enta l pe rce pt io n is s imply previo us mo m en ts of aw arene ss ,

which serve as a causal basis for the arisal of the present mental

percept ion. Once again , mind is not a substant ia l or quas i -ma

ter ia l ent i ty , bu t a s t ream of causal ly re lated tho ug ht- m om en ts .

Vijndna

may be t rans la ted as aw arene ss , consciousness ,

cogni t ion , perce p t ion , an d so on . V asu ba nd hu g ives the

following defini t ion (AKK1.16): Vijndna is ' respe ctive'vijnapti.

(AKB:) T he ap pre he ns io n tha t is the

vijnapti

with respect to

th e v ariou s sense objects is cal led t he

vijnana-skandha.

18

Vijndna

occurs as a term in a great number of Abhidharmic l i s ts ; for

example, the fifth of the five skandhas and six of the eighteen

dhdtus

are called

vijndna.

T h e

vijnana-skandha

has al ready be en

equated wi th

citta

abo ve. In A KB on A KK 1.16, i t is also eq ua te d


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VASUBANDHU

13

with manas and with the last s ix of the eighteen dhatus. In this

last case,vijnana qui te c learly m ea ns per cep t ion . T o t rans la te

caksur-vijndna a n dsrotra-vijndna, for ex am ple , as eye-conscious

ness an d ear-co nsciou sness (with the plu ral conscious

nesses ) ra the r tha n v isual pe rce pt io n an d audi tory pe rce p

t ion is not s imply pecular Engl ish; i t might even suggest a

st rangely animist ic not ion of consciousness.

H ow ever , per cep t ion or even cogni t ion does no t qu i te

fit som e of the o th er usesof vijnana. Such , for ex am ple , isvijnana

as the sixth of the sixdhatusa different setof dhatusthe other

five be ing ea rth , a i r , w ater , f ire, andafewa (here me an in g eth er

ra th er than space , as it usua lly does in B ud dh ism ). T h e re is

also the third of the twelve l inks in the chain of dependent

aris ing (pratltya-samutpdda): a vijnana tha t a r i se s in dependence

on sarhskaras, an d in de pe nd en ce on which the re a r ises na m e

and fo rm (ndma-rupa). This is re lated to the use of vijnana as

a ter m for tha t wh ich passes ove r in re bir th . T h e specifically

Yogacara te rm dlaya-vijndna ( store-con sciousn ess ) ha s also

been men t ioned above . In these in s t ances , where vijnana

sugges t s someth ing p r io r t o o r more gene ra l t han pe rcep t ion

or cogni t ion , aw arene ss or consc iousness would seem to be

a bet ter t ranslat ion.

T h e s e t e r m s ,citta, manas, a n d vijnana, al l i l luminate a con

cept of mind as a s t ream of causa l ly re la ted thought -moments ,

each of which is a specific act of bare awareness. What is i t that

vijndpti, which V asu ba nd hu he re g ives as the fou r th synon ym ,

adds to the p ic ture?

Vijndpti

here s ignifies more than

vijnapti-

karma,

but retains a sense of activity or function.

Vijfiapti

desig

na tes the bas i c phenomenon o f consc ious exper i ence , wi thou t

re qu irin g i ts sep ara t ion into object , subject , an d act of cog ni t ion.

What then i s vijnapti-or \\y }

HI. The Significance of Only

T h e w o r d

mdtra

m eans m eas ure or ex ten t . I t is f re

quen t ly adde d as the second m em be r of co m po un ds (wh ich may

be un ders tood asbahuvrihisbased on apposi t iona lkarmadhdrayas)

in the form of X-mdtra m ea ni ng hav ing X as its full ex ten t ,

he nc e only X . O ften th e sense is pejora t ive: m er e X. I t is


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14

J I A B S V O L . 9 N O . 1

clear , however, tha t in the present context no pejora t ive sense

is requ i red . M ind-only m ean s cons is t ing only of m ind , no

th ing bu t m ind , ba re m ind , shee r m ind , an d so on .

1 9

A

mdtra

compound, then , a f f i rms one fac tor whi le denying a l l

others that might apply. The passage i tse l f makes c lear what is

denied here : objects as external substant ia l ent i t ies . Yet citta-

matra, the term used in the sutra passage c i ted, would suffice

to de ny e xte rn al objects. W ha t is th e po in t of specifically affirm

in g vijnapti b y u s i n g t h e c o m p o u n d vijnapti-mdtra?

