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

THE DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIRVANA
nirvana with and without a remainder of clinging. 151 Since the Sarvastivada
abhidharma also supports the Theravada exegetical perspective on the two
nirvana theory, 152 the above sEtra could not have originated from the mainstream
Sthavira tradition to which both the Theravadin, one of the subcategories
of the Vibhajyavadin, and the Sarvastivadin belong. 153 The presence
of this sEtra, however, suggests that there could have been sects, probably in
the Mahasawghika tradition, that developed their own theory on the two
nirvana elements.
Second, we cannot rely on the Chinese technical terms, especially when
they are related to nirvana. Unlike in Pali or Sanskrit, there are no grammatical
inflections in Chinese. The word nei-pan ( ), the usual Chinese
translation of the word nirvana, is also used to translate such words as
parinirvAOa, nirvKti, parinirvKta and parinirvAyin. The Chinese translation of
the word antarAparinibbAyin, for instance, is zhong-pan-nei-pan ( !),
in which the same word nei-pan ( ) is used. Moreover, the word wu-yunei-pan
( !), the usual Chinese translation of ‘nirvana without a remainder
of clinging’, is applied to the Pali word anupAdA parinibbAna, ‘nirvana
without any further attachment’ in the Madhyama-Agama’s equivalent of
the above mentioned Purisagatisutta in the AWguttaranikAya. 154
Although the same term is used in the Chinese translation, the meaning is
totally different. Nirvana without any further attachment is the word not
for the last moment of a saint (arahant) but for the moment of enlightenment
of one whose cankers (Asava) have vanished. In other words, it could
not be nirvana without a remainder of clinging (anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu)
but must be nirvana with a remainder of clinging (saupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu),
which is usually translated into Chinese as you-yu-nei-pan ( !).
If we consider that the Madhyama-Agama was translated by the same
translator, Gautama Sawghadeva, as the Ekottara-Agama, 155 this confusion
could play a part in the presence of the above sEtra. In other words, this
sEtra could be the outcome of a confusion between anupAdA parinibbAna and
anupAdisesa nibbAnadhAtu.
Although we could ignore the validity of the above Chinese sEtra for
these suggested reasons, we still need to explain how the state of non-return
becomes so close to the state of arahantship. It is well known that the
four noble persons are by stages known as ‘the four pairs and eight individuals’
(cattAri purisayugAni aMMha purisa-puggalA). 156 In this formula each
of the four noble persons is further divided into the way (magga) and
the fruit ( phala). The stream-enterer, for instance, is divided into the way
of the stream-entry (sotApattimagga) and the fruit of the stream-entry
(sotApattiphala). Each of the four ways (magga) is simply the practice that
leads to the corresponding fruit (phala). All stages in this formula are heading
towards the final fruit, the fruit of a saint (arahant), and to reach the
goal is basically like going up a staircase.
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