You say that, if one does not see the doth when one sees the fringe, it is because the central parts, etc, are not in relation with the organ: this is to admit then that one would never see the doth, for the central parts and the
extremes
which are supposed to create the doth are not perceived together.
Abhidharmakosabhasyam-Vol-2-Vasubandhu-Poussin-Pruden-1991
The Pratyekabuddhas who are "like a rhinoceros" live alone.
521 94d The Rhinoceros by reason of one hundred kalpas.
The Rhinoceros has cultivated for one hundred great kalpas in his preparation for Bodhi, [that is, he has cultivated morality, absorption, mdprajna]. He obtains Bodhi (vi. 67) without the help of the teaching or dgama, but alone. He is a Pratyekabuddha because he himself brings about his salvation without converting others.
Why does he not apply himself to the conversion of others? He is certainly capable of teaching the Law: he possesses the comprehensions (pratisamvids, vii. 37b): [and even if he does not possess them,] he can [through his pranidhijnana, vii. 37a] remember the teachings of the ancient Buddhas. He is no longer deprived of pity, for he manifests his
522 supernormal power with a view to being of service to beings. He can
no longer say that beings are "unconvertible" in the period in which he
lives, for, in this period--the period of decrease of life--beings can
523
detach themselves from Kamadhatu by the worldly path. Why then
does he not teach the Law?
By reason of his previous habit [of solitude], he finds pleasure in,
and aspires to absence of turmoil; he does not have the courage to apply himself to making others understand the profound Dharnia: he would have to make disciples; he would have to conduct the multitude who follow the current against the current, and this is a difficult thing. Now he fears being distracted from his absorption and of entering into
524 contact (samsarga, vi. 6a) with humans.
Purvakathd
***
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95-96. The Cakravartin Kings do not appear when lifespan is under eighty thousand years in length; they have a wheel of gpld, a wheel of silver, a wheel of cooper, and a wheel of iron; in inverse order, he reigns over one, two, three, or four continents; but never two at once, like the Buddhas; they triumph through spontaneous default, personal influence, fighting, or the sword,
525
1. The Cakravartin Kings appear from the period when the lifespan of humans is infinite to the period when their lifespan is eighty thousand years in length; not when life is shorter, for then the world is no longer a suitable receptacle for their glorious prosperity.
They are called Cakravartins, because their nature is to reign (rdjyam
526
cakrena vartayitum).
527
2. There are four types of Cakravartin Kings, Suvarncakravartin,
Rupyacakravartin, Tamracakravartin, and Aya&akravartin, accordingly as their wheel (cakra) is of gold, silver, copper, or iron: the first is the best, the second is almost best, the third is mediocre, and the fourth is inferior. The Cakravartin whose wheel is iron reigns over one continent, the Cakravartin whose wheel is copper reigns over two continents, and soon.
528
This is the doctrine of the Prajnapti. A Sutra, in fact, speaks only
of a Cakravartin King having a wheel of gold, by reason of his greater
importance, "When, to a king of royal and consecrated race--who, even
in the days of his youth, on the fifteenth day, having washed his head,
having undertaken the obligations of youth, ascends accompanied by
this ministers to the terrace of his palace--there appears in the east the
jewel of a wheel having a thousand rays, a wheel having a rim, having a
hub, complete in all ways, beautiful, not made by the hand of an artisan,
529 530 all in gold --this king is a Cakravartin King. "
3. Two Cakravartins, the same as two Buddhas, do not appear at the same time. The Sutra says, "It is impossible in the present, or in the future, for two Tathagatas, Arhats, perfect Buddhas to appear in the world without one preceding and the other following. It is impossible. It is the rule that there is only one. And this holds for the Cakravartins as
531 for the Tathagatas. "
but always without doing evil
Here a question is raised. What is the meaning of the expression "in
? the world? " Does this mean "in a great Trisahasra universe" (iii. 74), or
532 "in all the universes? "
According to one opinion, the Buddhas do not appear elsewhere
533
[that is: in two great universes at once] because the coexistence of two
Buddhas would create an obstacle to the power of the Blessed Ones. A single Blessed One applies himself wheresoever: where a Blessed One does not apply himself to the converting of beings, other Blessed Ones do not apply themselves either. Further, we read in the Sutra, " 'Sariputra, if someone comes and asks you if there now exists someone,
534
a Bhiksu or a Brahmin, who is equal to the ascetic Gautama with
regard to Samyaksambodhi, what would you answer him? '
"'If someone were to interrogate me thus, Oh Venerable One, I would answer him that there does not exist now anyone, Bhiksu or
Brahmin, who is the equal of the Blessed One. And why would I respond in this manner? Because I have heard and understood of the Blessed One, that it is impossible, both in the present and in the future, for two Blessed Ones, Arhats, perfea Buddhas to appear in the world without
535 one preceding and the other following/"
Objection: How then are we to understand what the Blessed One
56
said in the Brahmastitra, * "I exercise my power even over a great
Trisahasra universe? "
This text should not be taken literally: it means that without making
an effort (without making a special act of attention), the Buddha sees as
far as this limit. When he desires it, his seeing goes wherever he wills it
537 without limit.
