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NIRVANA IN NORTHERN BUDDHIST SCHOOLS 5 NIRVANA IN NORTHERN BUDDHIST SCHOOLS In the previous chapter, we saw that the nirvana concept found in the later Theravada exegeses was of cessation consisting in non-arising and of existing separately (pAMiyekka) from the mere destruction of passion, hatred and delusion. Apart from numbers, their concept seems to come close to that of the Sarvastivadins that had been established from their unique position: insisting on the existence of all dharmas in the three time periods while accepting the momentariness of conditioned dharmas. 1 As seen briefly in Chapter 3, under ‘The Chinese abhidharma works’, their equivalent of nirvana was called extinction through knowledge (pratisaNkhyAnirodha), which was a single perpetual separation of an impure dharma from a series of aggregates through the antidote, ‘acquisition of disjunction’ (visaNyogaprApti). This positive interpretation of nirvana could not satisfy the Sautrantikas because nirvana for them was not a real existent but a mere designation (prajñaptisat) 2 and was non-existence succeeding existence (paUcAdabhAva). 3 Because the Sautrantikas were critics of the Sarvastivadins, how to interpret nirvana became a subject of a debate between them. We can see such a debate in the AbhidharmakoUabhALya, 4 in the NyAyAnusAraUAstra 5 and even in the PrasannapadA, the commentary on MElamadhyamakakArikA. 6 The interpretation of Anuruddha’s simile mentioned in Chapter 4 seems to be at the centre of the disputes in all three treatises. In this chapter, I discuss ontological issues of nirvana, especially between the Sarvastivadins and the Sautrantikas, by exploring the later development of the two nirvana theory seen in the MahAvibhALAUAstra, by checking the Sautrantika’s concept of nirvana that appears in the AbhidharmakoUabhALya and by dealing with ontological issues surrounding Anuruddha’s simile in the above mentioned three treatises. The development of the two nirvana theory in the MahAvibhALAUAstra According to the MahAvibhALAUAstra, one of the reasons why nirvana with and without a remainder of clinging was explained in the JñAnaprasthAna 77
THE DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIRVANA was that there was no complete explanation of the two nirvanas in the early canon (sEtras) apart from simply mentioning their names: nirvana with a remainder of clinging (sopadhiUeLanirvAOadhAtu) and nirvana without a remainder of clinging (nirupadhiUeLanirvAOadhAtu). The exegesis of the JñAnaprasthAna starts its explanation of the two nirvana theory as follows: 7 Although the early canon (sEtras) says that there are two nirvana elements: nirvana with a remainder of clinging and nirvana without a remainder of clinging, it does not fully explain their meaning. Thus, ‘what is nirvana with a remainder of clinging?’ and ‘what is nirvana without a remainder of clinging?’ were fundamental questions for that treatise. 8 Since they are not clarified [in the early canon], they are explained [in the JñAnaprasthAna]. There are two things we cannot ignore in this explanation. First, this seems to suggest that the above mentioned sEtra in the Chinese Ekottara-Agama 9 explaining the two nirvana theory differently from the Itivuttaka 10 was neither accepted as an authority nor included within the early canon of the Sarvastivadins. That is to say, we could say from this passage that that problematic sEtra in the Chinese Ekottara-Agama was presumably not part of the Sarvastivadin sEtra collections, even though the whole collection of their early Agama has not survived. Second, despite the detailed explanation of the two nirvanas in the Itivuttaka, that clarification was not accepted as authoritative by the Sarvastivadins. As seen in Chapter 3, 11 the authenticity of the Pali KhuddakanikAya was not universally accepted among early Indian Buddhists; and the Itivuttaka was translated into Chinese only by Xuan-zang in the late seventh century ce. 12 The Itivuttaka may have been known to the northern Buddhists not as a sEtra but as the chanted verses and the author of the JñAnaprasthAna probably knew this particular chanted verse since there was a strong internal relationship between them. 13 In fact, the explanation of the two nirvanas in the JñAnaprasthAna does not seem to be linked closely to the dharma theory of the Sarvastivada in its fully developed form. For example, it prefers vitality (Ayus), which can easily be found in the early canon, to the vital organ ( jCvitendriya), which is an abhidharmic word, especially for the Sarvastivadins, one of the fourteen dharmas not associated with the mind (cittaviprayuktasaNskAra). Moreover, there was no clear clarification of the relationship between two nirvanas and extinction through knowledge (pratisaNkhyAnirodha), the Sarvastivada equivalent of nirvana, in its explanation. Thus, the MahAvibhALAUAstra was interpreting the two nirvana theory in the JñAnaprasthAna in accordance with the fully developed form of their dharma theory. 78
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METAPHOR AND LITERALISM IN BUDDHISM
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TEACHING BUDDHISM IN THE WEST Edite
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METAPHOR AND LITERALISM IN BUDDHISM
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FOR DONGJE MY ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE D
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CONTENTS List of figures and tables
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PREFACE I am glad to be able to tha
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ABBREVIATIONS The abbreviations for
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ABBREVIATIONS RV Rgveda. SA SaNyukt
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INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION In the Ab
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INTRODUCTION to reach it was descri
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INTRODUCTION two nirvana theory in
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NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE Part 1 TH
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NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE 1 NIRVANA
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NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE early Bud
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NIRVANA AND ITS REFERENCE original
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THE TWO NIRVANA THEORY IN THE EARLY
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Page 44 and 45: THE TWO NIRVANA THEORY IN THE EARLY
Page 54 and 55: DEVELOPMENTS OF THE TWO NIRVANA THE
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Page 122 and 123: Table 5.4 Summary of the doctrinal
Page 124 and 125: CONCLUSION The term anAgAmin was of
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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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