JIABS 12-1

THE JOURNAL

Of THE 'INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

BUDDHIST STUDIES

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Roger Jackson'

Dept, of Religion

Carleton College Northfield, MN 55057

EDITORS

Peter N. Gregory

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, illinois, USA

Alexander W, Macdonald

Universite de Paris X Nanterre, France

Steven Collins Concordia University

Montreal, Canada

Volume 12 1989

Ernst Steinkellner

University of Vienna Wien, Austria

Jikido Takasaki

University of Tokyo

Tokyo,japan

Robert Thurman Amherst College

Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Number 1

the watermarkTHE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION

OF BUDDHIST STUDIES, INC.

This Journal is the organ of the International Associatiorrof Buddhist Studies, Inc. It is governed by the objectives of the Association and accepts scholarly contributions pertaining to Buddhist Studies in all the various disciplines such as philosophy, history, religion, sociology, anthropology, art, archaeology, psychology, textual studies, etc. The ]lABS is published twice yearly in the summer and winter.

Manuscripts for publication (we mUst have two copies) and correspondence concerning articles should be submitted to the ]lABS editorial office at the address given below. Please refer to the guidelines for contributors to the ]lABS printed on the inside back cover of every issue. Books for review should also be sent to the address below. The Editors cannot guarantee to publish reviews of unsolicited books nor to return those books to the senders.

The Association and the Editors assume no responsibility for the views expressed by the authors in the Association's Journal and other related publications.

NOTE:.

New Editor's Address

Roger] ackson ]lABS do Dept. of Religion Carleton College Northfield, MN 55057 USA

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Andre Bareau (France) Joseph M. Kitagawa (USA)

M.N. Deshpande (India) Jacques May (Switzerland)

R. Card (USA) Hajime Nakamura (japan)

B.C. Cokhale (USA) John Rosenfield (USA)

John C. Huntington (USA) David Snellgrove (U.K.)

P.S. Jaini (USA) E. Zurcher (Netherlands)

Both the Editor and Association would like to thank Indiana University and Fairfield University for their financial support in the production of the Journal.

The Editors wish to thank Mr. Kevin Atkins for his invaluable help in the preparation of this issue.

Copyright © The International Association of Buddhist Studies 1989 ISSN: 0193-600X

Indexed in Religion Index One: Periodicals, American Theological Library Association, Chicago, available online through BRS (Bibliographic Retrieval Services), Latham, New York, and DIALOG Information Services, Palo Alto, California.

Composition by Publications Division, Grote Deutsch & Co., Madison, WI 53704. Printing by Thomson-Shore, Inc., Dexter, MI 48130.

CONTENTS

I. ARTICLES

1. Hodgson's Blind Alley? On the So-called Schools of Nepalese Buddhism by David N. Gellner· 7

2. Truth, Contradiction and Harmony in Medieval Japan: Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348) and Buddhism by Andrew Goble 21

3. The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramartha Composed the Awakening of Faith by William H. Grosnick 65

4. Asanga's Understanding of Madhyamika: Notes on the Shung-chung-Iun by John P. Keenan 93

5. Mahayana Vratas in NewarBuddhism by Todd L. Lewis 109

6. The Kathavatthu Niyama Debates by James P. McDermott 139

II. SHORT PAPERS

1. A Verse from the Bhadracarfprarpidhiina in a 10th Century Inscription found at Nalanda by Gregory Schopen 149

2. A Note on the Opening Formula of Buddhist Siitras by Jonathan A. Silk 158

III. BOOK REVIEWS

1. Die Frau im frilhen Buddhismus, by Renata Pitzer-Reyl (Vijitha Rajapakse) 165

2. Alayavijiiiina: On the Origin and the Early·Development of a Central Concept of Yogiiciira Philosophy by Lambert Schmithausen (Paul J. Griffiths) 170

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 178

Hodgson's Blind Alley? On the So-Called Schools of Nepalese Buddhism

by David N. Gellner

The way in which textbooks come to be written perhaps deserves more attention than it generally receives in the history of ideas. This short article explores one persistent mistake which has appeared in numerous textbooks on Buddhism down to the present day.' In these textbooks it is written that there are four schools of Nepalese Buddhism, each named after the doctrine it espouses. 2 The authority cited for this is Brian Houghton Hodgson. In fact this is a mistake twice over: no such schools exist or ever have existed; the idea that Hodgson asserted their existence is based on a misunderstanding of what he wrote.

Nepalese Buddhism, that is, the Buddhism of the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, ought to have an important place in Buddhist studies. The Newars are the last surviving South Asians who practise Indian Mahayana Buddhism, whose sacred and liturgical language is Sanskrit, and whose rituals are directly descended from those evolved in North India during the heyday of Indian Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Brian Hodgson spent more than twenty years in the Kathmandu Valley between 1821 and 1843, and for most of that time he was the British Resident (representative of the East India Company to the court of Nepal).3

N early all the Sanskrit manuscripts of Buddhist texts come from Nepal; as is well known, it was the manuscripts that Hodgson sent to Paris which enabled Burnouf to undertake the first modern study of Mahayana Buddhism. Hodgson was not a Sanskrit scholar and did not study these texts himself. Through his friend and parJJtit Amrtananda he did however carry out much that would today count as fieldwork, though under very

7

8 ]IABS VOL. 12 NO.1

restrictive circumstances. (As British Resident his movements were limited and closely watched by the Nepalese authorities.) Hodgson's writings on Buddhism were initiq.lly considered as an authoritative source on Buddhism as such.4 Later, once Buddhist scholarship was established in Europe, Hodgson's work came to be regarded merely as a guide to Nepalese Buddhism. Furthermore, this form of Buddhism came to be seen as an unimportant oddity.

Some more historically-minded scholars did realize that Nepalese Buddhism was representative of late Indian Buddhism. It was for this reason that Sylvain Levi came to the Kathmandu Valley in 1898 and wrote his history of Nepal, originally published in 1905 and recently re-issued, as a prelude to writing the history of the whole of South Asia. Nepal or the Kathmandu Valley (the two terms were, until recently, synonymous) was, Levi wrote, "India in the making" (1905 I: 28). One could observe "as in a laboratory" the relationship of late Buddhism to Hinduism and Hindu kingship, a dynamic process which in India eventually resulted in the absorption of Buddhism by Hinduism.5 Because of the difficulty of gaining access to Nepal before 1951, and subsequently because of the complexity of Newar culture, scholars have been slow to follow Levi's lead. Since the 1970s, however, an increasing amount of work has been done. 6

This work seems not to have made much impact on the general world of Buddhist studies. Consequently, one still finds repeated the old idea, for which Hodgson is wrongly cited as authority, that there are different schools of Nepalese Buddhism. The present article is intended therefore to alert buddhologists to the fact that no such schools exist, or ever have existed. The idea that they do arose from a misreading of Hodgson's original intention, which was to describe Buddhist schools of thought, not schools of Nepalese Buddhism. The mistaken idea that there are schools of Nepalese Buddhism has been repeated, parrot-like, in one textbook after another. Even where this particular mistake is not made, Nepalese Buddhism is frequently and quite misleadingly treated as an adjunct of Tibetan Buddhism. 7

Buddhist studies owe a great debt to Hodgson for the manuscripts he sent back to Europe. At that time very little was known

HODGSON'S BLIND ALLEY? 9

about Buddhism in the West. Not surprisingly, therefore, he wished to establish what the principal Buddhist doctrines were. After working with his BuddhistPa~(iit, Am:rtananda, Hodgson thought he had found the answer. He wrote:

Speculative Buddhism embraces four very distinct systems of opinion respecting the origin of the world, the nature of a first cause, and the nature and destiny of the soul. These systems are denominated, from the diagnostic tenet of each, Swabhavika, Aiswarika, Yatnika, and Karmika ... (Hodgson 1972 [1874] I: 23).

According to Hodgson, the Svabhavika system explains everything by the power "inherent in matter" (ibid.), i.e., svabhiiva; Buddhahood is achieved by understanding the nature of the universal law. Hodgson identified as a sub-system. of Svabhavika the Prajnika school: those who conceived of the ultimate as prajiiii or wisdom. Both of these systems denied "a single, immaterial, self-conscious being, who gave existence and order to matter by volition" (ibid.). By contrast .

the Aiswarikas admit of immaterial essence, and of a" supreme, infinite arid self-existent Deity (Adi Buddha) whom some of them consider as the sole deity and cause of all things, while others associate with him a coequal and eternal material principle; believing that all things proceeded from the joint operation of these two principles (op. cit.: 25).

The final two schools, the Karmika and the Yatnika, Hodgson believed to be more recent than the others, and he argued that they must have arisen

to rectify that extravagant quietism, which, in the other schools, stripped the powers above, (whether considered as of material. or immaterial nature,) of all personality, providence and dominion; and man of all his active energies and duties. Assuming as just, the more general principles of their predecessors, they seem to have directed their chief attention to the phaenomena of human nature, to have been struck with its free will, and the distinction between its cogitative and sensitive powers, and to have sought to prove, notwithstanding the necessary moral law

10 JIABS VOL. 12 NO.1

of their first teachers, that the felicity of man must be secured, . either by the proper culture of his moral sense, which was the

sentiment of the Karmikas, or, by the just conduct of his understanding, a conclusion which the Yatnikas preferred (op.cit.: 26).

In one textbook after another scholars have followed Hodgson without applying thought or analysis to what he wrote. One after another they have repeated that there are four schools of Buddhism in Nepal. For a long time I was puzzled by these statements, for they have no connection whatever with the actual state of affairs in Nepal.

A careful reading of Hodgson's text makes it clear what the status of these "schools" really was. Hodgson writes in a note, when he first introduces the schools:

My Baudda pandit assigned these titles [of the schools] to the Extract made from his Sastras, and always used them in his discussions with me. Hence I erroneously presumed them to be derived from the Sastras, and preferable to Madyamika, &c., which he did not use, and which, though the scriptural denominations, were postponed to those here used on his authority as being less diagnostic. In making these extracts we ought to reach the leading doctrines, and therein I think we succeeded (op. cit.: 23).

This makes it quite clear that the schools were invented by Hodgson's pmp;iit, Amrtinanda. Furthermore, I think it is possible to understand why he invented them. The Kathmandu Valley has never had sufficient resources to support large monasteries of celibate monks pursuing a curriculum of philosophical study, as had existed in India and grew up in Tibet. Consequently, although Amrt~manda was very learned, he had no knowledge of the different philosophical systems of Mahayana Buddhism. Hodgson, his employer, plied him with questions, such as "What is matter, and what is spirit?," "Is matter an independent existence, or derived from God?" and "What is the cause of good and evil?"8 Amrtananda evidently fell in with his employer's way of thinking and readily systematized the different elements of Buddhist doctrine he knew into separate "schools."

The first two "schools" (the Svabhavika and Aisvarika) he

HODGSON'S BLIND ALLEY? II

derived by a misunderstanding of the Buddhacarita. These two doctrines are mentioned in a passage where the minister of the young Buddha-to-be's father is trying to persuade him to return from the forest and, if he must pursue his religious vocation, to do so as king. The religious positions the minister is describing are in fact non-Buddhist doctrines which Sarvarthasidda (the future Buddha) rejects as inadequate.

Having wrongly accepted that these two positions were Buddhist, Hodgson supposed that the other schools-which he and Amrtananda derived from genuinely Buddhist doctrines-arose subsequently and in reaction to them (as quoted above). Thus, of the other "schools" the Prajnika or wisdom school represents the Buddhist view that wisdom is the ultimate, equivalent to nirvar;,a or liberation; the Karmika school represents the Buddhist axiom that within this world everything is determined by one's karma; and the Yatnika school represents the Buddhist belief that karma is determined by the individual's intentions, which it is always open to beings to improve upon. These three, far from being alternatives, are integral parts of the most basic and universal Buddhist teachings.

Evidently, on its initial appearance in 1828, Hodgson's description of Nepalese Buddhist schools excited some scepticism,9

because eight years later he published "proofs" in the shape of "quotations from original Sanskrit authorities" (Hodgson 1972 I: 73f.). Among the quotations illustrating the Svabhavika system are the three verses of the Buddhacarita (ix.E 1-3 in Johnston 1972) already referred to. There are also two quotations whose force depends on a misunderstanding of the phrase svabhavasuddha, free of essence, and an inversion of its meaning as 'governed by' or 'regulated by' svabhava (op. cit.: 73, 75). Similarly, the verses given in support of the Aisvarika doctrine include a mistranslation of a famous Buddhist verse so that the Attained One (tathagata) instead of explaining the cause of all things, is the cause of all things. 1o

The other quotations Hodgson gives do all seem to represent genuine Buddhist doctrines, although their source is not always correctly identified and their translation is unreliable. There is no need to see them as representing separate "schools." -In his quotations Hodgson gives separate space to the doctrines of Adi-Buddha, Adi-Dharma and Adi-Sa:rp.gha, that is, the first


or ultimate Buddha, Dharma and Sarp.gha. Most of the verses on the Adi-Buddha come from the Namasa'f(tgZti,l1 on the AdiDharma from the Prajiiaparamita 12 and the few on the AdiSarp.gha from the GU1Jakarar.u;lavyuha. Hodgson was right to see the first and last of these as late, theistic developments. . Even within Newar Buddhism, however, the doctrine of the

Adi-:-Buddha does not have the importance that many have, on Hodgson's authority, assumed. (The terms 'Adi-Dharma' and 'Adi-Sarp.gha,' evidently Hodgson's and Amrtananda's inventions, have, quite rightly, been forgotten.) One can see how books get written by comparing the following passages describing Newar Buddhism. Oldfield was the British Residency surgeon from 1850 to 1863. His Sketches of Nepal summarizes Hodgson's schools of Buddhism and, true to Hodgson's intentions though without his caution, calls them "various systems of speculative Buddhism" "propounded by the early Buddhist teachers" (Oldfield 1981 [1880] II: 86). Oldfield describes the history of Buddhism with a certainty and forthrightness uninhibited by any knowledge of his subject; he concludes:

The system of Theology taught in the Buddhist scriptures of Nipal [sic] is essentially monotheistic, and is based upon a belief in the Divine Supremacy of Adi Buddha, as the sole and self-existent spirit pervading the universe (op.cit.: Ill).

Writing fifty years later, Landon defines Newar Buddhist belief in the same way:

According to the later and now dominant school there are five greater manifestations (Dhyani Buddhas) of the one Essential Buddha (Adi Buddha) ... (Landon 1976 [1928] II: 219).

Finally, in the 1960s; the anthropologist Gopal Singh Nepali writes:

At its higher level, Newar Buddhism is essentially monotheistic and is based on the belief in one supreme God, that is Adi Buddha ... (Nepali 1965: 289).

The case of the four schools discussed above is simple: they·


do riot exist. The question of the Adi-Buddha is more complex. The term is indeed used by Newar Buddhists, usually as an epithet of Svayambhu, the holiest stupa of the Valley. According to the local religious histories derived from the Svayambhu Purii:r;,a, the Svayambhu stupa was the first thing to appear out of the lake which the Valley used to be. More rarely, the term "Adi-Buddha" is used as an epithet of the Buddha Dipankara. In both these cases the prefix "Adi-" is often understood in temporal terms. It is true that in some contexts and in certain moods Newar Buddhists are inclined to a position which sees all divine beings as one; but they do not call this one-ness AdiBuddha. I doubt very much whether this should be called monotheism; pantheism is probably a better description. It is also true that some of the texts of the Newar Buddhists, notably the Gur;akararyjavyuha, describe the creation myth onto which these three writers cited have fastened. This myth coexists with other alternative accountsY In any case, no Newar Buddhist would think of introducing his or her religion by saying that they believe in a supreme deity called Adi-Buddha who created the world in such-and-such a way. In general they have a proper Buddhist indifference to the question of the creation of the world.

Once again a scholarly tradition has been created by Hodgson's reliance on Western categories. Once again, Hodgson's text has been used as a source but his intentions have been misunderstood. In fact Hodgson nowhere asserts that belief in the Adi-Buddha is the most fundamental of Newar Buddhism's tenets; nor does he say that the Aisvarika school is dominant in Nepal. The three authors cited on Nepal have failed to appreciate that Hodgson was attempting to reconstruct "dogmatic" schools of the past on the basis of (mainly liturgical) texts in use at his time. Hodgson would have agreed that certain texts, such as the Namasar(l,giti, the Gury,kiirar;davyuha and the Svayambhu Purar;a, presuppose the Aisvarika doctrine; but he would never have made the crude and misleading assertions of our three experts on Nepal.

One scholar who comes well out of this is E.J. Thomas. He alone looked closely at Hodgson's text. He wrote:

[Hodgson] set a questionnaire, arranged according to his own


ideas of theology, often with leading questions .... It was no wonder that the answers he obtained seemed to him "a sad jumble of cloudy metaphysics," and that Burnouf was surprised that he could not discover in his manuscripts anything like the "Bauddha system" as described by Hodgson. Yet scholars continue to use his terms, some of which, like dhyani-buddha, have never been found outside his writings (Thomas 1933: 247-8) ..

Thomas was closer to the mark than he knew with the term dhyani-buddha. Not only has it no justification in Buddhist scripture, it has no justification in N ewari usage either. It has gained wide currency solely through the combination of Hodgson's influence and the inertia of textbook tradition. The questionnaire Thomas refers to (see Hodgson 1972 I: 41-53) does indeed contain leading questions. For all that, if used with care, it does contain material of value.

Hodgson was ahead of his time in understanding that sunyata does not mean "nothingness" (op. cit.: 26). Unfortunately his many correct interpretations on matters of detail are overshadowed by his having followed his parpjit Amrtananda in hypostasizing two non-Buddhist schools and three perfectly compatible Buddhist doctrines into five separate, non-existent "schools" of Buddhist doctrine.

Those who followed and made use of Hodgson's writings were, if anything, guilty of a worse error. They assumed, although evidence to the contrary was there before them, that Hodgson was describing schools of Nepalese Buddhism he had observed in operation. In fact he was trying to reconstruct schools of Buddhist philosophy on the basis of manuscripts which were not philosophical but devotional in intention. Probably the writers of the textbooks on Buddhism mentioned above simply followed one another. Since none of them had ever been to Nepal and few made use of Levi's work (which tactfully ignores Hodgson's schools), they had no reason to doubt what they saw in previous texbooks. Since Hodgson's schools bore no relation to what had by then been discovered to be the true state of affairs where Buddhist doctrinal disputes were concerned, it was naturally assumed that Hodgson must have been describing Nepalese schools of Buddhism, a pseudo-fact which was taken as further evidence of the supposed degeneracy of Nepalese Buddhism.


Hodgson says that the titles of these "schools" were his paTJdit's invention. But did Hodgson perhaps suggest to Amrtananda the concepts he got back from him, by his insistent questions on doctrine? The answer, if it can be found so long after the event, lies buried in Hodgson's voluminous papers in the India Office library. For those interested in Nepalese Buddhism, there is undoubtedly much else to be discovered there as well.

NOTES

1. I would like to thank R.F. Gombrich and D.P. Martinez for comments on an earlier draft of this article. My own research in Nepal, 1982-4, could not have been undertaken without the support of a Leverhulme Study Abroad Studentship.

2. See Monier-Williams (1890: 204), Kern (1896: 134), La Vallee Poussin (1908: 93), Keith (1923: 301), Getty (1928: 2-3), Glasenapp (1936: 110), Dasgupta (1962: 340-1; 1974: 97-8), Bareau (1966: 210), Pal (1974: 13) and Snelling (1987: 218). Surprisingly, Hodgson's schools are even recorded by the Nepalese historian D.R. Regmi (1965 1: 569) who, while he does not endorse their existence, expresses no overt skepticism about them either..

3. On Hodgson'S life see Hunter (1896) and Philip Denwood's introduction to Hodgson (1972). Hodgson was assistant Resident from 1825 to 1833 and Resident from 1833 to 1843.

4. Hunter (1896: 276) describes how "Hodgson's first essays [on Buddhism] produced an extraordinary sensation in Europe."

5. In the colourful language of Vincent Smith (1924: 382): "the chief interest which [Nepal] offers to some students is the opportunity presented by it for watching the manner in which the octopus of Hinduism is slowly strangling its Buddhist victim." Fortunately, the frequent announcements of the death of Newar Buddhism have been premature.

6. The single most important source is Locke (1980). His other works (1975, 1985, 1987) should also be consulted. The best introduction to the cultural history of the Valley, although disappointing on Buddhism, is Slusser (1982). Anthropological work has been done by M. Allen (1973,1975,1983), Greenwold (1974a, 1974b) and recently by Lienhard (1978,1984,1985,1986) and myself (Gellner 1986, 1987b, 1988a, 1988b, 1989c). Greater detail can be found in unpublished Ph.D.s by Riley-Smith (1982), Lewis (1984) and Gellner (1987a). An important historical source is Kolver and Sakya (1985). Riccardi (1980) summarizes what is known from inscriptions about the early history of Buddhism in Nepal.

7. Thus Robinson and Johnson (1977: 186) write that "Buddhism finally became syncretized with Tantric Hinduism and today no longer exists as a separate religion in Nepal, except for small minorities who still consider themselves Buddhists. Its vestiges (prayer wheels and flags, stu pas) are found


today in the country's popular religion." This is quite untrue. Buddhism among the Newars "has a separate organizational existence. It is not correct to describe it as merely popular. Prayer wheels and prayer flags, far from being "vestiges," are recent borrowings on the Newars' part, usually erected by those who have spent time in Tibet.

8. See Hodgson (1972 I: 41-52), for Hodgson's questions and Amrtananda's answers. The sketch of Buddhism contained therein is, as Hodgson thought, valuable, but the persistent focus on doctrine enabled Hodgson to project his imaginary schools onto the answers.

"9. Cf. Hunter (1896: 279-80) for mention of two controversies Hodgson became involved in.

10. Ye dharma hetuprabhava hetu'T{/- te~a'T{/- tathagatol hy avadat te~a'T{/- ca yo nirodha eva'T{/-vadimahasramal}. Hodgson (op. cit.: Illf.) was aware of the other, correct translation. Apparently it was Amrtananda who insisted, in certain moods, on the theistic interpretation.

11. Thus Hodgson's quotations, 6, 7,12,13,14,15, and 16 documenting the Adi-Buddha doctrine correspond to verses 46, 47, 43-4, 44-5,59,60 and 61 respectively of the Namasa'T{/-giti (see Davidson 1981).

12. On the Adi-Dharma Hodgson's quotations 4 throu,gh 11 correspond to verses 2, 3,4, 7, 9, 13, 17 and 19 respectively of Rahulabhadra's Prajnaparamita-stotra (Conze 1959: 169-71). Hodgson gives the Ntasahasrika-prajnaparamita as the source; the verses are indeed usually cited before the beginning of that work. (See Vaidya ed. 1960: 1-2, where they are ascribed to NagaIjuna).

13. See Hodgson (1971 I: 43-4) for some of them.

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--- (1985). The Buddhist Monasteries of Nepal: A Survey of the Bahiis and Bahls of the Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu: Sahayogi.

--- (1987). "The Upo~adha Vrata of Amoghapasa LokeSvara in Nepal," L'Ethnographie LXXXIII, 100/101: 159-89.

Monier-Williams M.M. (1890). Buddhism in its Connexion with Brahmanism and Hinduism and its contrast with Christianity. London: John Murray. 2nd ed.

Nepali G.S. (1965). The Newars, An ethnosociological study of a Himalayan community. Bombay: United Asia Publications.

Oldfield H.A. (1981). Sketchesfrom Nepal (2 vols.). Delhi: Cosmo Publications. First pubd. 1880.

Pal P. (1974). The Arts of Nepal, vol. i: Sculpture. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Regmi D.R. (1965). Medieval Nepal (4 vols.). Calcutta: Firma K.L.M. Riccardi T. (1980). "Buddhism in Ancient and Early Medieval Nepal," in A.K.

Narain ed. Studies in the History of Buddhism. Delhi: B.R. Publishing House. Riley-Smith T. (1982). Buddhist God-Makers of the Kathmandu Valley. An An

thropological Approach to Nepalese Art. Unpublished Ph.D., Cambridge U niversity.

Robinson R.H. and W.L. Johnson (1977). The Buddhist Religion, A Historical introduction. 2nd ed. Encino and Belmon't, California: Dickenson.

Slusser M.S. (1982). Nepal Mandala, A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley. Princeton University Press. 2 vols.

Smith V.A. (1924). The Early History of india, 4th revised ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Snelling J. (1987). The Buddhist Handbook, A Complete Guide to Buddhist Teaching and Practice, History and Schools. London: Century.


Thomas E.J. (1933). The History of Buddhist Thought. London: Kegan Paul. Vaidya P.L. ed. (1960). A~tasiihasTika Prajiiiipiiramitii with Haribhadra's commen

tary called Aloka. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute Buddhist Sanskrit texts 4.

Truth, Contradiction and Harmony in Medieval Japan: Emperor Hanazono (1297~1348) and Buddhism

by Andrew Goble

I. Introduction

The thirteenth century witnessed an explosion of Buddhist thought that articulated two quite distinct philosophical approaches. One, represented by the two schools of Zen (Rinzai and Soto), stressed self-discipline and the quest for enlightenment; the other, represented by various popular sects (Pure Land, True Pure Land, Lotus Sect,Ji or Timely) articulated the philosophy of salvation through external grace. l Both of these developments represented a move outside of the framework within which the traditional schools, with their enormous sacral and secular influence, had contained these philosophies as subsidiary currents within their own teaching traditions. N onetheless, the "older Buddhism" (as it is often referred to), particularly that of the Tendai school centered at Enryakuji on Mt. Hiei, actually weathered the assault rather well. True, Enryakuji's defense of its position was sometimes conducted in the basest secular terms (the desecration of Honen's tomb and the attempt to dismember the body and throw the pieces into the Kamo River being perhaps the most graphic example); but the temple complex as a center of theory managed to maintain its overall eclecticism and continued to exercise a strong influence as a viable and integral part of the philosophical world. In otherwords, Kamakura Buddhism was not monopolized by the newer schools which have traditionally drawn the attention of western scholars.2

The philosophical world of medieval Japan (here the 12th

21


through 16th centuries, though other periodizations are possible) was a rich and multifaceted one. In the political and ethical realms Chinese thought continued to exercise an extremely strong influence; "native" Shinto thought experienced a strong resurgence; numerous streams of Buddhism (as noted) were in full flow; and in addition there were several widely acknowledged "cultural" concepts-mappa, the age of degeneration; muja, the idea of impermanence; and michi, the idea and practice of following a particular path through which is revealed universal truths and understanding-which could easily take on lives of their own (this is particularly evident in literature). It is possible, for heuristic purposes, to regard each element on its own, but it is evident that, even should we come across dissonance and contradiction among any of these, they were regarded by medieval Japanese as coexisting without inherent contradiction since it was generally assumed that each represented an equally valid approach to the truths of the world which could be apprehended by humans in their relativity.

While the subtle interweaving of all of these elements in the medieval mind provides· immense intellectual fascination, there still remains the question of just how people would apprehend and incorporate a plethora of alternatives. The Buddhist world provided a multiplicity of choice; but how would one respond to this when seeking to discover the essence of Buddha's teaching and how would one apply these to one's own beliefs? In contrast to this observation, we might also note that for most people this may not have been an intellectually demanding problem: those outside of the educated elite were essentially unaware of the varying subtleties of doctrine; the aristocracy combined, according to ability and preference, a mixture of ceremony, esoteric ritual, study, and Amidist faith with some facility in order to confront existential religious matters; and it is certainly evident that many clerics, even if they studied widely, did not advance their comprehension of doctrine too far beyond the parameters of the teaching tradition in which they were trained, a state of affairs not enhanced with the emergence of the new schools which, given the strong tradition of factionalism and restriction on the dissemination of knowledge which characterized Japanese intellectual life, served to restrict communication and discussion even further.

EMPEROR HANAZONO AND BUDDHISM 23

. On the other hand, it is evident that the majority of the seminal religious figures of the 13th and 14th centuries (Hanen, Shinran, Nichiren, Dagen, Muso Soseki, to name a few) had all received extensive textual training-importantly, in the Tendai tradition~from which they had been moved to pursue or emphasize specific elements of the wider corpus in response to what they separately defined as the major religious and philosophical concerns of their age. However, while the writings of these figures may be studied in an effort to understand the development of their thought, the crises or turning points in their growth, there are very few sources available to help us understand how educated individuals incorporated, rejected or modified the religious and philosophical heritage to which they were heir. This is unfortunate since, among other things, it prevents a full understanding of the actual manner in which Buddhist thought came, through individual minds, to exercise its undisputed and enormous influence on medieval Japan. It is possible to recreate these influences through an examination of extant materials, and some recent original and creative work in this area has provided some idea of both the "finger" and the "moon".3 What I propose to do in this paper is to take some preliminary steps in a complementary area; that is, examine the response to Buddhism-how it came to be studied, what texts were engaged, what was understood from those texts, and what were some resulting intellectual acquisitions-of an articulate intellectual with a deep philosophical interest who is not regarded as a thinker per se, but whose activities left an enduring legacy on medieval culture, emperor Hanazono (1297-1348).

II. H anazono and His Quest

Hanazono's life spanned a period of momentous intellectual, political and social changes which in many areas served as the catalayst for the high point of the medieval age.4 He acceded to the Imperial rank in 1308, and remained emperor until 1318 when he was forced to "transfer sovereignty" because of a major succession dispute then wracking the Imperial family. In the last three decades of his life he played a major role in the cultural and literary spheres as he sought answers to pressing existential

24 ]IABSVOL.12NO.l

and ethical questions. His contributions in these areas were seminal. He was one of the few literary figures of the fourteenth century to react to social changes and seek to produce a new poetic form that would encompoass those changes, and thereby attempt to retain for the aristocracy its leadership in the cultural realm; his active patronage of one stream of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, the Otokan school, played a major role in its early growth, and thus contributed to its later emergence as the leading Rinzai school; and it is to Hanazono that we owe the articulation of what has come to be seen as the prevailing concept of medieval sovereignty.5 Hanazono, unlike other medieval figures whose contributions to the period can be more readily identified, did not produce (as far as we are aware) a corpus of literary or religious writings, or something that could be regarded as a seminal work. However, he was a talented, well-connected and prolific poet; as we know, this was an area of endeavor in medieval Japan in which the literary and the religious were inextricably bound. 6 He has also left us a fascinating diary (1311-1332)/ a text that is one of the most complete sources available for the study of the philosophical and psychological development of an individual prior to the 16th century. It is also one of the prime cultural and historical documents of the entire medieval age.

Hanazono's status as emperor (and ex-emperor) enabled him to establish contact with almost all traditions, schools of thought, and with a wide variety of masters, teachers and mentors that was probably without parallel. The assumptions underlying the acquisition and transmission of knowledge-that it ought to be secret, restricted and restrictive, and place stress upon hereditary prerogatives to that knowledge-meant that most people could become directly familiar with only parts of their cultural heritage. By contrast, Hanazono was one of the few medieval Japanese with virtually unrestricted access, should he choose to exercise that prerogative, to almost the entire corpus of knowledge that comprised his intellectual heritage. Hanazono took full advantage of this opportunity. In seeking, in essence, a key to understand himself and the world that would provide him with a sure guide as he passed through life, Hanazono read extensively (over 100 separate works) in Japanese and Chinese historical and literary texts and in Chinese

EMPERORHANAZONOANDBUDDHISM 25

and -Buddhist philosophical works. He pursued more than one area at a time, and was thus simultaneously and constantly subject to a variety of information,traditions arid interpretations. I have gone into aspects of this elsewhere,8 but it ought to be borne in mind that Buddhism was not the only path he took in order to discover eternally valid truths. Nevertheless, Buddhism was never anything but central to his quest. -

More than 40 of the over 100 identifiable works that were read by Hanazorio were Buddhist ones. 9 To name just a few, he perused the Dainichi kyo (Great Sun Sutra), the Hoke kyo (The Lotus Sutra) , the Saishoo kyo (Sidra of the Golden Light), the Shin kyo (Heart Sutra), the works of Kiikai, Chih-i's Mo-ho-chih-kuanl Maka shikan (Great Calming and Contemplation), the Hekiganroku (Blue Cliff Record), the Chiatai Puteng lu (Chiatai Record of the Universal Lamps), the Shosan jodo kyo (Sutra in Praise of the Pure Land), the Amida kyo (Amitiibha Sutra), Honen's Senjaku [hongan nembutsuJ shu (Collection of Passages [on the Original Vow of Amida)), and works on Sanskrit and Chinese Buddhist terminology. This is not an unimpressive list. The inclusion of both the classics of Japanese Buddhism and more recent, even contemporary, works suggest that his study was dynamic rather than arcane. But as will become evident, not all of the texts which he read were to exert an equal influence on him. Up to a point of course this is what we would expect when considering the general process of individual intellectual development. In addition to this, however, in Hanazono's case there is an extra point to consider; namely, the fact that as a member of the Imperial family it was incumbent upon him to become normatively familiar with certain basic texts, and the cumulative, unconsciously reinforcing, influence exerted by such writing~ needs to be balanced by the more conscious influence that derived from texts that Hanazono chose to study for his own personal edification and enlightenment. In short, there were disparate purposes behind Hanazono's study. This also meant that Hanazono pursued severalintellectual streams at one and the same time, an ongoing dialogue in which he was constant re-evaluating his understanding and his progress. As valuable and natural as this was- to Hanazono, we will pursue his encounter with Buddhism from a more heuristic perspective.


III. The Early Period

Hanazono began formal study of Buddhism in 1313, at the age of 16, when he received instruction in Shingon doctrine and on siltras such as the Jizo hongan kyo (The Siltra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbhti). 10 It is also from this period that Hanazono initiated the daily practices for amassing merit that he was to pursue diligently for the rest of his life. Every morning (except when he was sick) he would, before eating any fish (that is, animal flesh), perform his devotions, which consisted of reading siltras and engaging in chanting and the recitation of mantras; and when he inadvertently ate fish he would abstain from reading the siltras. I I For the first decade or so he skip-read (tendoku) the Lotus Siltra and the Saishookyo, and then in the third month of 1322 he transferred his attentition to the Vimalakfrti (Yuima) and La1ikavatara (Ryoga) siltras becallse, as he noted, he wanted to try and read the entire corpus (issaikyo) of Buddhism. 12 In addition to these specific practices, throughout his life Hanazono participated in the religious observances and events that were a customary part of the ceremonial life of the Imperial sphere, such as readings and lectures on specified siltras (notably the Saishookyo), lectures on various aspects of the Law, debates between representatives of different schools, and expositions by members of particular schools. 13 While it is not clear precisely what Hanazono (or anyone else for that matter) may have incorporated through this process, his occasional record of the questions addressed gives us some idea of his concerns. Accordingly, we can at the minimum assume that points of doctrine were in this way made familiar to him, as would have been the belief that Buddhism was integral to the continuing existence of both the polity and the nation.

Through 1318 Hanazono's contact with Buddhism followed this standard path: no exceptional training, no particular inkling of a desire to inquire more deeply into underlying doctrine, and no recorded contact with the leading figures of the religious world. Hanazono was, after all, quite young, and as Emperor had his days filled with the demands of protocol and ceremony that usually so exhausted sovereigns that they were only too glad to abdicate and enter into a fulfilling retirement. Indeed, as with most young emperors, Hanazono was rarely, if ever,


consulted on decisions that directly affected his life. Normally this was not of major import. However, Hanazono lived in tur~ bulent times, and his period in the Imperial rank was beset with entanglements and dissension-within Hanazono's jimyo-in branch of the Imperial family, between that branch and the Daikakuji branch of Go-Uda and Go-Daigo, between both branches and the hereditary nobility, and between the Court and the Kamakura bakufu-that went far beyond the range of normal political competition, and were ultimately to prove epochal. It cannot have been a particularly enjoyable period for the sensitive and retiring Hanazono, and the train of events which culminated in his forced abdication in 1318 were, despite his efforts to convince himself otherwise, clearly quite traumatic. 14 His diary and some of his poetry immediately thereafter indicate that he was beset by a pronounced mood of pessimism in the depths of which he sought desperately to define his own existence. Some measure of his mood may be gained from the following entry from his diary. 15

Last night my beri-beri broke out once again and today it became increasingly worse ... Even though I have been taking treatment for the past two or three years, I have not yet noticed that it has been doing any good. For many years I have been afflicted by illness; certainly there is much illness in my body. By nature I am retiring. Though from when I was a young child I have much desired to retire from the world I have not yet been able to accomplish that which is pent up in my breast. What could compare to this for the depth of disappointment? My vitality is exceedingly weak. Since I think that this body will have but a short life, in my heart I think that I will study the Dharma, yet my actions and my heart are at odds ... Nevertheless it would not do to suddenly flee the world. My grieving at the depth of my foolish nature knows no limit. Certainly with the floating existence of evanescence and transience, who lives as long as the pine or the camellia? Even a fish in insufficient water has this. impressed upon its liver. Even though my desire to leave lay life deepens with the years, futilely I am drawn into the affairs of the world. Though feelings of shame and remorse arise of themselves, these feelings are not enough to accomplish this [goal]. If my faith was deep, how would worldly matters weary me? It is said that famous retirees from the world whose faith cannot be ground down are to be found in the morning markets. [But]


for someone. stupid like myself my resolve is too shallow and pitiful. The dust of the world easily bothers me. Often, because I am ill, I consider fleeing the world, yet my resolve is not up to this. How saddening! The Buddhas and Heaven with their clear vision must wonder what it is that I want to do. The day ends and I have aimlessly accomplished nothing. I relate what is pent up in my heart.

Clearly, Hanazono was a troubled youngman lacking much confidence in himself. However, the circumstances of his abdication and his new status as ex-emperor provided him with both the time and the predilection to delve into the broader questions of life. In view of Hanazono's state of mind it comes as no surprise perhaps that he would seek refuge in the teachings of the Buddha, and that he would be receptive to the possiblity that his problems could be solved by something outside himself. Just after New Year of 1319 the gloom began to lift: 16

Today at daybreak I had an auspicious dream that I shall achieve rebirth (0)0) [in the Pure Land]. This is the most fundamental desire in my heart. On two occasions in previous years I have had this felicitous dream. And now I have had it yet again. But, does this mean that the time is near? My feelings of joy are without limit. From this day I shall in particular think of the future life (gose). This dream I dare not speak about with others, since my joy is so great.

As Hanazono notes, this was not the first time he had had intimations of such a favorable future. Ii But why was it so significant? On one level educated Japanese subscribed to the Buddhist (and Chinese) notion that the distinction between "real" and "unreal" was an ambiguous one; that is, both were equally real (or unreal). Accordingly, dreams provided entirely valid guides to contact with the non-phenomenal world, and to the ordering of one's life. Dreams could provide the rationale or impetus for major changes in one's lifecourse, and indeed records of the dreams of major figures were considered to be quite profound texts. IH Thus, quite apart from his own particular state of mind, it was entirely natural for Hanazono to give this dream (and others we will encounter) credence. And the following day, having decided to study some "inner texts" (naiten), he started


reading one of the most important Amidist works, Genshin's Ojjoshil (Essentials of Rebirth). 19

Over the course of the next nine months Hanazono acquainted himself with this text, possibly with others as well, and apparently discussed Amidist beliefs with representatives of that sect. As attractive as the promise of salvation must have been, Hanazono became quite disturbed by the broader implications of Amidist thought for the Japanese intellectual and cultural tradition: it was, he realized, unashamedly exclusive in its approach to truth. His reaction to this provides considerable insight; it also suggests that his basic attitude towards the diversity of Buddhist thought, and the importance of intellectual engagement of its doctrines, had been formed by this time:

The nembutsu sect which is currently popular is called the Ikko senshu. Solely they have abolished all other practices and their only one is the nembutsu. Even though the principle of reliance upon external salvation is certainly a most appropriate one, [they hold that] teachings and practices of the Greater and Smaller vehicles, their expedient and their secret teachings (gonkyo mitsukyo) , their exoteric and the esoteric teachings, are all useless and should be discarded. How sad! How sad! For this reason I am desirous of restoring both sects of Tendai and Shingon. However, I have not yet been able to achieve the meditation practices of the five-fold meditation (goso) or the three esoteric practices (sanmitsuitri-guhya), nor have I yet developed the power for wisdom and concentration [necessary] to pursue the middle path of focused intellect (shikan childo no chijo ryoku). Consequently for the present I shall make the nembutsu my activity for salvation. Meeting with the Amida I shall carry out the depths of the Law. But I will not discard training and devotion entirely, and should I become able to contemplate undistractedly I shall discard the nembutsu.

Thus, while Amidism provided one answer to the problems of existence, it did so at the cost of doing violence to a much. more fundamental belief, namely, that various teachings were equally valid manifestations of the Buddha's truths, and to reject this notion was, in effect, to invalidate japan's entire intellectual heritage. Accordingly, Amidism could in this context only be regarded as a temporary spiritual and intellectual prop; and


Hanazono's decision, in broader terms, to limit the immediate possiblity of his own salvation marked the first major turning point in his intellectual development. This. is not to say that Hanazono rejected nembutsu entirely for, as might be expected from Hanazono's disposition to see value in any teaching or school of thought, he still considered nembutsu doctrine worthy of study. He also appears to have believed that there had to be something more to nembutsu than he had been led to understand, and he suspended judgement while he learned more about the underlying doctrine.

To this end he began instruction under the priest Nyoku, with whom he read Honen's Senjakushu, and whose learning he came to regard so highly that he felt that the sect might not weather his death successfully.2! Over the years he continued to attend lectures on Amidist texts such as the Kammuryojukyo (Sutra of Meditation on Amida Buddha), and maintained an active interest in debates at court (some of which lasted two or three days) at which Amidist teaching was discussed in some depth by people who were fully versed in doctrine. 22 (Parenthetically, one of the more interesting answers in one debate was that women who performed their devotions (shugyo) would be reborn at the highest of the nine levels of the Pure Land.)23 Hanazono meanwhile continued his Amidist studies under the tutelage of Hondo, who would explain both esoteric and exoteric aspects of Amidism, and on one occasion spent four consecutive days explaining Pure Land mary:1ala to him.24 As a result of this study, by mid-1322 Hanazono felt that he now had a good grasp of the full depth of nembutsu teaching. In a diary entry from the fifth month of that year Hanazono notes that nembutsu teaching is of significance, that in its profoundest teachings it was not all that different from the mainstream of Mahayana thought, and that the main problem was that it is understood not in its totality but in a "shallow and abbreviated form" by "base and stupid people. "25

Still, study of nembutsu appears not to have satisfied Hanazono's quest for an understanding of the truths of Buddhism. No doubt his earlier skepticism about the broader value of the teachings contributed to this; but in addition he had also in early 1319 determined to pursue instruction in the esoteric teachings of Shingon and Tendai.