According to other schools, the Buddhas appear at the same time, but in many universes. Here are their arguments. One sees that many persons apply themselves at the same time to the preparations [for Bodhi]. Certainly, it is not proper that many Buddhas should appear at the same time in the same spot (=in the same universe); but, on the other hand, nothing prevents many Buddhas from appearing at the
538
same time: thus they appear in different universes. The universes are
infinite in number, so even if the Blessed One lives an entire kalpa, he cannot go about in the infinity of the universe as he does here; all the more so if he only lives a human lifetime.
What is this activity of the Blessed One?
He wills that a person's faculty (faith, etc. )--by reason of such a
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person, of such a place and of such conditions of time, due to the disappearance of such a defect and to the realization of such a cause, and in such a manner--if not arisen should arise, and if not perfected should be perfected
Objection:But we have quoted the Sutra, "It is impossible for two Tathagatas to appear in the world without one preceding and the other following. "
Answer: There is reason to examine if this text refers to one
universe--a universe with its four continents, a great Trisahasra
universe--or to all universes. Let us observe that the rule which
concerns the appearance of the Cakravartin Kings is formulated in the
same terms as those that concern the appearance of the Tathagatas.
Would you deny that Cakravartin Kings could appear at the same time?
If you do not deny this, why not also admit that the Buddhas, which are
the foundation of merit, appear at the same time in different
539
universes? What is wrong with numerous Buddhas appearing in
numerous universes? Innumerable beings would thus obtain both temporal well-being and supreme happiness.
Objection: But in this same spirit, you should also admit that two Tathagatas can appear at the same time in one universe.
Answer. No. In fact, 1. their simultaneous appearance in a universe would be without utility; 2. the vow of the Bodhisattva is to "become a Buddha, a protector of the unprotected, in a world blind and without a protector;" 3. respect with regard to a single Buddha is greater; 4. greater also is the haste to conform to his Law: persons know that a Buddha is rare, and that they will be without a protector once the Buddha is in
540 Nirvana or when he goes elsewhere.
4. It is by their wheel of gold, silver, etc. , that Cakravartin Kings
conquer the earth. Their conquest differs according to the nature of their
541 wheel.
A Cakravartin King with a golden wheel triumphs through 542
pratyudydna. Lesser kings come towards him, saying, "Rich districts, 543
flourishing, abundant in living things, full of men and sage men -- may Your Majesty deign to govern them! We ourselves are at your orders. "
A Cakravartin King with a silver wheel goes towards them himself, and then they submit to him.
A Cakravartin King with a copper wheel goes to them; they make
? preparations for resistance, but they submit to him.
A Cakravartin King with an iron wheel goes to them; they brandish
their arms, but then they submit to him.
In no case does a Cakravartin King kill
5. Cakravartin Kings cause beings to enter the path of the ten good
544
actions (karmapatha, iv. 66b). Also, after their death, they are reborn
among the gods.