T h e t e r m vijnapti s ignif ies a ph en om en on of consc ious

ne ss ,

2 0

a m ani fes ta t ion to consc iousness , or a pe rc ept

2 1

s o

long as one bears in mind tha t these te rms should not be taken

in a naively realist ic o r a naively idealistic sen se. T h e tran slati on

pe rce pt io n is no t bad , especia lly con side ring the am bigu i ty of

the Eng l ish w ord. Pe rcep t ion can d en ot e a qual i ty , a facul ty,

a process , or the apparent ly object ive aspect of that process: i t s

con tents . Ho w ever , it m ight be be t te r to re ta in pe r cep t ion for

t rans la t ing pratyak$ao r vijndna (at least in some of its senses).

To t rans l a t e vijnapti he re by rep rese nta t io n conveys its pu b

lic

aspec t , but seems to imply representa t ion of something ,

presumably of an external object or referent , which suggests a

rep re sen ta t iona l t heory o f know ledge . O n the con t ra ry , t he

p u r p o s e o f t h e a r g u m e n t t h r o u g h o u t t h e Virhiatika is to show

tha t th e con cept of vijnapti suffices to make sense of percept ion,

and tha t the concept of an exte rna l re fe rent (artha) is logically

su pe rfl uo us . It is specifically s tated in the init ial qu ot atio n th at

the [word] 'only ' serves to ru le ou t [external] ref ere nts . Clearly,

t h e n , w h e n

vijnapti

is qualified as

vijnapti-only,

i t cannot be

meant as a representa t ion of anything e lse , especia l ly not of an

external object .

This would seem to imply tha t the theory of knowledge

involved here , i f not representa t ional , i s some sort of subject ive

or absolu te idea l i sm.

2 2

T his has , in fact , been th e most com m on

outs ide in te rp re ta t ion of Vi jnanavada , not only by m od er n

wri te rs , but by its anc ient opp on en ts , both H in du an d Bu ddh is t .

Any s ta te m en t to the effect tha t the wo rld is m ind -on ly seems

to imply that , given a se t of materia l and menta l fac tors , the

former a re denied and the la t te r a re a f f i rmed, or the former

are red uc ed to the la t te r . Even the t rans la t ion idea t ion-only

for vijnapti-matra seems to suggest tha t mat ter is unreal whi le


12/20

VASUBANDHU

15

consciousness alone is real .

It is one thing to accuse the Vijnanavadins of fall ing into a

reif icat ion of mind, and qui te another to assume that such is

their in ten t ion . T h e form er posi t ion is certainly arg ua ble , an d

was st rongly argued by their Madhyamika rivals . If anything, i t

is the concept ofdlaya-vijndna, ra the r than tha t of vijnapti-matra,

which most exposes the Vi jnanavadins to the charge of tu rn ing

consciousness into some kind of substance orself. Here I would

argue that , as is so often the case in Buddhist phi losophy, Vas-

ub an dh u is consc ious ly n aviga t ing be tween two ex t rem es , which

in this case may be called realism and idealism.

In negat ive te rms,

vijnapti-matra

rules out the realist ex

t re m e: substant ia l ex tern al objects of cogn i t ion are de nie d. H ow

ever ,

vijnapti-matra

has also a posi t ive connotat ion, and the fact

tha t Vasubandhu here a ff i rms prec ise ly vijnaptirather than

vijndna o r citta, which might more eas i ly be misunders tood

seems to indicate an intent to avoid the idealist extreme as well .

What is exclusively affirmed is not consciousness as an abiding

ent i ty , but the content of momentary acts of consciousness.

When th i s

vijnapti

is eq ua ted with

citta, manas,

a n d

vijndna,

it

follows that mind itself is vijnapti-matra: it consists of nothing

else tha n the con ten ts of m om en tary m enta l acts . T h e in ten t ion

here is not to reduce the material to the mental , but to deny

the dichotomy, while affi rming that the basic real i ty is more

useful ly discussed in the terms belonging to a correct under

s tanding of the menta l .

IV. The Whole of

the

Three Realms

T h e c o m p o u n d vijnapti-matra involves a denial and an affir

mat ion. The extent of this denial /affi rmat ion is t ruly universal .

The term used in the passage is traidhdtukam, which may be

un de rs to od , g ramm at ica l ly and contex tua lly , as m ea nin g idam

traidhdtukam: this [universe] consist ing of th re edhdtus

2

H e r e

we meet a third , cosmological , sense of the term

dhdtu

in the

A bh idh arm a lex icon . T h er e a re th re e cosmologica l rea lm s.

