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A SHORT II{TRODUCTION

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BUDDHISM: A SHORT INTRODUCTION OneworldPublications (Sales Editorial) and Road 185 BanburY Oxon OX2 7AR England www,oneworld-publications.com @ Klaus K. Klostetmarer First South Asian Edition 2006

1?l: : !31
All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN 1-85158-185-8 This ediion it for sa/e in the Indian ssbcontinent on/1. |iot for exporl elseu,here. Cover design by Design Deluxe Typeset by LaserScript Limited, Mitcham, Surrey Printed and bound in Indra bv Gopsons Papers Ltd., Noida

CONTENTS

List of figuresand tables Preface INTRODUCTION The makingof a Buddhist writing aboutBuddhism Insiderand outsider practice textsand Buddhist Buddhist About this book

vlll

ix I 2 4 5 5

0 JE P a r t l : T H E ' T H R E E W E L S 'F B U D D H I S M 1 1
1 THEBUDDHA The historical Buddha Buddhasof the past and the future The image of the Buddha The remembranceof the Buddha The women in the Buddha'slife A 2 THE DHAMMA: BAGXGROUND ND EXPRESSIOT{S The contemporaryIndian background Hinayana, Mahayana, Vairayana:Buddhism, one or many?

13 13 20 21, 24 25 29 29 34

v i . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

3 T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A - D H A , T I M A The Buddhist councils The spreadof Buddhism Modern \trestern Buddhist scholarshio The Buddha-dhamma and feminism B u d d h i s te d u c a t i o n The Wheel of Becoming The Dhammapada as a compendium of the Buddha-dhamma K i n g M i l i n d a ' sq u e s t i o n s

+,/

48
JI

54 55 58 53 56 74 89 93 95 99

4 THESANGHA The Patimokkha 'Women and the Sangha The Sangha and the saighas

P a r t l l : T H EB U D D H I SP A T H T
5 THE WAY TO N'88ANA Who can reach nibbdna? The path to nibbana Nibbana The arahant Arahatta and Buddhahood , 6 B U D D H I S TM E D I T A T I O N Preparationfor meditation Types of meditators The hasinas Brahma-uihara Samathaand Vipassanabhauana 7 THE BODH//SArrYAPATH Santideva'sB o dh i caryauatara The ten bodhisattua bhnmis

101 103 104 1,05 t12 115 1,1,7 1,20 1.20 1.22 t26 r28 131
1,37 1,39 148

cONTENTI Vii S

0 Part lll: SCH00LS F BUDDHISM

A 8 B U D D H I S TS Y S T E M A T I C N D P O I E i I I C The AbhidhammT Buddhist logic and Polemics 9 M A D H Y A M A K A , Y O G A C A R AA T { DT A N T R I CA U D D H I S M Madhyamaka: the'Central Philosophy' Yogacara:'Mind Only' Madhyamaka and Yogdcara: deconstruction and

153
155 155 161 I72 772 181

reconstructlon Tantric Buddhism 10 coNcLUsloN and religion as Buddhism philosophy

189 1.90 202 202

P L I A P P E N D I X B U D D H I S T I T E R A T U R E :R I i I A R YS O U R C E S206 O T 2 A P P E N D I X E N G L I S H R A N S L A T I O N SF B U D D H I S T

souRcEs
3 APPENDIX CHRONOLOGY Glossary Bibliography lndex

2p9 214 217 222 233

FIGURES AND IABLES

FIGURES
1 Giant statueof the Buddhain Dhyani mudra, polonnaruwa. Sri Lanka 2 Construction schemata the sitting Buddhaimage for 3 The spread Buddhism Asia of in 4 The Wheelof Becoming 5 The Dbyant Buddhamandala

23 23 52 G4 D3

TABLES
1 The correlation the five DhyantBuddhas of (1) 2 The correlation the five DhyantBuddhas of (2) 195 196

PREFACE

n introduction to Buddhism, however short, is always a major I L I undertaking. Buddhism is a vast and varied phenomenon: its history goes back over rwo and a half millennia and its geography spans a large part of the globe. It has found expressionin a score of languages and has stimulated a great variety of art styles. It has deeply shaped a great part of humanity past and present. 'Works on Buddhism have been written from many angles: there are numerous expert historical, sociological, philosophical, anthropological, comparative and psychological studies that provide important information and insight. Since texts have always been very important to Buddhists' I have chosen a textual approach for this introduction. My aim has been to presentBuddhism as a living wisdom-tradition, with a rational basisand a coherentworldview; a tradition that has proved its strength during its long history and that is capable of critically reflecting on itself, without thereby destroyingitself. Recognizingthe immensity of the task and my linguistic limitations, I am restricting the scope of this work to Indian Buddhism, that is ro those branchesand schoolswhich arose in India and whose sourcesare written in Indian languages. Since Buddhism began in India and experiencedits blossominginto a great tradition during the next fifteen hundred years in India, such a narrowing down of the study may be acceptable.I am aware, of course, that the historical developmentsof Buddhism in Tibet, in Mongolia, in China, in Japan, and more recently also in the'west, are important and often unique and that they deserve great attention.

x . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

reader.It does not This introduction is intendedfor the non-specialist far presuppose anything except interestin the subiect.\rhile necessarily from being exhaustive,it aims at giving a fair picture of the origins and the foundationsof Buddhism,as well as of someof its more sophisticated theories and practices,as they were developedby some later schools. There is no shortage of material to continue and expand the study of Buddhism from here. Texts and translations,generaland specialstudies today. If this book arouses of Buddhism abound and are easilyaccessible reader's curiosity and desire to learn more about Buddhism, the the author's expectationshave been amply fulfilled. It goeswithout sayingthat this book is no more than a short summary of original texts and the works of a large number of scholarspast and present, on whose writings it depends even when not explicitly acknowledging their contributions in specific referencesand I express my indebtednessto all of them. For detailed personal advice and numerous suggestionsfor improvement I wish to give special thanks to Rupert Gethin, co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol. For all the shortcomings, of which I am only too aware, I have to take responsibility. I dedicate this book to my students at the University of Manitoba, whom it has been my privilege to introduce to the religions of India during the past three decadesand for whom most of the materials of this book were originally prepared.

Winnipeg,February1999

K. K. K.

INTRODUCTION

puddhism in all its great variety tracesits origin to the teachings ofthe I-l historical figure of Gotama (S: Gautama) the Buddha. The many different branchesof Buddhism developedvarious scriptural traditions, a largecommentarialliteratureand an untold number of scholarlytreatises attempting to summarize. synthesizeand further develop words and ideas attributed to the Buddha. Early on Buddhism branched out into a great diversiry of orders, schools of thought, ordination and teaching lineages. Some have developed mutually incompatible positions on matters of discipline and doctrine; others have retained a large number of common teachingsand practlces. A teacher or practitioner of Buddhism will always follow one particular tradition that has been legitimized by aurhentic exponents of that interpretation of Buddhism; nobody can teach or pracrice 'Buddhism' as such. Some of these traditions have a lineage that goes back to ancient Indian origins; others are based on more recent regional developmentsoutside India. Buddhists early on showed a great eagerness to communicate their teaching to the whole world: they not only carried the Buddha-word in their memories and their manuscriptsto countnes like China, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Indonesiaand translated it into the languagesof these peoples, they also adapted it to local needs and circumstancesin the belief that its universaliry was best expressed a variety of local idioms. in The discovery and adoption of Buddhism by Europeans and Americans from the mid-nineteenth century onwards created new

z . E u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

expressions Buddhism. Differencesin climate and upbringing do not of allow a wholesaletransplantationof existing Asian Buddhist traditions. who loined Buddhist monasteries Sri in Apart from the few'Westerners Lanka, Burma (Myanmar)and Thailand, the majority of those who 6nd Buddhism attractive attempt to practise it in their Western homelands To under very different circumstances. belittle these attempts and the 'Western resulting expressionsof Buddhism would not be right. The Buddha himself was convincedof the universalvalidity of the truth and the \Vay that he had discoveredand he was very flexible with regard to in lifestyleand the circumstances which his teachingwould be practised. A large amount of scholarship has been devoted to attempts to uncover the original teachingsof the Buddha. Philologicaland historical has beenmarshalledto distinguishvarious layersin the sources, evidence and much has been found out about the processthrough which the Buddhism rs various canons of Buddhist scripturescame into existence. not necessarilyidentical with what the historical Buddha originally taught; it consistsof interpretations,adaptations and additions to the original teachings, made in an attempt to arrive at logically coherentand workable systems ideas and practices. of In this work no effort has beenmade to isolatewhat might have been 'original teaching' the original teaching of the Buddha: even that underwenta developmentover the forty-five yearsof the Buddha'spublic ministry. It is intended to represent Buddhism as understood by traditional Buddhist schools,relying on text and ordination traditrons. The presentation is based on the assumption that there has been a continuous tradition leading from the historical Buddha to the present, the of that this tradition has preserved its written sources substance the in Buddha'steachings and that even if it did not always uphold the ideal, it 'Buddhisms' always knew about ii. Juxtaposed,the very many different would cancel each other out by their often mutually contradictory interpretation of texts and doctrines; individually, they usually make senseand have been found helpful by many over the centuries.

T H EM A K I N G F A B U D D H I S T O
The 6rst Buddhists became Buddhists becausethey recognizedin the truth coming Buddha'steachingthe fulfilment of their own endeavours, from enlightenment.Later on, during the lifetime of the Buddha, as the they admired ancient sourcestell us, people becameBuddhistsbecause

I N T R O D U C T. O N I 3

the poise and inner peace of the early Buddhists. Some also became Buddhists because they thought they would find material security, a relatively easy life and a great deal of social prestige. Throughout, however, the proper motive for becoming a Buddhist was the overriding concern for reaching a stare of complete inner freedom and emancipation. It was always the content of the Buddha's teaching that attracted seriouspeople to Buddhism. 'westerners '!(hen learned something substantial about the first Buddhism in the nineteenth centuryl they found it attractive as a religion that had a lofty ethic and was not rooted in a belief in a personal creator or redeemer God. It appeared to nineteenth-century western philosophers as a better alternative to Christianity.2 It was especially the emphasison non-violence that Europeans,who had seenthe horrors and 'War, welcomed. Disgusted with their devastations of the First World Christian leaderswho had been preaching chauvinism and who justified the atrocities of the war as necessary for the defence of faith and civilization, many eagerly embraced a religion that prided itself on never having used force and violence to propagare or to defend itself. Some European converts to Buddhism in the early twentieth century became prominent figures in contemporary Buddhism,3 helping through translations of classical texts and expositions of Buddhist teachings to spread Buddhism in the West. Becoming a Buddhist is one of the easiestand also one of the most 'Buddhisms' difficult things to achieve. First, there is a great variety of and Buddhist communities, each with its own specific notions of 'Buddhist' in a general sense; one membership. One cannot become has to choose a specific form of it. If one chooses to ioin Theravada,a prominent today in Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand' one has just to recite three times the 'three refuges'; Buddharn saranam gacchdmi - Dhammam saranam gaccbdmi - Sangham saranam gacchami (I take refuge in the Buddha, in the Dhamma, in the Sangha).In addition one has verbally to express faith in the Enlightened One and accept the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Every neophyte Buddhist also promises to observe five basic ethical rules. The highest ideal of Theravada Buddhism is the state of the monk or .ru.t,5taking solemn vows: not only have the members of the monastic community to promise to keep, in addition to the five general rules mentioned above, five more specific monastic regulations, they also have to submit to periodic public examinations of consciencein

c ' E u d d hAss H o R rr N l R o D U c r o N i m

*'hich they must check their past behaviour against several hundred regulations.The whole life of a Buddhist monk or nun is governed by rules; nothing is left to whim or chance. And that is only the ourward aspectof 'professional'Buddhists:their motive for joining was enlightenment,which could only be reached through arduous work on themselves.The more they progress,the more subtle and complex that work becomes. Someonewho joins a Mahayana Buddhist community is expectedto take the bodbisattua vow and practise a number of virtues to a truly heroic degree. Vhile it is fairly simple to learn rhe names of these 'Six Perfections' - the perfection of giving, of morality, of forbearance, of steadfastness, meditation and of wisdom - it is infinitely more difficult of to practise them.

I N S I D E R N D O U T S I D E W R I T I N G B O U TB U D D H I S M A R A
Buddhism as a historical phenomenonis of enormous importance.As a religion and a way of life it spread over the whole of Asia and in its long history it has exercised profound effect on Asian culture as a whole, in a all its aspects.It has produced a huge literature in virtually all Asian languages,sublime art and ideals of life that have pervaded Asian mentality.Buddhism addresses perennialhuman concernsand articulates profound insights into human nature. Nobody interested in human values and ideals can ignore Buddhism, a vast experiment in elevating humanity to its noblest. Wisdom and compassion are the proverbial hallmarks of the Buddha, and humankind today is certainly in dire need of these.Buddhism not only talks about wisdom and compassion,it also teacheshow to acquire these. \Triting about Buddhism initially appearseasy:Buddhiststhemselves have developedwell-organized schematain presentingtheir tradition: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the rwelve Links of the Chain of Dependent Co-origination, the three stepsof morality, concenrration and wisdom. Besidesthese simple formulae there are dozens of others, and sophisticatedintellectual edificeswith an incredibly intricate architecture. There is, of course,by now a huge literature on Buddhism,wntten by knowledgableinsidersand outsiders,a literature covering all aspects of historical and present-day Buddhism from many different angles. Only a small part of the immensephenomenonof Buddhism can be presented here. Even this fraction can be approached from many

I N T R O D U C T oO N I 5

'insider' presentationof Buddhism different angles.There is traditional, 'outsider' historical scholarship.To begin with, and there is critical, Buddhists have shown much greater interest in their own history than provide information about Hindus. The canonical writings themselves of rulers who were contemporariesof the Buddha, about the sequence events in the Buddha's life and the time immediately after his death. Buddhistswrote chroniclesthat faithfully record the history of Sinhalese to Buddhism in Sri Lanka from the third century BCE the early eighteenth wrote historiesof Buddhism in India century.Tibetan Buddhist scholars5 and Tibet which preserveancient traditions. Traditional Buddhist accounts mix legend and history. While the historicity of Gotama and the Indian rulers mentionedin the Pdli Canon is beyond question, the dates assignedto them are not.7 Thus various chronologies have been developed on the basis of comparisons with 'Western scholars were in Western dynastic lists. Until recently8 the Buddha spanned the period of c. 540agreementthat the life of 480 rcr. The Buddhist world, however, celebrated the 2,500th anniversaryof the Buddha'sparinibbana in 1956, assumingthe Buddha to have lived from 524 to 544 rce. The Buddhist dating relieson the ancient,and on the whole reliable' chronicles of Sri Lanka. Those chronicles' give precise dates for the events recorded, based on which the traditional chronology has been established. Similarln there is disagreementbetween traditional Buddhist and modern Vestern scholars regarding the facts and dates of the creation of the Buddhist canon and the Buddhist councils. Vhile Buddhists in general tend to accept the accuracy of the reports in the ancient tell drawing on text-criticalmethodologies, Westernscholars, chronicles, a more complex and compiicatedstory.10 \Tithout wishing to disparage scholarly efforts towards solving questions of chronology and literary criticism, in the Buddha's - and Buddhists'- opinion theseconcern marginal matters: they do not touch 'progressin the core of the Buddha'steachingand contribute nothing to The mass of ancient Buddhist literature and virtue' or to enlightenment. the generalagreementfound in it on important matters of practice and doctrine are sufficient for those who want to follow the Buddha path, accepting the trustworthiness of the Buddhist tradition as a whole. Different opinions regardingthe datesof the Buddha'sbirth and death do not changethe insight provided in the Four Noble Truths, nor do text-

0 . S u d d l iA mH o R rr N r R o D U c r o N ss

critical investigations of the Pali canon affect the central requirements for finding enlightenment as taught throughout rhe centuries by Buddhist teachers.

B U D D H I ST E X T S N D B U D D H I S P R A C T I C E T A T
The practice of those who call themselves Buddhists does not always agree with the ideals expressedin Buddhist writings. This is a universal feature of all traditions that demand a more-than-averagerefinement of mores. The Pali Canon itself records all kinds of misuses and misunderstandings of the teaching of the Buddha by contemporary followers of his way. An introduction to Buddhism for non-Buddhists is expectedto offer a presentation of the ideals of Buddhism rarher than a description of possibly less-than-idealBuddhists. There are sufficient books available today, written by anthropologists and sociologists, by journalists and travellers, describing in great detail the actual life of conremporary Buddhists. This discussion will be based on the texts that outline the Buddhist ideal and that serious Buddhists consider as guidelines for their practice - texts that have been preserved intact notwithstanding the frequent degenerationof Buddhist pracice, texrs that have been the basis of every Buddhist reform over the centuries. Texts have always played a great role in Buddhism. The Buddha's immediate disciplesmemorized his sermonsand his rulings on matters of drscrpline. The Pali canon musr have been one of the earliestcollection of texts to be fixed in wiiting, and memorizing texts, copying texts and transladng texts were some of the chief activities of Buddhist monks throughout the centuries.Thesetexts have transmitted the precisewording of Buddhist doctrine and are the basis for orthodox Buddhist practice. While many local exceptions were made to the rules laid down in the Canon, the text itself was not changed to accommodate the exceptions. Thus, while it is not possible to derive from a knowledge of the texts the actual practices of an individual Buddhist monastic communiry the community preservesthe textual tradition and recites it ritually.

A B O U T H I SB O O K T
This short introduction to Indian Buddhism wishes to provide a general overview as well as some in-depth treatment of issuescentral to Indian

I N T R O D U C T I.O7 N

Buddhism. It is text based, introducing the reader to some of the most important textual sources of Buddhism. It is divided into three parts which are subdivided into a varying number of chapters. Part I deals with the basics of Buddhism, the proverbial 'Three Jewels': the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. In that context the Indian background to the Buddha's teaching will also be mentioned, as well as the development of Buddhism. A summary and discussionof the content of two classicsof early Buddhism - the canonical Dhamtnapada and the post-canonical Milindapafiha - wtll present Buddhist teachings on specific issuesin traditional Buddhist expressions. Part II offers a systematic study of Buddhist teachings:a comprehensive account of the path to liberation according to the Pali Canon; a detailed study of meditation, the most typical Buddhist practice; and a summary of the bodhisattua path as presentedin the Buddhist classic,the B odh icaryauatara by Santideva. Part III introduces more technical philosophical expressionsof Buddhism and the teachings of distinctive schools that emerged in the course of time. Chapter 8 deals with the theoretical framework of Theravdda Buddhism in the Abhidamma and with the controversies between Buddhists and (primarily) Hindus; chapter 9 discussesMadhyamaka and Yogdcira, two irnportant (Mahayana) philosophical systems, and Vafraydna, a late developmentof Indian Buddhism, its Tantric expression. Given the nature of the subject matter, a certain overlap between some chapters is unavoidable. There is considerable overlap already in the sources of Buddhism, such as the Pili Canon, in which the Buddha himself is representedas explaining his teaching in a variety of mutually complementary and overlapping ways. Even the best modern texts on Buddhism cannot avoid overlap in one form or another. The story of Buddhism is not linear; it progressesin a spiral fashion, returning time and again to the central points, but from different perspectives.In order to familiarize the uninitiated reader with the basic teachings, certain terms (such as dharmaldhamma) will have to be used, but will receive a more detailed treatment in a later chapter. SimilarlS in order to provide a broad outline of the development of Buddhism, names of persons and schools will be introduced and explained in greiter detail in another section. Again, there is no linear historic development from an original 'primitive'to fully a developed'modern'Buddhism.What we considerto be the Buddha's own teaching gave rise to a great variety of interpretations. These, again, were not developed under the aegis of a

g . 0 u d d h A s H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N ism

central authority but by individuals,groups and schoolsof thought that operated fairly independently, As the large number of books about Buddhism proves, there is no single, best way of writing an introduction to Buddhism. While not aiming to be exhaustive,this presentation endeavoursat integrity, hoping to offer a genuine,if selective, picture of Buddhism. Each of the issues mentioned has receivedextensivetreatment at the hand of experts, as the bibliography proves. Referencesto sources and to secondary literature are far from exhaustive - this is meant to be an introductory text for beginners,not a synthesisof the whole of Buddhism for the expert. The Buddhist sourcesand their English translations have not been incorporated into the general bibliography, but have been listed separately in Appendix 1 and 2 respectively. Most of the English translations of Buddhist works are found in the three series: Sacred Books of the East, Sacred Books of the Buddhists and the Pali Text SocietyTranslation Series. One last remark concerns the use of technical rerms from Pdli and Sanskrit, the two languagesin which the sources upon which this book draws are written. I shall be using Pdli words (with Sanskritequivalents in brackets) when referring to the Pali Canon, and Sanskrit when referring to sourcesin Sanskrit.ll In the glossary all Indian words are identifiedas either Peli (P) or Sanskrit(S).The standardtransliterationof both Sanskritand Pali has beenfollowed, exceptin thosecases where the Indian word has becomepart of English vocabulary.Most of the vowels in both Sanskritand Pali (in transliteration)are pronounced like Italian vowels.Most of the consonants resemble the Englishconsonants. dash A on top of a vowel indicateslength(a= aa); an accenton top (6)or a dot (s) underneathan s means it is oronouncedsh.
NOTES

1. Somevaguenotions about Buddha and Buddhismwere current in the Westsincepre-Christian times.Thereare references Buddhain some to of the earlyChurchFathers and reminiscences late Buddhistteachings of are found in someforms of Gnosticism.Medieval travellersencountered Buddhafigures over Asia and learned all about certainbeliefs associated with these. However, it was only in the mid-nineteenthcentury that 'Westerners becamefamiliar with major textual sources and beganto study Buddhismin earnest. 2. Nietzsche, a well-known paragraph Wille zur Macht, maintained: in in 'Buddhismis a hundredtimes more realistic than Christianity- it has inherited cool and objective the attitudeof looking at problems, arrses it

I N T R O D U C T oO N I 9

after centuriesof philosophicalmovement,the concept "God" was alreadydone away with, when it arose'(my translation). The first modern Westernerknown to have become an ordained Buddhist bhikkhu was Ananda Metteya (Allan Bennet, 1872-1923) who also foundedthe BuddhistSociety Great Britain and Irelandin of A 1 9 0 7 . T h e f a m o u s b h i k k h u N y a n a t i l o k aw a s G e r m a n - h o r n n t o n walter Florus Gi:th \1878-1,957t. Among his German discipleswas Bhikkhu Nyanaponika,German-bornSiegmund Feniger(born 1901), author of important books and translatorof many Pali works, whose E n g l i s h - b o r n i s c i p l eB h i k k h u N y i n a m o l i t O s b e r tM o o r e . l c 0 5 - 6 0 ) d continued activities. his 'original' 'The School of the Elders',claims to represent 4 . Theraveda, Buddhism, teaching through the and practiceof the Buddha,preserved 2,500 years. 5 . Only by making Buddhismone's profession can one expect to reach emancipation from rebirth. 'Lay Buddhists' expectto be rewardedfor their good behaviour by and their good deeds beingreborninto a life in which they becomemonks or nuns. 6 . Especially Taranitha and Bu-ston. 7 . Bechert,The Dating of the Historical Buddha. 'Noteson Revising HistoricalDate of the Buddha', 8 . See Dissana.vake, the responding R. Gombrich'ssuggestion placingthe Buddhain the to of 6fth century nce and, more recently,Cousins, 'The Dating of the HistoricalBuddha'. 9 . The first of these the Dipauamsa,'The is Chronicle the Island',which of tellsthe historyof Buddhism Sri Lanka from the time of the Buddha's in legendary threevisitsto the islandto the end of the reignof Mahasena in the late fourth centurvcF.. is continued the Mahauazsa,whoselast It in portion,the Cullauamsa, bringsthe reportof events to 1815,the time up when the British took control of the island. The great fifth-century BuddhistcommentatorBuddhashosa his Bahiranidana. in the introductorychaprerro his commenrlry on the VinayaPitaka,also offersa short conspectus the history of Buddhismup to his time, using the of traditionaldatesfor the councilsand the rulers. 1 0 .Seechapter3, pp. 49ff. 1 1 . Often these are written in what has been called 'Buddhist hvbrid Sanskrit',i.e. a languagewhich uses many Prakrit (Middle Indian) words, while overallfollowing Sanskritvocabulary and grammar.

Part I
THE THREE JEWELSOF BUDDHISM

religious of Buddhists act begins with 'takingrefuge'in p achandevery I-r the ThreeJewels(triratnal:the Enlightened One (the Buddha), the (the Dhamma), Teaching and the Community(the Sangha). Thus each and everybook about Buddhism hasto beginwith explainingthe Three Jewelsas the basisof Buddhism While the faithful Buddhist acceptsthe story of Buddha'slife as describedin the ancient sources, modern scholarship has scrutinized thesereportsand attempted establish 'facts'by meansof scientific to the historiography. Similarly,practisingBuddhists considerthe teachingof their communitythe word of the Buddha,while Western scholars study the varioustraditionsin a comparative manner, trying to find historical reasonsfor the development particular forms of Buddhism.The of Buddhistcommunityas a whole, and specifically ordainedmembers, its arethe custodians only of the teachings alsoof the practices not but that make Buddhisma living religion.Here too, the approachof a modern Western scholar and that of an active member of the Buddhist communitywill differ.

t Z . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

In the following pagesattention will primarily be given to traditional Buddhist views and to texrs from within the Buddhist tradition ro describewhat the Three Jewelsmean for the followers of Buddhism. In order to do this, a fairly extensive summary of two important Buddhist works, the Dhammapada and the Milindapafiha has been added to the systematicpresentation,as well as an explanation of the traditional representation the bhAuacakra(Vheel of Becoming). of

THE BUDDHA

THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA anyone today doubts that Gotama the Buddha, the founder of TJardly I I guddhism, was a historical figure.l However, there are no documents to describe his life and work other than the canonical Buddhist writings which are clearly biased in favour of Buddhist tradition. The traditional Buddhist texts have an interest in reinforcing Buddhist teaching through the telling of the biography of the Buddha and in harmonizing the events in his life with what was believedto be his teaching.2 While the exact dates of his life are still disputed among scholars,3his existenceand the major events in his life are commonly acceptedas historical.a They have been the subject of artistic representarionfor almost two thousand years and provide the key topics in Buddhist sermons even today. The ancient sourcescharacteristically mingle factual report with religiously meaningful interpretation. The canonical writings were not establishedto provide raw materials for future historians but to give support and guidance to the community of Buddhists, who saw in the Buddha'slife the exemplificationof their own ideals. Tradition reports that Maya, the mother of Gotama Siddhattha (S: Gautama Siddhartha) desiring a son, had a dream in which a white elephant appearedand entered her side. Consulting an astrologer,she learned that the meaning of her dream was that her future son would either be a world-ruler or a world-renou.tce..5 Deliuered from his mother's right side in the Lumbini Park, where Maya had stopped on her

t + . B u d d hAss H o n r r N r R o D U c r o N i m

way to her paternal home,o the newborn announced with a clear voice his high standingand walked sevensteps.Learning about his son'sbirth, his father, the ruler of Kapilavatthu (S: Kapilavastu), a petty kingdom belongingto the Sdkya (S: Sakya)clan in what is today Nepal, rushedto greet him. Maya died a week after she had given birth, and Gotama was brought up by his father's secondwife, his mother's sister.At the age of 16 he was married to Ya6odhara,a princessfrom a neighbouring realm. Growing up in luxury and surrounded by an attentive family, Gotama was shielded from everythingthat could disturb his mind and make him think of renouncing the world. At the age of 29 Gotama becamethe father of a little boy, who was called Rahula. Gotama's father had ordered that everything unpleasant must be removed when his son took an outing, but it happened that as Prince Gotama was driven through town in his chariot, he encountered on successive ays an old man who could barely walk, a leper whose d extremities had been eaten away by his disease,and a processionwith a corpse on a bier on its way to the cremation grounds. Enquiring of his charioteer what kind of beings thesewere he was told that old age, diseaseand death were the lot of all humans, including himself. He a l s o e n c o u n t e r e da m a n w h o h a d r e n o u n c e d t h e w o r l d , r a d i a t i n g peace and contentment. Gotama began to reflect on his own life and its end. The father, noticing his son's darkening mood, promised to give him everything he wanted, in order to make him happy. Meeting his father, Gotama laid these four requestsbefore him: eternal youth, not followed by old age; unchanging beauty and health, unimpeded by sickness; and '$7hen eternal life without death. his father told him that it was impossiblefor him to grant him thesewishes,he reducedhis wish-list to just one item: to be assuredthat he would not be reborn after leavingthis presentbody. The king could not grant him this wish, either. Thus PrinceGotama left his father,his wife and his young son, and at 'went the age of 29 from home into homelessness',becoming a wandering ascetic, like many of his contemporaries,seeking freedom from rebirth. In later Buddhist art the 'Great Departure' became a favou.ritetopic. The most moving images show his servant returning with Kalthaka, Siddhatta'shorse, the saddleempty. Gotarna at first joined the company of Alara Kalama (S: Arada Kalama), a brahman sage who taught meditation, residing at Veseli.

T H E U D O H A I. 5 B

After Gotama had learned everything that Alara Kalama had to teach, his teacher offered him the leading role in his own community. Siddhatta declined, becausehe had not found what he was looking for. So he left him and joined Uddaka Remaputta (S: Udraka Remaputra), another teacherof meditation, who followed a different system.Siddhattasoon mastered the new technique and, again, was offered the position of leader in this community too. Siddhatta, however, striving for something higher, set out to find alone what he was seeking for. He spent a long time in the loneliness the woods around Uruvele of (S: Uruvilva) in Magadha, close to a small band of five ascetics.He avoidedall contact with people,neglected body and went to extremes his of self-mortification, intent on finding in this way the emancipation of the spirit from the bondageof nature. Later sculpturesshow him at this stage reduced to a skeleton,hollow-eyed, close to death, but far from being enlightened. He realized that this was not the way to find enlightenment.He began to eat nourishing food; the five companions, who previouslyhad admired his asceticism, ready to becomehis disciples as soon as he had accomplishedhis aim, now departed,convincedthat Siddhattahad given up the ideal of renunciatron. But Siddhatta, far from having given up the quest, was determined not to leave the place until he had reachedenlightenment.Accepting a bundle of grass from a grasscutter,he spread it under an A6vattha tree, later to be called the Bodhi tree, and sat down in meditation with the resolution: 'Skin, sinew and bone may wither away, my flesh and blood may dry up in my bodn but without attaining completeenlightenmentI shall not leave this seat.' At this resolve,Mara, the god of life and lust as well as death, became alarmed. He undertook either to frighten Siddhattaout of his resolveor to seducehim into returning to a life of pleasure.He causeda violent storm to break out, castinga shower of sand and rocks, glowing embers and sharp piecesof metal upon Siddhatta.N{ara's missilesturned into flowers when they reachedhis body. When he saw that violence would Tanha not accomplishhis aim he instructedhis three beautiful daughters, to (Thirst), Rati (Desire),and Raga (Passion), seduceSiddhatta.Failing in their efforts, they wished him well in his endeavour towards enlightenment. The great moment that transformed the seeker Gotama into the Buddha, the Enlightened One, came during the full-moon night of Vesdkha(S: Vaisdkha)(May{une), while he was sitting under the Bodhi

t 0 . E u d d h i s mo R r N r R o D U c r o N A H

o
THE BUDDHA'S SELF.PORTRAIT V i c t o r i o uo v e ra l l ,o m n i s c i e n tm l , s a A m o n g l lt h i n g s n d e f i l e d , a u L e a v i n a l l ,t h r o u g h e a t ho f c r a v i n gr e e d , g d f By knowing myself, for whomshouldI follow? F o rm e t h e r ei s n o t e a c h e r Onelike me doesnot exist, In the worldwith its devas N o o n ee o u a l s e . m F o rI a m p e r f e c t e id t h e w o r l d , n T h et e a c h e s u p r e m e m l , r a I alone mall-awakened, a B e c o m e o o la m l , n i r v a n a - a t t a i n e d . c To turn the dhamma wheel I go to Ka6i's city, B e a t i n gh e d r u mo f d e a t h l e s s n e s s t I n a w o r l dt h a t ' s l i n db e c o m e . b L i k em e ,t h e ya r e v i c t o r sn d e e d , i Who havewon to destruction the cankers; of V a n q u i s h e d m e a r e e v i lt h i n g s , by Thereforelamavictor. ( M a h d v a g g a , 8 ,t r a n s .l . B . H o r n e rS B B ,v o l .X I V p p . 1 l - 1 2 ) 1 ,

tree, the tree of enlightenment. The enlightenment did nor consist in achieving the kind of transcendental self-consciousness lturtya) that the Upanisadsspeak of, but in understandingthe concatenationof causes and effectsresponsible the fettersthat keep a personin samsara,thus for enablinghim to snap that bond and becomefree. Time and again in his later sermons the Buddha would emphasize that he had found his enlightenmentalone, without the help or advice of a teacher. The Mahauagga, the first book of the Pali Canon,T begins by recounting the events of the first night after the Buddha's enlightenment: 'Then the Lord sat cross-legged one posture for sevendays at the foot in of the Tree of Awakening experiencing the bliss of freedom.' During each

T H E B U D D H AI I 7

of these nights he contemplated the chain of causesand effects' the forwards and backwards. content of the enlightenmentexperience, happy to have reachedthe end of Free from all desireand ecstatically the arduous journey and gained the ultimate insight into the nature of reality, the new Buddha was ready to leave this world behind for ever. and the sensualdesireof the averagehuman Contrasting the fickleness of with the subtlety and peacefulness what he had found, he thought it to teach his insights to other people. It would be a waste of effort of required the intercession Brahma Sahampatito persuadethe Buddha to teach the Dhamma (S: Dharma) for the benefit of humankind on the grounds that the world would be lost without it, and that there were people who needed iust a little help to gain enlightenment as well. Compassion for his fellow beings who were still entangled in the world of birth and rebirth, and who did not know a way out of suffering, then moved the Buddha to continue life in the body and to teach humankind the Dhamma. The first people to whom the new Buddha wished to communicate his of message enlightenment,were his former teachers,Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, for both of whom he had maintained great respect as wise, learned and intelligent men. Learning. through his newly acquired mental insight that both had died a short time ago, he thought companionsin the Uruvela forest.He tracedthem in his of his five ascetic mind to a deer park called Isipatana,not far from Benares. They had left Gotama, believing that he had fallen from the ideal of renunciation, and on seeing him from a distance they decided to snub him. However, when he came near, they instinctively understood that something transforming had happened to him and honoured him by washing his feet and offering him a meal' They were willing not only to listen but to becomehis companions. In the famous Sermon in the Deer Park at Benares,as it later became known, the Buddha explained to the five for the first time the ariya 'Noble Truths' of the universality of saccdni (S: arya satyanil, the from and the meansto deliverance suffering,its arising, its disappearing through years of asceticismand it. The five, having prepared themselves meditation, instantly reached enlightenment on hearing the Buddha explain the Dhamma. They becamethe Buddha's6rst community'free from the cankers, without grasping'' The Mahauagga concludes its 'At that time there were six arahants (5. arhatl account by stating: fiiberatedones] in the world.'

t A . 0 u d d h A s H o R rr N r R o D U C I o N ism

The beginning of the Buddha's teaching at Benaresbecame known in Buddhismas 'the first turn of the wheel of Dhamma', the initiation of the victorious movement of Buddhism. Soon the community grew: a rich young man by the name of Yasa became friendly with the Buddha and felt attracted by his teaching. Not only did he join the order himself, but he brought his whole family, his relations and friends to the Buddha, increasingthe number of arahants tenfold. More and more people loined; wives and mothers complained about being deprived of husbandsand sonsl but women also wanted to join and the Buddha eventually establishedan order for nuns, acceptinghis aunt and foster mother as the first member. As the community grew, the complexity of religious community life becameapparent and the Buddha had to issuea large number of precepts and prohibitions to regulate the life of an ever larger Sangha. The Buddha did not consider himself the leader of a new religion. While announcing that he had found the greatest truth and reached perfection and enlightenment without the help of a teacher,he did not for a moment demand worship and submission as most other gurus did. He taught the Dhamma, which when understoodand acceptedmakes all people equal. Later on he insisted that the order as a whole act as highest authority, and that no individual arrogate the authority to make decisions independently that affected the communiry. For over forty years Gotama the Buddha, also called Sdkyamuni (S: Sakyamuni),the asceticfrom the Sakya (S: Saty") clan, *andered northeasternIndia with an ever increasing number of followers, preaching to the massesand teaching his close followers how to live in order to reach enlightenment.The 'Middle Way', the avoidance of self-indulgence and extreme self-mortification, combined with an ethical life and a positive attitude towards all, attracted many who otherwise would perhaps not have sought renunciation: 'The followers of the Buddha eat well and take a good rest afterwards', people said, and the Buddha took care that all his monks and nuns had sufficientprovisions and did not lack anything essential. To ensure the maintenance of high ethical standards, the monks and nuns were enjoined to meet in groups every fortnight and to listen to a recitation of all the rules of the order, called the Patimokkha (S: Pratimoksa). The most senior among the group proclaimed the several hundred regulations that had been laid down by the Buddha,8 mostly in answer to questionsof discipline that had arisen. Those who felt guilty of breaches of any of the rules had to speak up and confess their

r T H EB U D D H A l 9

T H E B U D D H A ' ST E S T A M E N T preached truth making distinction between I have the without any exoteric the has andesoteric doctrine: in respect thetruths, Tathegata nosuch for of fist who some things back. thing theclose of a teacher, keeps as leadthe Now the Tathdgata thinksnot that it is he who should is Whythenshould he brotherhood, the order dependent him. or that on leave instructions matter in any concerning order?amn0wgrown the | old, I reached sum my and of years, lourney drawing itsclose,have full my is to of days. Therefore you lamps Be to be untoyourselves. a refuge yourselves. yourself no e)dernal Betake to refuge. fastto thetruthas lamp. Hold Hold fast as a refuge the truth.Looknot for refuge anyone to to besides (From yourselves. the Mahdparinibbdna trans. W. Rhys by Davids, Suttanta, vol. SBE, Xl, pp.3&-8)

transgressions. Unless this was one of the serious breaches of the Buddhist rule, the offender would be given a penance to atone for the lapse. Monks and nuns were also encouraged to report breachesof the regulations observed in others if the offender did not speak up. The Mabauagga and other writings are full of reports of either monks and nuns or laity denouncing to the Buddha or to senior members of the orders behaviour they disliked or found objectionable and unfitting for membersof the Sangha. .u7hen the number of members of the order grew into the thousands, the Buddha delegatedmuch of the responsibility for the ordaining of new members and the refining of the regulations to groups of experienced senior monks and nuns. The Mahaparinibbdna Suttanta, which describesevents from the last year of the Buddha's life,e repofts that Ananda, who had served the Buddha for a long time, asked him about the leadership of the community after his death. Customarily, Indian gurus appointed a successorduring their lifetime, who would then continue to teach and guide with the founder's authority. Not so the Buddha. The Dhamma alone should be the rule and guide of the community; a Dhamma fully and unreservedly communicated to the members. 'Be islands unto

Z O. B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

yourselves, lamps unto yourselves', Buddha told them. His teaching be rhe and the regulations of life of the monastic community as it had developed over the forty years of the Buddha's active life would guide them. When asked what funeral arrangements he wanted to be made, the Buddha said that this was not to be the Sangha's concern but that of the laity. Nevertheless, gave detailed instructions.His dead body should he receive the honours of a cakkauatti (S: cakrauartin\. a world-ruler: it should be embalmed,put in a coffin and later be cremated.The remains should be deposited in a tumulus, later called a thupa (* strpa), at a crossroads. He also promised blessings those who would honour his to memory by putting flowers on the thupa, whitewash it or otherwise expressdevotion to him. Everything was done according to the Buddha's wishes. The devotion to the Buddha'sremains was so ardent, that a 'war of the relics' broke out between different communities who claimed a right to possess them. Eventuallythey were divided up, as tradition has it, and placedin eightyfour thapas.

B U D D H A S F T H EP A S T N D T H EF U T U R E O A
Gotama the Buddha did not claim to have invented 'Buddhism': he described his own enlightenment as the rediscovery of lost and forgonen wisdom, the clearing of an ancient jungle path from the brush that had overgrown and concealedit for generations.According to one utterance he thought that his own clearing would remain open only for five hundred years and that then another Buddha would have to appear to proclaim the true Dhamma for another generation.Similarly,he believed that he had been preceded by other Buddhas. One of the side-effectsof his enlightenment was his ability to look back into his previous births and observehis growth as a bodhisatta (S: bodbisattua\.Lo The Pali Canon, like other Buddhist canons,containsa sectioncalled 'birth-stories'. They reporr 547 earlier births of the future Jatakas, Gotama Buddha: fully fledged Buddhas like Vipa6yi (P: Vipassi), Vi6vabho (P: Vissabhu), Krakucchanda and Kanakamuni, whose life storiesresemblein many detailsthat of Gotama the Buddha, and humans and animals that made heroic exertionstowards gaining enlightenment. One of the best known and most beloved of the earlier incarnationsof Gotama Buddha is that of Prince Vessanrara. As an exemplar of the practiceof heroic altruism, the prince was willing not only to part with

T H E U D D HrA 2 1 B

his material belongingswhen asked by needy fellow humans, but even to give away his wif'e and his children and to offer his own flesh.11 Among the stories told about the previous lives of Gotama the Buddha there are also some that describeevil acts committed by him, for which he was punished in hells. The incarnation, however, that took place immediately before that as the Sdkyamuni was in the Tusita heavensand it is a sign of the Buddha's boundlesscompassionthat he gave up this extremely pleasant form of existence for the sake of an earthly one in which he could become the benefactor of countlesshuman beings. The purpose of these fanciful and entertaining stories is to demonstrate that the Buddha's life experience encompasseseverything possible, and that birth as a human is a unique opportunity to gain enlightenment and thereby freedom from the cycle of existence. In addition, thesestories helped to inculcate in the listenersthe inexorability of the law of karma, one of the cornerstonesof Buddhist teaching. Even the future Buddha was not spared the consequences his actions, and of good deeds, done in lifetime after lifetime, eventually lead to a life in which enlightenment is reached. If Gotama the Buddha's past reaches back over aeons to previous Buddhas whose teachingshave been forgotten, his future is open as well. The Buddha himself was silent when asked whether he would continue to exist or ceaseto exist after his death, but his followers believed that in one form or other he would be with them and at some time in the future reappear.A large part of the Buddhist world expects Buddha Maitreya, the next Buddha, the embodiment of friendliness, to appear and to enlighten the world in the near future.

T H EI M A G EO F T H E B U D D H A
One could hazard a guess that the Buddha is the most frequently portrayed personality in history, and that Buddha images are more numerous than those of any other religious personality. According to tradition the first likeness of the Buddha was a sandalwood statue made during the Buddha's lifetime under the instructions of King Uddyana of Kosambi (S: Kau6ambi).The king orderedit to be made in the likeness of the Buddha at a time when the Buddha himself dwelt for an extended period in the Trdyastrim6a heaven, so that he could look at him during his absence.

Z Z . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

The oldest preserved stone sculptures at the stfipas of Sanchl and Bhdrhut (c.300 rcr) representthe Buddha symbolically in the form of the imprints of his feet, showing the thousand-petalled wheel on the soles, one of the signs of a great personality,lz a tree (the Tree of Enlightenment), wheel (the dhammacakka[S: dbarmacakra],the wheel a of Dhamma) or a column of fire. The oldest known figurative representations the Buddha are linked to two centres:Gandhara and of Mathura. Gandharawas situatedin the areaof the Indo-Greekkingdoms founded by Alexander of Macedonia after his invasion of India around 324 tcr., and the Buddha figures of Gandhara are visibly influenced by Greek Apollo figures. Mathura was the capital of an ancient Indian kingdom; its sculptures are truly and purely Indian. Soon some standard images of the Buddha figure developed: a seated Buddha, a standing Buddha and a reclining Buddha. The latter was exclusively used to representBuddha'sparinibbana (S: pariniruarla).The standing Buddha is usually representedin a regal pose; the sitting Buddha in a meditative or teaching position. Among the most frequently encountered images is the Buddha in bbnmi-spassa- lS: sparia-) mudra (earth-touching pose): the Buddha is seatedin the lotus position, his left hand resting in his lap, his right hand reaching down to the earth. It commemoratesthe Buddha's invocation of the earth as witness for the truth of his teaching. Another frequently found representation is the Buddha in abbaya-mudrd (fearlessness pose); either standing or seated, the Buddha shows his elevated right palm to the onlooker in a gestureof reassurance. The Gandhdra school followed the conventions of naturalistic Hellenistic sculpture and (mass-)produced representations the Buddha of with an often effeminate face, a halo encircling the head, with heavily draped clothing. The Mathurd school developedits own sryle: it did not aim at reproducing a physical likenessof the historic Buddha but rather at expressing the essenceof the Buddha's enlightenment - a completely calmed mind and bodS a supernatural radiance, ethereal grrments.l3 Popular art, in evidenceon thousandsof reliefs and panels,kept recalling the miraculous eventsin the Buddha'slife and the best-likedJataka stories. In line with Indian traditions, the creation of images of the Buddha was soon regulated by a canon that exactly defined the proportions between the different limbs and required the establishment of a grid of vertical and horizontal lines before beginning the work. One such is shown in figure 2. Buddha images are still made today in Sri Lanka

r T H EB U D D H A 2 3

Figure 1 Giant statue of tbe Buddh,z rn Dhvini mudra, Polonnaruwa. Sri Lanka

+l5t/->

Figure 2 Construction schemdtd for the sitting Buddha image according to the Saripurra, a Sri Lankan text

2 4 . 8 u 0 0 h lA ts H|o R r r N r R o o u c r o N s 1'

according to this schema.There is also formal and regular worship of Buddha imagesin Buddhist temples.A specialfestivalis observedduring rvhich the Buddha statue is bathed and anointed and carried in la procession.

T H ER E M E M B R A N C E T H E B U D D H A OF
Remembering the Buddha and evoking his presencehas been for long one of the most popular and highly recommended practicesof Buddhism. 'A As P. Williams says: need for the Buddha to be present, to console, clarify, teach, and perhaps protect, was a significant factor in the development of Buddhism in the centuries after the death of the Master.'15 The Pali Canon containsin many placesl5a short formula that enumerates the salient features of the Buddha, which Buddhists dwell upon to expresstheir devotion to him:'He, the Lord, is arhat,Perfecdy Enlightened, endowed with knowledge and exemplary conduct, the H"ppy One, knower of the worlds, the peerless guide of men to be One.'17 tamed, teacherof gods and men, the Buddha, the Blessed Each of these attributes of the Buddha is further developed according to traditional exegesis. Thus the meaning of arhat is expanded to include freedom from all vice, the cutting off of all the spokes of the wheel of existence,the worthiness to be worshipped as one who does no evil, not 'being endowed with knowleven in secret. The extended meaning of edge' includes insight, psychic powers of the mind, the divine eye, the divine ear, the faculty of reading the minds of others and the ability to 'remembering remember former existences.In this way the practice of the Buddha' becomes a rehearsal of a great deal of Buddhist doctrine. Paul Williams suggests that the visualization of the Buddha in 'was significant factor in the origin of the Mahayana and meditation a Mahayana sfitra literature'.l8 The Rasta-pala Sntra turns the remembrance of the Buddha into a glowing description of the beauty and attractivenessof the glorified Buddha: I praiseyou, who are of a goldenhue, with distinctmarks of eminence, rn and a face like the bright moon. I praiseyou, who are unequalled Your hair is soft, wisdom;nobodyis as pureas you in the whole universe. friendly,shiny; your u54i9ale is like a royal mountain and dazzlingto your eyebrows circleof hair is shining.Your eyesare a look at. Berween like like an oystershell, bright snow,like the blue beautifullike jasmine, on lotus. You look with tenderness this earth.Your tongueis long, thin

+ rHE BUDDHA 25

20 and red and you conceal it in your mouth, with which you teach the Law to the world. I praise you and your sweet and lovely speech.Your teeth are bright, firm like a diamond, forty in number, set close. You teach the world through your smile. I praise you and your sweet and truthful Your beauty is unequalledand your glory illumines a large area. speech. Your legs are finer than that of a deer; with the gait of an elephant, a peacock, a lion you walk. Your body is covered with auspicious signs, your skin is soft and golden. The world is never satisfied,looking at your beauty . . . Your mind is full of compassion for all creatures.You delight in generosity and virtue, in tranquillity and fortitude. Your voice is like that of a cuckoo. I praise you, the highestand best of men.21

L T H EW O M E NI N T H E B U D D H A ' S I F E
All traditional accounts report the miraculous conception of the Bodhisatta and his exraordinary birth from Meye, as well as Maya's death within a week of the Budciha'sbirth and her sister'staking over motherly responsibilitiesfor young Prince Gotama. There are many reliefs depicting these scenes,with Maya being quite prominent. Similarlg all traditional accounts of the Buddha's life report the youthful Gotama's a marriage to Ya3odhard,zz princessfrom a neighbouring country. The Sanskrit work Mahauastuhas preserveda story about Gautama's King Suddhodana, Gautama's features. wooing that addssome interesting father, invites a number of nubile high-born maidens to seeto whom the prince will be attracted. Gautama's eyes fall on Ya6odhard, daughter of the Sakyannoble Mahanama. When King Suddhodanaasks Ivlahanema 'I to give his daughterin marriageto Gautama he is rebuked: cannot give the lad has grown up among the Ya6odhardto the young prince. Because women, he has not advancedat all in the arts, in archery in elephant In riding, in handling bow and sword, and in kingly accomplishments. short, the prince has made no progressat all.'23King Sfiddhodanaagrees: 'Out of too much affection I have not trained the lad in any art.' Gautama, upon learning about the rejectionand its reason,invitesall the youths from the surrounding towns and provinces,who are known for their skills in the martial arts, to a competition. At this Gautama shows extraordinary strengthand skills in all disciplinesand easilywins all the sporting events.There no longer is any hindranceto his marrying who loves him as much as he lovesher. Her love 15-year-oldYa3odhara, towards him, and her rejection of all who ask her to marry them, after the Buddha'sdeparture,is a constant theme in thesestories.

2 0 . B u d d hA s m o R rr N r B o D U C r o N i sH

Ya6odhard appearsinthe Jatakasas Gautama'sspousein all kinds of circumstances. One Jataka in particular is noteworthy. In this we learn t h a t i t u a s Y a ( o d h a r a , i n t h e f o r m o f a t i g r e s s .w h o a t o n e t i m e appointed the Bodhisatta,in the shapeof a lion, as king of the animal world.2aVe also learn that Ya6odharA, former incarnations,had often in s a v e dt h e B o d h i s a t t a ' ls f e . 2 s i Quite generally,there is a tendency in the Mahauastu to identify YaSodhard with important mythical figuresand to give her a fairly active role in the life of the Bodhisattva.Sheis described resourcefuland as a as strong and an important person at the court of Kapilavastu:she is third in rank after the king, his fatheq and Mahapralapati Gautami (P: MahapaydpatiGotami), his foster mother. Gautama's leaving her does not seemto have diminishedher position: sheis recountedas being at the head of a retinue of women to receivethe Buddha on his 6rst visit to his home town and to witnesshis first encounterwith his son. whom he had left as a newborn in the arms of his mother. Most traditional accountshave Ya6odhara encouragingRahula to ask the Buddha, when he comes to visit his home town, for his patrimony and the Buddha showing him his robes, his begging bowl and his followers as his inheritanc..2t The Pali Canon tells of Rahula's taking ordination and of Mahapalapati'senrreatingthe Buddha to allow women to ioin the Sangha.The Mahauastu repofis how Mahapralapati had turned blind from weeping about Gautama's deparrure and how the Buddhamiraculouslyrestoredher eyesight. Both she and Ya6odhara take monasticvows and becomehighiy respected nuns. The frequency with which Ya6odhara is mentioned, and the very positiverole which she plays in the successive births of the Bodhisatva, .Why indicatesa loving relationship. then did he leaveher without asking for her consent?It was certainly not a caseof personal disaffectionor mutual dislike, but rather the perceptionof a higher goal that required full engagement the mind, and that he perceivedas incompatiblewith of life in a family. It was a 'calling' that demanded a total dedication something all reLgions are familiar with, and that jars with ordinary perceptions the good life. of
NOTES

1. For a surveyof existingscholarly(Western) Buddha biographies and 'Biographies the Buddha'. extensive bibliograph,v Shaner, see of (or 2. Thereare several traditionalbiographies ratherhagiographies) the of

T H E U D D HrA 2 7 B

J.

1.

Buddha,n'hich are widell' knorvn in the Buddhistworld. One of these, served the background Edwin Arnold's famous as to the Buddhacarita, other book to make Buddhism Light of Asia, which did more than anvknown in Europe in the late nineteenthcentury.Indian leaderslike Nehru loved it and recommended it. Mahatma Gandhi and Jarvaharlal the of ln 1956 the Buddhistworld celebrated 2,500th anniversary the pariniruana. Buddha's Assuming life spanof eightyyears,that wouid a 'Western give us 524-544 BCE the datesof the Buddha'slife. Most as scholars oreferdatesof c. 480-400 scr.. See Bechirt, The Dating of the Historical Buddha and Dissanayake, 'Notes on Revising the HistoricalDatesof the Buddha'rn'hich refersto RichardGombrich's suggestion datingthe Buddhain the fifth century of
BCE.

5 . The prognostication was made on the basisof the 'thirty-two signs' (laksana) which the body of a world-ruler or world-teacher exhibits. They are mentionedin various texts (e.g.Dtgha Nikaya III, 142-791. Buddha, when challenged somelatertime in his life, showedthem to a at doubter. o . Traditionalhistory emphasizes and traditional Buddhistart showsthat shegavebirth to her son standingupright, holding fast to trvo sal treesthat were growing closetogether. 7 . In the Chattasangani edition,follou'edby the Pali Canonin Devandgari (19s6ff\. 8 . It is a question scholarly of debate to when exactlythe present as form of the Patimokkha as found in the Pali Canon was finalized.There is ncr (uposathal doubt, howeveqthat the institutionof fortnightly meetings and the core of the regulations in contained the Patimokkbago back to the Buddha's own mandate. o Englishtranslationb,vT. !U. Rhys Davids in BuddhistSuttas, SBE,vol. XI, pp. 1-136. 1 0 .The term bodhisat(t)ua not beensatisfactorily has explainedaccording to its grammatical form. It is usuall,v translated a 'Buddha-to-be', as a personon the \\''avto enlightenment, and is usedvariouslyto describe previousbirths of GautamaBuddhaas told in the Jatakaswhich form part of the Pali Canon, or an aspiranttowards Buddhahood who has madethe vow to engage heroicactivities behalfof humankind,or in on supernatural beingswho aid humansin their struggle towards enlightenment. 1 1 . SeeGombrich and Cone, The Perfect Generosityof Prince Vessantara. 1 2 . The thirty-two laksana (great signs) are supplementedby eighty (lesser The former are enumerated the Lakkbana anuuyaitjana signs). in Sutta, Dtghd l,likaya lll, 142-79. I - t . See Ra,v,'Theidea and imageof "bodhi"', in ldea and Image in [ndian Art, pp. 9-52. t 4 de Silva, 'Worship of the Buddha Image' and Bhikku Punnaji, 'The Significance ImageWorship'.See of alsoHarvey,'Venerated Objectsand Symbols Early Buddhism'. of l . ) . Williams, Mahayana Buddhism,p. 219.

Z g . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r B o D U C r o N i m

15. E.g. Drgba Nikaya l, 49. 17. Avery detailed description the 'Meditationon the Buddha'(Buddhaof anussati bhauanalis providedby Paravahera Vajiranana Mahatherarn Buddhist Meditation in Tbeory and Practice,pp. 1,85-97. 1 8 . W i l l i a m s ,M a h d y a n a u d d b i s m p . 2 1 9 . B , 19. The usnisais a protuberance the head, which appeared on when the Buddhareached It enlightenment. is one of the distinguishing marks on all figures the Buddha. of 20. This was also one of the thirty-two distinguishing marks of a great personality.In a story concerningthe demonstrationof theseto a king, Buddhais saidto haveshown his tonguecapableof reaching both ears, when stretchedout. 21,. As quoted in Santideva's Siksata*urcaya, chapter1.8. 22. The Pali Canon reports the marriage of Gotama to Ya6odhare,her receiving Buddhain Kapilavatthu, promptingtheir sonRahulato the her ask for his patrimonn and her eventual joining the order. There are numerousreferences her in the suttas,but she does not play a major to role. By contrast, the Mahauasf2, which according to S. Bagchi, the editor of the Mithila edition text, 'occupiesa position of supreme importance in the entire domain of Buddhist Sanskrit literature' Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, vol. XIV (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1970), Introduction,p. 1, accordsa fairly central role to her. She is mentioned in virtually all the Jatakas as a previous spouse of the Bodhisattva and playsan important role. Mahauastu,II, trans. J. J. Jones,SBB,vol. LIII, pp. 70ff. 24. The gtory is about the animals looking out for a king and agreeingthat the one who first reachedthe Himalayas would be their king. A tigress arrivesfirst and since'nowhere are femaleskings, everywhere malesare (in kings'the other animalspersuade tigress order not to breaktheir the agreement) choosea king from amongthe male animals.Sherejects to the bull and the elephant,and chooses lion. The tigress,Buddhatells the his listeners, was Ya6odhari,the bull was Sundarinanda, elephant the Devadatta,and the lion the furure Buddha. 2 5 . E.g. in the SyamaJataka. 2 6 . There is a version in the Mahauastu th^t makes Ya6odhara concealthe Buddha'sfatherhood of Rahula. Rdhula has to find out by questioning why he feelsso comfortable in the 'recluse's shadow' (Vol. III, p. 2471.

