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THE TWO NIRVANA THEORY IN THE EARLY CANON one to ask the fate of Kappayana at death. The question is: ‘Did he gain quenching (without grasping) or did he have some grasping remaining?’ 124 At first glance, it looks as if it is a question of whether he died as a saint (arahant), referred to by the word nibbAyi, or as a non-returner, referred to by the word saupAdiseso. However, it is a question whether he passed away as a saint (arahant) or as one of the three lower noble persons. In fact, the commentary seems to follow this interpretation: ‘How was he released? Was it through anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu like asekha, or was it through sa-upAdisesa like sekha?’ 125 As Norman has pointed out, the nirvana element (nibbAnadhAtu) is not applied to saupAdisesa, while it is applied to anupAdisesa. 126 In fact, only a saint (arahant), asekha, can automatically pass away through anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu. That is to say, saupAdisesa here is used not in the context of the two nirvana theory but in the context of the four noble persons. If the word upAdi in the saupAdisesa has got the subjective meaning, i.e. defilements or fetters, how many nirvanas are we to accept? From Table 2.2 we may have to say that even saddhAnusArin and dhammAnusArin, two sub-categories of gotrabhE, have attained nirvana. Moreover, the answer from the blessed one confirms the Theravada exegetical tradition: ‘He has cut off craving for name-and-form in this world. He has passed beyond all birth and death, the stream of thirst, which has long been latent (in him).’ 127 In other words, he has been a saint (arahant) for a long time through the saupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu and now he is finally liberated through the anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu. Another piece of textual evidence presented is the passage in which a remainder of clinging (upAdisesa) is used to describe a pair along with perfect knowledge (aññA). It says that if a monk has faith in the Buddha’s instruction and lives in unison with it, he expects one of two fruits: ‘One of two fruits is to be expected: perfect knowledge (aññA) in this very life, or if there is a remainder of clinging (upAdisesa), the state of non-return.’ 128 The assumption that a remainder of clinging (upAdisesa) is a yardstick to distinguish a non-returner (anAgAmin) from a saint (arahant) is largely based on this passage. 129 It looks as if the word upAdisesa was used in the context of the two nirvana theory, which would not be quite satisfactory if we consider some passages in the early canon in which perfect knowledge is used together with the four noble persons. I. B. Horner argued, though not precisely, that the alternative in this passage hinges not on the presence of a remainder of clinging but on the presence of perfect knowledge in the monk: either he has achieved perfect knowledge (aññA) or not. 130 In the NaTakapAnasutta in the MajjhimanikAya, 131 although the description of the four noble persons is almost the same as that of typical nikAya passages seen above, 132 the description of the saint (arahant) is ‘established in perfect knowledge (aññA)’ instead of the usual ‘vanishing of cankers (AsavA)’. 29
THE DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIRVANA If the word perfect knowledge (aññA) is used instead of the straightforward word arahant, not only does it mean a saint (arahant), a simple substitution by the word perfect knowledge, but it could also imply the categorization of the noble persons through the faculties seen above. In other words, perfect knowledge was used in the context of the four noble persons. The word aññA is then further used together with the five sub-categories of a non-returner. In the early canon, we can see the description of the seven fruits or results. These results could be expected when a monk has cultivated the seven limbs of wisdom (bojjhaWga), 133 the five spiritual faculties (indriya), 134 the four bases of psychic power (iddhipAda) 135 or the concentration by mindfulness of breathing in and breathing out (AnApAnasati). 136 Here is the usual passage of the seven fruits: 137 What are the seven fruits, the seven results? [1] He attains perfect knowledge (aññA) earlier 138 in this very life. [2] If he does not, then he attains perfect knowledge at the time of death. [3] If he neither attains perfect knowledge earlier in this very life nor at the time of death, then he, having ended the five lower fetters, becomes antarAparinibbAyin. [4] . . . upahaccaparinibbAyin. [5] . . . asaWkhAraparinibbAyin. [6] . . . sasaWkhAraparinibbAyin. [7] . . . uddhaNsoto akaniMMhagAmin. Although the above passage is usually found isolated in the fifth book of the SaNyuttanikAya in the Pali canon, its Chinese equivalent is found in both the DCrgha-Agama and the SaNyukta-Agama. 139 A slightly different version of this kind is also found in the Purisagatisutta in the AWguttaranikAya 140 and its Chinese equivalent in the Madhyama-Agama. 141 Thus, the idea of the seven results seems to have been widely accepted within the early Buddhist community. If we look at the seven results carefully, we can classify them into two main categories: perfect knowledge (aññA ), either earlier in this very life or at death, and one of the five sub-categories of the non-returner. This division into main categories concurs not only with the above question in the SuttanipAta 142 but also with the above standard passage listing the two results. In fact, the two results appear next to the seven results as a fruit of cultivating the four bases of psychic power (iddhipAda) in the SaNyuttanikAya. 143 According to its equivalent in the SaNyukta-Agama, 144 cultivating the seven limbs of wisdom (qi-jue-fen, ) will lead not only to the two and the seven results but also to the four results, i.e. the four noble persons. Thus, two pieces of textual evidence put forward could simply be a shortened version of the above seven results and, in this respect, the word upAdisesa in this context could not have the same sense as when it is used in the context of the two nirvana theory. In other words, upAdi in this passage cannot be understood in its objective sense, as in the context of the two nirvana 30
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 54 and 55: DEVELOPMENTS OF THE TWO NIRVANA THE
Page 68 and 69: NIRVANA IN THE THERAVf DA BUDDHIST
Page 94 and 95: NIRVANA IN NORTHERN BUDDHIST SCHOOL
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NIRVANA IN NORTHERN BUDDHIST SCHOOL
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Table 5.4 Summary of the doctrinal
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CONCLUSION The term anAgAmin was of
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CONCLUSION passion, hatred and delu
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CONCLUSION The Sautrantikas probabl
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SELECTED SOURCES FOR THE NIRVANA CO
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NOTES Indians; and also because we
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NOTES 13 Huzita (1988: 8). 14 La Va
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NOTES 70 See Dutt (1960: 252-71), L
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NOTES 146 Akanuma (1929: 126). 147
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NOTES 39 yaP sAsravair dharmair vis
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NOTES 5 Harvey (1990: 66-7). 6 DN I
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NOTES 65 Tr. Norman (1992: 120): ac
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NOTES 132 Bareau (1955: 285). 133 B
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NOTES 15 Life faculty is one of the
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NOTES 77 Akb-h pp. 67-8. 78 Accordi
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NOTES 149 SA (TD2 57c8), SN IV 109.
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NOTES 6 SN IV 251-2. 7 The Chinese
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NOTES (1969: 378-82), which was mad
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BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY S
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BIBLIOGRAPHY SECONDARY SOURCES Adik
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Pasadika, Bhikkhu (198
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faculty see indriya fetters see saN
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