T h e rea lm of des i res (kdma-dhdtu) is th e w orld of ord i

na ry exp erie nce , tha t is to say the world exp erie nc ed by beings

in he l l , ghosts , an imals , most humans , and the lower orders


13/20

16

J I A B S V O L . 9 N O . 1

am on g the d ivin it ies . T h e two h igh er rea lms may be en te re d

th ro ug h e i ther me di ta t ion o r appa r i t iona l b i r th . T h e rea lm of

fo rms (rupa-dhdtu) corresponds to the re f ined exper iences o f

those in the first four levels of meditation (the four dhyanas)

and the analogous experiences of cer ta in c lasses of gods . The

realm of formlessness (drupya-dhdtu) consists of the experi

ences of those meditators and divinit ies abiding in the formless

medi ta t ions . These are g iven as four: inf in i te space, inf in i te

awaren es s (vijndna), no th ingness , and ne i ther concep t ion nor

non-concept ion (with sometimes a f i f th added: the cessat ion of

concept ion and feel ing) .

Ta ken toge ther , these th r ee rea lms com prise the whole

cosmo s. T he who le of the thr ee realm s is syn ony m ous with

sam sara an d with a ll con di t ion ed (samskrta)d h a rm as . I f Vas-

ubandhu ' s s ta tement tha t the whole o f the th ree rea lms i s no

th in gbu tvijnapti is tak en in th e idealist sense , th en this implies

that ther e is really no thi ng out the re the whole unive rse is

in the mind . Among o ther consequences , th i s in te rp re ta t ion

inevitably raises th e pr ob le m of solipsism: the wh ole unive rse

is in my mind . O n the con t ra ry , t ak ing the in te rp re ta t ion a r

gued in th i s paper , Vasubandhu ' s s ta tement means tha t the

who le universe is no thi ng bu t the con tents of consciousness

(that is , al l the contents of everyone's consciousness). Does this

am ou nt to the t ru i sm th a t we can no t conceive o f any th ing tha t

we ca nn ot conceive of? I wou ld arg ue , ins tead, that the in ten t ion

of the vijnapti-mdtra doct r ine i s no t to d raw bou nda r ies a r ou nd

reali ty but ra th er to point a t the na tu re of specif ic exp erien ces .

Vasubandhu himself s ta tes the purpose of th is doctr ine in

VK-VV 7-10 . His imaginary opponen t poses the sc r ip tu ra l ob

ject io n th at , if consciousness a lone exists, why does the B ud dh a

speak of al l twelve sense-fields (objects and organs of percep

t ion)? V asu ban dhu rep l ies tha t the B ud dh a taugh t wi th a spe

cial in ten t ion, de pe nd in g on the need s of a specif ic aud ien ce.

Both the teaching of the twelve dyatanas and the teach ing o f

vijnapti-mdtra involve such a special intention, being two stages

in the teaching of no-self.

T h e p u rp o se o f t h e dyatana doctr ine (and, by implicat ion ,

o f the whole Ab hid ha rm a analysi s in to dha rm as) i s to in t ro duc e

pudgala-nairdtmya ( the fact that there is no self in persons ).

2 4

Analysis in to dh ar m as can dissolve the substantia l ity of th in gs


14/20

VASUBANDHU 17

an d be ings , ye t dh arm as too can be re if ied . T h e pu rpo se of

th e vijnapti-matra doctr ine is to introduce the second s tage in

u n d e r s t a n d i n g

no-self:

dharma-nairdtmya ( the fact that there

is no se lf in dharmas ) . The opponent objects tha t this seems

to den y the ex istence of dh arm as a l toge ther , which would m ean

tha t vijnapti-matra too is non-ex is ten t . V asu ba nd hu rep l ies tha t

wha t i s denied i s no t the ex is tence of dharmas as moments of

ex pe r ien ce , bu t ra th er tha t me nta l ly con stru cted self tha t is the

in t r ins ic na ture of dharmas imagined by na ive people as ob jec t ,

subject , and so on.

2 5

Th i s doe s no t de ny tha t the dha rm a s

themselves, as perceived by the Buddha, exis t . However , the

dharmas as pe rce ived by the Buddha a re inexpress ib le

(anabhildpya)

by ph i losophy . F u r th e rm ore , Va sub a nd hu po in t s

out tha t this teaching

of dharma-nairatmya

works only when

vi

jnapti-matra i tse lf is un de rst oo d to be vijnapti-only. Clearly, n o

re ifica tion of consciou sness is in ten de d he re .

O n e fur the r passage may c la rify V asu ban dh u ' s in ten t ion .

