Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The ... - misterdanger.net

NIRVANA IN NORTHERN BUDDHIST SCHOOLS
remainder of clinging. It was based on an unidentified sEtra saying ‘As
body (kAya), faculty (indriya) and intellect (buddhi) are not yet extinct, it is
called nirvana element with a remainder of clinging’. 49 According to the
MahAvibhALAUAstra, these three were already mentioned in the JñAnaprasthAna
with different names: body (kAya) refers to primary elements and secondary
matter, faculty (indriya) refers to the five faculties and intellect (buddhi)
refers to the mental series. Nirvana with and without a remainder of clinging
was thus explained here as follows:
The complete cessation of all fetters (saNyojana) is obtained while
the series of body, faculty and intellect are not yet extinct. That is
why it is called nirvana with a remainder of clinging. 50
The complete cessation of all fetters (saNyojana) is obtained when
the series of body, faculty and intellect, or the material body, the
mind and mental states, have already become extinct. That is why it
is called nirvana element without a remainder of clinging. 51
In this explanation, what was not extinct was not vitality (Ayu), or technically
life faculty ( jCvitendriya) and the homogeneous character of the group
(nikAyasabhAga), but the material body, the five faculties and mental series,
which together can explain the continuation of the cognitive process. In
this respect, this explanation comes close to the old one in the Itivuttaka. 52
Although the MahAvibhALAUAstra did not mention whose opinion it was, this
clarification seems to be very close to the position taken by the Theravadins
and, possibly, by their northern equivalent, roughly called the Vibhajyavadins.
The MahAvibhALAUAstra criticises this view in an abhidharmic way. It asks,
‘Can anyone admit that a saint (arahant) resides neither in nirvana with a
remainder of clinging nor in nirvana without a remainder of clinging?’ and
answers, ‘It is impossible by reasoning, yet it is possible from the definitions
given here’. 53 According to this view, it is nirvana with a remainder of
clinging when all three things, body (kAya), faculty (indriya) and intellect
(buddhi), are present, whereas it is nirvana without a remainder of clinging
when one of three things is not present. There could be three possible cases
that cannot be determined from this definition of whether a saint is in
nirvana with a remainder of clinging or in nirvana without a remainder of
clinging:
[1] A saint who is born in the world of formlessness. He does not
reside in nirvana with a remainder of clinging, since he cannot
have a material body. As his mind is active, he does not reside in
nirvana without a remainder of clinging. [2] A saint who is born in
the world of form and has entered the absorption of extinction
(nirodhasamApatti). He does not reside in nirvana with a remainder
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