IV. The Esoteric Path

Late in the first month of 1319 Hanazono received a visit from the priest Jigen, destined to become one of Hanazono's prime tutors over the years, who hap pend to have with him the Shittanji ki, a guide to the Sanskritic Shittan (Siddham) alphabet used in esoteric Buddhism. This marked the beginning of Hanazono's study of the esoteric, and one month later the two spent several days reading through the text while Jigen discoursed on the elements of Sanskrit. They then moved on to the Inkyo, a guide to the pronunciation of Chinese which had been brought to Japan only a century earlier.26 Hanazonoappears not to have studied Sanskrit per se at any stage but to have limited his inquiry to Sanskrit terminology that he encountered in the course of his study, and over the years Hanazono was to seek Jigen's advice, or be directed to additional relevant guides,. on matters Sanskritic whenever he felt the need. 27 In this Hanazono was no different from any other student of Buddhism in Japan, since the texts used were those in Chinese translation. (I here except works, primarily in the Pure Land schools, written in Japan for a Japanese popular audience). Still, no serious student could afford not to recognize at least some Sanskrit.

However, Hanazono's interest in "restoring both schools of Tendai and Shingon" was one that he took quite seriously. To that end he felt it incumbent upon himself to become familiar with a ride range of writings. Thus we find Hanazono acquiring (courtesy of a priest from the Shingon headquarters of Mt. Koya) a number of Kiikai's major writings, such as the Hizo hoyaku ron (The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury) and the Sokushin jobutsu gi (Attaining Enlightenment in This Very Existence).28 We also find him having occasional contact with priests who could explain to him the teachings of the Sanron sect,29 which was somewhat unusual since this sect had died out as a major force in the philosophical world some 150 years earlier and had thereafter sought to preserve itself by advocating a melding of Samon and Shingon teaching.30 What Hanazono gained from these efforts is, unfortunately, not apparent, in part since they appear not to have been central to his endeavors. Of more import was his resolve to study Chih-i's Maka shikan, or Great Calming and Contemplation, the work most central to an understanding of

32 jIABSVOL.12NO.l

Tendai doctrine. 51

. Hanazono's decision in the fourth month of 1319 to study the Maka shikan received a very warm respopse from the aged Tendai priest Chugen.32 Chugen's death a short while later caused a slight interruption to the program, but by the end of the ninth month Hanazono had begun his study with Chugen's disciple Chusei. The first recorded meeting between the two involved (unspecified) major points of Tendai teachings and the principle of regarding the myriad Dharma with clear intellect. The meeting was a successful one for Hanazono, for Chusei assured him that what he (Hanazono) regarded as the principle accorded fully with Chugen's comment that "with respect to the fundamentals of the texts of the Law, firstly distance [yourself] from attachment, then practice the idea that phenomena are not real".33 It was an auspicious start, and for the next three years Hanazono appears to have looked towards Chusei, whom he regarded as the most talented of the younger generation of priests and whose expositions on the Dharma he considered marvelous, for support.34

Yet Hanazono did not find it easy to work on the Maka shikan. Even though on occasion he would "without caring whether it is day or night" reflect on the Dharma and read the text, he was still unable to obtain permission from ex-emperor Go-Fushimi (1288-1336), his elder brother and head of the Jimyo-in branch of the Imperial family, to lead a life of retirement, making him pessimistic that he would ever get rid of the attachments to the vulgar world that were impeding his progress. 35 In this context it became all the more important to him that his teachers be able to give him satisfactory answers. Unfortunately, he started to find his confidence misplaced.

In the ninth month of 1322 Hanazono asked Chusei to clarify some points that had been raised in recent debates. The answers were less than clear, which led Hanazono to feel that despite Chusei's being a leading figure, and not someone who was untrained, he had now begun to neglect his training and that his heart was no longer seeking the path it ought. As Hanazono recorded the episode: 36

As for the middle contemplation (chukan) [of the threefold contemplation, sankan] destroying fundamental ignorance, I


asked and said "The import of Tendai is that three mindsequivalent to one (isshin sankan) is something which cannot be departed from for even one moment. But what of the term 'middle'?" Chusei answered and said "From the beginning the import of true teaching V'itsukya) [has been] three minds equivalent to one. But this question is something from distinct doctrine (bekkya)." I though about this later, and nonetheless as to destroying fundamental ignorance or not, on what can there be any doubts? I looked at this with the ability of true teaching, and this [answer] is already [as much as saying] there are teachings without people. If one holds that there are no people, how can one have the destruction of fundamental ignorance! This is quite dubious. At some later date [I] must dispel this misconception (hima) ...

It should be noted that Chilsei's observation was perhaps an accurate one,37 but Hanazono's dissatisfaction was equally valid since Chilsei did not answer his question. Hanazono's following question, about the merit of written vows, met with an "exceedingly shallow" answer, and left him with a feeling of considerable resentment; and even though he suggested that the unsatisfactoriness of the exchange may have been due to Chilsei's relying upon some secret text (hitsuzo), a rationale that Hanazono was to suggest on at least one other similar occasion,38 he could not help but lament that this was the way Buddhism was in recent times. (In fact Hanazono felt this way about many fields of endeavor that he encountered).39

Importantly, however, Hanazono did not believe that the problem lay with the texts, for the Law was itself efficacious (and hadjust prevented an eclipse of the moon). To Hanazono, the texts and the truth they contained were more enduring than the practitioners themselves, and accordingly even in a degenerate age such as the present, into which he had had the misfortune to be born,40 one must believe in it. In fact the Maka shikan gave him some confort in this regard: "The thoughts to which it gives rise are truly wonderful. It says in the text that the elevated and the honored have elevated concentration, while the base and the inferior have inferior concentration. How can scholars of recent times not be base and inferior?"41

For Hanazono it was clearly an article of faith that an understanding of the truths of Buddhism could not be realized simply through texts, nor simply through practice, nor could one hope


to approach an understanding by assuming that one's life could be conducted without mindful attention to the way in which one's activity melded with a broader, ongoing process. It is possible that Hanazono, as a sovereign, had some advantage over the average person in coming to this point, for Tendai thought in particular had devoted considerable attention to the question of the relationship between the Dharma of the Law (buppa) and the Dharma of the King (abO), and to the mutually interdependent nature, the essential unity, of the two elements.42 Certainly Hanazono was familiar with Jien's Jichin Kasha musa ki (Records of a Dream), the most recent Japanese locus classicus on the questionY How he might address these various questions is suggested in an extended diary entry from 1323.

Hanazono was informed that a scheduled outing to copy the Lotus Sidra, an act which was designed to amass merit and which, at least as far as Hanazono was concerned, should not be regarded as just something to do, was to be cancelled on the grounds that it would have caused too much trouble to people. The Buddhist rationale put to Hanazono was that good deeds consist in not causing trouble to the populace; that the truth of Buddhism cannot be sought in external objects (such as copying sutras); that to govern the state and nurture the people is the penitence of the sovereign and enlightened lay person; that the practicing of exoteric Buddhist services did not accord with the principle of things; and that it was an evil habit of recent times to conduct Buddhist activities which lay outside the sovereign's dharma. If Hanazono had been more cynical he might have noted that those in charge of the scheduling just could not be bothered travelling all day in order to copy a sutra. However, since the matter had been rationalized in Buddhist terms, he felt compelled to question the explanation he had been given. And, since he had only come into contact with the Lotus Sutra in any significant way just over halt' a year earlier,44 the occasion also provided Hanazono with the opportunity to demonstrate (at least to himself) his own progress with the text. Yet again he realized that a full understanding of Buddhism had escaped those around him.45

As for myself, from the outset I have not sought the Dharma outside of my heart, [yet] I wholly cannot wait for the copying


of the Lotus Siltra. Through the text written out in the copying of the Lotus Sidra one becomes aware of one's Buddha-nature, and through this achieves majestic penance. This is the great import of meditation upon the Lotus Siitra. Accordingly, naturally and without negligence when one plans exoteric practices, one naturally summons faith in the inherency of the Buddha-nature. This further is the usual method of the ordinary person. Thus to hold that there is no Buddha Dharma outside of the mind and [on that grounds] not practice devotions, then at what time will the Buddha-nature appear? This is confusion about prior rights and wrongs, and at the same time it does not incline towards eliminating false discrimination. What this means is firstly not to make burdens for people and [only then] perform devotions; and secondly if one wishes to encourage the mind of negligence write up the method of the way and use it as a companion. Certainly to state that it is a bother to people and [thus] not perform practices, this, further, returns to the process of the causation of negligence. Great inconvenience, even though the deed is one which is a root of merit (zenkon) , is unacceptable. [But] where minor matters are concerned, if one attains great profit then what matter is it? This is something where the Dharma and the law of the world are to be weighed very carefully and, on special occasions, decided. First and foremost, the secular law and the truth of Buddhism cannot be two separate things. The Lotus Siitra states that "in both ruling the world and discussing meditation (jolsamadhi) all is patterned on the True Teachings (shabO)." The import of this is particularly something of which a sovereign should be cognizant.

Hanazono goes on, using a Zen example (from the Hekiganroku) to buttress a Tendai position on the necessity of combining religious with everyday practice, to note that, as Bodhidharma had long ago informed Emperor Wu of the Liang, and despite the belief in Japan in its efficacy, there is no Buddhist merit in simply building temples; rather one has to first acknowledge the importance of Buddhist practice.

The Lotus Sidra as an object of study was brought to Hanazono's attention by Jigen, who had maintained regular contact while Hanazono had been pursuing his instruction with other teachers. Jigen was available to talk generally, to answer questions about points of doctrine, and when necessary to direct him to further texts. It was perhaps at Jigen's suggestion that


Hanazono attended lectures dealing with a commentary to the Dainichi kyo, the Dainichikyo sha, used in Shingon.45 By late 1322 Jigen evidently deemed Hanazono sufficiently. advanced that he drew his attention to another commen.tary, the Dainichikyo gishaku, used in Tendai; and a month later provided him with the introductory· portions of both this sutra and of the Lotus Sutra. (It might also be noted that Hanazono regularly attended Court lectures (Hokke hakka) on the Lotus Sutra and would continue to do so in the future).47 In other words, prior to embarking upon study of the actual scriptural basis of Tendai, Hanazono had spent a period of preparation studying commentaries (including the Maka shikan) that familiarized him with the content and significance of those scriptures.

In light of the importance of the Lotus Sutra, it is somewhat surprising that Hanazono makes only two references in his diary to his study of that work. Yet he must have devoted considerable time to reading it, for one of his only two writings on Buddhist texts deals with the Lotus Sutra. This work, the Commentary on the Chapters of the Lotus (Hokke Honshaku) is composed of an introduction, and, for each of the 28 chapters, a comment of three to seven lines on its meaning. It is thus not a philosophical work per se, but one designed to indicate what Hanazono understood to be the significance of the text, and to attest that the unsurpassable wisdom of its contents makes it extremely valuable. Hanazono's introduction is as follows: 48

This the Lotus is the basic heart of the Buddhas of the three periods, the categories of existence of all beings. The five flavors of milk, cream, and butter [curds, butter, and clarified butter] take clarified butter and make it into wonderful medicine. The three carts of sheep, deer and ox meet with a great carriage and correspond to the complete vehicle. As to the meaning of the

. innate ordinary stage, it indicates the palm of the hand as the distant origin of one's lifespan. As to the truth of encompassing three and returning to one, the correct explanation of skillful devices is in the eye. Hearing this correct path, who dares breed doubts? And those who now tread on the elevated traces of the T'ai peak, further they have lost the path; those who draw from the remaining streams in thorny valleys further stagnate in the muddied watering holes of oxen. Hence even though [they] wait for the words to strike their eye they do not yet know that the


meaning lies in their mind (kokoro). Or else, thinking that they are renowned for their immense talents, large numbers have lost· the true route of Buddhahood. As for those with elevated scholarly achievement, their attachment to sentience deepens more and more. If one clothes oneself in medicine, illnesses multiply, and here the wondrous techniques of the Bhai~ajyaraja

bodhisattva (Io) are perplexed. How painful! How sad! 1 for a long time have dyed my mind in the Tendai teachings and in small measure have studied the extant works (isM). Even though my nature is stupid and shallow, at least I know that the truth of complete reality does not emerge in the sentient (heijo) mind. Truly, as to this, [1] do not fall into the doctrines that I get from the various teachers, and accordingly it is sufficient to gladden the mind [that exists] in the period of degenerate law after extinction (metsugo mappo). Thus 1 note the essentials of each chapter, and further compose clumsy praise which I add on the left. In any event, those who speak do not know and those who know do not speak. Simply, I dare not stir up transgressions (tsumi) in front of the masters.

Confident in the efficacy of practice and study, and of the validity of the teachings themselves, Hanazono continued his pursuit of the esoteric in all its forms. An added dimension to this was provided by his initiation into the world of the marp,1ala.

As is well known, the ma1Jdala is central to esoteric ritual, and so it was natural that Hanazono would received training in this area, specifically in the Taizokai (Womb, Matrix) and Kongokai (Diamond) ma1Jdalas.49 This training was slightly complicated (or enriched) by the fact that the Japanese esoteric tradition contained two major streams, one in Shingon (the T6mitsu), and one in Tendai (Taimitsu). In addition, each stream was further divided into two branches.50 Hanazono received initiation into at least three of these. In 1322 under the guidance of Saki he was initiated into the dual ma1Jdala interpretation of the Enchin (Chish6) branch of Taimitsu; his training under S6ki continued, though apparently sporadically, but Hanazono was permitted to participate in the chanting of the most secret dhiira1Jl of the Miidera stream of Taimitsu. Also in 1322, Hanazono was instructed in the interpretation of .the Diamond ma1Jdala followed by the Ninnaji (Hirosawa) branch of T6mitsu. Hanazono felt that all of this made him a vessel of the esoteric


Dharma. 51 However, he does not appear to have regarded these first two initiations as of sufficient consequence to elaborate upon them when they occurred, but mentions them in passing when he received what he felt was the more important third initiation from ligen. It was important not necessarily because of the content of the teaching, but because ligen had been in frequent contact and, though young, was "most assuredly a vessel of the Dharma".52 In mid-132353 Hanazono commenced the preparatory practices (kegyo) required to enter the first of four stages (shido) which when completed bring the right to be considered a master. We have little further information until nearly a year later when Hanazono commenced preparation (suitably shortened in duration in consideration of his being a Son of Heaven) for the second stage.54

In the following years ligen, as before, continued to guide Hanazono further in esoteric study. ligen introduced Hanazono to Tendai six-syllable dharar;z (such as those relating to MaiijusrI and Avalokitesvara ["thousand arm"]), explaining their purpose and efficacy, and incidentally providing Hanazono with the opportunity to see that since the mind is fundamentally not self and not other it ought not be difficult to abide in non-self; ligen also interpreted Hanazono's dreams about Fugen and Kannon appearing as one body, and directed him to works written by his Dharma predecessors and those which contained "the essence of the Lotus and Great Sun siUras and the essentials of the two sects of Shingon and Tendai."55 Some idea of the nature of their contact is suggested by the following diary entry:56

For a little while we discussed the Dharma, concerning the difference between exoteric and esoteric. We discussed [the passage in the Dainichi kyo dealing with the triple formula for wisdom that] "the mind of enlightenment is the cause, its root lies in great compasion, and skillful means are the result." Consequently the practices of exoteric teachings are to be transcended. We also discussed the fact that current practitioners of Shingon do not know the Truth. The import of attaining enlightenment in this very existence has not yet touched their minds. Thus it is noted in the original text [Dainichi kyo?] that the common and stupid do not see the various heavens but gallop around like slaves in a wealthy househould. Foolish priests practice the Dharma and this must have [some] efficacy.


Hanazono's diary for the next few years is unfortunately not extant, but seems that the relationship between the two began to drop off after 1326; certainly Hanazono's letters to Jigen in the late 1320's suggest that the contact was much less frequent ihan Hanazono would have liked. Undoubtedly this was in part related to Jigen's rise in the religious hierarchy and to his growing links to Go-Daigo, either of which could have made Jigen less accessible to Hanazono.57 Nonetheless, Hanazono did not let this impede his progress, for he acted upon Jigen's advice and delved further into esoteric teaching.

From some time after 1325 until early 1329 Hanazono studied esoteric teachings under priests fully (and hereditarily) versed in one of the exclusive Tendai esoteric streams, the Eshin school lineally descended from Genshin. 58 How Hanazono first came in contact with the Eshin school and its then head Shinsa, and the frequency of the contact, is unknown; certainly it could not have been accidental, andJigen, the rising Tendai star, may well have facilitated the enterprise. Hanazono's contact with this school came at a propitious time, for it was coincident with a change in emphasis in Tendai from scholasticism to the doctrine of original enlightenment which, in addition to its philosophical influence on seminal religious figures of the Kamakura period, stressed direct master-to-disciple esoteric transmission (kuden, or "oral hermeneutics") of the truth, and in Hanazono's day the Eshin school was at the height of its fortunes. As in so many "secret traditions" the teachings were sufficiently prized, and some physical proof of the secret tradition evidently considered desirable, that the school did acquire a textual basis (the Itchosho) for its doctrines. Hanazono proved an adept pupil, and in the first month of 1329 demonstrated his understanding by presenting Shinsa with what is his second textual work, the Oral Transmission of the Seven Gates to the Dharma (Shichi ka homon kuketsu), in consequence of which Hanazono received the seal of transmission of the esoteric Dharma. 59

The Seven Gates to the Dharma, as the title implies, is comprised of seven main sections, titled respectively: "Three Views in a Single Thought"; "The Meaning of Focusing One's Mind on a Single Thought"; "The Great Import of Calming and Contemplation"; "The Deep Meaning of the Lotus (Hokke)"; "The Meaning of the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light"; and "The


Lotus (Renge) Cause"; plus a brief postscript. The lengthiest section, that dealing with calming and contemplation (shikan) is of particular interest, given Hanazono's ,earlier study of the Maka shikan and the centrality in Tendai of the concept of shikan. It is additionally noteworthy because in it Hanazono encapsulates his understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of the world, of nature, and of human society. The "Great Import of Calming and Contemplation" is as follows: 60

This cannot be explained in words; in cannot be gauged by the sentient consciousness. It is something that clearly transcends [divisions of] doctrine and meditation and that far surpasses debates of relative and absolute. It does not look back on the past and [neither] does it look to the future. Consequently it is said that it is impossible for it to have breadth and impossible for it to have height. Hence, the mind of a single thought is beyond speech and thus clear. Within each thought calming and contemplation manifests itself. However, is this the mind? And even so, what are these thoughts? And what is manifest? One does not see the thoughts, and the manifest is not describable. Even though the words handed down from the past do not stop in their traces, they drop into logic and resemble giving rise to wisdom and understanding. In the great void it gives birth to clouds and mist, in the broad oceans it gives rise to waves and billows. But it is without a name. Is this the true core of objects? If a person asks about calming and contemplation it blocks up the ears and is gone. Even great teachers do not give explanations-but is this what is spoken of? But even though thought does not reach it nor words attain it, through innate and unfathomable compassion it imparts nonarising benefit for sentient beings. The flowers of the mountains pass through spring and open the brilliance of the myriad branches, the leaves of the forest pass through autumn and dye the reimbued crimsons. That is, even though the duality of capacity and truth is not seen, each and everyone has the essence of appropriate capacity and benefit.

As for doctrinal teachings, there are correct explanations and correct practices; the various teachings of the one age [of the Buddha] and the five periods cannot not constitute correct teachings. But since when one traps fish or rabbits one forgets the traps one used, the great net of the teachings is rent. Relative and absolute are one, practice and interpretation are already not differentiated. Thus thinking about the truth underlying, there

EMPERORHANAZONOAND BUDDHISM 41

-is not the duality of sentient evaluation. There are the three thousand realms and therefore no impediment. Thus it is said fact and principle are interfused, and thus it is termed supreme understanding. At such a time how can there be increase of fact and principle? And since unenlightened man and the Buddha, further, exist, one cannot possibly pass beyond the ground of supreme understanding. The vault above guides, the palanquin below carries. This is the wonderful working of heaven and earth. A lord is a lord, a minister a minister, a father a father, a son a son; externally there is loyalty, internally there is filial piety. This is the wonderful working of human ethics. The peach season creates scenery, the fragrant grasses impart their beauty. This is the wonderful working of trees and plants. The wild geese in autumn depart the cold, sheep and cattle in the evening descend to the villages. This is the wonderful working of birds and animals. Where facts and objects are in accord, do not walk on the path of underlying principle, do not permit sentient disposition.

By 1329, then, after nearly a decade of continuous study, it appears that Hanazono had completed his quest for understanding of the texts, practices and truths of esoteric Buddhism. As some letters to Jigen suggest, this by no means meant that he achieved detailed knowledge of every single point. However, it is evident that he had come to a strongly-grounded, and genuinely acknowledged, understanding of Tendai (and perhaps Shingon) philosophy. Had Hanazono limited his Buddhist inquiry just to this it would still have been a major achievement. However, through the same decade Hanazono had been pursuing a parallel quest for enlightenment in one other school, that of Zen.

V. Hanazono and Zen

Even though Zen had become well-established in Japan by the end of the thirteenth century, Hanazono's contact with this sect did not take on any viable (or even visible) form until 1320, the year after he had begun serious study of esoteric Buddhism and had also effectively rejected nembutsu teachings as a vehicle through which he could understand Buddhism. Although there is certainly no evidence from his diary that prior to this Zen


had raised its presence on his intellectual horizon, there is no reason not to take him at his word when he remarks in a diary entry from 1321 that he had had faith in Zen from an early age but, because he had been unable to find a good instructor, "the years had passed fruitlessly."51 It is not clear whether Hanazono had tried instructors and had found them wanting or had just been unable to obtain an instructor. Since he would undoubtedly have mentioned the fact if the former had been the case, it is more likely that the reasons are to be found in the latter. While this may strike an odd note in light of Hanazono's position and his demonstrably eclectic interests, there are ready explanations. In the first place, of the two Zen traditions in Japan (Rinzai and Soto), one would have been literally beyond Hanazono's reach. The Soto school had from the beginning eschewed contact with the capital, and its teachers and writings accordingly were not readily available (in fact the one major lacuna in Hanazono's reading was the literature produced by the Dagen school). In the second place it is impossible to overlook the fact that the rival Daikakuji branch of the Imperial family had been in the forefront of contact with Zen masters and had built up ajealously guarded network of contacts and patronage; by contrast,Jimyoin leaders such as Fushimi and Go-Fushimi, in whose shadow Hanazono spent his early decades, evinced little interest in Zen. Accordingly it would have been difficult for Hanazono by himself to make contacts in the Zen world.

That this was indeed so is borne out by the manner in which he first had significant contact. Bypassing any formal procedures or inquiries as to the possibility of obtaining a Zen tutor, Hanazono's friend and intellectual confidant Hino Suketomo, who at the time was contributing so greatly to Hanazono's study of the Chinese intellectual tradition, took it upon himself one evening to introduce Hanazono privately to a Zen priest. That the introduction came through Suketomo was significant, for Suketomo was one of a group of young intellectuals in the forefront of a movement challenging prevailing social and intellectual values, and he was accordingly much interested in having contact with those with demonstrably new ideas.52 The meeting was to prove a major turning point in Hanazono's life. First, as we shall see, it began the process which ledto Hanazono's attainment of satori some years later. Second, it meant that Hanazono's


contact with Zen would be with a school of Rinzai Zen (the atokan school, which had originated with Nampo Jomin) that most esteemed a spare and intellectually demanding "Sungstyle" Zen.53 This attitude melded perfectly with Hanazono's own great respect for both the Chinese intellectual tradition over the Japanese one, and his preference for studying teachings in their "unadulterated" and original forms. Indeed, so adamant was Hanazono that different schools and traditions should be kept distinct that he once remarked unfavorably upon the fact that some people were, in imitation of the practices of the Sung court, using Zen terminology to explain Confucian concepts.64

In any event, early in 1320 Hanazono was brought into contact with Myogyo (or Gatsurin Doko). So taken was Hanazono with the profundity and lucidity of Myogyo's interpretations of doctrine ("should he be called a dragon?") that he spent the entire night discussing Zen.65 However, Hanazono's contact with Myogyo appears to have been somewhat sporadic for the next year and a half,66 perhaps partly because Myogyo may not have been convinced that Hanazono was prepared to embark upon Zen training. Nevertheless, Hanazono's quest continued, and began to bear fruit late in 1321 when, in the course of explaining his understanding of the accuracy or inaccuracy of various textual interpretations (Hanazono does not say what texts were involved), Myogyo indicated that Hanazono's understanding was correct. Overjoyed that at last he was getting somewhere ("without searching for a bright jewel on my collar I have gained it by myself'), Hanazono averred that67

The skill of the Buddha Law and the utmost principle of mental attitude lie solely in this one sect of Zen. The teachings of none of the other sects of the Greater and Lesser Vehicles can compare with it. In particular I fasten my thoughts on its subtle import; in moments of haste and when I stumble [I hold to it].

Hanazono's delight was no doubt enhanced by the fact that his discovery of both teacher and teaching had been his first really independent intellectual foray. Yet for the same reasons Hanazono was diffident about advertising his progress. It was nonetheless another important turning point, and Hanazono was to consider Zen his prime vehicle of understanding and


enlightenment for the rest of his life, if for no other reason that that his discoveries here preceded his progress in Tendai and Shingon. ,

From this point Hanazono threw himself enthusiastically into his Zen studies, and in the twelfth month encountered his first koan when he and Myogyo read together the first Case of the Hekiganroku (Blue Cliff Record). Unfortunately, two weeks later this promising start was cut short when M yogyo announced plans to visit China. Before leaving, however, Myogyo bestowed upon Hanazono secret teachings and a robe, signifying at the minimum a willingness to acknowledge Hanazono as a fullfledged disciple. The ceremony was brief, private, and slightly irregular, since the two did not know when they would meet again, and Hanazono felt that if it were made known he would be heavily criticized, if only because most people did not know just how profound Zen teachings were. 68 The next day, overjoyed, Hanazono wrote to Myogyo that they would remain close despite being separated by great distance and rough seas, and that his only regret was that he could not personally bestow the title of kokushi (National Teacher) on someone who so obviously deserved it.69

Myogyo's departure for China "in search of the Law" no doubt confirmed in Hanazono a belief that "pure" Zen was the only acceptable type, but it also left him without a teacher to guide his efforts. Hanazono's interest did not wane, however, for a few months later he records having a vivid dream in which he met with Kobo daishi (Saicho) and Dengyo daishi (Kukai) and discussed Buddhist texts with them. Oddly, however, the two great priests, the founders of Tendai and Shingon in Japan, gave all their answers in terms of Zen, and bestowed upon him the seal of transmission. Slightly perplexed, since he felt that he had already received the seal from Myogyo, Hanazono interpreted this to mean that the known exoteric and esoteric teachings had failed to enlighten the world and that true enlightenment would come from Zen.70

Some time after this Hanazono acquired his second teacher, ShfIh6 Myocho (later Daito kokushi). Like Myogyo, he belonged to Daio's stream, and it had perhaps been Myogyo who recommended Hanazono to his fellow disciple. Myocho, "a fearless and exceptional man whose teachings were not easily grasped,"71


was to become one of the most eminent Zen priests of the fourteenth century, and it was with Myocho that Hanazono's study of Zen began in earnest.72 Picking up where Myogyo had left off, though clearly not believing that Hanazono had already earned the' seal of transmission, Daito guided Hanazono through more detailed study. They would meditate together (sometimes at night with driving rain and thunder as an accompaniment),73 discuss the law, and Hanazono would be tested on his interpretations of teaching drawn from the Jiatai Record of the Universal Lamps, the Mumonkan and the Hekiganroku. Hanazono made rapid progress, and his interpretation of the Tokusan koan of the Mumonkan was deemed so good by M yocho that the latter allowed that Hanazono's grasp of the Great Way was "profound."74 Later in 1323 Myocho gave Hanazono the privilege of an audience with himself and Zekkai Sotaku, the most senior of Nanpo Jomin's disciples. The occasion proved to be a mixed success, for while it provided an opportunity for studying the Hekiganroku, Hanazono was less than enthusiastic about his exchanges with Sotaku: 75

1 questioned Sotaku and asked "What is the great truth of this Buddha Law?" [So]taku answered [that it is] "Pearls scattered on the back of a notebook bound in pearls." I further asked and said "Simply is this [answer] the rope or is [the truth] somewhere else?" [So]taku said "I cannot depart (hanarezu) from what his majesty questions." I thought that this answer was quite contradictory. Some days later I asked [Myo]cho and he said that this was indeed the case.

However, other of Hanazono's encounters were more instructive. While Hanazono rarely records substantive exchanges, the Chronicle of Daito Kokushi has several episodes that give some flavor of the playful respect that appears to have characterized relations between him and Myocho. One episode will perhaps suffice. 76

[Hanazono] said to the Master, "I won't ask about the chrysanthemums blooming under the fence, but how about the fall foliage in the forest?" The Master said "Even thousand eyed Kuan-yin is unable to see it." The Emperor gave a shout. Then he said "Where has she gone?" The Master bowed respectfully

46 ]IABSVOL.12NO.l

and replied "Please observe for yourself." The Emperor said "You must not go through the night but you must arrive there by dawn." The Master indicated his asse~t ... /

If Hanazono was ever in any doubt about Myocho's brilliance and insight, his concerns were fully laid to rest in early 1325 when Myocho, a central figure in one of the most significant religious debates of the fourteenth century, ran intellectual and doctrinal rings around his Tendai opponents in a debate held before Emperor Go-Daigo. 77 This success of an until-then junior figure immediately catapulted Myocho to the front ranks of the Zen world, a rise unfortunately assisted by the death of Myocho's mentor Tsuo Kyoen on the way home from the debate. 78 This startling coincidence of success and great loss in the Zen world ("Has the period when the Law will be destroyed been reached?") prodded Hanazono to step outside the purely intellectual realm and into the fray of religious patronage: a month later he bestowed upon Myocho's home temple of Daitokuji the status of Imperial invocatory temple, support which Hanazono was to give also to Myocho's successors until his own death in 1348, and which he otherwise gave to no other religious institution.79 An added impetus, if any were needed, was that it became clear to Hanazono during that same year that the generous support being lavished upon Muso Sose:Zi, another notable Rinzai priest, by Go-Daigo and the Kamakura bakufu was not at all deserved. In Muso's case the broader picture is somewhat more complicated than Hanazono and Myocho's characterization of him as having only a stiff, bookish understanding of what Zen would suggest, but there is certainly some justification, even allowing for Hanazono's purist perspective, for his concern that the Zen world was populated by inferior intellects that were doing great harm to the Zen tradition. HO And it is probably this concern that lay behind Hanazono's untypical willingness to countenance a departure from Zen tradition and support Daitokuji as a "closed" temple, an exclusive preserve of members of Daito's lineage. HI

At any rate, Hanazono, who occasionally berated himself for his lack of diligence, continued meeting Myocho and focusing his mind on the Hekiganroku, and "the more the Emperor

EMPERORHANAZONO AND BUDDHISM 47

queStioned the Master, the more his ardor intensified. "82 Finally, probably some time in 1326, Hanazono achieved satori. As re

. corded in the Chronicle of Daito Kokushi83 the seminal exchange proceeded as follows:

The Master composed a statement of the Dharma for the Emperor:

Separated for a million eons, yetnot apart for an instant Face-to-face throughout the day, but not encountered for

a moment Each person has this truth. Tell me, in a word, the nature of this truth. The Emperor wrote his answer directly on the Master's let

ter: "Last night, just before dawn, the temple pillar answerd the master." The Emperor then offered his enlightenment poem to the Master:

The man who endured hardship and pain for 20 years Does not change his old [life of] wind and smoke when . .

spnng arnves. Wearing clothes and eating meals are still like this. Did the great earth ever contain even one speck of dust? "This is what your disciple has understood. How will you

test me Master?" The Master wrote his response directly on the Emperor's letter. "I have already tested you. Look!"

While satori does not require any specific period before it can be achieved, that Hanazono (who is generally regarded as having been one of Myocho's most outstanding disciplesr could reach it after only a few years, during which time he was also actively engaged in a wide variety of pursuits religious and otherwise, is a strong testament to his abilities, and to the seriousness of his pursuit of Zen.

In Zen, then, Hanazono first found answers to his quest for understanding that were philosophically and psychologically satisfying; and, as suggested by his continuing training under Zen teachers (Myocho until his death in 1337, and Myocho's successor until Hanazono's death in 1348) Hanazono was to look to Zen and its discipline as his prime (but not sole) vehicle for personal understanding for the rest of his life.

48 JIABS VOL. 12 NO. I

VI. Using the Acquisitions

By the end of the 1320's Hanazono had achieved what he and his teachers considered a high level of insight into the truths of Buddhism. Hanazono's subsequent endeavors reflected this acquisition, and Hanazono was able to integrate successfully his· understanding into his writings.85 As noted earlier, Hanazono was one of a very few literary figures of the fourteenth century who realized the need to produce a new poetic form capable of maintaining, in the face of pronounced social and political changes, the position of the traditional cultural elite as the arbiter of japan's aesthetic heritage.

Hanazono, like all major poets since at least the time of Fujiwara Shunzei (1114-1204), believed that the writing of poetry was an act of religious devotion; concomitantly, it was im possible for poetry to properly reflect the truths that informed it as a michi or realm of endeavor unless the poet understood Buddhist truthS. 86 In his obituary of Kyogoku Tamekane (1254-1332), one of the towering figures on the medieval literary landscape,87 in a passage that suggests just how important Buddhism was to the medieval aesthetic, Hanazono explicitly recognizes the relationship, and the value and purpose of his own studies. 88

At the time of [Kyogoku Tamekane's] exile [1315] he entrusted me with ninety lines of poetry ... At that time I was still young and was not deeply aware of the Way of Poetry. In recent years I have often thought on these teachings (kuden) , and, further, I have reflected on the deep import of esoteric and exoteric scriptures ... Ordinary people are not cognizant [of the true principles] ... In recent years I have met with Shiiho [Myocho] sMnin and have learnt the essentials of the sect; I have had audiences with Shinso Min and have heard the doctrines of Tendai; I have perused the Five Classics and grasped the Way of Confucius. With this insight I have thought about this Way [of Poetry]. Truly the profound differences between error and

. correctness [in poetry] are akin to those of Heaven and earth. With this [understanding], around last year ... I sent one

roll of poems [I had composed] in recent years [to Tamekane, who noted that] "The tone of your poetry is truly marvellous. You've achieved a deep understanding of its principles ... " With this he certified me [as a master of poetry]. My feelings of joy


- were without parallel. I myself feared from the outset that these poems would be of shallow merit, and I had doubts whether their meaning would accord with the import of the esoteric and exoteric scriptures. But now the import of his acknowledgement is tha.t [my work exhibits] the true essence. With this I will learn more and more about the truths of the Buddha Law ...

Lord Tamemoto [who had brought news of. Tamekane's death] related that "Lord Tamekane stated to me that 'Although -I knew that His Majesty [Hanazono] had ability in poetry, given that the teachings I had imparted to him at the time of my exile did not touch upon the innermost principles, it is. remarkable that he should attain such profound subtlety (yUsui).' Tamemoto replied 'Although there is no such thing as a sermon on poetry, his mind and spirit are as one with the Dharma. Perhaps it is for this reason.' [Tamekane] replied that 'If this is the case then one can have no doubts [that Hanazono's poetry reflects the true essence, for] there cannot be any sense of distinction between the Dharma and poetry. '" When I heard this my faith was strengthened all the more.

It is thus clear that Hanazono's poetic inspiration, certainly from the early 1330's, derived in great measure from his extensive study of Buddhism. The fusion of Hanazono's religious understanding and his sense of poetry enable him to interweave -image, freshness and Buddhist allegory to craft poems that could· be appreciated on more than one level: as an innovative poem, as a religious allegory, or as a work that coherently melds both. While detailed study of Hanazono's poetry-and his more than 130 poems demonstrate that he was a gifted poet-is beyond the scope of this paper, we can usefully touch on some that were composed specifically on Buddhist themes. Hanazono has six poems in the Buddhist poem section of the Fugashu, the· Imperial poetry anthology that was compiled under his direction.89 One is written in reference to Gatsurin D6k6; another bewails the decline of the world and Buddhism; one alludes to concepts in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment; in two others allusions to Man in the Hekiganroku inform the poemyn One of the latter, evocative in its tranquility yet subtle in its allusions, adeptly refers to the "Ky6sei's 'Voice of the Raindrops'" Man to address the Tendai concept that the three truths of void, mediated and provisional reality and the one truth encompassing all are


neither three nor one. 91

The sixth of the poems is an outstanding effort that some scholars regard as one of the most "perfect and precise" of its type. The topic of the poem comes from chapter 23 (The Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King) of the Lotus Siltra. 92

The sun at dusk Fades in brightness from the eaves Where swallows twitter; And among the willows in the garden Blows the green breeze of the spring.93

The story of chapter 23 is that of the Bodhisattva Seen With JoyBy All Living Things who, determined to imf9.0late himself as an offering to the Buddha in gratitude for having heard the Buddha preach, spends a lengthy period partaking of the fragrance of all flowers, anointing his body, and bathing in perfumed oil, and then by willpower sets his body ablaze with such brightness that it illuminates all worlds. It is certainly no easy matter to convert this into a simple poem. But, by employing the sun to represent the body of the Bodhisattva, swallows for humans, willows for existence, and the breeze for the Buddhaspirit, Hanazono achieves his purpose: "UJust as the poem suggests that the evening scene is more beautiful after the light fades, so, too, allegoric;:ally it means that the spirit of the Bodhisattva Seen With Joy By All Living Things is even more beautiful after his body is gone."!H

VII. Conclusions

To return to the question of how intellectuals may have apprehended Buddhism in medievalJapan, and bearing in mind that this paper has not sought to comment upon the question of doctrinal understanding (that is, did Hanazono get it right or not, and was there a "right" to get) several points may be noted.

First, at least for Hanazono, it is evident that over time the intellectual quest took precedence over the psychological one, though it is admittedly difficult to separate the two entirely. It


is aiso evident that a teaching needed to be well-grounded, capable of providing an encompassing explanation of Buddhist truths whose broader relevance could be discerned, and be ar- . ticulated· by teachers who could maintain the intellectual respect of their pupil; after all, study was adynamic process, the pupil progressively acquiring efoIhanced interpretative powers and. unwilling to accept explanatIOns at face value. Study of BuddhIsm, in short, entailed far more than mastering what had been handed down.

Second, it is evident that it is (and was) extremely difficult to predict at the outset what course of study might be tak~n. There were several possible choices of texts, of teachers, and of interpretative traditions. Likewise, more than one path could be taken at the same time for different intellectual purposes. The choice of any teacher, even defining this as a matter of serendipity, was influenced by a range of social and political' factors to which the student had to give heed, and this in turn affected both study options and the type of understanding of Buddhist truths that would be acquired. To extend this point further, to state that somebody studied "Buddhism," or that "Buddhism" was important, is, as Professor Pollack's study also demonstrates, by itself an inadequate basis for addressing the question of what "Buddhism" meant to medieval Japanese.

Third, it is nonetheless also apparent that the multivariate nature of Buddhism was accepted, and that no teaching was by itself considered inherently invalid; concomitatnly, as Hanazono shows even while discovering his own intellectual medium, it was a basic article of faith that there was no one ultimately preferable path to understanding the Buddha's truths. At the same time it also seems that very strong views could be held regarding the quality of interpretation and the dangers to Buddhism as a system of thought where exponents exhibited inferior understanding. Yet even here evaluations were not necessarily absolute: as Hanazono noted, in an observation which acknowledged that different truths are understood at different stages at the same time that it revealed a high level of insight on his, part, there was no such thing as teachings without people. Put briefly, the concept of a multi-faceted and multi-layered

. philosophical framework was an integral part of the medieval intellect~ and it encouraged a righ variety of approaches that

52 ]IABSVOL.12NO.l

together molded the medieval intellect and aesthetic. . Perhaps a fourth point to make is that research on medieval

Buddhism could well examine the Tendaj tradition (and the fortunes of "older Buddhism") in more detail; certainly it deserves considerably more attention than it has received to date. Elite patronage assured Zen a strong niche in medieval c~lture, and popular appeal obviously was crucial to the spread of salvation teachings; both have with good reason been extensively studied. But it is evident from Hanazono's case-and he was not a minor figure in the literary and cultural world-that Tendai teachings, in all their forms, contributed a great deal to the Japanese understanding of "Buddhism." Tendai teachers had unrivaled access to Japan's educated elite, perhaps to the extent of exercising some degree of intellectual hegemony, and it is probable that ultimately, certainly through the mid-fourteenth century, many new developments were filtered through them.

A final point brings us back to Hanazono, and slightly beyond the issues dealt with in this article. His concern to understand Buddhist teaching thoroughly, his willingness to have contact with a wide variety of streams, and the obvious effort he put into the endeavor, sprang from more than just personal spiritual motives. As his understanding evolved, so too did the sophistication of his attitude towards the role of Buddhism in Japanese intellectual life. A major conclusion reached by Hanazono was that the integrative wholeness of Buddhist truth provided the rationale and metaphor for the social and cultural role of the Imperial family itself, a role that, while intimately bound with questions of patronage, vested interest, and doctrinal division (secular manifestations of stages of enlightenment), had at the same time to overcome them and provide an overarching and unified framework (as befits the truly enlightened) for Japan's cultural traditions. This formulation was a major contribution to Japanese thought on its own terms and in what it meant for the Imperial family. With the unsuccessful effort of Hanazono's contemporary Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) to inform a similarly overarching view of the role of the· Imperial family with absolute political content as well, it was Hanazono's approach that provided the theoretical justification for the existence of the Imperial family that endured long after its loss of political and economic leadership.