To the repeated asser t ion that dreams prove the possibi l i ty of

percept ion wi thout ex te rna l re fe ren ts , the opponent ob jec ts :

S om e one no t ye t a wa ke ne d doe s no t unde r s t a nd the non-e x i s

tence of a sense object seen in a dream.

2 6

Va suba ndhu r e p l i e s

that , on the contrary, we are a l l as leep:

2 7

In this way, the worldasleep with a sleep that is the residue of

the imposition of false conceptualizingis seeing, as in a dream,

a non-existent [external] referent. Not having been awakened,

it does not understand, as it is, the non-existence of that [refe

rent]. But, when one has been awakened through obtaining the

transcendental non-conceptual cognition that is the antidote to

that [sleep], then throu gh the direct realization of the purified

mundane cognition that

is

obtained after thatone understands,

as it is, the non-existence of the [sense] object.

V, Con clusion

I f ind it m isleading to cal l V as ub an dh u's ap pr oa ch abso lute

idea li sm. Ins tead , I would see V asu ban dh u ' s a rg um en t in the

Virhsatikd

as on e mo re a t tem pt to find the Bud dhis t midd le

way betw een posi t ive an d negat ive extre m es, in this case the


15/20

18

J I A B S V O L . 9 N O .

1

ex trem es of re if ication

and

reduc t i on i s m. C om m on s ens e t akes

the objects

of

pe rcep t i on

to be

substant ia l external ent i t ies , that

is, thing s . Analyt ical con cep ts such as a t o m s or d h a r m a s are

powerful tools that can dem ol i sh such th ings , but a t o m s or

d h a r m a s

can

themselves

be

rei fi ed . V as ub and hu ' s a rg um en t

den ies

the

necessity

to

posit

any

ent i t ies external

to

pe rcep t i on

itself, and

rejects, successively,

the

reification

of

th ings , a toms ,

d h a r m a s ,andeven

vijnapti

itself. InVa s uba ndh u ' s V i jnanavada ,

vijnaptis,in effect, takethep l ace of dh a rm asin the A b h i d h a r m a :

as conceptual devices to p r e v e n t the reification of objects . The

doc t r i ne

of

vijnapti-mdtra

is not the

metaphysical asser t ion

of a

t ranscendental real i ty consis t ing

of

mind -on ly .

It is a

practical

in junct ion

to

s u s p e n d j u d g m e n t : S t o p

at the

ba re pe rcep t ;

no

n e e d to posit any en t i ty beh ind it.

R athe r than asser t ing m ind-on ly as the t r u e n a t u r e of

uncon d i t i oned r ea lit y, Va s uba ndh u p res en t s mind -on ly

as a

descr ip t ion

of our

de lu s ion :

the

d r e a m s

of

this s leep from which

t h e B u d d h ahasa w a k e n e d .Itis,after al l, sarhsara th at is dec lare d

tobevijnapti-mdtra. Yetif m ind-o nly is m erely skept ic ism ab ou t

reified external enti t ies ,howdoesitavoid the oppos i t e ex t r eme

of reduct ion i sm ?

The

w or ld

is

ne i th er com ple te ly rea l ,

nor

c o m

pletely unreal ,

but

like

a

d r e a m .

A

d r e a m

has its own

p res ence

and con t inu i ty ,but its objects lack the substantial i ty of ex terna l

ob j ec t s . Whe the r common-s ens e t h ings or A b h i d h a r m i c d h a r

mas ,

dream-objec t s are ba re pe rcep t s . If the d ream-wor ld

sarhsara

is

mind -on ly t hen f r eedom

and the

Bud dh i s t p a th

are poss iblewe

can

c h a n g e

our

m i n d s .

If the

rea lms

of

m e d i

tat ion are mind -on ly t hen one can c rea t e a c o u n t e r - d r e a m

within

the

d r e a m

of the

wor ld ' s de lus ion . Mos t impor tan t ,

one

can awaken from a d r e a m .

Is

it

then cor rec t

to

call

the

Yogacara ,

as

p r e s e n t e d

by

Vas

ub an dh u , Budd h i s t i dea li sm ?The te rm idea li sm des igna tes

a n u m b e r of d i f fe ren t ph i losoph ies .At the leastone s hou ld be

aware t ha t the idea l is m tha t Va s ub and hu a t t em p t s to assert

a n d

the

ideal ism

for

which

his

opponents cr i t ic ize

him may

be d i f fe ren t ide a l i sm s

The

a r g u m e n t o v e r w h e t h e r

Vi

j n a n a v a d a is idealistic or realisitic bears a m arked r e s emb lance

to the con t roversy as to w h e t h e r M a d h y a m a k a is nihil ism or

t ranscenden ta l abso lu t i sm.

