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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SELECTED SOURCES FOR THE NIRVANA CONCEPT [Vaibhalikas] The Vaibhalikas’ opinion would be protected. [Sautrantikas] If protection is the concern, gods will protect it (the Vaibhalikas’ opinion). Moreover, it would be falsely imagined. [Vaibhalikas] Why is that? [Sautrantikas] Because neither is an intrinsic nature (svabhAva) perceived, like the form (rEpa), feeling and the like, nor is an activity perceived, like that of the eye and the like. 52 * * * [Vaibhalikas] How is the genitive case understood in the sentence, ‘This is the cessation of that (vastu)’? 53 [Sautrantikas] There is indeed no relationship of this [cessation] with that [thing] because there can be no state of being related as the result of a cause and the like. But mere negation, ‘the non-existence of that’, is applicable! [Vaibhalikas] The cessation that is attained through the cutting off of the acquisition of defilement, even in another existence, is designated as being of that [thing]. 54 [Sautrantikas] In that case, what is the cause of limiting the acquisition of this [thing]? [Vaibhalikas] The setra talks about ‘A monk who has attained nirvana in the present life’. 55 In that case how could he have the acquisition of nonexistence? [Sautratikas] It is said that nirvana is attained through acquiring the basis (AUraya) 56 that prevents completely the arising of defilement and future life, by acquiring an antidote. Moreover, an Agama57 shows clearly that it is mere non-existence. It indeed says thus: ‘That which is entire abandonment, relinquishment, coming to an end, exhaustion, detachment, cessation, tranquillization, disappearance of [even] the smallest suffering, and non-connection, non-arising, nonappearance of other suffering, that is lovely, that is excellent – that is to say, abandonment of all conditions, perishing of desire, detachment, cessation, nirvana.’ * * * [Vaibhalikas] Why do you not want to interpret it as ‘because it does not appear in that, it is non-appearance’? 123
ANNOTATED TRANSLATIONS OF THE RELATED TEXTS [Sautrantikas] We do not consider this locative case possible. [Vaibhalikas] What do you mean? [Sautrantikas] If when one says ‘It does not appear in that [nirvana]’ it is further meant that ‘that [nirvana]’ exists, then it would follow that attachment permanently does not appear, since nirvana is permanent. When one says, then, ‘obtained’, that is to say, ‘that [nirvana] was obtained’ is referred to, you should admit ‘the non-appearance of suffering’ when the noble path is or attained. 58 [In other words, the non-appearance of suffering is obtained by a separately existing dharma called nirvana, but by the presence of the noble path.] And this simile is thus well adduced. ‘Like the going out of a lamp, his mind becomes liberated.’ 59 As the going out of a lamp is nonexistence (abhAva), in that way the mind of even the blessed was liberated. 60 The interpretation of Anuruddha’s verse in the NyAyAnusAraUAstra 61 In addition, you should admit that nirvana is mere non-existence from the following well explained sEtra: ‘His mind was liberated like the going out of a lamp.’ The [Sautrantikas] think that as the blowing out of a lamp should only be admitted as the extinction of fire without any separate entity, the liberation attained by the mind of blessed one is only the extinction of all aggregates without any [separate entity]. The first counterargument Masters of Abhidharma have already gone through these texts. In other words, when one says the cessation of suffering (duPkha), the meaning is of two kinds: there is no separate entity apart from suffering and there is a separate entity apart from suffering. The Buddha saw various mental dispositions of those who are to be trained (vineya). That is why he taught two different meanings of the cessation. He sometimes taught there is no separate entity: for example, the two sAtras mentioned above. 62 By contrast, he sometimes taught there is a separate entity: for example, the sEtras saying there is certainly the place where there is no birth; the sEtras saying there is sphere (Ayatana) and is escape (niPsaraOa) 63 ; the sEtras saying I saw that there really is a thing ( padArtha), the unconditioned (asaNskKta), that is to say nirvana; and the sEtras saying the cessation is said only by reason of the cessation of five aggregates as fuel. The sEtras of these kinds are so numerous that our system cannot be contradicted by the holy teaching. The second counterargument In addition, the going out of a lamp is mentioned in the sEtra because there is a separate entity apart from the lamplight; that is to say, the characteristic of 124
Page 2 and 3:
METAPHOR AND LITERALISM IN BUDDHISM
Page 4 and 5:
TEACHING BUDDHISM IN THE WEST Edite
Page 6 and 7:
METAPHOR AND LITERALISM IN BUDDHISM
Page 8 and 9:
FOR DONGJE MY ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE D
Page 10 and 11:
CONTENTS List of figures and tables
Page 12 and 13:
PREFACE I am glad to be able to tha
Page 14 and 15:
ABBREVIATIONS The abbreviations for
Page 16 and 17:
ABBREVIATIONS RV Rgveda. SA SaNyukt
Page 18 and 19:
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION In the Ab
Page 20 and 21:
INTRODUCTION to reach it was descri
Page 22 and 23:
INTRODUCTION two nirvana theory in
Page 24 and 25:
NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE Part 1 TH
Page 26 and 27:
NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE 1 NIRVANA
Page 28 and 29:
NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE early Bud
Page 30 and 31:
NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE original
Page 32 and 33:
THE TWO NIRVANA THEORY IN THE EARLY
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
DEVELOPMENTS OF THE TWO NIRVANA THE
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
NIRVANA IN THE THERAVf DA BUDDHIST
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91: NIRVANA IN THE THERAVf DA BUDDHIST
Page 92 and 93: NIRVANA IN THE THERAVf DA BUDDHIST
Page 94 and 95: NIRVANA IN NORTHERN BUDDHIST SCHOOL
Page 122 and 123: Table 5.4 Summary of the doctrinal
Page 124 and 125: CONCLUSION The term anAgAmin was of
Page 126 and 127: CONCLUSION passion, hatred and delu
Page 128 and 129: CONCLUSION The Sautrantikas probabl
Page 130 and 131: SELECTED SOURCES FOR THE NIRVANA CO
Page 144 and 145: NOTES Indians; and also because we
Page 146 and 147: NOTES 13 Huzita (1988: 8). 14 La Va
Page 148 and 149: NOTES 70 See Dutt (1960: 252-71), L
Page 150 and 151: NOTES 146 Akanuma (1929: 126). 147
Page 152 and 153: NOTES 39 yaP sAsravair dharmair vis
Page 154 and 155: NOTES 5 Harvey (1990: 66-7). 6 DN I
Page 156 and 157: NOTES 65 Tr. Norman (1992: 120): ac
Page 158 and 159: NOTES 132 Bareau (1955: 285). 133 B
Page 160 and 161: NOTES 15 Life faculty is one of the
Page 162 and 163: NOTES 77 Akb-h pp. 67-8. 78 Accordi
Page 164 and 165: NOTES 149 SA (TD2 57c8), SN IV 109.
Page 166 and 167: NOTES 6 SN IV 251-2. 7 The Chinese
Page 168 and 169: NOTES (1969: 378-82), which was mad
Page 170 and 171: BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY S
Page 172 and 173: BIBLIOGRAPHY SECONDARY SOURCES Adik
Page 174 and 175: BIBLIOGRAPHY Pasadika, Bhikkhu (198
Page 176 and 177: faculty see indriya fetters see saN
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?