NOTES

** An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Colloquium on Buddhist Thought and Culture at the University of Montevallo, April 28/29,

1988. 1. For an introduction to the dimensions of the topic see: A. Matsunaga

& D. Matsunaga, Foundation of Japanese Buddhism, vol. 2 (Los Angeles & Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1976); ].H. Foard, "In Search of a Lost Reformation: A Reconsideration of Kamakura Buddhism," Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 7.4 (1980), 261-291; M. Collcutt, Five Mountains (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981); K. Kraft, "Zen Master Daita" (Doctoral Dissertation, Princeton University, 1984); Hee-Jin Kim, Dagen Kigen: Mystical Realist (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1987); T.]. Kodera, Dagen's Formative Years in China (Boulder: Prajna Press, 1980); H.H. Coates & Ishizuka Ryugaku, Hanen the Buddhist Saint (Kyoto, 1925); A. Bloom, Shinran's Gospel of Pure Grace (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1965) and "The Life of Shinran Shanin: Journey to Self Acceptance," Numen, 16 (1968), 1-62; L.R. Rodd, Nichiren: A Biography (Tempe: University of Arizona Press, 1977); ].H. Foard, "Ippen Shonin and Popular Buddhism of the Kamakura Period" (Doctoral Dissertation, Stanford University, 1977).

2. The entire question of the continuing relevance and vitality of the older sects through the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries has been unaccountably neglected by Western scholars. For a recent effort to redress the imbalance see R. Morrell, Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report (Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1987).

3. W. LaFleur, Tlie Karma of Words (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983); D. Pollack, The Fracture of Meaning (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1986).

4. See A. Goble, "Go-Daigb and the Kemmu Restoration," (Doctoral Dissertation, Stanford University, 1987); H.P. Varley, Imperial Restoration in Medieval Japan (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971); M. Collcutt, Five Mountains.

5. E. Miner, "The Collective and the Individual: Literary Practice and Its Social Implications," in E. Miner (ed.), Principles of Classical Japanese Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985),50-52; the Otokan school based at Daitokuji has come to be the pre-eminent Rinzai stream; Miura Kei'ichi, Chilsei minshu seikatsu shi no kenkyu (Tokyo: 1982), 118 ff. has delineated the essential elements of the medieval conception of sovereignty, though he sees it as a formulation of the fifteenth, not the fourteenth, century.

6. For an informative discussion in English see LaFleur, 88 ff. In a related vein see G. Ebersole, "Buddhist Ritual Use of Linked Verse in Medieval Japan," Eastern Buddhist, 16.2 (1983), 50-7l.

7. Hanazono tenna shinki [hereinafter HTS] (Zaha shiryo taisei, 2 vols, Kyoto, 1965; Shirya sanshu, 3 vols, Tokyo, 1982-1986).

8. A. Goble, "Chinese Influences in the Emperor Hanazono Diary" (paper read at South Eastern Conferencel Association for Asian Studies, annual conference, Charlotte,January 1988), and "Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348):


An Intellectual's Response to Social Change" (paper read at Association for Asian Studies, annual meeting, San Francisco, March 1988). In a related area, see also Wajima Yoshio, "Hanazono tenno no jubutsu bunri ron ni tsuite," Bukkyo shigaku, 10.1 (1962), 35-5l.

9. Hanazono provides lists of the works he had read through the end of 1325 in HTS 13241121last, 1325112/30. However some works noted in the diary (such as the Bonmokyo and the Senjakushu) do not appear in these lists.

10. HTS 1313/1/6, 1313/5/22, 1313110119. 11. HTS 1322/5/24, 1322/8/24, 1323112116. Hanazono's respect for the

works he read was not limited to Buddhism: "When I read this book [the I-ching] I wash my hands, do not take off my belt, and do not take off my cap. The reason for this is that it is the work of a sage, a book on the will of Heaven, and [hence] I am respectful." HTS 1325/6/17.

12. HTS 1322/3/17. 13. For example, HTS 1322/8/28 for sutra readings; 1322/5/3 for lec

tures; 1322/911, 1322110110, 1324/3/12, 1324/8/28-9/3 for debates. Many lectures and debates took the form of formal presentations on the Lotus SiUra, the Hokke hakkO, that were an important part of Court life. On the growth and variety of the Hokke hakko see W.]. Tanabe, "The Lotus Lectures: Hokke HakkO in the Heian Period," Monumenta Nipponica, 39 (19841, 393-407.

14. See A. Goble, "Go-Daigo and the Kemmu Restoration," 31-41; HTS 1317/3/3.

15. HTS 131911120. See also 1319/9/6, 1319110/26. 16. HTS 1319/1/9. 17. HTS 1317/2119. The other dream may have occurred in 1318, for

most of which the diary is not extant. 18. Hanazono's attitude towards dreams was somewhat ambivalent. He

noted at one point that they embodied both truth and falsehood and hence should not be given credence (1325/6117), yet on other occasions (e.g. 1324112/ 13, 1325112/5) he regarded them as quite revealing. Nonetheless, as attested by such prominent religious figures as Jien, Shinran and Muju Ichien, dreams could mark significant turning points. The entire area of dreams and their significance in this context has barely been addressed by Western scholars; for a brief introduction, see M. Strickmann, "Dreamwork of PsychoSinologists," in Brown, C. ed, Psycho-Sinology (Lanham, University Press of America, 1988),25-46.

19. HTS 13191111 O. The Ojoyoshu has been translated by A.K. Reischaeur, "Genshin's Ojo Yoshu: Collected Essays on Birth into Paradise," Transactions of the Asiatic Society of japan, 2d. series, 7 (1930), 16-97. For a study of the work see A. Andrews, The Teachings Essential For Rebirth: A Study of Genshin's "Ojoyoshu" (Tokyo, 1973).

20. HTS 1319/9118. Hanazono's predilection for according greatest value to doctrines that were intellectually demanding is evident throughout the diary and informs a wide variety of comments on practices and people. For example, in his obituary of Saionji Sane kane (HTS 1322/9110 bekki) he notes that "by nature [Sanekane] was simple and his literary talents few," and that "at first he studied the Dharma [Zen] sect but he did not excel. In his later


year; he turned exclusively to the [A]mida [Pure Land]. Diligently he performed nembutsu."

21. HTS 1320/12/16, 1321/3/7. On the latter occasion Hanazono remarked that "Last night Nyoku shOninpassed away. Approaching the end he correctly recited the nembutsu. He is the person who has contributed to the rise of the n~mbutsu sect. Is it possible that [his death] will be the beginning of the decline of this sect?" Nyoku was frequently involved in Court religious ceremonies: see Kinpira koki (Shiryo sanshu, Tokyo, 1968-69), 1315/5/24. Many of Hanazono's obituaries or comments on the deaths of contemporaries leave little doubt of his sense of what is of most value. Figures in the the intellectual and cultural realms (e.g. 132116/23, 24 Sugawara Arikane, 1325/ intercalary 1128 Kyoen) are accorded praise and their passing a sense of loss that is generally not extended to political figures of the day (e.g. 1322/9110 Saionji Sanekane, 1324/6/24 emperor Go-Uda).

22. HTS 1322/5/3-7, 1322/10/10, 1323/9/2. 23. HTS 132517/15. 24. HTS 1321/9/21-24,1321110/8. Itis not clear what ma?;(iala Hanazono

viewed, or whether there was more than one. 25. HTS 1322/5/12. 26. HTS 131911126, 1319/2/28-30, 1319/3/2, 1322110/2,3. Jigen, born

in 1298, was the son of. Toin Saneyasu and full brother of Toin Kimikata, both prominent members of the nobility. It is not known when Jigen died, but he was still alive in 1352 when he resigned as Tendai zasu.

27. HTS 1322/10/2, 1322/10/3; undated but probably 133118 Hanazono joko shosoku (Shinkan eiga [Tokyo, 1944], 1: 155).

28. HTS 1320/9114. The works received by Hanazono were the Ben kenmitsu nikyo ron, Sokushin jobutsugi, joji jissogi, Shinkyo hitsuken, Hizo hoyaku, Sango shiiki, and Unji gi. For translations of these see Y.S. Hakeda, Kukai: Major Works (New York: Columbia University Press, 1972).

29. HTS 1323/7/10, 132517/15, 1325/9/2. 30. Matsunaga, Foundation of japanese Buddhism, 1: 64-75, 2: 274. 31. The Maka shikan/Mo-ho chih-kuan ofChih-i (538-597) and the concept

of shikan-"calming and contemplation" (very lucidly discussed by LaFleur, The Karma of Words, 88) or "the immovable mind functioning in wisdom" (Matsunaga, 1: 15 7)-was central to Tendai thought, and through this exer-

. cised an enormous influence on Japanese intellects. The full dimensions of this influence have only just begun to be discussed in the West: see LaFleur, 50ff. For an overview of Tendai, see Matsunaga, 1:139-171. On Chih-i's thought see L. Hurvitz, Chih-i (Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques, 12, 1960-62), '-0j.J'",-,."uy 183-372, and D. Chappell (ed.), T'ien-tai Buddhism: An Outline of the

Teachings (Tokyo, 1983). I have also found it useful to refer to D. B. ;Stevenson, "The Four Kinds of Samadhi in Early Tien-t'ai Buddhism," in P.N. Gregory (ed.), Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism (Honolulu:

of Hawaii Press, 1986),45-97; and R.E. Buswell, The Korean Apto Zen (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1983).

32. HTS 1319/4/7. 33. HTS 1319/9/last.


34. HTS 1320/3/11, 13211917. 35. HTS 1321110117, 1322110116. Hanazono's desire to be rid of un

wanted involvement in the worldly affairs that had so traumatized him is a persistent theme in the diary. It is also evident that others, notably Hanazono's elder brother Go-Fushimi, saw in this preference an abdication of responsibility that on occasion sorely exercised them. For a good example of this see HTS 1323/4/9, 4111, 4/15; (1323/4/9) Go-Fushimi joko shojo (Kamakura Ibun [Takeuchi Rizo ed., Tokyo, 1971- ; hereafter KJ], 36:28375); 1323/4/9 GoFushimijoko yuzurijo (KJ, 36:28376).

36. HTS 1322/9/14. 37. D. Chappell (ed.), T'ieri-tai Buddhism: An Outline of the Fourfold Teach

ings (Tokyo, 1983), 140-141, note 22, notes that at the level of Distinctive doctrine the three truths of emptiness, provisional existence, and the middle view (or mediated reality, Pollack, 80) are seen as independent, while in the Complete doctrine they are interfused.

38. For example, HTS 1324/9/2. . 39. See Goble, "Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348): An Intellectual's Re-

sponse to Social Change." 40. HTS 1317/3/3. 41. HTS 1322110115, 16. 42. Exploration of this important point is beyond the scope of this paper.

Kuroda Toshio has addressed this question extensively. For a brief synopsis, see his Jisha seiryoku (Tokyo, 1980),44-47. In this context, it is relevant that Hanazono would refer to them on another occasion. As recorded in the Chronicle of Daito Kokushi, one exchange between Hanazono and Myocho (see below) was "The Emperor began, 'The Buddha's Law face to face with the King's Law-how inconceivable!' The Master replied 'The King's Law face to face with the Buddha's Law-how inconceivable!'" (translated by Kraft, "Zen Master Daito," 277).

43. HTS 132111/21,22, and 1324112/21. Jien's Record of a Dream (jichin Kaska muso ki) is discussed in D. Brown & Ishida Ichiro, The Future and the Past (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979), 412ff. Also, Akamatsu Toshihide, "Jichin kasho musoki ni tsuite," in his Kamakura bukkyo no kenkyu (Kyoto, 1957), 317-335. In noting this I do not mean to suggest that a work

. such as Jien's had to be read in order for members of the Imperial family to be aware of the doctrine, which was after all a well known one. (See for example Go-Uda's undated posthumous instructions to Daikakuji, in Nakamura Naokatsu ed., Daikakuji monjo [Kyoto, 1980], 1 :9-18). However, Hanazono's acquaintance with Jien's writing does suggest serious attention to the underlying subtleties.

44. HTS 1322112/5. 45. HTS 1323/6/26. Hanazono's reference to Bodhidharma is probably

taken from the commentary to the first Case in the Hekiganroku, "The Highest Meaning of the Holy Truths." See Thoma·s &J.C. Cleary, The Blue Cliff Record (Boulder & London: Shambhala Press, 1977), 1-9.

46. HTS 132011121,22, 1322/5111, 1322/10/2,3; 1319/10/2, 13211817, 132217118.


47. HTS 1322111119, 11/28, 12/5, 12/28. See also note 13 above. The basic commentary on the Great Sun SatTa, the Dainichikyo sho in 20 fascicles that was used in Shingon, was written by Amoghavajra with supplemental comments by the Tang monk I-hsing. A 14 fascicle edition of this, the Dainichikyo gishaku, was edited by Chih-yen and Wen-ku, and was used in

Tendai. 48. For the Hokke honshaku see Ressei Zenshu, Onsenshu, vol 6 (Tokyo,

1917),87-103; Iwahashi Koyata, Hanazono tenno (Tokyo, 1962), 139-140. For further information on concepts such as the five flavors or encompassing three and returning to one, see Chappell, especially 55-82.

49. For concise discussions, see Minoru Kiyota, Shingon Buddhism (Tokyo & Los Angeles: Buddhist Books International, 1983), 81-104; Matsunaga, foundation of] apanese Buddhism, 1: 184-193; Yamasaki Taiko, Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism (Boston and .London: Shambhala Press, 1988), 123-151.

50. Following Iwahashi, Hanazono tenno, 136-137. 51. HTS 1323/7/11, 1324/3/25, 1324/6116. 52. HTS 1323/7115. 53. HTS 1323/7111, 7114, 7115, 7118. Also Iwahashi, Hanazono tenno,

136-138. 54. HTS 1324/6116. 55. HTS 1324/8/20, 21, 23, 24, 1325/5119; 1324112/21. 56. HTS 1325/8/21. 57. For Hanazono's letters to Jigen through 1331, see Shinkan eiga,

1:149-155. Jigen became head (betto) of Kitano shrine in 1328. He was appointed Tendai abbot (zasu) by Go-Daigo in 1330/4 (resigning in 1330111), just after the Imperial progress to Enryakuji and in the middle of the period when Go-Daigo was actively working to build his links with Enryakuji. Jigen's sympathies were sufficiently with the Emperor that he was arrested by the bakufu in the wake of Go~Daigo's move against it (the Genko Incident) in 1331 (HTS 1332/2/6).

58. The information in this section is drawn from Iwasa Miyoko, Kyogoku ha waka no kenkyu (Tokyo, 1987), 100-112. I am indebted to Professor Robert Huey of the University of Hawaii at Manoa for bringing this work to my attention.

59. The work appears in print for the first time in I wasa, 112-117. I wasa presents a convincing argument that the work was authored by Hanazono, whereas previous biographers (such as Iwahashi, 140-141, who had been unable to examine the text) have been reluctant to acknowledge that more than the postscript was written by Hanazono. Confirmation of Hanazono's authorship, and that in consequence he was given the seal of esoteric transmission, buttresses Iwahashi's view (Iwahashi, 138), based on a letter from Hanazono to Jigen sent around 133118 (Shinkan eiga, 1:155), that Hanazono must have received the esoteric transmission prior to that date. Iwahashi implies that the seal was granted by Jigen, and it is of course by no means impossible that Hanazono received the seal from more than one teacher. At any rate it is clear that he did receive it from Shinso.

60. Iwasa, 113-114.


61. HTS 132118119. Here we must make allowance for the fact that the diary has full yearentries prior to this only for 1313 and 1319. Still, the total absence of references to Zen is striking.

62. For Hanazono's fulsome praise of Suketomo's talents see HTS 13191 intercalary 7/4. For a discussion of Suketomo and his times, see Inoue Yoshinobu, "Hino Suketomom shoron," in Kyoto daigaku bungakubu kokushi kenkyushitsu ed., Akamatsu Toshihide kyaju taikan kinen kokushi ronshU (Kyoto, 1972),581-595; Goble, "Go-Daigo and the Kemmu Restoration," 62-73.

63. Nanpo Jomin (1235-1308) studied under Rankei Doryii (Lan-chi Tao-lung, 1213-1278), went to China, and upon his return established his own flourishing school, initially at Siifukuji in Chikuzen. He was later recognized as a national master with the title Daio Kokushi. The Zen teachers Hanazono is known to have met were, with one exception, from this lineage: Shuho Myocho (1238-1338, Daito Kokushi); Zekkai Sotaku (d. 1334); Tsiio Kyoen (1257-1325, Fusho Daiko kokushi), and Kanzan Egen (1277-1360, Muso daishi). The exception is Myogyo (Gatsurin Doko, 1293-1351, posthumously Kenko Daitokokushi), Hanazono's first teacher. Myogyo had initally been a disciple of Koho Kennichi (1241-1316) in Kamakura, but after Koho's death he went to Kyoto and developed very close ties to Myocho.

64. See Goble, "Chinese Influences in the Emperor Hanazono Diary." For some of the intellectual tensions involved in the reception of Zen in Japan, see Pollack, The Fracture of Meaning, 111-133. For Hanazono's comment see HTS 132217127.

65. HTS 1320/4/28. For biographical information on Myogyo see Tsuji Zennosuke, Nihon bukkyashi, chusei 2 (Kyoto, 1949), 244-247, and notes 63 above and 69 below.

66. The diary records only two meetings between 1320/4/28 and 132118/ 19: 1320110112, 1320110/24.

67. HTS 1321/8119. 68. HTS 1321112111, 12114, 12/25. 69. (}3211l2/26) Hanazono joko shojo (KI, 36:27927). Although by the

time of Myogyo's return in 1330 Hanazono was a disciple of Myocho, the two did remain in contact, and Hanazono gave some support to Myogyo when the latter was successfully turning Kyoto'S ChOfukuji into a Rinzai temple. Indeed, Hanazono even composed a poem praising Myogyo. See also 1346112/ 25 Hanazono-in shosoku (Shinkan eiga, 1: 157. Though Kamakura ibun, 36:27928, suggests that this letter should be dated 1321112/26, I have elected to follow Shinkan eiga). In recognition of his work, in 1357 Myogyo was posthumously granted the national master title of Kenko Daito kokushi.

70. HTS 1322/3110. 71. The Chronicle of Daita Kokushi, entry for 1316, in Kraft, "Zen Master

Daito," 277. 72. HTS 1323/5/23, 1323/9/14,9116. Though the first recorded meeting

took place on 1323/5/23, Hanazono notes that their discussion was "as before," though he does not give any indication of how long before. For a discussion of the contact between Hanazono and Myocho, see also Tamamura Takeji, "Hanazono tenno to Daito kokushi," in his Nihon zenshilshi ronsku (Kyoto,


1976),303.,.-314. For a study of Daito, see Kraft, "Zen Master Daito." 73. HTS 132317119. 74. HTS 1323110/18, 1323/12/14. Tsuji, Nihon bukk yo shi, 249, suggests

that the Mumonkan reference is to number 13, the "Tokusan Carried His Bowls" kOmi .. See also Shibayama Zenkei Zen Comments on the Mumonkan (New York: Harper and Row, 1974),99-100.

75. HTS 1323/12/14. "Pearls scattered on the back of a notebook bound in pearls" is more literally "Pearls scattered on the back of a notebook bound in thin purple cloth." The word for "thin purple cloth" is shira, which was also an older term for "pearls." Accordingly the reply contains a wordplay which I have translated in the text since it gives perhaps a b,etter flavor for a Zen mondo. Zekkai Sotaku (d. 1334) was Nanpo jomin's oldest disciple, and Myocho's senior. He began his training at Manjuji in Bungo, then studied under jomin at SUfukuji in Chikuzen until 1306 when he went to Kyoto to become the 7th abbot of Ma~uji. He later served as 2nd abbot of Ryushoji, fourth abbot of Nanze~i, and from early 1333 until his death the following year was head of jochiji in Kamakura. .

76. Kraft, 282. The exchange is in the Chronicle of Daito Kokushi for the year 1321, but the dating is clearly wrong. The Chronicle (Kraft, 277) has another exchange under the year 1316: "On another ocasion the Emperor asked the Master, 'Who is the man who does not accompany the myriad dharmas?' The Master waved the fan in his hand and said 'The Imperial wind will fan the earth for a long time.'"

77. Discussed in Kraft, 113-119. 78. Kraft, 117. Kyoen's death clearly shocked people. As Hanazono

notes, revealing an interesting sidelight on conditions of the time, "Some say that he was killed by a robber, others say that he was murdered on the road. It is not known who did it. It is just inexplicable. (I later heard that his being murdered was an empty rumor. He simply died suddenly)." (HTS 1325/int 1128). Kyoen (1257-1325), another disciple of Nanpo jomin, studied at SUfukuji in Chikuzen, then, like Zekkai Sotaku, went to Manjuji and later, at Emperor Go-Daigo's instruction, became eighth abbot of Nanzenji. In his last years he served as Zen master to Go-Daigo, who bestowed upon him the title Fusho Daiko kokushi.

79. 1325/2/29 Hanazono joko inzen (Dai Nihon Komonjo, Daitokuji monjo, [compo Tokyo Daigaku Shiryo Hensanjo, 14 vols, Tokyo, 1943-1985] 1:12); 1337/8/26 Hanazono joko shinkan okibumi (DNK, Daitokuji monjo, 1:2). For Hanazono's continuing contact with Daitokuji and Myoshinji through his patromige of Kanzan Egen (1277-1360), who became Hanazono's Zen teacher after MyocM's death, see Kraft op. cit., especially 107ff., and 134717122 Hanazono joko shinkan okibumi (Shinkan eiga, 1: 162), 134717/29 Hanazono joko shinkan okibumi (Shinkaneiga, 1:163).

80. 1325/10/2, 1325/10/10. The question of Muso Soseki's (1275-1351) competence has attracted the attention of many commentators, but his crucial role in the institutionalization of the Rinzai'Zen monastic institution is beyond dispute. See Akamatsu Toshihide & Philip Yampolsky, "Muromachi Zen and the Gozan System," in j.W. Hall & TQyoda Takeshi,japan in the Muromachi


Age, 322-324; Collcutt, Five Mountains, 84 ff., 151-165; Pollack, The Fracture of Meaning, 111-133.

81. The decision to designate Daitokuji as a closed temple was actually made by Go-Daigo (133411/28 Go-Daigo tenno ri~i, DNK, Daitokuji monjo, 1:15) but Hanazono also accepted the decision (1337/8/26 Hanazono joko shinkan okibumi) (DNK, Daitokuji monjo, 1 :2). For the context of Go-Daigo's patronage, see Goble, "Go-Daigo and the Kemmu Restoration," 112-120, 288-307; Collcutt, 84-97; Kraft, 125-137; Akamatsu & Yampolsky, 324-325.

82. HTS 132311111,11120,12110,12114,1325/2/9,2/23,4/29,7117,8/24. Also Kraft, 133-134.

83. The translation is Kraft's, "Zen Master Daito," 299 and 353 note 50. Also Shinkan eiga, 1:158, 159; DNK, Daitokuji monjo, 13:3207.

84. Kraft, Ill. 85. Hanazono's explicitly political and social views, as noted most suc

cinctly in his Admonitions to the Crown Prince (Kaitaishi sho), written in 1330, will be the subject of a later study.

86. LaFleur, 88ff. 87. See R. Huey, Kyogoku Tamekane: Poetry and Politics in Late Kamakura

japan (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989) 88. HTS 1332/3/24. 89. The Fugashu (FGS), compiled around 1347, was the 17th Imperial

poetry anthology. Though formally compiled under the direction of Hanazono, who wrote the Chinese and Japanese introductions to the collection, much of the actual work was done by ex-Emperor Kogon and Reizei Tamehide (d. 1372). I have used the edition ofTsugita Kosho & Iwasa Miyoko, Fugawakashu (Tokyo, 1974).

90. FGS, 2063, 2073, 2051, 2057 & 2067. The latter two contain the Hekiganroku references, repectively to cases 46 (see following note) and 100 (the "Haryo's Sword Against Which A Hair is Blown" Man). Both are contained in Sekida, Katsuki, Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku (New York & Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1977).

9l. FGS, 2057. For the Hekiganroku reference, see Katsuki Sekida, 273-277. R. Brower & E. Miner,japanese Court Poetry (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1961),388, provide a translation of this poem, but have attributed it to ex-Emperor Fushimi (1265-1317).

92. See L: Hurvitz, Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976),293-302.

93. FGS, 2046. Translated by Brower & Miner, 367. I have drawn heavily on their interpretation. For a slightly different rendering of the poem, see G. Sansom, A History of japan: 1334-1615 (London: Cresset Press, 1961), 131. Sansom incorrectly suggests that the poem was included in Tamekane's Gyokuyoshu of 1312, leading him to note that Hanazono was "still a youth but older than his years."

94. Brower & Miner, 368.


Proper Names

Chih-i 'il'~ Chisho 'il'~ Chiigen ·,~iW.

Chiisei 1~.11

Daikakuji *'li~ Daio kokushi *I!!~rrr; Daito kokushi :k!.lf~rrr;

Daito kokushi *ti~Mi

Daitokuji *re:~ Dengyo daishi fUJI:*rrr;

Dogen ,li:5C

. Enchin 1m rt

. Enryakuji li<1if'i'Y

Eshin lH:,

Fujiwara Shunzei jj!JjJ(~JiIG

Gatsurin Doko }j f*5li:i!X

Genshin iLf.~

Go-Daigo lHU\II

Go-Fushimi lH1U1.

Go-U da 1,t'¥ ;;

:n:1II

*5li:

Honen $~

BJf'IUJl

Ikko senshii ~ r/;J "* 10 ~I

Ji BIi

Jien Qichin) ~oo (~jjJ;)

Jigen ~ti Jimyo-in j'ifaJlFO'l

Kobo dais hi ~J.$*Giji Kongokai ~ m.J'l.

Kiikai S!:ilj

Kyogoku Tamekane *~~~ Miidera ~;Jf~

Muso Soseki ?Jil(illI!1'i

Myocho ~~

Myogyo ~1IJ'i Nanpo Jomin r.iiiUllaJl

Nichiren B~

Ninnaji (=~'i'Y

Nyokii ~o S!:

Otokan 1!!~1l!l

Rinzai ~m

Saicho a~

Sanron .::.[a Shingon !il~

Shinran Mill

Shinso ,C'1iZ

Soki ltI~

Soto ..-ifil

Taimitsu a\t' Taizokai Hi;~.J'I.

Tendai ;REi

Tomitsu 'l1(\t' Tsiio Kyoen ,UHiOO

Zekkai Sotaku ~ili*~


Texts

Amida kyo fliif5H1H~

Bommo kyo JtjIH~

Chia-tai pudeng Iu ~f!H!fj.1Hk

Dainichi kyo *- B *~ Dainichi kyo gishaku *- 8 .lC.UR

Dainichi kyo sho *- 81U;;'

Fugashu JUt~

Hekiganroku ,HO"

Hitsuzo hoyaku ron M~'i:r,;,1i

Hokke kyo iHH~

Hokke honshaku i:Hio'b~R

Inkyo ilJH~

Itchosho -~~t~'

Jichin kasho muso ki )(Hil\'fj]f.\j~%,:~C

Jizo hongan kyo il~~*li'UlI Kammu ryoju kyo l!!!!!!Hi!:M~

Maka shikan ~,Hl!!!

Mo-ho shih-kuan ~,Hl!!!

M umonkan !!l\ r~ Il!l

Ojo yoshu 111o'll',tt;

Ryoga kyo t1i1Juj~

Saishoo kyo :Iii lii:H~

Senjaku (hongan nembutsu) kyo jlitR (HJL'i1:ffi;) ~

Shichi ka homon kuketsu -t:;OOi.H~Di,t(

Shin kyo {,'f~

Shittanji ki ~~'¥'§c

Shosan jodo kyo f;j;ljiiHj~

Yuima kyo ,~~i£

EMPEROR HANAZONO AND BUDDHISM

Terms

bekkyo ~Ij ~Jl

buppo ·~nt

chiikan *fIJ!

gonkyo mitsukyo IIHHHJl

gose !f;:i!t

goso lit§

hokke hakko it~J\,~

is shin sankan -'L,=:fIJ!

jitsukyo lHJl.

jo 1E

kegyo taW

kuden 0 (i:

mappo *it

metsugo mappo ili\\!f;:*it

michi ~

mujo !l!\;'j\"

obo :fit

ojo l±!j:

sankan =:fIJ!

sanmitsu =. '$

satori tli

shikan chudo no chijo ryoku li:ll!!*il!Z'iO'1E1J

shugyo (11',1'

tendoku 'Iii,'" yondo ~}j'

yusui l4'dDl

zenkon ~m

63

The Categories of T;i, Hsia.ng, and Yung: Evidence that Paramartha Com posed the Awakening of Faith

by William H. Grosnick

,Introduction

:The question of whether Paramartha's version of the Awakening ,of Faith in Mahiiyiina (AFM) I may really be a Chinese composition has long intrigued scholars of Buddhism. Because no original

\>Sanskrit manuscript of the AFM has ever been found nor any '1':teference to the AFM discovered in any Buddhist text composed '>lrilndia, scholars have long suspected that the AFM might not , 'be a Chinese translation of an Indian work. The traditional :·attribution of the text to Asvagho~a is even more suspect-as

,;rpaul Demieville pointed out, it is almost impossible to believe > 'that the Asvagho~a whom one associates with the Buddhacarita, ; the Mahiivibhi4ii, and the Sarvastivadins could have composed

\.a.ny Mahayana text, much less a sophisticated Mahayana treatise > ,like the AF M. 2 And the discovery at the beginning of this century i!; 6f Japanese references to the seventh century Buddhist figure 'Hui-chiin, a who is quoted as saying that the AFM was composed

'not by Asvagho~a, but by a "prisoner of war" who belonged to (',.the T'i lun SchooV prompted many distinguished scholars, in'. " eluding Shinko Mochizuki and Walter Liebenthal, to argue that ;: the work was a Chinese fabrication by a person affiliated with >Jhe native Chinese T'i lun School, which devoted itself to the

study of Vasubandhu's DaSabhumivyiikhyii. 4 Indeed, as recently '"as 1958, Liebenthal went so far as to say that one could take it

as "established" that a member of the T'i lun School composed AFM.5 Few would go so far as actually to name the member

the T'i lun School who wrote the AFM, as Liebenthal did '

65

66 JIA~SVOL.12NO.1

(indeed, as Liebenthal himself remarked, it is difficult to believe "that any member of the T'i lun School could have written the AFM, given that the author of the AFM does not even seem to know the ten bodhisattvabhumis described in the DaSabhumivyakhya),6 but for a long time scholarly opinion has leaned in the direction of assigning authorship of the AFM to the Chinese. ] ust recently Professor Whalen Lai has brought forward some cogent new reasons for regarding the AFM as a Chinese composition.7

In light of all this, it might seem rather daring to suggest that an Indian actually composed the AFM, but that is what I propose to argue. I do not intend to suggest that the Sarvastivadin Asvagho~a, or even a "Mahayana Asvagho~a" composed the AFM. The first place that any Asvagho~a is listed as the author of the text is in Hui-yuan's Ta-ch'eng i chang,b a work composed about a half century after Paramartha was said to have translated the AFM, so the attribution of the text to Asvagho~a probably postdated its composition. But there are a couple of pieces of important philological evidence, heretofore largely overlooked, that seem to point strongly to an Indian Buddhist, most likely Paramartha himself, as the real author of the text, or at least of major parts of it.8 The first piece of evidence is the use in the AFM of the three categories of t'i,e hsiang,d and yung,e categories which I will try to show were derived by the author of the AFM from Sanskrit categories used in the RatnagotravibhiigamahiiyanottaratantraSastra (ReV) and which could not have been formulated by anyone who did not possess a knowledge of Sanskrit. The second piece of evidence is Paramartha's interpolation of passages from the ReV into the Mahiiyanasa1fl,grahabhii$ya (MSbh), which seems to show not only that Paramartha was intimately familiar with the ReV and its categories, but also that he was personally concerned about issuesc~ntral to the AFM. When examined together with some interesting biographical details from accounts of Paramartha's life, this evidence seems to suggest the very real possibility that Paramartha was the author of the AFM.

THE AWAKENING OF FAITH 67

1. Indian Origins of the Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yurig

_ In the early "outline" (li-il section of the AFM, the author makes use of the three categories of t'i, hsiang, and yung to analyze what is meant by the "greatness" of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana):

" '".

The mind's aspect as thusness (tathata) designates the essenc~ (t'i) of Mahayana, and the aspect of mind which participates in the causes and conditions of birth and death designates the attributes (hsiang) and function (yung) of the essence of Mahayana. There are three meanings of the term. The first is the greatness of essence (t'i), which means that all dharrnas form an undifferentiated whole with thusness, to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken away. The second is the greatness of attributes (hsiang), which means that the tathiigatagarbha is endowed with limitless virtues. The third is the greatness of function (yung), so called because it can give rise to good causes and results, both in this world and in others.9

v _

~J'hese three categories are again employed-this time at greater 1length-in the "commentarial section" (chieh-shih fen)g of the text to analyze thusness (chen-ju,h tathata), the central concept oftheAFM.

For a long time scholars have suspected that this pattern 6f analysis pointed to the Chinese composition of the AFM, for later Chinese.and Japanese Buddhist commentaries like Huiyiian's Ta-ch'eng i chang and Kukai's Sokushin-jobutsu-gii make abundant use of the triad of t'i, hsiang, and yung, as do Sung Dynasty Neo-Confucian texts. And even though research has shown that this mode of analysis only became popular after Hui-yuan employed it in his Ta-ch'eng i chang-and Hui-yiian derived it directly from the AFM itself-the sheer popularity of the triad in China, together with its apparent absence in known .Indian compositions, has suggested that this mode of analysis Reflects a native Chinese way of thinking. , What seems particularly Chinese about the triad is the use of the term yung, which some scholars think is of TaOIst origin. Ihe Neo-Taoist Wang-p~ used the distinction between t'i and yung to analyze the tao and its virtues, and Y oshito Hakeda, following Zenryu Tsukamoto, has suggested that the early Bud-


dhist commentator Seng-chaok used this pattern of analysis in , his Pan-Jo wu-chih lun.! 10 Walter Liebenthal has hinted ,that the AFM triad of t'i, hsiang, and yung repre~ents a grafting of this N eo-Taoist distinction between t'i and yung onto the traditional Buddhist disti~ction between the nature of a thing (its svabhiiva, or t'i), and its attributes (lak$ar;,a, hsiang).l1 This may make some pliilosophical sense, since the Neo-Taoists used the term t'i to refer to the original, undifferentiated tao which lies beyond the distinctions of yin and yang, and contrasted this with yung, the process by which the tao unfolds to reveal its many virtues, while the AFM seems to make a parallel contrast between undifferentiated thusness and its many distinct virtues. But from a philological perspective it makes no sense whatsoever. In the first place, the AFM discusses the apparent paradox between undifferentiated thusness and its many clearly distinguishable virtues under the categories of t'i and hsiang, not t'i and yung. In the second place, what is discussed in the AFM commentary on the "function" (yung) of thusness are the Buddhist notions of the three Buddha-bodies and the indivisibility of all beings from thusness, topics which have nothing whatsoever to do with Taoism. Moreover, since no one has yet discovered a native Chinese composition predating the AFM which employs these three categories together, it seems more reasonable to credit the author of the AFM for the popularity of this mode of analysis in China.'

Rather than engage in vague speculation about native Chinese "ways of thinking" it would make more sense to search for the origins of the three categories in those Indian Buddhist texts which might have directly influenced the AFM. Much research in this area has recently been done by Japanese scholars like Professor Hirowo Kashiwagi, whose recent book, Daijokishinron no kenkyu gathers together much of the current Japanese scholarship relating to the Indian Buddhist origins of these categories.

Kashiwagi first examines the AFM reference to the three categories as "greatnesses" (ta,m mahattva). The AFM itself, of course, claims to be explaining what is meant by the "greatness" of the "Great Vehicle" (the "mahii" of "Mahayana"). It was a common practice in Indian Buddhist literature to explicate the meaning of "greatness" in this way; many texts, like the


Bodhisattvabhumika and the YogiiciirabhumiSiistra, give a traditional 'list of seven mahattvas. 12 But there also seems to have been room for free speculation on this theme---different chapters of the DaJabhumivyiikhyii speak of all sorts of greatnesses, from the greatness of the bodhisattva's vow to the greatness of his wisdom. 13 However, nowhere in any of these lists of greatnesses has anyone yet fou~d a list similar to the AFM list o~ t~e three greatnes~es of t'i, hszang, and yung. The conceptual ongInal of thecategones themselves seems to have derived from a different source.

Following an idea first suggested by Professor Jikido Takasaki, Kashiwagi suggests that the prototype of the AFM .triad of t'i,hsiang, and yung may have been a pattern used in Indian Yogacara literature for the analysis of faith (hsin,n Skt. 'adhimukti). Two Indian Yogacara works, the Vijiiaptimiitratiisiddhi (VijS) and the MSbh, both speak of three types of faith or con'fidence to be cultivated by a Mahayana practitioner: faith in the iiltimate reality (hsin shih yuO), faith in its virtues (hsin yu teP),

~nd faith in its capacity to produce future results (hsin yu nengq). 14

This triad is not precisely identical with the AFM triad, but there are some striking conceptual parallels. Both t'i and shih yu refer .to the quintessential reality of something, and both hsiang and te refer to properties. And the idea of capacity (neng) is implicit

{",;Ill what the AFM initially says about the greatness of yung, when ';~~cthe text says that the Great Vehicle "has the capacity to give l:'~nse to good causes and results, both in this world and in others."15 ?f~":Jt is also worth noting that categories for the analysis of faith ,I;!~0~ould undoubtedly be important for a treatise like the AFM ;l.;w.hich claims as its purpose the "awakening" or "arousal" of faith. ;l'~:"/ Since the author of the AFM was familiar with many 2.:~ .. Xogacarin ideas, it is certainly possible that he had read either ':;~h~he MSbh or the VijS and based his three categories in part on {:;;the three classifications of faith found in these texts. But as ·~.~~(Professor Takasaki has shown, these three ways of classifying ;;fi}faith are also found in the RGV, the central commentary of the ;i~;'Mahayana tathiigatagarbha tradition and a text with which we '~:4rican be quite sure the author of the AFM was familiar. 16 Two .:{!~.yerses on the merits of faith from the final section of the RGV -e;"'refer directly to ,these three classifications:

The basis of Buddhahood, its transfonnation,


Its properties and the performance of welfare-In these four aspects of the sphere of the Buddha's Wisdom, Which have been explained above, The wise one has become full of faith With regard to its existence (astitva) , power (Saktatva),

and virtue (gur;attva), Therefore, he quickly attains the potentiality Of acquiring the state of the Tathagata (Takasaki translation).!7

With a slight change of order, the pattern of "existence" (astitva ), "power" (saktatva) , and "virtue" (guTJattva) corresponds exactly to the pattern of "reality," "virtue," and "capacity" found in the MSbh and VijS.

Of these three categories for the analysis of faith, only the category of gUTJa seems to have been left unchanged by the author of the AFM. For it seems clear that the author of the AFM had the idea of gUTJas, or virtues, in mind when he chose the category of hsiang. In the initial outline section of the text the author says that the "greatness of attributes (hsiang tar) means that the tathiigatagarbha is endowed with limitless virtues."18 This emphasis on the numberless virtues of the Tathagata (and tathiigatagarbha) is a central theme of the ReV. One of the seven main headings (or vajrapadas) of the ReV is the topic of the gu1Jas of the Buddha, and under the heading of gU1Ja in the opening section of the text, the ReV quotes the following verse from the Srzmaladevzsutra:

o Sariputra, that which is called the Absolute Body, preached by the Tathagata, is of indivisible nature, of qualities inseparable from wisdom, that is to say, indivisible from the properties of the Buddha which far surpass the particles of sand in the Ganges River in number (Takasaki tr.).!9

Elsewhere, the ReV insists (as does the AFM),20 that the proper understanding of emptiness requires that one understand that the tathiigatagarbha is "not empty" of the buddhaguTJas. 21

The influence of the ReV theory of the virtues of the Buddha is even clearer in the commentarial section of the AFM, where one finds the following passage on the attributes (hsiang) of the essence (t'i) of thusness:


From the outset it is naturally replete with all virtues .... It is by nature endowed with the light of great wisdom .... It is mind that is pure by nature. It is eternal, blissful, true self, and pure. It is quiescent, unchanging, and self-abiding. It is endowed with the inconceivable buddhadharmas, which are inseparable, indivisible, and indistinguishable from its essence, and whose numbers are greater than the sands of the Gange5 River. 22

Almost all of the virtues listed in this passage are discussed in the opening chapter of the ReV. "Mind that is pure by nature" (cittaprakrtivaimalyadhatu) is discussed there under the heading of "all-pervasiveness" (sarvatraga).23 The four gUlJaparamitas of eternality, bliss, true self, and purity are discussed under the heading of "result" (phala).24 The terms "quiescent" (ch'ingliang S ) and "unchanging" (pu-pien t), which correspond to the Sanskrit terms siva and sasvata, respectively, are used on two separate occasions in the ReV under the heading of "changelessness" (avikara).25 And the idea that thusness is endowed with all of the innumerable buddhadharmas is discussed throughout the ReV. 26

Judging by content alone, it is clear that this commentary on the attributes (hsiang) of thusness derives directly from the ReV. And that the author of the AFM speaks of attributes (hsiang) as "virtues" (kung-te U ) seems to confirm that the author ()f the AFM had the Sanskrit category of gUlJa in mind when he chose the term hsiang, for the term gulJa, as used in reference to the Buddha, invariably refers to virtues. But it is worth noting that the term gUlJa also frequently has the wider meaning of "attribute, characteristic, or property," a meaning very close to the Chinese hsiang.27

The connection of the other two AFM categories of t'i and yung to the ReV is a bit more complicated, however, and requires that one understand the structure of the latter text.