Mis tak ing t axonomyfor u n d e r s t a n d i n g is afault not l imited


16/20

VASUBANDHU

19

to m od er n wri ters on B ud dh ism . A similar excessive conc ern

for and trust in doctrinal labels can be seen in ancient Indian

philosophers and Tibetan scholast ics , and even in the

A b h i d h a r m a

itself.

Instead of seeking the correct label for Vas-

ubandhu 's ph i losophy , we would do be t te r to t ry to unders tand

it in its own term s. T h e identif icat ion of on e school with an ot he r

(such as that of Vijnanavada with some Western form of

idealism) is not only likely to be misleading; it is all too often

the po in t a t which the a rg um en t s tops . A m ore frui tful ap pro ach

to comparat ive phi losophy would begin by tentat ively accepting

several co m pa rab le ph i losop hies as co he re nt systems in thei r

own terms, and would proceed to apply their several v iewpoints

to specif ic problems of phi losophy.

N O T E S

1. All t ranslat ions are my own unless otherwise noted. For the sources

of Sanskri t texts here translated see below, notes 3 and 7. The passage from

VV translated h er e is missing from the Sanskri t M S, and was reco nstru cted

by Sylvain Levi as follows (1925, p.3):

Mahdydne traidhdtuham vyavasthdpyate I cittamatram bho jinaputrd yad u ta

traidhdtukam iti sutrdl I

citiarh

mano vijndnarh vijnaplis ceti parydydh I cittam atra

sasarhprayogam abh ipretam I rndtram ity arthaprati$edh drtham I.

2.

The first kdrikd of VK is still quoted or translated by some writers

as i t was f irst reco nstru cted an d pr in ted in Levi 1925. As em en de d in Levi

1932 (on the basis of new MSS of VK) the stanza reads:

vijnaptimdtram evedam asadarthdvabhdsandt I

yadvat taimirikasydsatkesotidrakddidarsanam II.

3.

Sources used here for the

Vijnaptimdtrata-siddhi

are :

Louis de La Vallee Poussin , V as ub an dh u, Virhga kakarikap rakarai ia:

Trai te des vingt slokas, avec le commentaire de l 'auteur , Museon (New Series)

13 (1912): 53 -9 0. [Rom anized T ibe tan text of VV, with Fre nch translat ion .]

Sylvain Levi, Vijnaptimdtratdsiddhi: Deux trates de Vasubandhu, Vimsatikd et

Trimsikd, Bibliotheque de I 'Ecole des Hautes Etudes (sciences histor iques et

philologiques) fascicule 245 (Paris: Librair ie Ancienne Honore Champion,

1925).

[Sanskri t text of VK, VV, TK, and TB (Sthiramati 's commentary on

TK).]

Sylvain Levi, Mate'riaux pour Vetudedu systeme Vijnaptimdtra, Bib l io theque

de I 'Ecole des Hautes Etudes (sciences historiques et philologiques) fascicule

260 (Par is : L ibra i r ie Ancienne Honore Champion , 1932) . [ Inc ludes Sanskr i t

emendations and French translat ion for Levi 1925.]

Cla r en ce H . Hami l to n , Wei Shih Er Shih Lun: TheTreatisein Tw enty Stanzas


17/20

2

J I A B S V O L . 9 N O . 1

on Representation-only, by Vasubandhu (Translatedfrom the

Chinese Version

ofHsuan

Tsang, TripHaka Master oftheTang

Dynasty),

Am erican Or ienta l Series , 13 (New

Haven: American Oriental Society, 1938). [Hsi ian-tsang's Chinese text of VV

with English t ranslat ion. ]

S i tamsu Sekhar Bagchi , Vi jnapt im at ra tas iddhi ,

Nava-Nalanda-

Ma havihara Research Publication 1 (1957): 367- 389 + Sanskri t pages 1-12).

[Sanskri t text of VK-VV (Levi 1925 without emendat ions), with English t rans

la t ion of VK-VV embedded in Bagchi ' s in terpre ta t ion . ]

Wing- ts it Ch an, Th e Thi r ty Verses on the Mind-O nly Do ct r ine , in

Sarvepat l i Radhakr i shnan and Char les A. Moore ed i tors , A Source Book in

Indian Philosophy(Princ eton: P rinceton Universi ty Press , 1957), pp . 333 -3 37 .

[English t ranslat ion of TK from Hsuan-tsang's Chinese version, along with

(pp . 328-333) a part ial reprint of Hamil ton 1938.]