THE DHAMMA: BACKGBOUND AND EXPRESSIONS

THE CONTEMPORARY

INDIAN BACKGROUND

Karma (P: kammal and saritsdra spite of the uniqueness which the Buddha claimed for his insight and Jn I the originaliry of his teaching,he sharedmost of the culture and the world picture of his Indian contemporaries. He accepted the commdn belief in reincarnation:his father'sinability to guaranteehim exemption from this universal fate was the last confirmation for his resolve to leave the world and devote himself to the search for immortality. He likewise sharedthe common beliefsin gods and demons,in heavens and hells,in auspiciousand inauspiciousomens.What made his belief different from that of his contemporarieswas that he did not consider any of these ultimately relevant. Similarly, the Buddha believed that his present, last existencehad been precededby many other existences, and that the Buddha had not come just once into this world, but many times before. Unique as his teachings appeared, they were but a restatement of an eternal, forgotten truth. The Buddha compared his activity with the clearing of a lungle path that had been overgrown owing to neglectof maintenance: did he not claim to have made the path, but rather to have rediscovered it. In a remarkable story he tells his discipleS about some of his predecessors millions of years ago: of It is now ninety-one aeons ago, sinceVipassi, ExaltedOne, Arahant, the BuddhaSupreme, in arose the world. It is now thirty-oneaeons ago,since

g O . B u d d h is H o Rr N r F o D U C r o N A m

Sikhi,the Exalted One,Arahanr, Buddha Supreme, arose the world . . . in It is in this auspicious aeon,thar now I, an Arahant,BuddhaSupreme, havearisen the world.r in The life history of Vipassi, of ninety-one aeons before, is remarkably similar to his own. The Buddha did not expect his own order to lasr forever, either: the time would come u'hen the jungle path would overgrow again and a new Buddha would have to arise ro clear it. One common assumptionin particular, that of samsara and karma, the Buddha not only sharedwith his contemporaries, was the decisive ir impetus for his quest: If threethingswere not presenr the world the PerfectOne would not in appear thisworld,theSupreme in Buddha, teaching theorderthat the and he announced wouldnot shine thisworld.\What these in are threethings? Birth and old ageand death.2 Samsara, endless the cycle of birth, old age and death is a necessity, fact a which no one can change. Thereare five thingswhich no beingin this world, nor a god nor Mera can obtain:that that which belongs old agedoesnot become to old; that that which belongsto death does not die; that that which belongsto sickness, doesnot fall sick;that thar which belongs decay, to doesnot decay; that that which belongs rime,doesnot ceas..3 ro Every new beginningis the beginningof a death: 'As fully ripe fruit are threatenedto fall in the early morning, thus everything that is born is threatened by death.'a By contrast, when the texts tell about the achievementof enlightenmenrby a person, the srereotypicalformula says:'Destroyedis rebirth . . . there is no more return to this world.' The obvious transienceof every"thing pressinghard on the Buddhist; is the Great Non-Sense of the unceasinground of birth and death is the 'suffering' universal'ill', the inescapable of all. This universallaw, however, is not mechanical,but is working ethically-morally. The mind-frame of a person, the inclinations, the past experiences determine the future. 'lntentionality' is the Buddhist criterion for the crearion of karma. There are some remarkable storiesin the Pdii Canon, in which serious breachesof the Vinaya are brought to the Buddha's attenrion, and bhikkhus ask what the punishment should be. The Buddha always asks

T H E H A M Mr 3 1 D A

first whether theseoffences were committed intentionally.If the answerls in the negative, he rules that there is no offence, no need for a punishment - no bad karma. On the other side, intended acts, never executed, bring bad karma, thougb they are not punishable offences according to the rules of the Vinaya. What we are is the fruit of what rve have thought and done. As all his chain of contemporariesdid, so also the Buddha posits a beginningless karma.lt is not possibleto go back to the time before karma, to 6nd a point in time when one was free frorn desire,not enmeshed ignorance. in However, there is an end to it, if orre follorvs the Buddha'steachings. The Buddha not only statesthe universalit,v the law of karma, he of sees the connections between the different stages that lead from ignoranceto rebirth. This analysisof the conditions of rebirth is quire way of eliminating rebirth by uniquely Buddhist, and so is the suggested reducing its conditions: else. shouldbe It to This body is not yours,nor doesit belong someone willedand effected n'hathadbeen by seen theresult previous as of karnta, of felt. In this connection well-trained the disciple the NobleOne reflects From the if wisely on conditioned origination: that is, that becomes. is origination this originates of that.If _that not, thiswill not be.Through the cessation that this u'ill cease.' of The great ill, from which the Buddhist seeksliberation, is the eternal cycle of becomingand unbecoming,regulatedbv implacableharma.The aim is to escapefrom it. This can only be done by finding a position outside karma. Only by eliminating all dharmas can one get outside the rangeof karma. Freedomcan only be gainedby dissolvingone by one the links of the Chain of DependentCo-origination, thus escapingfrom rebirth and re-death. Dharma (P: dhammal Dharma or dhamma (derived from the Sanskrit root dbr, to sustain, uphold) is one of the most frequentiy encountered words in Indian religionsand it has a great many different meaningsin various contexts: laq doctrine, established order,'element',somethingirreducibleeither rn thought, languageor physical reality. In Buddhism it is used to describe the teaching of the Buddha, the Buddhd-dbamma,as well as a specific Buddhist teachingabout the nature of reality.

ism 3 2 . 0 u d d h A s H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

Buddhism differs from most other Indian schools of thought in so far as it does not assumethe existenceof an eternal material or spiritual primary substance out of which the manifold world evolved.Nor doesit attempt to explain the world-processby postulating an interplay of a multitude of unchangingentities.The Buddha explains the phenomenal world as 'composite',that is composedof a large (but finite) number of elements, called dharmas.u The insight into its composite character depriveseverything of its apparently substantialindividuality. If things are composedof so many interchangeable elements, there is nothing that ri'ould make them individual entities.Dharmas are colours.sounds.sense good and bad luck, faculties,breath, feelings,statesof consciousness, birth, death and so on. A dharma is definedas a 'carrier of its qualities',a 'factor of existence', component of so-called a reality.Dharmas originate from other dharmas in functional dependence and they ceaseto exist once their energy is exhausted. AII dhdrmas - with the exception of niruana (P: nibbanal - are transient,i.e. duhkha (P: dukkhal. Applied to human existence, dharma theory yields the insight that the a human being is a composite of many dharmas, none of which is permanent. Personality is not 'in-dividuality', i.e. a being that is indivisible, but 'dividuaiity', i.e. a bundle of factors of existencewhose c o m p o s i t i o nf o l l o w s a c e r t a i np a t t e r n . In detail, the human person is divisible into five groups of dbarmas, calledskandlas (bundles,aggregates), namely: . r i l p a i ' b o d y ' ; a l l p e r c e p t i b l eo r m s ; f o uedana:'feeling';all feelingsof pleasureand pain; o samifta (P: safifia): 'perception', all that can be perceived or imagined, including the faculty to discern perceived and imagined objects;7 . salnskara (P: saikhara): 'motive forces', the power that produces something as well as that which has been produced. The samskdras are responsiblefor the formation of karma. They comprise attachment to (bodily) life, desire,delusion,aversion,volition; . uiifrdna lP: uiiiana):'consciousness', elementthat transmigrates in the for reincarnation. a new rebirth and is thus responsible None of these aggregates,nor the totality of them bundled together, is identical with the 'self', or constitutes an immortal substancecalled 'soul'. Many have concluded from the Buddha's refusal to ascribe substantialityto any of thesefactors that he preacheda form of nihilism.

T H E H A M Mr 3 3 D A

Buddhists have at all times rejected this interpretatron of anatta (S: anatma). As lValpola Rahula insists:
The Buddha's teaching on Anattd, or No-Self, should not be consideredas negativeor annihilistic[slc].Like Nirvana, it is Truth, Reality;and Reality cannot be negative.It is the false belief in a non-existingimaginary self that is negative.The teaching of Anatta dispells the darknessof false beliefs,and producesthe light of wisdom. It is not negative:as Asanga 'There is the fact of No-selfness (nairatmyastita\'.' very aptly says: It is one of the most common and dangerous illusions to identify the 'self'

with any of the five shandhas (P: khandas). The disciple has first to learn, therefore, that no dharma can be the self. At no place do we read that there is no self - only that it is not identical with any of the transient dharmas. As one text has it: The well-instructed disciple of the Noble One does not consider the bodily shapeas the self, or the self as somethingthat has bodily form, or bodily form as something that exists in the self, or the self as something that existsin bodily form . . . He doesnot considerfeelingas the self or the self as something that has feelings . . . He does not consider perception as the self, or the self as having perception . . . He does not consider motive forces as the self or the self as having motive forces . . . He does not . considerconsciousness the self or the self as having consciousness . . as He understands each of these aggregatesas it really is, that it is impermanent, painful, non-self; composite and leading to decay. He does not approach them, does not grasp them, and does not identify them as 'my 'that is not self'. The well-instructed discipleseesin bodily form, etc. mine, that is not me, that is not my self'. Thus, when bodily form, etc. changesthere does not arise in him sorrow, anxiety, suffering, complaint or oesPalr.'

Mdra Time and again we meet the figure of Mera in the canonical texts. We have seen Mara approach the Buddha, attempting to confuse him, to prevent him from announcing his dharma to the world. In early Buddhism Mera becomesthe personificationof evil, the Lord of this world. He addresses Buddha: 'To me belongthe eye,all bodily forms, the the field of vision . . . To me belong the ear, the sounds, the field of a u d i t i o n. . . T o m e b e l o n gt h e n o s e . . . t h e t o n g u e. . . t h e b o d y . . . t h e

g + . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C l o N i m

mind, the conditions of mind, the field of mind cognition.'10 The Buddha 'All this, concedes: O evil one, is yours. But where all that is nor, you have no access.' Mara is described as the consranr opponent of all who strive for liberation. 'Mera is following you everywhere', the Buddha tells his followers. Mera is in fact the ancienr Indian god of death, and at the sametime the personification lust for life, the power of transience of that attractspeople.Ultimately it is the power that keepshumans within the cycle of becoming. The Buddha wanrs us ro escapefrom death, from transience,from samsdra.Only that rvhich can decaycan die; and die it must, if it can decay.What is beyond, is outsidethe sphereof Mera. It is one of the great accomplishments the Buddha to have defeatedMara of on his own ground, to have escaped from his domain into the realm that is no longer under his rule.

H I N A Y A N A , A H A Y A N A , A J R A Y A N A :U D D H I S M , M V B O N EO R M A N Y ?
Buddhist Origins The Pali Canon contains a rexr1l rhar purports to conrain the very first public teaching of the Buddha after reaching enlightenment,addressed to the five asceticswho had been living with him in Uruvela and who had abandoned him shortly before his enlightenment. It is called DhammacakkappauattanaSutta, or rhe 'sermon on the Turning of the Vheel of dhamma'. Rhys Davids. the first rranslaror, gave it the title 'The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness', because contains it the basic teaching of early Buddhism, the core of the Buddha's messsage. There are two extremes,the Buddha says,which a person who has renounced the world, is nor to follow: ihe ways of the 'world', i.e. seekingsense gratifications,following the passions, and the way of 'self- both these ways are 'painful, unworthv and unprofitable'. torture' 'There is a Middle'Way', the Buddha says,'avoiding thesetlvo extrcmes, discovered by the Tathagata - a path that opens the eyes and bestows understanding, which leads to peaceof mind, to the higher wisdom, to fulf enlightenment,to nibbana.' And what is that middle way ? It is the Noble Eiehtfold Path which consistsof:

r T H ED H A M M A 3 5

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 5. 7. 8.

right views (sammaditthi); right aspirationssammasaritkappa\; \ right speech(sammauaca\; right conduct (sammakamanta); right livelihood (sammaajlual; right effort (sammauayama); right mindfulness(sanrmasati); ( right contemplation sammasamddhil.

that what he announcedto the world as repeatedl,v The Buddha emphasized 'Four Noble Truths', was 'not among the doctrines handed down, but the there arosewithin me the eye,there arosein me the knowledge,there arose in me the understanding,there arose within me the wisdom, there arose of within me the light': they constitute the very essence his enlightenment. 1 . ' T h i s i s t h e n o b l e t r u t h c o n c e r n i n gs u f f e r i n g ( d u k k h a ) : r 2b i r t h i s suffering, decay is suffering, diseaseis suffering, death is suffering' is is Union with the unpleasant suffering;separationfrom the pleasant suffering;any desirethat is not satisfiedis suffering.' 2. 'This is the noble truth concerningthe origin of suffering (dukkhasamudaya): it is that craving (tanha; S: trsna)13 that causes the entering into a new birth, accompanied by sensualdelight which seeks satisfaction here and there, craving for the gratification of passions, craving for a future life, craving for success.' 'This is the noble truth concerning the end of suffering (dukkha3. nirodha): this is the end, where no passionremains, no craving; the getting rid of craving.' 4. 'This is the noble truth concerningthe way which leadsto the end of it suffering (dukkha-nirodha-gamint): is this Noble Eightfold Path.' The Pali Canon and the teachingit containsbelong to the tradition of the 'The Elders'. Besides this very well-documentedand wellTheravedins, line of transmissionof the Buddha-dhamma,there are many represented others that arose in course of time and that competed with it in the representing Buddha'strue teaching.We read in the Pili Canon about t h e B u d d h a ' sc o n c e r n t o m a r n t a i n u n i t y i n t h e S a n g h aa n d a b o u t h i s cousin Devadatta'sattempt to split the Sangha- one of the most serious offencesa Buddhist can commit, which is punishedby expulsion. as Disagreements regardsthe content of the Buddha'steaching and of interpretationof his rules of disciplinearose many times the latitude

g 0 . E u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

during the Buddha'slifetime, and the Pali canon reporrsmany lnstances where the Buddha corrects misunderstandings. practical matters he In appearsto have been very generousin permitting modificationsrequired by different circumstancesand climates. After his death it was the Sangha's function to settle disputes between members. As we know from historyla not all disputescould be settled and severalmajor traditions developed within Buddhism that disagreed with each other on points of doctrine as well as discipline. From the viewpoint of the samdhinirmocana siltra, severalcenturies later' the Buddha'ssermon in the deer park near Benareswas only the first of three turns of the wheel, the beginning of the promulgation of the teaching that was to culminate in the wisdom proclaimed in this very sitra. From this perspective the first teaching, as it appears in the pili canon, was 'minor' compared to the 'major' teachingsof the prajfiapdramitA (Perfection visdom) texts; it was dubbed Hrnayana, 'small of vehicle' as compared to the MahayAna, the 'Great Vehicle' which containedthe full revelation of the Buddha. The first turning of the wheel produced the teaching of the Four Noble Truths. But, wonderful as it was, it was 'provisional, subject to various interpretations and to disputes'.The secondturning of the wheel, 'proclaiming emptiness to those who had correctly entered the Mahayana', taught the non-substantialityof all things. This too, was found provisional, subjectto various inrerpretations and to disputes: The Bhagavdn rurned the third wheel of docrrine,ver1,wondrousand amazing, possessing good differentiations thosewho have correctly for entered the vehicles, all dealing with the lack of enriryness phenomena, of that areunproduced, unceased, originally quiescent, naturally and passed beyond sorrow. This wheel of docrrine turned by the Bhagavanrs unsurpassed, provisional, definitive not of meaning, is indisputable.l5 it

The Mahdydna The reasonsfor the rise of Mahayana are complex and scholars are far from unanimous in their views concerning the origin of this form of Buddhism and of its relation to Hinaydna Buddhism. For a long time it rvas believed(a belief supported by weighty argumentsfrom established scholars)that Mahayana represented lay movement within Buddhism a that strove for a more egalitarian constitution and a lessening of

T H E H A M Mr 3 7 D A

It emphasis monasticasceticism. was assumed on that the Mahasanghikas, who split off from the main body in the SecondCouncil, were the core group out of which the multifarious Maheyana developed.While many scholars,especially the Japanese, still hold to the view of the lay origins 'Western of Mahayana, a group of younger scholars,l6resting their case on archaeologicalas well as historical arguments, has come to the conclusion that Mahayana began as a minority monastic movement within the Sanghaand remainedas such for severalcenturies, down to at least the fifth century cr.tt Ac.o.ding to them Mahayana does not representan innovation or a drastic change but only an emphasison specificelementsalready present in traditional Buddhist teaching as it was codified in the Pali Canon. G. Schopen, one of the principal advocates of that view, argues that the prominence of texts - specific sutras - suggests monastic origin. He further proposesthat Mahayana, a far from being an organized movement that set itself up against Hinayana, developed locally around the followers of certain sitras that were held in high esteem.18 Mahayana arosebefore the final establishment the Pali Canon, i.e. of before the Theravdda school had finalized its textual tradition of the Buddha teachings. The Mahayena sutras, often beginning with euam maya irutam (thus has beenheard by me), claim to be the Buddha'sword with the same status (or even more) as the suttas of the Pali Canon. In their later polemics the Mahayanists not only refuted Hindu and Jain schoolsof thought, but also Hinayanists.This, however,should not make us overlook the fact that not only were the words of the Buddha as preserved the Pali Canon the foundation of Mahayana too, but there is in much that Hinayana and Mahayana have in common, as expressed a in statementby a leading Buddhist scholar,Walpola Rahula, at the World Buddhist SanghaCouncil on 27 January 1967: . The Buddha our only Master. is 'We o take refugein the Buddha,the Dhammaand the Sangha. r o We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by a god. Following the exampleof the Buddha,who is the embodimentof (maha-karund\ Great Wisdom(mahd-praifial, GreatCompassion and we consider that the purposeof life is to developcompassion all for living beingswithout discriminationand ro work for their good, happiness peace; to develop and and wisdomleading cherealization ro of UltimateTruth.

A m s g . B u d d h is H o Rr N r H o D U C r o N

'We

accept the Four Noble Truths, namelv Dukkha, the Arising of Dukkha, and the Path leading to the Cessationof Dukkha; and the universallaw of causeand effect as taught in the prattty'a-santutpada (Conditioned Genesisor DependentOrigination). 'We understand, according to the teaching of the Buddha, that all dra) are impermanentlanitt'a) and dukkha, conditionedthings (sa4sA and that all conditioned and unconditioned rhinss (dharma\ are without self (anatma). We accept the Thirtl'-seven Qualitres conducive to Enlightenment (bodhipaksa-dbarmalas different aspectsof the Path taught by the Buddha leading to Enlightenment. There are three wavs of atteining botlhi or Enlightenment, a c c o r d i n gt o t h e a b i l i t , va n d c a p a c i t vo f e a c h i n d i v i d u a l : n a m e l y a s a a d i s c i p l e( i r a u a k a ) , a s a P r a n ' e k a - B u d d h a n d a s a S a m , v a k - s a m B u d d h a ( P e r f e c t l y n d F u l l y E n l i g h t e n e dB u d d h a ) .V I e a c c e p ti t a s a the highest,noblest, and most heroic to follow the career of a B B o d h i s a t t v aa n d t o b e c o m ea S a m l ' a k - s a m u d d h a i n o r d e r t o s a v e others. with regard We admit that in different countriesthere are differences to the life of Buddhist monks, popular Buddhist beliefsand practices, rites and ceremonies, customs and habits. These external forms and of teachings the should not be confusedu'ith the essential expressions Ie Buddha.

There are, howeveq in numerous Mahayana writings instances of negativecomparisonswith the Hinayana. As one of thesehas it: 'Whosoever, after gaining the thought of enlightenmenr \bodhicittawith but scriptures communicates utpada) doesnot studythe trtlahayana studies them and the adherents the Hinavina, readstheir scriptures, of dull them.becomes rvittedand is thrown backon recites themor teaches n'isdomeye he ma,vhave gained,rt the Road to Wisdom. Whatever b e c o m ed u l l a n d i n e f f e c t i v e . - 0 s Nevertheless, Hinayana continued to flourish in India side by side with Mahayena. Both traditions had renowned collegesand monasteries2l and often Hinayanistsand Mahayanistslived under the same roof. Both went out to propagateBuddhism Hinayana and Mahayana missionaries all over Asia. lVhile Hina.vana became the predominant form of \ t B u d d h i s mi n S o u t h a n d S o u t h - E e sA s i a , 2 2 { a h a v e n a s p r e a dm a i n l y i n North and East Asia and proliferated into a great number of schoolsin

T H E H A M M .A 3 9 D

Tibet, China and Japan. However, various Hinaydna schools also survived in China and Japan. The Mahayena itself is not a homogenous phenomenon. While rejectingthe literalism of (some)Theravada schools,the exponentsof a more sophisticated philosophical or mystical understanding of the Buddha'steaching did not reach agreementon some very fundamental issues, and severalmaior schoolsof Mahayana, each with its own setsof preferred sitras, emerged. As the quotation from the Samdhinirmocana rhe adherentsof the (Mahayana) school of Sutra (p.35) would suggest, 'third turn of the wheel', Cittamdtra (or Yogdcara),recipients of the superior to the adherentsof the (Mahayana) would considerthemselves 'second school of Madhyamaka, who receivedonly the teaching of the turn'. It is not so much a changein Buddhistdoctrine that set one school againstthe other, as a different emphasison a specificpoint of generally and non-substantiality Buddhistteaching,such as the emptiness accepted of everything. It should be made clear that these philosophicaldifferencesdid not produce a split in the Sangha: adherentsof the Madhyamaka or the Yogicdra schools continued to be ordained in the same monastlc 'Old School'.Thioughout the followers tradition as the adherentsof the of the Mahayana acceptedthe Vinaya of the HinaySnistsand did not produce new monastic codes. Some would insist that Mahaydna lessa differencein doctrine than in attitude: while Hinaydnists expressed and to attain arahatta, supposedlystrove to perfect (only) themselves Mahayanistscultivateduniversalcompassionfor all sufferingbeingsand were to strive towards complete Buddhahood. A further, rather interesting difference between Theravada, Hinayana23and Mahayana is the use of language:while Pali, a Middle Indian language close to the Magadhi spoken by the Buddha, is the sacredlanguageof the Theravddins- not only the Pali Canon itself, but also commentaries on it were composed in that language by the Buddhistsof Sri Lanka, whose mother tongue was Sinhala- Sanskrit,the sacred language of Hindu India, became the preferred medium for writers in the Mahayena traditions. By adopting Sanskritthey were able to reconnect with Hindu scholarship and engage in extensivedebates with the followers of other systemsof thought. The Trikaya (Three Bodies) doctrine is one distinctive develoPment of Mahayana as against Hinayana. All Buddhists came to believe that Gotama the Buddha. whose life and death were recorded, was only a

+ O. 0 u d d h iA mH o R r r N r R o D U c r o N ss

phenomenaland ephemeral manifestation of some transcendentaland eternal reality. They began to distinguish his rnpa-kaya, the visible bodily appearance in a human body, from his dharma-kaya, the invisible transcendentalessenceof his enlightenment teaching.2aThe Yogdcdrins perfected that development by subdividing the rupa imo nirmana-kdya and sambhoga-kaya, thus teaching a trikaya-docrnne, rather crudely translated as the 'Teaching of the Buddha's Three Bodies'. The nirmana-kaya Buddha is the temporal form, in which the Buddha appears like an ordinary mortal and teaches the dhamma through ordinary language. the view of the Mahayanists,this is the focus of the In HinayAna. The sambhogba-kaya, 'Glorious Buddha', is central to Mahayana: the He is the supreme objectof faith and devotion, ultimaredazzling the focus into which are concentrated innumerable like converging beams lighr, of all thoseincipientstrivingsand yearnings the hearr,thosehalf-blind of impulses perfection, to thosemighty soaring flighrsof love and adoration . . . His gloriousbody adorned with the thirty-rwomajor and eightyminor marks of a Buddha,the illimitable radianceof which fills the entrre cosmos,has ever been a favourite subjectof Mahayanaart, and the various transcendental formsin which it dawnssunlikeabovethe horizon of the devotee's meditationhavein rhe courseof rime beenembodied rn works of art, which apart from their valueas supports the spirituallife of in general and rhe pracriceof medirationin particular,are acclaimed as beingamongthe greatest artisrictreasures mankind.2s of The dharma-kdya,the 'essential Buddha', cannot be described, but is the source and ultimate end of all Buddhas and of all efforts towards enlightenment. The dharma-kaya can make everything a mean, of communicating itself to ignorant people. The Lankauatara sutra declares that just as there are many words designatingone and the same thing 'like a hand), there are hundredsof thousandsof namesunder which the Tathagatacan be known - even the names of the Hindu deitiessuch as Brahmd, Visnu, or abstract notions hke niruana, iunyata, dharmaJhdtu.26 The Vajraydna From around 300 cr there emergedin some parts of India - in Bengal and Assamin the eastand in the district of Uddiyana in the west - a new

I T H ED H A M M A 4 , I

'Tantric'.27 The word tantra form of Buddhism, which has been termed 'loom', 'thread', but was soon understood as a or originally meant technical term implying magic and secret rites.28Tantra, which did not remain restricted to Buddhism but extended to many forms of Hinduism,2e did not arise suddenly. It resulted from the growth of magical beliefs and ritual practices in popular religion, and from ideas in somecirclesof mainstreamMahayana Buddhism.What some considera 'third vehicle', calling it the 'Vajraydna' or 'Diamond Vehicle', others would hold to be a special form of Maheyana. As with Hinayana and Maheyana, the difference berween Mahayana and Vajraydna is not easy to establish,especiallysince frequently a Buddhist might be ordained in a Hlnaydna tradition, follow a Mahayana philosophical school, and practisecertain rituals of Vajrayana. The Tibetan historian of Buddhism, Bu-ston Rimpoche (1.290-1364), flourishing in a Buddhist culture that was permeated with magic and miracles,embellishedmany biographiesof important Buddhist teachers of earlier times with stories of miracles and magical feats. Thus he creditedNdgdrjuna (c. 100-50 cr), the great (Mahaynna)Madhyamaka master, with miraculously providing meals for five hundred monks during the time of a long famine, by means of a gold-producing elixir, from a piece of clay and with building ten million Buddhist sanctuaries obtained from the king of the Nagas.30 Similarly, he reported that Santideva (eighth century cE), flourishing at a time when Tantric Buddhism was already openly established,was able miraculously to procure food and drink for a group of three hundred heretical monks during a time of a great disaster, and thus converted them to Buddhism. Santidevais also said to have counteracted the magic of a brahman fanatic who wanted to burn down all Buddhist establish'Magic ments through a so-called Circle of Mahe6vara in the Sky'. The account of this event is quite dramatic and must have been popular in Buddhist circles.3l The use of miracles to spread the Dhamma and the defeat of opponents by means of magic becamequite commonplace features in the biographies of Buddhist teacherswho establishedBuddhism in Tibet and China, such as Santaraksita, Bodhidharma and especiallythe legendary Padmasambhava. On the one hand, Vajraydna developed a quite distinct and elaborate system - largely a continuation and sharpening of Madhyamaka metaphysics and Yogacara meditation - and on the other it gave rise

+Z. EuddhA sHoRrrNrRoDUcrroN ism

to debased sexual rites that are blamed for the eventual downfall of Buddhism in large parts of India.32 One of the distinctive features of Vajraydna is the worship of the 'five Tathagatas'or five'Dhyanl Buddhas'.ll Analogousto the five skandhas of which the human person is made up, the Buddha himself, now called the Adi Buddha (The First, or Primary, Buddha), appears to the meditator in five distinct forms: r . . r r Vairocana,'The Illuminator' or'The Brilliant'; Aksobhya, 'The Imperturbable'; Ratnasatnbhava,'TheJewel-born'; Amitabha,'The Infinite Light'; Amogasiddhi, 'The Unfailing Success'.

'These five Buddhaswere introduced about 750 cE and they differ completely from all the other Buddhas known to Buddhism up to then.'34The difference is, briefly, that the Buddhas of both Hinaydna and Mahayina had commenced their bodhisattua careersas human beings and had had to work up to Buddhahoodin hundredsof incamations.The five Buddhasof Thntric Buddhism begantheir careersas fully fledgedBuddhas.They also constitute the world and each of them correspondsto one Dart of the universe. The Jlnasare Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha,Amoghasiddhi and Aksobhya, whosecoloursrespectively white, yellow,red, green,and are (Dharmacakra Teaching), blue and who exhibit Bodhyarirga or Varada (Gift-bestowing), Dhyana(Meditative), Abhaya(Assurance) Bhusand par6a(Earth-touching) anitudes hands of respectively.35 Since the five Buddhas themselvesremain absorbed in meditation they act in the world through their emanations, the five bodbisattuas: 'The Universal Sage'; o Samantabhadra, 'The . Vajrapdti, One \fho Holds a Diamond in His Hand'; r Ratnapini, 'The One Who Holds a Gem in His Hand'; o Padmapani,36'TheOne Vho Holds a Lotus in His hand'; o ViSvapdqi,'The One'Who Holds the Universein His Hand'. These and a host of further emanations, such as Maflju6rl and (both emanatingfrom Amitabha and giving rise to other Avalokite3vara in emanationslike Simhanada,etc.), are represented numerous figures and paintings in Tibet.

r T H ED H A M M A 4 3

The Adi Buddha in human form is called Vairadhara (Holder of the Thunderbolt or Diamond) and he is usually shown in embracewith his of iakti (femalecounterpart)Prajfld-pdramitd(Perfection Wisdom) with a uraja (thunderbolt, sceptre)in his right hand. Maitreya, There is a widepreadpopular tradition that the Bodhisattva in who resides Tusita heaven,is to appear in the near future on earth as a mortal Buddha to introduce a lasting reign of peaceand iustice. Maflju3ri (The Soft-Beautied One), embodying learning, is an often mentioned form of the Buddha. His attributes are a lotus and a book. he Sometimes is consideredan emanation from Amitabha or Akgobhya, or of all five Tathagatastogether.He plays a major role in the biographies 'sword of knowlof many prominent Buddhist teachers.He holds the edge', destroyingignorance,in his right hand, and the book of saving wisdom in the left.37 The most widely worshipped bodhisattua is Avalokite6vara(The Lord who Looks Down from On High). He is an emanationof Amitabha and his iakti Peldara, and personifiesuniversalcompassion.He covers the period between the disappearanceof the Gautama Buddha and the numerous forms (both male and appearanceof Maitreya. He assumes female) and is variously known as SadeksariLoke6vara(Hundred-Eyed Lord of the \7orld) and Simhandda(Lion's Roar),38among many other ara-er.3t Parallelto the development the five Buddhasand their emanations, of the multiple embodiment of praifia,'wisdom', in the form of the female Usually distinguished by deity Tara, 'The Saviouress',took place.aO Tara'and the 'white Tere' arethe most popular.They colours,the'green are seenas helpful, graceful and generousand are approached in all kinds of needs. Yajrayana became the predominant form of Buddhism in Tibet and strongly influenced the development of Buddhism in China and Japan. Sincethe occupation of Tibet by China in 1.955and the flight of many Tibetan monks to India and the West, Vajraydna has becomewell known as and quite popular all over the world. Often it is presented a synthesis of Hinayana scriptures,Mahayana philosophy, and Tantric practices.As a matter of fact, the Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist canons are the repository of extensiveHinayana and Mahayana literatures,in addition to Vajraydna works, that have been lost in their original languages.

+ a. E u d d h i s m o R r N r R o D U c r o N A H

NOTES

1. MahapadanaSutta, 4: Drgha Nikdya 11,2. 2. Anguttara Nik7ya V, 1.44.

3. rbid. 50. rII, 4. Sutta Nipatu 576.

5. Samyutta Nikaya ll, 64. 5. The theory of dbarmas in the specificsensehas been elaboratedin the Abbidharma, dealt with in Part III of this book. The Theravadins assumed seventy-two, the Sarvastividins seventy-frvedharm4s that constitutephenomenal existence. The actual instances those (finite) of classes are infinite, as R. Gethin pointed out in The Foundations o'f Buddhism,pp.209ff. 'the Buddhist 7. As R. Gethin pointed our in a personalcommunication, exegetical tradition consistently explains samjia as performing the functionof labelling, noring or marking'. 8 . Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, p. 65. The referenceis to Asanga's Abhisamuccaya, 31,. p. 9. Samyutta Nikdya III, 114f. 1 0 .Ibid. I, 114. 1 1 . This text occursrepeatedlyin the Pali Canon. The versionparaphrased here is from SamyuttaNikdya 55.11 in the Devanigariedition.It also occursin the first chapterof the Mahauaggawhere it is renderedas the first teachingof the Buddha ro the first five disciples.It is thereforealso called the Pancauaggiya. 1,2. I havechosen use'suffering' translation dukkha instead to as of of'pain' (whichit alsomeans), because appears be the more generic it to term.As will be seen,dukkha is not only the sensarion pain experienced a of in bodily or mental hurt, but more generallythe sadness ind 'suffering' arisingout of an acuteawareness the transience of and insufficiency of everything. 1 3 .Lit_erallytanba means 'thirst'; in connection with the 'origin of suffering','craving'seems be a more appropriate to translation. 14. For more about the Buddhist councils,the problems they attemptedto solveand the factionsthat emerged, chapter3, pp. 49ff. see 1 5 .SamdhinirmocanaSitra, ch.7, as rranslated by D. S. Lopez, Jr in 'lnterpretation the of MahayanaSutras', 58. p. .Williams, t 5 . Represented, among others,by Paul GregorySchopen, Rupert Gethin and Donald S. Lopez Jr. 1,7.For a detailed exposition of this view seeGethin, The Foundationsof Buddhism,pp.50ff 18. The argument for and againstthe lay origin of Mahayena is fully discussed Williams,MahayanaBuddbism,pp.20ff. in 19. Rahufa, The Heritage of the Bhikkhu, appendix IV, 'Basic Points Unifying the Theravddaand the Mahayana', pp. I37f. Dr u/alpola Rahula, TripitakavagiSvaracarya, at that time Vice-Chancellor was of the Vidyodaya University in Sri Lanka. In the text quoted I have left unchanged spellingand capitalization Buddhistterms. the of

T H E H A M Mo 4 5 D A

20. NiyataniyatauutaramudrasutrL, qtroted by santideva in siksasamucin Mahayanistscontinued to live with non-Mahayanists the same monastery. in 22. This doesnot meanthat Mahayanistideasdid not alsofind reception As Walpola Rahula (History of Buddbism in Ceyl.onl those countries. some major Sri Lankan writes, during the ninth and tenth cenruries (pp. 135f)' He also iere under Mahayanistadministration monaiteries worship of Buddha imagesin Sri Lanka to the widespread attributes has always been strong in Maheyanainfluence Mahayanistinfluence. Vietnam. Someother Hinayina schoolsalso wrote in Sanskrit,the lingua ftancaof Indian scholarship. 1A dharmathe considered Pali canon to be Buddha's L1. some Theravadins kaya. a, 2 5 . Sangharaksit Surueyof Buddbism,pp. 279ff. Satra, pp. I65f. 26. Lankauatara 27. See chapter 9, pp. 190-9 on Tantric Buddhism for more detailed informationon Vairayana. 'thread' is understood refer to the to 28. The interpretationol tantra as and disciples(similar to the Hindu parampar.d) tradition bf teachers were transmitted. teachings through which these(secret) of rhe 29. A schilarly debateis still going on regarding mutual dependence While some scholars claim that Buddhist and Hindu Tantricism. Buddhist Tantricism is nor an offshoot of Hindu saivire Tantric to seems have A. traditions,as had earlierbeenmaintained, Sanderson of Tantrictextsafe reworkings provedthat someof the earliest Buddhist 'Vajrayana: Origin and Function').I wish to SaivaTantras(Sanderson, to thank R. Gethin for having broughtthis reference my attention. 30. Obermiller,Historyof Buddbismby Bu-ston,vol. II, pp- 124f. 31. Ibid.pp.I64ff. Indian scholarand author of An a Bhattacharyya, respected 32. Benoytosh (1931),one of the first maior studies to Intro'duction BuddhistEsoterism condemnawith an unqualified beginshis preface of Tantric Buddhism, tion: 'If at any time in the history of India the mind of the nation as a it whole has bien diseased was in the Tantric age, or the period of preceding Muhammedanconquest India. The story the immediately to Tantricworks is suppose.d be so of relatedin the^pages the numerous a r e p u g n a n t t h a t , e x c e p t i n g a f e w , a l l - r e s p e c t a b l e - s c h o l a hs v e r .ondlmned them wholesalJand left the field of the Tantrasseverely alone.' literaturethey are often called 33. Conze,Buddhism,p. 189:'In European by but Dhyanr Buddbas, this term, introduced Hodgsonabout a century it ago, is not only faulry Sanskrit: has neverbeenfound in any Tantric to t&r. It is time to discardit.' However,the term continues be usedin Iiterature. recentBuddhological 3 4 . I b i d .p . 1 8 9 .

2 t . Aicording to the testimony of some famous Chinesepilgrims'

caya,p. 7.

q 6 . E u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

35. 35. 37. 38. 39. 40.

p.2. B. Bhattacharyya, Buddbistlconography, He is also calledAvalokite6vara. On Maflju6ri seelJ7illiams, MahayanaBuddhism,pp. 238ff. is Simhanada invokedto cure leprosy. Seelfilliams, MdhaydnaBuddhism,pp.231,ff. 'The SeeD. C. Bhattacharya,Studiesin Buddhist lconography, ch. 2, GoddessTara' and chapter 9, pp. 190-9 below

OF THE CONTENT THE BUDDHA-DHAMMA

iven the distance in time between now and the tirne of Gotama the f gudaha, and consideringthat it took severalcenturiesbefore the \J oral Buddhisttradition was committed to writing (that is, at a time when there already existed numerous sectsof Buddhists maintaining different teaching traditions) it is not possible to identify with certainty the authentic word of the Buddha himself, the Buddha-udcana.On the other hand, we have a very well recorded history of transmission of the Buddha-dhamma and strong agreementbetween the various branchesof such as the Four Noble Truths and the Buddhism on certain essentials, Eightfold Path. There are formulae which are repeated over and over again in the Buddhist scripturesand which are attributed to the Buddha himself. They differ from the teachings of other Indian religions while sharing certain presuppositions with them. Some of these assumptions have been dealt with in chapter 2 on the background to the Buddha-dhamma. What we today call the Buddha-dhamma is not necessarilywhat the Buddha said in these very words, but what the Buddhist community preserved his teachingand what it consideredthe ideal practicesof a as of the Buddha. According to Buddhist tradition the only follower concern of the Buddha was nibbana and all his teaching was about ways of reaching this ultimate condition. The present chapter details the contents of the Buddha-dhamma, especially the Dhammapada and the Milindapafiha, which are summarized later in the chapter. Part II of the book considers further the presentation the way to nibbdna, Buddhist meditation, and of systematic

c g. E u d d h i s m o R r N r R o D U c r o N A sH

THE MIDDLE PATH

These two {dead} ends, monks, should be followed onewho hasgone not by forth. Which naro? That which is, amongsense-pleasures, addiction to attractive sense-pleasures, ill.un-arian, connected the goal; that not with and which is addiction self-torment, un-arian, connected the goal. to ill, not with ) N o wm o n k sw i t h o ua d o p t i ne i t h e o f t h e s e w o ( d e a de n d st,h e r ei s a , t g r t m i d d l ec o u r s e f u l l y a w a k e n e do b y t h e T r u t h f i n d em,a k i n g o r v i s i o n , , t r f m a k i n go r k n o w l e d g e ,h i c hc o n d u c ets c a l m i n g o s u p e r k n o w l e d go , f w o t, te awakening, nibbdna. to A n d w h a t , m o n k s , s t h i s m i d d l ec o u r s ef u l l y a w a k e n e do b y t h e i t T r u t h f i n d e r ,a k i n go r v i s i o n m a k i n go r k n o w l e d g e ,h i c h c o n d u c e t o m f , f w s calming, superknowledge, awakening, nibbana? is the aryan to to to lt eightfold Way itself, that is to say: rightview,rightthought, rightspeech, r i g h ta c t i o n r i g h tm o d eo f l i v i n gr i g h te n d e a v o urri,g h tm i n d f u l n e srs g h t , , i, concentration. monks, the middle This, is course, fully awakened by the to T r u t h f i n d e r ,a k i n go r v i s i o n m a k i n g o r k n o w l e d gw h i c h c o n d u c e so m l , f e t c a l m i n g , s u p e r - k n o w l e d t o a w a k e n i n go n i b b d n a . r o mh e S e r m o n (F to ge, t, t in the DeerParkat Eenares, trans.l. B. Horner TheBookof theDisciptine in (Vinaya Pitakal,vol.lV SBB,vot.XtV p. 15. lMahavaggal,

the bodhisattua path, and the various schools of Mahayana. The present chapter deals first with the history of the preservarion of the Buddhawbrd and its spreadthroughout the world, as well as its study by modern Western scholars.

THE BUDDHIST COUNCILS Becausethe Buddha's teaching had been entirely by word of mouth, the Dhamma initially existed only in the memories of his immediate disciples. Even during his lifetime the Buddha had to correct misunderstandingsof his teachings and had ro intervene regarding deviations from the regulations that he had issued for his followers. Preservingthe fruit of over forty years of incessantteaching was a colossaltask which only the community of disciplesas a whole could undertake in a collective effort, in a 'council' (sangfti, recital) of all nen.ibersin good standing.

THE CONTENTOF THE BUDDHA.DHAMMA C 49

Since the councils acquired such an important status in the transmissionof the words of the Buddha, a kind of canonical history which was to buttressclaimsto havepreserved of the councilsdeveloped, the original teaching.Modern critical scholarshiphas thrown doubts on o m a n y a s p e c t s f t h i s t r a d i t i o n a lh i s t o r yo f t h e c o u n c i l s . tI n t h e f o l l o w i n g we shall first summarize the traditional account as found in the Pdli sources2and then mention the points at which critical scholarship with it. disagrees The First Council3

of such rorces asrhose rhe (Aortft^(r, tA._ h/dAat dead,wlensome

death of the rebellious Subhadda were heard expressingrelief at the someof Buddha, who had insistedon observinghundredsof regulations, leadership of the older and more disciplined monks under the five hundredmonks in a M a h a k a s s a p a g r e e dt o c o n v e n ea m e e t i n go f the Buddha'steaching and preserveit in its order to.ecit. and rehearse by.King purity for posterity.4 They were supported in this effort offered facilitiesin his capital Rajagriha. i;","S"rr., of Magadha, who about the Mahakassapabegan the proceedingsby asking questions His information Vinaya from Updli. a highly respectedseniorhbikkbu' by the .on..rrring discipline was consideredcorrect and was accepted closestto the council. Next MahakassapaaskedAnanda, who had been suttas' Ananda was to supply Buddha for many years, about the the persons information about the occasionof a sermon,the location and the His account too, was acceptedas the true teaching of addressed. Buddha. trial of As a side issue, the assembledmonks also undertook a some of his actions' through Ananda, who had apparentlymade enemies of the accusedof having allowed women to seethe dead body He was of not his Buddha, permitting them to desecrate body with their tears' for a whole having ..qu.rt.d the Buddha to remain alive and teach stepped on the Buddha's cloak world-age, of having on one occasion pleaded (successfully) while repairing it, and - worst of all of having with the guddha for the admissionof women to the Sangha' of there Modern critical scholarshipthrows doubts on the very fact rainy seasonfollowing the Buddha's having been a First council in the the of death, as well as the presence five hundred arahantsto constitute entire Vinaya and the Sutta Pitaka.

s O. B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

The Second Councils The SecondCouncil, accordingto Buddhisttradition, was held at Vai3ali about a century later in order to settle a dispute betweenthe monks of the Vajji country, who had declared 'Ten Points or Induigences',and Ya6a, who considered these contravened the rules. They included singilona-kappa, 'the practice of carrying salt in a horn', which was iudgedto go againstthe canonicalprohibition on storing food; duaigulakappa,'the practice of taking meals when the shadow is already two fingersbroad', which was considered contravenethe injunction not to to eat after midday and gamantara-kappa,'thepracticeof going to anorher village (for a secondmeal)', which violated the rule againstovereating. The other seven infringements had to do with such practices as holding uposatha ceremonies in different parts of one and the same parish, drinking palm wine, taking buttermilk after meals and, most seriousln acceptinggold and siiver, which was expresslyforbidden to monks. The decisionof the assembled eldersagainstthe Vajjian monks appearsto have led to the first major split of the Buddhist community. The Third Counci16 According to Theravada tradition, the Third Council was held at Pataliputra c. 240 ncr, under the patronage of the famous emperor A6oka,who supportedthe spreadof Buddhismnot only in India, but also abroad. The council was presidedover by Tissa Moggaliputta and was intended to correct corrupr practicesthat had crept into the Sangha. BecauseBuddhism received state patronage under A3oka and had becomeprosperous,many who had no faith in the Buddha-dbamma and were not preparedto abide by its rules had joined the order.The council was to renew Buddhistpracticeand eliminatethose who did not belong. It also authorizedBuddhist missionsto various countriesin Asia, Africa and Europe. By now, what later came to be known as the Pdli CanonT had been established.8 The presidingmonk at the Council, Tissa Moggaliputta, is credited with having composed the fifth book of the Abhidhamma Pitaha, the'Points of Controversies' (KdtbAuafthu), thereby bringing the Pali Canon to a close. Thosewho had opposedthe Theravadinsat the SecondCouncil called themselves Mahasanghikas,the adherentsof the 'Grearer Community',

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A . D H A M M A I 5 1

and went their own ways in interpreting and developing the original teachingsof the Buddha. It has beensuggested that the 'innovators'who brought about a split were not the Mahasanghikasbut the Theravadins, who introduced at that council stricter regulationsand a more narrowly definedteaching. The Fourth Councile A council was called by Emperor Kaniska around 100 cr and was held either in Kashmir or in Jalandhar, north-western India. It is not recognized by the Theravadins. Emperor Kaniska wanted to settle differencesof interpretation of Buddhist teachings and engaged five hundred monks to produce commentaries on the Canon. They are reported to have written one hundred thousand ilokas on each of the Three Baskets,most of which did not survive. Regional Councilslo Regionalcouncilsof the Theravadinswere held throughout the following centuriesin Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar), countrieswhich for a long time becamethe most important strongholdsof the tradition of the Elders (Theravdda). Thesecouncilsservedto standardize the (Peli) Canon, to arrange the commentaries, and to commissionthe writing of the Canon (done under the leadership Mahathera Rakkhita in the first of century BCE). Two councilsheld in Burma, in 1871 anC 7954-5 (in commemoration of the 2,500th anniversaryof the Buddha'spariniruana accordingto the traditional reckoning),are acceptedby the Theravadinsas'full'councils. I'hey were concernedwith establishingthe authentic text of the (Peli) Canon, which rvas incisedon729 marble slabsin 1871, and committed to print in 7954-6. This latter version,the so-calledChattha Sangayana edition, has become the acceptedBuddhist version of the Pali Canon, from rvhich was published the first Pali Canon in Devanagari in India

(1e 6-511. s T H E S P R E A DO F B U D D H I S M
From its very beginningsBuddhism was a religion on the move. The Buddha encouragedhis early followers to travel into distant regionsto make the good news of the enlightenmentknown to all (seefigure 3).

S Z. B u d d h i s m o R r N r R o D U c r o N A sH

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T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A - D H A M M A I 5 3

Buddhist tradition has it that Emperor A6oka sent Buddhist missionaries east and west as ambassadors kings and princes.In particular,one of to his sons, by name of Mahinda, who had becomea Buddhist monk, and one of his daughterswho had becomea Buddhist nun, were sent in 245 ncr to Sri Lanka to establishBuddhism in that island kingdom, which for many centuries was to be one of the major monastic and scholastic centresof the Buddhist world. The Sinhaleseconsider themselvesthe Buddha's chosen people; in their histories (especiallythe ancient Dtpauamsa) they claim that the Buddha travelled to their island three times during his lifetime and predictedthe great role which Sri Lanka would have in the development of the faith. Sn Lanka has preservedthe Theravada tradition over more than two thousand years.It was also here that around 80 ncn, at a time of crisis and breakdown of order. the Pali Canon was committed to writing in order to preserveit intact for posterity at a time when fewer and fewer monks who had memorized it could be found. Burmesetradition, too, claims that Gotama Buddha had visited the country during his earthly life and that it received the dhamma f.rom Buddhist missionaries sent out by A6oka in the third century BCE. Burma in fact has often rivalled Sri Lanka in importance for the maintenance of Theravada,especiallyin recent times, and two important councils were held there which were recognizedby all Theravddins. Vhile it was mainly Theravada Buddhism that spread in South and South-East Asia, various forms of Hinayana as well as Mahayana Buddhism found entry in Northern and Eastern Asia. In the first century cr Buddhist missionaries went ro China, beginning a large enterpriseof translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. By the fourth century cE Buddhism had reached Korea, by the fifth Java and Sumatra, by the sixth Japan, and by the seventh Tibet. For many centuriesBuddhism was the predominant religion in the whole of Asia, inspiring a great outburst of art, atrracting millions of people to the monastic life and profoundly shaping the cultures of most Asian countries generally.In its homeland, India, Buddhism flourished for about a thousandyears.By the fifth century cr. with the patronageof the Gupta dynastn brahmanic Hindus launched a counter-attack and e v e n t u a l l y u c c e e d e id g a i n i n gm a l o r i t y s t a r u sa g a i n . s n When the Muslims invaded India, destroying the large Buddhist universitiesof Taxila and Nalanda, which they consideredbulwarks of resistance, many Buddhist monks and nuns were killed. The rest fled to

S +. E u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

northern, mountainous regions not yet occupied by Muslims. Many endedup in Tibet, bringing with them texts they had saved.Thus it came about that Tibet becamethe stronghold of Buddhism in an age when it was threatened in much of the rest of Asia by Hindu missions and Muslim conquests.Much of Buddhist literature would have been lost forever but for the libraries of Tibetan monasterieswhich preserved originals and translationsof many rare books. European colonial conquests from the early sixteenth century onwards had two quite contrary effects. While the Dutch and the Portuguesetried to convert the Buddhist inhabitants of Sri Lanka to Christianity (and succeeded to a point), the British, who occupiedSri up Lanka and Burma in the early nineteenthcentury, left the Buddhistsin peace.Among the British officials who worked in Sri Lanka there were some who openly sympathizedwith Buddhism.

M O D E R N E S T E R N U D D H I SS C H O L A R S H I P W B T
After a period of dormancy and decay Buddhism is flourishing again in many countriesin the East. It also has found followers in many'Western countries, where it has become the subject of intense and sympathetic study.In Asia, the revival of Buddhismwas part of the rising nationalism of the nineteenthcentury. European colonial and Christian missionary expansionprovoked a reaction: a new narional consciousness began to dawn, and with it a new appreciation and a revival of indigenous traditions. Some European scholarsand seekers, disillusionedwith their own culture and religion, were instrumental in reviving Buddhism. One of the most remarkable of these is Henry Steel Olcott (1,8321907), an American Protestant who took the Three Refugesand became the founder and organizer of severalBuddhist revival movements.His memory is still celebrated in Sri Lanka every year on 2 February, Olcott D"y.tt While more of an organizer and reformer than a scholar,Olcott authored the Buddhist Catechism (authorized by the influential Buddhist scholar-monkHikkaduve Sumangala) which even during his lifetime had already been reprinted in dozensof editions. From the early nineteenth century, Western Indologists studied, edited and translatedBuddhisttexts, both Sanskritand Pali, togetherwith other Indian manuscriptsand inscriptions.l2In 7826 EugeneBurnouf and C. Lasseri published an essay on the Pali language. In 1844, in his Introduction to tbe Historv of Indian Buddhism. Burnouf offered

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E E U D D H A - D H A M M A: 5 5

of translationsof substantialpassages Buddhist Sanskritworks. In 1852 one of the he publisheda Frenchtranslationof the Saddharmapundarfta, most important Mahayana works. In 1855 the Danish scholar Vincent Fausboll published the Pdli Dhammapada together with a Latin rranslarion,and an English translation of the Sutta \lipata in 1881 in the Sacred Books of the East series.He also published an edition of the J a t a k o si n s i x v o l u m e s . Hermann Oldenberg(I854-7920) is anothermajor figure in Buddhist scholarship. This German scholar had gained a reputation in Vedic studiesand through translationsof brahmanicaltexts. He also editedthe entire Vinaya Pitaka in three volumes between 1879 and 1883 and in collaborationwith T. W. Rhys Davids publishedan Englishtranslationof substantialportions of this in three volumes of the SacredBooks of the ( E a s t S e r i e s 1 8 8 1 - 5 ) . H i s m o n o g r a p hB u d d h d , p u b l i s h e di n 1 8 8 1 , w a s basedentirely on Pdli sources.It immediately becamea standardwork, republishedand re-editedmany times in German and also translatedinto other languages. Nobody, however, did more to propagate and popularize Buddhist studiesin the Vest than the English scholar T. W. Rhys Davids (1843-' 19221and his wife C. A. F. Rhys Davids (1858-1.942).T.W. Rhys Davids went to Sri Lanka in 1864 as a member of the Ceylon Civil Service.He was keenly interested in Buddhist culture and started iearning Pali. Returning to England in 1872 he devoted himself to Buddhist s c h o l a r s h i pI.n 1 8 8 1 h e f o u n d e dt h e P e l i T e x t S o c i e t v t t t o* h i c h h e g a v e most of his talent and energv for the rest of his life, as did his wife. Together they edited and translated dozens of canonical and extracanonical Pali works, and sought out fellor,r'scholars for editing and translating still more. 81' the time of T. V. Rhys Davids's death almost the entire Pali Canon had been edited, together with a large number of on Pali commentaries canonicalworks, and most of the Canon had been translatedinto English. His rvife continued with the work. As president she not only encouragedother scholarsto edit of the Pali Text Societ,v and translate important Pali rvorks, but also contributed herselfa large n u m b e r o f t e x t s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s .S h e t r a n s l a t e d ' s o m eo f t h e m o s t difficult texts and contributed illuminating introductions to many others.raC. A. F. Rhys Davids authored severalimportant monographs, s u c h a s S a k 1 , o r B u d d h i s tO r i g i n s ( 1 9 3 1 ) . a The First World War with its enormous devastation of lands and minds was instrumentalin the gro"vth of popular interestin Buddhism.

. S O B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

In many Western countries Buddhist societies emerged, dedicated to promoting non-violence,freedom from greed and peaceableness. The history of Buddhism and its teachingswere favourably contrastedwith the history of Christianity, with its support for war and violence, as shown by the utterancesof church leadersin the combatant countries. In the last eighty years hundreds of scholarsin East and West have taken up the study of Buddhism in its entirety: literature in dozens of Asian languages has been edited and translated and hundreds of monographsand thousands of papers have been published. Bibliographieson Buddhism6ll shelves librariesand courses Buddhist studies in of have been established many universities. at

T H EB U D D H A . D H A M M A D F E M I N I S M AN
Contrary to the brahmanismof his time, the Buddha taught the essential equality of the possibilitiesfor liberation available to all, regardless of gender, race or caste. \When asked whether women could reach enlightenment empharicallyaffirmed it. There is nothing in the basic he teachingsthat is gender specific.By not demanding extreme forms of asceticism the Buddha did not shut the door to women as others had done. His regulations for the order of nuns, while hierarchically subordinating it to the order of monks, were of such a nature as to recognize the specific needs of women, while granting them every advantagethat the Dhamma offered to its followers. In the modern'West,many women have been attractedto Buddhism and both among the scholars and the practirioners there are a large number of women. Buddhism's overall gentleness,humanenessand inoffensiveness are features that many women have found attractive. To 'Western assert that 'Buddhism is Feminism', however, presupposes a feminist background that will be hard to establish in traditional Buddhism.l5Buddhism de-emphasizes everythingthat might be used to createlasting 'identities',be they male or female,and points towards the impersonalrealitiesof Dhamma and nibbana.16 In an environment like that of the West ar presenr,where gender issues taken very seriously, are Rita Gross's'androgynousreconstruction of Buddhism' sounds attractive. For her 'the Dharma is both male and female'.17 Others may disagree. While some may feel a needto adapt the Buddha-dhammato a changed and changing world, others will have it the other way round. Edward Conze, both a scholarand a practitionerof

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A . D H A M M A I 5 7

Buddhism,is one of thoseVesternerswho would opt for such a strategy. in Referring to his experience teaching Buddhism to American students, 'a remark that so endeared he recalls [me] to [my] studentsat Berkeley'. 'Asked what Buddhism should do to become more acceptable to one Americans, I used to enumerate rvith a smile a few concessions to might perhapsmake respectively the feminist, democratic,hedonistic, primitivistic and anti-intellectual tendenciesof American society.' In 'it is not so much a matter of the Dharma adjusting Conze'sopinion, itself to becomeadaptableto Americans,but of Americanschangingand sufficiently to become acceptableto the Lord transforming themselves Buddha'.18 The Buddha himself was constantlyadaptingthe Dhamma in the light of suggestions and complaints arising out of new situations. He reportedly said shortly before his death that all the major and mtnor in regulationscould be changedor abolished,if that was found necessary order to persuethe overall aim. However, nibbdna, the aim, and the only If *ea.rs1eto reach it, the Eightfold Path, were non-negotiable. latter-day 'wholeness Western sympathizerswith Buddhism equate nibbAna with and reducethe Eightfold Path and balance,tranquillity and deeppeace'20 'basic psychological grounding, deep sanity, and peace with to ourselves'21 one would have to question whether this is the Buddhadhamma as transmitted in the succession Buddhist teachers. of Buddhism cannot be dissociated from the Four Noble Truths and the for searchfor nibbana.If theseare found unacceptable whatever reasons, one has to find an alternative, but one should not call it the Buddhadhamma.The Buddha-dhammais the answer to the questionswhich the Buddha confronted, not necessarily all the questionswhich someone to today may raise. Not everyone has the sensibiliry for the universal dukkba which drove Gotama the Buddha to his search for enlightenment.22Questions of peaceful co-existence,sanity and satisfactory relationships on a different level and needdifferent answers.They are are important issues, but they are not the issues that the Buddha considered paramount. Antibiotics are excellent remedies against bacterial infections and they have savedmany lives; they do not provide immortality, however. The Buddha-dhamma does not protect against bacterial infections,but it claims to lead to nibbana, a condition beyond suffering. The Buddha consideredit the only remedy againstthe sickness bodily of existence,a sicknessfor which only those who feel afflicted by it will seek a remedy. The Buddha never claimed to be able to make all unhappy

s g . B u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U c r r o N i H

people h"ppy under the circumstancesthey lived in, or to provide palatableanswersto all human questionsabout life and fate. He invited thosewho sharedhis view of the world to ioin the Sanghaand to practise the Dhamma.

B U D D H I SE D U C A T I O N T
When complaints reachedthe Buddha about followers of his who had misbehavedand were ignorant of the Dhamma, he gave the followrng ruling: in arouse theone should The preceptor a I allow,O bhikkhus, prec.ptor.tt his of his who shares celltheattitude a sonltheonewho shares cellshould living with Thus these, in the arouse the precepror attitudeof a father. will come towardsone another, rvith courtesy u'ith deference, reverence, to to growth,to increase, maturin'in this Dhammaand discrpline'24 The text continues,specifvingthe mutual duties.The student is to serve the preceptor in everything he requires but he is also to admonish him from the true Dhamma. The preceptoris to take care of when he deviates the student in every respect and teach him both the theory and the practice of the Way. There are also hints at problems that arose in the shared life of student and teacher.The text deals with some very specificcomplaints from students as well as teachers,and advises how to handle these conflict situations.The Buddha ruled on many of these and established criteria to be followed with regard to the dismissal of students by teachers. generations, instruction of new membersof the for Essentially, several order was on a one-to-one basis and concerned training in monastic etiquette and repeating the teachings of the Buddha. This was an appropriatemethod for monks who were mostly moving from one place to another,at a time when the three months of the rainy seasonretreat were the only opportunity for any kind of systematicinstruction. evolved, where monks residedon a year\7hen the first monasteries round basis,they becametraining centresfor future monks. The need to answer obiectionsfrom the adherentsof other religious groups made it reflection on to necessary develop a systematicand more sophisticated the Dhamma, which we see emerging in the Abhidhamma texts. In c o u r s e . o f t i m e t h i s b e c a m ea r e g u l a r i n g r e d i e n to f t r a i n i n g . W h e n a

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A . D H A M M A : 5 9

in sufficientnumber of teacherswas available,they specialized teaching and philosophy (dhamma doctrine (suttantika\,discipline(uinayadhara) kathiha\. A Buddhist innovation in traditional Indian educationwas the glven to studentsto challengetheir teacherswhen they encouragemenr had doubts about their orthodoxy' monastic institutions education \fith the developmentof large-scale of in to include courses various branches Buddhismand in also expanded f w e l l a s s u b j e c t sn e c e s s a r yo r t h e t h e t e a c h i n g so f o r h e r r e l i g i o n s ,a s such as efficient administration of the monastic establishments, architectureand agriculture.Monasteriesreceivedgifts from kings and of merchants;often the revenues whole villageswere made over to them. Eventuallylay people and foreignerscould also attend Buddhist schools. Libraries developedand all members of the sangha were expectedto t d e v o t ec o n s i d e r a b l ei m e t o s t u d v . 2 5 Foreign visitors, mainiy Buddhistsfrom China,26who came to India between the fifth and eighth centuries cl to visit the holy places with the Buddha and to study at the by-now world-famous associated such as Nalanda and Taxila, have left fairly detailed Buddhistuniversities descriptionsof the facilitiesand the curricula of theseinstitutions. Nalande, situated in what is todal' Bihar' in north-east India, was The apparently already an institution of learning in pre-Buddhisttim_es. Ananda Buddha is said ro have visited the place several times and preferred it to Patalipurra as a more suitable place for the Buddha's parinibbana. It was the reputed birthplace of Sariputta, one of the m B u d d h a ' s o s t l e a r n e dd i s c i P l e s . \(hen Buddhist kings began patronizing Nalanda, building coileges Someof and endowing chairs,it becamethe foremostBuddhistacademy. greatest names in Buddhist learning, such as Nagariuna, Vasuthe with and othersare associated Santideva bandhu, Dinnaga, Santaraksita, N a l a n d a . I n t h e w o r d s o f H , D . S a n k a l i a ,t h e r e n o w n e da r c h a e o l o g i s t rvho excavatedparts of it, it becamenot onl.van internationaluniversity, frequentedby studentsand teachersfrom the entire Buddhist world, but 'universiry of universities', i.e. a place of advancedlearning, to which a the graduatesfrom other institutions came in order either to complete their educationin some specialsubjector to upgradetheir qualifications with a degreefrom this most famous of all Indian schools. 'While not much written evidenceabout the history of Nelanda^exists o o b e f o r et h e d e s c r i p t i o n f f e r e di n t h e t r a v e l d i a r r e s f H i u e n T s a n g " a n d I-Tsing,28 archaeological excavations have revealed that the latest

0 0 . B u d d hAss H o n r r N r R o D U c r o N i m

buildingswere erectedon top of the ruins of earlier ones.lt appearsthat Nalanda was destroyed and rebuilt several times before its final destructionby the Muslims in the twelfth cenrury. From the reports of Chinese pilgrims, who spent several years in India, we learn that not only the kings of Magadha, but also those from other parts of the country endowed collegesand libraries in Nalanda. Descriptionsof the physical facilitresat Nalanda emphasizethe beaury and the great extent of the buildings.Nalanda had three libraries called R a t n o d a d i ( O c e a n o f J e w e l s ) , R a t n a s a g a r a( L a k e o f Jewels) and Ratnaraijaka (Adorned by Jervels) the first reportedly had nine sroreys and must have housed hundredsof thousandsof manuscripts.Copying manuscriptswas one of the tasks studentswere expectedto do; Hiuen Tsangcarried hundredsof copies of manuscriptsback to china. Hiuen Tsangidentifieselevenlarge colleges, each populated by severalhundred students. several sizeable villages were donated to the colleges and hundredsof villagerswere entrustedwith the task of preparing food for teachersand students.In the seventh century Nalanda reputedly had fifteenhundred teachersand ten thousand studenrs. The basiccurriculum for undergraduates comprisedrhe following five subiects: . . . . r 6abdavidya: Sanskritgrammar and lexicography: Silpasthenavidya: and crafts; arts cikitsavidyd:medicrne; hetuvidyd:logic and dialectics; adhyatmavidyd:philosoph.v, metaphysics.