The ReV actually uses two different sets of categories to .sonduct its analysis. The first set of categories consists of the Seven vajrapadas, or major topics addressed by the text. These seven topics are: 1) the Buddha, 2) the Dharma, 3) the SaI).gha (the traditional "three jewels"), 4) the Dhatu (the buddhadhatu or "Buddha-nature," . which is synonymous with the tathagatagarbha), and 5) enlightenment (bodhi), 6) virtues (gulJa), and 7)


the actions (karman) of the Buddha. Both Professors Takasaki "and Kashiwagi have noted that the last three of these seven topics have at least a superficial resemb~ance ,to the AFM triad of t'i, hsiang, and yung.28 The second set of categories is a set of ten categories used to analyze the tathagatagarbha in Chapter One and a closely related set of eight categories used to analyze nirmala tathatain Chapter Two. This second set" of categories is a simple expansion of a traditional set of six categories that Professor Takasaki has shown is also used in several Y ogacara texts like the Mahayana-sutrala~kara and the Yogacarabhumisastra.29 The six categories are: 1) svabhava (essence), 2) hetu (cause), 3) phala (result), 4) karman (activity), 5) yoga (union), and 6) vrtti (function, mode of appearance). The six categories were used to analyze the ultimate object of knowledge in Mahayana Buddhism, referred to variously as dharmadhatu, anasravadhatu, and tathata. The ReV uses this set of six categories to analyze the two ways in which tathata appears, first in ordinary beings (as the tathagatagarbha or samala tathata) , and second in the Buddha (as nirmala tathata). And though at first glance the AFM seems only to share the first category of svabhava (t'i) with the list of six, that it uses the" triad of t'i, hsiang, and yung to analyze tathata means that its three categories are being used for the same purpose that the six categories were traditionally used.

There seems little doubt that the author of the AFM had in mind svabhava, the first of these six categories, when he formulated his category of t'i. Next to tzu-hsingV , t'i is perhaps the most frequently used Chinese term used in Buddhist texts to translate svabhava and its meaning is certainly much closer to svabhava than it is to bodhi (the vajrapada which precedes gu'IJa in the ReV), or to astitva (the first of the three categories for the analysis of faith). More important, when one looks at what is said under the category of svabhava in Chapter Two of the ReV, one notes a great similarity to what is said of the attributes of the essence (t'i) of tathata in the AFM. This is what the ReV says of the svabhava of nirmala tathata:

B uddhahood has been spoken of as being radiant by nature ... This Buddhahood is now eternal, everlasting, and constant, Being endowed with all the pure properties of the Buddha,

THE AWAKENING OF FAITH

And is attained when the elements of existence take resort To nondiscriminative and analytical wisdom .... It is endowed with all the properties of the Buddha Which are beyond the sands of the Ganges in number, And are radiant and of uncreated nature, And whose manifestations (vrtti) are indivisible from

itself (Takasaki translation).30

73

This is what the AFM has to say about the attributes of the 'essence (t'i) of thusness:

, From the outset it is naturally replete with all virtues .... It is by nature endowed with the light of great wisdom .... It is mind that is pure by nature. It is eternal, blissful, true self, and pure. It is quiescent, unchanging, and self-abiding. It is endowed with all the inconceivable buddhadharmas, which are inseparable, indivisible, and indistinguishable from its essence, and whose number is greater than the sands, of the Ganges River.

[Both of these passages speak of the svabhava (or t'i) of thusness ~asbeing eternal, radiant,pure, endowed with wisdom, and re- ' ,~plete with innumerable virtues. ;.' .. It might be noted here that the author of the AFM is very ;;:careful in the above passage to state that he is speaking of the '-,attributes (hsiang) of the essence (t'i) ofthusness. He apparently ~Jhought that an important distinction needed to be made bet\.veen tathatii itself (its svabhava, or t'i), and the various attributes

'or virtues with which tathatii is said to be endowed. As described ,,;inan early passage of the AFM, tathatii is said to really "have i::nb attributes." It is called "the limit of what can be verbalized" ;fand "an expression used to transcend expressions."32 By contrast, tthe various virtues of the Buddha are attributes par excellence; :\~hey are verbalizations intended to characterize Buddhahood .. !;;:!' The author of the RGV does not seem to have been particut~arly aware of this apparent contradiction, either because he did :jnot understand thusness in the same way or because he was ![content simply to make his point that thusness was not empty n?finnumerable virtues. But the author of the AFM, though he ,;clearly accepted the idea that thusness was replete with innumfj~rable virtues, felt that a lengthy explanation was needed. At ;i;~he . end of his commentary on the greatness of the attributes ,1',' ;:2;,;"-' ~{,,-, ~\l;:


of thusness he appends the following question and answer:

Question: Above you said that thusnes,s in its essence (t'i) is undifferentiated and free from all attributes. How can you now say that it is endowed with these various virtues?

Answer: Although it really has these virtues it is still without any attributes by which distinctions are made .... It is free from discrimination and discriminated characteristics; it is nondual. What is explainable in terms of distinctions is only what can be shown from the perspective of "activating consciousness," which is characterized by birth and death. What does this mean? Because all things are ultimately only mind, they really are not to be found in thoughts. Ye,t because there is the deluded mind which in its nonenlightenment gives rise to thoughts and perceives objects, it is explained as being ignorant. The nature of the mind does not arise; it itself is the light of great wisdom. (But) if the mind gives rise to "seeing" (the perceiving subject), then there comes into being an "unseeing" attri!Jute (the perceived object). The freedom of the mental nature from a "subject side" is the universal dharma-realm. If the mind is stirred it is not true cognition and it loses its original nature. It is not eternal, blissful, true self, or pure. It is distressed, anxious, degenerate, and changeable, and so out of control that it possesses more faults than there are sands in the Ganges River. It is by contrast to this that one can say that the unmoved mental nature has the attribute (hsiang) of having more virtues than there are sands in the Ganges River. ... Thus all those pure virtues are of the one mind and are not objects of thought. 3:1

The point that the author is making is that it is by contrast to nonenlightenment that thusness is seen to be endowed with innumerable virtues. Thusness in its own nature is free from all forms of conceptualization; it is only from the perspective of sar(l,sara that it can be seen to have attributes.

It is apparent from the detailed argumentation of the foregoing passage that the author of the AFM devoted a great deal of thought to reconciling the innumerable attributes (gur}as) of the Buddha with the undifferentiated nature (svabhiiva) of thusness. That he was even able to perceive that this problem existed, much less come up with such an elegant solution,


)uggests that he ~~s someone. well schooled in the .Indian CtatMgatagarbha t:~dltlOn, and se:lOusl~ concer?ed abo~t Its cen;tral issues. As bnllIant as the native Chmese thmkers might have been, it seems unlikely that one of them would have both been :able to ide'utify and to resolve such a problem. What makes it jeven more unlikely is that part of the above answer is apparently phrased in classical Y ogacara terms. The expression "seeing"

i(chien W) and "attribute" (hsiangX) spoken of in the above passage "seem to be early attempts to translate the Yogacarin terms dar§ana-bhiiga (chienjen Y) and nimitta-bhiiga (hsiangjen Z). Since Yogacara texts were only beginning to be introduced into China at the time, it seems unlikely that anyone but an Indian would have employed Indian Yogacara ideas to analyze a problem ~which arose in the first place in Indian Buddhist literature. ~/. The question of the Sanskrit origin of the third AFM cate/gory of yung is a more intriguing problem. Looking through ()the two sets of categories employed by the ReV one can find tWo Sanskrit terms which, like the Chinese yung, can mean some

ahing like "function." The first of these is karman, the seventh ';Ofthe vajrapadas and the fourth of the six traditional Y ogacara lcategories of analysis. The second of these is vrtti, the sixth of ;the Yogacara categories. Karman is generally translated as "work" Jpr"activity," which is close in meaning to yung. Vrtti often means ;,something like "manifestation" or "mode of appearance," ~th0ugh Monier-Williams lists a wide range of possible meanings ;Ofthe term, including "function" and "activity."34 That Hsiian!'tsang used yung on several occasions to translate vrtti in his {translation of the Abhidharmakosa shows that eminent Chinese it-ranslators of the period regarded yung and vrtti to be similar ~.~meaning. 35

.. As the seventh vajrapada, karman is also the third term in ~the triad of bodhi, gu'TJa, and karman, so from the point of view ,9f formal structure, karman would seem to bea likelier origin Jor the category of yung than vrtti. But when one examines what ';the ReV says under the category of karman, one finds little that fp~iallels what the AFM says under the category of yung. When ~~peaking, for example, of the karman, or activity, of the Buddha, ghe ReV emphasizes that the Buddha's acts are effortless, con~'qliuous, and free from false discrimination,36 whereas the AFM {~ays nothing like this under the category of yung.


By contrast, what the AFM does talk about under the category of yung is remarkably similar to what the ReV says under the category of vrtti, for both texts use these headings to discuss the theory of the Buddha-bodies. In Chapter Two of the Rev the subject of Buddhahood is analyzed in the following manner under the category of vrtti:

Now again it should be known that this Buddhahood, due to its possession of properties uncommon to others, manifests itself, though by means of a manifestation (vrtti) which is inseparable from its immutable qualities like space, still in the forms of three immaculate bodies, viz. "the Body of Absolute Essence (svabhiivika)," "the Body of E~oyment (siimbhogya)," and "the Apparitional Body (nairmiinika)," with various inconceivable activities like great skillful means, great compassion, and wisdom, in order to be the support and welfare and happiness of all sentient beings (Takasaki translation).37

In the commentarial section of the AFM we find the following commentary on the function (yung) of thusness:

This function (yung) occurs in two different forms. The first is what is seen by the minds of ordinary beings, sriivakas, and pratyekabuddhas based on their "object-discriminating consciousness." This is called the "transformation body" (nirmii'fJakiiya) . ... The second is what is seen by the minds of bodhisattvas between the initial and final stages based on "activating consciousness." This is called the "reward body" (sar(lbhogakiiya).3H

The author of the AFM goes on to explain that both of these Buddha-bodies are perceived because of incorrect thinkingordinary beings cannot perceive the sar(lbhogakaya because of their attachment to corporeal form and bodhisattvas who have not completed the stages cannot perceive the dharmakaya because they are not yet free from dualistic thinking. If beings could overcome these coarse and subtle illlusions they would perceive the only true body, the dharmakaya. This thinking accords with analysis found in the vrtti section of the ReV, which also subordinates the nirma1'}akaya and the sar(lbhogakaya to the dharmakiiya,39 and which suggests that the appearance of the former two bodies is conditioned by illusions.40


it was apparently a fairly common practice in Indian Yogadira Buddhism to discuss the Buddha-bodies under the category of vrtti, for this use of vrtti is also found in a verse from the Mahiiyana~sutrala1J'lkara. The last verse in a series of six which describe the highest reality (aniiSravadhiitu) in terms of the same six Yogacara categories used by the ReV says that the highest .reality "manifests itself variously by the body of its own essence, by that of enjoyment of th~ do~trin~, and ~y that of ~ncarnation" (svabhiivadharmasar{lbhoganzrmazr bhznnavrttzkalt). 41 If It was a common practice to discuss the trikaya theory under the category of vrtti then there were probably any number of sources besides the Rev from which the author of the AFM might have derived his category of yung.

There is another subject discussed under the vrtti category of the ReV that parallels what is discussed under the category ofyung in the AFM. This is the manifestation (vrtti) of thus ness in beings of different levels of spiritual awareness, namely ordinary beings, aryas, and Buddhas. Although other sections of the RGV distinguish among the understandings that these three types of beings have of thusness, thevrtti section of Chapter One of the ReV affirms that all three are identical with thusness. KariM 10 reads:

Those who have seen the truth say that Ordinary being, iirya, or Buddha-All are indivisible from thusness. Thus all beings possess the tathiigatagarbha. 42

Our purpose of discussing tathata under the heading of vrtti was apparently to make clear that thusness is manifested in all beings. The author of the AFM also seems to have been aware of this second use of the category of vrtti. In his commentary on the function (yung) of thusness he explains that all buddhas and tathagatas regard all beings as their own bodies, because "they perceive truly that their own bodies and those of all beings form asingle, undifferentiated whole with thusness and are not distillct from one another."43 This is another indication that the author of the AFM was thinking of the San skirt vrtti when he llsed the term yung.

What all of this means is that the three AFM categories of


t'i, hsiang, and yung seem to be related to traditional Indian . Buddhist categories in a very complex and intricate way. It seems clear that the author of the AFM was familiar with several different sets of categories used in the 'ReV and elsewhere in the Indian Buddhist philosophical tradition, including: 1) the three categories for the analysis of faith (astitva, gu1}attva, and saktatva) spoken of in the MSbh, VijS, and ReV; 2) the ReV vajrapadas, and most especially the sixth vajrapada of gu1}a; and 3) the six Yogacara categories, which include the categories of svabhiiva and vrtti, found in the ReV and several other texts. Enough direct connections can be drawn between these Indian categories and the categories of the AFM that there is no reason to think that the three AFM categories represent native Chinese ways of thinking. Indeed, the author of the AFM so skillfully incorporates the subject matter traditionally discussed under the various Indian categories into his own unique analysis that it seems almost as if the use of those Indian categories was second nature to him. This suggests very strongly that the author of the text was an Indian.

Linguistic evidence also suggests that the author of the AFM must have been an Indian, for it seems very unlikely that a native Chinese working from the translations available to him at the time could have conceived of the categories of hsiang and yung. Neither Ratnamati's translation of the ReV (the Pao-hsing lun,aa PHL), nor Paramartha's Fo-hsing lunao (FHL), a text which incorporates large sections of the ReV, use the AFM term hsiang to translate gu1}a (both use kung-te),44 nor does either text use yung to translate vrtti (the PHL uses hsing,ac "activity,"45 and the FHL usesjen-pien,ad "distinctions"46). So it is difficult to imagine how any native Chinese, no matter how familiar he was with translations of the ReV, could have discovered the categories of hsiang and yung. Unless he knew that gu1}a meant both "attribute" and "virtue," why would he substitute hsiang for kung-te? And unless he knew that the Buddha-bodies were traditionally discussed under the category of vrtti, why would he have used the term yung instead of hsing or jen-pien? It seems clear that the categories of hsiang and yung could only have been formulated by someone who was doing his thinking in Sanskrit.


II. paramartha's Mahayanasatp.grahabha~ya Interpolations

If the author of the AFM needs to have known Sanskrit and ~to have been familiar with the ReV, the most likely person to have composed the text would be Paramartha, who is tradition\~Uy credited with being its translator. Paramartha is of course Dbest known for being the Indian who first introduced Yogacara ideas in any number into China, and he is credited with the translation of such important Yogacara works as the Madhyanta

i,0ibhaga, the Mahayanasar(lgraha, and the Vir{liatikavijiiaptimatrattisiddhi. But his other translations also show that he was inti

'crilately familiar with the ReV. In fact, it is probably no exaggera\ion to say that Paramartha knew the ReV better than any other P'Ihdian translator who came to China. Not only has he tradition~,any been considered the translator (and perhaps may be the !'~uthor) of the Fo-hsing lun, a text so heavily influenced by the ~;RGV that Professor Hattori thought it to be a second version ;,(bfthat text,47 but Jikid6 Takasaki has also argued convincingly that Paramartha employed the ReV to compose the Wu-shang

')zichingae (*Anuttarasrayasutra).4H And a comparison of Para'.martha's translation of Vasubandhu's Mahayanasar(lgrahabhOJya r'(MSbh) with the other versions of the text (one Tibetan, two Chinese), shows clearly that Paramartha interpolated an additional half-dozen passages based on the Rev into the MSbh ;~ithout acknowledging their true source. (There is little doubt :tJiat Paramartha himself was responsible for these interpola;ti~ms, since one particular passage-' a direct quotation from the 'Rev giving the author's supposed reasons for writing his commentary-omits a line which is found exclusively in the Chinese 'translation of the ReV, which almost certainly rules out the :possibility of a native Chinese having added the passages).49 So there is little doubt that Paramartha knew and esteemed the Rev.

>t _<

',," But what would be more important for determining ':?vhether Paramartha is likely to have written the AFM would be ,l<nowing what specific ideas from the Rev Paramartha person::~lly considered to be significant. The passages from the Rev ~hich Paramartha inserted into the MSbh give some indication ,.6f this, for he obviously considered them important enough to .,s'lleak them into another text. Interestingly enough, the ideas .in these passages seem to show a very close connection to the


central ideas of the AFM. Perhaps the most significant of the passages inserted by

Paramartha into the MSbh is the first one, a famous passage from the Mahiiyanabhidharmasiltra (AbhidhS) that is quoted in the RGV:

The beginningless dhiitu is the foundation of all dharmas; Because of its existence, there exists the gatis and the acquisition

of nirvii'IJa.50

Since the AbhidhS is no longer extant, there is no way of knowing exactly what the author of this passage originally intended, but because the passage referred to the beginningless dhatu as the source of the six gatis, the realms of transmigration within sar(lsara, it was interpreted by Yogacaras as referring to the alayavijiiana, the consciousness that is the basis of all defiled states of mind. At the same time, because the passage also says that the existence of this beginningless dhiitu is the basis of the attainment of nirva1J,a, it was interpreted by the author of the RGV as referring to the buddhadhiitu (Buddha-nature) and tathiigatagarbha. The AbhidhS passage itself suggests that these interpretations do not necessarily contradict one another-they can be harmonized. And anyone familiar with the AFM knows that this is essentially what the text sets out to accomplish, even though it does not refer to this passage directly. Not only does the AFM speak of the tathiigatagarbha and the alaya in virtually the same breath, it also attempts to show how these two aspects of the human mind are related. When the AFM speaks of the pure, unevolved nature of the mind as identical with thusness, it is explaining how the "beginningless dhiitu" can be responsible for the attainment of nirva1J,a. And when it describes how the human mind gives rise to deluded thoughts (nien af), it is explaining how that same dhiitu can be responsible for the existence of sar(lsara. It is entirely possible that one intent of the author of the AF M was to clarify this enigmatic passage from the AbhidhS.

The AFM does not quote the whole AbhidhS passage, but there are clear echoes of it found in the text. In the section of the AFM which is aimed at correcting misunderstandings, for example, the fifth error listed is the following:


Hearing the sutras explain that, based on the tathiigatagarbha, sa'T{LSiira exists and that based on the tathiigatagarbha, there is the attainment of nirvii'f)a, they misunderstand and say that sentient beings must have a beginning.51

The AFM corrects this error by saying that just as the t~thiigatagarbha is "beginningless," so is ignorance,52'so it seems --'that the author of the AFM had the beginningless dhiitu of the AbhidhS in mind both when he described the error and when 'he explained how to correct it. . ..•.. Paramartha follows his insertion of this quotation into the MSbh with the interpolation of a couple of passages derived from the Rev which comment on the "beginningless dhiitu." :,The first explains how this dhiitu is the basis of "all of the bud.dhadharmas, which are eternally joined together, inseparable from wisdom, unconditioned, and more numerous than the ~~ands of the Ganges River."53 As we have seen, theAFM discusses ihis idea of the innumerable buddhadharmas under the heading !()fthe attributes (hsiang) of thusness. The second interpolation s~xplains that "if the tathiigatagarbha did not exist, there would "not be the hatred of suffering nor the desire, wish, and longing :for nirvii'f)a."54 This passage is also echoed in the AFM, which twice says that the "permeation of thusness" (chen-ju hsiin-hsiag),

I~what "enables beings to hate the sufferings of sar(lSiira and seek nirviina."55 ';! •

. This insertion into the MSbh of the AbhidhS quote and the :ReV commentaries to it would itself be sufficient to establish \~hat Paramartha was personally concerned with ideas that the ~uthor of the AFM thought important. But there are a couple 6f other interpolations that also show his interest in issues central JO the AFM. Another passage taken from the Rev that :raramartha interpolates into the MSbh compares the omnipres- . ~nce of,the dharmakiiya to the omnipresence of space: "Just as there is no physical form outside of the realm (dhiitu) of space/ "So there is no being in the realm of sattvas who is outside of the ~harmakiiya. "56 This analogy of the dharmakiiya to space is also .found in the AFM:

~ . .'., . The freedom of the mind from thoughts is analogous to space,


for there is no place that it does not penetrate. The one mark (hsiang) of the dharmadhiitu is this universal dharmakiiya of the Tathagata.57

This AFM passage actually seems to derive from another verse in the ReV which compares pure mind and space: "Just as space pervades all without discrimination/ so the mind which is by nature free from defilement/ pervades all without discrimination."58 As I have shown elsewhere, this analogy between pure mind and space is only part of the much more extensive hsinnienah complex that the author of the AFM seems to have derived from the ReV notions of cittaprakrti and ayoniSomanaskara. 59 But what is important to note here is that Paramartha's interpolation shows that, like the author of the AFM, he too had a fondness for the ReV's comparisons of pure mind and the dharmakaya to the all-pervading character of space.

There is a third passage that Paramartha interpolates into the MSbh which also seems connected to the AFM in a significant way. This is a passage found in a commentary under the heading of vrtti (sheng-ch'i ai), which explains that of the three Buddhabodies, the dharmakaya is the most difficult to see:

Of the three bodies, the sa7[lbhoga and nirmiinakiiyas are easily seen, but the dharmakiiya is only seen with difficulty. The dharmakiiya is easily seen by buddhas and bodhisattvas who are advanced in their practice, but there are four types of beings who have difficulty seeing it: ordinary beings, sriivakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas who are beginning their practice. 60

This passage shows that Paramartha was aware of a second text in addition to the ReV which discussed the theory of the three Buddha-bodies under the category of vrtti, and so makes it all the more likely that he would have chosen this model to follow if he had written the AFM. The content of this passage and its accompanying commentary also resembles the Buddha-body discussion of the AFM. As in the AFM, the other two bodies are subordinated to the dharmakaya. And in the commentary which immediately follows the above passage, Paramartha's interpolation explains that the appearance of the nirmana and sarrtbhogakayas is due to the varying kinds of obstacles that obscure


the ~inds of different beings-a very similar explanation to the one found in the AFM.6J

These various passages that Paramartha interpolated into the MSbkdo not, of course, prove without a shadow of a doubt

Lthat Paramartha composed the AFM. Nothing-not even the sworn testimony of his contemporaries--could really do that . . But they do give an impression of what Paramartha, as an indi-vidual, was concerned about. Taken together, they seem to be solid evidence that he was concerned about the very same issues as the author of the AFM.

Ill. The Evidence from Paramartha's Biographies

.~ What do the early catalogues and biographies tell us about \he possibility that Paramartha composed rather than translated . the AFM? About all that one can say with certainty is that they "show that the early cataloguers and biographers were confused .;;enough about the circumstances of the translation of the AFM ;1that anything is possible, including Paramartha's personal authorship of the text. , The earliest catalogue that mentions the AFM is the Chung :fching mou lu aj (CCML) , compiled by Fa-chingak and others in '594. Under the heading of "doubts about commentaries," the ;.CCML lists the AFM with a note saying that "it is said that this .;treatise was commented on (shihal) by Paramartha, but we do not ,find it listed in the catalogue of his works, which is why we list 'it as doubtful" (italics mine).62 Demieville suggests that this is in.ot really an allegation that the treatise was fabricated in China, .since the CCML has another heading for texts of that sort.63 But