T h o m a s A . K o c h u m u t t o m ,

A Budd hist Doctrine of Experience: A New Trans

lation and Interpretation of

the

Works of Vasubandhu the Yogacarin (Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass , 1982). [Includes English t ranslat ions of VK-VV and TK.

Kochumut tom seems to have depended ent i re ly for the Sanskr i t t ex t of VK,

VV, TK, and TB on an ext remely unrel iab le ed i t ion: Svami Mahesvarananda,

Acdrya vasubandhu pranita I vijnapti matratdsiddhih I

pancds atikd

I savrttikd trirh-

satikd kdrikd I acdrya sthiramati pranltam trimsikd bhds,yanca [sic\] (VaranasI :

GI tadh arm a K aryalaya, 1962) . Some of the new de pa r tu res in Ko chu m ut tom 's

t rans la t ion seem to be based on Mah esvar anan da ' s m ispr in t s . T he mispr in t

on M ahesv arana nda ' s t it le page has app aren t ly mis led Ko chu mu t tom in to

consis tent ly cal l ing TK the

Trimsatika. }

Stefan Anacker, Seven Wo rks of Vasuband hu: The Buddhist Psychological

Doctor,Religion of Asia Series, 4 (De lhi: Motilal Ba nar sida ss, 1984). [Inc lud es

English t ranslat ions of Vddavidhi, Pancaskandhaprakarana (PSP), Karmasiddhi-

prakarana (KSP) , VK-VV, TK, Madhyantavibhdgabhds.ya (MVB ), an d Tris-

vabhavanirdesa (TSN ), and repr in t s Sanskr i t ed i t ions of VV, TK , M VB, and

TS N. ]

4. E.g. , H am il ton (1938).

5. E.g. , Ch an (1957).

6. E.g. , Anacker (1984).

7.

For AK K-AK B I have used the Sanskr i t ed i t ion of Prahlad Pra dh an ,

Abhidharmakosabhdsyam

of Vasubandhu, Tibetan Sanskri t Works Series , 8 (Patna:

K.P.Jayaswal R esearch Inst i tu te, 1967; re pr int ed 1975). I have also consul ted

the French t ranslat ion of Louis de LaVallee Poussin,

L'Abhidharmakosa de Vas

ubandhu, 6 volumes , Melanges chinois et bouddhiques, 16 (Bruxel les: Inst i tut

Beige des Hautes Etudes Chinoises , 1971 repr in t ; l s ted . Par i s : PaulGeuthner ,

1923-31) .

KSP is lost in Sanskri t , but survives in one Tib eta n t ran slat ion (T oh ok u

4062 = O tan i 5563) and two Ch inese t ranslat ion s (Taish o 16 08, 1609). T h er e

is an En glish t ranslat ion (from T ibe tan ) in An ack er (1984), an d a Fren ch

translat ion (with the Ch inese and Ti be tan texts) in Et ie nne La m otte, Le

Tra i t e de l ' ac t e de Vasubandhu , Karmas iddh ip rakarana , Melanges chinois et

bouddhiques 4 (1935-36 ) (Bruxel les : Ins t itu t Beige des Hau tes Etud es


18/20

V A S U B A N D H U

21

PSP is a lso lost in Sansk r i i , surviving in one 'Tibetan transla t ion (To ho ku

405 9 = O tani 5560) and o ne Chin ese transla t ion (T aisho 1612) . There is an

English transla t ion (IVom Tibetan) in An acker (19 84) , and a Frenc h transla t ion

(with Ch inese and Tibetan texts) in Je an D an tin ne ,U Traite des cing aggregals

(Paficaskandhaprakararia de Vasubandhu),

Publica t ions de l ' lnst i tut Beige des

Ha utes Etudes Bo ud dh iqu es, Ser ie Etu des e t Texts , 7 (Bruxelles: Inst i tut

Beige des H aut es E tude s Bou dd hiq ue s, 1980) . PSP is discussed in V.V.

G okh a le , Th e P a nc a ska ndha ka by V a s uba n dhu a nd i ts C om me n ta r y by

Sth i ramat i , Annals of the Bhandarhar Research Institute (Poona) 18.3 (1937):

27 6- 28 6. There is a discussion a nd a Sanskr i t re tran sla t ion of PSP in Shanti

B h ikshu S ha s tr i, P a nc a ska nd ha p r a k a r a na of V a su ba nd hu , Indian Historical

Quarterly32 (1956) : 36 8- 38 5 . A noth e r work by Shant i Bhikshu Shas t r i, which

I have seen cited but have not been able to find, isPancaskarui/iaprakararia of

Vasuban dhu: A Restitution into San skrit from the Tibetan Version together with an

Introduction, English translation, Notes, a Tibetan-Sanskrit vocabulary and an Index

of important Sanskrit Words (Kelan iya, 1969).

