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

THE TWO NIRVANA THEORY IN THE EARLY CANON
a remainder of upAdi, in spite of its later currency (see La Vallée Poussin,
1925: 171–77, 179–80), was initially no more than an attempt to find a middle
course between the original idea of Nirvaoa in this life and the later tendency
to place Nirvaoa after death’. 63 However, the reason why Buddhism focuses
more on nirvana during life, saupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu, seems to be that it
automatically leads to final liberation, anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu, from the
chain of rebirth.
Unlike Jainism, in which all action must bear fruit, only intentional action
in the Buddhist system can eventually lead to a future result. The famous
statement in the AWguttaranikAya makes this point: ‘It is intention (cetanA),
O monks, that I call karma. Having intended, one does karma through body,
speech, and mind.’ 64 Since in their view all action will eventually produce a
result, Jains try not to do any act even just before death. That is why a voluntary
starvation to death is the best possible way to liberation in Jainism, 65
and this is actually said to be how Mahavcra died. So Jainism focuses more
on what a Buddhist would call the final nirvana, anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu.
By contrast, since only intentional action will eventually produce a
result, if a Buddhist monk has achieved firm control over his mind, so that
all defilements have ceased and no further defilements will be produced,
his final liberation, anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu, is already confirmed at this
stage, saupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu. This is why one who attains saupAdisesa
nibbAnadhAtu is called a saint (arahant), literally ‘one who deserves praise’,
which in Jainism is only applied to the revealers of the religion and is used
synonymously with Bhagavat, Jina and TCrthaOkara. 66 In other words, in
early Buddhism the focus is more on nirvana in this life.
UpAdisesa within the context of the four noble persons
In the early canon, the word sa-upAdisesa is sometimes used to describe the
first three stages of the four noble persons (ariyapuggala): a stream-enterer
(sotApanna), a once-returner (sakadAgAmin), a non-returner (anAgAmin) and
a saint (arahant). 67
In the SaupAdisesasutta in the AWguttaranikAya, the word saupAdisesa is used
by the blessed one to describe nine noble persons: five sub-divisions of nonreturner,
antarAparinibbAyin, upahaccaparinibbAyin, asaWkhAraparinibbAyin,
sasaWkhAraparinibbAyin and akaniMMhagAmin; a once-returner (sakadAgAmin);
and three kinds of stream-enterer (sotApanna), ekabCjin, kolaWkola and
sattakkhattuparama. 68
In the Tissasutta in the AWguttaranikAya, two kinds of arahant,
ubhatobhAgavimutta and paññAvimutta, are described as anupAdisesa; while
kAyasakkhin, diMMhipatta, saddhAvimutta, dhammAnusArin and animittavihArin
are described as saupAdisesa. 69 While the four noble persons and their subcategories
70 are listed in the SaupAdisesasutta, the seven noble persons 71 are
listed in the Tissasutta.
23