The chinese pilgrim-scholarsmention by name many Sanskrit works that they had to study. Graduate students- and theseseemto have been the vast majoriry, especiallv among the foreign students- specialized a in great variety of subjects and texts, very often spending years with a particular teacherwho was an experr in that speciality. Hiuen Tsang mentions that each external student had to pass examinationsset by the gatekeepers, who were usually famous scholars in their own right. He also mentions that seven or eight out of ten applicants failed, and that many of those that were admitted did not completetheir degrees. Apparently,Nalanda degrees were as difficult to obtain as they were prized by their possessors. luost of the teaching was apparently done on a rutorial basis. A studentwas assigned a specific to teacherwith whom he studieda soecific

MA O T H EC O N T E N TFT H EB U D D H A . D H A M+ 6 1

subiect or text. However, there were also frequent public debates between the teachers, with hundreds of students attending, which provided instruction on controversial points of teaching. At many occasions public lectures were also given and the periodic public examinations were not only stimuli to study for those who were examined, they were also occasionsto learn for the audience.In these examinations students were not only tested on memorized matters studying a work usually meant learning it by heart - but also on their own creations,which presumably had to contain a certain amount of original thinking. of Studentsat Nelanda, while being trained in the intellectualaspects general, were also expected to Buddhism and in academic studies in morally, and they had to participatein the ritual activitiesof the progress institution. A great many Buddha figures were found in the ruins of Nalanda. In the time of its greatest fame it had been a Mahayana institution and ritual worship was probably part of its routine. Hiuen Tsang was as much impressedby the spirit and morale of the body of teachers and students of Nalanda as he was by their industry and intelligence. in Taxila (Taksa6lla), what today is Pakistan,had probably been an ancient Indian seat of learning before it becamea Buddhist institution. Pdlini, the famous grammarian, reportedly studied there. Jivaka, the his physicianof King Bimbisara,a contemporaryof the Buddha, received report that the Bodhisattva in one of education there and severalJatakas his several earlier births had gone to Taxila for his studies. The bodhisattua of the Bhimasena lataha studied the three Vedas and the

T H E F O U R R E F U G E SO F T H E B U D D H I S T S C H O L A R
(puru$al; is not The Dharma refuge, a person not a letter(vyanjanal; The Spiritis refuge, is The sutra of precisemeaning(nithafthal refuge,not that which (neyd al rth requires interpretation 4 . Jfidnais refuge,not vijfidna.

(From Catupratiiarana S,tral the a

O Z . B u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i H

eighteen Vidyes in Taxila; one of rhesewas archery,in which he excelled. Fa-Hien, one of the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, visited and describedthe place as he saw it in the mid-fifth century cE. one new university developmentwhich took place after the time of the visits of the famous chinese travellerswas ar VikramaSila,established by the Pela rulers of Bengal in the late eighth century cn. within two centuriesit had outstrippedNalanda and becamethe centre for the new wave of rantric Buddhism and the major link betweenIndia and Tibet. A galaxy of famous teachers taught there, such as Ratnekarasanti, Santibhadra and Maitripi. The mosr famous of them was Dipankara Srijfrana,also called Ati6a (980-1053 cE). He was the chief scholar and administrator of Vikrama6ila, in charge of 108 temples. Vikrama6ila was the favourite place of study for studentsfrom Tibet, and ribetan students carried the messageof Ati6a's fame into their homeland. Severalunsuccessful attemprswere made to persuadehrm to go to Tibet. He finally relented,and after a journev lasting severalyears, he reached the Sam-yeuihara (monastery)in central Tibet, which had been founded by Santaraksitafrom Nalanda rwo centuriesearrier.Atisa found a rich store of manuscriptsin the library and spent the rest of his life translating,with the help of Tibetan scholars,hundredsof texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Vikrama6ila, like Ndlanda and the other large and famous Buddhist universitiesin India, succumbedin the twelfth century to the onslaught of Muslim invadersand nothing but fields strewn with rubble and ruins remainstoday. However, the scholar monks lvho had to flee India found new homes in neighbouring countries. In the following cenruriesTibet developed a unique Buddhist theocracyin which scholarlv monastic institutions becamethe focus of cultural and political life. The Tibetan scholarBu-ston Rimpoche (12901354) wrote an extremely valuable work, the History of Buddhism, which he prefacedwith a book-lengthessav the srudv of the Dhamma, on specificallydealing with the qualificarions.rnd activities of teacher and student.He notes that both studvingand teachingbring merit and quores rhe Bodhisattua Pitakat'One who studiescomes to know the Dharma. One who studies will abstain from sinful deeds.One who studies will reject all that is vain. One who studiesamainsNiruana.'2eSimilarly,the teachlngof the Dharma is 'the highestmeansof rvorshippingthe Buddha, the Teacher, superior to material gifts; it secures good memory and is a rntellectiralpower, it augmentsvirtue and leadsto Enlightenment'.30

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A - D H A M U I I 6 3

Summarizingthe opinions of many authoririeson the qualifications required in a teacher he says: 'The teacher must be well versed in the doctrine that is to be expounded; skilful, as regards the ways of expressinghimself; experiencedas concernshis behaviou..'3tA reacher must be motivated by supremecompassionand the desireto lead all to enlightenment,without regard for compensarion. In parallel with enumeratingthe qualificationsof a teacher,Bu-ston also dealswith the qualifications(and disqualifications) a student.He of quotes the Vyakhyayukti which saysthat 'arrogance,absence desireto of study,distraction,apathy and lassitudeare the defectsin a student'.32 By way of contrast the good studentis characterized 'one who is sincere, as desirousto study and intelligenr'.33 Bu-sron goes into great detail with regard to the various degreesof intelligencea studenr mav have, the preparationsfor and resulrsof study of the differenr subjects, and warns that mere intellectualappropriation of the doctrine without appropriate moral life is worrhless. Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand maintainedin their great uihdrasthe traditions of Buddhist learning and the village rempleswere traditionally also institutions of learning, both rbligious and secular: Buddhistshave been open to modern science, which many have seen in an affirmation of age-old Buddhist insights. Buddhism, built on insight and understanding, requiresand supports seriousstudy and intellectualendeavour. is essential understandthe It to Dhamma and to appropriateit intellectuallyin order properly to pracrise and promulgate it. This study resultedin some of the most sophisticated philosophical svstems the world has seen,as r','ill be shown.

T H E W H E E LO F B E C O M I N G
The Wheel of Becoming (Bbauacakra)is one of the most popular and concise representationsof the 'Chain of Dependent Co-origination' (pratltyd samutpada). It is found not only in Hinayana but also rn Mahayana teaching and appears,with minor variations, on countless Tibetan thaigkas (painted scrolls or wall hangings).It representsthe universeas seenthrough the eyes of the EnlightenedOne, seatedon a lotus seat outside the world of becoming (seefigure 4). The whole world, represenred a large disc, is in the clutchesof a b,v biack demon, representingall-devouring time (kdla) adorned with five skulls, symbolizing'thar which neither gods nor hurnanscan grve:

THE CONTENTOF THE BLlDDHA-DHAMMA c 65

freedom from old age, from sickness, from death, from decay and from rebirth. The three eyessymbolizeimpermanence, and not-self,under iil whose domain everythingis placed. The centre of the wheel is occupiedby three animals that chaseeach other and make the wheel turn: a pig, representinglobha (greed),a peacock, representing moha (delusion), and a snake, representingduesa (anger,hatred),They are ultjmately responsible keepingthe wheel of for becoming in movement.Their death means liberation (niruanal. The rim adjacentto the centre depictsthe seriesof rebirths: the dark half shows the downfall into ghostly existences from rvhich liberation cannot be gained;the bright half showsthe ascentinto human existences, the presuppositionfor gaining liberation. The next rim shows the six realms that are subject to the law of karma: the realm of the gods (deuas),the demons (asuras),the ghosts lpretas),of denizensof hells, of animals and humans. The outer rim, divided into twelve sections,illustrates the pratltya samutpada, the most central of all Buddhist teachings,the essence of Buddha'senlightenment.The twelve sectionsare usually interpretedas covering three successive lifetimes:sections1 and 2 refer to the previous life; 3 to 10 to the presentlife; 11 and t2 to the next life. Beginningin the lowest left-hand field, moving clockwise,the imagesare as follows: 1. man with a stick, representing ignorance(auidyA); 2 . p o t t e r w i t h w h e e l a n d p o t s , r e p r e s e n t i n gk a r m a f o r m a t i o n s (samskara); 'name-and-f 3. monkey, representing orm' (ndma rnpa; individuality); with passengers,representing the five mental aggregates 4. ship (skandhas),namely form (rupa), sensation (uedanal, perception (uiinana): consciousness kamirt6), volition (samskdra), 5. empty house with windows, representingthe body with the srx (saday senses atananil; 5. man and woman embracing,representing touch (spar!a); 7. man with an arrow in his eye, representing sensationluedana); 8. woman offering a drink to a man, representing craving (tftrya,thirst); 9. man gathering fruit from a tree, representing grasping lupadana\; 10. woman with child, represenring becoming (bhaual; (new) birth (idti): 11. woman in childbirth, representing 1.2. old man carrying a corpseto funeral, representing age and death old (iara-mararya).

A sm o 0 . 0 u d d h is H o RrrN r R o D U C r o N THE DHAMMAPADA S A COMPENDIUM A OF THE BUDDHA.DHAMMA

The most popular book of the entire Pali Canon is certainly the Dbammapada,'The Path of the Law', an anthology of 423 sayingsof the Buddha, culled from various sources and thematically arranged. Although it is largely restrictedto offering ethical advice and deals less with the higher rangesof meditation and wisdom, man,vconsider it the epitome of Buddhism as such. Even today, Buddhists frequently memorize it and quote freely from it. It is worth noting that it was not only apprqciated by the Theravada school, but also b,v followers of Mahayana schools.Thus there exist four Chinesetranslations,evidently from a Sanskrit original, and a Tibetan version, also apparently made from a Sanskrit version called Udanauarga. Fragments of versions in other Central Asian languages have also been found.3a Its popularity in ancient times is attested by the numerous commentariesthat were written on it. The most famous is the one by an unidentified fifth- or sixth-century Buddhist scholar-monk of Sri Lanka, who reworked a massof materialsthen existingin Sinhalese only and translatedthem into Pdli. This is a massivework compared to the text of the Dhammapada itself: while the translation of the text covers only about thirty pages,the translation of the commentary takes more than eight hundred! It also has a life of its own and often usesa stanza from the Dhammapada only as a peg for a story that is largely independent \ 3-- ]Lf 3l

Ihe Dhammapada

l!

PG

The Dhammapada is divided into rwenry-six uaggas(chapters, cantos)with titlesthat do not alwaysrevealmuch about rhe conrenr. begins It with'rwin verses',or 'pairs'; so called becauseeach verse is followed by a parallel versethat repeatsthe content of the first in a slightly modified form. The first pair, the very opening of the Dhammapada, begins with the brief statement manopubbaigama dhamma manosettba manomaya. There exist dozens of English translations,widely differing from each other and exhibiting widely different conceptionsof the key term mctno (mind). The translation by N. K. Bhagwat, publishedby The Buddha Society ( B o m b a , v n . d . ) ,r e a d st h u s :

$YSli:l'l LIBRAR'/ niLHlUlllV,

16 T H EC O N T E N O F T H E B I . ) D D H A - D H A U U N 7 T

All our tendencies of character are the offspring of consciousness, If and made up of consciousness. a man dominated by conscrousness, then suffering follows him, speaksor acts rvith a sullied consciousness, even as the u'heel of the rvagon follorvs the hoof of the bullock. All our tendenciesof character are the offspring of consciousness, If and made up of consciousness. a man dominated by consciousness, then happinessfollows speaksor acts with an unsullied consciousness, h i m e v e r .j u s r a s h i s s h a d o w . t ' By comparison, the most recent scholarly translation, by J. R. Carter and M. Palihawadana has: for Pieceded perceptionare mental states, them is perceptionsupreme, by from perceptionthey have sprung.If w'ith perceptionpolluted, one speaks or acts, thence suffering follows as a rvheel the draught ox's foot. Preceded by perception are mental states, for them is perception supreme.From perceptionthey have sprung.If with tranquill perception, one speaksor acts, thenceeasefollows as a shadow that never departs.ln Clompare with that Juan Mascaro's translation, as it appeared in the P e n g u i n C l a s s i c ss e r i e s : What rve are toda,vcomes from our thoughts of yesterday,and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creationof our mind. If a man speaksor acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beastthat draws the cart. What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterdan and our presentthoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind. If a man speaksor acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadorv.3t

The next translation is by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, world-famous Indian philosopher and former presidentof the Indian Republic:
(The mental) natures are the result of what we have thought, are chieftained b,vour thoughts, are made up of our thought. If a man speaks even or acts with an evil rhought, sorrow follows him (as a consequence) as the wheel follows the foot of the drawer (i.e. the ox which draws the cart). (The mental) natures are the result of what we have thought, are chieftainedby our thoughts,are made up of our thoughts.If a man speaks like or actswith a pure thought, happiness follows him (in consequence) a h s h a d o wt h a t n e v e rl e a u e s i m . i 8

i H o g . B u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U c r r o N

The simplest and clearest translation may be that by Max Miiller, publishedin the SacredBooks of the East series: All that we areis the resultof what we havethought:it is foundedon our or If it thoughts, is madeup of our thoughts. a man speaks actswith an evil thought,pain followshim, asthe u'heelfollorvsthe foot of the ox that drawsthe carriage. it on All that we areis theresultof what we havethought: is founded our If or it thoughts, is madeup of our thoughts. a man speaks actswith a pure him'3e that neverleaves foilo*'s him, like a shadow thought,happiness The key term, which leads to so many different translations,is manol manas.The Pali Text Societydictionaryaotells us that it'represents the 'the renderingwith "mind" and intellectualfunctioning of consciousness' covers most of the connotations; sometimes it may be translated as "thought"'. Having illustrated the difficulty rendering key Pali terms into idiomatic English,we can proceedwith a summary of the Dhammapada, highlighting some of its sayingsin the hope that the readerwill pick up a that follows I copy of the Dhammapada and read it all. In the discussion largely rely on the Pali text and my own translations,although I have consultedsome of the many publishedtranslations. The versesfollowing the first pair are as famous and often quoted as the opening: 'He abused me, he robbedme' - thosewho me, he beatme, he defeated their anger/hatred.al suchthoughtswill neverappease harbour 'He abused he beatme, he defeated he robbedme' - thosewho me, me, their anger/hatred. rejectsuchthoughtswill appease it by be Never in this world can anger/hatred appeased anger/hatred; only by non-anger/non-hatred. will be appeased of It was one of the endeavours the Buddha to teach peopleto overcome hostile feelings and to 6nd inner and outer peace. This requires not that harping on past iniuries but forgetting and the creationof sentiments feelings.It is as dangerousto give in to anger and neutralize negative hatred as it is to yield to temptation and lust, to greedand grasping- the Buddha warns againstthesetoo and advisesrestraint and moderation. 'Wakefulness', begins with the verse: The next section, entitled '\Takefulness the way to immortality; heediessness the way to death; is is are not, the heedless already dead.' those who are wakeful die

THE CONTENT OF THE EUDDHA-DHAIMUE . Ag

'Mind Chapter'.42 The human This is followed by Citta-uagga, the mind is described fickle and crooked by nature, needing'straightening as out', restraining,educating. In the 'Chapter on Flowers' a number of sayingsare collected that refer to Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sanghain terms of gardensand 'The Fool' identifiesvarious ways of being blossoms.A chapter called foolish, including that of a bhikkhu who aspires to fame and a high position in the order. Similarly under the caption 'The Wise' various praiseworthy attitudes and actions are mentioned. 'He is An interestingstatementoccursin the chapter'The Holy One': supremeamong men who is without belief and without duties and who has cut the knot of doubt. He has removed the conditions of desire.' 'Belief' and 'duties' imply dependence someone else'sintellect and on will. The truly free person has found insight independently and has become his or her own source of understandingand action. That this 'removal of the is doesnot mean amorality or arbitrariness implied in the conditions of desire'.The 'cutting of the knot of doubt' also cuts through the root of all evil, reside. the dark recesses the mind where desires, of In the 'Chapter of the Thousands'we read: 'lt is better to live one day seeingthe Law Supreme, than to live for a hundred years not seeingthe 'Law in SupremeLaw.' The Supreme'is specified the precedingversesas the life of meditation, the pursuit of knowledge, strong endeavourand contemplationof the origin and cessation all componentthings as well of as of the deathlessstate. This is the content of a meaningful life and makes life worthwhile, even if discoveredonly late in life. The very notion that lye are under a 'Law', and that recognizingand following it is 'being', 'freedom', 'fulfilment' is our our and our somethingwhich may appearstrangeto many. It is diametricallyopposedto the popular notion of freedom consistingof unlimited choice,pursuit of self-interest and the gratification of ali impulses. Other chapters have various sayings relating to sin, old age, happiness, wrath, hell and craving - they do not teach anything that would be new to the Buddhist, but offer precise and ready-to-use couplets on these central matters. One often-quoted verse is found in a chapter called Atta-uaggai'Seif is the Lord of self; what higher Lord could there be? When a man subdueswell his self, he will have found a Lord very difficult to find otherwise.' And: 'The evil done by self, conceived by self, made possible by self, will crush the evildoer as a diamond crushesanother diamond.'

r O . S u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i H

'the other' responsiblefor one's There is no possibility of making it moral failings:it is the self that makesevil possible,executes and reaps 'Evil its rewards.This is an ultimate challengeto personalresponsibility. and liberation depend on oneself- no man can purify another.' For a 'no-self' this is a strong assertionof tradition that supposedlyteaches individual responsibility.Obviousln anatta does not mean what outsidersmake of it. Vhat crushesand elatesis not what others - society, We history,circumstances do to us but what we have done to ourselves. responsible for our lives and our fates. are, in an ultimate sense, In the Buddha-uagga we find what may be the shortest epitome of Buddhism: 'Abstain from all evil, do what is good, purify your thought suggests this is the teachingof all the Buddhas.'The chapteron happiness 'Health is the that the highest happinessconsists in finding nibbana: wealth; confidenceis the greatestacquisition;contentmentis the greatest best of relations; and nibbana is the highesthappiness.' The Magga-uagga tells us: Of all Paths,the Eightfold Path is the best;of Truths, the Four Noble freedomfrom desireis the best;of Truths arc the best;of all conditions, mustexertyourselves; is menthe One who Sees the best. . . You yourself (anicca) all are ... for the Tathagatas only signposts 'lmpermanent are (dukkha)are all component things','Involvedin suffering component (anatta)are all componentthings'. He who things', 'Unsubstantial impervious to immediatelv thereb,v perceives with insightbecomes this suffering. Liberation is hard work at one's own character: nobody can do it for of the impermanence all anyoneelse.It involvesgreat insights,like seeing things, and seeminglytrifling matters like getting up early from bed and 'cut down the using one's time and talents properly. Also, one has to {.orest ol \ust, inc\ud\ng \rs undergrorNt\{ , the trre o\. egot\s$\, t\t ia\se relianceon property and other people. The Taihi-uagga advises:'Renounce what iies in the future, give up what lies in the past, and surrendering the present, cross to the other 'With shore. a mind thus entirely freed you will no more fall into birth and death.' The Buddha suggestseliminating time from all one's in considerations order to be free, in order not to be reborn again. This too is in stark contrastto the attitude of manv peopletoday who wish to What would the Buddha say to those extend their earthly life indefinitely. preserved liquid nitrogen so as to be able in who have their dead bodies

THE CONTENTOF THE BUDDHA.DHAMMA I 71

to be 'resurrected' if and when technology is sufficiently advanced to revive their old bodies? The Bhikkhu-uagga definesthe essence a monk's life as self-control of \samuara): To controlthe eyeis good;to controlthe earis good;to controlthe noseis good; to control the tongue is good; ro control the body is good; to control speech good; ro conrrol the mind is good; good is control on is everyside,A bhikkhu who is thus controlledon everysideis freedfrom all suffering. The very last section is called Brahmana-uagga: it describesbrahmanhood, the highest social status in India, not in terms of lineage and birth, but in terms of ethical perfection: I call not a man a brahmanbecause is born of a brahmanmother:he, he who is without worldy belongings freefrom aftachment, and him I call a brahman.Him I call a brahman,who has severed fettersand is thus all without cares; who hastranscended ties,and is totally unshackled.. all . Him I call a brahman,who is free from angerand fairhfully keepshis observances; followsthe moral precepts is without craving;who who and hassubdued himself and who wearsrhisbodyfor the lasttime . .. Him I call a brahman,from whom lust, ill-will, pride and envy havefallen off. The Buddhist ideal is one of unflinching pursuit of what is consideredthe highest spirituality: freedom from craving, from ill-will, from delusion is valued much higher than material goods, so-called rights or any kind of self-assertion.It looks despicable to those for whom possessions, selfassertion and gratification of sense-desiresare everything, but the Buddhist ideal may in the end win our: it is the witnessto rhe eternal. Ihe Dhammapada commentary While it was for some time assumed that the great Buddhaghosa, the most prolific of commentators of Pili literature, had also composed the commentary to the Dhammapada, it is now certain that 'neither Buddhaghosa nor Dharmapala can be regarded as the author of the Dhammapada AtthakathA' .43 The commentary consists of rwo components: (1) a word-for-word paraphrase, explaining all elements of the text; and (2) a collection of (traditional) stories intended to elucidate the moral of each verse. The

Z Z . B u d d hA s H o R r r N r R o D U c r o N ism

first of these is of little interest to the general reader. It is very helpful to the seriousstudent and the translator of the texts, but not very exciting to read. The secondconstitutes by far the largest portion and often has only a tenuous connection with the first. While quoting extensivelyfrom most books of the Pali Canon, it is most closely related to the Jatakas, from which it draws much inspiration and material. Most of the stories are concerned with informing the listener about the fruits of past deeds and rebirths. Many of these tales are quite humorous: they describethe absurd consequences miserliness, pride of and drunkenness. Other stories deal with the lives of well-known Buddhist saints and with ghosts and spirits. The main point of all of them, like that of the Jatakas, is to dissuadethe hearersfrom commitring sins and to motivate them to perform good deeds. A few examples are offered as an invitation to read the collection. or at least some of the stories, in its entirety. After quoting the first verse of the Dhammapada ('All that we are rs the result of what we have thought', etc.) the commentator tells a story of eventsthat are supposedto have happened at Savatthi during the lifetime of the Buddha.The narrative is very circumstantialand takes a long time to come to the point. Maha Pala, the son of Maha Suvalna, a rich householderin Savatthi,and the brother of Culla Pala, after listeningto the Buddha, becomes a monk at an advanced age. While practising meditation, as instructed by the Buddha, his eyesight gets worse and worse; no medicine is of any avail. He achievesarahatta but becomes completelyblind. Having succeeded, after many adventures, getting to in the place where the Buddha resides,one day, after heavy rain, he takes a walk and tramples many insects underfoot. Other bhikkbas report him to the Buddha. The Buddha excuses him and says that he had not committed an offence,because was blind and neither saw the insects he nor intended to harm them. When asked why Maha Pala, although destined for arahatta, had become blind, the Buddha tells them a story: a long, long time ago a wandering physician had been approached for help by a woman whose eyesight was failing. He offered to treat her and asked what she would give him in return. The woman promised to make herself, her son and her daughter his slaves. The physician gave her an ointment. Vith a singleapplication she regainedher eyesight. She then regrettedhaving made her earlier promise to the physician, and when he came to collect his reward, she complained that her eyes

73 T H EC O N T E N TFT H EB I J D O H A - D H A M:M A O

had become worse, not better. The physician, recognizing the deception, prepared another ointment for her. Applying it to her eyes, the woman turned totally blind. The physician,the Buddha tells us, was Maha Pala, in a previous life. The law of karma demanded that he atone for his crime by suffering blindness himself. I7ithin the main story there are many digressions which allow a teacher to add moral instructions on matters not directly related to the central issue. Thus we are told that when Maha Pala, after having become blind. wanted to meet the Buddha he sent for his brother Culla Palato accompanyhim. Culla Pala sent a novice,who, by holding the tip of Maha Pala's staff, guided him along. Once, close to a village, they heard a woman singing while gathering firewood, and the novice fell in 'Bhikkhus, I love with her. This is an occasionto quote a Buddha-saying: know of no other sound which so completely takes possessionof the heart of a man as this, namely the voice of a woman.'44 The novice asks the blind monk to wait for a moment. 'The elder thought to himself: "Just now I heard the sound of someonesinging, and it was none other than a woman's voice.The novice tarries;he must have violated the law of chastity."'45 After being questioned by the elder; the novice admits to his failing, and the elder refusesto continue being led by him. The young man takes off his robes and tells the elder that he has become a layman again, so they may set forth. The elder replies: 'An evildoer is an evildoer, be he layman or novice' and refusesto accept his services.He would rather face the risk of being attacked by wild beasts and robbers than continue in the company of the sinner.In the end Indra, the king of the gods, moved by the power of Maha Pala'svirtue, adopts an appropriate disguise and accompaniesthe elder into the presenceof the Buddha. Another story that has the ring of historical truth is offered to illustrate a couplet from the last section, the Brahmana-uagga, which says: 'Him I call a brahman, who is free from anger . . .' The elder Seriputta, making the alms round with five hundred bhikhhus, comes to the door of his mother's house. She invites him in. lets him have a seat and gives him food. Then she starts abusing him: 'You leftovers eater! If you don't get leftovers of rice gruel at home, you go from house to house to strangersand lick the back of the ladle with which rice gruel has been stirred. And for this you renounced a vast inheritance and became a monk!' She also feeds his entourage, but scolds them likewise: 'Eat, you scoundrels,who have made my son your own page-boy!'46

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Sariputta takes the food and without saying a word, returns to the monastery. The Buddha, questioning Rahula about his alms round. learns what has happened. The other monks approvingly tell each other about the incident. The Buddha, to conclude the story, then utters the couplet: 'Him I call a brahman, who is free from anger . . ., Conclusion There is a great similarity berween the Dhammapada commentary and the Jatakas, the tales about Buddha's previous births. Likewise, a grear similarity eists between the Dhammapada and some other books of the Pali canon such as the udana (uplifting verses) and ltiuuttaka (Thus it was said). The Udana prefaces each of its moral sayings with a story, similar to those in the commentary to the Dhammapada. The ltiuuttaka consistsof brief sermons by the Buddha which are then summarized in verseform. They are arrangedin ones, rwos, threesand fours, referring to the number of objects mentioned in each. In the first section,for instance, the Buddha teachessrla-kosalla(s: sila kausalya),'the diligencein virtuous deeds',as 'the one thing which practised brings gain in this world and the next'; in the second he teaches,amongst other things, 'two conditions of nibbdna', namely 'that with basisremaining and that without basis';in the third section he teachesthat there are 'rhree profitable ways of thinking,, namely thinking about renunciation, goodwill and harmlessness, which 'are conducive for nibbana'; in the fourth section he mentions .four grounds for the arising of craving in a monk', namely 'craving for almsfood, for lodging, for success, for failure' and concludes with the verse: 'Freed from craving let the monk, ungrasping,mindful wander forth.'a7

K I N G M I L I N D A ' SO U E S T I O N S
Among the post-canonical Pali works the Milindapafihaa8 stands out as an early and greatly respected summary of Buddhist teachings.aeIt purports to record questions (P: panha) of King Milinda (supposedly a Bactrian King Menander who ruled in the middle of the second century scr in north-west India) addressedto Nagasena, a learned Buddhist bbikkhu, of whom nothing elseis known to us. The questionsreflectthe problemswhich a newcomer to Buddhism would typically have, and the answers are often given with the help of homely images and down to eanh explanationsto which everybodycan relate.

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The question-answer part proper is preceded by a lengthy introductionso that familiarizes the reader with the background of both the protagonists.It leads us back to the time of the Buddha Kassapa,who had lived thousands of years before Gotama. Both Milinda and Nagasenahad then been membersof the Sangha:Milinda as a novice, Negasena as his preceptor. Nagasena had punished Milinda with a broomstick for disobeying an order to remove a dust heap. Both, however, individually utter wishes for their future which are going to come true. Gotama the Buddha is describedas seeingthem before his mental eye, prophesying that they would reappear five hundred years after his passingaway and explain the Dhamma through questionsand similes. 'Sfhen the former novice was reborn as King Milinda, he proved to be a very learned,wise and just ruler, accomplishedin all arts and sciences, fond of debate and always on the lookout for a discussionpartner. His questionswere so incisiveand subtle that he silencedall the well-known scholarsof his day. Nobody could answer him and he made the bbikkhus insecureby his probing, 'heretical' questions. The situation became so serious that the gods in heaven became involved:the king of the gods, Sakka, approachedMahasena,who had a him to go reputation for scholarshipand learning, and tried to persuade back to earth. After refusing at first, and declaring that he had no inclination to go back to the world of humans with all its vexations,he finally agreedand was reborn in a pious and learned brahman family. It was to this family that a Buddhist monk by the name of Rohana was sent as a penanceslto beg his food. For sevenyears he was refused not only food but even a greeting.He graciously bore this humiliation and when once asked to look for food at the neighbour'shouse (which he this was the customaryway of declininga monk's request), announced event as a great gift. The brahman, astounded and surprised, recognized the great virtue of the bhikkhu and henceforth offered him daily food. Meanwhile the brahman'slittle boy, the reincarnatedMahasena,had reachedthe age of 7: the time when schoolingtraditionally began.In no but reviewingwhat he time he had masteredthe Vedasand the Vedengas, 'he found no value in it anywhereat all. And he exclaimedin had learnt of bitterness soui: "Empt5 indeed,are theseVedas,like chaff. There is in t h e m n e i t h e rr e a l i t y ,n o r w o r t h , n o r t r u t h . " ' 5 2 Rohana witnessedthis in his mind and approachedthe unhappy boy. At the sight of Rohana he gladdenedand beganenquiring about the life

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of a bhikkhu. He so much liked what he heard that he askedhis parents for permissionto join the order, acceptingthe name Negasena.Very soon he had mastered the Abhidbamma, the most abstract and difficult portion of the Pali Canon. At the age of 20 he received the higher ordination and became a full member of the Sangha. He became well known for his grasp of the Dhamma and his facility of expression. He often heard about King Milinda 'who harrassedthe brethren by putting puzzles to them of a heretical tendency'.53He fearlesslyoffered to meet him and solve all the puzzles.After studying with some other learned monks and achieving arahantship, he was ready to face the heretical-soundingmonarch. Milinda, meanwhile, bored by the lack of suitablediscussion partners ('All India is an empty thing, it truly is like chaff. There is no one capable of discussingwith me and dispelling my doubts') had heard about Nagasena and his great reputation, and resolved to meet him. Thus begins the discussion portion of the Milindapanha. Even before Nagasenacould demonstrate his learning and astuteness in answering King Milinda's questions, he had a tremendous reputation in his own circles: he was the head of a body of disciples,the teacher of a school, famous and highly esteemedby the people. He was learned, wise and able; a skilful expounder, of subdued manners, full of courage, well versedin tradition, master of the three Pitakas and erudite in Vedic lore. He also was in possession the highest insight. A skilled debater and an of eloquent preacher,he had the reputation of being'a confounder of the followers of other masters. and a crusher of the adherents of rival doctrines'.s4 This Ndgasena, seated amidst five hundred bhikkhus, is now facing the king, who has arrived with a retinue of five hundred. At his sight the 'a snake king is overcome by feelings of f.earand anxiery; he feels like caught in a basket, or a fish in a net, like a man who has lost his way in a denseforest haunted bv wild beasts'.55 The Ouestions
THE CHARIOT SIMILE

The first meeting between King Milinda and Bhikkhu Nagasena, at preparedwith due pomp and circumstance the capital ciry Sagala, raisesan important issue even at the stage of the initial mutual name,is about Nagasena's The king, politelyenquiring introductions.

I 7 T H EC O N T E NO FT H EE U D D H A - D H A U M N. 1 T

given his first lessonin the Buddhist doctrine of anatta. Nagasenareplies to Milinda's question by saying: 'I am known as Ndgasena,and it is by that name that my brethren in the faith addressme. But although parents give such a name as Nagasena,this is only a designation used: for there is no permanent individuality (puggala)involved.'55 The king shows himself truly amazed at this denial of individuality and retorts with a practical counter-argument: 'Who, you monksyour robes, your food, your lodging then,is it who gives and what you need? whom is it given,and who devotes To himselfto a life of righteousness and meditation? !ilho wins arahantshipand who commits a sin, by destroyinglife? If what you say were true, a man would not commit a murderbv takingsomeone life else's and therewould be no teachers the Saneha the ordinations in would be void.s7 and The king just cannot understand how somebody sitting in front of him can deny the existence of the personality ascribed to him. If the name Negasena does not denote a person, what does it denote? Nagasena's hair? His nails, teeth, his kidneys,his heart, his brain or any other part of his body? Nagasenadeniesall that. He also deniesthat his outward form, his sensations, his ideas or his consciousness denoted by the name are Negasena. By now, Milinda sounds rather frustrated: 'Then I can detect no Ndgasena;Nagasenais a mere sound. Who is it, whom I seebefore me?' And he accuseshim of having uttered an untruth rather than a word of wisdom. Instead of giving an answer to the king's questions, Nagasena begins questioning the king in his turn. He innocently asks how the king had come to the meeting place, whether on foot or in a chariot. Almost offended,Milinda answersthat, of course,he had come in a chariot, as befits a king. Now Nagasenagoes into details:what is the chariot? Is it the pole, the axle, the wheels, the framework, the ropes, the spokesof the wheel? The king has to say no to all these questions. If, Nagasena concludes, neither all the parts nor anything outside rhe parts are the chariot, the chariot does not exist, it is a mere word. And he accuses the king of having spoken an untruth by asserting that he had come in a chariot that did nor exisr. Vhile the king's entourage applauds the cleverness of Nagasena, Milinda himself tries to extricate himself from this situation by stating

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that the compositeof all the things mentionedby Nagasenais commonly understood as a 'chariot' - and that is what he came in. Negasena approvesof the king's grasp of the matter: the same,he says,appliesto the term 'individuality'. It is a conventional designation for the aggregarc of componentsmentioned in connectionwith a name. To give the conclusion the appropriate form and authoritl Nagasena quotesa canonicalstatementmade by 'our SisterVajird in the presence of the BlessedOne: "Just as it is by the condition precedent of the coexistence its various parts that the word 'chariot' is used,so it is, that of when the hhandhasare there, we talk of a "living being."'The king sees the point and congratulates Nagasena:'Were the Buddha himself here,he would approve your answer.'58
WHY DOESONE BECOME A MONK?

Before entering into another round of discussionon similar matters Nagasenawishes the king to clarify a question of procedure:would the king debate with Negasena as a scholar or as a king? If the former, Nagasenawas ready for it; if the latter, Nigasena would decline. The king wants to hear from Nagasena the drfference between a scholarly and a royal debate. Nagasenaenlightenshim: when pandits (traditional scholars)talk over a matter with one another, there is the developmentof an argument in which eventually one of them admits having been wrong and acknowledges assertions it; are made as well as counter-assertions, nobody is angeredby this processof to and fro. and When a king discusses matter and somebodyarguesagainsthim, he is a apt to have the opponent fined and punished.The king agrees discuss to like a pandit. This discussionis to be held in the king's palace and Nagasena rs invited to bring as many companionswith him as he wishes.He arnves with his entire entourageand all are given a meal and robes. The meal finished,the king asks Nagasenato stay on with only ten of his brethren and to talk with him, seatedon the samelevel as the bhikkhus, about no lessa matter than truth. 'going The king wants to know about the objectiveof the bhikkhus' 'ultimate goal' (paramattha). Nagasena forth' lpabbaial and their answers:'Our going forth is for the ending of dukkba, and our ultimate aim is parinibbana.'seWhen questioned,Nagasenaadmits that not all members of the Sanghahave ;oined for such high reasons:'Some have left the world in terror of the ryranny of kings. Some have joined us in

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A - D H A M M AC 7 9

order to be safe from robbers, some harassedby debt, some to gain a livelihood.' Questionedabout his own motives, Nagasenatells the king: I was received into the Order when I was a mereboy.I thendid not know aboutthe ultimateaim. I thoughtthat rhese Buddhist monkswerewise scholars who would be ableto teach somerhing.havebeen me I taughtby them and now I both know and understand reasonfor and the rhe advantage the goingforth.50 of The king enquiresabout eachof the 'five good qualities'that bring about the transformation of the bhikkhu: good conduct (slla), faith (saddhal, (uiriya), mindfulness (sati) and concentration (samadhil. perseverance Nagasenagivesfairly exhaustivelectureson thesesubjects, illustratedby comparisonsand similes relating to the king's sphereof experience. Faith, Nagasenasays, has the effect of calming and aspiring. Faith makes the heart calm and clear, freeing it from hindrances (to inner freedom) such as lust, malice, sloth, pride and doubt. It can, in this capacity, be compared to a water-clearing gem. that a royal servaht immersesin water that has beenmuddied by the crossingof an army, so as to make it 6t for the king to drink. 'The water is the heart; the royal servants are the recluse;the mud, the sand,the particlesof plants are the evil dispositions;and the water-clearinggem is faith.'It can further be compared to a guide who is capableof leading to higher ground people who have beenmarooned by a flood, on accountof his knowledgeof the terrain. 'This is the kind of way in which rhe bhikkhu by faith aspiresto leap, as it were by a bound, into higher things.'61 He explains the other five qualities in similar ways, to the king's satisfaction. When the king, at the end, wonders, how these very different qualities can bring about one and the same result, Nagasena repliesthey do so because they all put an end to evil dispositions.'They are like the various parts of an arm,v- elephants,cavalry,war chariots, archers - who all work towards one end, namely to conquer the opposing army in combat.'
WASTHE BUDDHA REALLYENLIGHTENED?

Somewhereduring the course of the discussions the king converts to Buddhism and chosesNagasenaashis kalyana mitta, his spiritual guide. He practises remembrance the Buddha,doespenanceand takesthe the of eightfold vow. No longer doeshe demand that Nagasenacome to him to

i m a 0 . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

Nagasena drscuss matters that interesthim; he himself now approaches 'with downcast eyesand measuredwords, gentle in manner,collectedin thought, glad and pleasedand rejoicing in heart'.52He has faith in the Buddha but he also has his doubts: doubts concerning the Buddha's omniscience, supposed be part and parcel of his enlightenment and to 'there are apparentcontradictionsin the word of the Conqueror'.51 the ten virtues Negasena, after affirming that the king possesses required of a good Buddhist lay disciple, encourageshim to come forward with his questrons. The first question concerns the honours paid to the Buddha, apparently a point of debate between Buddhists and their opponents. Here is the dilemma: if the Buddha still accepts honours and gifts, he must somehow still be in connection with this world and cannot have entirely passed away. If he has entirely passed away, he cannot accept honours and gifts and Buddhists who continue providing these are doing something foolish and pointless. Not so, says Nagasena. The Buddha is entirely set free, and he does not acceptany gifts. If people put up a building to house his relics they benefit themselves,not the Buddha, and acquire merit that results in 'Acts done to either a human rebirth, a rebirth in heavenor arahantship. the Tathagatha,who has passedaway and neither acceptsnor rejects them, are not empty and vain but are of value and bear fruit,'64 Ndgasena, as usual, illustrates his teachingswith striking similes, comparing the coming and going of the Buddha with that of a mighty fire, a great wind or a huge sound: these come and go, not affected by smaller fires, by lighter winds or the ordinary sounds which people may make. The second dilemma concerns the omniscience of the Buddha: the Buddha, according to tradition, had to reflect in order to understand certain things. Milinda, probably echoing anti-Buddhist opinions, concludes: 'The Buddha cannot have been omniscient, if his allembracing knowledge was reached through investigation.' Before answering the question directly, Nagasena provides an excursuson the sevenclasses mind and their ways of understanding. of The epistemologythat is offered is closelytied to the spiritual condition of each person: the lowest, slowest kind of thinkers are the unconverted, uncontrolled. The second class are the converted, who are beginning their life as Buddhists. The third class are those who have reduced their lust, ill-will and delusion to a minimum: they are agile thinkers on the

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A . D H A M M A C 8 1

lower level,not, however,on the higher level.Above them are thosewho 'act slowly' in the higher have come to the point of no return; they still regions. The next are the arahants and the pacceka-buddhas,each more perfectthan the other.The highestclassare the 'completeBuddhas'who 'whose possess knowledge and thinking powers are on every point all brought quickly into play'. A homely simile helps to explain the point: imagine a fruit tree, laden with ripe fruit, but none of it yet fallen from the tree. Vith little effort, one could obtain as many fruits as one wanted. Certainly such a tree would not be considered'barren'.Thus,'though reflectionis a necessary condition of the knowledge of the Tathagatha, yet on reflection he p e r c e i v e s h a t e v e rh e w a n t s t o k n o w ' . o ' w A dilemma that must have vexed the Sanghawas how to reconcilethe Buddha's presumed omniscienceand compassion with his admitting Devadatta, who was to bring about a schism in the order, and thereby earn for himself hellish punishmentsfor untold ages.Nagasenaasserts that the Buddha knew, when admitting Devadatta,that he would causea schism; but by becoming a bbihkhu Devadatta reduced the evil karma that otherwisewould have led him into evenlonger and greatertorments. Milinda retorts: The Buddhafirst woundsa man and thenpoursoil on the wound,first and out throwsa man down a precipice thenreaches to him an assisting to hand,first kills him and then seeks givehim life, first givespain and joy then addsa subsequent to the pain he gave. Nagasenaagrees but qualifiesthe king's version: people but to theirgood,he casts down The Tathagatha woundspeople but but to theirprofit,he kills people, to theiradvantage. asmothers Just and evenknockthemdown,thinkingthe hurt theirchildren and fathers method increase the virtueof an in whileof theirgood,so bv whatsoever to about,b,vthat method doeshe contribute livingthingscan be brought
their good.on

In the caseof Devadatta the Buddha foresaw that if Devadatta had not enteredthe Order he would have accumulatedas a layman much worse karma than that he earnedthrough his sin of splitting the Sangha.'It was at the thought that by renouncing the world according to his doctrine Devadatta'ssorrows would becomefinite that. in his mercy.the Buddha

8 2 . E l t 0 0 | 'Al s Hlo R rr N r R o D U C r o N l St l

adoptedthat meansof making his heavy sorrow light.' In addition, at the hour of his death Devadattatook refugein the Buddha for the rest of his rebirths. The merit from this act will result in his becoming a paccekabuddha under the name of Atthissara at the end of this kalpa (worId-age, aeon). The Buddha is the skilled physician who, in order to prevent worse, usesscalpeland caustic substances treat fatal wounds. to
THE END OF THE TRUE DHAMMA

Milinda contrasts two Buddha-words that appear to contradict each other. In the one the Buddha saysthat the true law (saddbamma) wrll last five hundred years.In the other he declares that the world will never be bereft of arahants.One of thesestatements has to be false,if the other is true. Nagasena attests the authenticity of both Buddha-words. But while the Buddha made the first statement in connection with the admission of women to the Order, declaring a diminishing of its duration, a reduction,as it were, of the reservoirof the saddhdmma-he did not foretell a disappearance the true law. The continued good of deedsof the children of the Buddha will keep the now reducedreservoir brimming over with the fresh cool water of the practice of virtue and morality.
DID THE BODHISATTVA\TIOLATE THE DHAMMA?

The Milindapaitha acceptsJataka stories as true in the same senseas the other accountsconcerningthe Buddha in earlier parts of the Pdli Canon. King Milinda points out a number of discrepancies berweenthe actions of the bodhisattuas and the Buddha's teaching. The answers which NAgasena gives,not denying either the comparability or the reliability of the JAtuka stories,are most interesting. A traditional saying attributed to the Buddha statesthat even as a bodhisattuahe did not inflict pain on living beings.On the other hand one of theJatakastells us that when the Bodhisattvawas born as the Rsi Lomasa Kassapa he had hundreds of living beings slain, offering the blood of many animals as a 'Drink of Triumph'. Nagasena, again, does not questionthe authenticityof both sayingsapparently it had become very important by that time to accept the canon as a whoie as authoritative and then to attempt to reconcile the Bodhisattva Nagasenaexcuses apparentlycontradictory statements. bv saying that what Rsi Lomasa Kassapadid was an act of madness Candavati. committed when he had insanelvfallen in love with Princess

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A - D H A M M A C 8 3

And an 'evil act, done by one out of his mind, is even in the presentworld not considered a grievous offence, nor is it so with respect of the fruit t h a t i t b r i n g sa b o u t i n a f u r u r e l i f e ' . 5 The king agreesthat contemporary practice did not even provide punishment for an insane man who committed murder: he would be beatenand set free.Analogously, the deedof Rsi LomasaKassapadid not result in a sin, but his subsequent return to the life of renunciationearned for him a rebirth in Brahmaloka. A great variety of additional dilemmas are placed by Milinda before Nagasena,who unfailinglv has an answer to all of them. The questions apppear to reflect the doubts which ordinary people entertainedwith regard to the Buddha and his Dhamma; the answersshow centuriesof scholastic reflection and sophistication. The satisfaction shown by Milinda after receivingNagasena's answersseemsto be a sign of broad acceptanceof the solution to those often quite serious objections to c e r t a i nB u d d h i s rt e a c h i n g s . Even at that time, a ferv centuries after his life, the question was raised as to rvhether the Buddha had ever really lived. Nobody among those presenthad seenhim; nor had their teachers. Who can prove that the Buddha, to whom these teachings are ascribed, ever lived? Nagasena's'proof is the only one possible:in the same way in which the hereditary insignia legitimate King Milinda's rule, although neither he nor his immediate ancestorshad seenthe founder of the dynasty,so the Buddha's 'royal insignia' are still around as a testimony to his life. The Noble Eightfold Path, his teachingof mindfulnessand the life of the S a n g h at e s t i f yr o h i s e x i s t e n c e . A telling simile is employed to illustrate this: the Ciry of Righteousness(dhamma nagara). As a well-built and well-maintained ciry testifiesto the existenceand talent of the architect and master-builder who conceivedand built it, so the Buddha'sDhamma City is testimonyro the Buddha'sexistenceand deep intelligence. The Blessed One'sdhammanagarahasrighteousness its rampartand for fearof sin for its moat, knowledge its battlements for overits ciry gareand zeal for the watchtower; it has faith for the base of its pillars and mindfulness for a watchman at the gates.It has the suttantas1or a marketplace and the Abbidhammafor its crossroads, Vinaya for its the court buildingand constantself-control its marn street. as

i H 8 + . B u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U C r o N

It has a great many bazaars as well: a flower bazaar and a fruit bazaar,a medicine bazaar and a nectar bazaar,a bazaar for gems and for all kinds rrAR ot goods."" Nagasenaexplains,are the sub;ects Th. bloorn, in the flower bazaar, for meditation made known bv the Buddha: the idea of impermanence and insubstantialityof ever,vthing, the idea of impurity and of danger connectedwith the body, the idea of freedom from passion and of the transience all things, and so on. of The perfume bazaar offers a great variety of virtues, the fruit bazaar displaysattainments\ke arahatta, and so on. A verseat the end sums it all up: Lcng life, goodhealth, beaurJ', rebirthin heaven, High birth, nibbana all are found for sale Thereto be bought for kamma,greator smallworld-famedbazaar. In the greatConqueror's as Come;showyour faith,o brethren, the price, Buy and enjoysuchgoodsas you prefer.5e

The dhamma ndgara simile allows the author to lay out the whole of Buddhist doctrine - the most convincing proof of Buddha'sexistence.
THE AXAIIANTAS UNryERSAI BEING

In the last section of the Milindapanha, King Milinda asks about the qualities which a bhikkhu needs in order to become an arahant. Nagasenamarshallsthe rvhole of nature and tells the king that he needs and the virtues and qualitiesfound in animals and plants, in the elements in the planets,in all kinds of people and of all kinds of things in order to 'complete being'. be a true arahant, a Everything a bbikkhu seesshouid become for him a lesson to be learned: the cock's constant scratchingand searchingfor food should remind the bhikkhu continually to examine himself, the panther's preference for loneiy placesshould tell the bhikkhu to look for solitude, the sal tree'sdeeproot-systemshould instruct the bhikkbu about the need to lay deep foundations for his meditation effort; when he seesa ship he should remind himself of his dutv to ferrv manv people acrossthe ocean There is quite literallv no end to this learning,and the author of samsara. t t i i s w o n d e r f u l l , vn v e n t i v e n p o i n t i n g o u t i n e v e r v t h i n g h e q u a l i t i e s h a t a i perfectionof arahatta. Buddhist bhikkhu needsto reach the

T H E C O N T E N TO F T H E B U D D H A . D H A M M A C 8 5

As for Milinda, he is filled with joy of heart after listening to everything that Nagasenahas to teach. He ceases have any doubts, to and asks Negasena to accepr him as a supporrer of the faith, a true convert. Eventuallyhe hands over the rule of his kingdom to his son and becomesa bhikkhu himself, attaining arahatta in this life.
NOTES

1. The most extensive suchcritiqueis to be found in E. Lamorre,Histoire du Bouddbisme Indien (Louvain1958), now alsoavailable an Enslish in translation(seebibliography). 2. The accouRtin Bu-ston Rimpoche'sfamous History of Buddhism s q u i t ed i f f e r e nitn m a n yd e r a i l s n d m u c hm o r ec i r c u m s r a n t i a l .i r r c h e i s a S e a Mahayanist,he emphasizes importanceof the later councils(not the recognized TheravAdins). by 3. The traditional report is found in the ]vldhauamsa and the Cullauamsa. 4. Thereis a curiousincidentreported connection in with the FirstCouncil. Only 499 arahants could be found. Ananda,the closesr associate the of Buddha,had not yet found arahattabut was deemed closeto it. So he was sentaway for a short retrearduring which he achieved arahatta.ln all likelihoodtherewas a party which rvantedro excludeAnandafrom the council but given his standingin the communiry he had ro be includedafter somearguing. 5 . The traditional account is found in rhe Cullauamsa. 5 . This was no longer an 'ecumenical council' but an assemblyof the Sthaviravadins rhe Vibha;;avadins or only. 7. For the contenrof the Pali Canon seeappendix1. 8 . Pali originally meanr 'line', i.e. the line that separated original text an from the commentarythat was written underneath. The text would be called Pali-bbAsa, designationthat was later used ro name the a languagein which it was written. Pali is one of rhe Middle Indian languages, close to Magadhi, the languagein which the Buddha is believedto have taught. Ir was one of the Buddha'sinnovarions, and one of the reasons his great popular success, use the vernacular for to for his teaching instead Sanskrit, of which only the educated could have understood. 9. There is no accountof this council in the Pali sources. 'Four Buddhist 10. For detailsseeB. Jinananda, Councils'. 11. For a full treatment of Olcott's role in reviving Buddhism and his activitiesas presidentof the Theosophical Societysee prothero, TDe white Buddhist. 12. Norman, 'Pali Studies the rvest' menrions in thar 'the Frsr'wesrerner to study Pali u'as a French missionarynamed Laneau,who in a reporr dated 1580 is said to have srudiedPali in lG72 and, have wrirren a ro Grammar and a Dictionarvof Pali'. Both are lost. 13. For a list of text editionsand translations publishedbv the pali rext Society appendix2. see

. A O B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m 14. For more about the work of the Pali Text Sociery 'Pali Studies the see in West' by K. R. Norman, its then president. 15. SeeGross,BuddhismAfter Patriarcby, pp. 130ff. 15. That therewas a genderissuein someBuddhistcirclesis madeclearby the widespread(but not universal)convictionthat the Buddha could only appear as a male and that a female bodhisattuawould undergo a changeof body before becominga Buddha. On the other hand, in MahayanaBuddhism thereis not only acceptance a numberof female of bodhisattuas teachers the true Dharma,but the grammatical as of gender (Perfection Ifisdom) is alsotakenas an expression of Prajfla-paramita of of the femalenature of the 'Mother of all Buddhas'. Several important Mahayana texts are ascribed to female bodhisattuas and there is recognitionof the irrelevance genderin questionsconcerningthe true of Dharma. l/. Gross,Buddhism After Patriarchy, pp. 207ff . 1 8 .Conze, preface to the US edition of Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines. p. xix. t 9 . Vasubandhutn the Abhidbarma-koia-bhasya (ch.IX) offers this telling dialogue: 'Is thereany liberationoutside Buddba-dharma?'A:'No, of Q: thereis not.' Q: '$7hatis the reason this?'A:'Because for other doctrines are corruptedby a falseconception the soul.' of 20. Gross,Buddbism After Patriarchy,p. 288.

21. rbid. 22. The Abhidharma-koia has a revealing comment on the designation

23.

24. 25.

25.

27.

aryasatya for the Buddha's teaching: 'what the aryas call happy (i.e. niruana), others call painful; what others call happy, the aryas call painful' l, 5, 2. The Pali text says:anujandmi updiihdyam and could be translated 'I allow a preceptor' or'I prescribe advisea preceptor'. or Eor the sakeof the integrity of I. B. Horner's translation I have left it unchanged. Mahauagga,l,25trans.I. B. Horner in Tbe Book of the Discipline,SBB, pp. 58f. vol. fV (Mahauagga), For detailsseeDutt, 'BuddhistEducation',p. 151. A large amount of relevant informationis alsogivenin the article'Education, Buddhist', by H. \7. P. Guruge, in rhe Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. V. fasc. 1 ( 1 9 9 0 ) ,2 2 a - 3 5 b . Accordingto Professor Liang Chi-chaothe namesof 162 such scholarpilgrims from China are known; the reports of three of them, Fa-Hien (405411 cr), Yuan Chwang (529-646 cr) and I-Tsing (671-595 cr) have beentranslated into English.SeeBeal, Si-Yu-Ki. Alsoknown as Yuan Chwang,born in 502 in Lo-Yang,northernChina. Followingthe exampleof his elderbrotherhe became Buddhistmonk a and soonexcelled debates. in Disquieted the differentteachings the by of many schoolsof Buddhism,he desiredto go to the sources and visit lndia. The emperordeniedhim permission go but he left nevertheless to in 528 cr..After a perilous journey of severalyearsthrough desertsand over mountainpasses reached he India. He kept a diary and described all the places visited. spentabout fifteenmonths(635-71in Nalanda, he He

THE CONTENTOF THE BIJDDHA.DHAMMA e 87

studyingYogdcara with the famousSilabhadra, who at that time was the presidentof Nalanda. Hiuen Tsang had apparentlybuilt up a great reputationby then and he was royally treatedat Nalanda.His long stay in Nalanda and his carefulreportingmake his accounra very valuable sourceboth for the history of Nalanda and its operarionin the midseventh century.After furrher travelsin India he ieturnedto China in 645 and was receivedwith great honour. He refusedan appointmentas ministerand preferred remaina teacher Buddhism. died,highly to of He respected 654 cr. in 28. Born in 635 cr I-Tsingwas admittedto the Buddhistorder at the ageof 14. A few yearslater he wantedto travel to India like Hiuen Tsang, but did not get an opportunity till 671. cr. He spent twenty-five years travellingthrough thirty countries, returnedto China in 695 and died around 710 cr. He spent ten years at Nalanda, after his return translatingmany manuscripts which he had taken back to China with him. 29. Obermiller, History of Buddhismby Bu-ston,p.9. 30. Ibid.p. 11. 31. Ibid.p. $4. 32. Ibid.p. 78. 33. Ibid.p. 80. '!V. 34. For more details seeDhammapadaAtthakatba, rans. E. Burlingame, Buddhist Legends, vol. I, pp. 25f. J.R. Carter and M. Palihawadana (trans.), The Dhammapada (Oxford: Oxford University in Press, 1987), p. 3 also mention a Gandhdri Dharmapada in Prakrit and the Patna 'which is in a language Dharmapada, closeto Pali'. 35. N. K. Bhagwat(trans.),The Dbammapada(Bombay: The BuddhaText S o c i e t S . d . ) ,p . 1 . n 35. Carter and Palihawadana,The Dbammapada, 13. p. 37. J. Mascaro (trans.), The Dhammapada: The Path to Perfection (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1973),p. 35. , (trans.) Tbe Dbammapada (Oxford: Oxford Uni38. S. Radhakrishnan v e r s i t y r e s s1 9 5 4 ) ,p . 1 . P , 3 9 . S B E ,v o l . X ( O x f o r d :O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y r e s s1 8 8 1 ) ,p . 3 . P , 40. Pali-English Dictionary, p. 520. 41. The Pali word uerd means both angerand hatred. 42. The Pali dictionary tells us that citta is 'the subiective part of consciousness'. C a r t e ra n d P a l i h a w a d a n a ,b e D h a m m a p a d ap . 4 1 8 , n . 1 . T , Aiguttara Nikaya l, 7. Dhammapada Atthakatha,trans.Burlingame, vol. I, p. 155. Ibid.vol. III. o. 289. Itiuuttaka lY, 4. Palitext in Devandgari published SwamiDwarikadass by Sastri, vol. XIII in the Bauddha Bharati Series(Varanasi:Bauddha Bharati, 7979); Englishtranslationb1,T. !7. Rhys Davids,SBE,vols. XXV and XXVI (1890). All page references the text are ro rhis translation.The in wording of the translation has sometimes beenslightlymodified.

ism a g . E u d d hA s H o R rr N r R o D U c r l o N

49. T. \f. Rhys Davids thinks that the Milindapafih.a is not only an'undoubtedly the master-piece of important'Buddhist document but Indian prose and indeedthe best book in its class,from a literary p9!1t of view, that had then been produced in any country' (SBE' vol' XXY p. introduction, xlviii). a,'Outside narrative'. 5 0 . CalledBahira-kath . ) 1 . Rohana was so absorbed in meditation at the time when the other bhikkhus went to appeal to Sakra that he missed joining them. The 'When the religion of leaderof the bhikkhii reproachedhim by saying: crumbling away' have you no eyesfor the the Buddha is in danger of is described the work of the Order?' (l+). for his inadvertence Penance

uponhim. imposed 52. Milindapanhal,lS. 53. rbid.23. s4. Ibid.35. 55. rbid.38. 56. rbid.40. 57. rbid.41f. 58. rbid.45. 59. Ibid.49. 60. rbid.50. 61. Ibid.55. 52. rbid.138. 63. Ibid.143. 64. tbid. r47. 55. rbid.1,62. 66. tbid.1,64f. 57. Ibid.II, 19. 68. tbid.2r2. 59. Ibid.230.

