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

THE DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIRVANA
The mention of vitality ( : Ayu) here requires special attention. As seen
above, it was said to exist alone after the nirvana with a remainder of
clinging in the JñAnaprasthAna, the seventh book of the Sarvastivada
abhidharma, 91 and was interpreted later in the MahAvibhALAUAstra as life
faculty ( jCvitendriya) and homogeneous character (sabhAgatA). 92 This similarity
could suggests that vitality (Ayu), instead of the five faculties mentioned
in the Itivuttaka, 93 becomes the key element to distinguish the two nirvanas
and that this exposition was probably well established not only among Northern
Buddhists but also among Southern Buddhists around the first century
ce. The explanation of nirvana without a remainder of clinging here seems
to influence Buddhaghosa’s interesting remark on the final nirvana in the
Visuddhimagga: ‘there is no further arising of aggregates of existence and
those already arisen have disappeared’. 94
Under the influence of the Buddhist theory of momentariness, destruction
alone cannot be enough to explain why it should be regarded as the unconditioned.
Non-arising becomes a more important ingredient than destruction
since every dharma is said to cease repeatedly due to its momentary
nature. The mention of no further arising of suffering, aggregates and so on
thus suggests that the theory of momentariness was already widespread
around India at this stage and that with the coming of the PeMakopadesa,
Ceylon was probably under the influence of the Buddhist theory of
momentariness well before the arrival of Buddhaghosa.
The SuttanipAta aMMhakathA by Dhammapala traces its interpretation
of the two nirvana theory back to the SundarikabhAradvAjasutta in the
SuttanipAta. While the Buddha was talking about the qualities of the
TathAgata to a Brahman called SundarikabhAradvAja, he said as follows:
‘The TathAgata, who, seeing the end and destruction of fetters and birth,
has thrust away the path of passion entire(ly), is purified, faultless, stainless,
clear; he deserves the sacrificial cake’. 95 In Dhammapala’s commentary, ‘the
end and destruction of fetters’ was interpreted as nirvana with a remainder
of clinging, while ‘that of birth’ was interpreted as nirvana without a
remainder of clinging 96 . Although we cannot be sure that in the original text
the Buddha meant to speak so specifically in terms of the two nirvana
elements, we still can see that this SuttanipAta passage fits the Southern
exegetical explanation as well as the Northern interpretation of the two
nirvana theory, including both the Sarvastivadins and the Sautrantikas. 97
The best known exegetical passage to explain the two nirvana elements is
in Dhammapala’s TheragAthA-aMMhakathA. It reads as follows: ‘By “quenched”
it means two nirvanas, the nirvana element with a remainder of clinging
which is the destruction of defilements, and the nirvana element without
a remainder of clinging, which is the destruction of aggregates.’ 98 The
Dhammapada-aMMhakathA also says that the first is ‘because the cycle of
defilements has been destroyed’ (kilesavaMMassa khepitattA), while the second is
‘because the cycle of aggregates has been destroyed with the cessation of the
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