8 . C ompa r e F r a nk l in Edge r ton , Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and

Dictionary, V olu m e II : Dic t ionary (New H av en: Yale Universi ty Press, 1953:

reprints Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970, etc.) , s.v. vijnapli.

9. C om pa re Edg er ton (1953) , s.v . prajfiapli.

10 .

C om pa re Edg er ton (1953), s.v . jnapli, a nd the doc u m e n t s de a l ing

with upasampada ( ordination ) in the collection of official acts of a Sangha

known as the Karmavdcand (Pali Kammavdca).

11.

The c lassic sources for the discussion of karma are AKK -AKB c ha p

ter 4, and KSP.

12 . AKK 4 .1b: cetand tatkrtam ca tat.

13 .

AKB on AKK 4 .1b: dve karmani cetand karma celayitvd ca.

14. Avijnapti-rupa is discussed in deta i l a t AK K-A KB 1.11 and 4. 1- 22 ,

an d in KSP. See a lso Tho mas Lee Dowling, Vasuband hu on the Avijnapti-rupa :

A Study in Fifth-Century Abhidharma Buddhism (Ph .D. Disse r ta t ion , Columbia

University: 1976).

15 .

AKB on AKK 4 .4 presents the cont roversy be tween the Saut ran t ika

posi t ion that avijrmpti does not exist as a substantial entity (dravya) and the

Sarvastivadin or Vaibhasika position that it does. For KSP see especially

Anacker 's (1984) t ransla t ion and notes .

16 . See two ar t ic les by Brian Galloway, Vijnana, Samjna, and M anas ,

The Middle Way vol. 53 , no. 2 (1978): 72 -7 5 , and A Yogacara Analysis of the

Mind, Based on the Vijnana Sec t ion of Vasubandhu 's Pancaskandhaprakarana

w i th G una ma t i ' s C omme n ta r y

Journal oftheInternationalAssociationof Buddhist

Studies vol . 3 , no. 2 (1980): 7-20. Galloway's very interest ing argument is

un for tu nate ly wea ken ed by the s tr idency of his ton e , which is not just if ied by

the l imited scope of his evidence. The ambiguity of the Sanskr i t and English

terms involved is not exh aus ted by con sider ing the Pancaskandliaprakarana

and the Oxford English D ictionary. For exam ple , Ga l loway 's a rg um en t for t r ans

la t ing

vijnana

as per cep tion ra th er tha n conscio usness re l ies very heavily

on th e PSP an d o the r contexts in whichvijnana c lea rly does me an pe rcep t ion ,

but r a the r ignores o the r uses of the te rm vijnana (discussed in the present


19/20

22

J IABSV OL.9NO . 1

essay) for which consciou sness is a t least an argu ab le t ra ns lat ion .

Part icular ly helpful d iscuss ions of these terms are given by Th. Stcher-

batsky in The Central

Conception

of Buddhism and the Meaning of the Word Dharma

(L on do n: R oyal Asiatic Society , 1923; rep rint s Delhi : Mot ilal Ban ars idass ,

1970, e tc .) , and by Shwe Zan Aung in his in t roduct ion to the t rans lat ion of

A n u r u d d h a ' s AhhidhammaUhasangaha in S.Z. Aung and C.A.F. Rhys Davids ,

The C ompendium of Philosophy,Pali Te xt Society , Tr an slat io n S eries , 2 (L on do n:

Luzac 8cCo. , 1910; rep rin ts by Pali Tex t Society , L on do n).

17 .

A K K 2 . 3 4 a - b l : citlarh man o 'tha vijnanam ekartham . C o m p a r e A K B

and PSP. T h e e qu at in g of these thre e ter m s for min d is a t leas t as ear ly as

Samyutta-nikaya II : 95 {Kindred Sayings II : 66) .

18 . A K K

1.16c:

vijnanam prativijnaptih. A K B :vujayam vujayamprati vijnap-

tir upalabdhir vijndnaskandha ity ucyate.C om pa re th e def in i t ion in PSP, which

Sha nt i Bh ikshu Shast r i (1956: 381), Gal loway (1980 : 10) , and An ack er (198 4:

71) all take as: [vijnanam] dlambanavijnaptih.

19 .

I am in deb ted to Professor M. David Eckel , H arv ard Univers i ty , for

s t res s ing to me the non-negat ive conno ta t ion o f -mdtra in such contexts .

20 .