THE SANGHA

third 'Jewel' in which a Buddhist takes refuge is the Sangha, I composed of four 'assemblies': the bhikkbrzs (monks), the bhikkhunis (nuns), upasakas (male lay followers) and upasikas (female lay followers). The Sangha, the community of all the followers of the Buddha, is divided into sahghas, smaller local communities that over time developed their own characteristics and interpretations of the Buddha's teachings. While members of all four assemblies are true Buddhists, there is a gradation with regard to both requirements and spiritual expectations. Those who are single-mindedly striving for nibbana will seek to become (ordained) monks and nuns; those who for whatever reason are satisfiedwith lay status hope through good deeds to merit a rebirth that will bring them closer to nibbana. This view is also expressedin the famous anupubbi kathd, the 'gradual instruction' that occurs at several places in the Pali Canon: tTthr The Blessed One gave a gradual teaching,a discourseon giving, a discourse ethics,a discourse heaven, on on explainingthe peril, futiliry and baseness sense of pleasures the advantage renouncing and in these. When the Blessed One realized that the hearer's mind was prepared and freeof hindrance, taughtthe full Dhammaof the Blessed he Buddhas: the FourNobleTruths,suffering, origin,its extinctionand the path leading its to its extinction. Someone desirous of joining the Buddha's following and prepared to accept his Dhamma, could either ask to become a lay follower or request ordination. The former choice was expressed by taking refuge in the

i m s o . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

Three Jewels and the request to be accepted as lay follower. Lay followers were instructed to submit to the pafica-slla,the'Five Moral Restraints': not to take life, not to steal,not to commit unchastity'not to lie and not to take intoxicants.The main duty of the laity was to support the monks and nuns, who were forbidden from doing any gainful work. The choice of yoiningthe assemblyof monks and nuns was originally sealedimmediatelyby ordination. Following his requestto the Buddha, 'Come monk; monk would be summonedwith the call: the prospective the Dhamma has been well taught, practisepurity to end all suffering.' Even during Buddha's lifetime changes were introduced to make becominga monk more difficult and more dependenton meetingcertain conditions.The'going forth' (pabbaiia),theleavinghome, through which 'ordination' (upasampadA), one becamea samanerah(novice),and the and the full incorporation into the assemblyof bbikkhus, were separated conditions were attached to both. A minimum ageof 8 was required for one to take pabbaia and a minimum age of 20 for upasampada' Certain physicalas well as socialconditionswere attachedto receivingordination - if thesewere not met, ordination was declaredinvalid. Nobody who did not have an appointed novice-master(upaiihdya)and teacher (acariya) could apply for ordination and the request for ordination had to be supported by five ordained members of the sanghawith at least ten years' standing.The person who was to confer ordination had to addressthe following questionsto the candidate: fits? with leprosy? boils? consumption? Are you afflicted a Are you human? male? freeman? a from royal service? Are you free from debts? Haveyour fatherand mothergivenconsent? Are you fully rwenty yearsold? robesin goodcondition? and ,vour Are your alms-bowl W h a t i s y o u rn a m e ? name?' What is your preceptor's The ordination was conferred in an open assemblyand any obiectrons the againstconferring it could be voiced. If after three announcements community remained silent, the officiant declaredthe ordination valid.2 Like all spiritual masters of his time, the Buddha thought that liberation was only attainableafter cutting the ties with ordinary social life: liberationwork was full-time work, not compatiblewith caring for a familv. Quite naturally, he sought his first audience among ascetics'

THE ANGHA.9I S

peoplewho had left the world in order to find liberation, peoplewho had already gone far on the way towards enlightenment. in spite of proclaiming a Middle Vay that avoided extremes of asceticism,the Buddha never repudiated the ascetic ideal as such: his rules for his community quite clearly advocateself-control,restraint and high ethical standards.The Eightfold Path, the core of the Buddha's message, can only be followed fully by people who have disengaged themselvesfrom social and economic obligations, people who have becomefull-time seekers. The emphasison meditation in particular, the 'exercises', very core of Buddhist demandsfreedom from everythingelse that might intrude upon one's time. The spreadingof the Dhamma throughout the world, one of the tasks the Buddha had imposed on his disciples, demanded complete independence: Released I, monks,from all ties,whether am humanor divine.You also are delivered from fetters, whetherhumanor divine,Go now and wander for the welfare and happiness gods and men. Let not rwo of you of proceed the samedirection.Proclaimthe Dhammathat is excellent in in the beginning, excellent the middle,excellent the end.3 in in The Buddha'spreaching met with success from the very beginning:the original five ascetics, whom he had known from his time in the Uruvela forest, becamehis followers after the 6rst instruction and the community grew very quickly. Both the joy and the pain of having a large family and the Buddha did considerhis followers his 'offspring' - were part of the experienceof the historical Buddha. His practical wisdom shows in the pragmatism with which he approached the task of guiding his followers through chailenges both mundane and spiritual. While according to the accountsin the Pdli Canon the first disciples reached arahatta immediately on being accepted into the fold, the majority of the later adherentseither took a long time to reach it or did not attain it at all during the lifetime of the Buddha. Thus it became necessary lay down rules for those who were not yet enlightenedand to to provide a firm framework of regulations reflecting the ideals of Buddhist life. Whereasthe first and foremost concernof the Buddha was the teaching of nibbana, there were practical considerations uis-i-uis the laity who supportedthe communiry of monks and whose opinions could not be disregarded. The life of the Buddhist bbikkhu had not only to be

i m 9 2 . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

focused on enlightenment, it had to be structured in such a way as not to interfere with the socio-economic order of the country. Such concerns found expression in the Buddha's forbidding his monks and nuns to wander about during the rainy season(lay followers had complained that they trampled down the crops) and in his not admitting slavesor soldiers into the order (a king had warned the Buddha that he could not vouchsafehis security if there were no police to keep criminals in check). I7hile the Sanghawas on principle open to everyone and disregarded many traditional barriers of caste, sex or ritual puriry it nevertheless excluded certain categoriesof people who were considered unfit even to enter the path, namely: those who had committed deeds bad enough to merit hellish existencesl those who belonged to heretical outfits that would lead to animal existences; o those whose karma had not matured sufficiently and who needed to go through other human lives before being fit; . those who had no faith in the Buddha, and who were without energy and insight. Someonedesirous of becoming a novice had to be prepared to accept as binding the ten rules of the sihkha-paddni:4 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. not not not not not not not not not not taking life; taking what was not given; engaging in sexual activity; lying; using drugs or intoxicants; eating after midday; attending public entertainments; using ornaments, perfumes etc.; using a luxurious bed; handling money, gold or silver.s

The candidates also understood that by entering the order of the bhihkhus and bhikhbunts they had to leave the laity to provide the necessities life (nissaya) for them, such as food, clothing, shelter and of medicine and that they could not engagein economically gainful activity. As an outward sign of membership in the assembly of bhikhhus and bhikkhunts the head was shaved and lay dress exchanged for monastic

. T H ES A N G H A 9 3

a R E A S O N SF O R E X P U L S I O N SF R O M T H E S A N G H A you, if he of who I allow monks, expel novice is possessedtenqualities: to a thattakes isnot what if he is one whomakes onslaught creatures, is one on given, heis one if of whois unchaste, is a liar, heis a drinker strong if he if of if dispraise the if dispraise the Buddha,hespeaks of drink, he speaks of if Dhamma,he speaks if dispraise the Sangha,he is a holder false of you, who I monks, expel novice to a if of views, heis a seducer nuns. allow (Mahdvagga trans. B. Hornet 1,61, L ten is possessed these qualities. of p. SBB, XlV, 108) vol.

robes. While originally Buddhist monks and nuns were supposedto wear only dressdiscarded by other people, it soon becamecustomary to accept robes made specifically for use by monks and nuns, donated by the laity. Providing food and robes to the order became the favourite means of gaining merit. One of the permanent obligations of an ordained member of the Sangha was participation in the fortnightly gatherings luposathal at which the recitation of the 'mirror of virtues (and vices)' (Pdtimokkbal took place.

THE PATIMOKKHA
The Patimokkha (leaving aside for the time being its etymology)6 designatesthe list of rules by which all members of the Sangha had to abide, which were recited at the fortnightly gatherings (uposathal of all the monks and nuns of a district. The abiliry (and obligation) to hold an uposatha, a gathering of all ordained members of the Sangha living in a defined area is tantamount to demonstrating the vitality of the Dhamma in this region. The Patimokkha definesthe essence Buddhist monastic life. i.e. of of Buddhism as a profession.'u7hile there is somescholarlydebateabout the exact date by which the Vinaya in its present form was fully formulated, there is no doubt that both the uposatha and the core of the Patimokkha go back to the earliest stages of Buddhism and are formative of the Sangha.

g q . 0 u d d h A s H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N ism

Severalbranchesof Buddhism developedtheir own modificationsof the Patimokkha. The Theravadins possess separatePatimokkha for a bhikkbus containing 227 rules and one for bhikkhunrs containing 3L1 rules. The Mllasarvastivadins' Patimokkha, used by Northern Buddhists, has 258 rules for monks and 366 for nuns, whereas the Dharmaguptaka's Pailmokkha used in East Asia has 250 rules for monks and 348 for nuns.7 All monks and nuns of a (previouslydefined)constituency(stmal (the minimum number was five) were to meet on full moon and new moon days for an assembly(uposatha)at which their leader was to recite the Patimokkba. Anyone presentwho had committed a breachof the rule or had observed another member breaking a rule had to speak up and confess,and accept the appropriate penance.Silencewas interpretedas expressionof innocence.Each rule was mentioned three times. If after the third time no answer was received the Sangha was presumed to be pure with regard to it. The rules are structured according to severity of breaches.The first group of four are called parajiAa, '[those acts which bring about] defeat', i.e. which automatically exclude a member from the Sangha.Sincethey are so important, and since every circumstance mentioned seemsequally important, the full text in the stately translation of Rhys Davids and Oldenberg, made more than a century ago, is offered here: 1. Whatsoever Bhikkhu who has taken upon himself the Bhikkhus' system self-training of and rule of life, and has not thereafter withdrawn from the training,or declared weakness, his shallhavecarnalknowledge of any one, down evento an animal, he has fallen into defeat,he is no longerin communion. 2. WhatsoeverBhikkhu shall take, from village or from wood, anythingnot given - what men call 'theft' - in such mannerof taking askingswould seize thief for, and slay,or bind, or banishhim, saying, the 'Thou art a thief,thou art stupid,thou an a fool, thou art dishonest' the Bhikkhuwho in that mannertakesthe thing not given,he, too, hasfallen into defeat,he is no longerin communion. Bhikkhushallknowinglydepriveof life a humanbeing, 3. Whatsoever or shallseekout an assassin against humanbeing,or shall utter the a praises death,or incite anotherto self-destruction, of saying'Ho! my friend! what good do you get from this sinful, wretchedlife? death is betterto theethan lifel'- if so thinking,and with suchan aim, he, by variops arguments, utter the praisesof death or incite anotherto selfdestruction he too, is falleninto defeat, is no longerin communion. he

r H E S A N G Ho 9 5 A

of 4. Whatsoever Bhikkhu, without being clearlyconscious extrahimselfthat insightinto the shallgive out regarding ordinaryqualities, 'Thusdo I saying, knowledge the nobleoneshasbeenaccomplished, of 'Thus do I perceive': time whetheron and at somesubsequent know', from guiltn shallbe desirous beingcleansed of he, beingpressed, feeling when I knew not, I saidthat I knew; his fault, and shallsay,'Brethren! falsehood,'then, when I saw not, I said that I saw - tellinga fruitless he, unlesshe so spakethrough undue confidence, too, has fallen into defeat, is no longerin communion.o he The text seemsclear enough; however,commentatorshave added many pagesof detailedexplanation of each term. The next category of regulations, called Saighadisesa,contains rules whose violation requires a formal meeting of the Sangha and the imposition of an appropriate fine. They range from contact with women, solicitation and procuring, to claiming personalproperty and offending other bhikkhus or laity by words or bad example. Penanceincludes periods of probation and certain disciplines. The bulk of the regulations (many no longer observed) concern internal matters of the order, dresscodes, the unity of the Sangha,the etiquetteof eating and of moving about. A major part of the Vinaya is taken up with providing casuistic evidencefor the regulationscontained in the Patimokkha: bhikkhus and bhikkhunrs, and also laity or people not belonging to the Buddhist communitn are reported approaching the Buddha with questions relating to the proper behaviour of monks and nuns and the Buddha would give a decision. In those decisionsthe Buddha shows himself flexible and pragmatic; he grants exceptionsto general rules, accommodates to the needs and sensibilitiesof all concerned. and allows interpretationsof principles. The life of the Buddhist monk is structured from morning till night, from the beginning of the year to the end; nothing is left to whim and improvization. The monk has to rise early,make his daily begginground for food, completehis one and only meal before noon, and devote most of his time to meditation and to study or to giving instruction. Twtce a month he has to appear for uposatha and for three months every year he during the rainy season has to go into retreat.While the monk has no 'social function' his life itself servesto remind society of the Dhamma. 'The ruling which imprisons the monk in a And, as E. Lamotte has it: tends to make him a fully self-denying network of detailedprescriptions

S 0. S | J d d h i s m o R r r N r R o D U c r o N A sH

person: gentle and inoffensive, poor and humble, continent and perfectly trained.'9

W O M E N N D T H ES A N G H A A
The Pali Canon reports that at a time when the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu,his home town, Mahapajdpati Gotamr, his aunt and foster mother, approached him and said: 'Lord, it would be fine, if women were allowed to renouncetheir homes and enter the homelessstate under the dhamma and uinaya of the Tathagata.'10The Buddha refusedher request outright not just once, not twice, but three times. He then travelled on to Vesali. Mahapajapatl cut off her hair, put on orange-colouredrobes, and travelled together with a number of likeminded women to Vesalias well. Ananda, the Buddha'sclosestassoclare, saw her and addressedher: 'W'hy do you stand here, outside the porch, with swollen feet, covered with dust, sad, sorrowful and weeping?' Mahdpajdpati explained that it was becauseof the Buddha's refusal to admit her to the monasticorder. Ananda sympathized with her and took her plea before the Buddha. Not once, not rwice, but three times - and the Buddha refusedagain. . So Ananda changed his tactic: instead of asking the Buddha to granr permission to women to become members of the order. he asked the Buddha whether women were capableof arahantship.The Buddha gave an affirmative answer: yes, they were capable. Reminding the Buddha of the care and affection he had received from Mahap aidpati, he repeated her request and this time the Buddha agreed. However, he put restrictions on the bbikkhunts that made them dependent on the bhikkhus. He allowed Mahapajapati to become a bhikkhunl under condition that she accepted the attha garu dhamma (Eight Heavy Rules): L. even the seniormost bhikkhunthad to show signs of respectto the juniormost bbihkhu; 2. no bhikkhunl was allowed to spend the rainy seasonin a district in which there was no bhikkhu; 3. the bhikkhunrshad to ask the bhikkbus everyfortnight about the date of the uposatba ceremony and the time of the bhikkhu.s' sermon; 4. the bhikkhunls were to confessbefore their own as well as before the bhikkhus' saigha any transgressions;

. rHESANGHA 97

had to be be 5. any penanceimposedon a bbikkhunl for a transgression undergone before both saighas; 6. after training for two years a bbikkhunt novice had to ask both sangbasfor ordination; 7. a bhikkhunl was never to revile a bhikkhu; 8. a bhihkhunl was not allowed to admonish a bhikkhu,but bhikkhus were allowed to admonish bhikkhunts. Mahipajdpati happily embracedthe Eight Heavy Rules and thus became initiated into the monastic order. The Buddha, in spite of his enlightenment, very much a child of his age and his culture, somewhat spoilt it by commenting that if women had not been allowed to become bhikkhunts, the order would have lasteda thousandyears;now it would using various homely only last half that long. He even statedgenerically, 'Under whatever doctrine and discipline examples to make his case: women are allowed to go out from the householdlife into the homeless state,that religion will not last long-' Later the Buddha also agreed to let bhi.kkhunls receive the upasampadl the higher ordination, but they had to be ordained by bhikkhus, not by bhikkhunts, When askedfor reciprocity in the honours given and taken between bhikkhus and bhikkhunls, the Buddha refused: 'This is impossibleand unallowable.'Andhe exhorted the bhikkhus:'You are not to bow down before women, to rise up in their presence' to stretch out your loined palms towards them, to perform any serviceto them. Whoever does it, will be guilty of an offence.' Out of regard for popular sentiment the Buddha ordered that bhikkhunls should recite the Pdtimokkha for bhikkhunts in a uposatha ceremony separate from that of the bhikkbus, and bhikkbunls, not bhikkbus, should hear the confessionsof bhikkhunrs. The numerous questions brought up before the Buddha with regard to the lifestyle of the bhikkhunls, the changesthat had to be made in their rules as againstthe rules for the male membersof the order, and the many incidentsreported concerning bhikkhunts, make us realizethat it must have been a difficult beginning and a way of life beset with constant vexations.rt N.uetduring the Buddha'slifetime the bhikkhunt saigha flourishedand theless, brought forth a great many learned and pious women who were highly regardedby all.12 'Psalmsof the Elder One book in the Pali Canon, the Therlgatba, Sisters',upon which a commentary was later written by Dharmapala,

S g. B u d d h i s m o R r N r R o D U c r o N A sH

ANOPAMA DaughterTreas'rer of Majjha's famous house, Rich, beautiful prosperous, born and I was Tovastpossessions to lofg rank. and Norlackedsuitors many I came wooed; and Thesons Kings merchant princes of and came gifts, eager myhand. Withcostly all for

v{ere trom An(messenqets sent rnan\ \and a

'Give With promise my father: to to me A n o p a m 6 ,n d l o o k !w h a t e ' e s h ew e i g h s , r a A n o p a m dh y d a u g h t e I ,w i l l g i v e t, r E i g h t f o ltd a tw e i g h ti n g o l da n dg e m so f p r i c e . ' h B u t I h a ds e e nt h ' E n l i g h t e n e d ,i e o ' t h eW o r l d , Ch f T h e O n eS u p r e m e n l o w l i n e sIss a t I. A n d w o r s h i p p ea t h i sf e e t .H e G o t a m a , d out of pitytaughtto me the Norm. A n d s e a t e d v e nt h e r eI t o u c h e dn h e a r t e i The Andgami-Fruit, of the Paths, Third A n d k n e wt h i sw o r l ds h o u l d e e m e n e ' e rr e t u r n . s Thencuttingoff the gloryof my hair, I entered the homeless on ways of life. ''l'is now the seventh nightsincefirst all sense driedup withinmy heart. 0f craving LIV trans. C. A. F. RhysDavids,PTS,vol. l, pp. 86f) lTherigdthd

o
contains hymns composed by bbikkbums and was apparently accepted by the entire Sahgh".t3 A contemporary witness speaks of over five thundred bhihkhunts who had achieved arahatta. However, due to a variery of circumstances, in several countries where the bbikkhuni was broken and saigha had once been established,the line of succession for severalcenturiesno bhikkhunl saigha has existed in the heartlands of Theravdda Buddhism, Sri Lanka and Burma (Myanmar). Only in our century have efforts been undertaken to re-establishrhe bbikkhunl ord,er there again.laIn East Asia the bhikkhunr tradition continuedthrough the centuriesand there arc a fair number of fully ordained Buddhist nuns in China, Japan and Korea.

r TnE SANGHA 99

T H ES A N G H A N D T H E S A N G H A S A
The Sangha was always composed of sanghas, smaller communities of monks and nuns, who lived in a certain area and who came together for the uposatha celebrations.It happened not infrequently that within these smaller groups differencesdevelopedthat were serious enough to prevent all the members of the group coming together for an uposatha. Since it was mandatory that a group of ten (later five) monks recommendeda novice for higher ordination, nikayas, ordination lineages,not unlike the Hindu guru paralhpara, developedand becameimportant. Thus presentday Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka is composed of various fairly exclusive nikayas. Rifts among existing nikayas often lead to a situation in which the uposathacannot be held for years,for lack of a quorum.15 Given the central function that the Patimokkba is intended to fulfil, both for the continuity of the Sangha and for the discipline of the individual member, its non-performance for years must have a serious effect.
NOTES

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12.

Mahauagga,76, l. 1 V i n a y a1 , 2 2 , 5 5 . Mahauagga 11. Englishtranslationin SBB,vol. XIV, p.28. I, In order to avoid confusionwith what will be dealt with as the 'ten proper, I am not using componentsof a noble character', the dasa-sIla this term here,although the sikkha-padaniare often referredto as dasasrla both in Pali sourcesand secondaryliterature. Mahauaggal,55. The word is written both patimokkha and patimokkha. The following meanings for the former are given in the Pali dictionary: (1) a purgative,a sort of remedyand (2) obligatory,binding, for the latter: 'that which should be made binding'. The translators of the Patimokkha in the SacredBooks of the East series(vol. Xlll, Virwya Texts,l, trans.T. \7. Rhys Davids and H. Oldenberg) renderit'!0ords of Disburdenment'. Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 225. VinayaTexts,l, SBE,vol. XIII, first published 1881, pp. 3-5. in Lamotte,'The Buddha,His teachings and His Sangha'. CullauaggaX. There is a sectioncalled the Bhikkhunt Vibhaiga, 'The Nuns'Analysis', in the Vinaya that deals exclusively with problems relating to bhikkhunts. SeeSBB,vol. XXV, pp. 80-1.22. Although belonging to a much later time and reflecting a different branch of Buddhism,the Gandauyuha Sutra,which describes fifty-seven kalydqa mitras (religions mentors) visited by Sudhana, contains the description twenty-fourwomen teachers, of almosthalf of the total.

. tOO SuddhismoRr NrRoDUCroN A sH

1 3 . It is noteworthy that the translation of the Therlgatha was the first

volume in the Pali Text Society's TranslationSeries: Psalmsof the Sisters, trans. C. A. F. Rhys Davids,first published 1909. in 14. This has leadto a major controversy Sri Lanka. Most bhikkhzshold in with Piyadassi Mahathera (Mahabodhi,April-June 1988, p. 99) that 'the Bhikkhuni Sasana the or Order of rhe Nuns has ceased exist, and to in the absenceof a Buddha and the bhikkhunts the order cannor be resuscitated'. Feminist Buddhist scholarsand practitioners. however. demandthe re-establishment rhebhikkhunisisana,and believe just of it patriarchal bias on the side of the bhikkhus not to allow this. Sister Khema (German-born Ledermann) Ilse was ordaineda nun in Sri Lanka by Narada Thera at Vajorarama and founded Parapuppu-diwaNun's Island,Dodanduwa. hasto be kept in mind, however, It that in EastAsia there are and alwayshave beennumerous ordainedBuddhistnuns. 1 5 . SeeCarrithers,The ForestMonks of Sri Lanka for concreteexamples.

Part ll
PATH THE BUDDHIST

p uddhism aims at liberating those who are bound into a transient D e*istence by their delusion, anger and desire. The Buddhist it a Dhamma is all comprehensive: envisages total transformation of life in all its aspects.Buddhism is a life-programme that demands the full attention of its followers. In the course of time Buddhists have systematizedthe teaching regarding Buddhist practice in various ways, insisting that by following the path, the ultimate goal will be found. Since the liberating insight of the Buddha concerned the nature of the universe and the interdependence of everything in it, a central element in the Buddhist path is the endeavour to arrive at this liberating insight through meditation. This section will describe first the path that leads to nibbana, the ultimate goal of Buddhism, and to the state of the arbat, the enlightened. It then focuseson Buddhist meditation, a very elaborate practical science that has been developed along several branches. Finally, the path of the bodhisattua will be described, a path that aims to emulate not only the Buddha'swisdom, but even more his compassionfor all living beings.In

t O Z. E u d d i iA mH o R rr N r R o D U C r o N ss

the processwe shall read excerpts from one of the greatestworks in spiritual literature, the Bodhicaryauatara, descriptionof a Buddhist's the initiation to the bodhisattua path, the beginning of a truly cosmic journey through all levelsof existence that play such a great role in later Buddhist literature.

THE WAY IO NIBBANA

I t a time when the Exalted One dwelt in the sirysapd forest at .t-L Kosambi, he took some simsapd leaves into his hand and spoke to his disciples: 'What do you think, bhikkhus, what is more, those few simsapa leaves which I hold in my hand or the leaves outside in the forest?' 'The leaves which the Exalted One has taken into his hand are few, and many more are the leaves outside in the forest.' 'Thus, what I have come to know and did not tell you is much more than what I told you. And why did I not tell you? Because does not profit you, it does not it further the life of holiness, it does not lead to aversion from the world, to the demise of all passion,to the cessationof the impermanent, to peace,to enlightenment,to nibbdna; therefore I did not announce it to you.I The Buddha's only goal in teaching the Dhamma was to lead everyone

willing to listen to nibbana, the kind of liberation he himself had experiencedin his enlightenment. He condemns the 'thicket of opinions, the wilderness of opinions, the congestion of opinions',2 the endless theorizing about everything, of which the philosophers are so fond. He refusesto answer questions concerning tlre eternity or temporality of the world, its infinity or limits, questions concerning the identity or nonidentity of body and soul, existence or non-existence after death, questions which constituted the main interest of philosophers. He keeps silent, becauseanswering these questions does not lead to nibbana, does not further liberation: I do not know an end to suffering without reaching end of this world. the But I tell you: within this ensouled bodn only threecubitstall, rhereis the world, and the origin and the cessarion the world, and the way to its of

. tOC Buddlism A sHoRrrNrRoDUcroN

dissolution.'3 And at some other place he announces:.As the great ocean has only one flavour everywhere, the flavour of salr, so the Dhamma has only one flavour, the flavour of nibbana'.4

W H OC A N R E A C H I B B A N A ? N
The Buddha's compassionwas aroused when he contemplated the eternal and endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth in which unenlightened humanity was caught. He was considering how difficulr a task it would be to communicate such a subtle and difficult messageto crude and unprepared people. Brahmd, the highest god of traditional religion, ncouragedhim to teach the Dhamma by reassuringhim that there were some people already quite close to enlightenment, for whom the Buddha's teaching would lead to nibbana. The Buddha shared the common Indian opinion concerning karma and rebirth, according to which bad deedsresult either in a rebirth in one of the many hells or in an animal incarnation. Referencesto hells are numerous in Buddhist writings, the latakas in particular offering colourful descriptions of the tortures which sinners have to undergo. The threat of hell provides most people'sfirst motive for avoiding evil deeds. It is very difficult to return to a human existence after having earned a rebirth in hell or as an animal. However, and this is a ray of hope to all, existencein hell is not eternal. After some rime all sins have eventually been atoned for and a new chance to win nibbana offers itself. Good harma can lead to a rebirth in heaven. This too is common Indian opinion. Heavenly exisrence, again, is only temporal and will come to, an end. The latakas tell us about the delights and limitations of the heavens in which the Bodhisatwa dwelt before reaching enlightenment on earth. The way to nibbdna for most people is long and arduous, and some are even excluded from entering it altogether. The Buddhist scriptures identify four categoriesof people who are barred from even entering the path to nibbAna: 1. those who are preventedon accounr of evil deeds,such as matricide, parricide, murder of an arahanf, intentional violation of a Tathagata, causinga schismin the order: such deedsinexorably lead to a hellish exlstence;

T H E W A Y T O T V / B B A N.A 1 0 5

2. those who are prevented on account of mental obstruction, such as entanglementin the false opinions of nihilism, scepticismand fatalism which result in a denial of a moral world-order: such behaviour leads to an existencein animal bodies; 3. those who are hindered by their ripening karma; mental, moral or bodily defects are indications of bad deeds in former existencesand these people simply have to wait for their karma to work itself out in the present existencein order to get a chance in the next life; 4. those who are without faith in the Buddha, without energy and 'In the discipline of insight. There is, however, hope for these latter: the Holy One it is progressto admit one's fault as fault, to endeavour to atone for it, and'to refrain from it in future.'s Eventually all will reach enlightenment, but at any given time there will never be more than a few who attain it. when all the circumstancesare auspicious. that bind a person into Altogether, there are ten fetters lsarTtyoianas) namely: saqnsdra, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 5. 7. 8. f. 10. belief in a permanent individuality (sakayaditthi); doubt (uicikicchal; clinging to rituals (sllabbataparamasa); sensuality (kama-raga); (uyapada); viciousness desire for existencein the sphere of pure forms lruparaga); desire for existencein the sphere of no-forms (arnparaga); pride (manal; irritation (uddhacca); ignoiance (auijla).

'ordinary people', i.e. People bound by all ten fetters arc puthuiiana, people without higher aspirations. One who has cut the first three fetters 'entered the stream', someone who is is a sotapanna) someonewho has on the way to liberation. They are assured of being exempt from bad rebirths (in hell, as animals,ghostsor demons),but they have to undergo seven more human rebirths before reaching enlightenment. That stage has four phases(aigas), namely faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, and the noble sl-/as.Sotapanna is the conversion proper for a Buddhist,the guaranteeof eventualenlightenment.

. t O O B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

The 'once-returners' (sakadagamiz) will only be reborn once as humans and then becomearahants. The next group are the 'no-returners' (anagamin). They have cut the first five fetters and are destined to be reborn in heaven and to enter nibbana from there. The highestare the arahants,people who have achievedthe highestend in this life. They have cut all the ten fetters. When the Buddha was alive, hundreds,ifnot thousands,reachedarahattd, often at the very first hearing of the Dhamma. In the course of time there were fewer and fewer. 'Truly happy are the arahants. No desire can be found in them. The pride of "I am" has been rooted out, the net of delusion has been torn. They have become free from passion, their mind is clear and luminous. They are undefiled,they have become Brahma, they are wholly pure.'5

T HE PA T H O NIB B A N A T
The Bu.ldha proclaimed the Noble Eightfold Path as the only parh to liberation: it was the criterion by which he judged the teachings other of schools and found them wanting. His entire teaching can be organized around the individual items of the Eightfold Path. Buddhaghosa, his systematic in descriptionof the Path of Purification, follows another traditional method of describingthe Path as consisting of (virtue, morality), samadhi (meditation,mental culture), three steps:sr-la par'tfia(wisdom, enlightenment). and The Eightfold Path is subsumedin such a way that the third (right speech),fourth (right action) and fifth steps (right livelihood) of the Eightfold Path are treated under sr-la; steps six (right endeavour), seven (right mindfulness), and eight (right concentration) are considered under samadhi; steps one (right views) and two (right intention) under pafifiA.This seemsto be a more logical method and it will be adooted in this discussion.

stla
'Virtue' is the first step on the Path: it is important, indispensable and detailed. As it is written: First he taught the merit of giving, then good deeds and as a reward the rebirth in a heavenlyworld. Then he explainedthe misery,rhe baseness, the defilement of sensual enjoyments and extolled rhe advantage of renunciation.When he realizedthat the listeners were mature enough,he

T H E A Y O N I B B A N.A 1 0 7 W T

revealed Buddhas' the special teaching Dhamma,of the Origin of of Suffering of the Cessation Suffering,and of Those who enter the way to nibbAna have first to cleansethemselves from the gross impurities of bad deeds.r,','ords and thoughts, then from the middling impurities of sensual, unkind and cruel thoughts,and finally of the subtle impurities of thoughts of the family, of home and of recognition by others. After that is done, the impediments of the thoughts that are related to the dhammas arising with the jhanas (stages i n a t r a n c e )h a v e t o b e o u e r c o m e . q The first step on the way to enlightenmentconsistsof good deeds: evenif one were only to empty the remnantsof one'seating bowl into the ditch at the entranceof a village in order to feed the creatures which live in it, it would bring about an increase good karma; all the more would in this be the case if one did good to humans.e Verse 183 of the Dhammapada has been consideredthe very essence Buddhist ethics: of 'Abstention from all evil, doing of good, purification of one's thought this is the rule (sasand) the Buddhas.'10 of The Buddha rejectedascetic rigour as well as the mediatingrole of the brahmans. In his eyes ethical purification was the sole condition for liberation. As is well known, the Buddha was accusedby his erstwhile companionsof having abandonedthe searchwhen he beganbreakinghis suicidal fast. Even Mara tried to confusehim after his enlightenmentby suggesting that he had given up the practiceof tapa through which young 'the impure, who has brahmans purified themselves: missed the pass of purification,considers himself pure'. The Buddha replied to him: 'When I recognizedthat all the endlessmortification was useless, that it did not bring any gain, like a ship's rudder on dry land, I reachedthe highest degree of purity by practising srla, samadhi and paftfia, the path that 11 leads to enlightenment.' The Jains, known for the most rigorous asceticpractices,considered the Buddha a 'softie' and composeda ditty to ridicule his path: 'A night rest on a soft bed, a good drink in the morning, dining at noon, tippling again in the evening,munching sweetsbefore falling asleep- in the end liberation has been won, thus has taught the Sakya son.'12 The basisof Buddhist morality are the dasa-stla, 'ten components rhe of good character',describedas 'a sort of preliminary condition to any higher development after conforming to the teachingof the Buddha'.13 In their generaiform the dasa-stla enjoin:

t o g . E u d d hAss H o n r r N r R o D U c r t o N i m

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10.

abstainingfrom taking life; not taking what is not given to one; abstainingfrom unlawful sexual relations; abstainingfrom lies; abstainingfrom slander; abstainingfrom harsh speech; abstainingfrom frivolous gossip; abstainingfrom covetousness; abstainingfrom malevolence; abstainingfrom hereticalviews.

The paftca-slla is a shortened version of the dasa-sila which contains numbers 1.4 and, as a fifth rule, the abstention from intoxicants. A different organization of the same dasa-stla rules classifies the 'tenfold misconduct' (ducarita)into groups of verbal, bodily and mental 'tenfold wholesome misdeeds, to be avoided and counteracted by behaviour' (sucarita). The ducarita can be: o verbal (uacl) 1. lying lmusauadal; 2. slander (pisunauacal; 3. rudenesslpharusauacal; 4. gossip,idle chatter (samphappalapal' bodily lhayal 5. taking of life (Partauadbal; 6. taking what is not given (adinnadanal; 7. promiscuity (kdmesumicchacaral; mental (manas\ 8. covetousness(abhiiia); 9. malevolence(uyaPada\; 10. false views (micchadifthil.

The sucarita, by contrast, consistsof: 1. 2. 3, 4. 5. 5. giving (ddna); morality (sila\; meditation (bhauanal; honouring; giving service; surrenderingwhat was given (pattidanal;

T H E W A YT O N ' B B A N A. 1 0 9

7. 8. 9. 10.

reflecting with delight on the attainment of merit; listening to the Dhamma; preachingDhamma; setting one's views straight.

With referenceto the Eightfold Path slla comprises the following: . right speech:i.e. the avoidance of lies, calumnies, abuses,empty gossip and the duty to 'speak at the right time, truthfully, softly, purposefully and in a friendly way'i74 right action: i.e. the abstention from killing, stealing, unlawful sexual activity and other bad deeds, and the performance of good deeds; right livelihood: i.e earning one's living in such a way as not to offend against the precepts (e.g. not to engage in the profession of hunter, butcher, liquor distiller, etc.).

. .

For bhikkhus, sila includes a number of further precepts such as the guarding of the senses,contentment with their way of life, restraint in eating, watchfulness and alertness.ls Samddhi The second stagecan only be reached after the first has been successfully mastered.16It comprises the last three steps along the Eightfold Path: right endeavour,right mindfulness and right concentration. Right endeavour consists of the mental effort directed towards the avoidance of the production of bad dhammas, and the removal of those aheady existing. It is also the positive effort of bringing good, wholesome dhammasinto existence, and, if they have arisen,preserving, augmenting and perfecting them. The means to this are mental discipline and contemplation. Right mindfulness involves the contemplation of the body, the sensations, thinking and the objects of thought. One has vividly to portray before one's eyesthe composition of the body and to realize that mind is either full of, or free from, desire,hatred and deception,the main hindrances to liberation. In this connection we ftnd many systematic meditations, especiallymeditations on the impurities, designedto evoke repulsion against the body. The bhikkhu is asked to go to the burning grounds outside the village and meditate on the corpsesin their various stagesof decaS and to apply what he seesin others to his own body.l7

t t O . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

The bhikkhu is also askedto contemplatethe componentsof his own, living body: of from the soles the whichis enclosed a skin and is full of impurities, by again.Partsof the body feetup to the crown of his headand downwards flesh, sinews, bones, hairson the bodn nails, teeth, arehair on the head, etc.t8 kidneys, heart,liver,spleen, innards,stomach, e*c.ements Important for this exerciseis also mindfulnessof breath and of bodily posture. There follow the 'four gr'eat contemplations', constituting a whole complex of considerationsrelating to the bodS feelings,moods and the wholesome dhammas. The purpose of these contemplationsrs vividly to place before one's eyesthe contingencyand transienceof the body, the feelingsand all other contentsof consciousness. The aim of the stage of right concentration consistsin achieving a state of singlemindedness which all ob;ectsexcept one are excluded. in Chapter 6, on Buddhist meditation, will supply more detail on this important subject. The stages of samadhi proper, the so-called jhanas, are again subdividedinto severalsteps. The first four jhanas lead to an overcoming of the lower spheresand to a progressive movement into the region of pure forms. The texts describe the experiencesby identifying the dhammas manifesting themselves at each rtag.tt as they affect concentration and other mental powers. At the first stage, there is reflection, comprehension and the experienceof joyful excitement and happiness.The text compares the meditator's state of being, permeated with that feeling of bliss, to a barber's sponge that is saturated with soap. The second stage brings the experience of inner peace. The text comparesthe meditator'sfeeling of bliss to a lake through which a cool spring is flowing. At the third stage the meditator experiences equanimity, awareness and attention, and is compared to a lotus surroundedby cool water. The feeling of bliss makes room in the fourth stagefor the complete overcomingof all sense happiness of and sorrow. The meditator'smind is compared to a figure wholly covered with white cloth.20At that stage, complete physical immobility ensues;at the psychic level there is a complete cessation all feelings. of Above thesefour 'jhanas four more that belongto the'region of no are the sphere of forms': a fifth stage in which the meditator experiences

T H E A Y O N I B B A N. A1 1 1 W T

of infinity of space;a sixth stage,in which there is experience the sphere a of infinity of consciousness; seventhstage,of experienceof the sphere of and an eighth stagein which experience the sphereof of no-thingness 'neither discernment a is attained.Sometimes ninth nor non-discernment' and stage is added, in which the temporary cessationof consciousness sensationis experienced. According to Buddhist tradition, immediately before his death the Buddha went through all the stagesof ihana, up to the ninth and then back to the first. Ascendingagain to the fourth, he departedfrom there into nibbdna.2t Thir is how the Maba-parinibbana Suttanta reports it: after the Buddha had spoken his last words to his bhikkhus -'Decay is inherent in all compositethingsl Work out your salvationwith diligence' - he entered into the frrst thana; rising out of the first he went into the second,the third and the fourth: into the stateof mind to which Risingout of the fourththanahe entered the infinity of spacealone is present.And passingout of the mere into the stateof mind to he of consciousnessthe infinityof space entered out of the And passing which the inlinit.v thoughtis alonepresent. of into a stateof mind of mereconsciousnessinfiniryof thoughthe entered present. And passing out of the to which nothingat all rvasspeciallv of c o n s c i o u s n e s s n o s p e c i a lo b j e c t h e f e l l i n t o a s t a t e b e t w e e n And consciousness and unconsciousness. passingout of the state he and between consciousness unconsciousnessfell into a statein which and the consciousness of sensations of ideashad whollv passed both away. At that point Ananda thought that the Buddha had died, but his colleague 'into that state in Anuruddha corrected him: the Buddha had now entered rvhich both ideas and sensationshave ceased to be'. From that sta.te, however, the Buddha returned to the previous ones, down to the first jhana.He then moved again from the first up to the second,the third, the fourth 'and passingout of the fourth ihana he immediately expired'.22 occupies The training in reachingthesehigher statesof consciousness 'working most of the time' of the bhikkhu. As a side-effectof higher o l s t a g e s f m e d i t a t i o n .t h e e m e r g e n c e f s u p e r n a t u r ap o w e r s i d d b i s J i s o in by discussed Buddhaghosa a specialchapter of the Visuddbimagga,2s The five extraordinary faculties are the various supernatural powers (iddhiuidha\ and the four kinds of supernaturalknowledge, that is the the divine ear (dibbasota), the penetrationof minds (cettopariyayanana\,

l l 2 . 0 | l d d h A s|H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N isl |

and the knowledge of the recollection of past lives (pubbeniuasdnussatl) passing away and the reappearanceof beings (sattanam cutupdpAtu). Among the first is the ability to multiply oneself,to be at the sametime at different places, to grant miraculous protection in difficult circumstances, travel through the air like a winged bird, to have extraordinary to wishes fulfilled, to appear and to vanish and to seeinto infinite distances' For all these miraculous powers examples are adduced from Buddhist literature, largely miracles performed by the Buddha himself. 'four kinds of supernatural knowledge' is quite The meaning of the clear: again, all these were attributed to the Buddha. Through them, the Buddha could listen to distant conversations,read the thoughts of other people and make himself present in many places simultaneously - the Pali Canon provides numerous instancesof these. Pannd 'There Pafifid (S: praifia), or wisdom, is closely connected with samadhi: is no medita tion (ihanal where there is no wisdom (paftfia) - and there is meditation no wisdom where there is no meditation. One who possesses is near to nibbdna.'24 Here the two methods of bhauana and wisdom (meditation),Samathaand Vipassane(which will be explainedin greater detail in the next chapter) find application. The content of panna is again threefold: remembrance of former births; knowledge of the law of karma; knowledge of the four holy truths. Buddhaghosa deals extensively with all these. Since, ultimately, ignorance is the basic root of samsdra,knowledge in the highest senseis the means to nibbana and in itself already nibbana. When the disciple of them the Buddha has realized the Four Noble Truths, when he possesses just as instructedby someoneelse,then his consciousness as his own, not has withdrawn, as it were, to an extra-mundane point. Then he has 'Overcome is nothing more to do with the world and the disciple realizes: rebirth, the holy path has been completed,all duty is done. There is no return to this world.'25 Thus he has reachedarahaftA.

NI B B A N A
The ultimate goal of all Buddhist endeavouris nibbdna. The commonest 'going out' of a lamp or a fire' For Buddhistsit meaningof the word is the means the dying out of the threefold fire of anger,desireand delusion,

. T H EW A YT O N / 8 8 A N , 4 1 1 3

and subsequently a condition of spiritual well-being, of security, emanclpation, peace, bliss and salvation: Nibbana is purely and solely an ethical state to be reached in this birth by ethical practices, contemplation and insight. It is therefore not transcendental. The 6rst and most important way to reach nibbdna is by means of the Eightfold Path, and all expressionswhich deal with the realisation of emancipationfrom lust, hatred and illusion apply to practical habits and not to speculativethought. Nibbana is realised in one's heart: to measure it with a speculative measure is a wrong standard. Nibbana is the untranslatable expression of the Unspeakable, of that for which in the Buddha's own saying there is no word, which cannot be grasped in terms of reasoning and cool logic, the Nameless,Undefinable. Yet it is a reality, and its characteristic features may be described,may be grasped in terms of earthly language,in terms of space.26 'Nibbana is bliss',27 'peace of soul',28 'incomparable certitude',2e 'the

peaceful place'.30 Buddhists of all times and all schools speak without 'bliss of nibbana.' Nibbana is the conscious condition reservation of the of perfection, the end of the wan the consciousnessbf having left behind all that can pass awan all sorrow. Nibbana is the summum bonum of Buddhism and the ultimate of all that a a Buddha taught or would teach. Buddhism is in essence proclamation of the truth of nibbana, a clear statement of the truth about nibbdna, a search for nibbana, and a sure path leading ro nibbana. Nibbana is the the tranquil state of our internal nature, and free state of consciousness, It the highest emotional state of spirituality and blessedness. consists essentiallyin subduing the haughty spirit, the perfect control of thirst, the paralysing of the very storageof creative energy,the arrest of the course of samsdrd as regards the fate of an individual, the rare attainment of the state, and the state of the void, the waning of desire,the dispassionate o o cessation f all sense f discordance!tl 'nothingness', Quite often one hears from non-Buddhists that nibbana is but there is enough textual evidence to show that nibbana is not only not 'nothing' but reality in the ultimate sense. The Pali Canon explicitly asserts: There is, bhikkhus, that sphere,in which there is neither extension nor movement, nor the infinite ether, nor that of perception or nonperception, neither this world nor another one, neither moon nor sun. Here I say that there is neither going nor coming, neither staying nor

t t + . E u d d h is H o Rr N r R o D U C r o N A m

parting, neither becomingnor ceasingfor this itself is without a support, without continuity, without an object- this itselfis the end of suffering. There is (atthi\, bhikkhus,an unborn, un-caused, un-created, uncomposed if therewere not, O bhikkhus, that un-born,un-caused, and un-created, then un-composed therecouldnot be showna way out from that which is born,caused, created composed parts.And because and of there is an unborn, un-caused, un-created, un-composed parts of (indivisible!) therefore wa.yout can be shownfor that which is born, a created, caused. composed parts.t2 and of Professor R. V. Murti commentson this passage: T. (the absolute) he just did Buddha not doubt the realityof niruana did not allow it to be described defined empirical like and by concepts being, non-being, silence his can only be interpreted consciousness the as of undescribable natureof un-conditioned realitv.ls If we remember that the analysis of the human situation found its expressionin the Chain of Dependent Co-origination then we understand that the real stands be,vond'conditions' and 'causes'- it must be 'uncaused' and 'unconditioned'. In one place we are briefly told: 'The cessation becomingis nibbAna.'34 of The worlds of becomingand reality are radically different - betweensarsara and nibbAna there is no inner connection.Samsarais under the law of kamma (harma) - nibbAna is outsideand beyond kamma. It is said that the Buddha once took a bit of cow-dung in his hand and a d d r e s s e dh i s m o n k s t h u s : ' l f t h e r e w e r e o n l y t h a t m u c h o f a participation in a Self, which is unchanging, constant, eternal, incorruptible and not subject to the law of change,then the holy way for the destructionof sorrow would not be possible.'35 Nibbana is 'deathlessness', there is no reason at all to give it a but just has nothing to do with the fleeting'reality' nihilistic interpretation.It which we perceive.'There is no measurefor one who has gone to rest, there is no word which could be said about him. !7here all appearances h a v e c e a s e da l l p a t h s o f s p e e c h r e r e m o v e d . ' t 5 a , becauseit lies Nibbana is describedin mainly negativeexpressions, Those who want positive answersare be,vondall empirical categories. because they do not know about the told that they are bad philosophers, the limits of human knowing: 'Friend, now you have transgressed q u e s t i o n i n gy o u c o u l d n o t g r a s pt h e l i m i t o f y o u r q u e s t i o n i n g . ' r ,

T H E A Y o N I E E A N.A 1 1 5 W T

The nihilistic interpretation of nibbana is due in part to a lack of understandingof metaphvsicalrealitiesand in part to rhose passages in the Pdli Canon which speakof an 'extinguishing',a 'disappearing'.'The steadfastare extinguishedlike this lamp.'38'The extinction of the flame itself was the liberation of the spirit.'3eThe extinction of the flame is not its annihilation but its return ro its own (permanent) immaterial and invisible condition, which cannot be describedin empirical categories. 'It is true that the Lord has shown to his discipleswith hundreds of reasonsthe way to the realization of nibbana. but he has not shown a reasonfor nibbdna ... l'tribbana cannot be caused,thereforeno causefor nibbdna is shown.'40 The Peli Canon distinguishes twofold nibbdna: one in this life and a one after death. Thereare two kinds of nibbdna:the nibbanain which the five khandhas still exist and the nibbanain which thev do no more exist. Thesetwo kinds of nibbandhavebeenshown:the firsr kind belongs the hereand ro now - it hasstill the khandhas, thoughthe channel becoming been of has destroyed. the nibbanau,ithoutkbandhas But belongs the future- in rt to all becoming ceases.o' Nibbana in body is not yet a permanentcondition. After his enlightenmentthe Buddha had resistedthe temptation of Mara to enter straight into the final parinibbana, becausehe wanted fust to preach to humankind the doctrine of salvation from suffering. 'Verily, this world is doomed, if the heart of the perfect one, the holy supremeBuddha would be inclined to remain in peaceand not to preach the doctrine.'42 There is a widespreadpopular opinion in Sri Lanka today that it is no longer possibleto attain nibbana in this lifea3and that the best one can do is to lead a good life, hoping to be reborn in a higher state and eventualll', afrer several births, to reach nibbana. Contemporary observersreport that a great commotion broke out in Sri Lanka in 1973 w.hen it becameknown that one monk had reached the stage of sotdpdnne (stream-enterer), guaranteethat within one more rebirth the he u'ould frnd nibbdna.aa

THE ARAHANT
The term arahant was known in pre-Buddhisr times as an honorific (your lforship) used as a title of respectfor all ascetics. The Buddhistsmade it

t t 0 . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

the proper designation for those who had achieved enlightenment. The the condition of the one abstract noun araltattd,'arahantship', designates who has reached perfection, in other words entered nibbana. Arahattd does not know of any restriction with regard to age or sex. The Pali Canon reports the arahatta of a 7-year-old child, and many women arahants are mentioned by name. Of the roughly four hundred arahants known most are bhihhhus, though are also some twenry lay arahants mentioned in the Canon. The characterization of arabants is given in many formulae.as The arabant is sukha (blissful), has no tafiha (thirst, desire), is free from egotism (aharhkara), free from delusion (mohal, from lust and from conceit. T\e arahanls practise the seven elements of liberation (bhoii angas): mindfulness (sati), study (dhammauicaya), energy (uiriya), ioy (ptti), serenity (passadhil, concentration (samadhil and equanimity (upekkhal. Their citta (mind) is clear. They are knowers of the five khandas, have fully comprehendedthe Buddha's teaching of anattd,they 'roam the seven fields of good' (satta-saddhamfna-gocara). They come 'the possession of close to achieving paramifi (supreme virtue) and 'true sons of the sevenfoldgem' (which includesenlightenment).Called 'threefold higher training' (adhistla, Buddha', they are trained in the 'the adhicitta, adhipannfl. They are free from fear and dread and possess ten powers'. They are asehha (beyond further training). They let forth 'the lion's roar' (i.e. declareto the world that the Buddha is supreme)' Arahants have found liberation (nibbdna)and enlightenment\bodbi), are morally impeccable, free from needs and have developed insight (uipassann)and calm (samatha). They possessthe six higher kinds of knowledge: magical powers' divine eye, ear and mind, they know former existencesand they have overcome asaua (influx of karmal. The first of these accomplishmentsis called lokiya (this-worldlS natural)' the last lokonara (other-worldly, transcendental). The occasionsdescribed in the Pali Canon for winnning arahattd are manifold, such as hearing the Buddha preach the Dhamma, imminent death, entering the Sangha, witnessing a person dying' or almost any other incident: the crumbling of a bowl, seeinga shrine, listening to a song. The canon lists five favourable (kusala) and four unfavourable bkusala\ conditions for winning arahatta.The favourableonesare: faith (ponftdl in the Tathagata,good health, sinceriry energy (uiriya)' wisdom unfavourable conditions are: and discrimination (nibbedhika). The

THE AY O NTBBANA 17 W T . 1

thinking one's teacher (other than the Buddha) omniscienr,followrng a (non-Buddhist)tradition, following rational analysis (takkal onlS and accepting a stupid teacher. claiming to have achievedarahatta without in fact having reachedit was one of the major fauks (paraiika) for which a monk or nun could be expelled from the order. The testirfg of a claimed arahatta took place in two ways: externaland internal.a5 The externalexaminationconsisted of the candidatebeing askedquestionsabout things seen,heard, sensed and intellectually understood about the elements(dhamma\. The candidate then had to relate the processby which that state was allegedly reached. The internal examination involved mind-reading (catasaceto pariccal by a monk proficient rn ,jhanas,iddhis, and abhinna. This testingacted as a deterrent,and fewer and fewer monks declared arahatta. According to the Buddha, an increasein preceprswould be accompanied by a decreasein arahants. After the Buddha's death a council of 500 arahantswas to meet to recite his teaching,but only 499 were found. Ananda, the Buddha'sfavourire disciple,who had nor yer achievedarahaftA, was given a 'retreat' and attained arahatta iust in time for the council to begin.

AR AH A T T A D BUD D H A H OOD AN
The arahant was supposed be an enlightened to one, ,knowing'what the Buddha knew. The Buddha was a kind of primus inter pares: he became to others the occasion to gain enlightenment; his status was not qualitatively different from that of an arabaar. Enlghtenment being the highest ideal, its attainment was identified with the fulfilment of all aspirations:everythingelse,at best,was preparatory. The enlightened embodiedthe highestqualitiesof mind and heart; all their endeavourswere by definition selfless, compassionate, right and universallyhelpful. Liberation meant the freeing of one's energiesfrom their fixation on an imagined self, and a radiating of friendhness, compassion,joy and equanimity into the world just as the sun, while transforming helium into hydrogenand therebygeneratingheat doesnot intentionally 'do good', but by radiating light and warmrh into the universe,it benefitsplanet earth and the myriads of living beingson it. It is a measureof their recognition of the difficulty of arriving at the insight and wisdom which define arahatta and the entering into nibbana, that for severalcenruries the Buddhistsof Sri Lanka have believedthat it

t t 8 . B u d d hAs m o R rr N r R o D U c r l o N i sH

Thus it was meant and is no longer obtainable by contemporaries.4T perceivedas a challengeto establishedBuddhist opinion when in the put up a sign over 1950sa Sri Lankan bhikkhu by the name of Jinavamsa meditation training centrein Galduva with the legend: the entranceto his ,Buddhismstill leads to Nibbana'.48The whole forest monk movement of Sri Lanka in our century is a challenge to an interpretation of the monks' administrativeand pastoral Buddhism that had emphasized go back to the roots and to do what the Buddha had roles,an attempt to and to the whole taught his disciples:to becomelamps unto themselves world by becoming enlightened ones. Enlightenment does not come easily but is the fruit of meditation, the end-point of a long processof self-transformation.
NOTES

SamyuttaNikdya V, 437. Majihima Nikaya I, 485. rbid. UdanaY 5 and CullauaggalX, 1. Dlgha Nikaya ll,99f . SarpyuttaNikaya III, 83. the anupubbikatha\, This is the so-ialledanupubbi-kathalalsospelled 'step-by-step-teaching' which occursmany timesin the Pdli Canon,e'g' Vinayal, 1.5;Drgha Nikaya I, 110; Malihima Nikaya l, 379. 8. Aiguttara Nikaya III, 100. 9. Ibid.III, 57. of as 10. The expression sisanahas beenexplained consisting the teachings(pariyitti), their applicationin practice (patipatti) and the fruits of a). sainthood(patiuedb 1, Tapokammasuttam; 4,I, 11. Samyutta Nikaya I, I03 (Mdrasamyuttat p. 103). t 2 . Quoted by Oldenbergin Buddha,p. 185. 'Text SociJty'sPali-English Dictionary (19661 under srla 1 3 .Tie Pali (p.71,2b). 14. Aiguttara Nikaya 10, 44,9. 1 5 . I b i d . 1 0 ,5 , 4 . are not uniform throughout the Peli 15. Terminology and descriptions Canon. Se!'entrysamadhiin PTS Pali-EnglishDictionary,pp.585a f. self-possessron, Generally it comprisesthe guarding of the senses, and attainmentof from the five hindrances emancipation conrenrmenr, the four jhdnas. lll, 17. SeeVisuddhimagga 104ff. Suttal. 18. Maiibima Nikaya I, 58-53 (Sattipatthana 19. Ibid.III, 25. 20. Dtgba Nikaya ll, 7 5-82. M, 10. Suttdnta 21. Ibid. II, 155: Mabaparinibbdnd 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 5. 7.

. T H EW A YT O ^ I / 8 8 A N A 1 1 9

22. MahaparinibbanaSuttantaVI, 8-9; Dlgha Nikaya ll: Mahauaggo3,23, 72 rrans. (modified)T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids. 23. Visuddhimagga Xll: Iddhiuidha-nidesa. 24. Dhammaoada 372. 25. Digba Nikaya: Stlakkandauagga 4,4,19. 25. Seeentry nibbana in PTS Pali-English Dictionary, pp. 362a-365a. 27. Dhammapada 204, 28. Sutta Nipata 79 and 425. 29. Dhammapada 23. 30. rbid.114. 3 1 . L a q ' N i r u d q t a ' ,p . 5 4 7 . 32. Udana 80-7. 33. Murti, CentralPbilosophyof Buddhism,p. 48. 3 4 . A n g u t t a r aN i k a y a 1 , I , I , 2 . 35. SamyuttaNikaya 22,96, 105. 35. SuttaNipatu 1076. 37. Majjhima Nikaya 44. 38. SuttaNipdta 235. 39. Dtgha Nikaya ll, 47. 40. MilindapafrhaIY, 7, 15. 41. Itiuuttaka 38f. 42. Majihima Nikaya: Mulapafifiasakam 26,4, 15. 43. In South-EastAsia, however,quite a_few monks are believedto have reachedniruana in this century.Thus Nydnaponika Thera, inThe Heart of Buddhist Meditation, writes of U Narada, who died on 18 March 1955, at the ageof 87: 'Many believe that he attainedfinal Deliverance (arahattal'(p85). . 44. Carrithers, The ForestMonks of Sri Lanka, p. 242. 4 5 . Samyutta'Weeraratne, Nikaya III, 83f. 'Arahant' and Rahula, History of Buddhism in 4 6 . Basedon Ceylonch. 13. 47. According to an old Sinhalese tradition the last person who achieved arhathood in Sri Lanka was Maliyadeva Thera who died long ago. 48. Carrithers, The ForestMonks of Sri Lanka, p. 222.

MEDITAIION BUDDHIST

'meditation' is term used by Buddhists that we translate as fhe I bhauana: it literally means bringing something into existence, producing or cultivating something, applying oneself to something' developing something. In the Buddhist context it means the bringing about of the states of mind conducive to liberation, cultivating the aftitudes and virtues required for achieving nibbana.ldeally the bhikkbu or the bhikkhuntwould spend most of his or her time practising bhduana; meditation is only interrupted by work required for physical upkeep and by the teaching of Dhamma to the laity. Even these activities should be done in a meditative mood. Those who take their Buddhism most seriouslybecomeforest hermits, avoiding all involvement with the outside world as far as possible, devoting themselvesfull-time to meditation. There are teachingsin the Pali Canon ascribed to the Buddha, like the Satipanhana Sutta, that go into details of meditational practice and there are also important later non-canonical works, like Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga, that synthesizeand systematizethe canonical teachings on meditation.l The Visuddhimagga has been used for almost 1,500 years as a manual by meditation teachers. There also are' of course' many modern works, in which bhduanais describedand explained.2

F P R E P A R A T I O NO R M E D I T A T I O N
Meditation is the most central and most typical of the activities of a Buddhist. It is serious businessrequiring extensive preparation, and cannot be undertaken casually by anyone at any time or any place. As

S U D D H I S T D T T A T T O2 l ME o lN

was explained in chapter 5, srla, moral endeavour, is a necessary antecedentto, and prerequisite for, samadhi (trance). In additron to cultivating virtues, the monastic who meditates participates in the fortnighdy Patimokkha ceremony and has to be free from major transgressions the rules. He also has to practiserestraintof the senses of and to pay attention to the 'purity of requisites' with regard to clothing, eating, dwelling and medicine. Palibodha (the cutting out of impediments) Successful meditation needsa suitableenvironment,free from disturbing elements.Buddhaghosaidentifiesten impedimentswhich must be .cut out' before beginningmeditation. They concern: . . r . o . r . . . abode (auasal; family lkulal; gain (labhal; group (garya); activities (kamma); travel (addhana): relations (fir); illness (dbddha\: study (gantha); supernaturalfaculties(iddhi).

Some of theseimpedimentsdo not need explanations:it is obvious that someoneliving in a crowded house, surrounded by family and friends, worrying about income, busy with all sorts of things, would not be able to engage in meditation. Interestingly,study (literally, ,books') and supernaturalfacultiesare mentioned, which many would count among commendable'religious'activities.Sincethey engagefacultiesother than the meditative mind, though, they have to be ,cut out'. Ihe kalySna mitta: the search for a good friend or teacher Given the central place of meditation and the great variety of backgroundsfrom which the members of the Sanghacome, ir is of the utmost importance to find a spiritual guide to introduce a novice to the inner life: the kalyana mitta, the 'good friend', described in the visuddhimaggaas 'dearly loved, revered,a counsellor,a patient listener, a speaker of profound words, one who does not waste a student's

. rNrRoDUcrtoN A sHoRr 122 B|lddhislll

advisorof a budding mitta is the personal In efforts'.3 short, the kalyarya the one in chargeof his formation and inner growth. Sincein bhikkhu, the processof meditation there occur all kinds of physical and the psychological experiences, novice meditator needsthe advice and who has been through this for himself. Buddhist support of someone tradition maintainsthat the Buddhahimselfgaveto eachnewcomera meditationtopic suitedfor the particularindividualand enquiredabout his progress.

