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

DEVELOPMENTS OF THE TWO NIRVANA THEORY
century ce an attempt was made, somewhere in southern India, to set forth
this method in the form of a treatise. 82
According to A. K. Warder, both texts contain some new ideas, such as
inherent nature (svabhAva), which were alien to the earlier Theravada traditions.
83 Since both texts under the name of Maha-Kacca(ya)na ware already
in circulation among Sinhalese monks when Buddhaghosa arrived there, 84
they seem to have reached Ceylon well before the fifth century ce. 85 Although
their canonicity was recognised only by Burmese Buddhists, they still were
cited as authoritative by Buddhaghosa in his AtthasAlinC and Visuddhimagga. 86
The NettippakaraOa has been regarded by modern scholars as somewhat
older than the PeMakopadesa since the latter presupposed the former. 87 Yet it
is not clear whether the word netti in both texts is a noun meaning simply
‘guide’ or is, as believed, a proper name designating the NettippakaraOa. In
fact their style and handling of the subject matter suggest the reverse order.
While the former is even, clear, economical, neat and well exemplified, the
latter is crabbed, only occasionally clear, redundant and sometimes poorly
exemplified. From this, Ñyaoamoti insists that the former, the NettippakaraOa,
seems to be the improved and revised version of the latter, the PeMakopadesa.
The description of the two nirvanas in both texts seems to support
Ñyaoamoti’s claim.
The NettippakaraOa gives us a simple and clear explanation of the two
nirvana theory. It explains them as follows: ‘The state of being without
thirst is nirvana with a remainder of clinging; with the breaking up of the
body there is nirvana without a remainder of clinging.’ 88 Whereas ‘the state
of being without thirst’ corresponds to the cessation of defilements, ‘the
breaking up of the body’ corresponds to the cessation of aggregates in this
clarification. The word upAdi here seems to be regarded as referring to the
body (kAya) because it is destroyed at the final stage. In fact, this agrees
literally with the Sarvastivadins’ interpretation of the word upadhi as ‘birth
body’ ( janmakAya) 89 in the MahAvibhALAUAstra.
By contrast, the PeMakopadesa gives us an uneven but quite interesting
explanation of the two nirvana theory. Here, the perfection of insight (vipassanA)
is designated as nirvana with a remainder of clinging (sopAdisesanibbAnadhAtu).
After explaining that, it explains nirvana without a remainder of clinging
(anupAdisesanibbAnadhAtu) as follows:
By two steps a monk has done what he had to do. This is the
nirvana element with a remainder of clinging. Through taking up
his vitality (Ayu) completely, through checking his life faculty
( jCvitendriya), suffering here has been destroyed and no further
suffering arises. In that state the destruction, laying to rest, of
these aggregates, elements and spheres and the non-linking, nonappearance,
of other aggregates, elements and spheres, is nirvana
without a remainder of clinging. 90
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