I have in m ind he re the f irst defini t ion of ph en om en on given in

th e American Heritage Dictionary: an occu rren ce or fact tha t can be perceiv ed

by the senses rem em ber ing tha t fo r Bud dhis t s min d (manas) is, of c ou rse ,

one of the senses .

2 1 . I am fol lowing the excel lent defini t ion of pe rce pt g iven in J .P .

Ch ap l i n ,Dictionary ofPsychology (new revised edi t ion, New York: Del l Publ ish

ing, 1975), p . 376;

percept:

1. that which is perceived. 2 . a perceptual act .

The use o f the t e rm perceptrefers to the conscious exp erie nce a nd not to the

physical object . Physical objects of percept ion are referred to as stimuli.

22.

Th is is the view of Vi jnanava da held by such wri ters as Stcherbatsky

and Dasgup ta , and p resen ted in A.K. Chat t e r j ee , The Yogacara Idealism (2nd

ed. , Delhi : M ot ilal Banars ida ss , 1975). O n e classical source for th is in terp reta

t ion is the host i le and wi ldly inaccurate chapter on Buddhism in the la te

Vedan t in work , SarvadarSana-samgraha. However , those modern wr i t e rs who

interpret Vi jnanavada in th is way usual ly consider i t very s imilar to Vedanta.

K oc hu m utt om (1982) s t rongly cr it ic izes th is idealis tic in te rpr eta t ion , especial ly

in chapter 6 .

2 3 . Ko chu m ut tom (1982 : 165-166) ob jec ts s t renuous ly to the t rans la t ion

of traidhatukam he re as the th re e wor lds . H e dec la res tha t : Th i s trans la t ion

ignores the fact that the term 'traidhdtuka' is an adject ive m ea ni ng 'belon ging

to the thr ee wo rlds ' , an d tha t it is not a substant ive m ea nin g ' the thr ee wo rlds . '

He goes on to say that such an adject ive must modify an unders tood noun,

s u p p l y i n g cittaa n d caittas as the unders tood noun . Accord ing ly (p . 260) , he

t rans la tes the passage : those be long ing to the th ree wor lds a re mere repre sen

ta t ions o f consc iousness , and the su t ra quo ta t ion : those be long ing to the

t h ree w o rl d s a r e me re mi n d t h o s e b e i n gcittasa n d caittas.As evide nce for

cal l ing V asu ba nd hu 's phi los oph y plural is t ic real ism this fai ls to conv ince.

K o ch u mu t t o m co n fu s es e t y mo l o g y w i t h mean i n g an d fo rg e t s t h e g rammar

of the sentence. I t i s t rue that traidhdtuka- is etym olog ically a n adje ctive. It is

a secondary derivat ive in -ka f ro m t h e co m p o u n d w o rd tri-dhdtu, an d mean s


20/20

V A S U B A N D H U

23

per ta in in g to the three realm s . In the passage, howe ver , we have

traidhatukam,

which seems in context to be a nom inat ive s ingular ne ute r form.

Th eore tically i t could m odify cittam,and theoretica l ly the pa ssage could m ean

tha t the citta that pertains to the tr iple world is mere-citta o r mere-vijnapti,

but this is mere-tautology. In Sanskrit , secondary derivatives are often used

as substantives . A good example is the very term caitta, per ta in ing tocitta.

The interpretation that best f i ts this passage is[idarh]o r[sarvam]traidhatukam

all this [universe] that pertains to the three realms.

24.

Nairatmya is often transla ted selflessness . Al tho ugh the transla tion

is etymologically corre ct , the English wo rd selflessness co nn ote s unself ish

behaviour, which may in fact be encouraged by the philosophical idea of

nairatmya, but is not identical with it. [I am indebted to Professor Luis O.

Gomez, University of Michigan, for pointing out to me the ambiguity of

selflessness. ]

25.

VV on VK 10d2: yo bdlair dharmdndm svabhdvo grdhyagrdhakddih

parikalpitas. . . .

26.

VK 17cd:

svapnadrgvi^ayabhdvam ndprabuddho 'vagacchati.

27.

VV on VK 17cd: evam vitathavikalpdbhydsavdsandnidrayaprasupto lokah

svapna ivabhutam

artharh

paiyan na prabuddhas tadabhdvam yathdvan ndvagacchati

I yadd tu latpratipak$alokottaranin>ikalpajndnaldbhdt prabuddho bhavati tadd

mprMhahbdhcL< uMhalaukikajMnasarhmukhibhdvdd vi$aydbhdvarh yathdvad ava-

gacchailti samanam etat I.

meaning of vijnapti

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