:'jt is interesting to note that there may have been some confusion . at the time as to whether Paramartha translated the AFM or ~i~lse wrote something in connection with it, since some editions ;of the CCML have Fa-ching using the character shih ("comment ~h"), rather than i am ("translate"). In any case, Fa-ching does in()t seem to have known much about Paramartha's works, since ;he attributes only 26 texts to him and, contrary to his usual ~i>ractice, includes few specifics concerning the place or date of :translation. l"' The most reliable of the early accounts seems to be the

~~~':",:

,11 .. ;::'::


Li-taisan-pao chian (LTSPC) ofFei Chang-fang,aOwhich appeared in 597. This text attributes some 64 works to Paramartha, including the translation of the AFM, so Fei m!lst have had acce~s to information not available to Fa-ching. Quite possibly this information came from a biography of Paramartha composed by Ts'ao-pi,ap the nephew of Hui-k'ai,aq one of Paramartha's most famous disciples,' since the LTSPC refers to this biography on three occasions. According to the LTSPC, Paramartha translated the AFM in 550 at the estate of Lu Yiian-che,ar the governor of Fu-ch'un,as and wrote a two-chapter commentary on it.64

Paramartha had fled to Lu's estate after the rebel Hou-chingat had deposed his first patron, Emperor Wu of Liang, shortly after Paramartha's arrival in the capital.

This account is interesting for several reasons. First of all, like the CCML, the LTSPC indicates that Paramartha wrote a commentary on the AFM, which shows that the early biographers were aware of a tradition that held that Paramartha composed something in connection with the AFM. Whatever that commentary was (unless it was the AFM itself), it no longer exists. Could confusion over whether Paramartha translated or composed the AFM have led them to infer that he must have composed such a commentary?

The LTSPC account is also interesting because it assigns a very early date (550) to the translation of the AFM. If this date is correct it means that Paramartha translated (or composed) theAFM within four years of his arrival in China and, depending on whether he went to Liang-an in 558 or 563, at least 8, and perhaps as many as 13 years before he met Hi..Ii-k'ai and the other distinguished monks with whom he translated the Mahiiyanasa'I'{Lgraha and Abhidharmakosa. This means that Huik'ai, who presumably was an important source for his nephew's biography, could not possibly have known the precise circumstances of the translation (or composition) of the AFM. Perhaps all he really knew was that the text had been finished prior to his period of affiliation with Paramartha.

Of course, 550 is not the only date given in the early biographies. The K'ai yuan lU,au which was not written until 730 and which is not generally regarded as very reliable, gives 552 for the date of translation of the AFM.65 But whichever date one accepts, if either, it is clear that early Chinese tradition assigned


.the AFM to the first stages of Paramartha's activity in China. It 'is only speculation, but if in fact he wrote the AFM, it is in a way logical for Paramartha to have composed it early in his career. Since the AFM is a compact introduction to the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism, it seems like a kind of text a missionary would have composed as part of his initial efforts .. And given

. the terrible political situation at the time (Paramartha's first

.patron, Emperor Wu of Liang, had just been forced to starve 1 himself to death by a rebel), Paramartha might have feared for (his own life-an ample motive to set down in summary form 'everything that he considered essential to Mahayana Buddhism. . .... In any case, if Paramartha composed the AFM in the early '550's, there was plenty of time for this fact to have been lost to .his later disciples. The twenty monks who were said to have been with Paramartha at the estate of Lu Yiian-che were no ~longer with him in 563. (or 558) when he met Hui-k'ai, Fa-t'ai,av and the other monks who formed his last group of disciples. indeed, in his extensive travels to avoid the political turmoil of {the times, Paramartha had joined up with and separated from many other Chinese monks in the interim (which also serves to

;;explain why the Chinese in Paramartha's different translations .:Varies so much).66 Moreover, since the AFM was not a focal point '()f interest in Paramartha's lifetime (it did not really become important until Fa-tsang took an interest in it over a century later), it is possible that Paramartha's later disciples did not even care who wrote it. The avid· interest aroused by the 'Mahiiyiinasa'Y{tgraha may have driven the AFM so far into the ,background that the text and its authorship were simply for(gotten . . i On the other hand, about the time of Paramartha's death Jin 569, there occurred an event that could have caused Paramartha's last disciples to hide the fact of his authorship of 'the AFM,'had they known about it. This was the suppression ,of Paramartha's new translations of Yogacara texts, brought 'i,about by the monks of Nanking, who were perhaps jealous. of itheir reputations, and who, in any case, had been schooled more ialong Madhyamika lines, studying the PaiicavimSatikaprajiiiijJiiramitiisutra and the treatises of N agarjuna and Aryadeva. It is at least plausible that one of Paramartha's disciples might have attributed the AFM to a venerable Indian monk like Asva-

r"


gho~a in an effort to win sympathy for the new texts. This too is speculation, but since the earliest attribution of the AFM to Asvagho~a appears in Hui-yuan's Ta-ch,'eng i. chang, which may not have been composed until 590 or SO,67 the tradition of Asvagho~a's authorship may have developed rather late.

Still, Paramartha himself was not above falsely assigning authors to Indian Buddhist texts, especiallY when those texts bore some connection to the RGV. He may have been responsible for attributing the authorship of the Fo-hsing lun to Vasubandhu, though his disciples may also have had a hand in that. 68 But he most definitely was responsible for inserting passages from the Rev into the MSbh, thus implying that Vasubandhu wrote them. And whether or not, as Takasaki suggests, he composed the Wu-shang-i ching on the basis of the ReV, he had to have known

. that he was presenting a commentarial work as if it were an authentic sutra preached by the Buddha. So Paramartha was anything but scrupulous when it came to identifying the true sources of texts, especially when the RGV was involved in any way. If he had composed the AFM and then ascribed it to Asvagho~a, it would at least have been consistent with his previous practice.

Taken as a whole, the biographical information available regarding Paramartha's life and work does not seem to point as strongly to his authorship of the AFM as the other evidence. (This is hardly surprising, considering that tradition holds him to be the translator and not the author of the text). But it is significant that the information that can be gleaned from the catalogues and biographies allows plenty of scope for the possibility that he wrote the AFM. The other very substantial evidence: 1) that the author of the AFM must have had intimate knowledge of the traditional Indian Buddhist philosophical categories found in the ReV in order to have used the triad of t'i, hsiang, and yung (and Paramartha had such knowledge); 2) that the author of the AFM had to have known Sanskrit in order to translate gu1Ja as hsiang and to discuss the BUGdha-bodies under the category of yung (vrtti) (and Paramartha knew both the language and this use of vrtti); 3) that the author of the AFM tried to harmonize Yogacara and tathagatagarbha ideas (and Paramartha was intimately familiar with both); 4) that the author


:of the AFM knew and used many of the same quotations and allalogies that Paramartha used in his MSbh interpolations; and 5) that whenever the RGV w:as involved, Parama~tha was inclined to falsify the true authorshIp of a text (and the mfluence of the ilGVon the AFM is clear)-all this points strongly enough to Paramartha's authorship of the AFM.

ilfr. Implications

These various arguments for Paramartha's authorship of rthe AFM will undoubtedly appear more convincing to some ;;.§cholars than to others. At issue, however, is a great deal more than the authorship of a single text. Chinese Buddhism has

~.Often come under fire for substantially altering Indian Buddhist Ideas, and the AFM is frequently held up as an example of the

2early sinification of the Buddhist tradition. If Paramartha did fwrite the AFM, then there is a great deal more that is authenti"~al1y Indian in Chinese Buddhist thought (both in the AFM ~ltseIf and in the many works that it influenced), than scholars ftl~ave heretofore been willing to believe. And both those who i~dismiss Chinese Buddhist thought and those who revel in native ~.Chinese contributions will have to rethink their positions. ~.: Moreover, if Paramartha wrote the AFM, this would also 'itlter our picture of Indian Buddhism, particularly our picture ['l9fYogacara Buddhism as it developed in the late fifth and early 'sixth centuries following Asanga and Vasubandhu. Scholars ihave had a tendency to dismiss some of the Y ogacara ideas in ;:the AFM as Chinese creations, and to attribute the AFM's linking ;~()f the tathagatagarbha and iilayavijiiiina to some sort of Chinese Jpassion for harmony. They have often treated Indian Yogacara til~something wholly distinct from the tathagatagarbha tradition:~this in spite of Takasaki's arguments that the RGV was written tby a Yogacara. 69 But it is quite clear even from Paramartha's finterpolations in the MSbh, not to mention his translations of l'h,oth tathiigatagarbha and Yogacara texts, that some Indian 'yogacaras were well acquainted with the tathiigatagarbha literaitlire. If Paramartha wrote it, the AFM would serve as a classic ;example of Yogacara-tathagatagarbha syncretism, providing a


clear model of how Indian Y ogacaras of the time harmonized the teaching of the tathagatagarbha with other, more "classically" Y ogacara conceptions.

NOTES

l. The Ta-ch'eng ch'i hsin lun, T 1666.32.575-583. There also exists, of course, the translation of Sik~ananda (T 1667), but since this other translation is probably a redaction of Paramartha's version, and since it carries with it a plethora of scholarly problems of its own, all references will be to Paramartha's versIOn.

2. Paul Demieville, "Sur L'Authenticite du Ta Tch'eng K'i Sin Lauen," in Chaix D'Etudes Bauddhiques (1929-1970) (Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1973), p. 63.

3. In ch. 5 of his Sanran gensha mangiyoaw (T 2299.70.228c), Chinkai,ax a twelfth century Japanese monk, quotes Hui-chlin's Ta-ch'eng ssu-lun hsilan i as saying this. Tan'ei,ay a fourteenth century monk, also cites this passage in his Kishin ketsugishO. az Demieville, p. 66.

4. Mochizuki maintains that the AFM was composed by Tan tsun (*504-*588), a member of the southern faction of the T'i lun School, in collaboration with his disciple Tan-ch'ienba (542-607). Liebenthal believes that Taochungbb (dates unknown), a member of the northern faction of the school, was the author. Liebenthal, "New Light on the Mahayana-Sraddhotpada Sastra," T'oung Paa, 46 (1958), pp. 160,210.

5. Liebenthal, p. 158. 6. Liebenthal, pp. 177-78. 7. See his "A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith:

Sik~ananda's Redaction of the Word 'Nien,'" The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies UIABS), 3, No.1 (1980), pp. 34-53 and "Hu-Jan Nien-Ch'i (Suddenly a Thought Rose): Chinese Understanding of Mind and Consciousness," jIABS, 3, No.2 (1980), pp. 42-59.

8~ Liebenthal lists 17 possible emendations to the AFM, many of which he attributes to a "worshipper of Amitabha" (pp. 195-97). It is difficult to judge whether all of these passages are by another hand (or hands), but the references to Pure Land Buddhist ideas do seem inconsistent with the rest of the text. It is also possible that a disciple of Paramartha's might have added occasional explanations (prefaced by the term yu be), to the original text.

9. T 1666.32.575c.23-28. 10. Yoshito S. Hakeda, The Awakening of Faith Attributed to Aivagho~a

(New York: Columbia U. Press, 1967), p. 112. In my opinion, nothing in Seng-chao's use of the terms t'i and yung even remotely resembles the AFM's use of these terms. It isn't even clear that Seng-chao uses the terms in contrast to one another. For example, in one passage Seng-chao writes, "activity (yung) is quiescence (chi bd) and quiescence is activity. Activity and quiescence are of


, ne ~ature (t'i)." Chao"lun, T 1858.45.154c.16-17. Clearly,yung is being under" rtoOd in re~erence to chi, not t'i.

11. LIebenthal, p. 166. . :, 12. The seven mahattvas listed in the Bodhisattvabhumi are 1) dharma" "~'ahattva, 2) pittotpada"m., 3) adhimukti"m., 4) adhyasaya"m., 5) saT[tbhara"m., 6) :/u"ila"m., and 7) samudagama"m. Hirowo Kashiwagi, Daijokishinron no kenkyu f(TOkyo: Shunj?sha: 1981), p. 482. .. . 13. KashIwagI, p. 483.

14. T 1585.31.29b.23-27, T 1595.31.200c.21-27. Kashiwagi, p. 484. 15. T 1666.32.575c.28. 16. Jikido Takasaki, "Nyoraizo"setsu ni okern shin no kozo," Komazawa

:[Jaigaku Bukkyogakubu Kiyo, 22 (1964). ..•.. 17. Chiu"ching i"ch'eng pao"hsing lun (PHL) 4, T 161 1.3 1.847a. 16-20. Jikido Takasaki, A Study on the Ratnagotravibhaga (Uttaratantra) (Rome: Is.M.E.O., 1966), p. 382.

18. T 1666.32.575c.26-27. 19. PHL 1, T 1611.31.821b.I-3. Takasaki, Study, p. 144. 20. T 1666.32.576a.25-26. 21. PHL 3, T 1611.31.835b.28-29. 22. T 1666.32.579a.I4-20. 23. PHL 3, T 1611.31.832b.8. Takasaki, Study, p. 233. 24. PHL 3, T 1611.31.829b.9. Takasaki, Study,p. 207. 25. PHL 3, T 1611.31.835a.20. Takasaki,Study, p. 257.

.... 26. Takasaki, Study, pp. 228-29 (yoga). This passage is missing in the

. Chinese. PHL 3, T 1611.31.835b.23ff. and Takasaki, Study, p. 259 (asaT[tbheda). jPHL 4, T 1611.31.841b.ll and Takasaki, Study, p. 315 (svabhava). . 27. Monier"Williams, A Sanskrit"English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon 'i'ress, 1899), p. 357. .. 28. Kashiwagi, p. 485.

29. Jikido Takasaki, "Description of the Ultimate Reality by Means of Six Categories in Mahayana Buddhism," Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu (IBK), 9 (1961), pp. 731-40.

30. Takasaki, Study, pp. 314-15. PHL 4, Tl611.31.841b.2-12. 31. T 1666.32.579a.I4-18.

i~~.. 32. T 1666.32.576a.I4-15. 33. T 1666.32.579a.21-b8.

:~. 34. Monier"Williams, p. 1010. 35. Hirakawa, Index to the Abhidharmakosabha,5ya (Tokyo: Daizo Shuppan

Kabushikikaisha, 1977), 2, p.474. . .' 36. See, for example, PHL 1, T 1611.31.821b.8-9 (Takasaki, Study,

145) or PHL 4, T 1611.31.846a.21-23 (Takasaki, Study, p. 355). 37. PHL 4, T 1611.31.842c.2-7. Takasaki, Study, p. 324. 38. T 1666.32.579b.20-25. 39. PHL 4, T 1611.31.843b.16-18. Takasaki, Study, p. 331. 40. PHL 4, T 1611.31.842c.27-843b.12. Takasaki, Study, p. 328-29. 41. Takasaki, "Description," p. 737.


42. PHL 3, T 1611.31.831c.21-22. 43. T 1666.32.579b.13-14. 44. PHL 1, T 1611.31.820c.24, 821a.7. Fo-hsing lun (FHL) 2, T

1610.31.798c.19 or FHL 4, T 1610.31.812c.9-813a.2 .. 45. PHL 3, T 1611.31.828b.19. 46. FHL 2, T 1610.31.796b.3. 47. Masaaki Hattori, "BusshOron no ikkOsatsu," Bukkyoshigaku 4 (1955),

p. 160ff 48. Takasaki, Study, pp. 49-53. 49. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku ShOdaijoron-Seshin-shaku m okeru

nyoraizosetsu," in Yuki-kyoju shOju kinen bukkyoshi shisoshi ronshil (Tokyo: Daizo Shuppan, 1964), p. 256.

50. MSbh 1, T 1595.31.156c.12-13. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku," p. 243. 51. T 1666.32.580a.26-28. 52. T 1666.32.580a.29-b.1. 53. T MSbh 1, T 1595.31.156c.28-157a.1. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku,"

p.243. 54. MSbh 1, T 1595.31.157a.4-5. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku," p. 244. 55. T 1666.32.578b.8, 22-23. 56. MSbh 13, T 1595.31.252b.17-18. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku," p. 244. 57. T 1666.32.576b.12-13. 58. PHL 3, T 1611.31.832b.8-9. 59. See my article entitled "Cittaprakrti and AyoniSomanaskara in the Ratna

gotravibhaga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of the Awakening of Faith," ]lABS, 6, No.2 (1983), pp. 35-47.

60. MSbh 14, T 1595.31.258h.22-25. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku," p. 247. The MSbh uses all six of the traditional categories in this section.

61. MSbh 14, T 1595.31.258b.25-c.12. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku," pp. 248-50.

62. CCML 5, T 2146.55.142a.16. Demieville, p. 4. 63. Demieville, p. 6. 64. LTSPC 11, T 2034.49.99a.5,l1. 65. K'ai-yiian shih-chiao lu 6, T 2154.55.538b.6-7. Demieville, p. 10. 66. Some scholars who believe that the AFM was fabricated in China

have argued that the terminology of the AFM differs from that ordinarily employed by Paramartha-that whereas, for example, Paramartha usually translates tathatii as ju-ju be and avararJa as chang, bf the AFM uses chenju bg and ai. bh Demieville points out quite aptly that Paramartha never really translated anything directly into Chinese himself, but instead worked with whole teams of translators, and those translation teams changed frequently. So any stylistic or terminological variations in his translations are more likely to be evidence of a change in his staff than to be evidence that he did or did not translate a given text (Demieville, pp. 68-70).

67. Demieville, p. 62. 68. Takasaki, "Shindai-yaku," p. 261.

THE AWAKENING OF FAITH

.(;.los;ary of Chinese Characters -4-\ 1.*

a J!. j~ u ):1" ~%.'

,~ 'II~!:.A,. aa . ~ .J- ritii

ae ~T

ad lif ~Ij

ae ~..t hI<. ~t

f A a )~~

al :':t:. M

aJ -t- M~· @. ~

al ~

.am tl

i${!,E-. -ao "i"!. .1-" fA

as '~ *"

au ~ Tt~

av>lk

ay ;!t,~

bb 3l 'if be J..-

bd ,...J--, ~~

be -10-1.0.

bf r~

bg !~r:J. /,

bh hVc

91

92 jIABS VOL. 12 NO.1

Sources

Demieville, Paul. "Sur L'Authenticite du Ta Tch'eng K'i Sin Louen. In Choix D'Etudes Bouddhiques (1929-1970). Leyden: 'E. J. Brill, 1973, pp. 1-79.

Grosnick, William. "Cittaprakrti and AyoniSomanaskiira in the Ratnagotravibhiiga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of the Awakening of Faith." ]lABS, 6, No.2 (1983), pp. 35-47.

Hakeda, Yoshito S., tr. The Awakening of Faith Attributed to AsvaghoJa. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967. . I

Hattori Masaaki. "BusshOron no ikkosatsu" ( -it ti ~~ (1\ - ! '1/:1. ) Buk-kyoshigaku ( 1t ~ t~ ),4 (1955), pp. 160-74. \ ;T;

Kashiwagi Hirowo. Daijokishinron no kenkyu( *-~2 {~~~.O"\ h~ t) Tokyo: Shunjilsha, 1981).

Lai, Whalen. "A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith: Sik~ananda's Redaction of the Word 'Nien.'" ]lABS, 3, No.1 (1980), pp. 34-53.

_______ ''Hu-Jan Nien-Ch'i (Suddenly a Thought Rose): Chinese Understanding of Mind and Consciousness." ]lABS, 3, No.2 (1980), pp. 42-59.

Liebenthal, Walter. "New Light on the Mahiiyiina-Sraddhotpiida Siistra." T'oung Pao, 46 (1958), pp. 155-216.

Takasaki Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhiiga (Uttaratantra). Rome: Is.M.E.O., 1966.

Takasaki Jikido. "Description of the Ultimate Reality by Means of Six Categories in Mahayana Buddhism," IBK, 9 (1961), pp. 731-40.

__ ---;--;---;--;-::~"Shindai-yaku Shodaijoron-Seshin-shaku ni okem nyoraizo setsu"

(~~~l·~A*~ i:m @¥j--*-~I:~'lt~~o~~iSiJ· In Yukikyoju shOju kinen bukkyoshi shisoshi ronshtl ( *'-~ j.~ !f1~ ~6'; I~ 4-~2~, C(4t ~ rf: I~'~' tf. ~~). Tokyo: Daizo~hup~: 1964, pp.241-64.

Asanga's Understanding of Madhyamika: Notes on the Shung-chung-lun

by John P. Keenan

1. Introduction

Since Madhyamika and Yogacara are the two principal sastra schools of Indian Mahayana Buddhism, the relationship be

. tween these two schools is of central importance in understanding the development of Mahayana thinking. Yet the main Yogacara thinkers of the classical period-Maitreya-natha, Asanga, and Vasubandhu-do not, it would appear, refer to the . Madhyamika masters Nagarjuna and Aryadeva nor outline their view of Madhyamika philosophy.

Edward Conze writes that "these two schools were engaged in constant disputes and the works of one have no authority for the other."l Yet upon a closer examination, it becomes clear that such disputes look place between later proponents of these

. schools and, as will be shortly evident, Madhyamika texts do indeed retain their authority for Yogacara thinkers.

In contrast to Conze's opinion, Nagao Gadjin argues that "Madhyamika philosophy, which began with Nagarjuna, is presently believed to have been wholly inherited by Maitreya-natha, Asanga, and other Yogacaras."2 According to his understanding, Yogacara differs in the way it interprets emptiness but in no

. wise rejects the main themes of Madhyamika. Nagao has presented this view by focusing on analogous passages from Nagarjuna's Madhyamakakarika and Maitreya-natha's Madhyantavibhiiga. 3 He convincingly shows the lines of doctrinal development from the Madhyamika notion of the middle path to the Yogacara interpretation of the same. Yet in these Yogacara texts

. no specific reference is made to Nagarjuna or Madhyamika. It

. a.lmost seems that, although these lines of developing thought

93


did occur in cognizance of one another, the Yogadira thinkers intentionally refrained from mentioning Madhyamika and did not accept its authorative status, as Co~ze maintained.

Yet this is not the case, for there does exist a commentary by Asanga which interprets the Mahaprajiiaparamitasutra through Nagarjuna's Madhyamakakarika. This text is invaluable in delineating the development from Madhyamika to Yogacara. It is the intent of this paper to offer evidence in support of Nagao's thesis of the organic relationship between Y ogacara and Madhyamika by examining this text and outlining Asanga's understanding of Madhyamika and the Madhyamika ideas that underlie his explanation of the central Y ogacara theme of the three patterns of consciousness.

II. Asmiga on Madhyamika

The text in question is the Shun-chung-lun-i ju tai-pan-jo-pomi-to-ching chu-hinja-men, "Introduction to the Doctrine of the Introductory Section of the Mahaprajiiaparamitasutra in accord with the Meaning of the Madhyamikasastra (i.e., Madhyamakakarika)." Ui Hakuju has restored the Sanskrit title as Madhyamikasastra-artha-anugata-Mahaprajiiaparamita-sutra-adiparivarta-dharmaparyaya-praveSa. 4 Unfortunately no Sanskrit version is extant and apparently no Tibetan translation was made. The sole source for our consideration then is the Chinese translation made in 543 by Gautama-Prajnaruci, a translation which was characterized by Ui Hakuju as "rude" or "immature."5 Indeed, it is because of the poor quality of this translation that the Shunchung-lun has received scant attention both in Japan and in the West, for the difficulties in interpretation are numerous and often not amenable to definitive solution. Unfortunately, its Asangan authorship cannot be definitely established, since it is attested only by this Chinese text. There is, however, little reason to reject this Chinese attribution. The text is clearly Indian, delving into the intricacies of formal logic and argumentation in a way few early Chinese attempted. The "rudeness" of the translation in part comes from the difficulty of finding Chinese terms for the Sanskrit terminology. Modern Japanese scholars accept Asanga as its author. 6 Indeed, the only reason to reject

NOTES ON THE SHUNG-CHUNG-LUN 95

"t is for the anachronistic reason that the text treats Madhyamika ~hought, not Y ogacara. In this article its AsaIigan authorship is accepted as probable and its thematic structure employed to ;'.scertain AsaIiga's understanding of the basic Madhyamika teachings ..

," Although composed by the Yogacara thinker AsaIiga, the Hsun-chung-lun presents no Yogacara philosophy. One might 'hpect that AsaIiga would interpret Madhyamika in Yogacara ·fashion, through the basic themes of the three patterns of con~:idousness. Indeed, that is what Sthiramati does in his commen'!tary:7 In fact, the Hsun-chung-lun is a straightforward ;Madhyamika commentary. This leads Mochizuki Shinkyo to ~tohdude that it represents an early work of AsaIiga and dates .to a pre-Yogacara period when, as is recorded in Vasubandhu's :~biography, he was struggling with the notion of emptiness and :;,before he adopted Yogacara.8 It does seem probable that this },text represents an early stage in his developing understanding lpf emptiness as presented in the Prajiiaparamita literature and ':~}Cplained by Nagarjuna. ;,:::.;. AsaIiga's interpretation of Nagarjuna's stanzas should :r~mply convince the scholar oflater Tibetan and Chinese disputes 'petween Madhyamika and Y ogacara that AsaIiga himself, at this 'stage at least, fully accepted and affirmed the basic Madhyamika ';fiotions, and, inasmuch as he never is recorded to have re'pudiated Madhyamika in any later text, that he maintained his ~cominitment to Madhyamika throughout his entire career. His ,intention in this text, it would seem, is to explicate Nagarjuna's .:basic teaching. The anonymous ~uthor of the brief introductory ;.¥ote explains:

NagaIjuna Bodhi~attva was a master of the basic teaching and, relying on the Mahiiprajiiiipiiramitii, composed the full text of the Miidhyamika-siistra. But he did not exhaust its ramifications. The

!.:!~ Mahayana siist-ra master Asanga understood points not yet ):/'. clarified and composed this article in a discerning manner.9

H' t{pis note agrees with Nagao's appraisal of the role of AsaIiga :;ih. inheriting Madhyamika thought. It further specifies that ,\lasariga identified his task as the explication of the ramifications igrMadhyamika thought, not as the offering of an alternative ~~;:'t;

\ii;:L ~:~,

liF::.~~~;~.~


philosophy to Madhyamika. The Bussho kaisetsu daijiten explains:

As this text is an interpretation focused on .the eight negations and prapaiica in the dedicatory stanzas' of the MadhyamakaMrikii, it is not a complete commentary on the Madhyamakakiirikii. Nevertheless, inasmuch as it is an interpretation of Nagarjuna's Madhyamakakiirikii by the Yogacara Asailga, one can surmise that at their origin these two schools were not in opposition. 10

It would seem reasonable then to conclude that the Hsun-chunglun presents Asanga's early understanding of Madhyamika and, in comparison with Asanga's mature thought as expressed in the Mahiiyiinasar{lgraha, can be used to highlight some aspects of the development from Madhyamika to Yogacara.

III: The Content of the Hsun-Chung-Lun

The Hsun-chung-lun focuses from beginning to end on the dedicatory stanzas of Nagarjuna's Madhyamakakiirikii and their themes of prapanca and the eight negations. Asanga describes his effort clearly:

These (dedicatory) stanzas from the fiistra (i.e., Madhyamakakiirikii) summarize its basic meaning and it is in their light that I now reinterpret its un explicated significance. This is the meaning I treat, for it is this that severs the craven attachments of sentient beings. I compose this essay in accord with this [basic] meaning and do not present an ordered treatment [of Nagarjuna's entire text). I I

The first chiian distinguishes counterfeit perfection of wisdom, engrossed in prapanca, from true perfection of wisdom, characterized by an absence of prapanca. Refutations are offered on a number of heretical views: Mahesvara, time, atoms, an original source, original matter, etc. In addition, as Mochizuki Shink6 observes, this section would appear to be the first Chinese text to examine arguments through the three marks of logical reasoning: thesis, reason, and example. 12 The second chiian treats the eight negations, developing the theme of emptiness and denying essence to all things, even the truth of ultimate


meaning. The text begins by quoting the dedicatory stanzas of the

Madhyamakakarika:

I bow before universal wisdom-

"Not passing away and not arising, Not annihilated and not eternal, Not one and not many, Not coming and not going, Buddha taught dependent co-arising To sever all prapaiica-Thus I bow my head in reverence Before the best of all Dharma teachers."I:l

Asanga understands these stanzas of Nagarjuna to describe universal wisdom (sarvajiiana) and sees Nagarjuna's source as the Prajfiaparamita teaching. Immediately after stating his intent to closely follow the structure of these two stanzas in the passage quoted above, a questioner asks:

What intent do you understand [Nagarjuna] to have had in composing his sastra? What doctrine did he rely upon214

Asanga responds by citing the Mahaprajiiaparamitasutra in a passage that distinguishes the true perfection of wisdom from a counterfeit perfection of wisdom that issues from a preaching of the perfection of wisdom "in accord with one's own ideas and understanding,"15 and which consequently fails to understand itsnature as skillful means (upaya) and treats wisdom as a goal to be attained. 16 By contrast, true perfection of wisdom relies on not the slightest doctrine,17 since in the perfection of wisdom there is no true doctrine. IS Thus, even if one articulates the doctrine of emptiness that all things are impermanent and empty, that can still be a counterfeit perfection of wisdom, if it constitutes attachment. 19 Quoting the appropriate passages from the Madhyamakakarika, Asanga strongly argues against taking emptiness as yet another view, for "all views are transcended by eIIlptiness."2o In support he quotes a passage from an unknown work of Rahulabhadra, the third master of the Madhyamika lineage after Nagarjuna and Aryadeva:


The counter against all views is Emptiness as taught by the Tathagata. Neither seek after nor be attached to emptiness; For, when one is attached to emptiness, emptiness becomes reified. Seek neither emptiness nor non-emptiness; Both are to be abandoned. Do not cast aside the Buddha's words, Spoken in so many places.21

All views are to be rejected because they arise from prapaiica and, as Nagarjuna's stanzas teach, the Buddha taught dependent co-arising in order to sever prapaiica. The term prapaiica has caused some confusion among scholars.22 Asanga offers a definition:

The term prapanca means attachment to the duality between attaining as something real and the thing [attained] as something real and the inability truly to apprehend the equality of all characteristics. The term prapanca denotes a ludicrous dialogue [as occurs on stageJ.23 In a word, it is the apprehending of essences.24

The Buddha taught dependent co-arising in order to sever such ludicrous dialogue, and Asanga explains that "all that which is dependently co-arisen is prapaiica,"25 for any view, even about the doctrine of Prajnaparamita, being conceptually and coherently expressed, functions within the duality of a subjective attaining and an object attained.

In the Hinayana the Buddha introduced doctrinal meaning by arranging it in an ordered fashion in order to counter the doctrine of the heretics.26

Dependent co-arising is then explained as the presentation of the teaching on the twelvefold chain of conditioned arising from primal ignorance to old age and death, seen by Asanga as a deconstructive strategy functioning within the realm of prapaiica to refute the various views propounded by the heretics, which occupy the next eight columns of the text. When asked why then Nagarjuna composed the Madhyamakakarika, Asanga answers not just by referring to the views of the heretics, but by negating the genesis of all such dualistic views.


fIe employed reason to introduce the meaning of the Mahiiprajftiipiiramitii to lead sentient beings to abandon prapaftca. Having done so, through reasoning they will speedily enter the perfection of wisdom.27

Upon being asked just what this perfection of wisdom is, Asailga responds by quoting the first of the Nagarjuna's stanzas on the eight negations, which he describes as '~reasoning upon the sutras, an ordered interpretation of the Agamas. "28 He then proceeds to interpret the eight negations as signifying the absence bfany essence which might validate the genesis of views, insisting thatnothing ever arises or passes away in an essentialist context.

The questioner, thinking perhaps to hoist Asailga upon his own petard, raises the question of the truth of ultimate meaning. Does that not truly exist?

If that were the case [and the truth of ultimate meaning were a real identifiable essence], then there would be two levels of truth, the worldly truth and the truth of ultimate meaning. Only if these two truths were to exist [in that essentialist fashion] would your assertion hold.29

The questioner continues to press his point, arguing that apart from worldly truth, there is a truth of ultimate meaning, and that this validates his assertion. He quotes the Madhyamakakii1;ika to the effect that both of two truths are real (;:::: ~t ~ ti·W), apparently a misquotation of chapter 24.9. Asailga agrees fhat the Tathagata preached the doctrine of the two truths, but points out that in so doing in fact he was preaching the such ness of things and it is incorrect to understand the two truths as two disparate levels of truth:

[N agarjuna] neither rejected [the truth of ultimate meaning] nor bifurcated [it from the truth of worldly convention]. If in the two truths one regarded ultimate meaning as disparate, then the suchness of beings would be separate from things true in the world.3D

There are then no solid reasons for propounding a dualistic suchness of things. In fact the two truths do not refer to two sc:parate levels of truth. Both truths have the same characteristic:


being without essential characteristic. It is precisely this absence of essence· and original emptiness that constitutes truth as beyond deconstruction (.!~";f.. 7.rk.).31 As?-ilga presents yet another stanza from the Madhyamakaktirikii:

These two truths are both non-existent And are not projected in ludicrous dialogue.· They are neither imagined nor separated. This meaning characterizes truth.32

This stanza shows, Asanga explains, that while all tathiigatas rely upon the two truths, they all in fact have no support. They do not rely on worldly truth and they do not rely on the truth of ultimate meaning, for their minds are unsupported. Being without essential characteristic, ultimate meaning cannot be, mediated in thinking. It cannot be employed as a thesis to refute other theses.

Thus no thinking of any kind can identify the essence of the truth of ultimate meaning. Therefore it cannot refute arising, nor passing away. To conceive the truth of ultimate meaning as a subtle essence that can be brought to speech is itself an expression of selfhood.3:1

This inability of thought to identify ultimate meaning does not, however, imply the abandonment of reasoning. Rather it casts reason in a deconstructive role in negating the assertions of prapanca consciousness in its mistaken formulation of views and attachment to propositional claims. Indeed, the remainder of Asanga's text turns to an examination of reason in the context of emptiness and outlines norms of logical consistency that can apply to all questioning.

IV. The Move to Yogiiciira

Yogacara attempts to develop a critical understanding of consciousness as the dependently co-arising support for both illusion and wisdom. It tries to explicate the ramifications of Madhyamika insight into emptiness and dependent co-arising


. n tenns of a reflective understanding of consciousness as a ~ynergistic fun~tioning between the . latent ha?i~-~eeds in the ~ontainer conSCIOusness and themamfested actIvItIes of the actIve consciousnesses of sensation, perception, and thinking. The ~ntire attempt is to critically ground insight into the genesis of illusion and into the nature of awakening within a reflective understanding of consciousness by idenJifying the basic structtre and functioning of the mind through critical analysis. ( - The Hsun-chung-lun, although Madhyamika in its entire ~&ntext, contains inchoate Yogacara themes. One can discern a ~Iear parallelism between the above themes and Asanga's pre~entation of the three patterns of consciousness in the Mahiiyanasarrtgraha. ~;, . The theme of prapaiica echoes Asanga's presentation of the ~foagined pattern <parikalpita), which is defined as:

The appearance of conscious constructs [as real], despite the fact that objective things are not real and are only conscious construction.34

rt[he appearance of what seems to be an object over against the fkilowing subject and the imagining of that object to be an essence {tonstitutes the basic illusion of primal ignorance and engenders ~ii'ttachment to such putative objects as if they themselves already ~~ontained meaning. Asvabhava comments:

In reality there is neither an object known (griihya) nor a knowing subject (griihaka). There is simply a host of mental constructs within unreal imagining in virtue of which imagination takes on the appearance of an object.35

~This explanation probably is based upon the first stanza of the !1yf.adhyantavibhaga, which affirms the existence of unreal imaginling, but the non-existence of the apparent duality within that tiIp.agining. This is the basic text used by Nagao to outline the kX?gacara development of the Madhyamika notion of the middle {p~th.36 Asanga's Mahayanasarrtgraha further describes the imagl!fied pattern as thinking endowed with concepts and having as ~tsseed the permeation of language.37 The Hsun-chung-lun in ~~~scribing prapaiica as "ludicrous dialogue" and the "duality J'§:lr~ "". :¥;~,v,

I


between attaining and the thing [attained]" is then an early attempt to understand this imagined pattern of consciousness, for it too treats the illusory nature of subject-object knowing and the influence of the ludicrous dialogue of prapafica in engen-dering that illusion. . ~

Similarly, . the definition of the perfected pattern (parini$panna) in the Mahayanasarrtgraha is that it is:

The complete absence of all images as objective realities in that same other-dependent pattern.3H

The Hsun-chung-lun treats true perfection of wisdom as the absence of prapafica and non-attachment to one's own ideas and understanding. In the Mahayanasarrtgraha Asariga explains the Mahaprajfiaparamita as the counter-agent to all views, echoing once again the theme of the Hsun-chung-lun that true perfection of wisdom abandons all views. 39

The crux of the matter, however, is the Yogadira understanding of the other-dependent pattern, for Asanga defines it as the basic nature of consciousness, becoming manifest either in the imagined pattern or in the perfected pattern. The otherdependent pattern is defined as follows:

The other-dependent pattern consists in all the conscious constructs that have the container consciousness as their seed and that are comprised within unreal imagining.40

These mental constructs are engendered chiefly through the permeations of language, for it is in imagining that words refer to objective essences over against the subjective knower that the. other-dependent pattern functions in an imagined, illusory manner.

The central insight in the teaching on the three patterns relates to this other-dependent pattern, for that is the fulcrum upon which the other two patterns turn. 41 The Mahayana" sarrtgraha describes the other-dependent pattern in the following passage.

With what intent did the World-Honored One teach in the Abhidharmamahayanasutra that "there are three factors: that which


·pertains to the pure aspect, that which pertains to the defiled aspect, and that which pertains to both?" That which pertains to the defiled aspect is the imagined pattern. That which pertains to the pure is the fully perfected pattern. The other-dependent pattern itself is that which has both these aspects. This was the intention of the World-Honored One.42

The Yogacaras employ this notion of the threefold other-dependent pattern of consciousness to explain the meaning of the fipparent co~tradictions i~ the scri~tures, e~pecially the Prajfiaparamita sCrIptures. Asanga explams that m the other-de pencleht pattern there is neither arising nor passing away, for the arising of essences is negated as imagined, yet the other-de penclent pattern is recovered and affirmed as itself other-dependent, i.e., dependently co-arisen. Nagao explains that it is in virtue 6tbecoming perfected and thus eliminating the imagined world o{illusion that "the other-dependent pattern is restored as otherdependent. To be fully perfected means that this restoration [of the basic other-dependent pattern] is realized .... "43

. This developed notion of the other-dependent pattern is riot present in the Hsun-chung-lun, for it implies the critical Yogacara understanding of the structure of consciousness as the interplay between the container and active consciousnesses. Thus the Mahayanasarrtgraha differs from the Hsun-chung-lun in that it moves within a realm of conscious interiority where meaning is established through analysis of the internal functioning both of insight and understanding, and of ignorance and misunderstanding.

.... Nevertheless, in its treatment of the two truths the Hsunchy,ng tun presents basic themes that seem to have led Asanga to develop such a critical understanding. The main poiht of that ~xplanation was that the two truths are not to be conceived as two disparate levels of truth, one worldly and falsifiable and Dne true and beyond deconstruction, because that would attributean essence, however subtle, to the truth of ultimate meaning. ~a:ther, Asanga thinks, both truths are characterized as empty and without essential characteristic. Being without essential ~haracteristic, the truth of ultimate meaning is ineffable and lJ.I1obtainable in words and concepts, while worldly truth, being enunciated and expressed, can make no claim to anything

104 ]IABSVOL.12NO.l

beyond a provisional validity. From a Yogacara perspective, the question this elicits is how

truth, both worldly and ultimate, is grounded within the structure and functioning of conscious understanding.42 If truth is not a double-layered essence out there to be encountered by the subjective mind, then how does it occur? It is in response to such questions that the Y ogacaras developed their critical understanding of consciousness and their account of the three patterns, for truth, just as ignorance, must be identified within its operational structure. Central to the endeavor is their understanding of other-dependent consciousness.

The fulcrum structure of other-dependent consciousness allows Asanga to offer a critical understanding of conversion (asraya-parivrtti) and to outline the realization of truth. Upon conversion, one abandons attachment to the putative realities of the imagined pattern and realizes non-discriminative wisdom and awakening. But in the Mahayana understanding this does not sever all mental function, for the task of carrying out bodhisattva action necessitates a wisdom and encompasses an awareness of all the myriad factors that constitute the world. Awakening includes not only insight into silent emptiness, but also insight into the suchness of thinking as itself dependently co-arisen. Awakening does not abolish the structure of consciousness, but rather enables one to recover the heretofore obstructed and obfuscated pattern of other-dependence itself. In this recovery one neither imagines things to be essences nor remains in silent awareness of uncharacterizable emptiness, but rather, in full awareness of the genesis of views from language and of their ultimately "ludicrous" quality, brings to skillful speech and clear reason doctrines that flow from emptiness and leads others toward awakening. This mode of being fully conscious of the other-dependent functioning of consciousness is insight into the limited, but valid role of worldly truth.

Here the distinction in the Hsun-chung-lun between counterfeit perfection of wisdom, caught in the web of prapaiica, and true perfection of wisdom, liberated therefrom, is expressed in terms of the Yogacara focus on conscious interiority. The theme of the restoration of the other-dependent structure of consciousness brought about by the realization of the pattern of full perfection represents a critical explication of the two truths, for


f?both 'are understood by the same consciousness to be essence:'free and empty. Asariga has grounded both truths in the ;~wakened mind functioning through insight into the ultimate i'ineaning of emptiness in the recovery of its other-dependent ,.':. 44' ';structure. '?;~. Both awareness of ultimate meaning and of worldly truth (;;occur in the same consciousness. They are not disparate levels ~fcorresponding to separate realities, but differing modes express~;iIlg the identical awareness of emptiness-the one in abeyance ::-6f all words and the other in an employment of all words. In ~'.tiltimate meaning one realizes the emptiness of all things. In ';worldly truth one realizes the dependently co-arisen being of :a:"ilthat is empty, for dependent co-arising is the designation of 'rmptiness within the world of mediated and verbalized meanjog.45 ~:> " In these points one can, perhaps, discern the developmental iHi-tes of Asariga's thinking from the Hsun-chung-lun to the rJl.1ahiiyiinasar{tgraha in his progressive focus on conscious interior;~tyand in his attempt to critically ground the Madhyamika ~fheines which he fully accepted and articulated within his under!~tanding of conscious understanding.

~~.: . 1. Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies, 1934-1972, San Francisco: Wheelright ~tress: 1980, p. 52. ;.~: 2. "From Madhyamika to Yogacara; An AI).alysis of MMK XXIV.I8 ~a:nd MV 1.1-2," in The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies :ifl (1979), p. 29. :J} 3. Ibid. Also see "Kii-i yorisansh6setsu e," [From the Meaning of Empti-

1n,:ess to the Theory of the Three Patterns], in Chilkan to yuishiki, Tokyo: {,I,)"anami, 1978, pp. 180-206. :J7~ 4. Indo tetsugaku kenkyil, Tokyo: Sanseid6, 1938, vo!' 1, p. 400. ;!ti'i ' 5 Ibid !·~:ft>,'" • • ':'"' " 6. Besides the references to Ui in note 4 and to Mochizuki in note 8, ri~~e Kajiyama Yiiichi, Chilkan shiso, vo!' 7 of the Kosa: Daijo bukkyo series. 1982, ~:I;okyo: Shunjusha, p. 10 . . ;.::;;. 7. In his MillamadhyamakasaT[ldhinirmocanavyiikhyii, T. 30, #1567. This ~~text also awaits further study. It is also influenced, so it would seem, by ~':'3havaviveka and is important in delineating the structure of Madhyamika~,yogacara synthesis. See Donald S. Lopez, A Study of Sviitantrika (Ithaca: Snow

i


Lion, 1987) for the best study in a Western language ofthese late developments in Indian Buddhist thinking. On Sthiramati's chronology, see Yuichi Kajiyama ~ "Bhavaviveka, Sthiramati, and Dharmapala," in Beitr{ige zur Geistesgeschicht; Indiens: Festschrift fur Erich Frauwallner (Wien, 1968), pp. 193-203.

8. Butten daijiten, 3.2526c. 9. T. 1656, p. 39c.11O-12.

10. Bussho kaisetsu daijiten, 5.242d. 11. T. 1565, pp. 39c.29-40a.3. 12. Bussho kaisetsu daijiten, 5,.242d. 13. T. 1565, p. 39c..24-28. 14. T. 1565, p. 40a.4-5. 15. T. 1565, p. 40a.7. See Edward Conze, The Large Sutra on Perfect

Wisdom, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975, pp. 263-265. 16. T. 1565, p. 40a.13-14. 17. T. 1565, p. 40a.21. See Conze, The Large Sutra, p. 265. 18. T. 1565, p. 40a.22. 19. T. 1565, p. 40b.6. 20. T. 1565, p. 40b.13-14. 21. T. 1565, p. 40b.19-20.Compare Candrakirti's Prasannapada:

"Emptiness is taught in order to lay to rest all prapaiica without exception. Thus the intent of emptiness is the laying to rest of prapaiica in its entirety. But you, in [attributing] to emptiness the sense of non~being, hypostatize it." Uacques May, Candrakirti Prasannapadii Madhyamakavrtti, Paris: AdrienMaisonneuve, 1959, p. 23, #491.)

22. Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, pp. 380-81. 23. M. Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, p. 681c, includes

among the meanings of prapaiica "ludicrous dialogue (as in drama)." This seems to be the sense of the Chinese "hsi~lung."

24. T. 1565, p. 41a.1-3. 25. T. 1565, p. 41a.8. 26. T. 1565, p. 41a.9. 27. T. 1565, p. 44c.24-25. 28. T. 1565, p. 45a.6. 29. T. 1565, p. 45a.14-16. 30. T. 1565, p. 45a.23-24. 31. T. 1565, p. 45b.2. 32. T. 1565, p. 45b.7-8; reference is the Madhyamakakiirikii 18.9, but

Asanga relates the stanza to the two truths. 33. T. 1565, p. 45c.6-8. 34. Mahiiyanasa'T[tgraha 2.3; Etienne Lamotte, La Somme du Grand vehicle

d'Asaitga, Louvain: Editions Peeters, 1973, p. 90; Nagao Gadjin, Shodaijoron: Wayaku to chilkai, Tokyo: Kodansha, 1982, p. 281.

35. Lamotte, La Somme, p. 90, n. 3. 36. Nagao, "From Madhyamika to Yogacara," p. 36. 37. Mahiiyanasa'T[tgra,ha 2.16; Lamotte, p. 108; Nagao, pp. 328-329. 38. Mahiiyanasa'T[tgraha 2.4; Lamotte, pp. 90-91; Nagao, p. 283. 39. Mahiiyanasa'T[tgraha 2.22; Lamotte, pp. 115-118; Nagao,


349-351 0 ppo 400 Mahiiyiinasarp.,graha 202; Lamotte, ppo 87-88, Nagao, po 2750

41. Nagao, Shodaijaron, po 2730 420 Mahiiyiinsarp.,graha 2029; Lamotte, po 125; Nagao, po 3760 430 Keepan,john Po, "The Intent and Structure ofYogacara Philosophy:

Its Relevance for Modern Religious Thought," Otani daigaku shinshii saga kenkujo: Kenkyiijohi5," #15,19870 'Y. 440 Mahiiyiinasarp.,graha 2026; Lamotte, po 121; Nagao, po 3620

450 Madhyamakakiirikii 240180

;:Mahayana Vratas in Newar Buddhism

T~iTodd T. Lewis

This study is concerned with the Mahayana vrata, aparticuiiI-type of devotional ritual that is still performed in the Newar 'i3hddhist community of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepali. Part I J;tlefly traces the vrata's Indic origins and history, introduces Jh~Nepalese context, then outlines the most popular contempo~~ry Newar observances. In Part II are case studies of vratas a~'dicated to Mahakala and Tara; a preliminary understanding :~l'Mahayana vratas is developed both ethnographically and ~4i()ugh translations from modern printed texts. ~ir;: .This article explores the role of ritual in this Buddhist comW]lnity of Nepal. Although the Newar tradition represents a ~U~ique yet continuing survival of later Indian Mahayana;~ajrayana Buddhism, it has received scant attention to date by l~Eholars. This article is intended to begin the documentation ;~il~ description necessary for an emerging and important field within Buddhist studies. . ~~if':; t!;J~~::<