TYPES FMEDITATORS O
In the course of centuries of experience Buddhists developed a fairly systematicpsychology of human types and of suitable meditation topics for each one. They relied largely on their own interpretation of body 'By the languageto find out to which type a candidate belonged: Posture' by the action, by eating, seeingand so on, by the kind of statesoccurring, may temperament be recognized.'a Buddhaghosa,while mentioning other classificationsthat distinguish up to fourteen temperaments,adopts a sixfold schem4,grouped into two sections,each made up of three types.
DOMINATED BY EMOTIONS SECTIONIr PERSONS

l. rdga-carita (greed type; symbolized by peacock), characterized by deceit, craftiness,conceit, ostentation, discontent, fickleness,etc.; 2. dosa-carita (hate type; symbolized by snake), characterizedby anger, bearing grudges, en!y, meanness,etc.; 3. moba-carlra (delusion type; symbolized by pig), characterizedby sloth, torpor, worry, perplexiry, obstinacy, excitabiliry, etc.
SECTION tr: PERSONSDOMINATED BY INTELLECT

4. saddba-carita lfaith type), characterized by generositv. desire to see confidence, a holy people,to hear the Dhamma, guilelessness' serene etc.: capacity 5. buddhi-carita (intelligencerype), characterizedby gentleness, for friendship with good people, moderation, mindfulness, wise effort, etc.; 6. uitakka-carita (argumentative rype), characterized by talkativeness, brooding, aimlesslyrushing around, dislike for discipline, fondness for company, etc.

B U D D H I S T D I T A T I I N2 3 ME O1

As an example of a diagnosis of the first three types from the way each walks the following quotation from the Visuddhimagga may be of interest: 'The step of one of the greed type will be springy; the step of one belonging to the hate rype will be dragging; the step of a delusion-rype person will be jerky.'s Buddhaghosa also offers hints as to how to recognize these types from the way they eat, clean their room and react to certain sights, although he warns that the ascriptions should nor be taken too dogmatically: people classified under one category may also exhibit features of another, i.e. there are 'mixed types'. According to rhe temperament ascertained,each candidate should be given appropriate housing, clothing, alms rounds, resting placis and meditation subjects. This latter becomes especially important in the context of describingmeditation. Traditionally, Buddhists speak of forty meditation subjects, subdivided into four groups of ten: I. Subha (pleasing): The kasinas (aids to meditation) four elements 1. earth: 2. water; 3. fire; 4. wind; four colours 5. blue; 5. yellow; 7. red; 8. white; light and space 9. light; L0. open sky. lI. Asubha (disgusting): Corpses 1 1. bloated; 12. purple; 13. festering; 14. fissured; 15. gnawed; 15. scattered;

1 2 4. S l | d d h A stH o R r r N r R o D U c r o N is] |

17. 18. 19. 20.

pounded; bloody; wormy; bony;

l[l, Anussatl (recollections): Triratna (Three Jewels) 27. the Buddha; 22. the Dhamma; 23. the Sangha; Other 24. virtues (s/a); 25. 25. z/. 28. 29. 30. charity @anal; deitiesand spirits; aealn: body; in- and outbreathing; quiescence.

lV. Higher states: Brahma-uihara (universal virtues) 31.. metta (loving kindness); 32. karuna (compassion); 33. mudita (ioy); 34. upekkha (equanimity); Arupa samapatti (formless states) 35. infinity of space; 35. infinityof consciousness; 37. emptiness; nor 38. neither consciousness unconsclousness; of Abdra patikkula (repulsiveness food) 39. contemplation of the foulnessof food; Catudhatu (four elements) 40. analysisof the four elements. in As different medicineshave to be prescribedto cure different diseases different people, so the kalyana mitta has to choose from these forty meditation subiectsthose suitable for his charges.It would be countermeditate on death and productive to have someone who is depressed to is over-confident meditate on the or rotting corpses, for someonewho

o 1 B U D D H I S T D I T A T I O N2 5 ME

formless states. There are, however, some kinds of meditation, such as the use of kasinas and the practice of the brahma-uihara that can be recommended to all. The rest have to be practised after rheir suitabiliry for a particular person has been established: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 5. greed types should meditate on the asubha objects; hate types should meditate on the brahma-uihara; delusion types should practisemindful respiration; faith types should practise the recollections (anussatil; intelligencetypes should recollectpeaceand death; argumentative types should practise mindful respiration.

The search for a suitable place Since Buddhist meditation is essentiallya private, individual activity, solitude has to be sought out for its practice. The Pali Canon mentions nine kinds of suitable places for meditation: an open forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a hillside, a rock cave, a cemetery,a deep jungle, an open field and a mound of straw. The suitability of the place is also linked to the temperaments, describedabove. as In spite of the mendicantand itinerant orientation of early Buddhism, a few centuries after the Buddha most Buddhist monks and nuns lived in large, well-endowed monasteries, looked after by the lairy no longer needing to beg for food and other necessities.5 While not ruling out meditative life in a monastery, Buddhaghosa, who was fully acquainted with the monastic life of his own time, identified eighteen kinds of monastery (auasa)as unsuitable for meditators. He says one should not stay in a large monastery, where people with different ideas engage in debates to the neglect of meditation; nor should one stay in a new or a dilapidated monastery where a great deal of physical work is required, distracting from meditation. Monasteries near public highways, wells or farms are also unsuitable, becauseof the quantiry of traffic near them. Monasteries that have become tourist attractions should be avoided, too, and monasteries non-Buddhistlands are not conduciyeto meditarion, in becauseof the difficulry of finding support. And 'where it is not possible to find a good friend as a teacher or a preceptor; the lack of good friends t h e r e i s a s e r i o u sf a u l t ' . -

i m t 2 6 . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

Suitable time and posture Traditionally, the time of early morning, midday and evening have been considered best for meditation. Dawn, especially, called brahmamuhurta,'God's hour', has been the preferredtime for meditating' The posture consideredbest is the Buddha-asana,the posture believed to have been adopted by the Buddha when he reachedenlightenment. For specific meditations, however, other postures were recommended. Thus for the kasina meditations sitting on a low chair was recommended; for the asubha meditations standing was considered most appropriate. In general, Buddhists do not insist that a definite posture be chosen, as long as it permits the meditator to concentrate on the meditation obiect.

THE KAS/^/AS
The first ten meditation obiects, recommended to all types of people, are These are material devicesto support meditation.The Pali called kasirla.s. (St krtsna) means 'whole', 'entire' and is used to designatea word kasina physical shape (the mandala), as well as the mental image (nimitta, 'sign') obtained from it, and the higher state of consciousness(ihanal reached through it. 'earth-device' (pathaut kasina) may help to The example of the understand what is meant by kasiqra.In the first senseit denotes a round shape of clay, perhaps 25 cm in diameter, which the meditator forms and places vertically in front of him- or herself, either attached to a wall or hanging from a string, to serye as a mechanical aid in focusing concentration. It is the emblematic representation of the entire earth. 'earth kasirl4' means the mental imprint (nimittal In the second sense, obtained by gazing fixedly at this device, a mental image of the entire earth with its qualities of solidity, extension and unity. In the third sense' 'earth kasina' means the state of consciousness obtained by concentrating on the mental im4ge. The Pali Canon mentions this practice as highly recommended by the 'A bhikkhu who practises the earth kasina even for a Buddha himself: moment, for the duration of a snap of the fingers, is said to be the bhikkhu who is not devoid of ihana, who follows the master's teaching, who acts upon his advice, and who rightfully receivesthe alms offered by rhe pious.'8The same formula is used to recommendthe practice of all other kasinas as well.

ME ON BUDDHIST OITATIo 127

The actual practice of the kasin4s - widespread among bhikhhus in Sri Lanka and other Buddhist countries - is described in great detail in Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga.He devotesan entire chapter to the earth 'When a bhikkhu has cut out the impediments to hasina alone: meditation, then on return from his alms round, after his meal and after he has got over the drowsinessfollowing his meal, he should sit down comfortably in a secludedplace and apprehendthe earth kasina.'e The importance of the exercise is underlined by the suggestionthat 'treasure it, respect it, anchor his mind to it, the meditator should thinking "surely thus I shall be free from old age and death."' There follow instructions on how to prepare the earth kasina from reddish clay, how it should not have any of the colours that form the object of other how it should be free from any admixture of foreign obiects and kasi4.as, 'like the surface of a drum' with the help of a should be made smooth stone trowel. The meditator should then sweepthe place,take a bath, sit down on a chair of about 20 cm height at a distanceof about 80 cm from 'for the kasina does not appear plainly if one sits further off the device: than that; and if one sits nearer, faults in the kasina appear. If one sitb higher up, one has to iook at it with neck bent; and if one sits lower, then the kneesache.'10 The 6rst exercise consists of the contemplation of the dangers inherent in sense desires and the arousal of a longing to escape all suffering. Then the meditator should evoke the ioy of happiness that comes from remembering the qualities of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. look at the signand so moderateln After that one shouldopenone'seyes and too it. the proceed develop If oneopens eyes wide,rheyget fatigued to the sign from becoming too the disk becomes obvious,which prevents apparent.If one opensthem too lirtle, the disk is not obviousenough, the which alsoprevents signfrom becoming drows,v, one'smind becomes t apparent.t 'earthiness' (disregarding Concentrating 6rst only on the quality of one should focus on one of the many colour and other characteristics) names for earth, such as Mahi (The Great One), Medini (The Friendly One), Bhumi (Foundation),Vasudha(Provider),and keep repeatingit. If 'earth' appears whether one looks at then the mental image (nimitta) of the device or keeps one's eyesshut, one has reached the first stage in the

i U D D H I S TE O I T A T I o N2 9 M O1

foundation of every form of religious life and are considered to be indispensable spiritual developmenr.'1s to Some practiceof the brahmauihara is part and parcel of virtually every conremporary Buddhist serviceand many Buddhiststry to evoke these'higher senriments' least at for a few minutes every da1'. For the professionalmeditator, these,like all other bhauana,have to be approachedmethodically and systematically. Often they are used as preparatory to other, more abstract forms of meditation. Termed lokiya (mundane), the brahma-uihara are concerned with the conditioned beings in this world, not with nibbdna. They expressthe attitudes that should underly all advancedBuddhist practices.rhey do nor in and by themselves constitute the ultimare aim. Buddhaghosa, not surprisingly, has much to say on the practiceof the brabma-uihara, which consist of metta, 'loving kindness'; karuna, 'compassion'; mudifi,'joy' and upekkba,'equanimity'. fter the usual A preparationsthe meditator should sit down and contemplate first the dangersinherent in the opposite of metta: dosa, anger,ill-will, hatred. The evil consequences a hate-filledmind as againstthe advantageof of patience,good-will, forbearance, should be considered. The Pdli Canon 'There says: is no higher pracricethan patience,no higher nibbana than 5 forbearance.'l The meditator then systematically proceeds to develop lovrng kindness and to shut out anger and antipathy. !7hile loving kindness must certainly be practised in the end towards all persons, for the purpose of 'training' the meditator is advised against beginning the practice by extending metta to an antipathetic person, to a verv dear friend or to an indifferent or hostile person. Nor should one choose a person of the opposite sex or a dead person. Initially these should be excluded because they would evoke spontaneous reacrions in the meditator not conduciveto the developmentof loving kindness. Surprisingly,perhaps,meditators are advised to practise first of all mefiA towards themselves, saying: 'May I be happy and free from suffering', 'May I keep myself free from enmitn affliction and anxiery, and live happily.' The text explainsthat this should nor be the end of the exercise, but only constiturean 'example': one should proceedby telling 'Just oneself: as I want to be happy and dread pain, as I want to live and not to die, so do other beingstoo.' In this way one extendsone'smind to desiringthe welfare and happinessof all beings.As Buddhaghosasays:

t 3 0. B u d d h i s m o R r N r R o D U C r o N A sH

Thus one shouldfirst, as example, pervade oneself with loving kindness. Next one can recollectsuch gifts, kind words, etc. as inspirelove and endearment, such virtue, learning,etc. as inspirerespect and reverence met with in teachers, developing lovingkindness towardsthem by saying: 'May this goodperson happyand freefrom suffering'. be Thusoneattains absorption.'' Then the meditator can proceed to develop loving kindness towards all the persons who were initially excluded. As regards developing metta towards an enemy, Buddhaghosasaysthat if one does not have an enemy one need not be concernedwith that item. A long section is devoted to 'getting rid of resentment'. The first natural reaction on rememberinga hostile person is to recall the anger that one had experienced. To overcome this feeling, the meditator is reminded of a sayingof the Buddha, who told his early missionaries that 'even if criminals were to cut off one's limbs with a saw, one who entertained hate in the heart on account of that would not be one who carries out my teaching'.18 This is underscoredby another canonical verse: To repayangrypeoplein kind is worsethan to be angryfirst. Repaynot angrypeoplein kind and win a batdehard to win. The weal of both does one promote,one'sown and then the other'stoo, who shall another's angerknow and mindfullymaintain peace.le one's The overcoming of resentment and anger must have been a major problem for meditattng bhikkhus; Buddhaghosa amasses scriptural quotations and arguments to convince the meditator that resentment and anger are both worthless and harmful to one's mind. Jataka stories are brought in to remind the practitioner of metta how the Buddha in an elephant incarnation, a monkey incarnation and a snake incarnation practised loving kindness towards those who had hurt and harmed him. lf the attempts to overcome resentment have still not quelled the feelings of anger, the meditator is reminded of the 'eleven blessings' which the Buddha promised to those who practise metta: One sleeps comfort,wakesin comfort,and dreams evil dreams; in no one is dearto humanbeings, guardone,6re dearto non-human beings; deities and poison and weapons do not affect one; one's mind is easily concentrated; expression one'sfaceis serene, diesunconfused, the on one and one will be reborn in brabmaloka.zo

T M BUDDHIST EDITATION I31

Buddhaghosaadds pagesand pagesof commentary to these and other quotations, thus making it clear that he is dealing with a matter of utmost importance.Metta is not iust one item among others' it expresses of the very essence the Buddhist attitude towards fellow beings- as do the other brahma-uibara. One must s\cceed in cultivating metta, otherwise one is not a true disciple of the Buddha, who is the great exemplar of this as well as of all other virtues. And we are constantly reminded that mefta is not just a social virtue, facilitating life in society and helpful in resolving conflicts, but the realization of a higher 'people as they are', the practitioner of metta sees consciousness: deservingcompassionin their manifold sufferings,and is freed from the 'people as they appear', competitors for self-gratification. delusion of Some texts relate the four brabma-uihara to the four ihanas in an ascending order; others teach that all four (or frve) ihanas are to be attained in the practice of each of them separately. i.e. explainsthe practiceof karuna (compassion, feeling Buddhaghosa someone else's suffering as one's own), mudilr7 (sympatheticioy, i.e. participating in another's happiness), and upekkha (equanimity) in a fashion analogousto his discussionof the practice of metta, although much more briefly. Vhile the intensive practice of the brabma-uihara is to only possiblefor bhikkhus and bhikkhunls, they are recommended all Buddhists as a means to cultivate their own minds and to improve the condition of the whole world. The practice of metta, especially,has and contemporary becomea regular part of Buddhistreligiousgatherings Buddhist writers emphasizethe good that comes from it both for those who practiseit and for those towards whom it is applied.

B SA M AT h AAN D V IP A S S A N A H A V ANA
Elementaryand introductory as this descriptionof Buddhist meditation that Buddhistmeditation is may have been,it will at leasthave suggested a very complex and sophisticatedactivity that goes far beyond simple musing or reflection and aims at cultivating @hnuana) the mind in preparation for the attainment of complete liberation (nibbdnal. The canonical texts are replete with meditational materials and instructions;the Buddha himself is the model of a meditator and the guaranteethat meditation can bring to an end the suffering that lies so heavily on the mind of every Buddhist. It becameone of the chief duties of senior bhikkhus to train their novicesin meditation. In the course of

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centuries certain schools developed their own preferred approaches to meditation, which then were developedand propagated. The two main traditions of Buddhistmeditation practiceare Samatha (S: Samatha)and Vipassand(S: Vipa6yana),usually translatedas 'Calm Meditation' and 'lnsight Meditation'. While some exponenrsof each of these treat them as exclusive of each other and as complete systems leadingto nibbana, others seethem as complementary:Samathaleadsto an understanding of the content of the Buddha's teaching; Vipassand leadsto a penetration of the mrnd to nibbana - both are necessary full for realization.

Samatha The Satipanhana Sutta,'The Discourse the Applicationof Mindon fulness'21 according to the testimony of contemporaryBuddhist is, scholars, most popularand frequently the studiedof all the Buddha's instructions. Thus it begins:
There is this one way, bhikkhus,for the purificationof beings,for the overcoming sorrowsand griefs,for the going down of sufferings of and miseries, winning the right parh,for realizing for nibbana,that is to say, the four applications mindfulness. of mindfulness',we remember,is one of the steps of the Eightfold Path that leads to liberation. In this sutta the Buddha goesfar beyond a simple statementof this step and provides a great amount of detailed instruction about its meaning. Later writers have amplified it into a complete manual of satipatthana meditation directed to the body, feelings,mind and objects.22 'bare Right mindfulnessbeginswith attention', defined as 'the clear of and single-mindedawareness what actually happensto and in us, at It moments of perception'.23 ir a schoolingto focus on one the successive 'In what is seenthere should be only the seen; thing and one thing only: only the sensed; in what is heard, only the heard; in what is sensed, in what is thought, only the thought.'2aThis training in bare attention leads to knowing the mind as well as shapingthe mind in preparation for the exerciseof mindfulnessproper: or would have Very often a singlemomentof mindfulness wisereflection of sequence miseryor guilt. By pausingbefore prevented far-reaching a 'Right

B U D D H I SM E D I T A T I OrN 1 3 3 T

action, in a habitual attitude of bare attention, one will be able to seize that decisive but brief moment when mind has not yet settled upon a definite course o{ action or a definite attitude. but is oDen to receive skilfull directions.25

The next step in the preparatory training is the development of clear comprehension (sampajafiital. lt is concerned with our actions and

comprisesthe clear comprehensionof purpose (satthaka),of suitabiliry lsappaya), of the domain of meditation (gocaral and of reality a l a s a m m o h , ' n o n - d e l u s i o n)'. The four objects of mindfulnessare body (kdya), feelingsluedana), states of mind (citta) and objects (dhamma). Each is subdivided into numerous parts or perspectives.It cannot be the purpose of this introduction to provide a full description of all these elements;by way of example (and it is a very central one) mindfulnessof breathing(andpanaIn sati) will be briefly described. the words of the Buddha: A bhikkhuwho hasgoneto the forestor goneto the root of a treeor gone to a lonelyplacesits do,,r'n crosslegged, holdinghis back erect,arousing mindfulness front of him. Mindful he breathes mindfulhe breathes in in, 'I out. Whether is breathing a long breath,he comprehends: am he in in breathing a long breath', whether is breathing a long breath, or he out 'l he comprehends am breathing a long breath'. . . He trainshimself out 'l thinking: shallbreathe experiencing wholebody... I shallbreathe in the in tranquillising activityof the body.'26 the Iiyanaponika Thera reminds us that it is 'an exercise mindfulness,not in a breathing exercise', a 'bare observation' of the flow of breath. Nevertheless,he thinks that mindfulness of breathing, rightly done, can become an important factor of physical and mental health becauseof its calming effect. Mindfulness of breathing also leads to a general understanding of the nature of the body. The same method is applied to walking. A Buddhist monk walking with measured steps along a specially prepared walkway besidehis hermitage is not 'taking a physical exercise'in the usual sense, is practising 'mindfulnessof walking'. he The Buddha promises to those who practise 'mindfulness' even for a short period 'either profound knowledge here and now, or the srate of non-returning'.27

t r n . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r r o N i m

Vipassand as ^\lost authors describethe relationship benveenSamathaand VipassanA mutually exclusive. Some liken them to faith and complementary, not n.isdom: the practitioners of Samathabhauanago through the meditations becausethey are the Way taught by the Buddha, confident that this path the will lead to nibbAna.The practitionersof Vipassanafind by themselves In another context, SamathabhauanAhas been rruths of the Buddha-path. associatedwith slla (virtues);Vipassani with pafrfia (wisdom). The seeker needs both, of course. Without the moral qualities inculcated by slla the meditator could not expect to reach pafifia; on the of other hand, the very purposeof living a virtuous life is the achievement great detail in which both insight, wisdom and enlightenment' The the underscores conviction that it Samathaand Vipassanaare presented is not easy to transform oneself into an ethical person and to live one's life on the level of insight. It is obviously not a question of following certain conventionsor of occasionallyrising to doing good deeds,but of undergoing a thorough transformation, a cleansing, a purification in depth, an eradicationnot only of bad deedsbut of bad inclinations and desires. Similarly, Vipassana is not a matter of occasional flashes of insight, the extraordinary moments when one seesthings as they ought to be' but 'how things really are' and consideringthis to be of living at the level of 'normal'. This evidently demandstotal dedication and ruthlesshonesty that for somepeopleSamathacomes Authorities suggest towards oneself. first, to be complemented by VipassanS,whereas with others Vipassand comes first, to be complemented by Samatha. The Visuddhimagga states that plfifia (understanding, insight) is of many sorts and has various aspects. A description that attempted to explain all of them would not accomplish its purpose' and would, to lead to distraction,so we shall confine ourselves the one kind besides, 'insight intended here, the understandingconsistingof what is termed knowledge' (uipassana ifidnal associatedwith profitable consciousness lkusala citta).28 Buddhaghosadrives his point home with a telling simile' Imagine a before young child, an ordinary person and a professionalmoney-dealer of all sorts. The child would only distinguishthem by a heap of coins shape and colour; the ordinary person would judge them by the alone would be able to the denomiriationembossed; expert money-dealer

ME ON BUDDHIST DITATIo 135

distinguishbetweengenuineand counterfeitby the look and the sound of The child's kno'*'leach coin and b,v some other subtle characteristics. the ordinary person'son a edge is based on mere prception (senses); the more adequateapprehension(consciousness); expert'sknowledge is (insight wisdom). 'The characteristicof based on true understanding wisdom is penetratinginto the true nature of things; its function is to dispell the darkness of ignorance; its manifestation is absence of bewilderment;its proximate causeis concentration.'2e The lengthv technical descriptions of the practice of Vipassana offers (based numerousquotationsfrom on bbauanawhich Buddhaghosa canonical scriptures)cannot be summarizedin an easily understandable form. They are 'the higher mathematics'of Buddhism,which cannot be reduced to simple rules of addition and subtraction without distorting their entire meaning. It takes years of training and thorough familiarity with Buddhisttechnicalteachingbefore one can begin to understandthe subject. The upshot of it all is that the meditator comes to realize by himself (and not just believeon the authority of others)the impermanent (anicca), painful (dukkhd), and insubstantial (anatta) character of and everything in the sphere of sense perception aitd consciousness 'empty' of everythingthat makes finally 'seesthings as they are', i.e. as them attractive to the unenlightened. vanishes. of With insight into the impermanence everything,self-conceit ITith insight into With the insight into universal suffering,craving ceases. the non-substantialityof everything,all wrong views disappear.30 the While practising insight meditation along the lines suggested, Four Noble Truths and more and more clearlythe meditator understands by the Chain of DependentCo-origination; i.e. one achieves oneselfthe 'sees things level of insight through which Gotama becamea Buddha and a as they really are' - fleeting,unsatisfactory, product of our own desire, which one is unable to quell. This negativeinsight is complementedbv the positive realizationof rhat which is not transient,not the product of our desire,not the oblect of our aversion- nibbana.
NOTES

1. Vhile only Hinayana texts are referredto in this sectionand the Pdli has been retained,it should be noted that terminologyof the sources of hereis practised Buddhists all schools. by much of what is described 2 . T h e m o s t e x h a u s t i v e o f t h e s e t e x t s i s P a r a v a h e r aV a i i r a n a n a Mahathera's Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice, published of by the BuddhistMissionarySociety Malaysiain 1962.For beginners,

t g O. S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

Conze, Buddhist Meditation, and Nydnaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, will prove helpful. 3. Visuddbimaggal, 98. The referencesto rhe Visuddhimassa are ro paragraphsin the English translation by Bhikkhu Nyanl-moli (see appendix2). 4. Ibid. III, 87. 5. rbid.88. 5. Rahula, History of Buddbism offers extensive descriptions of the organization and administration medievalBuddhistmbnasteries of and the life of rhe bhikkhus in them (pp. 112-98). Some of the larger monasteries Sri Lanka housedseveralthousand monks. Life in them in was regulated everydetail.The aurhoralsodescribes involvement in the of the monks in local politics and the lengthy controversiesbetween different_majormonastic centres,activitiesthat were obviously not favourableto developinga meditativeclimate. 7. Visuddhimagga 18. IV, 8 . Aiguttara Nikaya l, 4I. 9. Visuddhimagga IV,2I. 1 0 . rbid.25. 1 1 . Ibid. 28. 12. r b i d . 3 1 . 1 3 .rbid. 1 4 , rbid. 34. 1 5 .Paravahera VajirananaMahathera, Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice, 263. p. 1,6.Drgba Nikdya ll, 49. 1 7 . Visuddhimagga 11. IX, 1 8 . Maiihima Nikdya l,'1,29.

1 9 . rbid. 20. Aiguttala NikAya V, 342. 21,. Maiihima Nikdya I, 10 and other placesin the Pali Canon. As Rahula
writes in History of Buddhism in Ceylon:'The Satipatthana was held in suchhigh esteem that it was popularlybelieved thaievena rat snakeand some five hundred bats were reborn in better states as the result of merelylistening the soundof that Sutta,(p. 253). to 22. I am mainly following Nyanaponika Thera'smasterlyexposition of the Sltipatthana in The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. Nydnaponika, Tbe Heart of Buddhist Meditation, p. 30. 24. Udana I, 10. 2 5 . Nydnaponika The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, p. 39. , 2 6 . SatipatthAna Sutta ll, 29 1,. 27. ln The Heart of Buddbist Meditation Nyinaponika Thera offers an extensive description the 'Burmese of Satiparthdna method' developed by U Narada, a contemporaryBurmesemonk. 28. VisuddhimaggaXIV 2. 29. rbid. 7. 3 0 . Paravahera VajirananaMahathera, Buddhist Meditation in Tbeory and Practice, pp. 391f.

PATH THE BODHISATTVA

I mong the notions that both unite and separate Hinaydna and V"haydna Buddhism, the idea of the bodhisattual is the most la' central.The Peli Canon of the Theravadinscontains547 Jatakas,most of in them storiesabout births of the Buddha beforereachingenlightenment the body of Gotama, the Prince of the Sakya clan: this Buddha-to-beis 'a called a bodhisatta (P), (S: bodhisattual, being destinedfor enlightfeaturesof a Buddha, practising enment', revealingmany characteristic to selflessness and self-sacrifice a heroic degree, but also exhibiting shortcomings that preclude him from achieving full Buddhahood. Maheyanists, too, have collectionsof (Sanskrit)Jatakaszextolling the virtuous deedsof the Buddha in his former lives. The pre-eminent virtue of the bodhisattua describedin all the Jdtakas, whether he appearsin the form of an animal, as a human or a god, is his If compassion. we understandthe distinction betweenthe Hinayana and Mahayana traditions as Paul Villiams defines it, we can see the Bodhisattvapath as the true source of Mahayana, not at all in conflict with any other Buddhist tradition: one and Mahayana non-Mahiyinais not assuch The distinction berween It of schools,traditions,Vinaya, robes, or philosophy. is one of motivation,the reasonfor following the religiouspath. As such there motivationof one with the highest could in theory be a Maheyanist, for the sake of all sentientbeings,following a completeBuddhahood origins Theravidatradition.This fits with what we know of the historical firmlywithinthe non-Mahayana traditions.3 embedded of theMahayana,

t g g . S u d d hA s m o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i sH

In other n'ords, those morivated b,v infinite compassionfor all living beings,making reLef of their suffering their central interesr,r,l'ouldbe \,lahayanists, regardless of philosophical or institutional affiliarion. D e r . e l o p i n gt h e ' B u d d h a - m i n d ' i s t h e i n i t i a t i o n t o M a h a , v a n a a n d 'compassion is the basisand motivating force of the Bodhisarrvas, from i t s p r i n g s h e e n t i r ee d i f i c e f . \ l a h a 1 a n a ' . 4 t o For Nlahaveniststhe ultimate ideal is no longer arabatta, personal f u l f i l m e n t i n e n l i g h t e n m e n rb u r B u d d h a h o o d ,e m b o d i e d c o m p a s s i o n . , Evervbodycan becomea Buddha; everybodr', before reachingcomplete Buddhahood,goesthrough the careerof a bodhisattua.In N.Iahayana the h o d h i s a t t u ai s n o I o n g e r s e e n a s a u n i q u e i n d i v i d u a l . a o n c e - i n - a millennium Buddha-to-be,bur an ordinary human w.ho has conceived infinite compassionin an evenr called 'the arising of the bodhi-mind, (bodhi-citta-utpdda) and rvho has vowed to sacrifice himself in the effort to relievethe suffering of all feilow crearures. It is quite logical ro assumethat, if past Buddhas and bodhisattuas existed,there could also be future ones. The projection of Buddhahood into the future is due also to a variety of historicalfactors.sFrom around 400 scr northern India becamerhe targer for many invasionsby outside powers (Greeks, Persians,Kushanas, Central Asians) who ruined the country. Northern India (comprising,in addition to the north-west cif today's Republic of India, Pakistan,Afghanistanand some neighbourrng areas)was then a Buddhist country. Traditionallv the Buddha was nor supposed to deal with earthly matters - these were the domain of local deuatas (Hindu and other). After the Buddha had becomedepictedin murti form and Buddha-image puia had developed,it was only a small step also to ask the Buddha for help in the daily tribulations to which one was exposed.As people,s faith must often have been rewarded, so the Buddha became a less remore figure. Rememberingthe past Buddhas' good deeds,worship of these particular bodhisattuasbecame popular too. Many of the Gandhara Buddhist sculptures represenr bodhisattuas rather rhan Gotama the Buddha. One also began with the personificarionof Buddha-gunas, attributesascribedto the Buddha, such as his friendliness (maitrt). which was turned into the figure of the Maitreya Buddha.6 There is, then, a definite Mahal'ena Buddhist personality which emergesas the result of three factors connectedwith the career of a botlhisdttua:bodhi-citta-utpada(arising of thought of enlightenmenr), (bodhisattuavow), and pAramitds (heroic degreeof bodhi-sattt,a-urata

T H EB O D H t S A T T Y A H 1 3 9 PAT r

virtues). During his early careet before reaching jfiana-paramitA, rhe Bodhisattva appears as a real person in a real world, alleviating the afflictionsof creaturesby assumingtheir burdens.

S AN T D EV A ,S o DHI C A R Y A V A T A R I B
There is no better way to appreciate the Mahayana ideal of the bodhisattud path than by reading Santideva's(c. 690-743 cE) justly famous Bodbicaryauatara, 'Entering the Path of Enlightenment'.Virtually from the time of its composition it had been recognizedas a classic exposition of the bodhisattua ideal and countless Buddhists consideredit the most beautiful expressionof their aspirations. Santideva's life, as traditionally told, has some featuresin common with that of the Buddha. According to Taranatha8he was rhe son of a king in Saurastra.At the death of his father, while preparing to ascend the throne, he had a vision of Mafrju6ri, the embodiment of Buddha's wisdom, who occupied the throne and declared himself Sanrideva's kalyana mitra (spiritual guide). He also saw Tara appear as his mother, advising him to relinquish kingship. After being initiated miraculously by Maflju6rr and Tara, he spenr sometime as a minister in the service a king. Leavinghim, after having of had some bad experienceswith his colleagues,he went to live rn Nalanda, the famous Buddhistuniversityin northern India. He seemed to do nothing but eat large quantitiesof food, sleepfor long hours, and take extensivewalks by himself while the other studentswere busy studying the scripturesand preparing for examinations. In order to embarrasshim, his fellow studentsarrangedfor a public recitation of texts, expectinghim to fail miserablyand then be forced to leave.Santideva, however,not only repeatedsomewell-known saf/asbut recited an entire new work of his own, the Bodhicaryauatara, which made him instantiy famous.e In addirion, he composed a work called Siksasamuccaya) compendium of hundreds of texts around central a topics, and a short work (apparentlylost) calledSatra Samuccaya.lo Santidevais also creditedwith the working of many miracles:at a rime of famine he reputedlyproduced enough food to feed five hundred starving monks belongingto a non-Buddhistsect,who then converredto Buddhism. Through his magic powers he also won a contestagainsta brahman teacher calied Sankaradeva, who had threatenedro destrovall Buddhist imagesand books and to converrthe Buddhistkine of rhe countn'to Hinduism.rl

1 4 0. B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

Ihe BodhicarydvatSra The 'Way of the Bodhisattva'traditionally consistsof the practiceof the pdramitas,'heroic virtues' exercised behalf of one'sfellow beings.The on standard list consistsof six: l. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. dana (charity); 6ila (morality); ksanti (forbearance); ulrya (heroism); dhyana (contemplation); praimd (wisdom).

In some texts four more are added, bringing the total to ten: 7. 8. 9. 10. upaya-kauialya (skilfulness in means); pranidhazc (surrendering one's life); bala (strength); ifiana (knowledge).

Santideva's Bodhicaryauatara adopts the scheme of the stx paramitas. Sincethe work is meant for members of the monastic Sangha,who do 'charity', literally not own property (and thus cannot practise dana, 'giving'), and who had had to prove high moral standards(itla) before being accepted,it only mentions cursorily the first two and begins the detailed instruction with the thtrd, ksantl (forbearance)to which it devotes an entire chapter. The longest and most difficult chapter is devoted to praind-pAramitd, the perfection of wisdom. 'Praise of Enlightenment The work begins with a chapter called Thought' lbodhi-citta). It extols the rare moment in a person's life, when like a light illuminating a dark night, enlightenment conscrousnessarises:this is the conception of the bodhisattua,the beginning of the process of salvation, the one chance offered in many lifetimes to escapefrom the endlesscycle of births and deaths' It manifestsitself as the aspiration to free everyone from pain and to provide unlimited wellbeing to everyone. The preparation of the actual career of the bodhisattua begios with taking refuge in the Three Jewels- Buddha, Dharma, Sangha- and with sins.This ends with surrenderingto the great Avalokite6vara, confessing 'The Lord who is full of compassion'and to the famous bodhisattuas Aka5agarbhaand Ksitigarbha.

7 H E B O D H T S A T T V A P Ao H4 1 T1

a
THE BODHISATTVAVOW May I be a protector the protectionless, for a guide thetravellers; boat, for a a d i k e , b r i d g eo r t h o s ew h o w a n tt o r e a c h h e o t h e rs h o r e . a f t M a y I b e a l a m pf o r t h o s ei n n e e do f a l a m p , p l a c eo f r e s tf o r t h o s e a who needrest,a servant all creatures of who needa servant. ge M a y I b e a w i s h - f u l f i l l i n g mf o r t h e e m b o d i ec r e a t u r e s ,p o to f l u c k , d a a m a g i cf o r m u l aa m i r a c u l o um e d i c i n e , w i s h - f u l f i l l i nrg e ,a n d a c o w , s a t e w h i c hg r a n t s l l d e s i r e s . a A s t h e e a r t ha n d t h e o t h e re l e m e n t a r e i n m a n yw a y s u s e f u t o t h e s l i n n u m e r a b lc r e a t u r e s h i c h f i l l t h e e n d l e s s p a c e ,t h u s m a y I b e o f e w s m a n i f o l u s et o a l l c r e a t u r e s ,h i c hs p a c eh o l d s s l o n ga s t h e y h a v en o t d w a -201 reached nirvdna. (Santideva, odhi caryavatda lll,17 B r

The 'Grasping of the Thought of Enlightenment' and the taking of the bodhisattua vow constitute the formal and irreversible entering into the bodhisattua path. Concomitant with the vow's expressionof universalcompassion,its undertaking to 'still the pain of hunger and thirst',12comes the future bodhisattua'sreadinessto take upon himself all kinds of suffering for the benefitof others: 'may they beat me, curse me, cover me with dust, may they play with my body, ridicule it, taunt it. I have surrendered my body to them, what do I care?'13 Having taken the bodhisattua vow he gains a senseof meaning which his life did not possessbefore: 'Now my birth has brought forth fruit, now I have truly acquired a human nature. Now I have been born into the family of the Buddhas. Now I have become an offspring of the Buddhas.'l4 Surprised by his good luck, he celebratesthis event and invites the whole world to share his happiness. Realising that other thoughts might in course of time crowd out rhe enlightenment thought, the incipient bodhisattua takes care to preserveit carefully:to lose it would be a terrible tragedyand to fail to carry out his vow would be a betrayal of the whole world. The major enemiesto be fought are not outside but inside: the passions.He rationalizes:.The passionsare not in the senseobjects and not in the organs, nor in between them nor anywhere else. t}Thereare they, who stir up the world?

Asl 1 4 2 . B l J d d h i s lH|o R rr N r R o D U c r t o N

Ir rs just maya[delusron]. So free yourself from fear,my heart. Strive for rr'isdom!'15 'One who wishes to observethe \lind control is the crucial point: Discipline must guard his mind carefully. The Discipline cannot be t b o b s e r v e d y o n e w h o d o e sn o t g u a r d t h e f i c k l em i n d " r " H e c o m p a r e s h e '\Whenthe elephant a wild elephant,the strongestof all beasts: mind to dangerhas been "mind" has beenfetteredwith the rope of remembrance' overcomeand wellbeing has been achieved.'When the mind is brought under control, everythingis under control. One cannot control the world outside;but one can control the mind inside.Only a controlled mind is a mind in which awarenesscan develop: tvithout it one cannot retain instructionsnor can one reflectand meditate on them' One cannot take mind control for granted, even if it has once been achieved: 'mind' mustbe watched effort'lesthe, with meticulous The madelephant 'Whereis mv free observation, himself. tied to the big postsof Dharma so Thusthe mind must be surveyed that it doesnot throw mind going?' evenfor mo-.nt,toff the yokeof concentration " offers practical adviceon how to keep the mind under control Santideva and how to avoid situations that endangermind control, as well as on ways of counteractingnegativeimpulses. One of the first things a well-controlledmind should do is to shedthe 'self': misconceptionof the body as one's Then removewith the First removewith your thoughtthis skin-cover. and split the bones fleshfrom the skeleton, scalpel your wisdomthe of thereis a whether for the contemplate marrowin it andconsider vourself 18 ca substance lled'self'. That should help one to avoid wasting one's mental energieson the preservationof the bodY. has adviceto offer to young monks on how to behaveso as Santideva to manifest their controlled mind both inwardly and outwardly: and one with loud noise and otherthings Oneshouldnot setdown chairs shouldnot knock hard at doors.One shouldtake pride in not making and A noise. crane,a cat, and a thief movenoiselessly quietlyand they goals.A monk shouldmove in the samemanner' their desired reach.
alwavs.'
, 19

rHE BODHTSATTVAPATt 143 H

in The rest of the rules of etiquettedemonstratethat a bodhisLtttL,ct,spitc of his exaltedspiritual status,should not violate the rules of courtesvand but behavewell in ordinarv circumstances and in his dealings decenc.v with others. proper is the practiceof the well-knou'n The Way of rhe bodhisattLtd supremevirtues (paramitd).The first two of these,charity and ethics,are mentioned onlv cursorily. Instead of expanding on them, the text substitutingtheir practice'"vith appropriate thoughts: suggests poverty in If the perfection charityldana-paramifa) of consists removing it: from the world,thenthe formerBuddhas not practise the rvorldis did Perfection charitr, ratherconsists the thought in still beset povertl'. bv of possessions w,iththemeritaccruing from of givingawa.v one's all together it.'!(heretoshallI ihepherd fishes othercreatures that I do not the and so guilty of their death? The perfection ethics\iIla-paramitn) of become consists the thoughtof resolving renounce in to even'thing.'t' tWhile the first trvc.r pdrdmitd receive onl,v one verse each, the others, beginning with the perfection of forbearance (ksanti-paramita) are treatedin full, separate chapters,because their applicabilitvto thoseto of must be Anger,the oppositeof forbearance, whom the book is addressed. 'Anger reduces to eradicated before forbearance can be practised. nothing good conduct, devotion and veneration of the Buddhas, practised through thousands of aeons. With the arrow of hatred inplanted in his heart, one cannot achievepeaceof mind, nor gladness n o r j o y .n o r f i n d s l e e p n d s e r e n i r , . ' l l a like Buddhaghosabefore him, advises To overcomeanger Santideva, 'l of and pointlessness anger: do not bear consideringthe insubstantiality g a n g e rt o w a r d sb i l e a n d o t h e r h u m o u r si n s p i t eo f t h e i r c a u s i n g r e a tp a i n . \il7hat purpose would anger towards sentient beings serve?' and: 'lf the stick, which is the direct causeof hurt. one is angn' u'ith disregarding the one who yields it, one is moved by hate too. For me hatred agalnst ' S i n c em i n d i s h a t r e di s m o r e b e f i t t i n g . ' A n g er e s t so n a m e n t a l m i s t a k e : r rve cling to the bodl', our without form, nothing can hurt it. Because mind is tortured by pain. Insult, malice, gossip- none of thesehurt the to body. Vhy do you get angry, my soul?' In the end, he suggests, 'like a treasurefortuitousll'discovered'because it encounteran enemy rs practiceof the virtue of forbearancein a heroic degree.One allows the should not forget that in all creatures there is somethingthat partakesof B u d d h a h o o d n d h a st o b e h o n o u r e d . n d ' t h e p a t i e n tp e r s o n , h i l e s t i l l A w a

t + + . E u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

in the world, already gains bliss as well as fame and wellbeing, beautn health, joy and long life and all the happinessof a world-ruler'.22 Having acquired heroic forbearancethe future bodhisattva should p r a c t i s ef o r t i t u d e ( u r r y a )' s i n c ee n l i g h t e n m e nrte s t so n f o r t i t u d e ' . 2 1t i s I definedas'efforts towards the wholesome' (kuialotsaha);its opposite is sloth, a penchant for the unworthy, despair and self-contempt.Sloth, Santideva explains, arises from 'unconcern regarding the suffering in samsdra,'through inactivity, love of pleasure,somnolence,dependence and desire (tfstta). One must not think enlightenment an impossible dream. The Buddha is quoted as having said: 'They too, who have attained through their efforts the hardly attainable, supreme enlightenment, were once gnats, flies, mosquitoesand worms.'24 A contemplationof the blissof the Sukhavatiheavenand the pains of the Avici hells should motivate the future bodhisattua to expenence limited suffering for the sake of permanentenlightenment. Having acquired fortitude the future bodhisattua is ready for meditation (dhydna paramital. 'A yogi who has achieved insight (uipaiyana) through tranquillity (6amatha) is able to destroy the passions.Therefore tranquiilitv must first be pursued and this results from the indifference towards the attractionsof rhe world.'25Meditarron is a lonely business; future bodhisattuashould not shy away from it. the 'Man is born alone and alone he dies. No one shares suffering.\(hat his use are loved ones who hinder one in meditarion?'25 The first meditation exercises take the future bodhisattua to the cemetery where he contemplatesthe remains of those who were once alive and the objectsof desire.Nothing atrractiveis left in the bonesand skulls. Thus revulsion from the body is the first fruit of meditation. The next object of meditation is wealth and the damage it does to people.'Recognizefortune as an endless misfortune, because the pain of connectedwith obtaining and preservingit, and because the sorrow of for over its loss.In their obsession weaith men do not get an opportunity f o r l i b e r a t i o nf r o m t h e p a i n o f e x i s r e n c e . ' l The 'misery of the lustful' comes next and their pleasure is 'comparable to that of an animal which draws a cart and receivesa little feed for it'.28lt is a prty if peoplemiss Buddhahoodfor the sakeof a trivial, short-lived bodily sensationof pleasure. After dealing with these negative considerationsthe meditator is Here Santideva offers his ready to 'arousethe thought of enlightenment'. 'First one should carefully contemplatethe equality of the finest ideas:

' r H EB O D H T S A T T V A H: 1 4 5 PAI

other and the self: all suffer the samesorrow and the samehappiness I 'l must protect them all like myself.' Thus the Bodhisattvaresolves: must remove the others'suffering,because is suffering,like my own. And so it I must come to the aid of others, because they are beingslike myself.'2e He goesevenfurther: the very attribution of a self to the body is just a convention and there is no truth or reality in it: Having recognized one'sself as sinful and othersas full of virtue, one shouldpractise abandonment selfand the acceptance others the of of ... He who wishes savehimselfand othersquickly,shoulddevotehimself to to this supreme mystery:the exchange the other and the self.3O of The law of karma is operative in such a way that everything done to someoneelsecomes back to visit the agent. Happinessand unhappiness are related to egotism and altruism: 'All those who are unhappy in this world are so because they desireonly their own happiness. thosewho All are happy in this world, are so because they desireonly the happiness of others.'31 Santideva tells his listeners that without exchanging one's own happiness the sufferingof others,neither Buddhahoodnor happiness for in this world can be realized.All unhappiness has its root in clinging to one'sself. $Tithoutgiving up the self,one cannot give up suffering,as one cannot avoid being burnt without avoiding contact with fire. And thus 'For the the bodhisattua resolves: stilling of my own suffering and of the sufferingof othersI give myself to the othersand acceptthe othersas my rr.?) '" selt. He exercises this 'exchange self with the other' through considering of bodily pain, honours and wealth in the other and in himself: Immeasurable havepassed while you havebeenlookingfor your aeons own gain.Throughall this toil you havegained nothingbut pain.Turn withouthesitation. will cometo seeits bene6ts. You thento this practice f o r t h e B u d d h a 'w o r d sa r et r u e . t ' s The aspirant is told to practise other-consciousness the same degree to 'Chase and intensity as he had practicedI-consciousness: the self from its happiness, force it into the suffering of the other.'And: 'lf you love the self, you must not love yourself.If you have to protect the self, you must not care for yourself.The more this body is cared for, the more tender it becomesand the more it degenerates.'34

t + 0 . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

If Santideva reacheda summir of compassionwith his teachingof the exchangeof the self and the other, he reachesa peak of wisdom in the chapter devotedto prdinA-pdramita: wisdom is the immediate means ro reac.h niruana, a wisdom informed by compassron. Santidevaoperateswith the well-known rwo,rruths theory:3'5 besides conventional(samurti)rruth, which is the only truth that ordinary people recognize,there is ultimate, transcendenr (paramartha)trurh which the 'rvise' know and through which thev find liberatron.36 this chapter of In the Bodhicaryauatara which in the Tibetan schoolswas considereda separate book by itself - Santrdeva engages with a nurnber of opponents of his teachings:realists and idealists who object to his teaching of iunyata, 'emptiness'. S7henasked for proofs of this teaching he tells the questionerrhar 'this doctrine has its [experiential] roots in the life of a bhikkhu' and that regardless austerities of and orher virtues 'the object-boundmind returns' if it has not found lrnydta. 'Emptinessis the antidote for the darknessof passion. . . Ernptiness stilling sorrow. As long as the "1" is something, is there will be fear of this and of that ... If the "1" is empry, whose could the fear be?'3' In his polemicswith opponentsof the emptinessdocrine, Sentideva encounters profound objection:if beingsdo not reall.v a exist, who is the object of compassion, this greatestof the Buddha'svirtues?His answer rs interesting: compassionis exercised towards an entit,vprojectedthrough imagination so as ro make it possible to fulfil the vow of the bodhisattua.38'Egotism, rhe cause of suffering, grows out from a delusion concerningthe self. Since it cannot be elirninatedthrough the assumption of a real self, the theory of egolessness (nairatmya) is preferable.'3e In the process his discussion of Sentideva also eliminatesthe notion of an almighty creator God, as well as the Sarnkhyanorion of an eternal material substratum (pradhana)to everything.ou sums up the gist of H. his teachingin the following verses: Thereis neither annihilation becoming. wholeworld hasneither nor The comeinto existence does go out of existence. untoa dreamare nor it Like the rebirths: analysed, they arelike the banana srem.ttIn realit,v thereis no difference berween those niruana in andthosenot in niruana. Since all dharmas empty, hasbeenshown,rvhathasbeengained, are as what has beenlost?Who could be honoured dishonoured or bl'whom? Whose pleasure pain?What is worthy or unworthr'? and What is thirst?What

r H E B O D H T S A T T V A T Ht 1 4 7 PA

would one be thirsting for? Who rvould be a living being?Vho u'ould die? Who would be born? Vho would have lived? Vho u'ould be a relative? \X/ho would be whose friend? Those rvho follow mv school c o n s i d e ra l Je m p t v .l i k e s p a c e . t r

Leaving behind the teaching on empriness,Santideva bemoans the 'endiess,horrible oceansof sorrorv to be found rn this existence'.He returns to the subjectmatter of the introductorv chapter,stating:'Hard it is to find a propitious moment; the arising of a Buddha is extremelyrare and the flood of vices is hard to withstand. What an endlesschain of suffering.'And rememberinghis bodhisdttuavo'uv asks: he WhenshallI be in a position bringpeace those to rvhoaretorturedby ro the fire of suffering. offering helpthrougha cloudof goodworks?When shall I be able ro teachthe truth of emptiness thoseu'ho enterrarn to wrongnotions reali$'l.irsed sense of perception, rending veil on thus the which hides truth throuehrhe po*'er of m.' merit.al the H e e n d sh i s w o r k w i t h a l o n g a n d b e a u t i f u lp r a v e r t h a t c o m e sf r o m t h e heart of atrue bodhisattu'd. pravs that all 'rvho anyvvhere He suffer pain in bodl' and mind, may reach oceansof happiness'through his merits. N o t o n l y p e o p l eo n e a r r h ,b u r a l s o t h e d e n i z e n s f t h e m a n y h e l l ss h o u l d o find relief from suffering through rhe application of his merits. He asks the deuasto protect those who are asleep, those who have fainted or are u n c o n s c i o u sh e l p l e s s h i l d r e n a n d o l d p e o p l e .H e a s k s f o r a h u m a n , c birth for all creaturesto enable rhem to reach enlighrenment.'Through my merit, mav all creatures abstain from sin and always do good t ;44 worKs. He prays for time[y rain and bountiful harvests, justiceand health for for all. He wisheshis ou.n tradition and his fellow monks well: 'May the uibArasflourish, filled with reciration and study. May the Sanghaas a whole live forever and succeed its work.' He wishes that the bhiksus in may love the monastic discipline,practice meditation, and live together in peace without strife. He wanrs them to be scholarly, cultured and successful their teaching. in In the end he wishes himself well: 'N{ay I. through Mafljughosa's grace,alwavs be mindful of mv birth as a human and a Buddha son and may I reach the Pramudite-bhumi.'4tHe prays for the ability ro sit for a long time in meditation and to have a vision of Mafriu6ri:

t+A. Buddhism A sHoRrrNrRoDUcroN

May I live as long as heaven and eanh exist, as the destroyer of the pain of this world. May the suffering of the entire world come to fruition in me and may the world become happy through the good work of the bodhisattuas.

THET E N BO D H IS A T T VB H OMIS A
the wish In the conclusion to his Bodhicaryduatard Sentideva expresses to reach through his efforts the Pramudifi-bhami, the lowest of ten 'stages' through which the bodhisattrld passes before reaching full Buddhahood.He had called his text'Entering the Path of Enlightenment' and is preparedfor a long and arduous journey. The best-known ancient text dealing with the ten stages which a bodbisanua has to traverse is the Daiabhnmika Sutra, a very popular text This is not the place to go into among Tibetan and East Asian Buddhists."u the the enormous amount of detail that accompanies descriptionof the ten bbilmis, or stages, but a brief enumeration of their names and the accomplishmentsassociatedwith each may give some impression of the complexity of the bodhisattua path and the expectations of those who enter on it. It is important to keep in mind, that all of these stagesprecede the achievement of (full) bodbisattua status. The ones who enter the Path of Enlightenment after taking the bodhisaxua vow and after a lifelong practice of heroic virrues, are still only aspirants to bodhisatwahood, a condition that is quite literally still worlds removed from where they find themselves. The ten bbamis, in progressiveorder, are as follows: 7. Pramuditd (The Joyful): the aspirant takes refuge in perfect enlightenment, has subjected all passions, is exempt from the five fears,takes the ten great vows, acquiresthe ten great virtues,the ten skills and, renouncing the world, becornesa wandering monk. of beginningwith the achievements the prevrous 2. Vimala (The Spotless): 'ten good coursesof action', practisesthe stage,the futwe bodhisattua including, among others, abstentionfrom taking life, false speechand sinful sex, and considersthe effectsof ten evil coursesof action. 3. Prabhaharu (The Shining): the future bodhisattua acquires the ten mental dispositions which provide him with the possibility of becoming a refuge for the helpless,the poor, those scorched by the fire of longing, loathing and delusion, those who are confined in samsAla, those who are incapable of discrimination and many

THEBODH|SATTVA r I 49 PATH

others. He reachesfour types of formless mysric rrance and his mind becomesembued with the four brahma-uibara(seep. 12g). He also acquiresfour kinds of supernaturalknowledge. 4. Arcismati (The Brilliant): ar this stage the future bodhisattua becomesendowed with ten virtues that bring about maturity of knowledge and he practisesthe thirty-seven virtues that characterize an enlightenedone. At that stage the attachment to all notions of selfhood is extinguished. 5. sudurjaya (The Invincible): the future bodhisattua achieves comprehensionof the Four Noble Truths, his intensiry of universallove increases and he helps all creaturesto come to a state of maturity. He also achievesmastery of the branchesof worldly scienceand comesto know of ways to securethe material welfare and happiness of all creatures. 6. Abhimukht (The Friendly): at this stagewisdom preponderates and the future bodhisattua undertakes strenuous exercises for the attainment of those elementsof enlightenmentthat are still lacking. He becomesengrossed the mystic contemplation of emptiness. in 7. Dnraigama (The Far-Advanced):this presenrsthe beginning of a new way to find emancipation for the mass of living beings, including the ceaseless practice of the brahma-uihara and of a large number of heroic vlrrues. 8. Acala (The Immovable): the new feature of this stage is that from this point there is no longer any danger of retrogression for the future bodhisattua. All his activities become effortless. He gains the power to split up his body into an infiniry of forms and he is in a position to have knowledge of the entire universe. 9. sadhumari (The well-lntentioned): the future bodhisattua now delivers the message the Buddha to all sentient beings and attains of a fourfold special knowledge, transcending all limitations. 10. Dharmameghd (The Dharma cloud) also called Abhiiekha-bhami (The Stage of Anointment): here the aspirant to Bodhisatwahood reaches the end of the quest, arriving at the summit of all the accomplishments, contemplations and powers. At the end of the highest contemplation the Buddhas appear before him and consecrate him a bodhisattua. He puts out the flames of affliction produced by ignorance through the showers of rain from the croud, of Dharma. He now becomesendowed with supernatural powers.

t S O . B u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i H

The reader will find much of what is described here fairly incomprehensible: writer must confessto not having graspedmuch the of the detail either.The terminology is technicaland gearedtowards the practitionerswho spendtheir lives on the bodhisattuapath. lfhether one 'lands' or just as stages of should understand the bhamis as real psvchological or spiritual development only those who travel the bodhisattuapath can teli. However much or little we understandof it, it is certain that the boddhisattua ideal has profoundiy shaped the Buddhistworid and expectations bodhisattu4s come are the hope of of to many millicns in Asia today.
\OTES

p , 1 . N o r m a n , ' P J l iP h i l o l o g v n d t h e S t u d yo f B u d d h i s m 's u g g e s t(s . 3 5 ) a a derivation of the Pali bodhi-sdtta from bodhi-saktdot bodhi-sakta, 'directed towards enlightenment' 'capable of enlightenment'. He or thinks that the Sanskrit form bodhisattua (translated by Monterts Williams in the Sanskrit-English dictionary as 'one whose essence later. perfectknowledge') a backformation from Pali and therefore is translated into English 2. The best-known mav be Arvas[ra'sJatukdmdld, (seeappendix2). by J. S. Speyer Williams,MahayanaBuddhism,pp. 19r-f .

4. rbid. 5 . I am following closelvBasham,'The Evolution of the Conceptof the

Bodhisattva'. See Williams, Mabayana Buddhism, pp. 228ff. on Maitreya and his particularlvin EastAsia. veneration, 'Ihe as 7. Sanskrittext has beeneditedbv P. L. \'aidya and published vol. B t X I I i n t h e s e r i e s u d d h i s S a n s k r ifre x t s t D a r b h " n g l M i t h i l , I n s t i r u t e , there are 1950). Translations exist in most major Westernlanguages; avaiiable. this chapterI haveusedmy own In several Enelish translations (unpublished) translation. (trans.),Taranatha's History of 8. Lama Chimpa Alaka Chattopadhyaya Buddhismin India, pp. 215-20. u'ith the dealing say the 9. The sources that when he reached ninth chapter, from sight. perfectionof wisdom, he rose into the air and disappeared which by The storyprobablyreflects difficultypresented this chapter, the - unlike to the rest - is verv abstractand speculative. 1 0 . T h e S i k s a s a m u c c a lh as b e e ne d i t e db y n l . V a i d y a .v o l . X I i n t h e 'r (Darbhanga: Textsseries BuddhistSanskrit Mithita Institute,1951).An in by Englishtranslation C. Bendalland W. H. D. Rouseis published the (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,1971'lr. Indian Texts series vol. II, pp. 161-6. Histctry Buddhismby Bu-ston, of 11. See alsoObermiller, III, 12. Bbdhicaryauatara 5-9. 13. Ibid.13. 1 4 . I b i d -r I , 2 5 .

r H E B O D H t S A T T Y A r Hr 1 5 1 PA

I . ) . rbid.rv 47. 1 5 . rbid.v 1. 1 7 . rbid.40-4i. 1 8 .rbid.53. 1 9 . rbid.72-3. 20. r b i d . 9 - 1 3 . 2 1 . Ibid.vI, 1-3. 22. rbid.134. 2 3 . Ibid.vII, 1. 24. r b i d . 1 7 - 1 8 . 2 5 . Ibid.VIII, 4. 2 5 . I b i d .3 3 . 27. rbid. 79. 28. rbid.80. 2 9 . rbid.90. 3 0 . I b i d .1 1 3a n d1 2 0 . - ) 1 . rbid.129. -)L. I b i d .1 3 6 . 3 3 . Ibid.vtlr, 155-5. 3 4 . tbid.1734. 3 5 . See chapter on Madhyamaka, further 9, for details. 3 6 . Bodbicarya uataralX, 2. 37. rbid.55-5. 3 8 . Compassion createsits own object. There is no 'objective'causefor

compassion,which cannot be measuredobjectivelyin numbers of blanketsdelivered tons of food distributed. or 39. B odbicaryauatara 78. lX, 40. Sarirkhya a classical is Hindu system philosophy, of which assumes the e x i s t e n c eo f a n e t e r n a l m a t e r i a l p r i n c i p l e , p r a k r t i o r p r a d h a n a (substratum) from which everything has evolvedunderthe influence of purusa (spirit). 4 1 . The trunk of a bananaplant consists a large number of concentric of thin sheaths. one peels If them away,thereis no stemleft, so one cannor really speakof a bananastem. Aa aLBodhicaryauatar lX, 150-5. a 43. I b i d . 1 5 7 - 8 . 44. I b i d .x , 3 1 . 4 5 .r b i d . 5 1 . 45. The text has beenpublishedas vol. VII in the BuddhistSanskritTexts series, P.L. Vaidya(Darbhanga: ed. Mithila Institute,1957). English The translationhas been preparedby M. Honda and publishedas vol. (New Delhi: International LXXIV in the Sata-Pitaka series Academvof I n d i a nC u l t u r e .1 9 6 8 ) .

Part lll
SCHOOLS BUDDHISM OF

the cenruries,Buddhism aftracted a great many powerful minds 1/-\ver who spenr a lifetime pondering the Four Noble Truths and their \-/ implications. Their various efforts to understand the teaching of the Buddha and to think out its ramifications resulted in a large number of schoolsof Buddhism.To pre-emptany misunderstanding, school is not a a sect,i.e. a separatekind of Buddhism, but a specificunderstandingof Buddhist teaching. The nature of this work forbids the lengthy and thorough trearmenr which these schools deserve.Nor can we look at all of them. We shall learn a little about the Abhidhamma, the earliest classification and systematizationof the Buddha's teachings.We shall also listen to the arguments that Buddhist apologists developed in'their debates with opponents,encounreringsome interestingBuddhist ideas with regard to the nature and function of language. The radical advocates of the Buddhist notion of finyata (emptiness)establishedthe Madhyamaka school, which endeavoured securethe very centre of the Middle path. to Another Buddhist school that we shall consider, the cittamdtra or

t s + . E u d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U c r t o N i H

Yogacdra,developedthe notion that what we perceiveas reality exists only in the mind. Finally, we shall briefly hear about Tantric Buddhism, all with its great profusion of gods and goddesses' emanating from the Buddha. There are many other Buddhist schoolsthat are not dealt with here' took place in China and Japan that have been and further developments momentousfor the formation of Buddhism,but which had to be left out rWilliams, here. To learn more about the.se,readers are referred to Mahaydna Buddhism and Gethin, The Foundations of Buddhism.