~;:Background and Context ~{ii~} ,," , ..

~f· The term vrata dates back to Vedic times, where it has the JJie'anings "will" and "law" (Monier-Williams 1899: 1042; Kane 1!Q74:5). In ancient India, the vrata was apparently an obligatory ;ti!ual prescribed for high caste individuals to atone for different :Ufisdeeds. By the time the Purii1J,as were composed, it also reIf erred to a religious vow or a voluntary ritual practice designed .J§please a particular deity. In these texts, and in the popular i~f~~ts produced by medieval Indian commentators (niban'!t'f?karas), vratas dedicated to a divinity were highly elaborated,

f· 109


occupying substantial portions of popular religious literature (Wadley 1983: 148). Brahman-led vratas are still an important part of modern Hinduism (Babb 1978) and are performed throughout the Indian sub-continent, including modern Nepal.

Vratas are one example of the many Indian religious practices that have been adapted into later Mahayana Buddhism. That vratas date back many centuries in the N ewar tradition is attested to by the antiquity of manuscripts describing the proper forms of observance (Malla 1981). This genre of printed ritual text remains one of the most common in modern Kathmandu.

The stories recounted in these texts (vratakatha) provide im portant source materials for understanding N ewar B uddhisrn and the layman's religious ethos characteristic of later Indian Buddhism. Because they are one of the simplest and most common genres of doctrinal explication, the vratakatha provide a focus of study that simplifies the often bewildering multiplicity of the Newar Buddhist tradition. Simply stated, vratakatha join the avadana and jataka texts as source materials that show what form Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhism takes on the popular level.

Newar Civilization The fertility of valley soils, the riches from trans-Himalayan trade, and relative geographical isolation all endowed the Kathmandu Valley (until 1769, the defining area of all "Nepal") with the ability to support a rich, artistic, and predominantly Indicized civilization. Many ancient Indian traditions endure in the distinctive urban society and culture of the Newars. In one of the most complex civilizations in Asia today, both Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions are observed in rich multiplicity.

Caste defines the social order and dominates socio-cultural discourse, with Hindu or Buddhist identity a boundary marker at the highest levels. The former city-states of the ValleyBhaktapur, Patan, and Kathmandu-all evolved in parallel form according to the caturvarr;a model (Brahman, K~atriya, Vaisya, Siidra), though differing in details of caste nomenclature.

The Newar Buddhist community consists entirely of householders (Locke 1986). The priestly elite, an endogamous caste of vajracaryas, has for centuries married, though they still inhabit

MAHAyANA VRATAS 111

pweiIings referred to as vihiira (N ew. bahii). Like married Tibetan 1 mas of the Nyingmapa order, they serve the community's l~tual needs, with some among them specializing in textual study, medicine, astrology, and meditation. The spiritual elite still passes on vajrayana initiations (Skt. abhi$eka; New. dekka) through . guru-chela ("teacher-disciple") lineages. . All born as vajracaryas should take formal initiations that establish their caste and ritual status, empowering each man to be eligible to perform basic rituals for laymen (Gellner 1988) . . the traditional line of this abhi$eka is in the main vihiira (mu bONi) of the father's lineage. If a vajracarya wants to perform special r~tuals f~r clients, howe:er,.he must seek further inst~uccion. ThIs, too, IS often found III hIS baha, although connectIons with "outside" vajracarya specialists have been common. Today, a school exists in Kathmandu for teaching young vajracarya men inthese and other priestly subjects. . The Newar Buddhist tradition is formally two-tiered, with ~ccess to ritual initiations an indexical determinant. At the top are those who take esoteric vajrayana initiations (Skt.: dik$a;

'New.: dekka) that direct meditation and ritual to tantric deities sllch as Sarp.vara, Hevajra, and their consorts (yoginzs). In modem practice, only the highest castes-Vajracarya, Sakya, and pray-and select artisans (Chitrakars) are eligible for admission into this elite realm. The Vajrayana Masters who pass on the dik$a go on meditative retreats (N ew.: puru$an cvanegu) to acquire their powers and insight (Lewis 1984: 446). Only about 15 percent of Newar Buddhists today can claim these initiation rights and only a small minority of them actually take dik$a.

Most Newar Buddhists participate in the exoteric level of Mahayana devotionalism. They direct their devotions to caityas (especially the greatstupas such as Svayambhu) and make regular offerings at temples dedicated to the celestial Bodhisattvas (such asAvalokiteSvara) and Buddhist savioresses (such as Tara). They also support the local vajracarya saT(lgha that helps them, in retllrn, look after their spiritual destiny in this world and beyond. This exchange between laymen and the saT(lgha-with ritual protection and merit accumulation gained in return for material patronage-is fundamental to all Buddhist societies. Indeed, d~spite the anomalies of caste and saT(lgha in their community, Newar Buddhist laymen closely resemble co-religionists in other


countries. A vast and complex web of ritual relations link laymen to their vajracarya priests.

. As was common throughout Asia, local merchants are prom_ inent among Buddhist laymen. Eligible for dekka, the Dray and Sakyas have been the major patrons of Buddhist shrines across the Kathmandu Valley and most active in performing special devotions. For them, the vratas are especially popular. Merchants also make the most conspicuous donations, such as those that paid for the publication of the ritual guidebooks presented in Part II.

Newar Vratas: Overview: Vratas are special forms of priest-led, lay-sponsored worship

that focus devotional attention on an individual deity. Groups of individuals devote one or more days to making offerings, while maintaining a high state of ritual purity and abstaining from certain foods. Tradition specifi~s a series of boons for each type of vrata and all are supposed to add appreciably to one's stock of pUTJya. By so doing, the vratas here, as in India (Wadley 1983), are performed to improve the devotee's destiny. .

In the Buddhist vratas, there is a standard structural order: led by a vajracarya priest (who is often aided by several vajracarya assistants), laymen worship a guru-maTJ{iala that includes all major deities of the Mahayana Buddhist cosmos. They then participate in a kalasa puja to the special vrata deity3, take refuge in the triratna-maTJ{ialas (Buddha, Dharma, Sarp.gha), and finally make offerings to the vrata deity, again on a maTJ{iala. Most texts specify that the vajracarya . should explain the maTJ{iala sym~ bolism(s) and tell the story (katha) (or stories) associated with the particular vrata. As the latter is done, all participants hold a special thread (New. bartaka; Skt. vratasutra) unwound from the kalasa. This symbolic act links the deity to each individual and binds the circle of devotees in worship. Broken up and tied around the neck, this thread is a special prasad laymen take away from all vrata ceremonies. ;

According to a recent N ewar puja manual, there are texts specifying vratas for every deity in the Indic pantheon and fo(. every special religious occasion (Vajracarya 1981: 135). We now: survey the most important vratas still observed by Mahayana! Buddhists in modern Nepal. '5

MAHAYANAVRATAS 113

Dhalarp Danegu or A~taml Vrata By far the most popular of the Buddhist vratas, dhalarrt

danegu, has ancient roots in Nepal (Gellner 1987: 347ff). A twelfth century Tibetan source mentions what was probably an early version of this rite (Roerich 1953: 1008) and notes its transmission from Nepal to Tibet (Lewis 1988). Locke (1987) bas provided a long description ofthis.observance, rightly noting that variant traditions for it exist in the Valley.

This vrata should be performed on one of the two a$tam'i days, i.e. the eighth day of either lunar fortnight (Wilson 1828: 473). The deity is one of the forms of AvalokiteSvara, popularly .called Amoghapasa Lokesvara or Karul)amaya. Groups may be organized to perform the vrata once, or monthly for one or more years (Macdonald and Stahl 1979: 129, 131).

The traditional day to star a year-long vrata series is mukha OJtam'i,4 in the fall. Organizers for these longer programs arrange for the vajracaryas' services and prepare for the main pujas. In taking on this considerable task, they usually have a specific religious goal in mind. The group may do the vrata in one place, . travel to different Avalokitesvara temples in the Kathmandu Valley, or choose other landmarks in the religious geography. In whatever context, each person usually performs the vrata individually, although a woman may sometimes perform it for an absent husband, making two sets of offerings. This vrata is open to all laymen and nowadays women are by far in the majority.

Basundhara Vrata Newar Buddhists regard Basundhara (Sanskrit: Vasudhara)

as a goddess of fertility and prosperity. In a recent printed text, Kumar!, Lak~m!, and Basundhara are all said to be forms (rupa) ofP:rthiv!, the Earth goddess (Vajracarya 1981: 81). If pleased, Basundhara can multiply the family's wealth and sustain the vitality of the lineage. Given these benefits, it is understandable that most N ewar Buddhist merchants have done the Basundhara iJrata at least once in their lifetimes (Lewis 1984: 242). Many do it yearly.

This vrata is most commonly observed on a regular basis in families with a guthi to underwrite the expenses. One time of the year is designated as best for starting this two day rite: the


dark thirteenth day of the month Bhadra. As with dhalarrt danegu, a vajracarya must direct the PUjiis,

with the family fasting. Because gold is the goddess' favorite color, all of the puja accessories, including the ritual thread and the women's shawls, are made with materials of this color. The most popular form of Basundhara vrata observed in modern Kathmandu is a two-day version: the first day proceeds accord_ ing to the general order, but on the second day, all of the offering materials are gathered together, resanctified by the vajracarya, then carried to the riverside and discarded. A large feast is held for the family afterwards.

PUrI)ima Vrata (Dharmadhatu Vrata) This vrata is done to worship Svayambhu as this was the.

favorite vrata of the stupa's mythological founder, Santikar Acarya (Shakya 1977). The proper moment for this observance is relatively rare: it should be done on a day when there is a co~unction of a full moon and sarrtlhu, the start of a new solar month. Performing Purr;,ima Vrata is intended to awaken the desire for reaching complete enlightenment (Vajracarya 1981: 84).

Esoteric Observances Those who have taken dekka form a closed community de

fined by the vajracarya guru-chela lineage into which they have been initiate.d. On an occasional basis (typically alternate years), the vajracarya gurus collect subscriptions and host ritualized. gatherings that include vrata-styled devotions to the chief esoteric deities and special dances. (One popular venue for such gatherings is the BijesvarI (or Akasa Joginz) temple west of Kathmandu.) These are, of course, closed to non-initiates and still largely unknown. We mention them to demonstrate that in the context of N ewar MahayanalVajrayana Buddhism, the vrata constitutes a recurring principle of ritual and community organization.

Satya NarayaI)a Vrata5

This vrata to the lndic deity Vi-?I)u is done on ekadasz, the

MAHAyANA VRATAS 115

'eventh day of either lunar fortnight. The ritual specialist is '~ally a Newar Brahman. Though the requirement of fasting dpurification is the same in the Buddhist vrata, the ritual is 'pler, astr~ightforward exoteric s~ries of ~fferings to a Vi~I).u

.. . ge placed m a small ratha located m the mIdst of the devotees. ~it is done across the Nepalese hills, the Brahman also tells fftgries ab~ut Vi~I).u: (Wadley includes a sample of these stories ~li0;her artIcle on Hmdu vratas (1983: 152-154).) 1~~!,The Satya NarayaI).a vrata is common. in ~odern Pah~ri tHlIidu practICe and ,many Newar lay BuddhIsts stIll perform It.6 tiThe,reason commonly given fordoing this vrata is the boon of ~~curing good fortune in worldly matters such as finding a suit\~ble husband, having a male child, and insuring business pros-~~'Hty.7

,Vratas and Hindu-Buddhist Relations ,The Buddhist community's involvement with the Brahman

i~~ Satya ~ arayaI).a vrata raises the _com pl~x _i~sue of Hindu -B ud~2Nst relatIOns. The vrata text for Arya Tara Illustrates the great fn:fiuence that Brahmanical ritual orthopraxy has exerted on W~jrayana ritual practice. The priests use pancagavya (the five t~9:W.products: milk, curd, ghee, dung, urine) for purification; ~gijr oblations from conch shells (argha); chant mantras essential [QJ}lthe success of the ritual; and bestow prasad and tika marks R~1patrons' foreheads. In short, Newar vajracaryas conform to rIiost of the ritual procedures derived from ancient Brahmanical ~~dition8, although it is not completely correct to regard them ~~J.j;"Buddhist Brahmins"9.

,Beyond the fact that their outward form is organized in ys congruent with Brahmanical ritual usages, the vratas preIHed in Part II clearly exemplify the Buddhist textual tradi)1'S classical statements of spiritual superiority over Hinduism.

i~h,f~,t, the rites are always anchored in worshipping the triratnaIDMddha, Dharma, Sarpgha-and the guru ma1}r;lala of the ~Mahayana-Vajrayana pantheon. Second, the great gods of the in?ian tradition are specifically proclaimed as converts to Bud~uism, as in the case of Siva-Mahankal, who "wears Ak~obhya ~Jiddha on the crown." According to the later Buddhist texts, WJ~I)u is also a world guardian who emanated from and serves

IF Ii


the celestial Bodhisattva Sristikantha A valokiteSvara (Lewis 1984:474). For Mahayana Buddhists to worship ViSI)u for worldly boons is not a "syncretic action':, as some observers have claimed: it is consistent with ancient Buddhist texts defining both orthodox.y and orthopraxy which allow laymen the choice of worshipping all gods for their worldy betterment (Robinson 1966).10 To perform a Mahayana vrata is' to be reminded explicitly of this subordination of all "Hindu" deities, as the classical norms of Buddhist hierarchy are translated into popular devotional practice.

Summary: Vratas and Mahayana Buddhism Vratas create one of the main religious constituencies within

the Newar Buddhist community, uniting families and friends who regularly perform rites to a chosen deityll. Most groups are not exclusive, have shifting'memberships, and are relatively ephemeral. The esoteric rituals are important and recurring occasions of demarcation between Vajrayana initiates and the rest of Newar Buddhist society.

Vratas underline the Mahayana Buddhist layman's chiefreligious orientations. The most popular vratas, not surprisingly, are to deities with the most important temples in Kathmandu: Avalokitesvara, Mahakala, Svayambhu, Tara. Relying on priests from the sar{tgha, laymen make offerings (dana) to these deities, who, in return, are thought to grant specific boons, good for-~ tune, heaven, or even supernormal powers and the possibility, of enlightenment itself. As the stories in the accounts below proclaim, the vrata devotee's underlying religious motivation is to make large quantities of pU1Jya that can unambiguously improve one's destiny in sar{tsiira. ..,

It is important to highlight the vratakatha, the stories in~" serted in the ritual proceedings. Recounted by the officiant for; the patron, these tales provide a doctrinal element in the per;;; formance of the vrata. Both translations in Part II provide exam-J pIes of the literary style common in "popular" Buddhist texts:; to illustrate a doctrinal point or explain a practice, the Buddha, tells a story and often, as we see in the Tara text, stories ar~,~ embedded inside of stories. The plots are simple and the lessons~ clear, if simple-minded. All the katha also assert linkages betweeJiJ

MAHAyANA VRATAS 117

their "accounts and the Buddhas, making explicit claims for their ~uthority. These sorts of stories, thus, are important sources for articulating the Mahayana Buddhist layman's sense of world, religious ethics, and ethos. '.,"' Finally; we can comment on the structure of Indic Buddhist tradition from these vratas in their Nepalese setting. Newar Bud"dhist tradition is centered in the vajracarya sa'T(tgha whose members preserve the texts and serve as "masters of ritual ceremony". "Tradition is outlined in the texts, but it must be "extracted" "iecurringly by those taking on the roles handed down through guru-guru lineages. Buddhism in every society is as dependent ,\onvihara institutions as on the lay patrons who provide a livelirhood for the sa'T(tgha specialists. The Newar vrata observances show that this inter-relatedness and synchronicity was fundarllental to all Buddhist societies, including those adhering to ~Mahayana-Vajrayana traditions, ;'v

;i[ Studies of Two Modern Vrata Texts

Notes on the Author and the Texts

Kathmandu vajracaryas have long been known as the most Ii~killed ritualists in the Valley (Locke 1985: 256); not surprisingly, {(the two modern vrata texts translated in this article were com,posed by a member of a Kathmandu sa'T(tgha. For the past 30 @~years, Badri Bajracarya has been a dominant figure working to ~revive the condition of Newar Buddhism. In 1977, he started I~;school for vajracarya young men to teach them the proper ~$!itual forms, mantras, and literary traditions that are at the fouIlr\~~ation of their priestly role. These efforts have been supported ~}' many laymen and Badri has a regular enrollmenmt of over fiRf,ty students, ages 8 to 25, who come for instruction. He has _rffee?ed in ha."i.ng o~her promir:ent. elder .vajracarya. pandits I:i-l.e,nodically partICIpate In the teachIng, IncludIng Sansknt study.

The texts presented here are a product of his attempt to )ve the modern Vajrayana tradition. To reverse the decline the ritual proficiency among many vajracaryas, a trend that saccelerated since the conquest of the Valley in 1769, Badri

other leading vajracaryas have written many ritual manuals.


These texts are similar in the way in which they outline and explain the chief pujas of the Newar tradition. Both draw upon older Sanskrit manuscripts. Texts su<;:h as these are intended primarily for fellow priests and devout laymen (uPasakas). Besides providing a wealth of information on Newar Buddhism, these selections can also be read as examples of modern efforts to restore the older Mahayana-Vajrayana tradition. 12

In terms of general content, both texts present the same information: they specify the vrata's ritual agenda, then recOunt the story (or stories) that explain the origin or proven efficacy of the observance. Our texts do differ in their depth of coverage: the Tara vrata manual is more for vajracarya priests, as it contains a detailed outline of each ritual, complete with mantras; the Caturdasi vrata text is more for laymen: it is much shorter, giving only the most minimal ritual outline, and focuses on describing the supernormal powers (siddhi) that can be attained by performing the vrata.

In rendering the translations I have retained the author's terse shorthand style and insert minimal explanatory glosses parenthetically. The divisions in the guidebooks have also been retained. Further exploration of many subjects in these texts must be reserved for later publications.

The Tara Vrata

Background

Tara is the most popular goddess of the Northern Buddhist tradition (Beyer 1973; Sircar 1967): she is regarded as the embodiment of AvalokiteSvara's compassion and has 21 forms. In Nepal, Tara is most often worshipped in her white and green incarnations (Vajracarya 1972); Saptalocana Tara, the "Seveneyed Tara," is also common in Newar shrines. 13 In the Kathmandu Valley, there are two especially popular places for performing this vrata nowadays: the Tara temple in Itum Baha and the Tara tirtha north of Sankhu, at Bagduval. (The text translated below is to the green Tara and describes an incident from the sacred history of the latter place.) We also should note that the old N ewar Buddhist greeting, "Taremarp" (popularly

MAHAyANA VRATAS 119

thought to be derived from "Tara Sara.Q.am": "I take refuge in Tara"), indicates this deity's historical importance in the Nepalese se.tting. . .

Accordmg to the popular Newar understandmg, the Tara vrata should be done at least once early in one's lifetime, since performing the vrata can avert a person's premature death. For this reason it is also observed in the name of a person who is seriously ill.

This very detailed text alludes to several practices that merit special comment. The requirement of torama offerings suggests connections with Tibetan Buddhist ritual traditions and is doubtless a marker of cultural history (Lewis 1988; Lewis 1989; Templeman 1981: 38). The guide also prescribes that the participants make clay caityas, a ritual called dya/:t tkayegu in Newari. For this, householders use special molds to fashion caityas of various styles from black clay. Chanting mantras during every part of the process, they impart life eJlva") to each caitya by inserting paddy grains into it. Dya/:t tkayegu is usually done in the holy lunar month called GUl)la, a time in the early summer monsoon for special Buddhist devotions (Lewis 1984: 349-368). In the Kathmandu Valley, this is also the period when the Tara vrata is most commonly observed .

•. Translation (Badri Bajracarya, Sri Aryya Tara Devyaih Vrata Vidhi Katka Kathmandu: Popular Art Printing Press, 1980.)

Rites and practices to be performed for the worship of Arya Tara Construct a Tara mar;dala. Place in the centre of the mar;dala

an iron tripod (mas) for [holding the] kalafa. Place on the tripod a big kalafa. Arrange the following items in their proper place around the kalafa: medicine powder (kalafavasa), five different kinds of grain (pancabihi) , jasmine flowers, grains of unpolished rice (akhe), parched rice (taye) , buds of a kind of long lasting grass (pancapallava kosbur[l) , a jasmine branch, a tuft of tuphi (yellow flowering shrub that is usually used for making brooms), a ceremonial umbrella (chatra), feather of a pea-fowl, and a tiny earthen bowl filled with polished rice with a whole betel nut and a coin set on it (kisam. Place grain powder symbolic of the


astamar;,gala on a traditional dish called thayebhu. Place on the four corners: ceremonial metal mirrors Vola

nhayekan) and vermillion powder stgnds(sinhal;mu). Pass the sacred green string of five strands five times round the kalasa space. Place a5tamar;,gala and wind bells (phayegan) in their proper places. Also put up a canopy. Arrange around the mar;,r;iala of Arya Tara certain items: Buddhist begging bowls (gulupa), water bowls (tinea) and barley flour images (torama). Place oblation pots (baupa) , curd bowls (pati) , a small kalasa, a tiny earthen vessel with a serpent painted on it (nagabhonca) , and a lamp (mata) in front of the mar;,r;iala. Consecrate the pancagavya in a small earthen bown and an oval-shaped bowl of rice beer (patra), and perform the gurumar;,r;iala puja on a ma1Jr;iala with a lotus pattern and with an image of a deity at the center.

Do a ceremonial cleansing with water from a holy river. Perform argha puja (an offering of water to the Sun god). Consecrate the votive offerings. Perform gurumar;,r;iala puja. Purify with pancagavya. Sanctify the clay to be used for fashioning caitya shrines. Have the shrines fashioned from the sanctified clay that has been pressed into moulds. Sprinkle red power and holy water over them. Perform samadhi meditation. Offer puja to all of these: the small kalasa, pati, nagabhonca, lamp (mata), the large kalasa, a5tama1Jgala, mirror, and the sinhal;mu. Worship the image of the deity installed there. Offer puja to the gulupa, deva, tinea, and the toramas. Sanctify the big mar;,r;iala and place flower petals on it. Sanctify also the ball of thread by sprinkling water on it Perform puja as presecribed in saptabidhana (i.e. with mudra sequences accompanied by mantra recitations). Make a bali offering [for spirits] and perform cakupuja [in honour of the guardians of the four quarters].

After this, all those who are undergoing the Arya Tara vrata may be asked to squat in an orderly row and to construct mar;,r;ialas. before them. Have them receive pancagavya and make votive offerings. Have them perform gurumar;,r;iala puja. Make them worship the mata lamp and the clay caityas made with their own hands. Have them duly perform mar;,r;iala pllja of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Have them take refuge in the triratna by repeating in chorus "Ratna triyar(t me (Buddha/Dharma! Sarpgha) sarar;,ar(t" three times.

MAHAyANA VRATAS 121

Method of Worshipping the Large Arya Tara MaJ)<;lala Sprinkle on the ma17rjala holy drops of water from a conch

shell while reciting these mantras:

OM TRUM KHAM HUM OM MEDANI VAjRI BHAVA VAjRA BANDHAVAM OM VAjRA RAKSE HUM. .

Keep touching the vW17rjala with your ring finger covered with yellow powder while reciting the following devotional couplet:

SARVATATHAGATA SANT AN SARV A TATHAGATA LAYAN

SARVADHARMA GANAIRATMA DESA MANI)ALA MUKTAM

Place a flower on the small wheat cake image (goja) while reciting: "OM TARA MANI)ALE SARV A BIGHNANUTSARE HUM." Then sprinkle a drop of water on the goja while reciting: "OM SRI ARYA TARA BHATTARASYAGRE PADyARGHA ACAMANAN PRACCHAMANAN PRA TICCHA sv AHA."

Placing Flowers on the MaJ)<;lala •.•.. Recite: "OM SRADHARA TARAYE VAjRA PUS PAM PRATICCHA SVAHA" [and place a flower] on the head [of the mary;lala] .

Recite: "OM TARE TUTARE TURE SVAHA" [and place a flower] on the heart [of the ma17rjala]. . . Recite: "OM HRM TRIM HUM PHAT sv AHA" [and place a flower] on the navel [of the ma17rjala).

Placing Eight Lotus Flower Petals on the MaJ)<;lala i.' Recite: "OM PUSPA TARAYA VAjRAPUSPAM PRATICCHA SVAHk and place a lotus petal in front [of the ma17rjala). .' ... ' Recite: "OM DHUPATARAYA VAjRAPUSPAM PRATicCHA SV AHA" and place a lotus petal on the right [of the ma17rjala].

,> Recite: "OM DipA TARAYA VAjRAPUSPAM PRATicCHA ,sy AHk and place a lotus petal [behind the ma17rjala].


Recite: "01\1 GANDHATARAYA VAJRAPUSPAM PRATt CCHA sv AHA" and place a lotus petal on the left [of the mary;lala ].

Recite: "01\1 BRA1\1 VINAYA VAjRAPUSPAM PRATICCBA sv AHA" and place a lotus petal [on the right down side corner of the mar:u;lcda].

Recite: "BA1\1 VA1\1SAYA VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCBA SV AHA" and place a lotus [petal on the right upside corner of the ma1J(iala.]

Recite: "MB..N MB..DANGAYA VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCBA. sv AHA" and place a lotus petal [on the left upside corner of the ma1J(iala].

Recite: "MU1\1 MURUJAYA VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCBA sv AHA" and place a lotus petal [on the left down side corner of the ma1J(iala].

Placing 21 Lotus Flower Petals on the Mal)<;lala [Recite:]

1. 01\1 TA1\1 SIDDHIPHALA PUSTI1\1KURU TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

2. 01\1 HRIU SARVAKARMA SIDDHIPHALA PUSTI1\1KURU TARE VA JRAPUSP A 1\1 PRA TICCHA sv AHA.

3. 01\1 TU1\1TAU MAMA AyU PUSTI1\1KURU TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

4. 01\1 TAB SARVA BHAYAPADA SIDDHIKURU TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

5. 01\1 HRI1\1 BHAVALOKA TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

6. 01\1 TUB SARVASYATUSU MAHAN AYE TARE VAJRA: PUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

7. 01\1 HRIB SARVALOKASIDDHI HASYAKURU TARE VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

8. 01\1 SVAB SIDDHICITTARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

9. 01\1 STAB SARVA DUBKA SANTI KURU TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

10. 01\1 HAB SARVA LOKAHASYA KURU TARE VAJRA"i PUSPA1\1 PRA TICCHA sv AHA.

MAHAyANA VRATAS 123

.11. OM AI:I SARV AMANG~LA SIDD!"II !,HALAHE JYO TARE ,. VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRA TICCHA SV AHA. 12. OM Dl!I:I MAMA:\Yl!PUSTIN KURU TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1

pRA TICCHA SV AHA. \13. OM AS SARV~ ITITAMl! S~DDHI KURU TARE VAJRA

.. PUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA. 14. OM NIB SARYASIDDHI_ Pl!STI1\1KURU TARE VAJRA

PUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA. i5. 0 M AI:I SARVA SANTI KURU TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRA

TICCHA sv AHA. 16. OM svAI:! SARVAJNANA PUNYAI:! PUSTI1\1KURU TARE

VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA. 17. OM KIl:! MAMA AyU PUNYAJNANA PUSTI1\1KURU TARE

VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATicCHA SVAHA. 18. OM JAl:! SARVALOKA DUl:!KHA SANTI KURU TARE

VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA. 19. OM CIl:! DHANASIDDHA TARE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRA-

TICCHA SVAHA. 20. OM HAl:! SARVA KARMASIDDHI PUSTIl\1KURU TARE ..... VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA. 21. OM TAl:! TARE TUTARE TURE SVAHA TARE VAJRA

PUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

Placing Flower Petals at the Four Corners of the MaI;H;lala J. Recite: 01\1 VAJRA LASYE HUM and place flower petals on

't:he right up side corner. ,;\ Recite: 01\1 VAJRA MALETAA1\1 and place flower petals on 'theright down side corner.

Recite: 01\1 VAJRA GITYE HRI1\1 and place flower petals on :.tpeleft up side corner .

..... Recite: 01\1 VAJRA NRTYE AB and place flower petals on the left down side corner.

Placing Ten Flowers on the Square-shaped Dasakrodha Patra .,.Recite the following mantras and place flower petals in the ~ast,in the south, in the west, in the north, in the southeast, in .the southwest, in the northwest, in the northeast and, for the .1a,sttwo, on the either sides.

124 JIABSVOL.12NO.I

OIyl HU1\1 jAMANTAKAvE VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA sv AHA.

01\1 HU1\1 PRAJNANTAKAvE VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRA-TICCHA sv AHA. C

01\1 HU1\1 PADMANTAKAvE VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

01\1 HU1\1 VIGHNANTAKAvE VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA sv AHA.

01\1 HU1\1 TAKKlRAjAVA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

01\1 HU1\1 NILA DANPAvA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

01\1 HU1\1 MAHABALAYA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

01\1 HU1\1 ACALAvA VAJRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA SVAHA.

01\1 HU1\1 USNISA BIJAVAvA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA sv AHA.

01\1 HU1\1 SUMBHARAjAVA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA sv AHA.

Placing Flowers on Four Entrances of the Mar;c;lala [Recite:] 01\1 VAJRAM KusAvA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRA

TICCHA sv AHA [and place flower petals] on the easterIl entrance. [Recite:] 01\1 VAjRA PAsAvA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRATICCHA

SV AHA [and place flower petals] on the southern entrance. [Recite:] 01\1 VAjRA SPHOTAvA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRA

TICCHA sv AHA [and place flower petals] on the western entrance.

[Recite:] 01\1 VAjRAM BESAvA VAjRAPUSPA1\1 PRA: TICCHA SV AHA [and place flower petals] on the northern entrance.

Placing Flowers for the Governors (Lokapala) of the Ten Directions Do puja with [offerings consisting of] wheat, maize, peas\

rice, sweetmeats, fruits, betalleaf, betal nuts etc. .

***

MAHAyANA VRATAS 125

'Sprinkle holy water on the sacred string from the conch hell. Apply a yellow tika mark to its knot. Have the worshippers ~ow twenty-one times to the sacred string with their palms, the right for~al~s, ~he left_ for f~males. ~~en bo~ing, the man:.tra %rrecitatlon 1S_: 'OM NAMO ARYA TA~ D~VI D~ARM~ Sl!TRAM PRECCHAMI VAJRADHARMA TAM TAM TAM SVAHA". " After this, the sacred string is placed round the mar:uj,ala. [The mantra recite~ Js:] "OM SRI SRAGDHARARYYATARA MAN1)ALE BODHYANGA DR1)HA KAVACA VAJRAVASTRA VASASYE SVAHA". Now do pancopacara puJa. 14

Then twenty-one jasmine flowers are placed in the center of the sacred thread with the recitation of the mantra: "OM NAMAI:I SRI SRAGDHARARYYA TARAYAI SARVABHAYAJ)fIARANI SARV ABIGHNA SANTI KARl PRAKRTI PRABHASVARE SARV A DUI:IKHA NAsANI MAMA SARV ASATV A'NANCA SANTI SV ASTIM PUSTIM KURU RAKSAMAN HUM HUM PHAT PHAT sv AHA".

Perform pancopacara puJa. Offer argha water. Recite the dasa kusala 15 and offer the

[wh~le] mar:uj,ala. ,. OM SAMAMNV A HARAMTUMAM BUDDHA DASADIGA LOKADHATU SANNI PATIT A BUDDHA BHAGA V ATO BOD HISATVA MANJUSRi UpADHYA YASCARYYA TARA, AHAM :;MEVANAMA YATKIMCITA KAYEVAKA MANOBHI SARVABUDDHA BODHISATVEBHYO MATA PITARAU TADAMNYANISAGAMYA YAHAJANMANI BHABANTARESU MAyA pAPA KARMA KRTA KARITA BHABET TATAI:I SARVA MEKAM PI}~t>AYITVA TARAYITVA SARVABUDDHA BODHISATVA NAMACARYA SANTIKE AGRAyA VARAVA PRAVALAYA STHA~NEMAHAM PRATIDESyAMI MANASMRTA PRATICCHA DAYAMI SRI DHARMADHATU BAGiSV AR SRAGDHARARYYA JARASAGANA MAN1)ALE IDAM PUSPAMAN1)ALAM NIRYYAIAYAMI.

•....•..... Take rice and flowers dipped in water and let the liquid £lOwdown to the goJa. [The mantra recited is:] . OM SRAGDHARATARINA SARVADUI:IKHA BHAYAHA

RANI CATURMA RANI V ARANI SARV ADEV ASURA GARU1)A GANDHARV A KINNARA MAHORAGADI UPADRA VA PRASA-


MANI SARVABHUTA PRETA PIsAcA YAKSA RAKSAS OAR. l)AKINYADI BHAYABIDHVAl\;1SANI PARAKRTA JANTRA MANTRA PRA YOGADI BINAsANI BHAGA V ATI DURGAT ARANI AGACCHA IDAl\1 BALI Gl.{HNAGRHNA MAMA SARVA_ SATRA HANAHANA KHAKHA KHAHIKHAHI SARVABANDHA_ NA ByADHI BIPRAHADI NAsANI HUl\;1HUl\;1 PHATPHAT SVAHA.

[Chant:]

/ / STOTRA / /

T ARAMARA BHAYANKARI SURAV ARAIB SAl\;1PUJIT A SARVADA

LOKANAl\1 HIT AKARINI JAYATISA MATEV AYARAKSATI KARUNYENA SAMAHITA BAHUVIDHANSASARA BHIRU

NJANAN MATA BHAKTIMATAl\1 VIBHATIJAGATAl\;1 NITYAl\;1BHAYA

DHV Al\1SINI.

Offer the ratnamarpjala and bow to it. Put the sacred string round the worshipper's neck. Read from the holy manuscripts the teaching of the dharma [i.e. the vratakatha]. Take a special fruit -scented bath (phaliibhi~eka). Construct [a small] marpjala and worship it with offerings of rice and sanctified food (saga'f(l). Dispense the tika benediction. Then the pujii is over. Gently rub the sacred string with sacred water from the kalasa. Give out the a~tama'!Jgala stuff from the special ritual plate (thiiyabhu). Holy water from the kalasa may not be distributed at this time: it is distributed only on the river bank.

Hand over the mirror and sinhaltmu [ready for carrying]. Let the chief worshipper carry the kalasa and other worshippers the maIJ.<;lala to immerse them in the river.

Place at the river bank the kalasa. Fashion a caitya and niiga from sanctified sand. Duly worship and circumambulate them. Take water in the cupped palm and splash gently on the kalasa .. Take consecrated water collected from the kalasa as a blessing and return home and have a feast.

***

MAHAyANA VRATAS 127

The Vratakathii:

The Sanctity of Tara TZrtha at Bagduval

A Brahman named GUI).akar dwelt in a village called Bimavati Nagar near the Himalaya. He had only one son named Dhanakar. He was married to a lovely woman of high birth. Dhanakar was addicted to the habits of eating abhorred food, drinking alcohol, and visiting prostitutes. GUI).akar, his father, insisted on his total abstinence from such addictions, but was unable to deter him.

Ultimately, his father died. After the death of his father, Dhanakar became much more addicted to the habit of drinking alcohol and visiting prostitutes. His wife, on the other hand, was very kind and faithful to her husband. Although he had such a good wife, he did not abstain from visiting prostitutes, eating unclean food and drinking alcohol. Very much fed up with his bad habits, [one day] his wife implored him, "My lord, why have you taken up the harmful habit of drinking? Your father did all he could to prevent you from becoming an addict. He is no more and now there are none to tell you not to be given over to such bad and harmful habits. Since you have not [yet] given up your bad habits, I pray that you not be an addict."

Dhanakar grew very angry with his wife for all that she had said to him. He beat her and sent her away. She did not know where to go and so went to the forest with her heart broken. Finally she sat down to rest under a tree and sobbed to herself, "1 might have acted sinfully in my previous life as a result of which 1 am now punished and married to such a cruel husband. 1 must be the most ill-fated woman in the world. Where am 1 to go? Who shall 1 stay with? 1 am distraught with my life. I wish 1 were taken away by death but death is not imminent. So 1 should kill myself."

Thinking in this way while roaming round the forest, one day she saw a sage living in a cave. She approached him and asked, "Why, saint, are you living alone in the forest?" The sage said that he would tell her something helpful. He said, "All those who are born must die. All in this present life must face the consequences of the actions that they performed in their previous

, lives. Similarly in our next lives we reap the results of the deeds that we do in our present life. If we do good deeds, we live a happy life. If we do evil deeds, we live an unhappy life. To be born, to be old, and to die are great sufferings. The cause of my

128 ]IABSVOL.12NO.l

living in such a lonely place near the Himalayas is to get rid of all this suffering." He further went on to say, "Oh gentle lady! Whose wife are you? What is your naI?e? Why have you come to this forest? Who is here escorting you? Who have you come here with? Tell me the truth."

Upon his asking these questions, the female Brahman could not hold back her tears and sobbed out her story to the sage: "Close to this village lived a Brahman named GUl)akar who had a bad-natured son called Dhanakar. He was addicted to drinking and prostitution. His father died without being able to correct his character, despite great exertions. After the death of his father he went from bad to worse and even stopped returning home. Once when he came home I begged him to give up his bad habits. But he beat me and sent me away. I am this wretched man's wife. I feel I am very unfortunate and roam this forest now with the intention of committing suicide."

After hearing what the female Brahman said in her tearful words, the sage said, "0 gentle lady! I am going to tell you something good. Listen! Human life, you know, is very precious. Only very fortunate beings can [ever] have a human life. You need to remember with reverence Arya Tara and pray to her for deliverance from your sufferings. Mind you, 0 gentle Lady! Those committing suicide become blemished with an evil destiny, as illustrated in the following story:

"Once there lived in a city a devout and pious merchant whose wife was arrogant, unfaithful, and ill-natured. No matter how well fed and nicely clad she was by her husband, she never acknowledged it gratefully. She always found fault with him and picked a quarrel. Dissatisfied with this wife, the merchant married a second wife. Upon doing this, his first wife committed suicide by throwing herself into a pond. Because of this suicide, she was doomed to hell and subjected to untold sufferings. For this reason, 0 gentle Lady, do not commit suicide! If you want to be liberated from your sufferings, pray to Goddess Arya Tara. To the east of this Sankhod Mountain is the bathing spot of the Goddess Arya Tara who, as instructed by Amitabha [Buddha], visited the holy spot to liberate suffering people from their miseries. Go to bathe at this holy t'irtha and offer sincere prayers to the goddess Arya Tara. Then you will be delivered from your sufferings."

Hearing this from the sage, the female Brahman asked him how the Tara t'irtha came into being. The sage replied, "0 Gentle Lady, Listen, I'll tell you how it originated. Once when the de-

MAHAyANA VRATAS 129

rn~ns ousted Lord Brahma, Vi~I)u, Mahesvara and Indra from their thrones, these gods went to take resort in Ugra Tara, a

,go<!,dess w?~ in tu.rn asked themto pray and recite the mr:ntra ,',of Arya Tara. StraIght away the gods wen~ to the present SIte of 'the Tara Tirtha and recited the mantra of Arya Tara as directed.

''After the recitation of the mantra by the gods, the goddess Arya .Ftara made her appearance right at the tirtha and liberated " Brahma, Vi~I)u, Mahdvara and Indra from their miseries. 0 "Gentle Lady! You also may perform puja to Ugra Tara Bajrajo;gini:; go to bathe ~~ Tara Tirtha where you should also meditate 'and offer prayers. ;. Hearing this [second story] from the sage, the female ,Brahman climbed up the hill with enthusiasm to have a darsan ;ofUgra Tara Bajrajogini: [of Sankhu] and thereafter went to the Tara Tirtha. On reaching the tirtha, she bathed and offered pujii, ~nd said heartfelt prayers.

,~ In answer to her prayers, the goddess Arya Tara took pity :"on the female Brahman and appeared before her in green comJplexion and in abhaya mudrii holding a flower in one of her hands. ;iThe female Brahman fell prostrate on the ground before the ;;goddess and offered her pujii while chanting devotional songs. f;{The goddess blessed her and vanished out of sight. The female Brahman spent the rest of her life at this Tiira Tirtha living upon

,.fruits and water nearby, meditating and observing the Arya Tara :;vrata and offering prayers to the triratna. When she finally died ~rshe was transported to Sukhiivati bhuvana. ;"r"

y-::\<

1;,,1;,,1::

~T~eCaturdaSI V rata ~ - -'

!/.Background

***

,.iOur second Mahayana vrata concerns Mahakala (New. l~~ha:rp.kal dya:), a very popular deity in Nepal who is found in ~many different settings. Opposite GaI).esh or Hanuman, his images !guard the entranceways of most Newarviharas (Locke 1985: 8). ;M.a.hakala is also commonly found alone as a protector inside ~~he ,exterior niches of private homes. Moreover, a free-standing !J~pple of Mahakala is located just outside the former town tP,9tmdaries of Kathmandu and this temple receives great atten-

I ..


tion from both Hindu and Buddhist devotees. The regular priests of this tern pie are vajracaryas.

Mahakala likely evolved from the lndic Siva-Bhairava as later Buddhists incorporated this fierce deity into their pan. theon. (One Newar Buddhist myth, in fact, recounts his coming to Nepal from Tibet (Lewis 1984: 75).) The deity's Buddhist identity is also shown iconographically: he is depicted with the eastern celestial Buddha, Ak~obhya, on his crown. There are also several later tantras dedicated to Mahakala known in Sanskrit and Tibetan recensions found in the Kathmandu Valley.

The introduction to the vrata text states that the CaturdaSi vrata is also called the Mahii7(lkal vrata and that it has been popular in Nepal "from ancient times." The vrata should be observed only on the fourteenth day of the dark lunar fortnight, a time typically associated with dangerous, blood sacrifice-taking deities. The introduction also cites the textual source of the vratakatha as "the Kanitabdana l7 in which Sakyamuni Buddha explains the rite to his famous disciple Sariputra.

Translation (Badri Bajracarya, Mahii7(lkal. Kathmandu, 1978. 16 pages.)

Bathe in a holy river. With the purity of mind and body, clad in clean clothes, display a scroll painting of Maharp.kal in a pleasant place. Decorate the site with flags, festoons, and a canopy. Get all of the materials required for the vrata ready and then begin the pilja.

The pilja may begin by invoking the great teacher for blessings. Seek refuge in the triple gems. Construct a maTJrjala of Maharp.kal, the guardian deity of the Buddhist Dharma, and worship it by making offerings of flowers, incense, lighted wick, and then make an olibali offering lH • Look at Maharp.kal and pledge to observe the eight precepts. 19 He who on this fourteenth day of the dark lunar fortnight performs this fast, pledging to observe the eight precepts wholeheartedly, will have full control over his enemies and can ascend to the status of head of state. The Emancipation that may result from this caturda.Sf vrata is well illustrated in the following story:

MAHAyANA VRATAS 131

In the remote past there dwelt in the city of Varanasi a king named Brahmadatta. Every month or: the fourteenth day of the dark lunar fortnight he visited the Siva temple located to the south of the city, bathed, worshipped Maharpkal, fasted, and then pledged to observe the eight precepts. As a result of this

~ meritorious act, his country never suffered from natural disasters and his reign was blessed.

One day, a foreign king came to attack Varanasi with his army that was well equipped with weapons. At the sight of the ~enemy, the people of Varanasi were panic-stricken. They approached the king, led by spokesmen. One of them said, "Your Majesty Brahmadatta! Our country is about to be attacked by a foreign enemy. The country is in a panic. Oh Your Majesty! Command us as to what we should do!"

The king responded: "Countrymen! Pleasures are shortlived. They are as precarious and transitory as silvery water drops on lotus leaves. Do not panic because of this king's army. Be assured that they will be driven away through my meritorious

~ action." Upon hearing this, the spokesman replied, "Your Majesty!

We have no knowledge of what powers you have by virtue of your meritorious actions. We want you to demonstrate this power by resisting and destroying the present enemy. It will be pointless to· repent after our country has fallen into the hands of its enemies."

After hearing the request of his people, King Brahmadatta immediately went to the holy river and bathed. The he went to the Siva temple that night, fasted, and worshipped Maharpkal. He also meditated upon Mahal)kal constantly without diverting his attention from other things. As a result, the deity Maharpkal

. in his terrifying form appeared before the king and asked in a ~kind manner: "Oh King! Why are you invoking me in medita-tion?" Once the king saw Maharpkal, he bowed down to him and chanted a hymn of praise which is written here:

[ 1 ] Hail to you Maharpkal, destroyer of evildoers and bestower of boons!

[ 2 ] Hail to you of the round red eyes, bright like a flaming light! [3] Hail to you with curly brown hair and rough skin! [ 4 ] Hail to you with a big and terrifying dark body that is sur

rounded by a halo! [5] Hail to you with shapely body and shapely limbs!


[ 6 ] Hail to you with a fierce fanged face that loves flesh and blood!

[ 7] Hail to you with the stamp of Ak~obhya Buddha on your crown and clothed in tigerskin! '

[ 8 ] Hail to you, the world in miniature, you with the thousand arms!"

After chanting this hymn, the King then said, "0 Lord Maharpkal, the mightiest of the mighty, I am going to the battlefield. I pray to receive your boon of the a~tasiddhi, the eight powers that will enable me to vanquish my enemies."

Upon hearing this supplication, Maharpkal granted him the a~tasiddhi powers and then vanished out of sight. These siddhi were as follows:

1. anjanasiddhi: power of being in visible to enemies; 2. guthikasiddhi: power of being invulnerable to enemies; 3. padukasiddhi: power of being able to fly in the sky; 4. sidhausadhisiddhi: power of being immune to disease~ and

for living a long life; 5. manisiddhi: power of being able to have inexhaustible

wealth; 6. mantrasiddhi: power of being able to materialize one's desires; 7. basyasiddhi: power of being able to vanquish enemies; 8. rajyasiddhi: power of being able to rule over the country

peacefully.

Armed with such precious powers, when King Brahmadatta went like a lion to the battlefield with his hand raised high, his enemies were panic-stricken and ran to him for refuge.

***

Maharpkal, who has been regarded as an effective ally in vanquishing enemies and who has acted as a guardian for the protection of the Buddhist Dharma and Sarpgha, deserves our veneration and invocation.

Buddha, the Enlightened One, narrated this story to' Sariputra on how the Maharpkal vrata helped King Brahmadatta single-handedly vanquish the enemy king and his army and peacefully rule over his country for many years. Therefore he

MAHAyANA VRATAS 133

who ~bserves the caturdafi vrata invoking Maharpkal will succeed ; ·his work and be free from dangers posed by enemies. 1fl

'NOTES

1. Field work was conducted in Kathmandu from 1979-82 and in 1987. The author gratefully acknowledges grant support from the Fulbright Fellowship Program and assistance from the U.S. Educational Foundation in Kathmandu. Ratna Muni Bajracarya and Mani GopalJha merit special recognition for their most helpful critical readings of the translated texts.

Note that Newari and Sanskrit terms have been rendered according to the spellings in the texts, and except for rendering vrata consistently through~\lt the article, I have made no attempt to correct their spellings to conform ito'dassical Sanskrit orthography. The problem is that as yet there is no authoritative, comprehensive dictionary for the Newari language (New.: Neva: Bhay), although Manandhar (1986) has been used where relevant. Readers will note the N ewar author's inconsistency in rendering b and v, and y and j, among others. Although this may appear sloppy to the philological scholar, the Newar reader suffers no loss of understanding.