BUDDHI ST SYSTEMATI C AND POLEMIC

THE ABHIDHAMMA
further the historical Buddha receded into the past, the greater I becamethe variety of interpretationsof his message, and the more difficult it becameto define what, exacrly, the Buddha had taught. Vithin the Buddhisr community itself a liveiy dispute arose as to what constituted the authentic Buddha-word. In order to safeguard its letter as well as its meaning, the Theravddins,at their Third Council, created the third Pitaka of the Pdli Canon and called it the Abhidhamma. According to an old tradition Mogalliputta Tissa Mahathera, who presided over this council, became the arlthor of the fifth book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the Kathauafiu, deciding the orthodox answer to a number of problems that had been raised. The term abhidhamma has been explained as ,relating to the Dhamma' or 'the highest Dhamma'. According to a famous statement by Buddhaghosa, 'Abhidhamma exceeds, and is distinguished from, Dhamma.' The Abhidhamma Pitaka aftemprs to clarify doubtful and disputed points of doctrine and discipline and to sysrematizethe content of the Dhamma by applying a large number of classificatory schematato the vinaya and sutta Pitakas. The Abhidhamma pitaka representsthe theological position of the Theravddins. other Buddhist schools, such as the Sarvdstivadins,also had a complete Abhidharma pitaha, commented upon in the famous Mahauibhasa. -l-h.

ts0 . Euddhism A sHoRrrNrRoDUcroN

H O W T O D I S C E R NT H E T R U E B U D D H A . W O R D a Buddha-word be recognized: may Through these characteristics four 1. 2. 3. 4. lt refers Truth, to un-truth to not to the Law notto the non-law, it decreases does increase sin, not it, the of it shows advantage nirvdqa, doesnot indicate benefits the of rebirths. . continued

young four When anyone utters wordendowed these characteristics, a with people faith perceive Buddha. . theywillhear Lawas he his will the . with preaches . Everything, is wellsaid, a Buddha-word. is .. that lAdhyd{ayatrans. in sarycodana Sitra, quotedby Sdntideva Srkgiisamuccaya, C, p. and Bendall W. H.D.Rouse, 17)

The content of the Abhidhamma Pitaka The Abhidhamma Pitaka consists of the following books:1 . Dhammasangani (A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics): twenty-rwo triplqts distinguishing states that are good, bad, or intermediate, and one hundred couplets that enumerate what are and are not moral roots; Vibhaiga (The Book of Analysis): analyses of terms hke kharda, aydtana, dhatu, etc.; Pafihana (Conditional Relations): deals with all dbammas with reference to the rwenty-four conditions (paccayal; Dhdtukat d (Discourse on Elements): further examination of the elements; 'Subjects of Discourse'): Kathduatlbn ('Points of Controversy' or contrasts five hundred orthodox with five hundred heretical statements and refutes heretical doctrines; Puggalapaftftatti (Designation of Human Types): the results of 'person' disputesconcerningthe notion I as 'book on applied logic'. Yamaka(Book of Pairs):has beendescribed a

. . t c

. ,

O B U D D H I S T S T E M A T IN O O L E M I CI 5 7 A CP SY

Some of these works, especially the Pattbana and the Yamaka, are voluminous and highly technical, almost inaccessible to the nonspecialist, even in an English translation. The Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas contain numerous matikas (indices, schemata) that foreshadow the Abbidhamma. The Abhidhamma does not add to the content of Sutta and Vinaya, but offers its analytical, logical, methodological elaboration, applying the following methods: . . r definition and determination of all names and terms used; enunciation of all doctrines as formulas and their coordination: reduction of all heterodox positions to absurdity.

The main concern of the Abhidhamma Piyaka is the analysis of everything into its component elements, the dhammas, and the enumeration and classification of these. According to the Theravdda teaching there are eighty-two dhammas. These are classifiedinto: . . twenty-eight physical (rnpa) components, such as the four elements' qualities of material obyectslike elasticity, food, etc.; fifty-two mental lcetasikal components, subdivided into twenty-five good elementssuch as absenceof greed, hatred, delusion; faith, compassionetc., fourteen bad dhammas, such as wrong views, etc.l thirteen neutral ones, such as contact, sensation,will, etc.; (cif/a); consciousness nibbana, the only 'unconditioned' (asaqnkhataldhamma.

r .

The meditator has to develop the practice of analysing all experiencein 'as they really are', i.e. terms of dbammas in order to learn to seethings The Abbidhammahas always conditioned, momentar%without substance. been considered extremely imponant for the higher training of monastics in the Theravida tradition and its teaching was facilitated by the production of manuals that summarizedand systematized unwieldy volumes of the the Abbidhamma Pitaha. One of the most widely used of these texts today is the (Pali) Abhidhammata Saigaha by the fifth-c.lrury Acariya Anuruddha, upon which later teacherswrote commentanes.' The imponance of Buddhaghosa The greatest name in Theravdda Buddhist exegesisis Buddhaghosa (fifth century cE;.3 His monumental Visuddhimagga is considered a general

t S g . B t t d d hAssm o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i H

commentaryon the whole Pali Canon, and its sectionentitled 'The Soil in which Understanding Grows' is specifically taken as a summary of the Abhidhamma. In addition to this he wrote many individual commentaries on parts of the Abbidhamma Pitaka. One of the most important of these is the Atthasalinr, a commentary on the Dhammasangani, the first book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. In the introduction to the Atthasalint (The Expositor) Buddhaghosa explains how each of the books of the Abhidhamma became'the word of the Buddha (Buddba-uacana)'. The factors involved are the prophetic foresight of the Buddha concerning the arising of heretical views, and the adoption by a bbikkhu of a matriha found in one of the other pitakas. The book also gives a short conspectusof the entire Abbidbamma. 'The Guide'

A work that becameimportant as an extra-canonicalsupplementto the canonical Abhidhamma is the Nettipakkarana (The Guide), a manual for teachers of Buddhism, 'not a commentary, but a guide for commentators'.4 It presupposes thorough and intimate knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha and offers guidance as to how to communicare them effectively.It facilitates the rewording of ideas expressedin the suttas.'lf the commentator is regardedas a retailer to the public, then the Guide may be compared to an organization of wholesalers, whose business rs not with the public but with the retailer.'s Another technical work called Petakopadesa (Pitaka Disclosure), is somewhat similar.o Its key elements are the sixteen haras (modes of conveying) that are to be used to help in analysing the conrent of the Vinaya and the suttasi 1. deiana (teaching); 2. uicaya (investigation); 3. yutti (construing); 4. padatthana (a footing); 5. lakhana (characteristic); 6. catubyuha (fourfold array); 7. auatta (conversion); 8. uibhatti (analysis); 9. pariuattana (reversal); 1.0. ueuacana(synonyms); 71. pannattl (description);

o B U D D H I SS Y S T E M A T AC D P O L E M I C 1 5 9 T I N

t2. otarana (way of entry); 13. sodhana (clearingup); 14. adhittana (terms of expression); 1.5. parikkhara (requisites); "J.6.samaropana (coordination). Ihe Abhidharma-kosa The Abhidbarma-kofu (Treasury of Higher Dharma), a collection of about six hundred verses (in Sanskrit), presenting the Abhidharma systematics the Sarvastivadins, always been consideredone of the of has most remarkable Buddhist literary productions.Traditionally its authorship has been ascribedto Vasubandhu(fourth century cr), the brother of Asanga of Yogicira fame. There is at presenta scholarly debate about the identity of Vasubandhu,the author of severalYogacaratreatises, and Vasubandhu,the author of the Abhidharma-koia. With E. Frauwallner, some scholars today assumethat the latter lived in the fifth century and was an adherent of the Sarvastivedins.T his commentary on his own In text, Abhidharma-koia-bhAsya, Vasubandhu presents his personal opinions, controversiesand opinions of a variety of other schools. According to de la Vall6e Poussin, the first translator of the text into a European language: from the point of view of dogmaticsthe Abhidharmako(a,wirh the Bhdsya,is perhapsthe most instructivebook of early Buddhism(the Hinaydna). renders greatservice the studyof c-anonical It philosophy a in and in the study of scholasticism properlyso-called.' The work became very influential throughout the Buddhist world and was frequently glossed in sub-commentaries such as Ya3omitra's Sphatartha. I nte rp retati ve devi ce s Several techniques were applied by the masters of the Abhidhamma to open up the canonical writings and exploit their full meaning. These involved: o detailed, repetitive explanations of all elements of the teaching in the suttasi

t0O. Suddhism A sHoRrrNrRoDUcroN

question and answer sryle of presentation; use of similes and comparisons referring to the daily life experiences of the listeners; r repetition of teachings; o insistenceon practice for the understanding of the teaching; o mutual interpretation of various parts of the teaching; o classifications. This last technique merits some more detailed comments. Classification as hermeneutics

r .

Classificationsplay a grear role in all Indian religions. In Vedic India, for example, the number four is prominent: there are four Vedas, four uarTras and four airamas. The Upanisads and the Sarirkhyaconsider five a basic number: the Taittiriya Upanisad coordinates the entire universe in pentads; the Sarnkhya operates with twenty-five (5 x 5) principles (tattuas), which supposedly encompassthe entire process of creation. Classification also plays a great role in some of the modern sciences: it helps them to arrive at as complete an inventory of their subiect as possible. Thus the atomic table of elements claims to be an exhaustive inventory of the building blocks of physical reality; the classification of plants and animals is intended to provide a complete enumerarion of all living beings according to species, families and genera. classification also permits structuring in a hierarchical manner. In the Buddhist compendia, classification has similar functions: it establishesa complete listing of all dhammas (elements),facilitating the analysisof 'compounds', and adding plausibiliry to the realization that there are no suabhauds, no individual 'natures' that might claim uniqueness and immortaliry. Classificatior. is based on distinctions and represents the understanding of differences. It also may lead to series, sequences and hierarchies. Classification is very prominent in Theravada Abbidhamma lircrature. Besidesthe analysisof all of reality into,eighty-two dhammas, as described above, the teaching in triplets, couplets, and so on that the Abhidhamma Pitaka abounds in, provides structural insights into the content of the Dhamma, both helping to make it better understoodand contributing to its final shape.

o I N B U D D H I SS Y S T E M A T AC D P O L E M I C 1 6 1 T

A B U D D H I SL O G I C N D P O L E M I C S T
'logic' must be applied to Indian thought with some The Western term restrictivequalifications.While Hindus as well as Buddhistsdeveloped rules for formal argumentation,which are the core of traditional logic, both the extent and the scope oftheir enterprisewas farlarger. To begin 'logic' as an instrument to reach spiritual with, they understood - for them truth coincided ultimately with enlightenment, fulfilment the self-realization, final condition. Second,they assumeda pre-rational and/or supra-rationalsource of logical reasoning: the authority of a non-human scripture or of an enlightened human being. The pramana-lastra, the science that deals with the ways to arrive at truth, presupposesboth the existenceof truth and the validation of the ways to reach it through the singularity of an established authority. 'logic' was geared towards action, more specifically towards Third, 'All the action required to reach enlightenment.As Dharmakirti has it: precededby right knowledge, human action is (necessarily) successful thereforewe are going to investigateit.'t 'logic' in the more narrow sense,the art of constructing Tarka-ldstra, and analysing arguments, developed when a plurality of opposing interpretationsof one and the same source emerged,or when disputes arose between followers of different paths, whose only common platform was formal rationality. While elementsof logic and of the art of debate 'Buddhist logic' is a are to be found in a number of eady Buddhistworks, term usually reservedfor the systematic treatment of pramana-lastra (a systematics proofs of truth) from a Buddhist position which began of with Digndga in the fifth century cE, and ended in the twelfth centurv with the destruction of the Buddhist seats of learning in India b1' the Muslim invaders.lo A shon history of Buddhist logic
DIGNAGA

'Father of Medieval Logic', Digndga (c. 450-520 cE was born into a The ) brahman family near Kaflcipuram, in today's Tamil Nadu' First, as a student of Nagadatta, who was a Vatsiputrlya,he studiedthe Hinayana Tipitaka. Later, with Vasubandhu, he also studied Mahayana texts. According to tradition he had a vision of Manlu6ri, who promised

t 0 Z . B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

success his undertaking.Digndga turned out to be a great debaterand to was given the epithet Tarka Pungava (Bull in Logical Dispute). He converted many Hindu pandits to Buddhism while travelling through India. In his Pramana Samuccayahe deals with perception, inference for one's own self, inference for the sake of others, reason and example, negation of the opposite (apoha) and analogy. In his Nyaya Praue(a he dealswith syllogismand fallacies.
PARAMARTHA

Another great name in Buddhist logic, Paramartha (498-559 cr) came originally from Ujjain. He went to Chrna with a Chinese Buddhist mission,and translatedabout seventyworks into Chinese, amongstthem Vasubandhu'sTarka-lastra. He died in China.
DHARMAPALA

A native of Kafrcipuram, south India, Dharmapdla (c. d00-35 cE) was first a student and then a professor at Ndlanda. He is the author of several works that seem to have been lost in the orieinal but were translated into Chinese.
DHAR]VIAKIRTI

Probablythe most celebratedBuddhist logician, Dharmakirti (c. 500-50 cr) was a southernIndian brahman who becamea Buddhist as a young man. He is saici to have secretly studied with Kumdrila, the Hindu Mimarhsaka maste! in order to defeat him later. His main works are Pramdna-uartika (containing polemics against non-Buddhist and other Buddhist systems), Pramdna-uartika urtti, Pramdna-Viniicaya and Nyayabindu.ll
SANTARAKSrIA

Santaraksita(c. 700-70 cE) was for many years a professorat Nalanda and was invited to Tibet in order to teach Buddhism there. At first he was very reluctant, but he allowed himself be convincedthat people in Tibet were very eagerto receivethe Dharma. He spent thirteen years in Tibet and is credited with having establishedthe first Buddhist uihara in central Tibet. His Tattuasangraha is an encyclopaedic work dealing with all major aspectsof philosophy.l2It also contains polemics,mainly against the Hindu Mimerirsa system, quoting extensively from Kumarila's Slokauarttika.

A B U D D H I S T Y S T E M A T I C N D P O L E M I Cr 1 6 3 S

KAMALASLA

Kamala6ila(c. 720-90 cr), who also becameprofessorat Nelanda, was Santareksita's pupil and accompanied him to Tibet. His Pafilika ts an extensive commentary to the Tattuasangraha.l3 Since this work ts so comprehensive,and also relatively easily accessibleto interested readers in a reliable English translation, its structure and content will be described at some length in the following section. A medieval Buddhist systematic: fhe Tattvasangraha The Tattuasaigraha by Santaraksita, along with Kamala6tla'sPafiiika, is probably the most comprehensive systematic treatise of Buddhism, comparable to the summae of the medieval European Christian scholastics in scope and thoroughness. The title of each individual chapter has the suffrx partksri (Examination), indicating the critical character of the work as a whole. Indeed. the work offers a comprehensiveand detailed critique of a variety of Hindu and Buddhist positions on all philosophically and theologically important matters. The Buddhist parlhsa of these issues- which does not end with an analysisof other views but includes a strong assertion of the position held by the by authors - was necessitated attacks on Buddhism from Hindu systems of such as Nydya-Vai6esikaand Mimarirsa. Representatives these schools had, in their own texts, attempted to refute crucial Buddhist positions. Santareksitaand Kamala6ila make specificreferences(with numerous quotations) to such works, offering counter-arguments, quoting about eighty different authors altogether.For the sake of completenesssystems such as Sarirkhyaand Vedanta, as well as the Hindu theistic philosophies, together with Jain and heterodox Buddhist systems,were subjected to critique and refutation. The length of each of the chapters can serve as a measure of the importance attributed to the topic. The presentation is problem oriented: panicular solutions to a problem, as offered by specific schools of thought, are systematically analysed and proved false. Thus under prakrti-parthsri it is mainly the Sarnkhya notion of pradhana (Primary Matter) that is being analysed. Under liuara-partksa the (Hindu) theistic creationist systems,and under ubhaya-parlksd both the theistic Sarirkhya and other schools are refuted. When dealing with suabhauika-iagaduada-partkta (a critique of the teaching that the universe has independent being) the authors comment that while no school had advocated that theory in so many words, it was implicitly

t g q . S u d d hA mH o R rr N r R o D U c r o N hs

accepted by some and basic to their theories. Under iabda-brahmaparlksa the grammarians (especially Bhartrhart's Vdkyapadrya) are subjected to criticism. A short chapter is devoted to purusa-partksa, the critique of the 'Veda-vadis'who maintained that a person (purusa) had created the world. One of the longest sections is devoted rc ahna-panAsa, subdivided into critiques of conceptions of self or soul by Naiydyikas, Mimarirsakas, Sarirkhyas, Jains, Vedantins and Vatsiputriyas. Subsequent to the refutation of .the notion of dtma in any of these forms is a sthtrabhaua-partksd,a refutation of the permanenceof any entity whatsoever. Special sections are devoted to discussionsof the various categories of (presumed) realiry in the Nydya tradition of Hindu philosophy: the examination of karma-phala-sambandba is followed by a critique of notions of drauya (substance),guna (qualityl, karma (action), samanya (universal), iiSesa (individual) and samauaya (inherence).A long section is devoted to Sabda-artba-parlksa,the relationship berween word./sound and meaning. The plaffidnas (proofs to establish truth) come next: Buddhists recognize only two: pratyaksa (direct perception) and anumana (inference). All other means of cognition accepted by other schools of thought, such as fubda (authoritative word), upaffidna (analogy), arthapafii (implicationl, abhaua (absence), anupalabdbi (not-perception), probabiliry and tradition are subsumedunder inference or rejected as invalid. The rest of the Tattuasaigraha is devoted to excursus-like essays dealing with major issues and schools of thought that could nor be accommodated in the systematics of the topic dealt with so far. A separate section deals with syaduada-partksa, an analysis of the Jain 'may-beism'. Another deals with traikalya-partksa, a theory of time entertained by the Buddhist Vasumitra school. A section is devoted to lokayata-parlhsa, a refutation of Indian materialism (Buddhists were often lumped together with them!). A short section deals with bahirartha-parlksd,'examination of the external world'. A long section is devoted to iruti-partksa, an analysisof'revelation through scripture'. The 6rst part representsat length the teachingsof the Slokauarttika, which are then, piece by piece, refuted in the second. AVedantic theme is dealt with under suatahpramaryya-parlksa. The last section - a very long one at that - connectswith the introductory verses, in which Buddha has been termed 'omniscient': The ati-indriya-arthadarii-pmrksa examines and establishes the claim that Buddha was a

o B U D D H I SS Y S T E M A T AC D P O L E M I c 1 6 5 T I N

person of

'super-normal

vision' (whereas other people, like the composer says:

of the Vedas, for example, were not!). In its concluding verses the Tattuasaigraha

The omniscient person whose existence we have establishedis one who comprehendswithin a single cognitive moment the entire round of all that is to be known; it is for this reason that no successionis admitted in thrs to case. Whatever he wishes to know he comes to know it without fail - such is his power, as he has shaken off all evil. He knows things either just as he wishes; and having securedthe simultaneously or in succession, knowledge of all things, he becomesthe Lord lprabhal.ts He knows all that is knowable in the shapeof the four truths, by means of his sixteen cognitions, in succession,and on that account he is of omniscient,l6 the consciousness the omniscient is free from conceptual content and is not erroneous.t' The Buddha knows all things along with their causes, through a single extraordinary cognition brought about by samddhi - his existence has been proved by inference!

The omniscient Buddha and the false claim of the Veda In the introductory invocation to the Tattuasaigraha, Sentaraksita had 'omniscient' (saruaifi/ and 'the greatestexpounder of called the Buddha truth', who had taught the pratlfya-samutpada for the salvation of the whole world. His disciple Kamala6ila explains in rhe Paftiiha that'true and that by exclusion no other doctrine' can only mean prot-rtya-samutpada 'Though it is true that the saintsand others also have doctrine can be true: expounded the pratttya-samutpdda, the Supreme Lord (bhagauan) is the greatestamong them . . . the others could not have expounded the Dharma if the Bhagavin had not first taught it.' He was equipped with an 'the efficiency consisting in the destruction of all extraordinary intellect, dispositions,afflictions, and ignoranceconcerning all cognizablethings'.18 The Buddha was nihsaigha, that is independent of any previous scripture and revelation; he saw things directly by himself. He is on the same level as the (presumed)suatah pramanabhata ueda, that is he is the (true) pramanabhfita. Contrary to the assertion (by Kumirila) that no person has seen the unseen (invisible) Dharma which is promulgated in the Veda, the Buddhists claim that the (visible) pratltya-samutpada has been seen by the Lord.

t 6 5 . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

The chapter entitled Sabdauicaradeals with Sabara'sand Kumarila's theory of the authoritativeness of the Veda - Veda as fubdapramana. Sentaraksita turns the argument around: if the Veda has no (human) author, it has no meaning - because all meaning is bestowed by the speaker.Nobody could make out the meaning of the Veda - how could such 'knowledge' be considered'unshakeable'if it is inaccessible? At best, conventional meaning could be ascribed to the Veda - and then it would be no different from other human works. 'It can be unshakeable only for the Srotriya [brahmans who are well versed in scriptures irutil , who are not familiar with the ways of reasoning'.1e The Srutiparikpa is one of the longest sectionsof the Tattuasaigraha, a kind of special treatise to deal with the question of 'revealed' scripture. Numerous extracts from the Slokauartika are used to present the Mimarhsaka position in the first part of the work, followed by a detailed refutation. Within the work (verses2705ff .) there is a special argument against the sphota-theory of the grammarians: The spbota has been assumed the grammarians the purposeof by for explaining the cognition of the meaningsof words. But the letters themselves being competentto expressthe meaningsof words, the assuming the said sphota is futile. As it would be perceptible it of (if existed), is not perceived, is concluded but it that it doesnot exist.If it rs imperceptible, then it cannotbe indicative, like the inferentialindicative (which is effective only when perceived).2o The Buddhists, by reducing 'meaning' to the understanding of (noneternal) letters/syllables,demolish the possibiliry of 'eternality' assumed for words/texts composed of such elements: Thusit hasnot beenproventhat the Vedicinjunctions the valid means are of right knowledgeof Dharma, for the simplereasonthat its meaning cannot be ascertained any one, either by himselfor with the help of by other dull-wiaed persons... For thesereasons pleaseseekfor a person whoseinner darkness beendispelled the light of knowledge, has by and who is capable teaching clearmeaning {ruti [revealed of the of scriptures; i.e.the Vedal.21 The next section, entitled Suauhpramaryya-poiksA, connects seamlessly with the preceding verse- a kind of coup de grice after the adversaryhad been disarmed: 'Thus then, it being established that the Vedas are the work of a personaliry, the self-sufficiencyof their authoriry and validiry

A B U D D H I S T Y S T E M A T I C N D P O T E M I CO 1 6 7 S

also becomes overthrown without effort.'z2 In effect, the boly' claim is made by Buddhists that the Buddha alone is capable of knowin'g the true meaning of the Veda as Dharma! 'negation

Apoha-vdda:

of the opposite'

One of the central teachingsof Buddhism with regard to languageis the 'negativism',implying that words do not designate so-called apoha-uada, universals, but only particulars, and that they designate mainly by denying their identity with what they are not. The Tattuasaigraha devotesa long sectionto this topic.23 For Buddhistswords are crEations our minds; the conceptualimage of is in our imagination and not a reality in itself or an image of reality.The apoha is proof of the non-substantialityof universals.Words serve as vehicles communication,because both speakerand hearersuffer under of 'what they see and hear are the same illusions, share the same desires: really their own mental concepts,but both think that they are referringto 'Just their objective reality'.2o Thr_ Tattrasaigraha says: as the man

T H E W O R D A N D T H E S I L E N C EO F T H E B U D D H A
Now, in reality, the Lord,havingextirpated force which calls forth the speech(vak-samutthana-vasanal, attainedenlightenment perfect has in silence, then,up to the time of his attaining and nirvapa, not uttered has a ( w s i n g l e o r d .B u t i n a c c o r d a n cw i t h t h e t h o u g h t sa n dt h e n e e d s o f t h e e ) ( l i v i n g e i n g sh e a p p e a r a s i f h e i s t e a c h i n gt h eD o c t r i n en v a r i o u f o r m s , i) s b , s as it is said A c y m b ao n a m a g i c i r c l ei s s u e st s s o u n d sb e i n g g i t a t e b y t h e l c i , a d w i n d ; n da l t h o u gth e r ei s n o t h i n w i t hw h i c hi t i s b e a t e n , ss o u n d a h g it i s n e v e r t h e l e s s a r d .S i m i l a rs t h e v o i c eo f t h e B u d d h a h i c h he i w a r i s e sb e i n gc a l l e d o r t hb y t h e t h o u g h t s f t h e l i v i n g e i n g sa n d , f o b , ( f s o w i n g o t h e i rp r e v i o uv i r t u o ud e e d sB u tt h e B u d d h ah i m s e l h)a s t s . n o c o n s t r u c t i vh o u g h( b yw h i c hh i sw o r d sc o u l db e c o n d i t i o n e d l . te t T h ev o i c eo f t h e B u d d h as t h e r e f o rs o m e t h i nig c o n c e i v a b l e o u rm i n d . i e n for (0bermiller, History Buddhism Bu-ston, ll, p. 55) of by vol.

1 6 Sr E u d d h A m o R r r N r R o D U c n o N issH

whose eye has been attacked by a disorder says to another likewise afflicted that "there are two moons" - so is all verbal communication.'25 In this context, K. Raja quotes a modern Western writer who said: 'meaning is practically everything. We always see the meaning as we look, think in meaning as we think, act in terms of meaning when we act. Apparently we are never conscious of anything but meaning.'25 For Buddhists too, all meaning is manomaya, mind-made: words and concepts have no reality content, and they designate by negation of 'otherness'. Catugkoli and avydkrla: the logic of the unsaid 'We read that the Buddha refusedto give answersto questionswhich were apparently of great importance to the philosophers of his time. The reason for not providing an answer was that these questions were 'not conducive to salvation', in other words they were irrelevant. Buddhist writers hasten to add that the Buddha did know rhe answers.. but did not wish to go into the matter. These questions concern the following matters: whether a tatbdgata exists, does not exist, both exists and does not exist, or neither exists nor does not exist after death; o whether the world (loka, the physical universe) is finite, infinite, both finite and infinite, or neither finite nor infinite; r whether the world is eternal, not eternal, both eternal and not eternal, or neither eternal nor not eternal; o whether the iiua (soul) is different from the body or not. These fourteen auydkrtas, unexplicated points, figure quite promine5rtly in Buddhist philosophy. Apart from the specificquestions asked, the 'quadrilemma', the 'fourcornered logic' in which they are expressed, became a standard methodology for Buddhist logicians in all Buddhist schools. Many ancient and modern authors have come up with various contradictory interpretations of the catushoti and what it means for the assertion of truth/reality in Buddhism.2T The Buddhist theory of language The Buddhist theory of language derives from the epistemological position that there are only two pramanas (ways to find provable truth): .

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pratyaksa (perception) and anumdna (analogyl. Sabda (word, aurhorir,v) is subsumed under anumana, indirect knowledge. Contrary to rhe Mimdrhsdkas (and other Hindu systems,which postulate an independent labda pramdnn, even elevating it to the highest rank), the Buddhisrs (especially the logicians, like Dignaga) do not assume iabda to be eternally/naturally/unconditionally connected with reality, a kind of mental blueprint of reaiity, corresponding both to rhe strucrures of the outside world and of the mind, but see it as reflecting only images or concepts, mere constructs of the mind. Only pratya&sa is direct cognition - labda is indirect, through concepts, expressing meaning dialectically, that is by denying its opposite. Thus words like 'white' and 'black' do not necessitatethe existenceof whiteness or blackness,nor do they imply the knowledge of all white or black objects. White can only be known from particular instances of cognition of objects by contrasting them with others that have other colours. The word itself does not disclose any essence called 'whiteness' nor does it deliver the 'specific', as the VaiSesikas had claimed. !7ords thus do not have an intrinsic relation to reality but aie products of the mind (which itself is not representativeof realiry as such, but is formed by sarhkharas,'imprints'). Reality can be alluded to by words - but since words are capable of importing only indirect knowledge, they are not the instruments by which to know realiry. Buddhist practice is geared towards reality and towards disabusing people of a belief in the identification of words with realiry. 'Emptying the mind' is practised as a method of hermeneutics.28 Buddhists consider all language to be based on mere convention, without any designation of reality-content. It is an important deparnrre from the Hindu (especially the Mimdrhsaka and grammarian) view of language which equates word with realiry. The best illustration of the Buddhist position is in the Milindapafiha's 'charior simile'.2e There the merely conventional use of language is demonstrated in order to suppoft the Buddhist view of the non-substantial nature of 'self': self. like all other 'names', does not have an intrinsic medning apart from the conventional use of the word, and the existence of the word does not permit an inference as to the existenceof a thing thus designated. This has important consequences. The first is that one has to pay attention to the conventional use of words in order to find out what they mean. The teaching of the Buddha has to be understood in the terms of

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the teaching itself; his words cannot be taken out of context and that words, and that Further, it is suggested interpretedindependently. which words designate,cannot be uitimates. The Buddhist quest goes beyondwords - words have to be left behind to understandthe nature of enlightenment.Reality is not cognitive or conceptual. Concepts are a can be usedin mind-product;they do not arisefrom reality,and language a non-cognitivemanner as well.3o Buddhists are credited with having created medieval Indian logtc, a logic that is at once both subtleand practical.Hindu logiciansreactedto Buddhist logic and refined it. Anti-Buddhist polemic soon became an integral part of Hindu systematics it is found even in the works of recent authors, who have never encountereda live Buddhist and never had to engagein an exchangewith a Buddhist teacher.
NOTES

1. The Englishtitlesgive the namesof the texts as they appearin the Pali Text Translation Series. Manual appeared underthe title Comprehensiue 2. An Englishtranslation 1993). Publication Societv, Sri of Abhidbamma(Kandy, Lanka:Buddhist offers rich information 3. Bimala Churn Law's monographBuddhaghosa on his life and work. 4. Bhikkhu Nyanamoli in the introduction to his translation of the (seeappendix2). Nettipakkarana Ibid. p. xliv. t 6 . N y a n i p o n i k a i n h i s i r r r r o d u c t i o nt o l i J v a n a m o l i ' s r a n s l a t i o n o f the The Guide (pp. xviiff.) compares two works. Nettipakkara4a, of 7. SeeGethin,The Foundations Buddhism,p.206. trans.L. M. Prudenfrom the Frenchof Louis 8 . Abbidharma-koia-bhasya, vol. I, p. 4. de la Vall6ePoussin, of 9. This is the first sentence the Nyayabindu, translatedin the second Buddhist Logic. volume of Stcherbatskys' whosetranslation and study Orientalist the 10. Stcherbatsky, greatRussian of Dharmaktrti's Nyayabindu introduced Western philosophers to 'Under BuddhistLogic we Buddhistlogic, beginshis introductionthus: createdin India in the a understand systemof logic and epistemology VI-VIIIh century e,o by two great lustres of Buddhist science,the Masters DignAga and Dharmaktrtt' (Buddhist Logic, I, originally publishedas vol. XXVI, part I of the BibliothekaBuddhicaseries[St p. 19331, XIII). Petersburg, Buddbist with commentaryin vol. II of Stcherbatsky's 11. Fully translated Logic. in 12. A complete translationof the Tattuasaigraha two volumes was in appendix published G. Jha in the BarodaOrientalSeries 1937 (see by

C B U D D H I S T S T E M A T IN DP O L E M Io 1 7 , I SY A C

13. The Pafiiika too has been translatedby Ganganatha Jha in his r*'ovolume translation of the Tattuasangraha, 14. Tattuasaigraba,v. 3627. 15. Ibid. vv.3628-9. 15. Ibid.v. 3630. 1 7 . I b i d .v . 3 6 3 5 . 18. Kamala6lta,Pafijika to v. 5 of Tattuasaigraha. '1.9. Tattuasangraha, 1509. v. 20. Ibid. vv.2705-5. 2 1 . I b i d .v v . 2 8 0 9 - 1 0 . 22. lbid. v.2871. 23. Ibid. vv. 908ff. The topic is treatedextensivelyin Raja, Indian Tbeones of Meaning,pp.78-94. 24. Raia, Indian Theories Meaning,p.93. of 25. Tattuasaigraba,v. 1211. 'Meaning and Logic', Psychological 26. W. B. Spillsbury, Reuiew (19061, quoted in Raja, lndian Theoriesof Meaning, p. 94. 27. The most extensivemodern treatment may be Ruegg,'The Usesof the Four Positions the Catuskoti'. of 28. Stcherbarsky, Buddbist Logic, vol. I, pp. 457ff. Cf. alsoTattuasaigraha, vv. 867ff. 29. Seechapter3, pp. 74-85, 'King Milinda's Questions'. 30. SeeSprung,'Non-Cognitive Language MadhyamakaBuddhism'. in

MADHYAMAKA, YOGACARA AND TANIRIC BUDDHISM

M A D H Y A M A K AT H E , C E N T R A L H I L O S O P H Y , : P
the four major schools of Mahaydna Buddhist philosophy, the (^\f Madhyamaka may be the bestknown, not leastbecause T. R. V. \-/ of Murti's masterful exposition of the system in his classic and oftenreprinted work The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. Madhyamaka systematically deconstructs traditional Buddha-word,not in order to the (un-Buddhist)nihilism, but to let the enlightenmentunfold its teach an o w n d y n a m i c s . a d h y a m a k a' d e c o n s t r u c t i o n 'tlo o k i t s c u e f r o m c e r t a i n M elements already found in Theravada teaching, such as the nonof substantialityof all things, pushing the logical consequences the so(un-nameables) and the catuskoti method (fourcalled auya&r/as c o r n e r e dl o g i c ) t o i t s l i m i t s . The history of Madhyamaka
NAGARJUNA

Nagarjuna (second century cr) is one of the most famous namesnot only but in the whole in Mahayana Buddhism and Madhyamaka phiJosophy, philosophy.2 raditional Buddhisthistories T of Indian and even world devote much space to describing his adventurous life and his work.l .{.ccordingto one such tradition he studied at NAlanda under (Perfection who introduced him into the Prajrld-paramita Rehulabhadra, of V'isdom) school.

T C A M A D H Y A M A K Y O G A C A RA N D T A N T R I B U D D H I S M I 7 3 A,

Nagarjuna'swritings are the first philosophicaltreatises liastral known to us in which an attempt has been made to give a systematicscholastic exposition of the theory of emptiness (iunya6) and non-substantialit,v (niiuabhauata) not only of the self (atmanl or individual (pudgala) but also of all factors of existence (dharma\. one of the most fundamental ideas of the Mahayana sutras.a is a collection of 449 stanzas

His main work, the Madhyamaka-kdrikas,\

divided into 27 chapters dealing with as many central themes, each qualified as partksa (examination/analysis/deconstruction):

F DECONSTRUCTIOOF COI{DITIONING ACTORS N

c n r , N e i t h efrr o mi t s e l {n o rf r o ma n o t h e n,o rf r o mb o t h , o rf r o mn o - c a u s e ,a n everariseany entityanywhere. ' ' c a u s e ' o b j e c t ',p r e d e c e s s o r ' , 'conditioning and factors': T h e r e r ef o u r a 'the Thereis no fifth factor. decisive ooint'. i T h e r er e a l l vi s n o ' o w n - n a t u r e ' otfh e s ee n t i t i e sn a l l t h e s ef a c t o r s . 'other-nature' 'own-nature' exists. , c a n b e f o u n d a l s on o W h i l en o 'Efficient fa c a u s e 'd o e s n o t a c t a s c o n d i t i o n i n g c t o r .N o r i s a n o n fg d , fg a a c o n d i t i o n i na c t o r c t i n g s a c a u s eT h ec o n d i t i o n i na c t o r s o n o ta c ta s i a e f f i c i e nc a u s e s n dt h e r ei s n o t h i n gn t h e mt h a t a c t sc a u s e - l i k e . t 'conditioning s f a c t o r s i' n w h o s ep r e s e n c e o m e t h i n g T h o s ea r e c a l l e d h , n o t o r i g i n a t e .o w c o m e t h e s ea r e n o t g o r i g i n a t e W h e ns o m e t h i nd o e s s. 'non-conditioning factors'? . fg g T h e r ec a n b e n o c o n d i t i o n i na c t o rf o r n o n - b e i nn o r f o r b e i n gW h a t b g w o u l d t h e c o n d i t i o n i n f a c t o r o f n o n - b e i n g e a n d t h r o u g hw h i c h b w fg c o n d i t i o n i na c t o r o u l db e i n g e ? 'supporting n o e l e m e n tl'd h a r m a o f b e i n g , o n - b e i n g ,r lf thereis no l t b e i n g - n o n - b e i h o w c o u l di t m a k es e n s e h a tt h e r eb e a c a u s e ? ng, how can it be that dharna is is lf the no-object taughtas dharma, ( d e f i n e a s )n o t i n h e r i n gn a n o b j e c t ? d i is t, t l f t h e r e a r e n o d h a r m a sh a t h a v e o r i g i n a t e dh e n c e s s a t i o n n o t f, p o s s i b l e .h e t h e o r yo f p r e d e c e s s o r e sn o t m a k e ' s e n s eo r w h a t i s a do T t h fg c o n d i t i o n i na c t o ro f s o m e t h i ntg a t h a s c e a s e do b e ? t n s A s n o b e i n g - n e sis f o u n d o f e n t i t i e s o r o f n o n - e n t i t i e is , i s n o t f i p o s s i b l t o c o n c l u d t h a t ' t h i st h i n gc o m e s n t oe x i s t e n cie t h a tt h i n gi s ' . e e (Ndgdrjuna, l, 1-10) Madhyamaka-kdrikds

t Z +. B u d d h i s n o R r N r R o D U c r o N A H

l. pratyaya-parlksa(conditioningcauses, content of consciousness); 2. gata-agata-parlksa (movement in spaceand time); (sense 3. caksur-adi-indriya-pan&sa faculties); (five groups); 4. skandha-parlksa (elements); 5. dhatu-parufrsa (passions 6. raga-rakta-partksa and subjectsof passions); (composition,production); 7. samskrta-parlksa (action and agent); 8. karma-karaha-partksa 9. purua-parrksa(pre-existent subject); 1.0. agni-indhana-paiksa(fire and fuel: appropriator and appropriated); (prior and posterior limits of samsara); 1.1. purua-apara-koti-parlksa 12. dubkha-par*sA (suffering); ('engrams',the conditioned); 13. samskara-parfksa (categoryof 'contact'); 14. saqnsarga-parlksa (aseitn own-being); 1.5. suabbAua-partksd (bondageand liberation); 16. bandha-moksa-parlksrT '1.,7. karma-phala-partksa (action and its result); 1.8. atma-partksa (self); 1.9. kala-pan&sd(time); (complex aggregare causesand conditions); 20. samagrt-partksd of 21.. sambhaua-uibhaua-partksa (production and destruction,possibility and impossibility); 22. tathagata-partksa (the Buddha); 23. uiparyasa-partksa(error); (the Four Noble Truths); 24. arya-satya-partksa 25. niruana-parlksa(niruana) ; 26. duadaia-aiga-partksd(conditioning occasions arising); of (sixteenspeculative[wrong] views). 27. drsti-paru&sa Besidessome smaller philosophical works Nagarjuna is also credited with having written four philosophicalhymns, the Catustaua. A great many commenraries were written on the Madhyamakakarikas in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.The best known is Candraktrti's Prasannapada.6 R. V. Murti's celebrated Central Phitosophy of T. Buddbism is largely an exposition of Nagarjuna as interpreted by Candrakirti.

T M A D H Y A M A K A Y O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I CB U O D H I S M 1 7 5 , A

ARYADEvA

Aryadeva,Twho was probably a direct disciple of Nagarjuna, was famous for his skill in debates, especially againstSdmkhyaand Vai3esika. He wrote a commentary on the Madhyamaka-kariArs and the Catuiataka (only partly preservedin Sanskrit) as well as other works, now only availablein Chinesetranslations.
KUMARAJIvA

Kumarajiva (34441,3 cr) was a kev figure in the translation of Madhyamaka texts from Sanskritinto Chinese. By the middle of the sixth century the Madhvamaka split into two schools:the Prdsangika,under the leadershipof Buddhapalita,and the Svatantrikafollowing Bhavaviveka.
BUDDHAPALITA

Buddhapalita(c. 500 cE) wrote an extensive commentaryon Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka-kdrikas which is only preserved, however, in a Tibetan translation.He is credited with having established within Madhyamaka the Prisangika school,which is an interpretationof Nagarjuna along the lines of a method that favours the reductio ad absurdum: instead of countering an opponent's argument with a better alternative, it shows how the opponent involves himself in self-contradictionin a continued extension of the opponent's own argument.
BHAVA\T\,T,KA

Probably hailing from south India, Bhavaviveka(500-70 cr) also wrote a commentary on the Madhyamakd-kdrikds, which is only available now in Tibetan and Chinesetranslations.His major original works are the Madhyamaka-hrdaya-kdrikas with his own commentary, Tarkaiuala, which containsa critical review of all schoolsknown to Bhavaviveka. He is also the author of the Madhyamakarfua-sarhpraha.
CANDRAKIRTI

Candrakirti (c. 50G-50 ce) defended Buddhapalita, the founder of the Prasangika tradition in Madhyamaka, against Bhavaviveka. He wrote Madhyamaka-auatafa(preserved Sanskrit)with bhasya(commentary).It in dealswith ten productionsof thought (cinotpada),each linked with one of the tenbbimis of the Bodhisatwaand corresponding one of thetenparamitas. to

A sH tro . BuddhismoRr NrRoDUcroN

SA].iTIDEVA

Introduced in chapter 7, Sdntideua(c. 750 cr) is one of the most widely appealing Mahayana authors. His Bodhicaryauatara (Entry to the Way of Enlightenment)is a spiritual classicthat has becomepopular in East It and West.8 also containsa highly technicalexpositionof Madhyamaka philosophy in chapter IX entitled Praiita'paramita. sAvren,rxsnnANDKAMALASILA Santaraksita, the author of the Tattuasaigraha and Kamala6ila, the author of a commentary on it called Paniika, already mentioned in chapter 8 (seep. 162), philosophically representa YogAcara-Madhyamaka synthesis. Some central notions of the Central Philosophy Nagerjuna introduces his Madhyamakd-karikas with a programmatic 'faith'statementthat dedicationto which he returnsat the end - a kind of should be understood as a foil against which the deconstruction of conventionalBuddhism is undertaken:
the I pay homageto the bestof teachers, perfectlyawakenedone' who has taught origination in dependence,the stilling (nirodhal of discursive development,the auspicious,which is without destructionand production, not annihilated and not eternal' neither undifferentiated nor differentiated,and without coming and going.' The same idea is also expressed in the Lokatttastaua) one of the

'This world, philosophicalhymns to the Buddha ascribedto Nagariuna: obiects,unrelatedto and characterized characteristics devoid of essential verbal utterances,has been seen as "peace" by you with your eye of knowledge.'10 Nagarjuna seesin the pratftya-samutpdda the truth that the Buddha taught and through which he savedthe u'orld. ln the Maigala-lloka, the invocation preceding the Madhyamaka karikas'he qualifies and describes this truth as: . c . o anirodba (without cessation); anutpada (without arising); anuccheda(without destruction); asaiuata (without duration);

M A D H Y A M A K A Y O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I C U D D H I S MT , A B

'I

77

. . . .

aftekartha (without one nreaning); anArdrtha (without another meaning); anAgama(without past); anirgama (without future).

and calls it: . t prapaficopasand (stilling the world of creation); graceful). iiua (auspicious,

(Stt\yAllil THE NOTION OF'EMPTINESS'

From the very beginning Buddhism taught that all so-calledreality was characterizedby three signs:suffering,transienceand soullessness. The latter becamea particular issuein the Hindu-Buddhist controversyover the nature of the self, the Buddhistsrejectingthe notion of a permanent (atman,purusa,pudgala,etc.). Its logical extension seatof consciousness 'everything' led to to the formulation of the 'emptinessof all dharmas', i.e. those constants of experience which were the substratum for s e n s a t i o n s ,o n s c i o u s n e s s d w o r d s . c an Sanyatawas recognized the key term of Madhyamaka Buddhismin as particular.Quite appropriatelvF. Strenggave to his masterlymonograph on Nagarjuna'sphilosophv the title Emptiness.ll While often interpreted 'Western as 'nihilism' bv earlier scholars like E. Burnouf, and also b1' hostile medieval Hindu acaryas such as Madhva, it has now been commonly recognizedrhat lunyata is not a denial of ultimate realitv but its affirmation, by describingit as the result of a process elimination of of a l l p o s s i b l eo g i c a la l t e r n a r i r e s t t h e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c ae v e l .S i n y a t a i s l a ll the silence reachedwhen words have found their limits, a realm of realin' beyond those limits. Nagarjuna, by demonstrating the inevitable selfcontradictionsin which every dogmatic assertion(positive or negative) regardingreality sooneror later involvesitself,opensup the possibiliq of transcendingthe realm of logic and intuiting the non-conceptualreality of niruana. 'Nagarjuna's philosophy is conceivedwith the purpose of revealing the convergence of iunyatA, pratttyd-samutpada and the Middle Way (madhyamapratipat).'t2 And:'Prapaica fthe world made up of images, words, devices,etc.] itself comes to a stop in linyatd.'13

I A H t z a. B u d d h i s mo R rN T R o D U C r r o N

THE NOTION OF THE'TWO TRUTHS'

The Madhyamaka school pre-emptsa falsificationof its own views by a 'rwo truths re-applicationof its own methodology through its famous theory': a distinction between samurti (conventional,preliminary) and paramarthika (absolute,ultimate) satya (tuth). From the standpoint of paramarthika satya, samurti satya is false. Howeveq from a practical 'conventional we standpoint,and within the framework of samsara, need truth' in order to function in a world made up of conventions and It needs. is all-important to go first to the very limits commonly perceived nature of samurti satyain order to becomeaware of its self-contradictory and to experienceits emptiness.With that comes the realization that 'own-nature' of anything and that concepts that express there is no conventional truths are mere conventlons,without intrinsic connection to reality. Then one can leave it all behind and realize paramartbika 'yogic consciousness' whtch in satya. The latter is only possible in a transient multiplicity is preserved. nothing of the At the level of paramartha the concernsof what we today would call psychology/psychotherapy,gnoseology/epistemology,and ontology/ 'truth' is at the same time highest metaphysicscoincide: the highest 'freedom' and 'no-thing-ness'. are treated in studieslike P. Theseaspects 'A Therapeutic Contextualisation of Buddhist Madhyamaka Fenner's 'The Buddhist Doctrine of Two Consequential Analysis', F. Streng's Truths as ReligiousPhilosophy'and M. Mehta's'Sunyataand Dharmata: 'real' On The Madhyamaka View of Reality'.14 the paramarthika,i.e. the betweenconceptsand level, truth is not identical with a correspondence 'Buddha-nature', which is infinite (experiential) reality, but with compassionwith suffering humankind.
THE PMSANGA METHOD

The term partksa, which Nagarjuna uses,can be translatedin different 'critique' (moving it close to Kant's eighteenth-century ways: as 'analysis' (which makes it a parallel to twentiethmethodology), as or century linguistic analysis), as'deconstruction'(which makes it sound 'postmodern').All theseparallelsbring out somethingspecific,but they should not be pressedtoo much. 'hermeneutical The prasaiga method which Nagariuna uses has its -entre' in his existential experience of the bodhi-citta-uQnda, the 'Buddha-mind'. agarjuna N : . : s h l i k ei l l u m i n a t i o n a n d a w a k e n i n go f t h e

M A D H Y A M A K A Y O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I C U D D H I S MT I 7 9 , A B

WHAT 'S NIRVANA? l, l f a l l t h e r ei s ,i s a v o i d( 6 a n y a t h e r ei s n o a r i s i n g n dn o c e a s i n g . h o s e a W n i r v a n as t h e nw i s h e d o r t h r o u g hh e e l i m i n a t i o n d c e s s a t i oo f w h a t ? i t an n f l f a l l t h e r ei s , i s a n o n - v o i dh e r ei s n o a r i s i n g n d n o c e a s i n g . h o s e t, a W nirvdna thenwished through elimination cessation non-what? is for the and of d, N i r v a n as s a i dt o b e n o n - e l i m i n a ta n d n o n - o b t a i n en o n - d e s t r o y e d i ed a n d n o n - e t e r n a lo n - o b s t r u c t a n d n o n - a r i s e n , n, ed N i r v a n as n o ta n e n t i t y h a r a c t e r i z e d o l d a g ea n dd e a t ht:h e r ei s n o i c by e n t i t y h a t d o e sn o t a g e a n dd i e . t lf nirvana were an entity, nirvena No wouldhaveto be composite. entity h a s e v e rb e e nn o n - c o m o o s r t e . lf nirvana were an entity, how couldit existwithout substratum? is a Nor there any entit'l' irva a-without-su n n bstratum'. The Lord has declaredhe destructionf both becoming nd t o a u n b e c o m i ntg ,e r e f o r e i r v a n as c o n s i d e r etd b e n e i t h e r b e i n gn o r a h n i o a non-being. l l n i r v a n a e r e b o t hn o n - b e i na n d b e i n gt,h e n m o k g a o u l db e b o t h w g w n o n - b e i na n d b e i n ga n dt h a t i s n o t r i g h t . g ; l f n i r v a n aw e r e b o t h n o n - b e i n g n d b e i n g t h e r e w o u l d b e n o a u n c o n d i t i o n e dr v a n a , e c a u s eh e s eb o t hw e r e c o n d i t i o n s . ni t b qualitybetween Thereis no distinguishing samsera and nirvdna. And quality there is no distinguishing nirvanaandsamsdra. between S i n c e l l d h a r m aa r ee m p t yw h a tc a nb ef i n i t ew h a ti n f i n i t eW h a tc a n a s , ? , b o t hh a v ea n d n o t h a v ea n e n d ,o r n e i t h e h a v ea n d n o t h a v ea n e n d ? r 'that' 'other'? 'eternal' 'nonWhat is and what is What is what is 'eternal-and-non-eternal' e t e r n a l 'W h a ti s ? a n dw h a t i s n e i t h e o { b o t h ? r n, T h e c e s s a t i oo f a l l p e r c e p t i o t h e c e s s a t i oo f t h e w o r l di s b l i s s N o n n . (. d h a r m a a sb e e n a u g h t y t h e B u d d h a n y w h e r e ,f a n y t h i n gN d g a r i u n a , h t b o Madhyanaka-kdrikas XXV l-6, 1O-12, 224l. 19,

does not use the reductio dd absurdum in a frivolous manner or out of spite, he uses it in order to make room for true insight. In a sense, through it he takes himself out of the game of argumentativephilosophy and moves into the realm of intuitive wisdom - to silence: The Madhyamaka, hased it is on the lunyata theoryand theprasaiga as method, indeed is unassailable, not onlv doesa Madhyamaka for restrict

t 8 0. B u d d h i s m o R r N r R o D U c r o N A sH

himself to a kind of philosophical deconstruction - and therapeutic dehabituation - with respectto dichotomizing conceptualizationwhile refraining from propounding any propositionalthesisof his own, but any argumentadducedto combat and refute the theory of iunyata is devoid of cogency,and falls into line and reinforces the Madhyamaka theory, since all things can be shown to be equally non-subsrantial.l' Moreover: the immunity of the Madhyamaka theory is the consequence the of annullment ('zeroing') of all hypostatizedand dichotomously structured concepts,and it penains only to the domain of an entiry conceivedof rn terms of a conceptualdichotomv.l6 Nagarjuna's regular way of analyzing and deconstructing (that rs 'emptying'or'zeroing') any postulated entity is first to show that its substantial self-nature has been constructed and posited in terms of related terms (e.g. utpadalnirodha, suabhAualparabhdua,samskrtal asamskrtal . . . Nagarjuna shows that since these sets are made up of interrelatedand hence dependentconceptsor categones, term can be no posited as a real entity possessing independent and substantial suabhaua or 'aseity'; for the postulated suabhauais by its very definition unable ontologically to exist within the above-mentioned setsof correlates.lT The characteristic of reality (tattua-lakpanal is then ro be free from dichotomizing conceptualisation and, accordingll',to be without multiplicitS still and undevelopedin discursivedevelopment.ls

For N. P.Jacobson:
Buddhismis humanity's first systematic attemptto free itself from what Freud called the ryranny of the superego, and from what Wittgenstein havenevertried to control life calledthe tyrannyof language. Buddhists in themselves and others under the dictatesof an exrstingform of understanding, regardless how hallowedits source.le of Bimal Krishna Matilal, in his very thoughtful paper 'ls Prasaiga a Form of Deconstruction?'suggests similarity between the socio-intellectual a 'deconstruction',and the age of climate of today, which gave rise to Nagarjuna, which developedthe prdsaiga method. Matilal identifiesthe 'Freudian' roots of 'deconstruction':'The maior preoccupation of the author, or rather the dominant concern of the text, is shown to betray itself. Deconstruction is in a sense "the interpretation of dreams".'2o 'under erasure' - he denies any essential Ndgdrluna also writes relationship between word and realitn but he is using the customary

M A D H Y A M A K A Y O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I C U D D H I S MT I 8 I , A E

reality-referringwords nevertheless. Simiiarly the strange adherenceto metaphysics while denying it with so many words that 'free us from and guard us within the metaphysical enclosure' has its parallel in the prasanga method as well. 'representative calls Ndgirjuna a of this extremepossibilityof Jaspers transcending metaphysics meansof metaphysics'.21 would not work It by if there were not a larger un-named framework for the names that are rejected.\fhile logically deconstructionists would have to deconstruct their own de-/reconstructions and thus take themselves out of the game, possibilities of deconstructior/reconstruction they trust that the are infinite and that 'deconstructionpossesses lure of abyssas freedom' the 'hit we because never the bottom'.22 From what little we know about the time in which Ndgdrjuna lived, its political instability and philosophico-religious anarchy,we may well 'systems' was nourished infer that his profound scepticism towards the by the corruption of secularas well as religious authorities,and that his distrust towards languageas means to expresstruth was basedon very solid evidenceof deceit in everydaylife. 'Words of authoriry' were not 'words of truth' anymore, and the clash of authorities left necessarily everyonebewildered.It is not without significance that, as tradition has it, so many of the malor figuresof Madhyamaka were princes who had renouncedtheir claims. Nagarjuna was . . . engaged a radrcal in rethinking the philosophical of endeavour, is, of the veryideaof philosophy the termsin which that and it is to be pursued. And by rurning away from the construction a of speculative doctrineinvolvingthe postulation entitieshavingsome of kind of self-nature, clearlysought keepstrictlyto the Middle Way he to indicatedby the Buddhain the only mannerhe found commensurate with it.23

': Y O G A C A R AM I N D O N L Y '
Historically the last, and according to many scholars the highest expression of Mahayana Buddhist thought is known under the two (Yoga-path) and Cittametra (Mind Only). Both names of Yogd,cd,ra designations characterize that tradition. For long periodsthe name of the founder Maitreyandtha was identified with the Maitreya Buddha himself, assuminga kind of 'divine revelation' for the basic writings of

t a Z . E u d d hAs m o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i sH

\-ogdcarathat placed them on a level higher than the Pali Canon, in rr'hich s'ere recordedthe (imperfectlyunderstood)words of the Buddha in his earthly appearance. w T h a t ( m i s - ) u n d e r s t a n d i n g a s n o u r i s h e d b y t h e l e g e n d a r yh i s t o r y o f ^ \ s a n g a ,t h e h i s t o r i c a l a u t h o r o f i m p o r t a n t Y o g a c a r at e x t s , w h i c h s r a t e s t h a t A s a n g a , a f t e r l e n g t h y p e r i o d s o f s e l f - m o r t i f i c a t i o na n d praver,was bodily taken up by Maitreva to the Tusita heavenand r h e r e r e c e i v e di n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e r i g h t u n d e r s t a n d i n go f t h e P r a j f l a pdramita literature.2a History of YogEcdra
M.{TREYANATHA

Many scholarstoday assumethat Maitreya, the teacherof Asanga,was a historical figure (about whom very iittle is known) and that he was the author of the following five works: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Abhisamaya-alaritkara; (Mab ayanQ -sutra-alarhkara ; h D harma-db armata-uib anga; Madbyanta-uibhanga; (Mabayand-uttara-tantra.

flourishedc. 310-90 cr, Maitreya will If Asanga,as generallyassumed, have to be assigned c.270-350 cr. The basictenor of his works is one to of reconciliationof the various schooisof Buddhism.Hinavana as well as Mahayana. into the His first two works attempt to bring somekind of systematics the huge and unwieldy massof Mahayana writings, synthesizing various teachings into a kind of universalBuddhist philosophy.According to Buston Rimpoche conrainsan expositionof all the Mahayanist the Sntra-dlaritkdra form: Doctrines abridged in lotusflower, Like wroughtgold,an unfolded b,v who werestarving, food,enioyed those like well prepared to or chest like a message agreeable hear, like an opened here, the is that is expounded full of jewels, Doctrine, the delight, of cause the highest (to In sucha form its contentis presented the reader)."

M A D H Y A M A K A ,Y O G A C A R AA N O T A N T R I CB U D D H I S M O I 8 3

The next two works re-asserta Middle Way berween the extremities of Sarvastivdda and Madhyamaka (innyata) by postulating some kind of provisional reality for consciousness:
According to Maitreyanatha the iirnyata of the Madhyamikas is an extreme view, and as such to be rejected: Realiry is both existent and nonexistent. It is existent inasmuch as it constitutes the real being of phenomena, but non-existent inasmuch as in it the subject-object-relation inherent in mundane experience does not obtain.26

As the Madhyanta-uibhanga says:

The unreal imagination is; duality does not exist in it, but voidness exists in it, and it also exists in this.

ASANGA AND VASUBANDHU

The brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu2T1c. 320400 cr), recipients of Maitreya's revelation, are considered the most important authors of Yogacara. Traditional Buddhist sources contain much (legendary) information about them. Bu-ston Rimpoche introduces the biographies of Asanga and Vasubandhu in the context of the last of three calamities that had 'the befallen Highest Doctrine from its foes'. A brahman woman, Prasanna6ila, vowed to make her sons - if she were to have any '.propagators of the Doctrine'. She bore Asanga from a Ksatriya, and Vasubandhu from a Brdhmana father, and 'drew on their tongues the letter A and performed all the other rites in order to secure for them an acute intellectualfaculty'. When they grew older, their mother told them: 'You must purify your minds and expound the doctrine.'28 Vasubandhu went to Kashmir to study with Sanghabhadra (a Sarvastivadin).Asanga withdrew into a mountain cave, leading an ascetic'slife, propitiating Maitreya in order to obtain his help. After twelve years he was about to give up. When he stopped on the road to comfort a dog that had been injured, the dog turned out to be Maitreya. To Asanga'scomplaint that Maitreya had appearedonly now, after all longing for him had left him, Maitreya answered:'l was here from the very beginning, but thou couldst not see me, owing to thy own obscurations. Now, as great commiserationhas arisen in thee, thou hast purified and canst norv behold me.'2t become

t g 4 . E t | d d h A mH o R r r N r R o D U c r r o N hs

Ascertaining that he desired to learn from Maitreya how to expound the Mahayana doctrine, Maitreya took Asanga up to the Tusita heaven where he was allowed to spend one moment, according to the divine time-scale (equivalent to about fifty human years). The fruit of the vision was the Yogacarabhami, among other works. The Yogacarabhnmi is a massivework and is usually consideredthe most important Yogicira text. It consists of five sections: 7. 2. 3. 4. 5, Bahubbamikd-uastu which expounds the Yogdcdra doctrine; Nirqtaya-sarhgraha,a kind of commentary on the preceding; Vastu-sarirgraha; Paryaya-sarhgreha; Viumaqa-vtiryraha, explaining word-meaninp and methods of teaching.