2. This overview aptly presents the hierarchy of Newar society (based ~pon Quigley 1986: 78 and Gellner 1986: 105):

'priestly castes

,High Castes

:Agricultural Castes

Service Castes

Unclean Castes ,

Hindu

DeoBrahman Karmacarya

Sre~tha

Jyapu

Buddhist

Vajracarya Sakya

Uray

Painters, potters, oil pressers, barbers, etc.

Butchers, Tailors, Sweepers, etc.

Other important studies on Newar society have been made by Gerard Toffin (1975 and 1986), Colin Rosser (1964), and Hiroshi Ishii (1986 and 1987). Consult Toffin (1986) for the most complete bibliographical information. For

.an important study of a vrata performed predominantly by Hindu Newar layfolk, see Linda litis' monumental translation and analysis of the Svastiinz Vrata (1985). '

3. The kalaia is a ceremonial vessel. As stated in a modern Newar commentary, "The main aim of the Kalasa pujii is to make the deity present jn theKalasa by means of Siidhana and then through the abhi~eka of the Kalasa bring about a participation in nirvana itself." (Quoted in Locke 1979: 96). " .. 4. According to the Newar Buddhists, this is the day when an image ·of Ak~obhya Buddha is placed on top of the linga at Pasupati, the central


temple of modern Nepalese Buddhism. 5. This vrata is included because it is commonly done among non-vajrii_

caryas, ie. among the Mahayana laymen that constitute roughly 95% of Newar Buddhists.

6. Most Newar Buddhist laymen do not express embarrassment for their participa~ion in a ritual guided by a Brahman priest. This willingness to do so exemplifies the extent to which urban Buddhists feel free to utilize the extraordinarily broad spectrum of religious options in their midst. It is not surprising that business families would take to this vrata, just as they readily worship Lak~ml during the Tihar festival.

7. According to my surveys, about 65% of the Kathmandu Dray families have a member who once did Satya Narayary,a Vrata.

8. The proper assessment of later Buddhist ritualism must proceed from the following historical perspective: modern Newar Buddhist and Brahmanical ritualism represent two lineages originating from ancient Indian religious traditions. Both draw upon a common core of symbolism, ritual procedure norms, and basic cosmological assumptions.

Despite each being doctrinally diverse and institutionally acephalic, Hindu and Buddhist traditions have, at times, profoundly affected each other, as Hindu-Buddhist relations for 1700 years created the chief dialectic in Indiall religious history. Both should be seen as totalizing cultural phenomena, with philosophical doctrines and myths that proclaim their spiritual domination in any religious environment, including over each other. (See Lewis 1984: 468...: 481 for a fuller treatment of this complex issue.)

9. To regard the Vajracaryas as "Buddhist Brahmins" (Greenwold 1974) is more true is the social domain than in religious content: most Buddhist ritual implements differ from Hindu analogs, the mantras chanted are distinctly Vajrayana, and later Buddhist doctrine is interwoven in a thoroughgoing manner. One must emphasize the transformations as well as continuities between the Vajracaryas and Brahmans to understand N ewar religious history.

10. This accommodation is well-documented in Theravada societies (Tambiah 1970; Gombrich 1971). It is noteworthy that there are also passages in the Mahayana literature that object to offerings made to non-converted deities. (See Snellgrove 1987: 76.)

11. The other main sources of Newar religious organization are th~ guthis, institutions created to facilitate members' performing specific rituals (cremations, temple worship, pilgrimage, etc.), usually on a regular basis, Much has been written on the wide array of gu/his in the Newar communities (Toffin 1975; Gellner 1987; Lewis 1984: 174-182). A few gu/his in Kathmandu were formed to underwrite regular vrata performances.

12. Wadley's comments on these manuals in India apply to the Newar context, as do several of her conclusions, "While an explanation for this grow; ing popularity cannot be explicitly stated, several factors clearly are important. Increasing literacy allows thousands to use texts where once they had relied solely on oral traditions ... Finally, texts are valued in Hinduism in part. because of their traditional inaccessibility: to many newly literate persons, reading a pamphlet is more authentic and prestigious than reciting the stories

MAHAyANA VRATAS 135

of th~ir elders. The stories of the elders ~ad themselves taken the pla~e of h teachiBg of gurus, to whom people had httle access. Currently, then, WrItten

,t ets are replacing the elders and act as a stand-in for the traditions of the teX 50) " ru 0983: 1 . gu 13. This pamphlet includes a sixty-verse Sanskrit dharm;i to Tara called AihaA~tottarajata (TariiSata) Nama Stotra Prarambha. The first 27 verses describe ;he setting of Sakyamuni's revelation of this dharary,i on Mount Potalaka, Vajrat cni Bodhisattva's request to preach, and a brief account of the boons won fIr'reciting this dhiirary,i. The next fifteen verses give the 108 Names of Tara,

itheach form's mantra. The final verses give rules concerning the recitation :ndagain recount the fruits of recitation. The published text (Vajracarya 1972) also provides another Tara avadana different from the one translated

in this study. 14. A common Indic ritual that consists of five kinds of offerings: flowers,

.incense, light, balm, food. See Lewis 1984: 192-198. 15. This dhiirary,i very commonly chanted by a vajracarya priest for a

.patron. This recitation is said to absolve the hearer from 10 forms of papa

.·("demerit"). 16. Affiitabha Buddha's paradise .

. 17. This Sanskrit title for this text, the Kanitavadana, has not been mentioned in any published Nepali account. The only study of a Newari avadana }s.thatby Jorgensen (1931), the Vicitrakarry,ikavadanor;lr7hrta; but in this work, .ihereis no mention of the Mahakala story. e:;> 18. In the Newar tradition, this bali can literally mean an animal sacrifice. 'While blood offerings are approved by some tantric Buddhist texts, some laymen prefer to offer substitutes that do not entail actual killing. See Owens .(1988) for a discussion of the relationship between N ewar Buddhist traditions arid blood sacrifice.

19. This ancient Buddhist custom of laymen taking on extra precepts (beyond their usual five) during a special observance is also still common in Theravada countries (Wells 1975) .

. 'BIBLIOGRAPHY

'~~bb,Lawrence A . .1975 The Divine HieraTChy: Popular Buddhism in Central India. New York:

Columbia University Press. Beyer, Stephan ,'1973 The Cult of Tara: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. Berkeley: University of .'.' ... '. California. '9.ellner, David N. ,·,1986 "Language, Caste, Religion and Territory: Newar Identity Ancient ;, and Modern," European Journal of Sociology, XXVII, 102-148. ;:.1987 Monk, Householder and Priest: Newar Buddhism and Its Hierarchy of Ritual,

Oxford University: Ph.D. Dissertation.


1988 "Monastic Initiation in Newar Buddhism" in R.F. Gombrich ed. Oxford University Papers on India, II (1), 42-112.

Gombrich, Richard F. 1971 Precept and Practice. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Greenwold, Stephen M. 1974 "Buddbist Brahmins," Archives Europeennes de Sociologie XV, 483-503.

lItis, Linda 1985 The Svastani Vrata: Newar Women and Ritual i"n Nepal. Ann Arbor:

University Microfilms International. Ishii, Hiroshi ...

1986 "Institutional Change and Local Response," in Ishii et al. Anthropolog_J ical and Linguistic Studies of the Gandaki Area and Kathmandu Valley in; Nepal. Tokyo: Monumenta Serindica. .

1987 "Social Change in a Newar Village," in N. Gutschow and A. Michaels,'; eds. Heritage of the Kathmandu Valley, 333-354.

Jorgensen, Hans 1931 Vicitrakarnikavadanoddhrta: A Collection of Buddhist Legends. ~~'"~''U'''

Royal Asiatic Society. Kane, P.V.

1974 History of the Dharma Sastra. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental ftc, ... "rrn

Institute. Lewis, Todd Thornton

1984 The Tuladhars of Kathmandu: A Study of Buddhist Tradition in a Merchant Community. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International.

1988 "A Chronology ofN ewar-Tibetan Relations in the Kathmandu . in Sigfried Lienhard ed. Publicazioni del Centro Piemontess di Studi Medio ed Estremo Oriente (Turin), forthcoming.

1989 "Newars and Tibetans in the Kathmandu Valley: Ethnic and Religious History" Journal of Asian and African Studies, 37 1989, forthcoming.

Locke, John K., SJ. 1979 Karu1'}amaya: The Cult of Avalokitesvara-Matsyendranath in the Valley

Nepal. Kathmandu: Sahayogi Press. 1985 Buddhist Monasteries of Nepal. Kathmandu: Sahayogi Press. 1986 "The Vajrayana Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley," in The ~w._ .. ·~"x

Heritage of Nepal. Kathmandu: Dharmodaya Sabba. 1987 "Uposadha Vrata of Amoghapasa LokeSvara in Nepal,"

83 (100-101), 159-189. Macdonald, A.W. and A. Stahl

1979 Newar Art. Warminster: Aris and Phillips. Manandhar, Thakur Lal

1986 Newari-English Dictionary. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan. Malla, Kamal P.

1981 Classical Newari Literature: A Sketch. Kathmandu: Nepal Study Centre. Monier-Williams, Sir Monier

1956 A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. (2nd ed.) London: Oxford Press.

MAHAyANA VRATAS 137

i:MJUin, Glen (translator) _ _ . . 't'::1980 Six Texts Related to the Tara Tantra. New DelhI: TIbet House.

'H~ens, Bruce .. . .. . . ,\\"1988 The Polztzcs of Dzvznzty zn the Kathmandu Valley: The Festzval of Bunga ;:;. DyaJRato Matsyendranath. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Columbia ~i •. ·• University. ~~binson, Richard H. "'::]966 "The Ethic of the Householder Bodhisattva," Bharati, 9 (2), 25-56.

fkoerich, G.N. ~~'1953 The Blue Annals of gZhon-nu-dpal (Vol. 2). Calcutta. ~k6sser, Colin >';'1964 "Social Mobility in the Newar Caste System," in C. Furer-[~i;' Haimendorf, ed. Caste and Kin in Nepal, India and Ceylon. Bombay: ~(';... Asian Publishing House. S;kya, H~maraj

",i~~'1977 Sri Svayambhu Mahiicaitya. Kathmandu: Vikas MandaI. ~:~iicar, D.C. ~0~;1967 The Sakti Cult and Tara. University of Calcutta. ~fShellgrove, David itj,~:t987 Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. (2 Vols.) Boston: Shambala. "~"~blein, William

"1978 "A Descriptive Analysis of the Content of Nepalese Buddhist Pujas as a Medical-Cultural System, with References to Tibetan Parallels," in James Fisher, ed. Himalayan Anthropology. The Hague: Mouton, 403-411.

~~biah, Stanley J. 51970 Buddhism and the Spirit Cults of Northeast Thailand. Cambridge Univer-" sity Press.

mpleman, David '981 The Origin of the Tara Tantra by Jo-nan Taranatha. Dharamsala:

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. ffin, Gerard

1975 "Etudes sur les Newar de la Vallee I).athmandou: Guthi, Funerailles et Castes," l'Ethnographie, 2, 206-225.

,1986 Societe et Religion chez les Newar du Nepal. Paris: CNRS. ~racarya, Amoghavajra

.iJ972 .Aryya Tara Stotra. Kathmandu: Nepal Printing Service. ajracarya, Ratna Kaji ~198l Yem Deya Baudhha Puja Kriyaya HalaT{tjvalaT{t. Kathmandu: Sankata ; . Printing Press. adley, Susan S.

~!:~,:l983 "Vra!s: Transformers of Destiny," in ~harles ~. Keyes and E. Va.len ti~e ~~h', Damel, eds. Karma: An AnthropologIcal InqUIry. Berkeley: Umversity i ,..... of California Press, 147-162. IliWayman, Alex 1~1~1971 "Buddhism," Historia Religionum, II, 372-464. rMeIls, Kenneth


1975 Thai Buddhism: Its Rites and Customs. Bangkok: Suriyabun. (Second ed.) . Wilson, H.H.

1828 "Notices on Three Tracts Received from Nepal," Asiatic Researches, 16,450-478. .

The Kathavatthu Niyama Debates *

by James P. McDermott

A series of debates concerning what has been variously translated as "assurance," "fixity," "destiny," and "certitude" (Pali: niyama. Cf. the related niyata) is scattered widely through the Kathiivatthuppakara1J,a. 1 These controversies are primarily concerned with the implications of entry into the way of deliverance. According to the Kathiivatthupakara1J,a Atthakathii, the Andhakas, their sub-groups the Aparaseliyas and Pubbaseliyas, and the Uttarapathakas, as well as the Theravadins were involved in the controversies over niyama. The purpose of this paper is to undertake a systematic analysis of the Kathiivatthu niyama debates in order to determine the fundamental underlying doctrinal concerns.

The first debate centered on niyama occurs at Kvu IV.8. The controversy focuses on the implications of an account from the Ghatzkiira Sutta (M II.45ff.). According to this text the Bodhisatta was born as a brahmin, Jotipala, during the lifetime of Kassapa Buddha. His friend, the potter Ghatlkara, invited Jotipala to go with him to hear Kassapa Buddha preach. Jotipala refused, insulting Kassapa Buddha in the process. But GhatIkara . did not give in, and one day boldly seizing his higher caste friend by the hair coerced Jotipala into agreeing to accompany him. Having heard Kassapa Buddha in person, Jotipala joined the sar(l,gha and became a monk. The Mahiivastu relates that Jotipala expressed his aspiration to become a Buddha himself in the presence of Kassapa Buddha (Mhvu 1.319ff, esp. 1.335), who then prophesied Jotipala's eventual enlightenment.

The point at issue atKvu IV.8 concerns whether it is proper to speak of Jotipala's entry on the path of assurance (niyama okkanti) under the teaching (pavacana) of the Buddha Kassapa.

139


The Andhakas and Uttarapathakas maintained the affirmative. 2

. The Theravadins, to the contrary, argued that to so hold would imply that the Buddha-to-be must have been a disciple of Kassapa, which would conflict with the concept of a Buddha as self-developed (sayambhu) , as one who discovers the path for himself without the aid of a teacher.

Buddhaghosa's commentary clarifies the meaning of niyama in this context: "Niyama and brahmacariya (the religious life) are equivalents for the noble (four-stage) path. And there is no entrance on that path for bodhisattas, except when they are fulfilling the perfections ... " (KvuA IV.S). Thus it becomes clear from the Theravada perspective that the Buddha-to-be could not have undertaken the austerities which he did prior to his enlightenment in his last life had he already entered the path of assurance (niyama); for this is a middle path between the extremes of self-indulgence, on the one hand, and radical asceticism, on the other. 3

An important implication of the commentary to this controversy, though it is not clear from the Kathavatthu text itself, is that the Theravadin is concerned to avoid falling into the admission of predeterminism or a concept of fixed destiny. Thus, when Buddhaghosa writes: "Buddhas prophesy: 'he will become a Buddha' simply by the might of their own insight,"4 his point is that Kassapa's prophecy concerning J otipala is to be seen simply as an enlightened prediction, an example of a Buddha's insight into the passing of beings according to their own kamma, rather than as determining his future destiny.

The commentary to Kvu XIII.4 further underlines this point. It suggests that when a Buddha makes such a prophecy about an individual, this bodhisatta "may be called assured (niyata) by reason of the cumulative growth of merit."5

The desire to avoid implying a concept of fixed destiny implicitly seems to underlie the Theravadin argument at Kvu VI.I as well. Here the debate concerns whether niyama is unconditioned (asarikhata). The Andhakas,6 among others, contend that assurance or fixedness on the path (niyama) is unconditioned. The intent is to maintain that once one is fixed on the path so as to assure its fruition, the nature of this assurance is such that it cannot cease. To argue otherwise is to claim that assurance is no assurance. The Theravadin objection is that to

NIyAMA DEBATES 141

use the term "unconditioned" in this way wrongly makes assur~nce (niyama) equivalent to nibbiina, which alone in the Theravadin view is to be classified as unconditioned (asarikhata). Such an equivalence must be avoided because, as Dhammasarigani 983 makes clear, the unconditioned element is morally indeterminate, ethically neutral (avyakata). The unconditioned stands ~bove the sphere of moral causation. Once this state is achieved, no further kammic effect is worked on the individual. To maintain that this was equally true of entering the path of assurance inevitably would seem to lead to a concept of determinism.

In light of a distinction basic to the arguments at Kvu XIII. 3 and 4, and, to a lesser extent, Kvu VI. 1 as well, it becomes more obvious still that niyama (assurance) cannot imply a determinism beyond moral causation. The debate at Kvu XIII.4 cen.ters on whether one who is assured (niyata) enters the path of assurance (niyamar{t okkamati). The Pubbaseliyas and Aparaseliyas argue the affirmative (KvuA XIII.4.). The Theravadin, to the contrary, distinguishes between assurance (niyama) oftwo types, depending on whether it is in the right (sammatta 'fi,iyama) or wrong (micchatta niyama) direction. The former is the noble path which ends in arahantship. The latter, which results from committing one of the five cardinal crimes (anantarika kamma )-namely: 1) patricide, 2) matricide, 3) killing an arahant, 4)wQunding a Buddha, or 5) causing a schism in the Buddhist sarrtgha. (A V.129)-leads to immediate retribution. As the com. mentary notes, apart from these two categories, no other mental phenomena are invariably fixed (KvuA XIII.4.).

Kathavatthu XIII.3 deals with a special case in the application Of the concept of immediate retribution. The issue concerns cases where an individual instigates one of the five crimes resulting in immediate retribution on death. The U ttarapathakas were fully consistent in insisting that one who had instigated such a crime could not enter on the right path of assurance (sammata niyama). The Theravadin, however, on the basis of a concept <;>f complete kamma recognized special circumstances under Which it might be possible for such an individual to enter the rightpath of assurance (sammatta niyama). < In his commentary, Buddhaghosa notes that the Therava

".dinposition distinguishes between two ways in which one can instigate a cardinal crime, namely 1) through a permanent, :, ~, ',-: .


standing injunction involving a consistent attitude and on-going effort, or 2} through an occasional or impulsive injunction (KvuA. XIII.3.). Both parties to the debate agree there is no question that the former way assures one's doom', because there is volition to carry through. In the latter case, however, the Theravadin considers remorse and reform possible.

For the Uttarapathaka, even this provides no escape from the inevitability of immediate retribution on death, and no possibility for entry.on the right path of assurance. His reasoning is that remorse (kukkucca) and the agitation and distraction (uddhacca) that accompany it constitute one of the five hindrances (nfvara17as).7 The hindrances blind our mental vision so that we can neither work for our own benefit nor for that of others. In their presence, neither absorption concentration (appana samadhi) nor access concentration (upacara samadhi) is possible. Each of the hindrances must be permanently overcome to attain arahantship, and hence, the Uttarapathaka would argue, assurance (niyama) on the right path.

In opposition the Theravadin imagines a hypothetical case in which, perhaps on impulse, someone encourages another to commit one of the four crimes entailing immediate retribution on death. What if the instigator repents and backs out before the actual crime is ever committed? Or perhaps, for whatever reason, the crime is never committed and the instigator comes to regret his evil intention. In such a case, the Theravadin maine tains, having come to his senses, the instigator might eventually overcome his agitation and feelings of remorse. It then could be possible for him to enter onto the path of proper assurance.

While the Uttarapathaka position is intended to underscore the heinous nature of the five cardinal crimes, the Theravadins recognized that, at least to a certain extent, the ethical potential. of a deed can be counteracted by repentance. Since kamma is defined as the intentional impulse (cetana) and the act which follows upon it, the removal of either or both inevitably lessens the seriousness of the act and reduces its kammic impact.8

As I have noted elsewhere, the specific issue at Kvu XIII.3 is but one aspect of a broader controversy which is the focus of twin debates recorded at Kvu XXI.7 and S.9 Kathiivatthu XXI.8 deals with a thesis shared by the Andhakas and Uttarapathakas (KvuA XXI.S.) that all kamma is fixed (niyata) in its consequences.

NlyAMADEBATES 143

Certain acts by nature bear fruits that ripen in this life, while thers ripen in the next life, and still a third type of kamma ~pens in succee~ing existences. Since the three. types are not convertible one mto another, they must be saId to be fixed (niyata) in.thei.r consequen~es. To the proponents of this position, this ImplIes that certam fixed consequences are bound to folloW as a result of any given deed, and that the same kammic effects will be produced whenever that deed is committed. To the Theravadin this view seems to imply that all action leads either to assurance in the right direction (sammatta niyama) or assurance in the wrong direction (micchatta niyama). Since, as we have already seen above, only commission of one of the crimes 'entailing immediate retribution on death (anantarika kamma) leads to micchatta niyama, a whole additional category of wrongful acts which do not entail fixed (niyata) consequences must be posited. Similarly, not every good deed guarantees attainment of nibbiina or entry on the path of assurance (niyama okkanti). Infact, concludes the Theravadin, the vast majority of human ~ctions cannot be spoken of as having predetermined consequences, their fruits being colored by the overall character and moral habit of those who do them, as well as by the circumstances involved.

In the twin to this debate about fixed kamma, the issue is whether all phenomena are fixed by nature. The Pali reads: sabbe dhamma niyata 'ti? (Kvu XXI. 7.) Again the Andhakas and certain Uttarapathakas assert the affirmative (KvuA XXI.7.). Their point seems to be a simple one: No matter how much any phenomenon (dhamma) may change, it never gives up its fundamental nature. To illustrate: matter is material by nature. ,It cannot be otherwise. It can be nothing but matter. That by nature it cannot be a mental phenomenon goes almost without ~aying. It cannot have the nature of feeling, consciousness, or the like. Thus it is said to be fixed (niyata). All other dhammas are similarly conceived to be fixed, of immutable nature.

The Theravadin rejects this apparently straightforward yiew. From his perspective to claim that all dhammas are fixed (niyata) amounts to a claim of moral determinism; that is, to a Claim that all phenomena are fixed in terms of their rightness (sammatta niyata) or wrongness (micchatta niyata). In other words, this would amount to holding that every dhamma belongs either


to the category of wrong entailing fixed evil results or to the category of right entailing fixed good results. Such is contrary to the sutta where three categories (riisi) are enumerated, namely: 1) micchatta niyato riisi, 2) sammatta niyato riisi, and 3) aniyato nisi, the last and by far the largest of these categories consisting of that which is not immutably fixed. 10

According to the commentary (KvuA VA & XIX.7.), the Uttarapathakas are the proponents of two related theses debated at Kvu VA and XIX.7 respectively. The former controversy focuses on the Uttarapathaka claim that "in one not fixed (aniyata) [on the path] there is insight (iiiiTJa) for going on to assurance (niyiima gamaniiya )." The rejoinder treats this as a claim that only the ordinary individual not yet engaged on the path is capable of developing the insight necessary to assure achievement of the goal, whereas the path is in fact restricted to those who have already attained assurance. The point of the thesis, rather, is that even in one not yet fixed in his pursuit of that path, the possibility of developing the insight necessary for success may nonetheless exist. S.Z. Aung and Mrs. Rhys Davids have described this debate as "a curious bout of ancient dialectic. At the end of each section the sectary is brought up against the same rejoinder, compelling him either to contradict his proposi-, tion or to withdraw."ll As Buddhaghosa's commentary suggests (KvuA VA.), the contention stems from the Theravadin use of the term "assurance" (niyiima) as a synonym for the path or way to arahantship. Thus the Theravadin argument is ultimately little more than the simple claim that only one already engaged on the path is assuredly on the path.

Kathiivatthu XIX.7 concerns accanta niyiimato in the case of an ordinary person <puthujjana). As The Piili Text Society's Piili~ English Dictionary notes, the term accanta can be variously trans" lated as 1) "uninterrupted, continuous, perpetual," or 2) "final, absolute, complete."l2 The Uttarapathakas hold that in the case of a member of 'oi polloi there is accanta niyiimatii. If this is to be taken as a claim that the entrance of such an individual on· the path is assured, this is to be denied; for members of the masses are capable of the worst of crimes. If, on the other hand, . the thesis is to be read as a claim that the assurance of immediate retribution on death which follows upon commission of a cardinal crime is perpetual, it must be denied as well; for this assur-

NlyAMADEBATES 145

nee of retribution extends to the immediately following exis:enee orily (KvuA XIX.7.). Finally, if the proposition be taken to assert that a member of 'oi polloi can feel absolute certitude, itrnust still be rejected because doubt is only put away for good byone who h~s entered t~e.~ath, something that the ordinary person (puthuJJana) .by de!l.mtlOn has not done. .' . .... In defense of hIS pOSitIOn the Uttarapathaka CItes A IV.II: ;'Consider the person whose ways are wholly black and evil; it is. thus, monks, he plunges once [-that is, once and for all-] and drowns."13 The Theravadin denies that this passage is relevant. This denial is clarified by Buddhaghosa's commentary, \Vhieh suggests that the Uttarapathaka has relied too much on the letter (vacana) of the text at the expense of its spirit (attho). 14

The Kathiivatthu niyiima debates are thus seen to provide tlarifieation of what entry onto the path of assurance involves. They further distinguish assurance in the right direction (samma,tta niyiima) from the assurance (micchatta niyiima) of immediate retribution which results from iinantarika kamma. But why the i~eholastic interest in these issues which in and of themselves seem to be of relatively minor import? The answer would seem

.tolie in the recognition that the concept of assurance or the admission of fixed states of any kind other than nibbiina itself c~n lead all too easily to the heresies of fatalism/determinism (niyativiida) , or the belief that "all beings, all that have breath, all that are born, all that have life are without power, strength, energy; have evolved according to destiny (niyati), species (sangati) and nature (bhiiva )." 15 In the Siimmanaphala Sutta (D 1.53.) .t~is view is attributed to Makkhali Gosala. Thus the niyiima de,:bates, at least in part, seem formulated implicitly to avoid falling into the trap of Ajlvika determinism .

. NOTES

'" *Research for this paper was begun with support from a Canisius College ,faculty Summer Research Grant, and completed under a sabbatical leave p:ovided by Canis ius College with additional support of an N.E.H. Grant for :Coliege Teachers. An early version of this paper was presented at the VIth )'V0rld Sanskrit Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 13-20, 1984. . 1. Kvu IV.S, V.4, VLl, XIII.3-4, XIX.7, and XXI.7-8. In preparing


this essay the following editions of the Pali texts of the Kathiivatthu and its commentaries have been used: Bhikkhu J. Kashyap, ed. The Kathiivatthu Nalanda Devanagarl Pali Series (Pali Publication Board, Bihar Government' 1961); Mahesh Tiwary, ed. The Paiicappakarana~Atthakathii, Vol. II; Kathiivatthu~ Atthakathii. (N alanda, Patna: N ava N alanda Mahavihara, 1971); Burmese script edition of the Kathiivatthu Millatikii and Anutikii from the Paiicapa_ kara1'}amilla(ikii and Paiicapakara1'}iinutikii (1960). The Millatikii and Anut'ika have been consulted throughout. They add little of significance to the philosophical understanding of the text.

2. See KvuA IV.7 and IV.8. 3. The story of Jotipala seems to have been particularly problematic

for the Buddhists, since it is also a subject of concern to King Milinda in the Milindapaiiha (Miln 221-233.). There, however, the issue is different, being concerned with how someone of J otipala's attainments could have abused the Buddha Kassapa. Nagasena's solution to the dilemma, it is to be noted, is not fully consistent with the usual understanding of how kamma operates.

4. KvuA IV.8 as trans. by Shwe Zan Aung & Mrs. Rhys Davids, Points of Controversy, or Subjects of Discourse (London: Luzac for P.T.S., 1960 reprint of 1915 ed.), 168, and adopted by Bimala Churn Law, The Debates Commentary, Pali Text Translation Series, No. 28 (London: Luzac for P.T.S., 1969 reprint of 1940 ed.), 97.

5. As trans. by Aung and Rhys Davids, Points of Controversy, 275, and adopted by Law, Debates Commentary, 175. Aung and Rhys Davids read puiiii'ussadattii for puiiiiassa datvii. See 275, fn. 3.

6. See KvuA VI.l. 7. On the nfvara1'}as see D I. 73, A I.3, S 11.23, and M 1.60, for example.

Also see Nyanaponika Thera, The Five Mental Hindrances, Wheel Publication No. 26 (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1961).

8. See James P. McDermott, "Karma and Rebirth in Early Buddhism,'~ in Wendy D. O'Flaherty, ed. Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1980; Indian ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983), 187-189 on the concept of complete kamma in the Pali Nikii)'as and the Abhidarmako~a.

9. See James P. McDermott, "The Kathavatthu Kamma Debates," Jour: nal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 95.3 (1975), 429-430.

10. See D III.217. Cf. Nett 96. 11. Aung and Rhys Davids, Points of Controversy, 178, fn. 1. 12. T.W. Rhys Davids and William Stede, P.E.D. (London: Luzac for

P.T.S., 1966 reprint of 1921-1925 ed.), s.v. 13. As trans. by E.M. Hare, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol. IV,

P.T.S. Translation Series, No. 26 (London: P.T.S.; distr. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978 reprint of 1935 ed.), 7. Parenthesis added by this writer following the reading of KvuA XIX.7.

14. See KvuA XIX.7. 15. D 1.53 as trans. by David J. Kalupahana, Causality: The Central

Philosophy of Buddhism (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1975),33. On the perceptive translation of sarigati as "species" see ibid., 33-36.

~A 'Verse from the Bhadracarzprar.tidhana 'i~ a 10th Century Inscription found at ~~i1anda

:fY,Gregory Schopen

;Although it has not been previously recognized or identified, a ~~~se from the Bhadracarzprar.tidhiina occurs in a 10th Century ;iri~cription from Nalanda which was published more than forty ~~~rs ago. The inscription, unique in some ways, consi~ts of ;tour separate parts which are "engraved round the base of the ~r~m" ofa small stupa. The first part-A-is a donative record ~fiiten in two verses of an elaborate kiivya style; B consists of a ~irigle verse which is dearly identical to verse 46 of Watanabe's ~~ition of the Bhadracarzprar.tidhiina I; C contains what is usually Y~"::Y" ".

:~aned "the Buddhist creed"; and D contains two more verses 'Sihich come from Buddhist literature. i1£; A first reading of the inscription was left in manuscript by !!iranand Sastri. When this Il!anuscript was edited and readied ~~t;publication by N.P. Chakravarti he added a very muchimproved reading of his own in a footnote. 2 I re-edit the text here B~;the basis of the plates published in, Nalanda and Its Epigraphic' M£Lterial, but my text differs only occasionally from that given ~yChakravarti. ~tE]!. '. The inscription-which has not previously been trans!~!ed-is of interest from a number of points of view. It provides ~s ~ith a late record of religious activity undertaken by a monk ,f8.r the sake of his teacher. 3 It provides us with another instance ,2;Lthe inscriptional use of religious verses of a kind already ~own from other sites. From Swat we have two inscriptions ~rich contain a verse that is also found in the Mahiiparinirviir.ta~,'!ftr,a, the Avadiinasataka, the Dzgha- and SaT(lyutta-nikiiyas, the lfi~~"·~ Jri 149

~::~~'


Theragatha, the Jataka, the Gandhari Dharmapada, and the Udanavarga 4 ; another inscription containing a verse that occurs in the Mahavastu, the Dzgha, the Dham1Jlapada, the Udanavarga, and in the concluding verses of the Pratimok:;as of the Millasarvastivadins, Mahasanghikas and Sarvastivadins also comes from Swat. 5 There is at least one more verse of a similar kind and distribution found at Swat and another at Guntupalli.6 All of these are much earlier than our Nalanda inscription, but the verses found in D are of exactly the same kind: they too also occur in the Udanavarga, the Avadanasataka, the Divyavadana, the Dzgha- and Sa7(l.yutta-nikayas, etc. 7 If nothing else our N alanda inscription establishes the continuity of the old practice of using apparently well known verses in Buddhist inscriptions.s

The primary importance of our inscription, however, must lie in the fact that it contains the only verse of the Bhadracarzprar;idhana known to occur in an Indian epigraph, and its occurrence establishes the fact that the Bhadracarz was known and actually used in the 10th Century at N alanda. 10 Moreover, although several specifically identifiable dharar;zs have been found at a number of sites, II this verse is the only passage from a Mahayana text so far known to occur in an Indian inscription. This fact may suggest that, apart from Dharar;z texts, Mahayana literature--contrary to what we might think-was not widely known. 12 The fact that this passage occurs in a 10th Century inscription, coupled with the fact that the only known references to "classical" Mahayana texts in Indian inscriptions come from the 11 th Century, 13 could suggest in turn that if this literature was known at all outside of narrow scholarly circles,14 it was known only very late. 15 It may also be significant that when a passage from a Mahayana text does finally occur in an Indian inscription it occurs in a single inscription together with two other passages from demonstrably non-Mahayana texts. This at the very least is curious, although it may have some connection with the equally curious fact that the one Mahayana text to be cited in an Indian inscription is also one of the Mahayana texts which the Indo-Tibetan tradition from the 9th Century on specifically associates with the Sautrantikas. 16

AVERSE FROM THE BHADRACARIPRANIDHANA 151

(1) orp [I I] yo buddha1-sasana-saroja-vikasane2 bhul 1()k-ottare tad itare U U - U 3 tattval).4 I

(2) sastre prabhakaramatil). saviteva loke sitansu-tulya-carito pi yaso visuddhal). [I I]

(3) si~yel)a tasya yati-kairava-sltadhamna buddhakareI).a5

yatina suguI).akareI).a6 [ I ] aropito bhagavatal). sugatasya caityal). (4) sva[r]I).I).acala

pratisamasthitir eva bhuyat I I •... pUI).yenanena labdhasau7 bauddham padam anuttararp

sreyo-[ma]rge niyufijita lokarp sarpsara-pi<;litarp8 1 I

'The scribe or engraver has used here-and at several other places-v for b, writing vuddha-. 2 This is Chakravarti's emendation; there is no sign of an e-matra on the plate. 3 There are four ak:;aras which cannot be read here with certainty. 4 The plate has tatva/:t, which Chakravarti emends to what is printed as tatval;(ttvM. The latter is obviously a typographical error. 5 The scribe or engraver has again written vuddha-. 6 Chakravarti reads svagur}iikare1'}a, but the first a~ara is clearly su-; compare the suofsugatasya later in this same line. 7 The scribe has written lavdhiisau. 8 The scribe here has used v for p, writing vUjita'J!l.

B.

(1) orn [I I] yavata ni~tha' nabhasya bhaveya I 2)sa(tva) a[se]~ata ni~tha tathaiva(2 I

(2) karmatu3 klesatu4 yavata ni~tha I tavata ni~tha5 mama praI).idhanarp I

'C akravarti reads ni5thii, but a comparison with the same word at the end of line 3 where the long a is clear makes this unlikely. 2)(2Chakravarti reads this line as: sa case5ata ni5thii tathaiva. i. The second syllable is hard to interpret. Sastri had read -va, but the textual parallels suggest -tva-, which is possible. The bottom part of the a~ara involved appears to be broken. Chakravarti reads the third syllable as -se-, but a comparison of it with -sain lines 1 and 2 of A, or with sa- of line 3 of B, makes it unlikely

152 JIABS VOL 12 NO.1

that a s is involved here. A comparison of it with a- of aropito in line 3 of A, or with the a- of apramattas in line 2 of D, on the other hand, suggests it was intended for initial a-. This is also what the textual parallels have. But if read in this way the line is short a syllable. Chakravarti makes up for it by reading an i at the end of the line, but what he reads for i is almost certainly only a dat:tr;la. The textual parallels suggest that the scribe has inadver_ tently omitted a -se-. (For the grammar of this line see Edgerton's remarks on it at BHSG § 8.10).3 Chakravarti reads karma tu as if tu were a separate indeclinable; cf. BHSG §§ 8.53-.55. 4 Chakravarti reads [kr'i]Satu, but the reading kle.satu is virtually certain and confirmed by the textual parallels: kle.satu. 5 Chakravarti reads ni$tha, but I see no trace of the a-matra, and the textual parallels read nis.tha.

c.

"Buddhist formula in two lines"

D.

( 1) arabhadhvarp ni~kramata yu jyadh varp buddha 1-sasane2

dhunIta mrtyunab sainyarp na-(2)-<;lagaram iva kunjarabl

yo hy asmin dharmma-vinaye apramattas cari~ya-(3)-ti prahaya jati-sarpsararp dubkhasyantarp kari~yati I I

I The plate reads again vuddha-. 2 Although Chakravarti read -sasane, and although this is obviously what was intended, there is no a-matra visible in the plate.

A.

Orp. He who was, in the unfolding of the lotus of instruction of the Buddha which goes beyond the world ...

For the Teacher, Prabhakaramati was in the world like the rays of the sun; his presence too was like the beams of the moon;

AVERSEFROMTHEBHADRACARIPRAI':HDHANA 153

~bea~tiful and b.rilliant.. . . · .•• ·.· .... ·By his pupIl, the cool delIght to the mght bloommg flowers 6rascetics, the ascetic Buddhakara, a mine of goo~ qualities, .

• ··a caitya of the Blessed One, the Sugata, was raIsed-may It '!ldure like a mountain of gold! .~.Through the merit of this may that one (Prabhakaramati) obtain the unsurpassed station of a Buddha! . o may the world, afflicted by continuous rebirth, be fixed on th~more fortunate path!

B.

great as the full extent of the sky would be-50 too the full extent of all living beings without remainder;

great as the full extent of acts and imperfections-so great is the full extent of my vow.

:'Buddhist formula in two lines"

D: :?:::;::':,,:r::'

Xoumust begin! You must set forth! You must attach ~~.:your5elves to the instruction of the Buddha! Ihis would topple the army of death like an elephant .. does a hut of reeds.

~'?':'::

lndeed, he who, being attentive, will practice in this ;'teaching and discipline ?~ving abandoned the continual cycle of births,

.will effect the end of suffering.


NOTES

1. K. Watanabe, Die Bhadracar'i. Eine Probe buddhistisch-religioser Lyrik (Leipzig: 1912). .

2. H. Sastri, Nalanda and Its Epigraphic Material (Memoirs of the Ar: chaeological Survey of India, No. 66) (Delhi: 1942) 106-07 & n.l; pI. XI. This volume was reprinted by Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1986.

3. For earlier examples of religious acts undertaken by a monk for the sake of his teacher see H. Luders, Mathura Inscriptions (Abhandlungen der Akad. der Wissen. in G6ttingen. Phil.-Hist. Kl., Dritte Folge Nr. 47), ed. K.L. Janert (G6ttingen: 1961) § 29 (64-65); S. Konow, KharoshtM Inscriptions with the Exception of those of Aloha (Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, 11.1) (Calcutta:' 1929) LXXXVIII (171-72); T. Bloch, "Notes on Bodh-Gaya," Annual Report' of the Archaeological Survey of India, 1908-09 (Calcutta: 1912) 156-57; etc."

4. G. Buhler, "Three Buddhist Inscriptions in Swat," Epigraphica Indica 4 (1896/97) 134(A); H. Luders, "A Buddhist Inscription in Swat," Journal oj the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1901) 575-76. For the textual occurrences see F. Bernhard, Udanavarga 1.3 (Abhandlungen der Akad. der: Wissen. in G6ttingen. Phil.-Hist. Kl., Dritte Folge, Nr.54) Bd. I (G6ttingeri:' 1965) 96. 1

5. Buhler, Epigraphia Indica 4 (1896/97) 135(B); Bernhard, Udanavarit. XXVIII.l, Bd~ I, 353..~

6. Buhler, Epigraphia Indica 4 (1896/97) 135(C); Bernhard, Udiinavarg~' VII.12, Bd. I, 160; LK. Sarma, "Epigraphical Discoveries at Guntupalli," jou~ nal of the Epigraphical Society of India 5 (1975) 58 [the verse here is in need of re-editing]; Bernhard, Udanavarga, XXVII~34, Bd. I, 350. (In addition to thi verses already referred to the ye dharma hetuprabhava verse is, of course, very~ frequently found in Indian inscriptions, but its chronological and geographical: distribution has as yet not been systematically studied. For textual passage~i in prose in Indian inscriptions see S. Konow, "Two Buddhist Inscription;: from Sarnath," Epigraphia Indica 9 (1907/08) 291-93 (d. D. Kosambi, "Th~ Pali Inscription at Sarnath," Indian Antiquary 39 (1910) 217); R. Salomon~'; G. Schopen, "The Indravarman (Avaca) Casket Inscription Reconsidered}J Further Evidence for Canonical Passages in Buddhist Inscriptions," The journa{l of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 7.1 (1984) 107-23.) For,the~{ various 'Pratityasamutpada Sutras' found in Indian inscriptions see the follow:~ ing and the sources cited in them: ].W. de Jong, "A propos du,l nidanasalllyukta," Melanges de sinologie offerts a Monsieur Paul Demieville, t.IU (Paris: 1974) 137-49; O. von Hinuber, "Epigraphical Varieties ofContinent~IJ Pali from Devnimori and Ratnagiri," in Buddhism and Its Relation to 0thij,1 Religions: Essays in Honour of Dr. Shozen Kumoi on his Seventieth Birthday (Kyot?,;1

. 1~8~) 185~200.; H. Dur~: K. R~boud et ~ai Tung-Hung, "A propos de.'s~fIp~~ mInIatures voufs du ve sleele decouverts a Tourfan et au Gansu," Arts aszatZI[UfSJl

~:-;'%l

40 (1985) 92...,.106.,1 7. Bernhard, Udanavarga IV.37-38, Bd. I, 138. J 8. For some remarks-not always well supported--:-on the use of gii~i,

see Et. Lamotte, "De quelques influences grecques et scythes sur Ie bou~~

{~t *J~:~ :~,

A VERSE FROM THE BHADRACARIPRANIDHANA 155

~:dhisrn~," Academie des inscri~tions & bel~es-lettres. Co~ptes ,rendus des se~nc~s ;~a l'annee 1956, 500ff. (ThIS was later mcorporated mto Et. Lam<?tte, Hzstozre fg~bouddhisme indiendes origines a l'erdaka (Lou~ain: 1958) 546ff.); Et. Lamotte, iT} trait! de la grande ver~u de s~gesse: ~.II (L0.u:am: 1949) 688 & .n.4. For textu~l J~;u.rants for t~e practice of mscnbmg relIgIOus verses on objects of worshIp Jle~;the interesting story in the Mulasarvastivada-vinaya where the Buddha llilinself specifies that exactly the same verses as occur in section D of our 1lK~cription should be written above a? image of himself painted on a cloth ilg.Gnoli: The Gilgit Manuscript of the Sayanasanavastu and ~he. AdhikaraTj.avas~u ~lS~ne Onentale Roma 50) (Rom~: 1978) 6~-69);.and the SImIlar story-agam ~iMol'ving the same two verses whICh occur m D-m the Rudrayanavadana (P.L. tVl.,idya, Divyavadana (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts no.20) (Darbhanga: 1959) 466 r{~f.p. Roth, "Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa" in The Stupa-Its Religious, l~';;lstorical and Architectural Significance, ed. A.L. Dallapiccola & S.Z.-A. Lalle, t (Wiesbaden: 1980) 194 n.61, 197; and G. Roth, "The Physical Presence

e Buddha and its Representation in Buddhist Literature," in Investigating n Art, ed. M. Yaldiz & W. Lobo (Berlin: 1987) 297~in the second of papers Roth suggests that the verses that occur in D are the two verses

·ch-according to some texts-are "represented" by the two bells of an hlstupa}. ;i1' 9. For an excellent bibliography on the Bhadracar'i see A. Yuyama, Indic

cripts and Chinese Blockprints. (Non-Chinese Texts) of the Oriental Collection Australian National University Library, Canberra (Occasional Paper 6. The

alian National University. Centre of Oriental Studies) (Canberra: 1967) 0; for the Sanskrit version add, at least: Shindo Shiraishi, "Samanta-a's Bhadracari-praI}.idhanam. Die Bhadra-Carl genannten Wunschgedes heiligen Samantabhadra," Memoirs of the Faculty of Liberal Arts &

tion, Yamanashi University, No. 11 (Dec. 1960) 10-17; Shindo Shiraishi, 'er die Ueberlieferung und Komposition des Textes Samantabhadra's racaripraI}.idhana," Memoirs of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Education, nashi University, No. 12 (Dec. 1961) 1-6; Shindo Shiraishi, "Bhadracari.

,Sanskritext des heiligen Jiun. Abdruck im Jahre 1783," Memoirs of the 1iy of Liberal Arts & Education, Yamanashi University, No. 13 (Dec. 1962) ;W.T. de Bary, ed., The Buddhist Tradition in India, China & Japan (New : 1969) 172-78 [a translation from the Skt.]; M. Tatz, "The Vow of

evolent Conduct (introduction, translation and commentary)," Studies in ,,:Asian Art and Culture (Raghuvira Commemoration Volume), Vol. 5, ed. "handra & P. Ratnam (New Delhi: 1977) 153-76.-for some interesting ,rvations on the Indian manuscript of the Ga1Jif,avy1:tha translated into , ese in the 8th Century by Prajiia-and this is the only Chinese version contains the Bhadracar'i-see S. Levi, "King Subhakara of Orissa," Epi

hia Indica 15 (1919/20) 363-64; Jan Yun-Hua, "On Chinese Translation fillii.1;!\vataIp.saka-Siitra' Original from Udra," The Orissa Historical Research Jour!W(l959) 125-32. On the Chinese translations and the relationship of the I' racari to the Ga1J¢avyuha see L.O. G6mez, "Observations on the Role of

aI;tdavyuha in the Design of Barabudur," in Barabuif,ur. History and Signifi-ofaBuddhistMonument, ed. L.O. G6mez & H.W. Woodward,Jr. (Berkeley: ) 183ff.


10. The verses in D are not specific to anyone text but-like many similar verses-were freely used by the compilers of a variety of Buddhist texts. The verse in B, however, is both specific to and characteristic of the Bhadracarf. It appears to occur nowhere else., Knowledge of the verse might in this case, therefore, be taken to imply knowledge of the text as a whole.

11. G. Schopen, "The Text on the 'DharaQ.i Stones from Abhayagiriya': A Minor Contribution to the Study of Mahayana Literature in Ceylon," The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 5.1 (1982) 100-08' G. Schopen, "The Bodhigarbhalankaralak~a and Vimalo~Q.i~a DharaQ.ls i~ Indian Inscriptions. Two Sources for the Practice of Buddhism in Medieval India," Wiener Zeitschrift filr die Kunde Sildasiens 29 (1985) 119-49.

12. The Bhadracar'i itself apparently came to be classified as a "Dhiirani Text" at some stage. It is frequently found, for example,in manuscript colle~_ tions of dhiirar;'is from Nepal; M. Winternitz & A.B. Keith, Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Vol. II (Oxford: 1905) 260; H. Halen Handbook of Oriental Collections in Finland (Scandinavian Institute of Asiari Studies Monograph Series, No. 31) (London & Malmo: 1978) 85-86 (285); Ry6tai Kaneko, et aI., "A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Possession of the Toyo Bunko," Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko 37 (1979) 171, 189, etc. Unfortunately the history and function: of these collections is far from clear. But if the Bhadracar'i was so classified already in the 10th Century then the verse which occurs in our inscription may have to be considered only another instance of a "dhiirar;'i" in an Indian:' inscription.

13. "The Sarnath Stone Inscription of Karna: (Kalachuri) Year 810':; (= 1058 C.E.) records the fact that a copy of the A~.tasiihasrikii-prajiiiipiiramitii had been made and given to the community of monks at Sarnath, and that" something else had been given-what is not clear-to insure its constant red:: tation (V.V. Mirashi, Inscriptions of the Kalachuri Chedi Era (Corpus Inscrip( tionum Indicarum, IV.l) (Ootacamund: 1955) 275-78); "The Nalanda In-. scription of Vipulasrimitra" (11th Century) also seems to refer to the same text as "'the Mother of the Buddhas' in eight thousand (verses)" (yasya hrdaye sahasrair a~tiibhil:t prativasati sa'l'J'lbuddha-janan'i; N.G. Majumdar, "Nalanda In!: scription 6f Vipulasrimitra," Epigraphia Indica 21 (1931132) 97-101; cf. J.C::' Ghosh, "The Date of the Nalanda Inscription ofVipl,llasrimitra," Indian Cultu~e: 1 (1934) 291-92.,

14. The Bhadracar'i, for exam pIe, was known to a few Buddhist scholiasts:'; to Bhavya (c. 6th Century; C. Lindtner, "Matrceta's Prar;idhiinasaptati!"P Asiatische Studien / Etudes asiatiques 38.2 (1984) 102), Santideva (c. 8th Century;'; C. Bendall, r;ikshasamuccaya. A Compendium of Buddhistic Teaching compiled ~\: r;iintideva chiefly from Earlier Mahiiyiina-Sutras (Bibliotheca Buddhica I) (St}, Petersbourg: 1897-1902) 290.8, 291.9, 297.1), KamalasIla (late 8th Century;~ G. Tucci, Minor Buddhist Texts, Part II (Serie Orientale Roma IX,2) (Roma::: 1958) 221.2); G. Tucci, Minor Buddhist Texts, Part III (Serie Orientale Rom~; XLIII) (R?ma: 1971) 13.12), and AtIsa (10thlll th Century; Lindtner,Asiatifchei'\ Studien I Etudes asiatiques 38.2 (1984) 103). The problem, of course, is that we):: have no idea how widely these men and their works were known in actual 4

A VERSE FROM THE BHADRACARIPRAN"IDHANA 157

Bddhist communities and their "importance" h2.s almost certainly been badly di;torted by modern sc~ol~rly interest in the~. .. . .

15. It is of some slgmficance to note that mscnptlOnal eVIdence suggests 'hat Dhlira1Jltexts were publically known much earlier and much more widely !han the texts we think of as "classically" Mahayana. cE. the papers cited in

11.11 above. " . . . 16. L. de La Vallee Poussm noted the assoCIatIon of the Bhadracarf WIth

he Sautrantika nearly seventy years ago (Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, td; J. Hastings (Edinburgh: 1909) Vo!' 2, 259n; cf. Vo!' 12, 194), but good documentation for this association has only recently been made available in ~series of excellent works by Katsumi Mimaki (see K. Mimaki, La rifutation bo~ddhique de la permanence des choses (Sthirasiddhidi4mJa) et la preuve de la momentaniiii des choses (K$a1Jabharigasiddhi) (Paris: 1976) 197 and notes; K. Mimaki, ~'La Sa1Jmukhf-dhiira1J'i ou 'Incantation des six portes,' texte attribue aux sautrantika (I)," Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu 25.2 (1977) 972-65; Mimaki, "Le chapitre du BIo gsal grub mtha' sur les Sautrantika. Un essai de traduction," Zinbun 15 (1979) 164 n.l.

A Note on the Opening Formula of Buddhist Siitras

by Jonathan A. Silk

Since at least the time of Buddhagosa, controversy has surrounded the interpretation of the stock opening of Buddhist sutras-in Sanskrit evarh maya srutam ekasmin samaye bhagavan (place name) viharati sma. The main problem centers around whether the sutra was heard (Srutam) at one time, or whether the Blessed One was dwelling (viharati sma) at one time. The phrase ekasmin samaye (at one time), standing between the two verbal terms, could be understood to modify either. I

The most often cited study of the problem isJohn Brough's paper, '''Thus Have I Heard .. .'," written forty years ago.2 In considering the evidence of the canonical Tibetan translations of Buddhist texts, Brough noted that the xylographed editions of the Kanjurs he consulted read the opening phrase as follows: 'di skad bdag gis thas pa dus geig nal beam ldan 'das ... , that is, they punctuate after the equivalent of Sanskrit ekasmin samaye. These Tibetan texts therefore understand the phrase to mean that the sidra was heard at one time. In a note, Brough mentiolls that in Constantin Regamey's edition of the Bhadramayakaravyakara'Y),a the phrase is punctuated after thos pa, that is, after what in Sanskrit would be srutam. According to Brough, how-; ever, there is no punctuation at all in the Narthang xylograph used by Regamey, either after thos pa or after dus geig na. Brough. suggested that the main mark of punctuation, the shad (= Sanskrit da'Y),t;ia), after dus gcig na had merely been broken off the printing block in the N arthang edition. It is very possible that. a portion of the full-length mark of punctuation, the shad, could, have been broken on the wooden printing blocks and thus prinr:

158

THE OPENING FORMULA 159

what appears to be the inter-syllabic mark, tsheg. (Mistaking the eading might be especially likely in the Narthang edition,

hotoriouslY difficult to read.) As far as Brough knew, and as far as Iknow, Kanjurs-xylographed or manuscript-always punctuate with a shad after dus geig na, thus grouping "at one time" *ith "heard." .

The fact that Kanjur texts, even in all available Kanjur editions, contain a given punctuation does not, however, mean that this represents the totality of, as Brough puts it several times, "the Tibetan punctuation." The first purpose of the present note is to draw attention to an interesting reading in a 'Tibetan manuscript, a reading which so far seems to have esCaped notice, and to invite further study which will address the ,questions that the reading raises. . .. / In 1937 Giuliana Stramigioli published an edition of the Bhavasarikrantisutra from a Tibetan manuscript. 3 In her introHuction she writes:

Ho adoperato per la mia traduzione un manoscritto del monastero di Toling, del sec. XIII 0 XIV, copia di uno pili antico,

. probabilmentedel X-XI secolo. Esso e uno dei pochi manoscritti

. conosciuti,. il quale abbia conservato la grafia antica; troviamo percio myi invece di mi, e il da drag finale, in seguito perdutosi; a volte pero e adopterata anche la grafia moderna. Altra caratteristica dell'antica grafia e it punta prima del dary;la (lib. sad). 4

Stramigioli's edition (printed in Tibetan type) seems to re'~~iIl all of the archaic features she mentions in the passage just ,<jlloted. In many ways the orthography is similar to that familiar t~llS through the Tibetan materials from Tun-huang.5 Without !ccess to a photograph of the manuscript, or to the manuscript ,~t~elf, we cannot be certain, but the author seems to have faithftIlly transcribed the original. It is therefore with considerable !9terest that we notice the reading of the formulaic sutra openirig:.'di skad bdag gis thas pal dus geig na beam ldan 'das rgyal pa'i ~k~pnal .... In a thirteenth or fourteenth century manuscript, p.~s~ibly a copy of a tenth or eleventh century original, we have th~ very punctuation Brough asserted not to be found in Tibet(l.n~

How are we to account for this singular reading? I cannot


find even one example of a reading parallel to this in all the Tun-huang materials available to me. 6 Since, moreover, the catalogues of non-Tun-huang Tibetap manuscripts generally do not quote the manuscripts, or they quote only the colophons it has not been possible for me to determine whether the readini occurs, for example, in old but non-Tun-huang materials. If the punctuation of the Bhavasankrilnti manuscript preserves an authentic tradition, the complete non-occurrence of this punctuation in the palpably early Tun-huang texts is very interesting; It is noteworthy that we do find some non-standard versions of the opening formula among these manuscripts. Stein 308 reads 'di' skad bdag gis : thos pa' dus gcig gi tshe na' II, Stein 443 bdag gls' thos pa +i dus gcig na I, and Stein 463.11 'di skad pdak gyis thos pa'i dus kcig na 1.7 Yet I cannot find even one instance of punctuation; after· thos pa...

The place of origin of the Bhavasankrilnti manuscript is thel monastery of Toling [(m)tho l(d)ing], located in western Tibei~ It was founded in the tenth century by Yeshes 'od, patron of: the famous translator Rin chen bzang po, and it was at this; monastery that Atisa composed his Bodhipathapradzpa. The; Bhavasankrilnti itself was translated by Jinamitra, DanaSila and:) Ye shes sde. Of these three it seems that at least Jinamitra waS; connected with the monastery of Toling during his lifetime:~ Could it be that the manuscript or its ancestor(s) represents a~'i early copy of the translators' original, unaffected by any attemptsJ at revision or standardization? Or is it possible that the manu-:;! script's punctuation represents an old West Tibetan tradition,X:l It would not be impossible that such a tradition was not pre" served even in the ancient Tun-huang texts since they, after alI~

·:·'<>1 were recovered from the eastern-most reaches of the TibetariJ!

'.';J¥j culture area.~~1

"P{~l**

~o confirm the information provided above, it ~ill be nec~~~ sary m the first place to locate the Bhavasankrilntz manuscnp!~

itself, and verify its readings. Likewise, attempts must be ma? .. : ... :.e.'.'D·.:'~.;: to locate other instances of such punctuation in Tibetan man~,t scripts. ,'~t

It is not, of course, only to the manuscripts that we mll~fI turn in considering the traditional understanding of the phras~~' for commentators have often taken up the question. AlreadY.jNf 1933 Alexander von StaeI-Holstein had noticed some of thel(~


bserv~tions.8 He reported Kamalaslla's awareness, expressed ?his commentary to the Vajracchedika (Tah. 3817; P 5217), ~6at the phrase could be interpreted in at least two ways,9 and he eferred to the remarks of the * Mahiiprajiiaparamitopadda. 10

While some of Stael-Holstein's other comments need to be somewhat corrected, II to him goes the great credit of raising the issue bf the commentators' understandings of the phrase. Later, !Brough discussed the views of Buddhaghosa and Haribhadra, atid N.H. Samtani introduced the views of Viryasridatta's Arthavirtisetiya-sutra commentary.12

I recently came across another passage which may also be bfinterest to us in our consideration of the problem of the opening formula. In a commentary to the Triskandhaka attribUted by tradition to Nagarjuna, the Bodhyapattidesanavrtti (Tahoku 4005; Peking 5506), we find the following (Derge Tanjur,

;iuJo 'gre/, ji, 178b7-179al):

'0 na 'di na bdag gis thos pa la sogs pa dang po dang tha ma med pas bka' ma yin no zhe na I de ni ma yin te I 'phags pa dkon mchog brtsegs

. pa chos kyi rnam grangs stong phrag brgya par gleng gzhi la sogs par 'di dag thams cad gsungs pa'i phyir ro II 'di ni de'i nang nas dum bur bton pas de med pa la 'gal ba ci yang med do II

Now, here someone might say that since the [traditional] beginning and ending [of a sutra, namely] "by me was heard" and so on, are absent, this is not [the Buddha's] word. But this is not so, because all of these are spoken in the introduction to the Aryaratnakutadharmaparyiiyasatasiihasrika and so on. Since this [sutra, the Triskandhaka,] has been extracted from within that [collection], there is absolutely no contradiction in it lacking that [formula].

" . Even setting aside for the moment the question of the au}porship of the commentary, this passage should, in itself, be ;ipportant for any future study of the Triskandhaka. There is a ::q~ite clear awareness here that the sidra was not originally an :iIldependent work, taught in and of itself by the Buddha. Rather, ~theritual formulae which make up the Triskandhaka were lifted 'Qutof the Ratnakuta. 13 The passage could be relevant to our [giscussion of the stock opening formula of Buddhistsutras, how~~ver, since it quotes that formula as '''by me was heard,' and so ,(;,;'; b',"!,:,' I:' 'j,:;'

1~r;> :;;t;5-.:::,;.:

162 ]IABSVOL.12NO.l

on." The fact that the phrase "at one time" is not explicitly included might indicate that somehow the two parts of the phrase were conceived of as independent. Note that the term 'di skad, the Tibetan equivalent of Sanskrit evam, is also omitted here, as it is in many of the Tun-huang manuscripts. This may have been felt by some to be unimportant or a non-essential part of the formula, despite the fact that some commentaries discuss it at length. There are probably many other passages in Indian commentaries which contain other comments relevant to the present issue. These passages remain to be noticed.

NOTES

1. It could also, of course, be taken with both. The mezozeugma is not rare in Sanskrit.

2. John Brough, '''Thus have I Heard .. .'," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 1311 (1949): 416-26. See also the paper by N.H. Samtani, "The Opening of the Buddhist Sutras," Bhiirati: Bulletin of the College. of Indology 8/2 (1964-65): 47-63. A recent paper by Okamoto Yoshiyuki in Toyogaku Kenkyu 12 (1986): 21-28, which apparently treats this opening formula, was not accessible to me.

3. Giuliana Stramigioli, "BhavasaIi.kranti," Rivista degli Studi Orientali 16/ 3-4 (1937): 294-306. This article also contains two Italian translations, . one from the Tibetan, the other from the Chinese text of the sutra.

4. Ibid, 296, emphasis added. 5. The manuscript, or at least the transcription provided by the author, .

does not, however, present any instance of the so-called reverse gi-gu, common in Tun-huang manuscripts. The transcription does record, however, the use of the tsheg before the shad after every letter, not just after nga. The double shad is often used in non-sentence final position. ..

6. I have checked through the recent detailed catalogue of the Stein collection published by the Taya Bunko: Yamaguchi Zuiho et a!., Sutain Shilshii Chibettogo Bunken Kaidai Mokuroku, 10 volumes (Tokyo: Tayo Bunko, 1977-86). The serial numbers of this catalogue are the same as those established by Louis de la Vallee Poussin. See his Catalogue of the Tibetan Manuscripts from Tun-Huang in the India Office Library (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1962). The Yamaguchi catalogue quotes the beginning of each manuscript, but not always as far as the formula. Often of course the manuscripts are fragmentary and do not, as it were, begin at the beginning. The Paris collection was not accessible to me, with the exception of those texts published by Arian MacDonald (Spanien) and Yoshiro Imaeda in Choix de Documents Tibitains· Conserves a la Bibliotheque Nationale, 2 vols (Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale, 1978-' 79). The opening formula seems to occur in only one manuscript reprinted;


£h. re and then in the form bdag gi"s thos pa dus gCi'gnal (Pelliot tibetain 504). c;'.~ '7. The ":" seems to represent a similar mark in the manuscripts. I ;{; nscribe the 'a-chung with a "flag" on the right shoulder by " + ," and the ~ersed gi-gu by "f. The omission of 'di skad in the formula seems, by the \>yto be fair.1y common. See below. ~&' 8. Alexander von StaeI-Holstein, A Commentary to the Kat;yapaparivarta &eking: The National Library of Peking and the National Tsinghua University, 1933): iv, and note 8. ~;; 9. Stael-Holstein quotes Kamalaslla as follows: dus gcig na ces bya ba ni ~i.s gcig gi tshe ste I dus thams cad du chos dkon mchog 'di lta bu dag thos dka' bar 1i;Uzn pa yin no I yang na bdag nyid mang du thos par ston to II dus gcig na 'di thos kyigzhan na ni gzhan dag kyang thos so zhes ston to II yang na dus gcig na bcom lJan'das bzhugs so zhes 'og ma dang sbyar te I. Luis O. G6mez suggests reading 1hospar stan te I for thos par ston to II, and reading with Peking dus gcig na 'di tho! kyi gzhan dag kyang thos so zhes ston to II. He then tentatively translates this ~a~sage as follows.: '."At. one time' means '~en, at t~at time [in pa~ticular],' 'which means thaut IS dIfficult to hear preCIOUS teachmgs (dharmas) lIke these 'kIlthe time. Also [the phrase can be construed in two ways]: It may mean ;filat 'only I [Ananda] heard [the Dharma] in full,' and 'I heard it at one time,' m~ugh others also may have heard it. Or, connecting [the phrase] with the 1ofIowing [clause, it could be read as], 'at one time the Blessed One was j&t~ying.'" If we follow StaeI-Holstein's reading and not that of Peking, the fh~X:t to last sentence would mean "others also may have heard it on other ?,l(';,"';1;",. " 'OccaSIOns. ~%~. 10. See Etienne Lamotte, Le Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nagar-1una, Tome I (Louvain: Universite de Louvain, Institut Orientaliste, 1981; pnginally 1944): 87. ;~!;i'X 11. His remarks (note 8) on *Prthivlbhandhu's commentary to the Sad~liarmapur}fjar'ika (P 5518) seem to show that he was not aware that this text, !trarislated from Chinese (T. 1723), was in fact authored by K'uei-chi. See 1i\idra Yuyama, A Bibliography of the Sanskrit Texts of the Saddharmapurpj,ar'ika itc:;~nberra: Australian National University Press, 1970): 63. StaeI-Holstein in !~he Same note mentions the views ofK'uei-chi as expressed in T. 1700 (XXXIII) ~126a, a Vajracchedika commentary. ltP. 12. See Samtani's "The Opening of the Buddhist Siitras," p. 57ff, and au~subsequently published edition: The ArthaviniScaya-Siltra & Its Commentary \(!fj,bhandana), Tibetan Sanskrit Works Series 13 (Patna: K.P. J ayaswal Research !IiI~titute, 1971): 68 (introduction) and 74ff (text). ~0; 13. Compare the wording of the "colophon" of the Sanskrit text of the ~r?s:kandhaka which reads: evarh paiicatrirhSat-tathagata-namani papa-sodhanayop~11-prccha-siltre bhagavatarya-sariputram uddiSya bodhisattvanarrt sarvapatti-viS~~~anayoktani. Edited by Kimura Takayasu in "Bonbun Sanbonkyo ni tsuite," [q.1ShO Daigaku Sogo Bukkyo Kenkyiljo Nenpo 2 (1980): 179.

III. BOOK REVIEWS

Die Frau imfrilhenBuddhismus, by Renate Pitzer-Reyl. Marburger studien Zur Afrika- und Asienkunde, Serie B, Asien, Band 7. Berlin: Verlag Von Dietrich Reimer, 1984. 104 pp.

This instructive study devoted to a critical consideration of the position of women in early Buddhism is probably the only full-length recent German monograph on the subject. Though it takes into account (and at some levels grows from a review of) previous work in the field, it also, significantly, encompasses some distinctive interpretative elaborations which can both sharpen and deepen modern understanding of the portrayal of women in the ancient Pali sources. Die Frau im frilhen Buddhismus should attract the especial attention of those interested in feminist concerns and gender issues as they relate to early Buddhism; but students of religious history might also find the clearly and carefully articulated investigation it presents quite informative, for although the origin and the development of women's contacts with early Buddhism are indeed important to the history of religion, the details involved are rarely given close scrutiny in the many publications of this decade that have sought to clarify the relationship between women and the world's religious traditions.

Historical-textual approaches tend to dominate the discussions in Die Frau im frilhen Buddhismus. Its essential subject matter is presented in five sections. Pitzer-Reyl sketches initially the status of women in pre-Buddhist India dominated by the patriarchally oriented Vedic-Brahmanical belief system, and then delves into the place accorded to women in early Buddhism through a fairly detailed consideration of a set of interrelated topics. Most notable among these are the origin and the ground-rules of the female religious Order (bhikkhunz sarigha) , the reasons motivating women to enter the Order, the education of novices and ordination, the life-style of nuns (with particular a focus on the religious goals that they held before them) and the lay woman's role vis a vis Buddhist practice, as well as the social world which had come under the influence of Buddhism. The study closes with some reflective remarks on early Buddhism's depiction of women.

Buddhism, which is shown to have manifested a reformist outlook and egalitarian proclivities at its inception, indeed emerges as quite a contrast to Brahminism in Pitzer-Reyl's introductory clarifications. Highlighting the starkly negative position accorded to women in both the secular and religious spheres within the laws of Manu, Pitzer-Reyl indicates in no uncertain terms that Buddhism considerably softened the overriding patri-

165


archalism inherent in Brahminism, providing women previously . unavailable opportunities to participate in religious life as fully

valued persons. However, the ascetic grounding of Buddhism's soteriological quest, it is also pointed out, actually resulted in the retention of some old perce·ptions relating to the feminine: the identification of women as seductresses, possessed with a salvation-hindering sexuality ("erlosungshinderlichen Sexualitat") is especially mentioned in this connection. Though Pitzer-Reyl is careful to observe that this is not the sum and substance of the Buddhist portrayal of women, it is nevertheless taken as a notable informing idea in Buddhism's stance in regard to gender, one which was apt to be highlighted or reinforced in stressful and demanding situations (like those associated with the founding of the female Order, or again, in contexts of individual difficulty encountered by monks engaged in ascetic practice).

In delving into the details of the investigation Pitzer-Reyl turns first to the canonical record of the events leading to the founding of the female religious Order (Mahaprajapati's pleas for admittance, Ananda's supportive intervention and the Buddha's own positiye assessment of women's capacities for spiritual advance). Significantly, the Buddha's celebrated hesitations about allowing women to join the Order are attributed in large part to an anxiety concerning their impact on monks' celebate life. But in the course of a rather close examination of the historic eight ground rules (garudhamma) instituted as a precondition in this context, Pitzer-Reyl finds several indications of female subordination. Rules governing both the uposatha and pavarana ceremonies, for instance, are viewed as providing for the male control of the female religious, though considered overall, the latter are also shown to have retained some measure of independence in the conduct of their spiritual activities.

Why did women want to join the Buddhist Order? What were the social backgrounds of those who actually did so? These important questions are addressed on the basis of the information which the Therigatha and its commentary in particular provide (and withal taking into account modern inquiries of Horner, Caroline Rhys Davids, et al.). The decision to enter the samgha, it is argued, was often arrived at under the influence of religious elders, including the Buddha; but women were also moved by a yearning for salvation that sprang from within (characterized as "die Sehnsucht nach Erlosung, den Wunsch nach Befreiung vom Rad der Existenzen"). The samgha which was open to all social classes provided, Pitzer-Reyl observes, a secure refuge to many

BOOK REVIEWS 167

~idows and former wives of monks. Though almost the entire c;ste spectrum was represented in it, those in the less privileged lower castes were under-represented there: Buddhism's elitist spiritual demands, it is surmised, probably struck a more responsive chord among the cultured rather than the illiterate poor at the bottom of the social ladder.

Pitzer-Reyl's clarifications of the novitiate prescribed for new entrants to the Order (siimar;,erfs), the requirements governing their ordination (upasampadii) and the life-style of fully fledged bhikkhunzs follow in the main the relevant canonical details as given in the Vinaya texts. Care was taken, it is shown, to ensure that only properly prepared and instructed persons were received into the Order; and save during the brief rainy season (vassa) spent communally indoors under strict rules, the female religious are portrayed as leading itinerant existences, conforming to the hallowed tradition of homeless renunciation-begging their meals from lay folk, occasionally preaching or discussing the dhamma among them, and, above all, cultivating an esoteric spirituality. In view of the exclusion of all opportunities for selfindulgence and the stringent enforcement of chastity, a Buddhist nun's life is described as ascetic, and in some ways strictly so (without even scope for charitable work, unlike in the case of their Christian counterparts in Europe). Still, asceticism, we are also reminded, did not become its end: the goals held forth, rather, were spiritual self-culture and the liberated (arahant) state.

How successful were women in attaining these goals? Drawing attention to the Bhikkunz Vibhariga Pitzer-Reyl maintains that the female Order had to contend with problems of discipline, laxity and the like (which, significantly, are noted to have been sometimes resolved with help in the form of the Buddha's own caring intervention). But through a survey of the Therigiithii articulations (where, it is observed-some in terse, pointed verses, others in long details-the thoughts of bhikkunzs who had attained the arahant state are recorded), women's success in their soteriological endeavours are of course duly highlighted. Not only did many female religious grasp the essentials of the dhamma, but they also gained proficiency in higher concentration culminating in supernormal knowledge (abhiiiiiii) , projecting their crowning experience of liberation itself as an unparalleled sense of calm (formally articulated by the expression, "I have become cool, quenched"). Viewing these achievements in the light of the conception of the arahant state projected in the Sutta pitaka, PitzerReyl emphasizes that nuns thus became equals to monks in reach-


ing the most elevated levels of religious insight. Notable elucidations on women's overall influence and social

standing under early Buddhism emerge from the discussions in the latter part ofthe monograph where the preaching and teaching activities of nuns and the role of lay women are examined. Even though the bhikkhun'is were not members of a missionary Order, they are nevertheless shown to have been a channel for the communication of the dhamma especially among women in the laity (who traditionally looked after the material needs of the samgha). However, not the smallness of their number (as Oldenberg indeed had suggested) but rather their "subordination" ("Unterordnung") to the male fraternity, according to PitzerReyl, was the single major constraint against the expansion of the influence of the female religious both within the samgha as well as the wider society outside. Still, many evidences for a positive estimation of Buddhism's attitudes to women are finally detailed. Underscoring the gender neutral approaches implicit in the Buddha's teachings, the inclusion of women in his earliest circle oflay followers and his unhesitating association with women drawn from all strata of society in his religious discussions, PitzerReyl notes that Buddhism brought about certain "improvements" ("Verbesserungen") in their condition. These improvements are shown to be highly significant vis a vis Brahmanism, and are notably linked to Buddhism's repudiation of the rituals central to that system (where women played an unesteemed secondary part), and the rejection of many of the underpinnings of its thinking about women as such (that maternity and the bearing of sons was important, and the devaluation of widows, the unmarried and the barren, for example, are noted to have no place in . Buddhist thinking). Testimony to the salutary impact of Buddhism's religious revaluation ("religioser Aufwertung") of womanhood are identified within several Nikaya sources: according to Pitzer-Reyl, under Buddhist influence, daughters became less unwelcome, wives were apt to become more respected and treated as companions and mothers acquired a greater say in domestic affairs. Yet Horner's more admiring judgements in this sphere (as set forth in Women Under Primitive Buddhism, London, 1930, pp. 52 ff.) are not endorsed, and are in fact described as plainly excessive ("geradezu iiberschwenglich"). Viewed as a whole, Pitzer-Reyl finds in Buddhist sources a notably improved consideration for women in comparison with Brahmanism, as well as a retention of some of the attitudes inherited from the latter system. Taking into account Nikaya sources (Anguttara

BOOK REVIEWS 169

Nikiiya, II, 62, and also Diana Y. Paul, Women in Buddhism, Berkeley, Calif., 1979, pp. 33ff.), Buddhism's negative perspectives regarding femininity are located in its characteristic perception of women as an embodiment of sexual vitality and passion. Buddhism,.in Pitzer-Reyl's opinion, did not basically transform traditional Indian ideas on the conduct and the ways of women. What was achieved, it is emphasized, was something more limited: it softened their harsher features, avoiding in its writings projections of a profound devaluation of women.

Despite reliance on translations instead of original texts, Die Frau im frilhen Buddhismus deserves to be viewed as a well researched, scholarly investigation. Its basic conclusions, which bring to light the existence of a body of positive ideas and progressive attitudes towards women within early Buddhism, are particularly noteworthy, for they can indeed help correct tendentious projections of the system evident not only in important presentday writings on feminism (cf. Marilyn French, Beyond Power: Women, Men and Morals, London, 1985, comments on Buddhism), but also, more significantly, in certain studies on early Buddhism itself (Uma Chakravarti's references to "discrimination against women" in The Social Dimensions of Early Buddhism, Delhi, 1987, pp. 33, 35 merit especial mention in this connection). However, certain aspects of Pitzer-Reyl's exposition are vulnerable to criticism. Believers in particular might be somewhat chagrined by the rather bald statement (made early in the monograph apropos the implications of the garudhammii) that a bhikkunl can never rise to the dignity of a bhikkhu ("Eine Bhikkhuni kann nie die Wiirde eines Bhikkhus erlangen"): this way of putting things obscures the fact (of course fully recognized elsewhere in the study) that a woman could be an arhant, the highest dignity in Buddhist religious life which, needless to say, was the final goal of every man in the Order as well. In this connection it is also useful to observe that the roles assigned to monks in the conduct of some religious functions within the bhikkunl samgha hardly deserve to be judged from purely abstract perspectives as a circumstance which reflects a particular distribution of authority among gender groups. These roles could well have been viewed by contemporaries as supportive involvement which was not only desirable (given culturally impressed perceptions about women's need for protection), but religiously meaningful as well (for after all, the Buddha and his leading disciples were males). On the other hand, those who are mindful of recent clarifications on the many subtle ways in which male prejudices can be lodged


in both thought and theories (cf. M. Vetterling Braggin, 'Femininity', 'Masculinity' and 'Androgyny': A Modern Philosophical Discussion, Totowa, N.J., 1982;]. Grimshaw, Philosophy and Feminist Thinking, Minneapolis, Minn., 1986) would no doubt note that Pitzer-Reyl's textual analyses proceed on mainly conventional lines, and that they encompass ilo attempts to probe into the thinking in Buddhist sources on the basis of the insights and the new evaluative frames which current feminist philosophical critiques have tended to generate. However, a case could well be made for bringing the latter to bear on those analyses, for patriarchal attitudes are sometimes camouflaged.

Even so, taken as a whole, there is much to commend in this monograph. Many readers might perhaps note with relief that naive reductive accountings that loom large in many modern studies relating to early Buddhism are absent here: what one encounters, rather, is an attentiveness to texts and for the most part a balanced interpretation of their contents. Accordingly, Die Frau im frilhen Buddhismus should indeed be ranked among the small (yet growing) number of writings that seek to investigate and discuss an important subject-the status of women in Buddhism.

Vijitha Rajapakse

Alayavijiiiina: On the Origin and the Early Development of a Central Concept of Yogiiciira Philosophy, Two volumes, by Lambert Schmithausen. Studia Philologica Buddhica, monograph series, IVa-b. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 1987. vii-ix + 700 pp. ISBN #4-906267-20-3.

There has been, until now, no monographic treatment of the iilayavijiiiina concept in any Western language. There are, of course, obligatory (usually brief) discussions of the concept in virtually every work on Yogacara. But if we consider only works written in languages other than Japanese, the best single resource remains Louis de La Vallee Poussin's brief introduction to the topic written more than fifty years ago ("Note sur l'alayavijiiana," Melanges chinois et bouddhiques 3 (1934): 145-168). The work under review here far outstrips anything previously available on the topic, and will, no doubt, remain the starting-point for further research for a long time to come.

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The first volume of Schmithauscn's work (241 pages) con- -tains his text; the second (475 pages) contains his notes (1495 of them), bibliographies, and other critical apparatus. The relative size of these two volumes shows the author's interest in supplying complete documentation for every point he makes; one of the great strengths of his work is the extent to which it provides not only references to but also (often) critical evaluations ofthe work of other scholars in this field. This is especially valuable in the case of Schmithausen's discussions of Japanese scholarship, since this is so often difficult of access for Western Buddhologists. While Schmithausen's work may not be "a full account of the history of research on iilayavijiiiina" (pp. 1-2)-he disclaims any such intention-it is considerably more comprehensive in this respect than anything else in a Western language known to this reviewer, and the best we are likely to get until Schmithausen himself offers us more. The extensive and detailed discussion of the theories of Suguro Shinjo, Sasaki Yodo, Enomoto Fumio, and Kajiyama Yuichi (among others) in chapter seven (pp. 144-182) is without parallel in Western-language work.

The first volume contains twelve chapters and two appendices. The heart of the argument is found in the first five chapters, in which Schmithausen's theory as to the origin of the iilaya-concept is presented and argued for. The remaining chapters and the appendices are devoted to more specific issues, including methodological questions and particular disagreements with other scholars. I shall not attempt to survey all this in a brief review, but shall rather attempt to lay bare the main lines of Schmithausen's argument, to express some reservations about his methodology, and to give at least a taste of the rich material to be found in the book.

In chapter one (pp. 1-17) Schmithausen states his goal, which is to explore "the origin of the concept of alayavijiiana" (p. 2), to get at "the question of its very birth ... the specific question of why and in which context alayavijiiana as a peculiar type of v&'iiiina, clearly distinguished from at.least the ordinary forms of the six traditional vijiiiinas, and also expressly called 'alayavijiiana,' was first introduced" (pp. 9-10). This question, if I understand Schmithausen's comments on it aright, is not simply about the origins of a particular concept (i.e., the concept that there is a type of vijiiiina different in kind from the usual six, a type whose existence is required in order that certain dogmatic and exegetical needs be fulfilled); neither is it simply about the origin and first use of a term-iilayavijiiiina. Rather, it is a question


about the context in which such a concept and such a term first came together, a much more limited issue. Schmithausen explores this issue by examining the majo:r occurrences of the term in the "earliest pertinent Yogacara source" (p. 11), which he judges to be portions of the so-called "Basic Section" of the Yogiiciirabhilmi (i.e., the seventeen-bhilmi text, sometimes called bahubhilmikavastu), and locating therein a passage that he judges to show the coming together of the concept and the term in the way needed to answer the question with which he began. In chapter two Schmithausen isolates such a passage and analyzes it, and in chapters three through five he sketches the lines of development that sprang from it.

Before turning to the specifics of Schmithausen's theory, some comments on his presuppositions and method are in order. He is, as he says, "hopelessly enmeshed in the historico-philological method and its presuppositions" (p. vii), and all his theories on the relationships among the various strata of Y ogacara texts are predicated upon the reliability of that method as he practices it. In his earlier works on the history and provenance of Yogacara texts (especially "Sautrantika-Voraussetzungen in Virpsatika und Trirpsika" [Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde Sud- und Ostasiens 11 (1967): 109-137], and "Zur Literaturgeschichte der alteren Yogacara-Schule" [Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenliindischen Gesellschaft Supplementa 113 (1969): 811-823]) Schmithausen arrived at his conclusions largely through terminological and stylistic analyses. If a particular term with a precise technical meaning in later texts is not found in a particular text or text-corpus, or is found only in obviously non-technical contexts, this is taken as good grounds for thinking that the text in question belongs to an earlier stage of development than the texts in which these terms are found with their full technical meanings. Similarly, if it can be established, by study of the known corpus of a specific author, that he has certain clearly recognizable thought patterns and habits of style, then a work that lacks these patterns and habits may reasonably be thought not to belong to that author. The method is one that, given the fragmentary state of Indian Buddhist texts, and the fact that most of them do not survive in the language in which they were written, requires an enormous degree of philological expertise, including, in the case of the text-corpus with which Schmithausen works, skill in Sanskrit, in various forms of Middle Indo-Aryan, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese. Schmithausen possesses the necessary skills in abundance, probably to a greater extent than any other Western

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scholar of his generation; but he is, to the taste of this reviewer, not sufficiently alive to the inherent limitations of his method, especially when applied to materials as fragmentary and problematic as what remains of early Indian Yogacara texts.

These limitations can best be brought out by looking at the disagreements between Schmithausen and Hakamaya Noriaki, one of the best and most productive of the younger generation of Japanese scholars now working on Yogacara. To these dis agreements Schmithausen devotes an entire chapter (pp. 183-193), and in his comments on them reveals a good deal about his own methodological presuppositions. Schmithausen rejects what he takes to be Hakamaya's excessively high valuation of the deliverances of the Buddhist tradition on such matters as the date and authorship of texts, and charges Hakamaya, inter multos alia, with allowing these deliverances (on, e.g., such matters as Asanga's role in the compilation or authorship of the Yogiiciirabhilmi, and on the Abhidharmasamuccaya's status as a Mahayana work) to warp his reading and interpretation of (some of) the texts of the tradition. Schmithausen advocates, in contrast to Hakamaya's presupposition that the deliverances of the tradition are to be trusted unless there are pressing reasons to the contrary, a kind of methodological skepticism in such matters: the traditional judgments of Buddhists about the provenance of texts are to be ignored unless they can be supported by the findings of historico-philological study.

There is, no doubt, some justification for Schmithausen's approach; especially where lndic materials are concerned, the scholar can place little confidence in the quasi-legendary attributions given them by the tradition. But it is far from clear, to this reviewer at least, that the findings of the historico-philological method are, when applied to materials of this kind, worthy of all that much more confidence. And this is especially true when Indian Buddhist texts are under discussion, since all too often these do not survive in any Indic language and the terminological studies upon which Schmithausen relies so heavily have to be undertaken at one or two removes from the original. The result of this lack of proper materials and the speculative and debatable nature of just about every premise in Schmithausen's cumulativecase inductive arguments for his conclusions means that they are often (perhaps usually) only marginally, if at all, more likely to be true than are the deliverances of the tradition. To a philosopher it would be hard to choose between the two sets of conclusions.


Another major drawback of the historico-philologital method, in Schmithausen's hands just as much as in those of other practitioners, is that it shows a distre~sing fondness for disjecta membra as against complete texts and contexts. For example, in his debate with Hakamaya over the proper understanding of the Abhidharmasamuccaya's definitions of sunyatii (this section of the Abhidharmasamuccaya does not survive in Sanskrit; Pradhan's reconstruction [Pralhad Pradhan, ed., Abhidharmasamuccaya of Asariga, Santiniketan, 1950, p. 40, lines 10-18] is, as usual, an unsatisfactory melange of the Tibetanand Chinese variations; Schmithausen provides a far more accurate Sanskrit retranslation in notes 1213 and 1223, pp. 478, 480), Schmithausen's arguments gain what power they have solely by separating a particular definition-that concerning the defining characteristics (la~a1}a) of sunyatii-from its broader context and then constructing an argument from silence. While it is certainly true that the doctrine of dharmanairiitmya is not explicitly mentioned in this section of the Abhidharmasamuccaya, this is not sufficient reason by itself to conclude that the author/compiler of the text did not have the doctrine in mind. This is especially true since the text as a whole can scarcely be read without coming to the conclusion that its author/compiler was clearly aware of and meant to express various important dimensions of the dharmanairiitmya doctrine (e.g., in its discussion of the three kinds of sunyatii [Pradhan, loco cit.], and in its analysis of the dharmacategories [Pradhan, ed. cit., pp. 16ff.]). The fact that it is possible to point to isolated definitions which neither state nor imply the dharmanairiitmya doctrine shows only that the text picks up and makes use of a number of definitions that go back to a very early period; it does not show that the text's author/compiler was unaware of later traditions and doctrines.

Schmithausen's debates with Hakamaya thus illustrate splendidly both the strengths and the weaknesses of his method. The latter are evidenced principally in its reliance upon long chains of probabilistic arguments whose premises are weak, and in its fondness for disjecta membra over complete texts; for, that is to say, Formgeschichte over Redaktionsgeschichte. This does not mean that the traditionalist is always in better case; on the questions at issue in the Schmithausen-Hakamaya debates this reviewer would judge Hakamaya to have the better of it as far as the exegesis of the Abhidharmasamuccaya is concerned, and Schmithausen to have the better of it as far as the history and compilation of the Yogiiciirabhumi is concerned. But these are

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necessarily tentative judgments; they can only be justified by arguments too lengthy for a review of this kind. I have given the methodological issues this much space only because they are so important for understanding Schmithausen's enterprise in the work under review.

To return to Schmithausen's substantive conclusions: he identifies a passage from the samiihitabhumi as the "initial passage," the text-place in which the concept that there is a vijiiiina quite other than the standard six sensory consciousnesses comes together with the (quasi)-technical term iilayavijiiiina for the first time. In this "initial passage" the iilaya-concept is used to explain exit from the attainment of cessation (nirodhasamiipatti). This is a condition in which mind and its concomitants have altogether ceased to function, as also have the six sensory consciousnesses. The possibility of leaving such a condition is explained by the continued presence in it of the iilaya. The "initial passage" is not yet formalized into a proof, as it later is in the Viniscayasangrahar}l, but Schmithausen sees in it, and only in it, the fulfillment of his requirements for a passage that illustrates the "birth" of the iilayaconcept. He makes the fascinating though highly speculative suggestion (pp. 28ff.) that the use of the term iilayavijiiiina in this "initial passage" may possibly show Sailkhya influence, as also may the (later) development of the typically Yogacara theories about the active sensory consciousnesses and the manas. These are suggestions which will repay further investigation.

This "initial passage" reveals that the earliest Y ogacara ideas about the iilaya present it as possessing (or perhaps simply consisting in) the seeds (bfja) of the active sensory consciousnesses; as sticking to or hiding within the material sensory consciousnesses; and (by implication) as a subtle "gap-b\idger," preventing death in advanced states of trance. Nothing is said or implied in Schmithausen's "initial passage" about the presence of the iilaya in other states, or about the iilaya as the object of attachment, the basis of iitmabhiiva, or about the iilaya and citta- or vijiiaptimiitratii. All these. themes are, of course, well-developed in later Yogacara, but are entirely absent here. Schmithausen's preliminary conclusions are that these aspects of the iilaya were not yet thought of at the time of its "birth," and thus that the very earliest stages of Yogacara thought about the iilaya show little or no significant connection with Mahayana thought (p.33). This conclusion is in broad agreement with much of Schmithausen's earlier work on the Yogacara, and rests upon certain definite prior convictions of his about what is and what is not a Mahayana

176 JIABS VOL. 12NO. 1

concept. In chapters three, four, and five (pp. 34-108), Schmithausen

traces something of the course of the developments by which the alayavijiiana came to have the attributes given to it in mature Yogacara theory (as, for example, in the Mahiiyiinasangraha). In doing this he uses mostly materials from the "Basic Section" of the Yogiiciirabhilmi, the Sarr-dhinirmocanasiltra and the ViniscayasangrahaTJ-z, attempting to show, in somewhat circular fashion, that there are perceptible strata within this material through which a more-or-Iess linear development of ideas about the iilaya can be traced, and, at. the same time, basing his discrimination of these strata almost entirely upon the fact that certain complexes of ideas and terms are present (or not present) at particular text~places. This kind of circularity is endemic to the historicophilological method, and is especially evident in these chapters of Schmithausen's work. Its presence, as Schmithausen is himself aware (p. 34 and passim), makes his conclusions far less than certain; but it detracts not at all from the value of the materials he gathers and expounds here: I have no space to discuss the corpus of material presented and analayzed by Schmithausen, much less the details of his historical teconstruction. It must suffice to say that he traces the conceptual developments that connected the iilaya to the rebirth process, that is, to the grasping and appropriating of a new body, in chapter three; those that connected the negative terms da~thulya, upiidiina, and so forth, with seeds (b'ija), and thus made the iilaya the locus for the operations of da~thulya (I note in passing that Schmithausen cites and discusses extraordinarily valuable textual material on this difficult term: see especially notes 461-482) in chapter four; and the attempts on the part of Yogacara theorists to show in what sense the iilaya meets the traditional requirements for being a vijiiiina (i.e., that it cognizes or represents an object) in chapter five.

In sum: Schmithausen's work is a model of careful and exact philological scholarship, and is a major contribution to Buddhist studies. It makes available, through its analysis of texts from the Yogiiciirabhilmi (see especially appendices I and II, pp. 220-241), and through its critical comments on Japanese studies of early Yogacara, much material not previously studied, and in so doing suggests many avenues for further research. The groundwork is laid here for future philosophical studies of the psychology and epistemology of the Yogacara. Schmithausen also exhibits astonishing linguistic virtuosity in this work: he shows his COffi-

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mandover all the necessary Buddhist (:anonicallanguages as well as over the secondary literature in Japanese, and is capable, in addition, of writing a technical monograph in a language not his own. I suspect that few, if any anglophone Buddhologists could match these skills; Schmithausen may thus serve as an appropriate role-model for those now entering the field. While this reviewer has reservations, expressed above, about Schmithausen's method, and about many of the details of his stratification of the texts and his historical reconstruction of the development of ideas, these are entirely outweighed by the values of the materials he presents and analyzes.

CONTRIB UTORS

Dr. David Gellner St. John's College Oxford University Oxford, ENGLAND OX13JP

Dr. Andrew Goble Edwin O. Reischauer Institute

of Japanese Studies Harvard University 1737 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA 02138

Dr. Paul J. Griffiths Dept. of Theology University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46446

Dr. William Grosnick Dept. of Religion La Salle University Philadelphia, PA 19141

178

Dr John P. Keenan Dept. of Religion Middlebury College Middlebury, VT 05753

Dr. Todd T. Lewis Dept. of Religion Columbia University New York, NY 10027

Dr. James P. McDermott Dept. of Religious Studies Canisius College 2001 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14208

Dr. Gregory Schopen Dept. of Religious Studies 230 Sycamore Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405

!VIr. Jonathan A. Silk Dept. of Asian Languages

& Cultures 3070 Frieze Building University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Dr. Vijitha Rajapakse 35950 Timberlane Drive Solon, OH 44139

JIABS 12-1

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