Asanga is also credited with having written two large works, gr Abh idh arma samuccaya and M ah ayana-sarh a h a. work, Vasubandhu,meanwhile, had written a massiveencyclopaedic in about the Abhidbarma-ko1a, a summary of Sarvdstivada Buddhism 600 verses. After his conversion to Yogdcdra thought by his brother Asanga, he added a bhasya (commentary) to the text, in which, from a YogicAra perspective,he freely criticized the Sarvastivddadoctrine. The Abbidharma-&oia, together with its bhasya, is one of the most important presentations Buddhism in general.30 Vasubandhuis also the author of of three short systematic works: o o o VizniatikLz(Exposition in Twenty Verses); Trit.niihauiimaptikarikri (Exposition of Viinaptl in Thirty Verses); 'Three Natures'). Trisuabhduakarikd (Exposition of the

STHIRAMATI

Sthiramati (6fth century cr) is creditedwith having written commenThe taries on the Abhidharrna-koiaand the Abhidharma samuccaya. k only work preservedin Sanskrit is the Madbyantauibhagatrka. Yogdcdraas teaching:'all this is neither empty nor notcharacterizes na-aiinyam iti Praifia-pdramitdl.3r idam na Sunyam empty' (saruam
AND SANTARAK$TTA KAMALAStrA In the seventh century cr a Yogicdra-Madhyamaka synthesis was brought about in Santarakgita's massive encyclopaedic work Tattuasaigraha and KemalaSlla'sPafiiika on this (seep. 153).

M A D H Y A M A K A Y O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I C U D D H I S MI I 8 5 , A B

OTHER AUTHORS

Other famous authors of Yogdcdratreatisesare Ati3a (eighth century cE), author of the Bodhipathapradtpa,32 and Tson Khapa (welfth cenrury cr), author of a major rrearise Tibetan,33 in both of them alreadycloseto Yajraylna (which by some is considered a further development of Yogdcdra). Di sti ncti ve Yog dcd ra d octri n es run wNtpn-uATMli{ (MIND oNLy DocTRtNE) Yogdcara, avoiding the extremes both of the seeming nihilism of the Sunyavddins, and of the implicit realism of the Sarvdstivddins, held on to a doctrine of Mind Only, i.e. the realiry of consciousness and the notion that the world is a world of ideas only, not of things. Everythingmay be unreal,imaginary,bur this act of imaginationitself cannotbe similarlydismissed. the contenrs a dreammay be unreal, All of but the dream-experience itself - the experience that constructsand projectsthe dream-contents is a psychological fact that cannot be denied.This experience consciousness basic, but its internal or is diversification the experience apparently as of externalcontents unreal. is Thereis nothingreallythereto be seen, so the seeing and too, asthe seeing of contents, unreal.Consciousness to be divested this apparent is has of dualiryof seeing and seen, subject and objecr(grahaduayaianya).We see thusthe ramifications the notionsof iunyata:pudgala-innyatd dl1tiof lunyatd - grahadu a-!ilnyata.3a ay Yogdcara insists that whereas uiifieya does not exist, uiifiapfi exists. Viineya is only an abhasa (apparent reflection) of primary uiifrana. The bifurcation of uiifiapti into uijrtana and uijfieya takes place under the influence of the uasanas,imprints of (former) karma. Habitually we verbalizeand conceptualize. However, on the basisof concepts or the content of our consciousness alone we cannot come to a conclusion regarding the existence or non-existence of an extrinsic reality. \7hile it is wrong to impute exisrenceto a :onceprualized thing (samaropa), it is also wrong to deny the existence of the thing-in-itself (apauada), which is inaccessible verbalization. to Viinapti is not exhgusted by conceptualization. The Yogdcarabbnmi knows four stagesof comprehension, of which conceptualization is but one:

rNrRoDUcroN tgo. Buddhhm A sHoRr

THOMAS MERTON'S ENLIGHTENMENT Thomas Mertonwas an American Trappist monkand a well-known writer In on spirituality. his lateryearshe felt strongly attracted Buddhism by and becamea closefriendof D. T. Suzuki. lnvitedto attenda conference on world monasticism Bangkok, took the time to travel extensively in he t h r o u g h n d i aa n d S r i L a n k aH e t r a g i c a l l d i e dd u r i n g h e c o n f e r e n cie I . y t n Bangkok, apparently through accidental electrocution. following The extract published posthumously is from The AsianJournalof Thomas Merton, on the basisof his diariesby someof his closefriends. relates Merton's lt to v i s i tt o t h e a n c i e nB u d d h i s ti t eo f P o l o n n a r u wS r i L a n k a . t s a, Polonnaruwa a low outcrop rock,with a cavecut into it, and ... of b e s i d e h e c a v e a b i g s e a t e d u d d h a n t h e r i g h t ,a n d A n a n d a , t B o , I g u e s ss t a n d i n g y t h e h e a do f t h e r e c l i n i n B u d d h a. . b g . I am ableto approach Buddhas the barefoot undisturbed. and my feetin wet grass, sand. wet Then silence theextraordinary the o{ faces. The great smiles. Huge and yet subtle.Filledwith every possibiliry questioning nothing, knowing everything, rejecting nothing, peace the notof emotional resignation butol 1lnyatdthat hasseenthrough every question without trying to discreditanyoneor anything without refutation without establishing otherargument some ... L o o k i n a t t h ef i g u r e s w a s s u d d e n l y , m o sfto r c i b l jye r k e d l e a n g I al c l d o u to f t h e h a b i t u ah,a l f - t i ev i s i o n f t h i n g sa n da n i n n e r l e a r n e s s , o , c fromthe rocksthemselves, clarity, if exploding as became evident T r e g a n d o b v i o u s . h e . q u e ee v i d e n c o f t h e r e c l i n i n f i g u r et,h e s m i l e , t h e s a d s m i l e f A n a n d a t a n d i nw i t h a r m sf o l d e d . . o s g . T h et h i n ga b o u t l lt h i si s t h a tt h e r ei s n o p u z z l e ,o p r o b l e m ,n d a n a 'mystery'. really no All problems resolved everything clear, are and is b e i s i m p l y e c a u s w h a tm a t t e r ss c l e a rT h er o c k , l l m a t t e ra l l l i f e ,i s . a , charged with dharmaka-yaeverything emptiness everything ... is and is compassion. I dont know whenin my lifeI haveeverhadsucha sense beauty of validity runnning together oneaesthetic in illumination andspiritual . .. y o l k n o w a n dh a v es e e n h a tl w a s o b s c u r e l o o k i nfg r .l d o n t k n o w w whatelseremains I havenow seenandhavepierced through but the a s u r f a c e n dh a v eg o t b e y o n t h e s h a d o w n dt h e d i s g u i s,e. a d . nothing. because needs And it nothing It sayseverything,needs it it lt doesnotneed be unnoticed, undiscovered. to canafford be silent, to it. discovered. is we who needto discover lThe Asian lt Journal of pp. New Directions Books, 1975], 23]$) Merton[New York: Thomas

M A D H Y A M A K A , G A C A R A DT A N T R IB U D D H I SO I 8 7 YO AN C M

1. loka prasiddba tattudrthc realiry as acceptedby common sense(sense perception); 2. yukti prasiddha tattuartha: reality as ir appears in concepts (logic); 3. klefuuarana uiiuddhi ifiana gocara tattuartha: reality comprehended after discardingthe norion of object (solipsism); 4' ifianauarana uiiuddbi ifiana gocara tattuartha: reality comprehended after discarding the notion of entity (realism). rHE,Lrave-}??t4rul (sroRr-HousE coNsclousNEss) The most characteristic and most disputed new concept introduced by the Yogdcdrins is that of the alaya-uiiftana, rhe 'storehouse-consciousness'.In order to account for the possibility of thought arising and of the comparability of concepts among diverse people, the yogdcirins postulated a form of latent consciousnessrather like a computer's memory, consisting of the 'seeds' (btias) left by previous acts: Every willed action producesan effect (uasannl... Theseudsanis are stored in the alayauiifianatn the form of seeds. the seeds As fructifu and produceresults,they developrouch, mental activiry,feeling,perception and will .. . This is the first transformation consciourn.*. Th. second of transformation takes place,when manas,or ego-consciousness evolves from the alayauiiitana, the third, when by means the six-foldsenseand of activiry perceptions colour, sound,temperature, of resistance arise etc. and are wrongly interpretedas a subjective and obiectiveworld. each independent the orher.The uiifianas of associated wirh the six faculries of sense together with the manouiifidna, ego-consciousness or comprise the praurittiuiifidna(evolvingconsciousness) and theseseven,and the ... alayauiifiina, makeup the eightconsciousnesses yogicara school.3i of the The alaya is neither empirical nor to be confused with an I-conscrousness.Its content is pure 'objectiviry', nor a pafticular object: This bare oblecriviry is the first precipitation of the transcendental illusion.It is the primary projectionon the part of consciousrless. The ., subjectiviry inthe alayais not to be confused with the empirical ego,the I. It_ not to be equated is with the dtmanof rheBrahmanicai systems. . The . alaya is dynamic will, creating its own contents. . . The atman is a projection and not a reality ... The dlaya represenrs stage in a consciousness whereegoityhasnot yet emerged The alayais rhe fust ... phenomenalization the Absolute. . . The progression of from the dlaya onwards is to be understood only in logical terms.The process not is

. A sHoRrrNrRoDUcroN 188 El|ddhhtll

historical, and does not have a definite point of depanure in time . . . Other uiifiinas have breaks in their flow while rhe alaya lasts up to the end of phenomenalexistence.3"

(THREE OWN-NATUR-ES) THE TRI-SYAAH/iYA Vasubandhu devotes a separate treatise to the notion of tri-suabhaua (threefold nature of nature) which is, as it were, a corollary to the alaya.

The tri-suabhauaconsistsof: . parikalpita reconstructed; as suabhduat'own-being' beingprojected, . paratantra on as beingdependent others; suabhAua:'own-being' 'own-being'as beingabsolute. o parinigpanna suabhaua: by All things,understood whatevermodeof cognition,are of the nature Mental (since theydo not existassuchin themselves). of reconstructions

THE THREEBUDDHA.NATURES and the the natures, imaginary, dependent the that It is admitted thethree knowledge. of oblect thewiseman's one, absolute arethe profound is as nature, it appears theimaginary is Whatappears thedependent mustbe of as non-existenceit appears whatappears the nature, eternal because its inalterability' of nature, as known the absolute How doesit mental creation. The And what doesappear? unreal of with Whatis the non'existence thisduality that Withduality. appear? nature of lt nature? isthefactthattheessence the.dependent is dependent in the non-dualiWit. as because it is The mental creation? mind, Andwhatis the unreal so its imagined as it imagines obiect, it is notat all. and or cause either to according lts being is that It is admitted mind twofold, and is calleddlaya{receptacle) the that effect the consciousness prav@lluncioning) in itsturnis sevenfold. which that consciousness is called whose as is by imagined ignorants considered something Thenature of of because theduality theimagined Duality is and essence duality unity. of onedueto the non'existencethat of unitybecause its being object, andC' by (Vasubandhu, 1-5,6, trans. F.Tola Trisvabhdvakdrika 14, duafity. (19831, 251-3) pp. 11 Philosophy of Journal tndian Dragonetti, a

M A D H Y A M A K A , G A C A R A DT A N T R IB U D O H I SO I 8 9 YO AN C M

reconstruction is dependenton other factors. The 'real nature' consistsof paratantra devoid of parihalpita: thus parinispannc (absolute realiry) is neither identical with nor different from the paratantra or parakalpita. Ultimate being is inseparable from ultimate non-being.37

M A D H Y A M A KA N D Y O G A C A N R :E C O N S T R U C T I O N D ANDRECONSTRUCTION
The Yogdcira 'reconstruction of the Buddha-word' consists in its assumption of a (preliminary) realiry of an alaya-uiifiana', in other words a consciousness, that, if 'ripened', inevitably produces words in which consciousness, consciousness something,is contained.Thus and of a 'ripening' of ideas of truth, salvation, law, etc. would - at the first stage - result in words expressingtruth, salvation, law, such as Buddha spoke in his earthly manifestation. The correlation berween the nirmdna-haya of Buddha, his words and a conceptual understanding of truth, is 'real' on the level of (preliminary) (and only real there!). The other two kayas of the Buddha consciousness correspond to the higher levels of consciousness/realitn which are 'more' real. It is probably significant that Yogdcdra (rather than Madhyamaka) was so eagerly translated into Chinese as 'Buddhism' proper. In contrast to the Madhyamakas with their radical deconstruction of the Buddha-word, the Yogicdrasagainrevertto a constmctive and positivetheory of reality.Pure consciousness real, but its self-bifurcation is into the sublect-object dichotomyis unreal.The two termsin this relationalsiruation- the subject and the object,are not, howeverequallyto be dispensed with. The object eists only in its beingconstructed projected, is nothingin irself.The and and subjectcannot be similarly dispensed with. It is identicalwith the act of willing, that which constructs own contenr.It is thereforeidenticalwith irs pure consciousness (uiifiaptinrdtratal,only its apparentassumption the of role of the subject is to be denied ... The middle position [between Abhidharmakaand Madhyamakalis Yogacdra which maintainsthe realiry of the subjectwhile denyingit with regardto the object.38 With regard to the nature of the Buddha-word, the same can be said. The Yogdcdras'reconstruct'the Buddha-word in a twofold sense: they rely on 'new' scriptures, a direct revelation of the Buddha in his sambboga-kaya (an improvement over revelations of the Buddha in his nirmana-hayall

ism t S 0 . E | l d d hA s H o R r r N r R o D U c r o N

and they ascribe identifiable meaning to it. Throughthe alaya-uiiftana the Buddha-word is related to parinispanna suabhaua. It appears that in the beginning the practical aspect of Yogdcdra was 'Yogacdra' means that yoga-meditation was more prominent: the term the most important means to reach Buddhahood. All ten bhnmis had to be passedthrough by means of it, whereas later the more speculativeside was emphasizedt Vijfiapti-matrika Viifianauada or Viinapti-maftatu Parallel to this, the unreality of everything except consciousness. stresss pratitya-samutpada was first understood as primarily expressinga moral concatenation of births and deeds, whereas later it was turned into an insight into the instrument to gain a more metaphysicaVgnoseological structure of reality.

TANTRIC UDDHISM B
While studies of what is variously termed Vairayina, Mantraydna, or Tantric Buddhism have increased dramatically in quantity and quality over the past few decades,the terminology, as well as the exact placing of this form of Buddhism, is far from agreed. The problem is magnified by the fact that most of the texts belonging to this school are not written in Indian languages but in Tibetan, Chinese and a host of Central Asian languages.As can be expected, elements of the native local traditions of these countries became inextricably mixed with Buddhist concepts, making it all the more difficult to define Tantric Buddhism in relation to other religions or other Buddhist traditions. Many authors claim that Vajraydna or Mantrayina is only one of two main branches of Mahayina (the other being the Paramiti tradition),3e and that within this, Tantricism is only one specific development, not shared by the whole of Vajraydna, which is understood as a practice based on Madhyamaka and YogScdra philosophy. Since the 6eld is so large and so difficult and as I lack specialistqualifications in this area and am unfamiliar with most of the languagesinvolved, I shall restrict myself to dealing with the history of Tantric Buddhism in India and a summary of Buddhist Tantric teachings contained in some Sanskrit works accessibleto me. A brief history of Tantric Buddhism in lndia ja-tantra, also called the Tathagata-guhyaha,one of the The Guhya-sama (anonymous)texts of Indian Tantric Buddhism,has beenascribed earliest

A M A D H Y A M A K A Y O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I CB U D D H I S MT I 9 1 .

by various scholars to either the third, the fifth, or the seventh centuries cE. The first name associated with Tantric Buddhism is that of a Nagarjuna: he was probably not identical with the founder of the Madhyamaka school and the author of the Madhyamaka-karikas, but a seventh-century master of the same name. His disciple Ndgabodhi became the teacher of Vatrabodhi, who introduced Tantric Buddhism into China in the early eighth century. The most important name, however, is that of Padmasambhava,whose life is embedded in a garland of legends attributing many miracles and magic feats to him. Born as a to prince in Sambhala, Uddiyana, he was invited by Santaraksitaao Tibet to help establishBuddhism there. Under the protection of the Pala dynasry that ruled in eastern India during the eighth century, Tantric Buddhism flourished in Bengal and Orissa. The Palas founded the university of Vikrama6tla, which became the centre for Tantric Buddhism. It also became a centre for translating Buddhist texts into Tibetan, and many Buddhist scholar-monks went from there to Tibet to teach. Some of these names have become quite famous, such as Sarvajflideva, Jrnamitra,Dana6ila,Dharmakara, Tilopa, Naropa and Ati6a. With the destruction of the Buddhist centres by Muslim invaders in the twelfth century, Indian Buddhism all but disappeared,surviving only in some remote areas of Bengal and Kashmir. India n Tantric Buddhist Iiteratu re While originating in India, Tantric Buddhism flourished largely in Tibet, China, and Central Asian countries,and the vast majority of texts are in non-Indian languages. From the texts available in Sanskrit, the Guhyasamaia-tantra stands out as an early and authoritative work.al The literal 'Tantra of the Secret Society'. According to translation of the title is 'the Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, secretconclavesthat grew on the ruins of the monastic order, as conceived and established by Buddha, developed These in course of time into big organisationscalled Guhyasamdjas'.42 were originally not accepted by traditional Buddhists, because their teaching had no foundation in the canonical writings. In order to legitimate themselvesthey produced a new saiglti, a collection of sayings attributed to the Buddha, the Guhya-samaja-tantra. The work itself explainswhy its content had been kept secretfor so long and claims that its practicesshould be acceptedas leading to liberation.a3

t 9 2 . 8 u d d hA s H o n r r N r R o D U c r o N ism

The Gubya-satndja-tantra is probably the first work menrioning the five Buddhas and their five bodhisattua emanations. Contrary to rhe asceticism taught by earlier schools of Buddhism, it proclaims that the ultimate aim of life can only be obtained through gratification of all sense desires and by acting contrary to established conventions. It also encouragesthe development of supernatural powers (siddbis). The tantra begins by describing the celebrated mandala of the five Buddhas: Amoghasiddhi, Amitabha, Vairocana, Aksobhya and Ratnasambhava, who play such a large role in Tantric Buddhism (see figure 41.44 They are known as the Dhyaai Buddhas, the forms of the Buddhas that are generatd by the meditation in trance. The Lord Bodhicinavraja performs five contemplations, uttering with each a mystical mantra: c ifianapradlpa-uaira:mantra uairadbrk; c saruatathagata-samay asambhaua-uai ra: mantr a inai ik; i o saruatathAgila-ratnasambhaua-uailai mantra ratnadhrk; . maharaga-sarhbhaua-uajra: mantra arolik; . alnogha-samayasarhbbaua-uaira: mantra praiftadhrk. Identifying with each of these mantras he materializes as five male and five female deities: Aksobhyaas Vairocana Ratnaketu (Ratnasambhava) Loke6varamahavidyadhipati (Amitabha) Amoghavajra (Amoghasiddhi) Dve6arati Moharati Irsyarati Ragarati Vajrarati

After that he becomes immersed in four contemplations, resulting in transformations into the guardian deities of the four quarters: yamantdkrt praifiatakTt padmantakrt uighnantakrt

East South 'West North

The combination of the five male and the five female emanations together rvith the four quarters results in the famous magic Dhyaal Buddha mandala that plays such a great role in Tantric Buddhism. The ,Guhya-samaia-tantra teaches a sixfold yoga to reach Buddha.,rd. It consistsof: :

O B Y A M A D H Y A M A K A ,O G A C A R A N D T A N T R I C U D D H I S M 1 9 3

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T h e text also offers charms and incantations for all kinds of situations: h o g to conquer an invading armS how to acquiregreat wealth or how to g a i n supernatural powers, for example. Everything is Buddha

The tendency to multiply the Buddha and to create innumerable err,anationsof the Tathagata is complemented by an attempt to correlate all aspectsof the universewith one of these,and thus quite literally to transform everything into the Buddha. All rantric Buddhist texts have schematathat link up the Buddhas with directions, colours, elements, parts of the human body, virtues and vices - nothing is excluded (see tables 1 and2). This is the theoretical grounding for Tantric practrces: Most other spiritual paths require a turning away from dark to lighr, whereasYajrayanayogins welcomeboth demonsand angels th.,, ", allies.Transcending good and evil, they transmute them both back into that pure essence from which the universe's whirling phantasmagoria rs mentally created. Manipularion the forces goodandevil provides of of the 46 power. It almost goes without saying that such a .Way of power', an attempr to identify all parts of the body and all aspectsof the universewith Buddhaemanations,is not based on conceprsand theories but on ritual and psycho-physical practice. Ritual is of the essence in Vajraydna and worship is one of its hallmarks. It should be emphasizedat this point that not all Yairayana or Mantraydna is Tantric. The non-Tantric forms resembleMahayana worship in all but smaller details. The Tantric forms involve the worship of the five 'secrets'or 'forbidden things': intoxicatrng drink (madya), fish (matsya), meat (mamsa),fried rice (mudra\ and sexual intercourse (maithunal, called the partca ma-kara because the initial letter of each is 'm'. The practice of the 'five m' involves a transgression of ordinary behaviour that has so much exercised outsiders.aT

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:o

M A D H Y A M A K A ,Y O G A C A R AA N D T A N T R I CB U O D H I S M T I 9 7

One symbol always present in Vajraydna worship is the uaira, which gave the name to this form of Buddhism. It was variously understood as meaning'thunderbolt' or'diamond' and was represented the so-called in uaira-sceptreand the uaira-bell, implements used in Tantric worship. As 'thunderbolt', the uaira represenredthe flash-like enlightenment-thought; 'diamond' as it representedthe impenetrable enlightenment-mind or the dharma-kaya. The uaira-sceptre embodies the basic philosophy of Tantric Buddhism: The centre of the sceptresymbolizes emptiness, and the three bulges representthe sense-desire, pure form, and formless worlds, which 'emerge'from empriness. The axis and four (sometimes eighr) prongs represent five main Vajrayina Buddhas the whoseuniry is suggested by the mergingof the prongsat the end of the sceptre. The whole is thus a supremeimage of the dharma body from which the world and the Buddhas emerge.48 The uaira-sceptreand the uajra-bell together represent skilful means and wisdom. Tantric Budd h i st p h i losop hy To the Old Wisdom school,Nirvina had beenthe absolute oppositeof this world. The earlyMahayana had identified Nirvnla and this world in the one AbsoluteReality of emptiness. Now, in the Tantra, the world becomes manifestation the Dharma-bodv the Buddha.ae a of of For Tantric Buddhism the universe is identical with the Buddha - all its dimensions and qualities consist of Buddha-manifestationsand becoming a Buddha now means merging with the universe.This is clearly no longer achieved through rational analysis and intellectual meditation. One has to find the correspondences between one's own body and the body of the Buddha, one has to discover the secret connections between oneself and the universe. The Buddha is present everywhere and in everything, waiting to be discovered. The secrets of the universe were revealed to some accomplished beings, the eighty-four Mahasiddhas, who lived between the eighth and twelfth centuries and who transmirted them in their schools to the initiated few. One of the means by which one can 'tune in' to the hidden, omnipresent Buddha is the recitation of mantras, especially btia-mantras (seed mantras) that embody in a syllable rhe essenceof enlightenment.

i m t g g . E u d d hAss H o R rr N r F o D U c r o N

Probably the best known of these is the mantra of AvalokitelsvaraOm mani padme hum, consisting of the universal pra/.raua Om, the 'Jewel in the Lotus', and the seed mantra bum,so a invocation of the syllable that has no meaning in ordinary languagebut which is the means for the adept to identify with Avalokite6vara. Spells may be used to ward off the influence of evil sprrits and malicious demons. Some of the shorter sutras arc used as mantras and recited when facing danger, and sections were added to larger sutras to protect the reader from evil influences. In one branch of Vajrayina, called Mantraydna, mantras have of becomethe most important instrument for liberation. A whole science mantras developedaround the belief that mantras worked infallibly if correctly applied. The mantras were supposed to be the gift of higher beings to suffering humankind; thus the famous Om mani padme hum was one of Avalokite6vara's revelations for the benefit of those who would recite it. Mantras may be literally recited, or recitation may be effected by writing them on strips of paper and letting them flutter in the wind or by inscribing them on wheels, which with every turn create the power equivalent o a recitation.tl level BuddhistTantra aims to acquireprajfta, wisdom, On the deepest a wisdom inherent in everything but hidden to the non-initiate. The duality of means to knowledge (upaya) and wisdom (prainA)has to be overcome in the knower if enlightenment-bliss is to take place. Grammatically, upaya is masculine and prajfia feminine: iconographically, the union between them is represented in the famous yab-yum figures,the union of a male and a female: female principle, from lf prajna(or innyata), passive, the all-embracing proceeds into which everything recedes, united which everything and is male-principle active of universal andcompassion, love with the dynamic which represents the means(upaya)for the realisationof prajfia and Buddhahood attained.s2 is linyata, thenperfect Praind-paramia,'Perfection of Wisdom', is both the ultimate goal of Yajrayana Buddhism and also the name of a vast literature which has only now begun to be explored by Vestern scholarship.It is concerned with discoveringthe perfectionof wisdom in the Buddha'smind, speech and body, through ritual (mudra), potent formulae (mantras)and deep

M A D H Y A M A K A ,Y O G A C A R AA N D T A N T R I CB U D D H I S M O 1 9 9

meditation (samddhil. No aspect of reality must be left out because everything is Buddha, and no means must be forgotten, because everything is an instrument (upaya) of transformation. Tdrd,'the Mother of allBuddhas and Bodhisattvas' Tara literally means 'the one who carries over [the ocean of salnsira]'. Her images are everyrvherein Tibet and her worship seemsat times to be more prominent than that of the Buddha(s) and bodhisattuas.'Thereare a large number of stories connected with her origin, the most popular of which have her emerge from a tear that fell from the eye of Avalokite3vara when he considered the impossib)e task of saving the innumerable living beings from suffering. Avalokite6vara'stear formed a lake in which grew a lotus flower which opened to reveal the goddess 'I'dra, the helpmate of Avalokite6vara in saving suffering beings.53 There are many different forms of Tera, the most popular being the White and the Green Tara. Historically they are linked to two pious wives of a medieval Buddhist king, one a Chinese princess,the other Nepalese.The \fhite Tara carries a fully open lotus, the symbol of the day; the Greeir Tere's emblem is a closed lotus, symbolizing night. Ati6a, the eleventh-century Buddhist missionary to Tibet mentioned on p. 185, propagated the worship of Tare, whose helpful interventions he believed to have encountered in many dangers. Originating from the Bodhisattva Avalokite6vara's compassion, and with the salvation of suffering beings as her only reason for existence, it is not hard to understand that she would be hymned as the 'Mother of all Buddbas and Bodhisattuas' by her devoteesand approached directly and without fear by all who find themselvesin distress.
NOTES

1 . I preferthe term 'deconstruction' against'criticism' usedby T. R. V. as as Murti in his masterly work The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, not only because is an 'in-word', but also because comescloserto the it it processemployedby Nignrjuna in finding truth. 2 . Karl Jaspers included Nagarjuna in the secondvolume of his The Creat Philosophers:The Original Tbinkers (New York: Harcourt & Brace D62l (alongsideAnaximander, Heraclitus, Parmenides,Plotinus ani Lao-Tzu). 3 . SeeObermiller, History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, vol. II, pp, 122-30. Also: Robinson, History of Early Madhyamaka, pp.2l-7. 4 . Ruegg,The Literature of tbe Madhyamaka School,pp. 5f.

2 0 0. E u d d h A m o R r r N r R o D U c r o N issH

5. MadhyamakaiAstra of Nagarjuna with the Commentary'Prasannapada' by Candraktrri, ed. P. L. Vaidya. Buddhist SanskritTexts Series, vol. X (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute,L960). 6 . Panly translatedinto English by Mervyn Sprung under the tide Lucid Exposition of the Middle Way (seeappendix 2). 7. SeeObermiller,History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, vol. II, pp. 130ff. 8 . Seechapter 7 for more details. 9 . Madhyatnaka-karikas l, I-2: Maigala-ilofta. Translations of the Madbyamaka-karihas this chapter are my own. in 1 0 . Tola and Dragonetti, 'Nagarluna'sCatustava',p. 2l (v. l2l. 1 1 . Seebibliography for details. 12. Ruegg, The Literature of the Madhyamaka School, p. 43. 1 3 . Ibid. p. 45. 1.4.Seebibliography for details. 1 5 . Ruegg,Tbe Literature of the Madhyamaka School,p.22. 1.6.Ibid. p. 23. t7. Ibid. pp. 38f.

1 8 . lbid. p. 45. 19. Jacobson,Buddhism and tbe Contemporary World, p. 55. 20. Matl\a\,'\s Prasongoa lorm oi Deconstruct\on', p, 346. 21,.Jaspers,The Great Pbilosopbers, vol. II, p. 115. 22. Matilal, ls Prasangaa Form of Destruction?',p. 362. 23. Ruegg,The Literature of the Madhyamaka School,p.47. 24. Obermiller,History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, vol. II, p. 136. 2 5 . Ibid. vol. l, p. 52. 26. Sangharaksita, Surueyof Buddbism, p. 394. 27. Ct p. 159 regarding the scholarly debate about the identity o{
Vasubandhu,and the hypothesisof an older (Yogdcdra)and a younger (Abhidharma-AoJa) Vasubandhu.In my discussionhere I am simply giving the traditional position without arguing for or againstthe above. 28. Obermiller, History of Buddbism by Bu-ston, vol. II, pp.l36ff. 29. Ibid. 30. Leo M. Pruden rendered into English the French translarion of the Abhidbarna-koia-bhasya by Louis de la Vall6e Poussin(seeappendix 2). 3 1 . Madhyanta-uibhanga-irka, p. 15. 32. Trans. Sherburne, Lamp for the Path (seeappendix 2). A 33. Thurmann, Tsong Kbapa's Speechof Gold. 34. Chatterjee, Readingson YogdcaraBuddhism, p. 3. In a recent paper, 'A Defence of Yogicdra Buddhism', A. I7ayman critiques Chitierjee's 'what was understanding Yogicdra as representing of traditionally held, principally by non-YogAcirins,to be the Yogdcdraposition'. uTayman, however,doesnot spell out his own interpretationclearly enough for it to be a useful introducrion to the'true'understanding of this sihool. 35. Sangharaksita, Surueyof Buddhism, p. 403. 36. Chatterjee,Readingson Yogacdra Buddbism, pp.18-23. 3 / . A good exposition is given in Conze, Buddhist Thought in India, p2;257-60. There is an extensivebibliography in Tola and Dragonetti, 'The Trisuabhauaharika of Vasubandhu',pp. 230f.

M A D H Y A M A K A ,G A C A R A DT A N T R IE U D D H I ST 2 0 1 YO AN C M

38. Chatterjee,Readingson Yogdcdra Buddhism, p. 5. 'Wayman, 39. Cf . Lessingand lntroduction to the Buddhist Tantric Systems, p. 21: 'In the Mahayena there are the Peramita[school]and the Mantra fschool].' 40. Santaraksita, author of the famous Tattuasari,tgraha, the leading the was monk at Nalanda at that time, and had been invited by the rulers of Tibet to bring the Buddhist dharma to that country. There are many stories surrounding his mission and his encounterswith hostile native magrclans. 4 t . The text has beenedited by S. Bagchias vol. IX in the BuddhistSanskrit Texts Series(Darbhangha: Mithila Institute, 1955) and partly translated with a commentary by Alex Wayman in Yoga of the Guhyasaffiaiatdntra. 'Tantrika 42. Bhattacharyya, Culture Among the Buddhists', p.262. 43. Commentarieson this text have been written by many great sbholars. The most famous commentaryis the Pradipoddyotanaby Candrakirti. 44. For a detailed description of all the names menrioned in this section consult Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, which has many illustrations and diagrams. 45. See'Aksobhya' in l7illiams, Mahayana Buddhism, pp. 243ff. 46. Blofeld, The Way of Pouter,p. 32. 47. One of the most elaborateValrayina ceremonies associated is with the Kelacakra ritual. It is still performed at the time of initiation of new members,but sinceit penains to Tibetan and Chinesetraditions, albeit being grounded in SanskritBuddhist scriptures,it is not discussed here. 48. Harvey, lntroduction to Buddbism, p. 135. 49. Conze,Buddhism, p. 188. 50. It was one of the rules that a mantra directedto a male deity had to end with the syllablehum or phat, oneto a femaledeiry with suaha,and one to a neuter deity with namah. 51. The famous Buddhist prayer wheels usually contain an entire sfitra insidethe metal cylinder,on whose outsidethe mantra Om mani padme hum is written. Every turn of the wheel equalsthe recitationof the entire siltra, 52. Govinda, 'Tantric Buddhism',in Bapat, 2500 Years Buddhism,p. 3I9. of 53. SeeGetty, The Gods of Nortbern Buddhism, p. 120.

10 coNCLUSToN

BUDDHISM AS PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION 'philosophy' well as foes of Buddhism have declared it a f,riends as 'religion'. The friends of Buddhism thereby meant to I' rather than a pay a compliment to the 'rational spirit' of its founder, the foes of Buddhism implied the absence of the salvific element in the Buddhaby dhamma. They were guided in this assessment notions of religion of biblical, largely Christian provenance, and by the post-enlightenment Western separation of philosophy from religron. India has never known this division and its religions are at the same time philosophies,and vice versa.However, not all adherentsof Buddhism have either interest in, or aptitude for, the sophisticated conceptual acrobaticsexemplified, for instance,in Madhyamaka and Yogacdra.They 'religion' look at Buddhism as a way to perfection, a path to liberation, a 'yonder shore'. BucJdhism presentsmany features that conveysthem to the that are common to other religions as well, features that are often not dealt with in Western literature on Buddhism out of fear that this would 'atheistic' Buddhism that is damage the image of a purely rational, 'interestd parties'. projected by many scholars and other The real Buddhism. as lived in the traditional Buddhist countries of Asia, is basedon faith, good works and trust in an all-embracinggrace that will eventually prevail against all suffering,anxietiesand personal shortcomings. Buddhist faithl has intellectual,emotional and practical dimensions.2 The Buddhist accepts on faith the truth of the Buddha-dhamma, the

c O N c L U s l oo 2 0 3 N

of karma and rebirth, the reality of niruana, the efficacy of rhe bhauana (meditation) taught by the Buddhist masters. The substanceof the Four Noble Truths, the facticity of ,the Chain of Causation, the emptiness of everything are first of all accepted in faith. While faith is considered a preliminary stage, later to be replaced by personal insight into the truth of these teachings, it is neverthelessindispensablefor the beginner. Doubt would rule out progress along the Path. The 'leap of faith' required of the Buddhist 'implies a resolute and courageousact of will. It combines the steadfastresolution that one will do a thing with the selfconfidence that one can do it'.3 Its opposites,to be guarded against, are timidity, cowardice, wavering and a calculating mind that tries to figure out beforehand whether the deal is profitable. Faith is closely connectedwith 'determination'(adhimokkba)which consists actingwith resolute in confidence, after one hasjudged,decided, and definitelyand unshakeably chosenan object, and is opposedto slinkingalonglike an irresolute child who rhinks,'shallI do it, shallI not do it?'a Faith also brings about inner security, serenity and lucidity. It frees one from worries and from being troubled by all manner of things. Buddhists say that someone who has faith loses the '6ve terrors' and is no longer concerned about getting the necessitiesof life, losing reputation, about dying, about a bad rebirth or about the impression made on other people. 'Socially, faith involves trust and confidence in the Buddha and the Saflgha.'5Someonewith faith does not give in ro peer pressureand public opinion. A Buddhist feels safe in the 'Buddha-family', which consists of Buddha-father, \Tisdom-mother, Buddhist-brothers and Buddhist-sisters. Faith in the Buddhists' understanding is both a gift and a virtue: irs arising is an act of grace, but its cultivation dependson discipline and effort. Buddhists are taught that supporting the Sangha in whatever way brings merit (pumma) and that an accumulation of merit will be good both for this life and the next, eventually leading to a condition in which the ultimate aim can be reached. Pufifia is the 'foundation and condition of heavenly rebirth and a future blissful state, the enjoyment (and duration) of which depends on the amount of merit accumulated in a former existence'.6The 'meritorious actions' that create purtfia are associated with charity (dana),good conduct (stla)and meditation (bhauana\.

'fact'

. Z O + B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

By giving mealsand clothesto the bhikkhus,lay Buddhistsearn merit: thus the giver of food and robes thanks the recipient for providing the opportunity to augment pufifra; the bhikkbu, as provider of this opportunity, need not show gratitude to the donor. Buddhist writings offer many instances of lay people depriving themselvesand their families of necessities order to support rhe Sangha materially. In in practice,this often leadsto indulging the bhikkhus and helping to build luxurious templesand monasteries. Merit is also created by observingthe Five or Eight Precepts(panca stla or attha sfla) (seechapter 4l and by practising bhauana (seechapter 5), the most preferred being the cultivation of metta (loving kindness). Merit collectingis a major factor in actual Buddhist life and a powerful incentivefor following the Buddha path. Nor is Buddhism devoid of the notion of grace, if by grace we understand what is indicated by words like 'gracious', 'graceful' and 'gratitude', that is a dimensionof experience that goesbeyondregistering facts and a view of life that consistsof more than claiming one's rights. The very notion of Buddha'scompassion, which moved him to postpone his own frnal nibbana and to preach the Dhamma, is a 'grace' notion.T People felt comfortable, protected and enriched in the presenceof the Buddha, whom they experienced graciousand generous. as The 'grace' dimension of Buddhism becomes pronounced in the bodbisattuawho, without being obliged to, out of free will and grace spendslife after life helping fellow creaturesattain their final aim. The bodhisattua'swhole existenceis a pouring out of grace, a grace that embracesthe whole of creation. For the individual Buddhist, the bodhi-citta-utpada, 'arising of the the Buddha mind', the awakeningof the most profound level of interiority, is a 'moment of grace'.Santideva comparedi; to a flash in a dark night that for a moment illuminatesthe world - it allows the Buddhist to seefor a moment the world from a perspective grace.It becomes of the spark that kindles the fire of the most heroic pursuit of virtues.It is neither necessity nor duty that prompts the aspirant to take the bodhisdttuavow and to sacrificehis life for others - it is an act of grace. 'The Lord Vho Looks Down from On High', is the AvalokiteSvara, 'Lord of Grace'; Maitreya Buddha, the one to come soon, is 'full of grace', and Tara, the lovely embodiment of compassion,owes her very existenc grace.The kalyana mitta, the'good friend' and guide on the to especially Path. is a channel of grace.The notion of the brahma-ttihara,

o2 C O N c L U S I O N0 5

t h e i d e a o f u n i v e r s a l f r i e n d l i n e s s a n d c o m p a s s i o n , r e g a r d l e s so f 'grace-notion.'The dharma-kaya is Buddha's reciprocitn is certainly a 'grace-reality,' and his dhamma-nagarais a'reign of grace'. \While the Buddha encouraged his disciples to be 'lamps unto themselves' and not to rely on human mediators of salvation, he certainly did not suggestthat all they needed in order to 6nd enlightenment was self-righteousmanipulation of words and facts. When the Buddhists began to philosophize in a major way, largely in they made it clear that they did to response attacks from non-Buddhists, not aim at the construction of an all-embracing system that would 'truths', but to push reasoningto its very limits so as to reveal contain all its limitations. Enlightenment is a primordial existentialevent' not the verbal conclusionof a syllogisticargument. The personality of the Buddha and the total phenomenon of in Buddhism are far too rich to be encompassed limiting terms like philosophy or reiigion, as they are understood today. They have to be accepted and interpreted in terms of life, meaning and fulfilment, addressingand expressinga mystery as large and profound as human existence.
NOTES

'cardinal virtues' as enumerated by 7. Saddha(faith) is one of the five (Visuddhimagga XXI, 128). The other four are uiriya Buddhaghosa (effort),sarl (mindfulnessl, upekkha(equanimity). citta (concentration\, 2. I am following here the expositionwhich Conzegivesin his Buddhist Thought in India, pp. 47-51'. 3. SeeConze,BuddhistThought in India, p. 48. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid.o. 49. 6. Pali-English Dictionary, p. 446. 7. I am using in the iollowing ideasfrom an article by Nikhiles Sastri, 'Mahayanabauddhadharmame bhagavatkrpa evamgurukrpa',Kalyan J 1 5 0 : 7 ,B h a g a u a t k r p(a a n u a r v 9 7 6 ) ,p p . 2 6 l - 2 .

APPENDIX 1
B u d d h i s tl i t e r a t u r e : P r i m d r vs 0 u r c e s

Buddha communicated his teachings orally; his immediate I disciples,who began spreadingthe Buddha's messageduring his lifetime, memorized it and probably often rephrasedit. There are many recorded instances of the Buddha himself rephrasing his teachings accordingto his audienceand the circumstances, and also of the Buddha correctingmisunderstandings causedby his disciples'teaching.There is, however, a great degree of unanimity in the wording of the central teachingssuch as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Chain of DependentCo-origination. After the Buddha's death the Sangha understood it to be its primary duty to preservethe Buddha-words. Consideringthe great importance given to memorization in ancientcultures (to study a text usually meant first to memorize it) it is not implausible to accept the testimony of tradition that individual bhikkhus from the Buddha's immediate following could recite large sectionsof the Buddha's teachingswhich later became incorporated into the Pali Canon. The Sanghaconvened several'recitals' (sangttis,'councils')for the purpose of establishingthe 'true Buddha-dhamma'. lfhen writing becamemore commonly used for purposes other than commerce and administration, those teachings which were in danger of being forgotten because few people,or perhaps even only one person, had memorized them, were also recorded in writing. According to reliabletradition, most of the teachings preserved the by iangha of the Theravadinswere written down in Pali c. 80 nce in Sri Lanka and preservedfrom then onwards in the form of books.r From

-fh.

A P P E N D 1X 2 0 7 I ,

that time the Theravddin saigba introduced a division of labour: some bhikkhus were to devote themselvesto meditating (uipassana-dhura), while others were to preservethe scriptures\gantha-dbura).2 a later At date certain schools of bhikkhus specialized in memorizing and preservingone particular part of the canon, very similar to the iakhas (family traditions) that preserved particular srrandsof Vedic learning.3 In the centuriesbetween the Buddha'sdeath and the written recording of the Pali Canon, many parallel versionsof the Buddha's teachingswere produced and promulgated by Buddhists outside the Theravada tradition. Since there was no central aurhority, there emerged other collections in Sanskrit which became canonical for other schools.The comparison betweenPali and Sanskritversionsof certain texts has been revealingto translatorsof Buddhist texts into modern languages.

THE PA L IC A N ON :T IP IT A K A
The canon of the Theravada school of Buddhism is called Tipitaka (Three Baskets).It consistsof three secrions,the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. These are subdivided into an unequalnumber of texts of various lengths.The listing given here follows the edition of the Nalanda Devanagaripali Series, publishedby the Bihar GovernmentPa\rPub\icationBoard (m 2500-5 cr 1955-51) in forty-one volumes.This Devanagarirenderingof the Pali Canon, as constitutedby the Sixth Council in Rangoon (I954-5) (BurmeseChattha Sangayana edition), differs in its sequencing the books of the Pali Canon from the of Roman edition published by the Pali Text Societyfrom 1880. It is this latter which is the basisof most of the English translationspublished in the SacredBooks of the Buddhistsand the Pali Translation Series. Vinaya Pitaka The 'basket of discipline' contains works that deal with the rules of life for Buddhist monks and nuns as establishedby Buddha. lt consistso{ 6ve major works Mahauagga, Cullauagga, Parajika, Pacittiya, Pariuara (making up about one-eighth^f the entire Pdli Canon). Sutta Pitaka The 'basket of instructions' is made up of Dtgha Nikaya, Maiihima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, Anguttard Nikaya and Khuddaka Nikaya.

hs Z O g . E u d d hA mH o R rr N r R o D U c r t o N

Khuddaka Nikaya itself consists of. Kbuddakapatha, Dhammapada, IJddna, Itiuuttaka, Sutta Nipata, Vimdnauatthu, Petauatthu, Th eragatha, Therlgatha, Jataka, Niddesa, Patisambhidamagga, Apadana' Buddhauarhsa and Cariyapitaka. The Sutta Pitaka makes up over half of the entire Pali Canon. Abhidhamma Pilaka

'basket of the higher Dhamma' is largely made up of systemThe atizations of the teachings contained in the other rwo baskets, mainly according to numerical patterns. It consists of Dhammasaigani, Vibhahga, Dbatukatha, Puggalapaftfiattt, Katbauatthu, Yamaka and Patthana and makes up about three-eighths of the Pali Canon. The very large number of post-canonical Pali works and of the Sanskrit Mahaydna scriptures have been mentioned in the next section selectively, i.e. only works of which an English translation exists.
NOTES

translationsfrom an older language 1. The Pali Canon probably represents (Magadhi?) which the Buddhahad spoken' in 'How the MahayanaBegan',pp.24f. 2. Gombrich, History of Buddhism in Ceylon (pp. 158ff.) reports the 3. Rahula, astonishingfact that the bhikkhus of Sri Lanka came to rhe conclusion that study was a more important activitv than meditation to ensurethe continued existenceof the Buddha-sdsann.

APPENDIX 2
sou(ces English transIations Buddhist o{

Abbreviations: Booksof the East; SBE:Sacred SBB:Sacred Booksof the Buddhists; PTS:Pali Text Society.

P A L IC A N O N
Vinaya Pitaka SBE,Vinaya Texts: (first part) Vol. XIII, Patimokkba,Mahduagga (2nd part), Cullauagga part) (1st Vol. XMI, Mahduagga (2nd part) Vol. XX, Cullauagga Trans.T. W. RhysDavidsand H. Oldenberg, 1881,1882,1885. SBB,Boo&of the Discipline,6volst Vol. X, Paraiika,Saighadiiesa, Aniyata Vol. XI, Nissaglya. Pacittiya Vol. XIII, Pdcittiya,Patidesaniya, Sekhiya (Nuns'Analysis:Paraiika, Sangh adilesa,Nissagtya, achtiya, PatidesaP niya, Sekbiya) Vol. XIV Mahauagga Vol. XX, Cullauagga Vol. XXY Pariuara Trans. B. Horner, I. 1.938,1.940, 1942,1951, 1952,1.955.

Z t O. B u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N i m

Sutta Pitaka Dtgho-Nikdyal Dialoguesof the Buddba, SBB,vols II, III, IV trans. T. W. Rhys Davids, 1899,1.910,1921. Some also in SBE,vol. XI, Buddhist Suttas, trans. T. W RhysDavids,1881. Maiihima Nikaya: The Middle Length Sayings,PTS, vols XXIX, XXX, XXXI, trans. I. B. H o r n e r , 1 9 5 4 , 1 95 7 , 1 9 5 9 . Samyutta Nikaya: The Books of Kindred Sayings,PTS, vols XIV XV XVI, XVII, XVIII, t r a n s .C . A . F . R h y s D a v i d s a n d F . L . \ W o o d w a r d , 9 1 8 , 1 9 2 2 , 1 9 2 4 , 1 1927,1930. Anguttara Nikaya: The Book of Gradual Sayings, PTS,vols XXII, XXIY XXV XX\1, XX\TI, t r a n s . , L . W o o d w a r da n d E . N { . H a r e , 1 9 3 2 , 1 9 3 3 , 1 9 3 4 , 1 9 3 5 , 1 9 3 6 . F Khuddaka Nikaya: SBE,vol. X, Dhammapada,Sutta Nipata, trans. NI. i\,liiilel F-. Fausboll, 1 88 1 . PTS,vol. Ylll, The Minor Anthologiesof the Pali Canon, Part II: 'Udana' a n d ' I t i u u t t a A a ' ,t r a n s . F . L . W o o d w a r d , 1 9 3 5 . PTS, vol. XY,'Wouen Cadences Earll' Buddhists:Sutta lxlipata,trans. of E. M. Hare,1945. PTS,vols XLIV XLV The Group of Discottrses (SuttdI'lipAtu\, trans. K. N. Norman,1984,1992. PTS, vol. XXXII, The Minor Readings and The lllustrator of Ultimate Meaning (Khuddkapatha),rrans.Bhikkhu Nanamoli, 1960. PTS, vol. I, Psalms of the Early Buddhists: The Sls/ers (Thertgatha), t r a n s .C . A . F . R h y s D a v i d s , 1 9 0 9 . PTS,vol. lY, Psalmsof tbe Early,Buddhists:The Brethren (Theragathd\, t r a n s .C . A . F . R h y s D a v i d s , 1 9 1 3 . PTS, vol. XXXVIII, Elders' Verses,voI. I (TheragAtha),trans. K. R. N o r m a n ,1 9 5 9 . PTS, vol. XXXIX, Elders' Verses,vol. II (Therlgatha), rrans. K. R. N o r m a n .1 9 7 1 . PTS, r'ol. XLlll, The Path of Disuimination (Pathisambhidamagga), t r a n s .B h i k k u N a n a m o l i . 1 9 8 2 .

A P P E N D I2 . 2 1 1 X

PTS, The Jataka or Storiesof the Buddha's Former Births (Jatakal,6 vols, trans. under rhe generalsupervision E. B. Cowell, 1895-1907. of Abhidhamma Pitaka PTS, vol. XLI, A Buddhist Manual of PsychologicalEtbics (Dhammasaiganil, trans. C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1900. PTS, vol. XXXIX, The Book of Analysis (Vibhanga),rrans. parhamakyaw Ashin Thittila, 1959. PTS,vol. XXXIV Discourseon ElementslDhatukatha), trans. U Narada M u l a P a t t h a n aS a y a d a w , 9 5 2 . 1 PTS, vol. Xll, Designation of Human Types (Puggalapannatti), rrans. Bimal Charan Law, 1,924. PTS,vol. Y, Points of Controuersyor Subjects Discourse(Kathauattul, of trans. Shwe Zan Aung and C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1915. PTS, vols. XXXVll, XLll, Conditional Relations (Patthana),vols I and I I , t r a n s . U N a r a d a l t { u l a P a t t h a n aS a y a d a w 1 9 6 9 , 1 9 8 7 . ,

P O S T - C A N OIN A L P A L I L I T E R A T U R E C
Dtpauamsa,trans. H. Oldenberg, London, Williams & Norgate, 1879 Mahauamsd,trans. W. Geiger,The Great Cbronicle of Ceylon, London, Pali Text Society,1912 Cullauamsa,rrans. W. Geiger,2 vols, London, Peli Text Society,1930 Dhammapdda Atthakatha, rrans. E. V/. Burlingame,Buddhist Legends. n . p . , P a l i T e x t S o c i e t y ,1 9 9 0 ( o r i g i n a l l yp u b l i s h e d1 9 2 1 ) Milindapanh4, trans. T. W. Rhys Davids, The Questionsof King Milindd, 2 v o l s , O x f o r d , O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t vP r e s s ,1 8 9 0 ( S B E ,v o l s X X X V XXXVI); also trans. I. B. Horner, Milinda's Questiorts,2 vols. London, PdliText Society, 963,1954 1 Nettipdkarana, trans. Bhikkhu Nvanamoli, The Guide, with introduction by Thera Nyanaponika, London, Pali Text Societl',1962 Visuddhimagg4,trans. Bhikkhu Nvanamoli, The Path ctf purificatrrtr, C o l o m h o , A . S e m a g e1 9 5 5 , Vimuttimagg,T,trans. N. N. M. Ehara, Soma Thera and Kheminda T h e r a , T b e P a t h o f L r e e d o m ,K a n d v ,S r i L a n k a , B u d d h i s tp u b l i c a r r o n Society,1977

2 1 2 . 0 u d dA ss m RrrN r R o D U C r o N hi Ho

S A N S K R I TB U D D H I S T I T E A T U R E L R
Abhidharma-kola-bhasya(Vasubandhu),trans. L. M. Pruden, 4 vols, Berkeley,CA, Asian Humanities Press, 1988-90 (from the French translation of L. de la Vall6e Poussin) Astasahasrika-prajfia-paramita Sutra, trans. E. Conze, Perfection of 'V/isdom in Eight Thousand Lines, Berkeley, CA, Bolinos, Four S e a s o n F o u n d a t i o n ,1 9 7 3 s Auatamiaka Sutra, trans. T. Cleary, The Flower Ornament Scripture, 3 vols, Boulder,CO, Shambhala,1984-7 Bodhipathapradrpa(Asanga),rrans. R. Sherburne, Lamp for the Path A and Commentary,London, Allen & Unwin, 1983 Buddhacarita (ASvaghosa), trans. E. H. Johnsctn,Tbe Buddhacarita or A c t s o f t h e B u d d b a , 2 v o l s , C a l c u t t a ,1 9 3 5 Daiabhnmika Sitra, trans. M. Honda, revised J. Rahder (Sara-Pitaka Series,vol. LXXIV), New Delhi, International Academy of Indian Culture,1958 Jatakamala (AryasDra), trans. J. S. Speyer,New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass,1971 (originally published Oxford, Clarendon Press, l8e5) Lalitauistard Sutra, trans. G. Bays, The Lalitauistdra Sutra, 2 vols, B e r k e l e yC A , D h a r m a , 1 9 8 3 , Laikduatara Sutra, trans. D. T. Suzuki, Tbe Laikauatdrasutra, London, Routledge,1932 Madhyamakar-kArikAs(Ndgdrluna), trans. F. Streng, in Emptiness: A Study in Religious Meaning, Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1967, Appendix A (Asanga),trans. J. P. Keenan, The Summary of the Mahayanasdngraha Great Vebicleby BodhisattuaAsaigd, Berkele,v, CA, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research,1992 PaficauimiatisahdsrikaPrajnaparamita, trans. E. Conze, The Large Sntra on Perfect Wisdom, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979 Prai tiApardmita-Hrdaya Sutrd and Vajracchedi kdsutra) trans. E. Conze, Buddhist Wisdom Books, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1958 SamdhinirmocanaSitra, trans. J. Powers, Wisdom of the Buddha: The SamdhinirmocanaMahayana Sutra, Berkeley,CA, Dharma, 1995 trans. C. Bendalland $7.H. D. Rouse,New Siktasa-urraya {Santideva), 1 D e l h i , M o t i l a l B a n a r s i d a s s ,9 7 1 ( o r i g i n a l l yp u b l i s h e d o n d o n 1 9 2 2 ) L Srtmaladet,Isirithanada Sutra. trans. A. Vayman and H. Vayman, The

A P P E N D2 ) 2 1 3 TX

Lion's Roar of Queen Srimald,New York, Columbia University Press, 1,974 Sukbauatiuyuha Sitras, trans. L. Gomez, The Land of Bliss,Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press,1995 Tattuasaigraha (Santaraksita) with the Commentary of Kamala6ila, 2 vols, trans. G. Jha (Baroda C)riental Series), Baroda, Oriental Institute, 1.937-9 Vimalakfrtinirdela Sutra, trans. E. Lamote, The Teaching of Vimalaklrti,London, Pali Text Society, 1975 For translations(up to 1982) of other Mahayana literature into English 'Western and other languages see P. Pfandt (comp.), Mahayana Texts Translated into Western Languages:A Bibliographical Guide, Cologne, Brill, 1983.

APPENDIX 3
Chronoiogy

regard to early Buddhist history I am following the traditional \\f/ith dating, while aware of doubts thrown on it by recent Vestern W scholarship. Especiallythe dating of the Buddhist Councils has receiveda great deal of attention by Westernscholarsand the traditional dateshave been rejectedby most of them. It goes without saying that the chronology is far from giving a complete picture of the history of Buddhism. The obiective here is to provide dating (in many casesapproximate and contested)of the major events and figures mentioned in the body of the book itself. For more detailed chronologies the reader is asked to consult the major monographson the history of Buddhism listed in the bibliography. 624-544 ncr, 544 scr c. 444 sc.F, c. 350 ncl 274-235 scF, 247 scr 246 scr c.220 scr c. 150 ecl c. 120 ecr Life of Buddha according to Theravada tradition First Council $angrti) at Rdjagrha: Vinaya Pitaka and sutta Pitaka SecondCouncil at Vai6ali and Mahasanghikas Split between Sthaviravadins to Rule of A6oka: Buddhist embassies many courts in Asia and Europe Third Council at Pdtaliputra:finalization of Theraveda Canon (Abbidamma Pitaka) Prince Mahinda brings Buddhism to Sri Lanka B u d d h i s mi n t r o d u c e di n B u r m a MilindaPafiha Erection of toranas (gates)at Sanchi Stupa

A P P E N Ds x 2 1 5 t.

First Mahay d.nasiltrast Saddharmapundartka First Buddha-images from Gandhara c. 80 scr First Buddha-images from Mathura Pdli Canon committed to writing in Sri Lanka c . 1 0 0c r Fourth Council (not recognizedby Theravada) Buddhism spreadsto China Early Mahaydna Prajfiaparamita Sutras c . 1 5 0c r Nagarjuna, author of Madhyamaka-karikas c. 200 cE Buddhism spreadsro Annam Composition of Mabauibh4s4,summary of teachingsof Sarvastivadins c. 250 cr Composition of Guhya-samAia-tantra, foundational text for Vajrayana c.270-350ce, Life of Maitreyandtha, founder of yosacara c. 310-90cr Life of Asanga and the older Vasubandhu,authors of rmportant works on Yogacdra c. 370 ca Buddhism spreadsro Korea Composition of Dtpauamsa,the chronicle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka 344473 cr, Life of Kumarajiva, rranslator of Madhyamaka texts into Chinese c. 390470 cr Life of Buddhaghosa, author of Visuddhim4oonnnA many commentarieson pali Canon 399414 cr Chinesepilgrim Fa-hien in India 400-50 cE Life of the younger Vasubandhu,author of rhe Abhidbarma-kofu and its commentary c. 450 cr Buddhism spreadsto Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan c. 450-520cE Life of Dignaga, 'farher of medieval loeic' 498-559 c.r. L i f e o f P a r a m a r t h am i s s i o n a r y o C h i n a . t c. 500 cn Beginningof composition of Mahauamsa.a pali chronicle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka c. 500-570cr Life of Bhevaviveka,a Madhyamaka scholar 552 cE B u d d h i s ms p r e a d s o J a p a n t c. 500-35 cr L i f e o f D h a r m a p d l a ,f a m o u sl o g i c i a n c. 500-50 cr Life of Candrakirti, author of prasannapada, commentar!' on Nagarjun a's Madhyamaka-kankas 629-45 ce, Chinesepilgrim Hiuen Tsang in India 535-50cE L i f e o f D h a r m a k i r t i , f a m o u sl o g i c i a na n d p o l e m i c i s t , author of Pramanauartika

c . 1 0 0r c n

i m z t 0 . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

542 cr 677-95 cr c.700-70 cr.

Buddhism reachesTibet Chinesepilgrim I-Tsing visits India author of Tattuasaigraha, Life of Santaraksita, first Buddhist uihara in missionaryto Tibet: establishes Tlbet 1749) c.720-90 ce, Life of Kamala3ila,pupil and companion of author of Panjika (Commentary) on Sentaraksita, Tattuasaigraha famous master of Vairayana, c. 725-800 cE Life of Padmasar.nbhava, missionaryto Tibet Foundation of Buddhist University of Vikrama6ila by c. 800 cE King Dharmapdla 1797 cr Buddhist university of Nalanda destroyedby Muslims Thailand becomesa Theravddacountry c. 1250 cs 1480 ce Burma (Myanmar) becomesa Theravadacountry c. 1782 cr, The ruling king of Thailand calls a Theravada Council E. Burnouf's lntroduction to the History of Indian !844 cr Buddhism marks beginningof seriousstudy of Buddhism in the West V. Fausboll publishesPali Dhammapada wirhLarin 1855 cE translation Fifth Council in Rangoon (Burma): Pali Canon recited 1871 cr and inscribedon 729 marbie slabs 1879 cn E. Arnold publishesLight of Asia, kindling interestin Buddhism in the West .W. Rhys Davids founds Pali Text Societyin London 1881 cr Herman Oldenberg'sBuddha published,basedon Pali sources 7954-6 cr Sixth Council in Rangoon (Burma): Pali Canon recited by 1,000 learnedmonks and printed 1955 ce Celebrationof the 2,500th anniversaryof the Buddha's pariniruana: restorationof Buddhist monuments in India

GLOSSARY

N o t e : ( P ) m e a n sP a l i , ( S ) m e a n sS a n s k r i t 'higher teaching',the third and last Abhidhamma (P), Abhidbarma (S) : part of the Pali Canon 'master', teacher acarya (S), acariya (P): Adi guddha (S): the original, first Buddha a n a g a m i( P ) : ' n o n - r e t u r n e r ' a n a t t d ( P \ , a n a t m a ( S ) :n o - s e l f anicca (P): impermanence anussati(P): remembrance apoha (S): cognition by elimination 'accomplished', personwho has come to the final a arahant (P),arhat (S): goal a r i y a s a c c a( P ) ,a r y a s a t y a ( S ) : ' t h e ( F o u r )N o b l e T r u t h ( s ) ' , a s u b h a( P ) ,a i u b b a ( S ) :i n a u s p i c i o u su n p l e a s a n t 'the Eight Heavy Precepts'for nuns attha garudhamma (P): atthakathd (P): commentary 'ignorance',the ultimate root of suffering auidya (Sl, auitia (P): 'the Lord who looks down from on high' Avalokite6vara(S): 'unrevealed', questions that the Buddha refused to al,yakrta (S): the answer ( b h A u a c a k r aP a n d S ) : W h e e l o f B e c o m i n g ( P a n d S ) : ' c u l t i v a t i o n ' ,m e d i t a t i o n bhattana b h i k k h u ( P ) , b h i k s u ( S ) :' b e g g a r '( m . ) , m o n k ' b e g g a r ( f . ) ,n u n ' b h i k k h u n r( P \ ,b h i k s u n i( S ) :

Z t A . S u d d hAss H o R rr N r R o D U C r o N i m

bodhi-citta (S):'enlightenmentthought' (S):'arising of enlightenmentconsciousness' bodhi-citta-utPada (P), bodhisattua(S):future Buddha, personthat is on the way bodhisatta to reaching enlightenment 'divine abidings', universal virtues such as loving brahma uihara (P): kindness(metta) Buddha (S and P): the EnlightenedOne : B u d d ha - u a a ( n a )( S ) ' B u d d h a - w o r d ' c cakrauartin (S), cakkauatti (Pl universalruler 'four-cornered',a mode of logical proof catuskoti (S): c i t t a ( P a n d S ) :m i n d , c o n s c i o u s n e s s dasastla(P):'tencomponentsof good character' dhamma (P), dharma (S): element of compositeentities Dhamma (P), Dharma (S): Eternal Law, the teachingsof the Buddha 'Dharma-body', highest mode of existence of the dharma-kaya (S): Buddha accordingto Mahayana dhyana (S): trance Dhyant-Btddhas (S) : emananationsfrom the Adi Buddha dosa lP), dosa (S): hatred, anger,fault, blemish dukkha (P), duhkha (S): suffering,painful duesa(S): hatred, anger 'Path' Hinayana (S): 'LesserVehicle' or iddhi (P), siddhi (S): supernaturalfaculties Jataka (S and P): storiesrelating to the Buddha'sprevious births jhana (Pl, dhyana (S): (stagein) trance kalyana mitra (S\, kalyana mitta (P):'the good friend', personaladvisor, giver of suitablemeditation subject 'action', resulting effectsof previous actions kamma (P), karma (S): k a r u n a ( P a n d S ) :c o m p a s s i o n 'complete',meditation deviceconsistingof a round kasina (P), krtsna (S): disk made of clay kauiala (S): skilful kleia (S), hilesa (P\: defilement,affliction ksanti (S) forbearance : 'sign', especially in connection with the laksana (S), lakhana (P): distinctivemarks of a great person (Mahapurusa) 'The Great Vehicle' or 'Way' Mahayana (S): maitri (S):'friendliness' 'mind' t n d n a s( S ) ,m a n o ( P ) :

o2 GLoSSARY 19

Maflju6ri (S): the soft-beautied, name of a bodhisattua metta (P)t'friendliness',loving kindness moha (P and S): delusron muditd (P and S): joy mudra (S): gesture nibbana (P), niruana (S): 'extinguishing';ultimate aim of Buddhism nikaya (P): collection of suttas,e.g. Dtgha Nikdya; ordination line nimitta (P and S): 'means', especially intermediateimage as nirmana-kay4(S):'transformation-body',the Buddha'searthly existence nirodha (P and S): cessation nissaya(Pi, niiraya (S): basic resources a monk or nun of pabbajia (P\, prauraiya (S): 'going forth', leaving one'sfamily to join the Buddhist monastic Sangha (P\: someonewho achieves Pacceka-buddha enlightenmenrfor his own benefit only pafica-slla(P): 'five componentsof good characrer' pafiita (P), praind (S): wisdom; the highestaccomplishment pdrdiika (P): breach of monastic rule that entails excommunication paramartha (S): ultimate truth pdramitd 1S):supremevirtue parikkhara (P), pariskara (S): basic requisitesof a monk (food, clothing, shelter,medicine)which are to be supplied by the laity p a r l k s a( S ) : ' e x a m i n a t i o n ' a n a l y s i s , pariniruana (S),parinibbana (Pl: final disappearance paticca-samuppAda pratftya-samutpada (Pl, (S): 'Chain of Causation'or 'Chain of DependentCo-origination' Patimokhba (P), pratimoAsa (S): fortnightly gathering of the monasric Saflghaand recitation of monastic rules; collection of monastic rules pitaka (P): 'basket', one of the (three)parts of the Pdli Canon prajna (S): wisdom pramdna (S): instrument of proof prasaiga (S): argument from self-contradiction p u 4 y a \ S ) ,p u i f i a ( P ) : m e r i t raga (P and S): passion rupa (P and S): 'form', body saddha Q), iraddba (S): faith samadhi (P and S): trance samanera/i(P), iramanera/t (S\: novice (m./f.) samatha (P), iamatha (S): 'calming', form of meditation

Z Z O .S u d d l lA s m o R rr N r R o D U C r o N l sH

(S):'enjoyment-body', sambhoga-kaya existence the Buddha in heaven of s , t m i i a ( S ) :p e r c e p t i o n samsara(S):the transientuniverseof emergentand disappearing phenomena (S), sankhara (P): the (five) strands out of which the human samskdra personalityis formed ( samudaya P and S):arising samurti (S): 'enveloped',lower form of truth-cognirion saigha (P and S): assembiy, especially community of Buddhistmonks the and nuns Sangha(P and S): the whole Buddhist community (P): infringementsof monastic rules that require a meeting saighadisesa of the assemblyto definepunishment saigiti (P): 'recitation', Buddhist council s a t i ( P ) ,s m r t i ( S ) : ' m e m o r y ' ,m i n d f u l n e s s siddhi (S\, iddbi (Pl: supernaturalaccomplishment sikkha padani (P): the (ten) rules for novices s l l a ( P ) ,i l l a ( S ) : ' m o r a l i t y ' ,' v i r r u e ' skandha (S): component of empirical self sofipanna (P): 'stream-enterer', someoneon the way to niruana stupa (S), thnpa (P\: tumulus, especiallv memorials to the Buddha, containing fragmentsof his ashes i u b h a ( S \ .s u b h a ( P \ : a u s p i c i o u s iunydtd (S):'emptiness' s u t t a ( P ) ,s u t r a ( S ) :s e r m o n ,i n s t r u c t i o n( b v t h e B u d d h a ) t u n h a ( P ) , t r s n a ( S l : ' t h i r s t , ' c r a v i n g ,d e s i r ef o r l i f e tantra (S): genericterm for Vajravanascriptures ', T a r a ( S ) :' S a v i o u r e s sB u d d h i s t( M a h a v a n a )g o d d e s s ( e s ) tarka (Sl: formal logic; svllogism ( T a t h a g a t a S a n d P ) : ' G o n e t h e r e ' ,t i t l e f o r t h e E n l i g h t e n e d n e O ; t h e r o( P \ : ' e l d e r '( m a l e ) t i t l e o f r e s p e c t t h e r l ( P \ : ' e l d e r '( f e m a l e )t;i t l e o f r e s p e c t t r i r a t n a ( S ) :' T h r e eJ e u , e l s 'B u d d h a ,D h a m m a , S a n g h a : trisuahhdrc (S): the three forms of existenceof the Buddha upalihalta(Pl, upadhl,aya(S): preceptor ( u p a s a k a l u p i s l A aP ) : ' f o l l o w e r ' , l a v p e r s o n( m . / f . ) u p d s L i m l ) d di A ) : o r d i n a t i o n ( a s m o n k o r n u n ) P l r p , l r ' ; ( S ) :m e a n s l t t p r t s a t h aP ) :r e g u l a rw e e k l y ( o r f o r t n i g h t l y )g a t h e r i n g f t h e m e m b e r s f o o { the local saishas

o2 GLOSSARY 21 Yairayana (S): 'Diamond Vehicle', 'Thunderbolt Vehicle' uedana(P and S): feeling t,ihara (P and S): 'dwelling', Buddhist monaster.v uijnana (Sl, uiiiana 1P):consciousness uinaya (P): discipline vinaya: the first part of rhe Pali canon dealingwith matters of monastic discipline (P), uipalyana (S): 'insight' uipassana VipassanA, Vipa6yana:a form of meditation

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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IN DEX

Page numbers in italic refer to figures and tables, those in bold refer to boxes.

7,44 n.6,50, Abhidhamma Pitaka 58, Ananda; deathof the BuddhaI 11; and 76, 83,155-60, 27r, 274, 207-8, and first Buddhist council49.117.
2171classification hermeneutics as 153, 150;commentaries 157-8; on contentI 55-7; interpretative devices 159-50;and (The Guide) 158; Nettipakkarana seealso Dhammasaigani: D batukatba;Kathauatthu; Patthana; Puggal afifiattt; ap Vibhanga; Yamaka Abhidhammata 7 Sangaha 57 Abbidharma-koia n.22, 1.59, 86 184, 2151' a/soVasubandhu, see Abhidharma- o!a-bbasva k AcariyaAnuruddha157 iicdrya/acariya teacher see Adbyaiayasamcodana Satra 156 Adl guddha4z-3, 217, 218 Ajata6atru, King of Magadha49 (bodhisattual Aka6agarbha 140 4 , A k s o b h y a u d d h a 2 - 3 , 1 , 9 21 9 5 , B 196 A l a r aK a l a m a1 3 - 1 4 . 1 7 a l m sc o l l e c t i o 7 3 4 , 9 5 , 1 2 3 ,1 2 8 n A m i t a b h a u d d h a 2 - 3 , 1 9 2 ,1 9 5 ,1 9 6 B 4 Amogasidhhi Buddha 42,'1.92, 195, 196 (no-returner) 1,06, anagdmin 81, 217 and leadership community of 19-20,85 n.4; and Nalanda university and women95 59; AnandaMetteya(AllanBennet) n.3 9 (no-self) 38, 70, 77, anatta/andtTnA 33, 1 . 1 . 5 .3 5 . 2 1 . 7 1 ) a n g e ( d o s a5 5 , 5 8 , 1 0 1 , 7 1 2 , 1 4 3 , r 218; and meditation 129-30 Aiguttara Nikdya 207, 210; quoted 30,73,r74, 125
antccdsee lmpermanence a n i m a l ,i n c a r n a t i o n s 1 0 4 , 1 0 5 , 1 3 0 a anumdna (inference)154, 165, 169 anupubbi-kathaIanupubb b i k il ha 7 18 n.7 Anuruddha (companion of the B u d d h a )1 1 1 apoba-uada(negativism)167-8, 217 a r a h a n t s / a r h a r s , 1 0 1 , 1 1 2 , 1 15 - 1 7 , 81 217; and age 116; Buddha as 24, 30; contemporarl' 1 15, 1 17-18; previous 29-30; as universalbeings 84-5; women as 96, 98, 776; see aiso enlightenment arahatta;and Buddhahood117-18, 1 3 8 ;c o n d i t i o n s o r a c h i e v i n g f 1,1.6-17; Nlahayana in Buddhism138

. Z g C B t t d d hA s H o R r r N r R o D U c r o N ism

Arnold, Edwin 26-7 n.2,21,5 I+ryadeva 775 150 Aryasura, Jatakamala n.3,212 Asanga159, 182, 7834,21.5; Abhi(dharma 33, )samuccaya 184; 784, 212; Mahayana-sarhgraha Yogacdrabhnmi 784, 185-7 renunciation extremes asceticism; of 1,5,t7 , 56, 90-7, 1071, Tantric in Buddhism 192 A6oka, Emperor50, 53,2'1,4 Atiia, Bodhipathapradip 785 a Ati6a (DipankaraSrijiana; Tantric Buddhist)62, 1,91,, 1,99 attba garudharnma(Eight Heavy Rulesl95-7. 217 Atthasalint158 (emanation Buddha) Avalokite5vara of 4 2 - 3 , 1 4 0 ,t 9 8 , t 9 9 , 2 0 4 , 2 1 7 auidyaseeignorance (un-nameables) 172, auyakrtas 768, 217

79, 1,09: Theravada in Buddhism 94,207; seealsoSangha (seed mantra)L97-8 blia-mantra Bimbisdra, King 61 194 Blofeld, (quoted) J. bodhi seeenlightenment '1,5-16,22 Bodhitree bodhi-citta140,218 bodhi citta-utpada (arisingof bodhim i n d )3 8 , 1 3 8 ,1 4 0 - 1 ,t 7 8 - 9 , 2 0 4 , 218 Bctdhicaryauatara 1.02,139 7, Bodhicinavraja 192 Bodhidharma 41 20, bodhisattalbodhisattua 38, 42, 82, 101, 137-50,204,278;bhumis (stages) 148-50,175; and 739, 140-8, 141; Bodhicaryauatdra 1.50 Buddha 702,137;derivation as n.1; female n.16;and five 85 42-3, 192, 1951' Buddhas and meditation1.44, 747-8; vow (bodhi4, sattuo-urata) 138,1.4I,14t,746, 147, 748,204 Bagchi, 28 n.22 S. Pitaka (quoted\62 Bodhisattua Bhagwat, K. 55-7 N. body (rnpa\;as meditationsubject Bhartrhari,Vdkyapadiya 154 mindfulness 109-10,7234, 1441, Bhattacharrya, Benoytosh 45 n.32, 42, o f 1 3 3 ; n ds e l f 2 - 3 , 6 5 , 1 4 2 , 1 4 5 ; 3 a 797 and soul 158;visible(rupa-kayal bbauacakra Wheelof Becoming see 40 bbduana meditation see Brahma104 Bhdvaviveka 2151, Madhyamaka(universal brahma-uihara virtues)124, hrdaya-karikas 775; 725, 728-37, 749, 204-5, 218 h Madhy amakart a-sarhgr a 175; ah brahmanhood, ethicalperfection and and Svitantrikaschool175; 7r,734 Tarkaiuala 5 77 breath, mindfulness 110, 124,1,25, of bhihkhunts(nuns)89, 21,7;and 133 bhikkhus96; and brahma-uibara History Bu-stonRimpoche9 n.6, 41,; 130-1;and EightHeavyRules 52-3,85 n.2, 167, of Buddhism 96-7,2t7; and meditation 120, 182,183 128; in Theravdda Buddhism94, 4 B u d d h aA d i g u d d h a 2 - 3 , 2 1 7 , 2 1 8 ; ; 98; and Therlgatha 97-8; seealso 16-17,25-7 n.2; as biographies Sangha, female 102, bodhisattua/bodhisatta 1,37 (monks)89,2'1.7; ; bhikkhus as 17-18; and Dhamma companions 176: and brahmaarahants/arhats 42-3, 77, 18, 19-20,40; emanations uihara 130-l; and kalyava mitta 192, 194; 1,39, 1,40,747-8,767-2, 127-2; and lairy 91,-2,203;and doctrine42-3; and five Buddhas meditation 71,I,72U7, 126-7,128; 21, funeral 20; futureincarnations 79, and mindfulness 133; andsila

o INDEX 235

30, 138; as historicalfiguresee images 2'1,4,23, Gotama/Gautama; 120, 51, 138,215; and meditation 722, 1.25, 131,t34; parinibbana/ p a r i n i r u a n2 2 , 2 7 n . 3 , 5 1 ,5 9 , 1 1 5 , a 20-1, 215; previous incarnations 2 6 , 2 9 , 4 2 ,5 I , 7 5 , 1 . 3 01 3 7 ; , r e m e m b r a n c e2 4 - 5 , 7 9 , 2 1 7 ;a n d of samadhi 711,799;and the Sangha 18-20,95; sayings Buddhasee in dbamma;Dhammapada; Sermon t h e D e e rP a r k1 , 7 , 3 5 , 4 8a n d ; supernatural knowledge112; 2, teaching 29-35, 38,47, 103,130, 132, 155, L 58,'1.59-70, 5, 206-7; 1.7 seealso Buddha-dhamma; testament ThreeBodies 19; doctrine 3940. 189: threenatures doctrine 788,220; universe 194-7; and as women18,25-5, 561 96-7; seealso compassion; Gotama/Gautama; omniscience; wisdom B u d d h a a i t r e y a ' 1 , , 4 31 3 8 ,1 8 1 , M 2 , 7834,204 Buddh a-dh amma 3 7, 47-8 5, 202-3; and Buddhist councils 48-51; deconstruction 24, L75, 178-81., 17 189;discerning 156;and feminism 55-8; transmission 47-8, 57, 35, 155;seealso Dhammapada; Milindapafiha (word of the Buddha) Buddha-uacana 47. 158.2r8 Buddha-word Buddha-dhamma see Buddhacarita 26-7 n.2, 2'1,2 Buddhaghosa and Abhidhamma 143; 155, 157-8;Atthasalini 158; Babiranidana n.9; and 9 Dhammapada Atthakatha77; and Pathof Purification105; and Visuddhimagga171, 1,'I..2, 720, 121.-3, 1.25, 1,26-31, 34-5, 157-8, I 2 0 5n . 7 , 2 1 5 Buddhahood; all creatures in 143;and arahatta'1.17-1.8, stages 138; 148-50 Buddh anus i-bbauana 28 n.1,7 sat Buddhapalita, Prdsangika and school 175

Buddhism; appealof 2-3; as philosophy and religion 202-5; revival54; spread 17-18, 514, 52, 97;,see also Hin^yenaBuddhism; Yajray5'na MahayanaBuddhism; BuddhistCatechism 54 Buddhism 2, 3, in Burma(Myanmar), 5 1 ,5 4 , 6 3 , 9 8 , 2 r 4 ,2 7 6 Burnouf, Eugene 54-5, 177,2t6 cakkau i/ cakrau att artin (world-ruler) 20,27 n.5,128,218 Candrakirti775; Madhyamaka207 auatdra175; Pradipoddyotana n.43; Prasannapada 774, 215 Carter, R. 57 J. Catupratiiarana Sutra(quoted) 51 '1,7 Catuiataka 5 ('four-cornered' catuskoti logic)158, 772,218 causation Dependent see Co-origination charity(danal124, 140,143,203 A. Chatterjee, K. (quoted) 185,187-8, 189 in C h i n aB u d d h i s m 1 , 3 9 , 4 1 , 4 3 , 2 1 5 ; ; and Buddhisteducation59-62: and femalesaigha 98; and Tantric Buddhism 191;and translations of B u d d h i stte x t s5 3 , 6 6 , 1 5 2 , 1 7 5 Christianity, Buddhism 54,56 and 3, in chronology; modernscholarship 5-6, 73,214; traditional 274 5, citta (mindl 133, 142,157 278;kusala , citta 134 CinamdtraschoolseeYogdcdra classification, hermeneutics as 150 colonialism, effects 54 companions the Buddha1.7-18, of 37 (karurya) compassion 21,8; arahants of 1,1,7; AvalokiteSvara 199;of and, 43, bodhisattua 737-8, 141., 1,45-5; of t h eB u d d h a , 7 7 , 2 ' 1 . , 8 1 ,0 1 ,1 0 4 , 4 204;in Mahayana Buddhism 37, 39, 138, 778;as meditation subject 1 2 4 , 1 , 2 9 , 1 3 1 ;f t h e t e a c h e5 3 o r concentration samadhi see consciousness -8 ; alaya-u nana 67 ij 1.87-8,189-90; higherstates

ism z 3 6. 8 u d d h A s H o R rr N r R o D U c r o N

0hanal 107, 1L0-1t, 726, 728,13l ; profitable(kusalacitta) 134;in 183, 185-8; yogict78; Yogdcdra seealso citta; saqnjfi.a/safinai uiifiana/uijiana contemplation dbyana;meditation; see samadhi see conversion sotdpanra Conze, 45 n.33,55-7,202 n.2; E. quoted97,203 t 5, councils 48-51, 53,214;Fifth 21,6; 21,4; Founh 57,275; First49, 1,17, 37, regional Second 50,214; 51; Sixth207, 216;Third 50-1, 155, 214 craving(tanhd/trltal 65, 74,'1,07, 35, 172, 175, 735, 144,220 creator, denialof God as 37,745-7, 153 Culla Pela 72-3 211 Cullauamsa n.9, 85 nn.3,5, 9

Sutta34 7,72, 55;commentary Dhammapada (Atthakathal 66,71,4, 2111 as of compendium the Buddha66-74; quoted112; dhamma 68-77, 107; translations teachings 56-8,216 Dhammasaigapi 755,158,208 (invisible 40, essence) dharma-hdya 205,218 dharma/ amma (w orld elements dh ) 157; 32-3,2t8; in Abhidhamma 1 andarahafta1I 7; classification50; elimination 707,109;in 37, Madhyamaka school173; of mindfulness 133;seealso reality; skandhas/khandhas 94 Dharmaguptaka Dharmakara 191 Dharmakirti 162, 174; Nyayabindu 1 6 1 ,1 5 2 ,1 7 0n . l 0 ; P r a m a n a udrtika 162, 275; Pramana-udrtika dana (charityl I24, 1,40,1,43,203 urtti 762; Pramana-Viniicaya'1.62 DanaSila 191 a D h a r m a p d l7 ' 1 ,7 6 2 , 2 1 5 ; n d a 99 n.4. 107-8.2t8 dasa-stla Therlgdtha97 DaiabhamikaSntra 148, 212 Dhatukfiha 1,55,208 death;meditationon 124;seealso (contemplation) 744,218 140, dhyana samsdra 42, DhydniBuddhas 1,924, 193, deconstruction, Madhyamaka and 195-5,218 7724, 173,176, 178-81 school Dtgha Nikaya27 n.5,208,21.0; (moba)55, 101, 105, 112, delusion q u o t e d 9 - 3 0 , 1 0 5 ,1 1 5 2 1 1 6 ,r 4 2 , 2 1 9 275; Digndga(Dinnega)161.-2,1.59, 29, demons(asurasl 65, 798 Nyaya and Nalandauniversity591, 4, 165, Dependent Co-origination L'L4, Praueia 1,52;PramallaSamuccaya 1,76-7, I90, 203,206, 279i 162 liberation from 31, 38; and (Ati6a;teacher) 52 DipankaraSrijflana 135;and Wheelof meditation D r p a u a m s9 n . 9 , 5 3 , 2 1 7 , 2 1 5 a Becoming 53-5 1.8-1.9, 35-6, 91, discipline, monastic see desire craving 93-6. 1,47: and Buddhistcouncils (cousin Gotama) 35, of Devadatta 35; traditions 48-51; and Buddhist 81-2 59 teaching adaptation 57; Dhamma(Dharma); 36, traditions doctrine; and Buddhist 17, 1.9-20, Buddha's teaching 1.8, of 3740; as proof of existence 2 3 1 - 3 , 4 0 ,5 6 , 1 0 3 - 4 , 1 8 ;a n d of Buddha83-4; and schools 58, Buddhist education 53; and 1; Buddhism teaching studying meditation 124; andnibbdna on 59,63 91, It)3-4;spreading 95, 120;wheel dosa see aneer o i 1 8 ,2 2 , 3 5

o INDEx 237 (misconduct) ducarita 108 dukkha/duh kha see suffering

freedomseeliberation;nibbana/ nirudna

education, Buddhist 58-53, 151 Gandauynha Satra99 n.12 Eight Heavy Rules95-7, 217 Gandhara, statues Buddha of 22,138, E i g h t f o l d a t h3 , 4 , 3 4 - 5 , 4 7 , 4 8 , 7 0 , P ztJ 83,206; andnibbana 57, 106,11.3: Gandhi,MohandasKaramchand 'Mahatma' andrenunciation see 91; alsopafina; 26-7 n.2 samadhi;Srla GautamaseeGotama/Gautama emptrness iinyata see gend,er women see endeavour, right 109 Genesis, Conditioned Dependent see energyseeuiriya Co-origination enlightenment; the Buddha14-18, of Gethin, 44 nn.6,7,16,45 R. n.29. lS4 2 0 , 2 4 "3 5 ,5 7 , 9 0 ,1 0 3 ,1 3 7 : f o ghosts(pretas)55 humaniry1.7-1.8, 205; qualities god,s 21,, (deuas); belief 29, 30, GS,7S, in leadingto 38; and samsdrd Tree 301 1.47;and, God as creator37, 146-7, of seeBodhitreetfor women 561 see 153; medirationon 124;in Tantric also arahants/arhats: arahatta; Buddhism 154 'going forth' panfia;samadhi; stla seepabbal 1d/prauraiya epistemology, Buddhist 80-1, 164-5. Gombrich,Richard27 n.4 158-9 good,doinggood 105, 107,202 equanimity (upehkhal 116,I24, 129, Gotama/Gautama; biographies 26-7 131 n.2; binh and early life 13-14, ethicsseestla/itla (virtue) 25-6; chronology5, 13; evll seeMara (god of life and death) enlighrenment 14-18, 20,24, 35, 5 7 , 8 0 , 1 0 3 , 1 5 ,1 3 7 ;f u t u r e 1 (Chinese Fa-hien pilgrim)52,86 n.26, incarnarations 21;'Great 215 Departure'14-15; as historical faith(saddba) 90,92, 10s, 1.75, 79, figure1, 5, 77, 13-20, 834,91, 138.202-3.219 155, 2141, marriage14; previous Fausboll, Vincent55,216 incarnarions 20-1, 25, 29, 75, 137 ; feelingseeuedana sermons 16,74; teaching 6, 2, feminism,andBuddha-dhamma 29-36,38; and ThreeBodies 55-8 doctrine39-40 Fenner, 178 P. Govinda, 198 (quoted) A. 198 fetters(samyoj grace204-5 anas) 1.0 5-6 forbearance (ksdnti)729, 740, 1,434, Gross, Rita 55, 57 218 Guhya-samdia-tantra l9M, 2l s forestmonk movement11.8, guide,spiritualseekalydnamitta; 1,20 fonitude seeheroism teacher FourNobleTruths4, 5,38,47, 57,70, 203,206.2't7; andbecoming happiness; bodhisanua a and ideal1.45. Buddhist3; andbodhisattua ideal 147; and, nibbana70 1.49; andmeditation 135;and Harvey, (quoted) P. 197 nibbana112;in reaching Buddha heavens; of beliefin 29,704;seealso 17, 35-6; seealso suffenng Sukhdvati heaven; Trdyastrim6a four refuges 61 heaven; Tusitaheaven Frauwallner, 159 E. hells 1,29, 65,81,704,-1.44 2

z g g. B u d d h A s H o R r r N r R o D U c r o N ism

hermeneutics L60. I59 (uiryalL40,744 heroism HinaydnaBuddhism35, 218; geographical 38-9, 53; spread literature and Mahayana 43; Buddhism 3840 377 H i n d u i s ma n dB u d d h i s m , 3 7 , 3 9 , ; 40, 534, 1,77;and logic 16l, 162, 170; Mimarhsaka 162, 1634, 166, 159;Nydya 1634; andTantrism 41; Vai6esika 1634,'t59, 175 49,274; history; Buddhist of councils and chronicles 53 5, Hiuen Tsang(YuanChwang;Chinese pilgrim)59-57,86 n.26, 275 Hodgson, n.33 45 (Chinese I-Tsing pilgrim)59,86 n.26, 215 iddhis(supernatural powers)111, 116-17 121,739,1,49, 218,220;in , Vairayana l9I,194 (auidyA) 105, 712, 21,7 ignorance 65, i m a g eo f B u d d h a 1 , 4 , 2 3 , 5 1 , 1 3 8 , s 2 215 (aniccal 55, 70,84, impermanence 38, 1 0 1 ,1 1 0 ,1 3 5 , 1 6 4 , 2 1 7a n d ; dharma/dhamma3L4 India; Buddhism ix, 7, 42, 53; and in commonbeliefs29-34; and Tantric Buddhism190-4 (puggalal; individuality beliefin 105; denialof 32, 55,77-8, 760, 773 Indonesia, Buddhism 1, 53 in inference anumdna see insightmeditationseeVipassana/ VipaSyann meditacion intentionality, and harma 30-7 Isipatana deerpark 17 I s l a m a n dB u d d h i s m 3 4 , 6 0 , 6 2 , , 5 16r.l9l.216 (Thusit was said)74,208; Itiuuttaka quoted 15 1

Karl 181, 799 n.2 Jaspers, 1,50 Jatukamala n.3,212 n J a t a k a 2 2 , 2 7 n . 1 , 0 , 2 8 . 2 2 , 5 5 ,2 0 8 , s ideal137;and 218; and bodhisatta a D hammap ada Atthakath 72, 74; and hell 104;and and heaven incarnations Buddha20,26, 67, of 730,1.37;and Milindapafiha82 jhanasseeconsciousness samadhi 191 Jinamitra (bhikkhul118 Jlnavamsa 51 Jivaka(physician) ioy (mudita),as meditationsubject r , 7 2 4 , 2 9 , 1 3 12 1 8 kalyaaa mitta (spiritual guide) 79, 727-2, 124, t39, 204, 218 Kamala6ila t63,176; Paniika163, 155-7, t76, t84,276 Kanakamuni 20 51 Kaniska, Emperor Kant, Immanuel178 horse)14 Kalthaka (Gotama's kingdom14, Kapilavanhu/l(apilavastu 25 karma/ kamma 32, 73, 92, 203, 218; of the Buddha2t; andDevadatta 707 and 81-2; and gooddeeds , 1.45; intentionaliry 30-1; and nibbana 104-5,114;andWheelof Becoming 65 karu4aseecompassion (aidsto meditation) kasiras/krtsna 123, I25, 726-8, 218; earth-device (payhaur kasinal 126-8 75,82-3 Rsi Kassapa, Buddha Lomasa Kathauatthu 155, 156,208 50, khandhas khandas skandhas/ see (IlseLedermann) 100 Khema,Sister
n. l.+

KhuddakaNikdya 207-8,210-1I; see a also D hammap da; I tit,uttaka; Jatakas;Sutta Nipata; Therigatha; Udana 80-1, 168-9;and knowledge N. Jacobson, P. 180 140;insight134-5; bodhisattua 1634 37, 1,07, and Jarnrsm, Buddhism 111,-72, 116, 149;in supernatural in B u d d h i s m 1 , 3 9 , 4 3 , 5 3 ,2 1 5 ; Japan; Vajrayina 98 1 and female saigha98

r INDEX 239

the Sangha39; Svitantrika school 175; and Tantrism41,190; and fwo-truths theoryt46,778; and Yogicdraschool184, t89-90; se, a/soNagerjuna Magadha,kingdom 50 Magadhilanguage 85 n.8, 208 n.1 39, magic,and Yajraylna 41,I98 Mahe Pela 72-3 lairy; as arahantslarbais 115; and Mahakassapa 49 emptiness 153; and Mahayana Mahenama(fatherof Ya6odhara) 25 Buddhism 36-7; and meditation MabapadanaSutta lqtotedl 29-30 128;and the Sangha 19,89-90, Mahaparinibbdna Suttanta79-20, 91-3, 720, 125,2034; seealso 111;and Buddha's testament 19 almscollection Mahipralapati Gautami(fosterlaksatla/lakharya signs see motherof Gotama) 25,26,96-7 t4, L a m o t t eE . 9 5 - 6 , Mahasanghikas, Mahayana and language, theoryof 158-70,180-1 Buddhism7,50-I,214 3 Laikduatara Satra 40, 212 Mahesena Ndgasena see Lassen, 54 C. Mahasiddhas 197 Law, B. C. (quoted) 113 MahatheraRakkhita51 LiangChi-chao n.26 85 Mahduagga207, 209;.and life of the liberation;in Dhammapada 69-70; Buddha16-77, 151, and and ordination 90-1; of others101; Pancauaggiya n.ll; quoted16, 44 seven elements 7L6:seealso 58; and the Sangha 58 19, enlightenment; meditation; nibbana/ M a h d u a m s9 n . 9 , 8 5 n . 3 , 2 7 1 , 2 7 5 a nirudna 25-6, 28 nn.22,26,3640 literalism,in Theravdda Buddhism 39 Mahauastu 155, 215 literature1, 4-5; Englishtranslations Mahauibhdsa Mahayana Buddhism 3540,218; and 209-13; Hinayina 43; Mahayana arahatta138; and bodhisattua; 24, 37, 43,272-73,275;PrajfiaBuddha 137;female n.15; as 85 pdramitd 36, 176, 1,82, 198; ideal137-8, 139-48;and preservation sources 54; 206-8; see D hammap ada 65; geographical a/soPeli Canon spread 38-9, 53; and Hinayina logic (pramanaidstral 151-3;'fourBuddhism 37, 3840; lay origins cornered'768, 772, 278; andtarka35-7: and, meditationon the iastra 167.220. seealso Buddha24; membership 4; Santaraksita, Tattu asaigrah a monasticorigins37; and Sanskrit Lopez, DonaldS.Jr. 44 n,15 39; schools39 seealso (mettal t24, 129-31,, loving kindness Madhyamaka YogacAra; sfitra ; 204.219 literature24, 37, 39, 43, 212-73; and Tantrism47,190:seealso Madhva (Hindu dcdryal 1.77 Nalandauniversiry Madhyamaka school7, 39, 172-81, Mahinda(sonof A6oka)53,214 183,202;central tenets 175-81; M a i t r e y a u d d h a \ , 4 3 , 1 3 8 ,1 8 1 , B 2 and deconstruction 7724, 173, 7834,204 175,178-81;historyt72-6; and a; prasaiga method 175, 778-81.;and Maitreyandth Abhisamaya-alarhkdra | 82; D harma-dharmatd-ui hanga b

Korea;Buddhism 1, 53,215; and in femalesaigba 98 Krakucchanda 20 ksdntiseeforbearance Kgitigarba (bodhisettualL40 Kumirajiva 175,215 Kumdrila162, 165

. A H Z + 0 B u d d h i s mo R r N r R o D U c r o N

182; Madhyanta-uibhaiga 1 82-3; kara 182; NIahayana-sntra-alarh Mah ayana-uttara-tantra 1 82; and Yogdcaraschool 181-2, 215 \laitripi (teacher)52 Maiihima Nikaya 207, 21,0;quoted 1 0 3 - 4 , 1 1 0 ,1 1 4 , 1 1 5 , 1 3 0 lvlaliyadevaThera 119 n.47 nandala 126, 192, 193 llafrju6ri (emanationof Buddha) 42-3, 139, 1.47-8, 161.-2,21.8 mantra, in Vajrayana 1,92,197-8 Nlantrayana 198; see also Yajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) Mara (god of life and death) 15, 30, 334, 107,1'1.5 Mascaro, J. 67 materialism154 Mathura, statuesof Buddha 22, 215 M a t i l a l , B i m a l K r i s h n a1 8 0 , 1 8 1 Maya (mother of Gotama) 73-1,4,25 meditarion (bbauanal 120-35, 2034, 217; on the body 1,09-10, 1234, 144; on the Buddha 24,124; and 'Great Departure' 14-15; impedimentsto 121; and liberation 1 0 1 ; p l a c e f o r 7 2 5 ; p o s t u r e1 1 0 , 125,128; preparation for 120-2t and right concentration110; and right mindfulness109; Samatha/ Samatha 112, 1,32-3, 134; and teachingof the Buddha 84,91,, 122 and temperament 722-3, 1,24-5; time 125; topics109-10, 123-5; Vipassana/Vipa5y 112, 132, ana 134-5, 144; Yogacara41, 190; see also brahma-uihara; dhyind; kasinas;mindfulness;nibbana/ nirt'alta;samddhi - \ I e h t a ,M . 1 7 8 rnental irnagc \nintitt,ll 126. 127-8 nerit lptrfiia); of bodhisattla 1481and r e h i r t h 8 f . 8 9 ; a n d r e l r c so f t h e BLrddha 0; and studiingand 8 ; i : r c h i n g 6 . 2 .a n d s u p p o r to f t h e ..:ngh.r 9.1.l0.l-'1 \ i ; r - i o n T h o m a s1 8 6 . ' : r . ' . ;j r ' t l , , rt t r gk i t t . l t t . ' s .

Middle \Vay; Buddhism as 1.8,34-5, 4 8 , 9 1 , 1 0 7 ; M a d h y a m a k aa s 1 8 1 ; Yogacaraas 185, 789; seealso Eightfold Path Milinda (Menander),King 74-85 Milindapanha 7 , 12, 74-85, 1.69,21.1., 214; quoted115 Mimamsaka 1,62,1634, 166 mind see citta ( m i n d f u l n e s s s a t i )7 9 , 8 3 , 1 0 9 - 1 0 , 7 1 6 , 1 3 2 - 3 , 2 2 0 ; o f b r e a t h i n g1 1 0 , '1.25, 724, 133; right mindfulness (sammasati.) 35 miracle; and Santideva139; and supernaturalpowers 112,'1,39;and Tantrism 41 misconduct (ducdrital 708 38, 50, 53, missionsand missionaries 162 moha seedelusion monasteries see Sangha;uiharas monastery and place for meditation 125 monasticismsee Sangha M o n g o l i a . B u d d h i s mi n I Monier-Williams, 150 n.1 monks see Sangha mudita see ioy ) m u d r a s( p o s e s 2 2 , L 9 6 , 2 1 9 Buddhism 94 Mulasarvastivada lvluller,M. 58 199 n.1 Murti, T. R. V. 114, 1,72,'1.74, N a g a b o d h i1 9 1 N a g a d a t t a1 5 1 Nag.lrjuna; Catustaua 174; disciples 175; Lokantastaua 175; and Madhyamaka school 1,724, 176, 179-81, 199 n.1; Madhyamaka3 k a r i k a s 1 , 7 - 4 , 1 7 3 , 1 75 , 1 76 , 1 7 9 , 21.2,21 5 ; Mangala-iloka 176-7 ; and miracle 47; and Nalanda universit.v59, 172; and niruana 179; and prasaiga method 175, 17 8 - 8 1 Nagarjuna (Tantric Buddhist) 191 Negasena,and N{ilinda 74-85 N:tlanda universitl' 59-61, 62' 139, 5 162-3,172,216; destruction 3' 50

I N D E xr 2 4 1

Narada Thera 100 n.14, 1.35n.27 N a r a d a ,U 1 1 9 n . 4 3 Naropa 191 nationalism,and Buddhism 54 negativism(apoha-uada) L67-8, 217 Nehru, Jawaharlal 26-7 n.2 Nettipakkararya (The Guide) 158, 211 nibbana/niruuna; in Dh ammapada 7 0; in Nagarjuna I79; path ro 1.06-1.2, 1 3 4 ; i n p r e s e n t i f e 1 1 5 , 1 1 7 - 1 8 ;i n l teachingof Buddha 47, 55, 57,74, 91,1.03; those barred from 104-5; a s u l t i m a t eg o a l 1 0 1 , 1 0 3 - 1 8 , 2 0 3 , 21,9;see also arahants/arhats; meditation Nietzsche, F. 8-9 n.2 nihilism, and Buddhism 32-3, 105, 1 1 4 - 1 5 ,1 7 2 , 1 7 7 , 1 9 5 nikdyas (ordination lineages)1,,2, 99, 219 nimitta (mental image) 125, 727-8, 219 nirmana- kaya (transformation-body) 40, 199,21,9 nirodha (cessation) 175, 279 nirudna see nibbana/niruana N iy atan iyat auataramudr d Sutl a (quoted) 38 'no-returners' (anagamin) 81, 105, 217 Noble Eightfold Path see Eightfold Path Noble Truths see Four Noble Truths non-violence3, 56 Norman, K. R. 150 n.1 novice (samanera/t)90,99; and kalyana mitta 121-2, 124; and meditation 131; rules 92; seealso student nuns see bhikkhunis; Sangha,female \layabindu 170 nn.9,10 Nyanamoli (OsbertNloore) 9 n.3, 170
n.4+

Olcott, Henry Steel 54 Oldenberg,Hermann 55, 94-5, 216 omniscience;of bodbisattua 749; of the Buddha 80-1, I12,164-7 'once-returners' (sakadagaminl 706 ordination 76, 90, 220; conditions 90, 92, 99; lineages(nikayasl L,2, 99, 219; for women 97-8; see also p a b b ajj d/p r aur aj y a; Saigha pabbajj d/prauraiya (rentnciation) 15, 17, 1.8,79, g0-1,, 279 pacceka-buddhas81, 82, 219 P a d m a s a m b h a v4 1 , 1 9 1 , 2 1 6 a pain see suffering PaliCanonlapparenrnconsistencies i 82-3; and Buddhistcouncils50, 51, 206, 207, 215; Chattha Sangdyana e d i t i o n5 1 ; c o m m e n t a r i eo n 5 1 , 5 5 , s 157-8, 215; and history 5-6; and Mahayana Buddhism 37; and TheravddaBuddhism 35, 206, 207; translations 209-1,1; in written form 5 3 , 2 0 6 , 2 7 5 ;s e ea l s oA b h i d h a m m a ; Dhammapada; Jatakas; Mahauagga; Thertgatha Palilanguage , 39, 58, 85 n.8 8 P a l i T e x t S o c i e t v5 5 , 2 1 6 P a l i h a w a d a n aM , 6 7 , pancd-sIla (Five Moral Restraints) 3, 9 0 , 1 0 9 ,2 0 4 , 2 1 9 Pancauaggiya44 n.1,1 Panini (grammarianl 61 pannd/prajnd (wisdom) 706, 707, l'1.2, 116,219; and meditation 134; and pAramitds140; in Vajray6na43,198 paraffiartbd see truth Paramdrtha(logician) 1.62,2ls pdramitds (heroic vinues) 4, 176, 1 3 8 - 9 , 1 4 0 , 1 4 3 , 1 4 8 _ 9 ,1 . 7 5 , 2 1 9 Paravahera VajirananaMahathera 28 n.17, 135 n.2; quoted128 p arini bbdna/pariniruana 22, 27 n.3, 5 1 , 5 9 , 7 9 , 1 1 5 ,2 1 6 , 2 1 9 passion (ragal, and bodhisattua ideal 141,-2, 144, 145 Path of Purification 105 p at i cca -sam up p d dL1 r aflty a/p

Nlydnaponika Thera(Siegmuno F e n i g e r ) n . 3 , 1 1 9n . 4 3 ,1 3 3 ,1 3 5 9 nn.22,27 (AntonWalterFlorus Nyanatiloka Grlth)9 n.3

. Z+Z Sudd|tism A sHoRr rNrRoDUcroN

saffiutpAdd see Dependent Coorigination Patimo kkh a/Pratimo ksa (monastic rules) 18-20, 93-6, 97, 99, 721,

punya/pufifia merit see puthuijana(ordinarypeople)105 Radhakrishnan, 67 S. rdgaseepassion Rahula(sonof Gotama)14,26,28 n.22 r07. Rahula, 33, 37-8, 74, 136 n.21, 7 3 6n . 6 . 2 0 8n . 3 Rahulabhadra fteacher\ 772 R a l a ,K . 1 5 8 RastrapalaSutra 24-5 (teacher) Ratnakara5enti 52 Ratnasambhava Buddha 792,1.95, 42, 195 realiry;classification 160; in Hinduism 754,1.69-70; language and 767-8, 759-70;in Madhyamaka school 177,178-87,183;and meditation 133;and nibbdna113-14;in Sentideva 146-7; in Yogacdra school154, 783,187-9;seealso dharma/dbamma rebirth seereincarnation 'threerefuges' refuges four refuges; see reincarnation; animal104, 105; as escape from 31, 104;as human 105-5;Indianbeliefin 29-30,65, 203; and merit 89; seealso samsdra relicsof the Buddha20. 80 religion,Buddhism 78,202-5 as (anussatil the Buddha remembrance of )4-\ 7C )17 renunciationseepabbajid/prauraiya responsibilitn personal 70 retreat,for monksand nuns 95 revelation, and scripture154, 1,55-6, 181-2,189 RhysDavids,C. A. F. 55 RhysDavids, W 34, 55, 88 n.49, T. 94-5,21.6 ritual; Mahaydna61; Tantric41-2, 794. 198 robes,monastic73, 92-3, 96 Rohana(monk) 75-5 Ruegg, S. (quotedl1,77,179-80, D. 181 ruba seebodv

209,219 Patthanat55-7,208 penance 75, 79, 94-5, 97 t9, perceptionseepratyaksa perseverance uiriya see personality individualiry;self see (PitakaDisclosure) Pepakopadesa 158-9 philosophy; Buddhism 202-5; as Tantric Buddhist 797-9; reaching 59;seealso logic;Madhyamaka school;Nigarjuna Piyadassi Maharhera 100 n.14 posture, mindfulness 110, 726 of Poussin, de la Vall6e159 L. powers,supernatural (iddhis)111, 776-77,l2l, 739,279,220;in Yajraylna l9t, 194 practice, Buddhist1, 6, 77, 38; reform 50 pradhara (primarymatter) 153 prajfia (wisd,omlseepafifia/prajfia (Perfectionof Praifra-paramitr: \(isdom) 772, 198-9; and Bodbisattuaideal 140, 146; female counterpart Buddha43, 55 n.I5; of literature36, 776, 782, 798,212, 215 pramAnas (proofs)164, 168-9,279 Pramuditd-bhnmi 1.47,148-50 Prisangikaschool175, 178-8t Prasanna6ila 183 prafitya-samutp ada se Dependent e Co-origination platyaksa(perception) 164, t69 Pratyeka-Buddha 38 prayerwheels198 preceptor(upai1 aya/upadhyaya) b 5 8 - 6 3 ,7 5 , 9 0 , L 2 5 psychology, rypesof meditators and 122-5 puggalaseeindividualiry Puggalapafifiatti| 56, 208 puiA seeworship

I N D E xr 2 4 3

S a b a r a1 5 6 iabda (wo,rd,authority) 1.64,769 SaddksariLoke5vara43 saddha/iraddha see fairb, saddhamma(true law) 82 Saddharmapundarrka 55, 215 Sahapati,Brahma 17 SaiviteTantrism 45 n.29 sakadagdmin('once-rerurners') 106 Sakya clan 1,4,1,8,137 Sakyamuni see Gotamal Gaurama samadhi (concentration)79, 1.09-12, 1 7 6 , 1 . 6 5 , 2 1 9 ; p a n n a( i m m e r s i o n ) a jhanas (higher stages)107, 1,28; 1 10-1 1, 11.7, 129, 131,; sammdsamadhi (right contemplation)35; and stla 1.05, 707, 1211' updcara (access concentration)128; in Vajrayana 194, 1.99 Samatha/Samathameditati on ^11.2, 117-1 174 144 )1q (Glorious Buddha)40, sambhoga-kdya '189,219 Samdhinirmocana Sutra 36, 39, 212 santjna/sanfra(perception) 32, 6 5, 220 Sarirkhya146, 160,7634, 175 sanlsara1.6,30, 34, 84, 144,220; and nibbAna 11.2,113-14; and ren fetters 105-6 samshara/sankhara\motive forces) 32, 38,65,220 samuara(self-control)71, 83 Samyak-samBuddha 38 Samyutta NikAya 207, 270; quored 31, 334,44 n.11, 103, 106, 11,4 Sanderson, 45 n.29 A. Sangha89-99, 220; and Buddhist councils 49-51,206; and Buddhist education 58-9; and confession of wrongdoing 18-19, 94, 96-7 ; e x p u l s i o nf r o m 3 5 , 9 4 - 5 , 7 1 7 ; f e m a l e 8 ,2 6 , 4 9 , 5 6 , 8 2 , 9 5 - 8 ; a n d 1 Mahayana Buddhism 37, 39; meditation on 124; and monastic robes 92-31 reasonsfor joining 7 8 - 9 ; r u l e s1 8 - 2 0 , 3 5 - 6 , 4 8 - 9 , 9 L ,

121, 1,47;see also Patimokkha; Vinaya; and saighas 89,98,99, 220; Theravdda 34, 207; unity 35, 39, 81, 9 5, 1,04; and upasakas/ upasikas(lay followers) 89,220; see also bhikkhunts; bhikkhus; laity; ordination; uiharas (teacher)183 Sanghabhadra Sangharaksita, Bhiksu (quoted)40, 183,187 S a n k a l i aH . D . 5 9 , Sankaradeva39 1 S a n s k r i t8 , 3 9 , 4 5 n . 2 3 , 8 5 n . 8 Sentaraksita41, 1.62,153; and Nalanda university 59, 1,62,201, n.40; and Tantric Buddhism 19L; Tattuasangraha152, 153-8, 175, 1,84,213,21,6; and logic of the unsaid 168; and negativism157-8; and omniscience the Buddha of 165-7; and theory of language 168-70 Santibhadra(teacher)52 Santideva; Bodhicaryauatara 7, 102, 139, 140-8, 141, 176; and grace 204; life 139; and Nalanda universitv 59. 62: Siksa-samuccata 139. 156. 212: Satra Samuccata 739, and Tantrism 41 Sariputra 23 Sariputta (discipleof Buddha) 59. 734 Sarvajfladeva 191 Sarvastivdda Buddhism; and Abhidharma Pitaka 155, 159: and Abhidharma-koia | 59, 184: and dbarma 44 n.6; and Mabat'tbhasa 1 5 5 , 2 1 5 ; a n d M a i t r e v a n a t h a1 8 3 : a n d r e a l i s m1 8 3 , 1 8 5 sati/smrtisee mindfulness Satipatthana Sutta 1,20, 132-j scholarship, modern Western 54-5; and Buddhist councrls49, 214qand c h r o n o l o g y5 - 6 , 1 3 , 2 1 4 ; a n d f o u r refuges 1; and life of Buddha11; 5 and Mahayana Buddhism 37; see a/so universities schools,Buddhist seetraditions

z++. BuddhismoRrNrRoDUcrroN A sH

Schopen, Gregory 37, 44 n.1.6 science, and Buddhism 53 scripture; canon see Pali Canon; and r e v e l a t i o n1 6 4 , 1 5 5 - 6 , 1 8 1 - 2 , 1 8 9 self 32-3, 38, 69-70,77-8, 1.69;and the bodhisattua 142, 1,45-6, 149; in y H i n d u i s m l " 7 l i n s u b s t a n t i a l i r1 - 3 self-control(samuaral71, 83, 91, 1.42 Sermon in the Deer Park 77, 36 sexuality, and Tantrism 42 Siddhanha/Siddharthasee Gotamal Gautama siddhis see iddhis signs(laksana)of world-ruler 22,27 n.5, 28 n.20, 40,218 Sikhi (earlierincarnation of Buddha)

30 (rulesfor novices) sikkha-padam 92, 220 Stksdsamuccaya 24-5 stla/itla(virtue)79, 106-9, 721,203, 220; dasa-stla n.4, 707-8,218; 99 and meditation124, 134;pafica-sila s _ 9 0 , 1 0 8 ;a n d p a r a m i t a1 4 0 ,1 4 3 Silabhadra 86-7 n.27 43 Simhandda 'Six Perfections'4 32-3, 42, 65, 78, skandhas/khandhas 1 1 5 ,1 1 6 ,1 9 5 , 2 2 0 sloth144 ('stream-enterer') 115, 105, sotdpanna 220 soul,and body 32, 158 168 W. Spillsbury, B. (quoted) images Sri Lanka2, 3; andBuddha history5, 53; 224; andBuddhist 63, learning 66,21.5; and Buddhist 53,214; and missions and Buddhist 115,117-18; arahants contemporary 127;and Pali and meditation language 39,206;and Theravdda Buddhism 1,534, 98,99 5 T. Stcherbatskn 170 n.10 214 Sthaviravadins 1.84 Madhyantauibhaganka Sthiramari, 'stream-enterer' (sotapanna) 105, 115, 220 S t r e n gF . 1 7 7 , 1 7 8 ,

student;and preceptor58-53, 75,1.25; see also novice stipas see thupalstrpa Subhadda49 sucarita(wholesomebehaviour)108-9 (father of Gotama) 14,25 Suddhodana Sudhana 9 n.12 9 suffering (dukkha/duhkha)35, 38, 58, 70,78, 135,218; and bodhisattua '1,47-8; seealso samsdra L41.,1.44-5, Sukhavatiheaven 144 Hikkaduve 54 Sumangala, 153, 159, 203, iunyatd (emptiness) 220; and Madhyamaka school 149, 177, 179-80, 183; and Nagariuna 173, 180; and Santideua146-7 185 Sunyavadins Sutta Nipatu 55, 208; quoted 30, 1.74,
I IJ

Sutta Pitaka 49, 155, 157,207-8, 210-1 1, 214; seealso Dtgha Nikaya; Khuddaka Nikaya; Maiihima Nikaya; Samyutta Nikaya Suzuki, D T. 185 Svatantrikaschool 175 tanhd/trsttd see craving Tantric Buddhism seeYairayana Tara (femaledeity) 43, 139, 199,204, 220 Teranatha 9 n.6, 139 Tathagata;existence 168,220; seealso Buddha Taxila (Taksa6ila) university 53, 59, 61-2 teacher(acaryal;and student 58-53, 75,90, 125; seealso kalyana mitta texts; translations8,54--5; see alsoPalt Canon T h a i l a n d ,B u d d h i s mi n 1 - 2 , 3 , 5 1 , 6 3 , 216 thera/therr (elder) 220 TheravadaBuddhism7,214 and bodhisatta, Buddha as 137; and Buddhistcouncils50-1, 85 n.2, 155, 214,215; and classification 150; and Dhammapada 66; and dharma 44 n.6, 157; and femalesaigha 94,98;'

INDEx 245 r

and literalism and Madhyamaka Truth; paramartha1,46,'1.7 21.9 39; 8, ; school172;membership 3-4; and samurti(conventionall 145, L78, Pali Canon 37, 206-7, 21,4;and 220;two-truthstheory 746,178;see P'itimokkha 94; and, Sangha rhe 98, a/so Four Noble Truths 99,207;spread 52-3, 275;see also TsonKhapa185 A bhidhamma; Buddhaghosa; Sri Tusitaheaven; and incarnations of Lanka Buddha 2l; andMaitreyaBuddha (Elders), transmission TheravAdins and 43, 192,1,94 of teaching 35 Thertgdtha (Psalms the ElderSisters) Udana(UplittingVerses) of 74,208; 97-8.98,208 quoted 04,174 1 ThreeBodies(Trikdyaldoctrine Udanauarga Dhammapada see 3940,189 Udayana, King of Kosambi/Kau6ambi ThreeJewels 'rhreerefuges' see 21 'threerefuges' (Triratnal3, 77-1,2, 37, UddakaRamaputta(Udraka 54, 89-90,220; and, bodhisattua Rdmaputra) 17 15, ideal140;as meditation subiect universities, Buddhist53, 59-62,15I 124,127; also see Buddhal Dharmar Upali (earlybhikkhu)49 Sangha U p a n i s a d1 6 , 1 6 0 s thipdl snpa 20, 22, 274, 220 upasampada ordination see Tibet 1, 534,215-15r and Buddhist upekkhaseeequanimiry education 62.1,62; and Buddhist (monastic uposatha gathering) 50, history5; and MahaydnaBuddhism 93-7,99,220 39; and translations Buddhist of usnrs24,28 n.79 a texts54, 62,65,775; andVajrayana 47,42, 43, 191. Vairocana Buddha42, 192, 195,196 Tilopa191 Vai6esika 1634, 1.69, 5 77 Tipilaka (ThreeBaskets) 161,207; see Yajte 78 also Abhidhamma Pitaka;Sutta uaira inYairaydnaworship 43, 197 Pipaka;Vinaya Pitaka Vajrabodhi 191 Tissa Moggalipuna Maharhera 155 V a j r a p a n ie m a n a t i oo f A d r 50, { n Buddhal traditions 34y'3,47, 1534; lineages .+ L-J 1, 3; and medirarion 131-2;and Vajrayina (Tantric Buddhism)7, 40-3, Patimokkba 94; seealso Hlnayena 154, 1,90-9, 221; and everyrhing as Buddhism; MahayanaBuddhism; Buddha 794-7,799; and 'five Yairaydna (TantricBuddhism) Tathagaras'2-3;in India 190-1; 4 tranceseesamadhi Kdlacakraritual 201 n.47; literarure tranquillitymeditationseeSamathal 190, 1914,215; and Mantravdna Samatha meditation 198; non-Tantric 194; philosophy transience imperman see ence(anicca|; 197-9; and Yogdcara185 samsdra ( u a s a n a s i m p r i n r so f k a r m a l 1 8 5 , 1 8 7 trairsliterarion 8 Vasubandhul5l; Abhidharmd-koiaTrdyastrim6a heaven 21 b h a s y a8 5 n . 1 9 , 1 5 9 , 1 8 4 , 2 0 0 n . 2 7 , trikaya (ThreeBodies) doctrine3940, 212,215 identin'1-59, 83,215; 1
Triratna see 'three refuges' trisuabhaua see Buddha, three narures doctrine

r89

and Nalanda universit;-59; Tarkaiastra 1. 62; Tr im ii kat' ii napt i kari ka 184; Trisuabhiuak" ka 184, 188. 1881 Vimiatikd 181

2 4 6. B u d d h A m o R r r N r R o D U C r o N issH

Vasumitra school154 Vatsiputriyas 154 (feeling,t 65, 1,33,221 uedana 32, Yed,anta 1.534 Vedas 75. 160.155-7 Vessantara, Prince20-1 Vibbaiga 155, 208 (monasteries) 63, 147,752, uibaras 62, 221 (consciousness) 55, uiifiana/uiiidna 32, 1.8s-8,221. Vikrama6ila university 191,215 62, Vinaya 39, 83, 93, 155, 757,221; breaches 30-1, 94,95; and of B u d d h i scto u n c i l 4 9 s vinayaPitaka9 n.9, 48, 55,207,209, 214; seealso Mahauagga Vipassani/Vipa6yand meditation 12, 1 r32, 134-5, 744,221 Vipa6yi/Vipas 20, 29-30 st perseveranceir 715 uiriya (energy; 79, paramitas; virtueseebrahma-uihara; sila uirya (heroism) 140, 144 Visuddhimagga 711, 172, 120, 1.21-3, 125, 125-31,21.1,275; and Abhidhamma157-8; and Vipassand meditation 134-5 Vi6vabhu/Vissabho 20 Vyakhyayukti 63 Wayman, 200 n.34 A. West, andknowledge Buddhism 8 of 3, n . 1 .2 6 - 7 n . 2 ,5 4 - 5 , 5 7 , 2 1 5 , Western Buddhism1-2 (bbauacakra\ Wheelof Becoming 12, 6 3 - 5 .6 4 . 2 1 7

V i l l i a m s ,P .2 4 , 4 4 n . 1 . 6 , ' 1 3 7 - 8 , 4 15 wisdom;oI rhe bodhisattua 146, 149: of the Buddha4, 20, 37, 9'1,, 101,, 139;seealso paiia/prajna women;as arahants/arhats 95,98, 1 1 5 ;i n e a r l yB u d d h i s r1 8 ,2 5 - 5 , n 4 9 , 5 5 , 8 2 ;a n d t h e S a n g h a 8 , 2 6 , 1 49- 82.95-8 words;asparticulars/universals 167-8; a n d r e a l i t y1 6 9 - 7 0 , 1 8 0 - 11 8 9 , World Buddhist Sangha Councils 37 worship (paibl; of Buddhaimages 24, 138 yab-yum figures 198 Yamaka 1,55-7,208 Yasa18 (wife of Gotama)14, Ya3odhara 25-6 h 59 Ya6omitra, hr.tdrt a 1, Sp yoga,in Yairayena1.924 Yogacara 39, 86-7 n.27, 1 534, 7, 1,81,-9, 202; alaya-uijfiana doctrine '1,87-8, 189-90;and Asanga182; 184, 185-9; central doctrines 1 ; h i s t o r y 8 2 - 5 , 2 1 5a n d Madhyamaka school184, 189-90; a n dm e d i t a t i o 4 1 , 1 9 0 ;a n d n 189-90;and the reconstruction docrrine Sangha tri-suabhaua 39; 188-9, 188, 190;and Trikaya 40; doctrine and Vajrayina185, 190; uijnapti-matrcta doctrine L85-7 Yuan ChwangseeHiuen Tsang