6. The Sutra says, "When Cakravartin Kings appear in the world,
the seven jewels also appear: a wheel, an elephant, a horse, a treasure,
545
women, a treasurer, and a military advisor. " Do these jewels which
are living beings,--the jewel of elephants, etc,--arise through the actions of others?
No. A being accumulates actions which should be retributed by a birth related to a Cakravartin King, by a birth as a jewel of an elephant, etc. : when a Cakravartin King appears, his own aaions make this being arise.
7. There are many differance between the Cakravartin Kings and
other men, notably that these Kings possess, like the Buddha, the
546 thirty-two marks of the Mahapurusa.
97a. But the marks of the Muni are better placed, more brilliant, and complete.
But the marks of the Buddha outweigh those of the Kings in that
547
they are better placed, more brilliant, and complete.
#**
Did humans have kings at the beginning of the kalpa? No.
98. In the beginning, beings were similar to the gods of Rupadhatu; then, little by little, through attachment to taste, and through laziness, they made provisions and attributed parts to
548 themselves; a protector of the fields was, by them, retributed
549
Humans at the beginning of the cosmic age were similar to the
beings of Rupadhatu. The Sutra says, "There are visible beings, born of the mind, having all their members, with complete and intaa organs, of fine figure, of beautiful color, shining by themselves, travelling through
550 the air, having joy for ther food, and living a long time/'
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Yet there appeared the "juice of the earth," the taste of which had the sweetness of honey. One being, of greedy temperament, having perceived the smell of this juice, took pleasure in it and ate it; the other beings then did the same. This was the beginning of eating by mouthfuls (kavadikdra, iii. 39). This eating made their bodies become coarse and heavy and their luminosity come to an end: and then darkness appeared And then there appeared the sun and the moon.
Because of the attachment of beings to taste, the juice of the earth
51
gradually disappeared Then prtbmparpafaka * appeared, and beings
attached themselves to it. Prthiviparpafaka disappeared and a forest creeper appeared and beings then became attached to it. This creeper disappeared and then rice grew, unworked and unseeded: this rice, a coarse food, gave forth waste: beings then developed organs of excretion and sexual organs; they then took different forms. Beings with sexual differences, by reason of ther previous habits, were seized by this crocodile which is wrong judgment; they conceived an active desire for pleasure and so had sexual intercourse. It is from this moment on that the beings of Kamadhatu were possessed by the demon which is craving.
One cut rice in the morning for the morning meal, and in the evening for the evening meal. One being, of lazy temperament, made provisions. The others imitated him. With provisions arose the idea of "mine," the idea of property: then the rice, cut and recut, stopped growing.
Then they distributed the fields. One was the owner of one field; one seized the goods of another. This was the beginning of robbery.
In order to prevent robbery, they came together and gave a sixth
part to an excellent man in order that he protect the fields: this man was
given the name ksetrapa or guardian of the fields, and, as he was a
ksetrapa, he received the name of ksatriya. Because he was very
esteemed (sammata) by the multitude (mahajana), and because he 552
charmed (ranj) his subjects, he became the Raja Mahasammata. This 553
was the beginning of dynasties.
Those who abandoned the householder's life received the name of
Brahmins.
Then, under a certain king, there were many bandits and thieves.
The king punished them by the sword Others said, "We have not committed such actions," and this was the beginning of lying.
? 98c-d Then, through the development of the courses of action,
554 life shortened to a length of ten years.
From this moment on, the bad courses of action, murder, etc, increased and the lifespan of humans became shorter and shorter. It was reduced, finally, to a length of ten years.
There are thus two dharmas: attachment to taste and laziness which are the beginning of this long degeneration.
*##
A small kalpa terminates when a lifespan is ten years in length. What happens then?
99. The kalpa terminates through iron, sickness, hunger, which 555
last respectively seven days, seven months, and seven years. 556
The end of the kalpa is marked by three calamities.
1. In the period when the kalpa draws to its end, their lifespans being reduced to ten years in length, persons, full of forbidden craving
and slaves of unjust greed, profess false doctrines. The spirit of wickedness arises in them: they conceive thoughts of hatred; as soon as they see one another, as a hunter who sees game, everything that falls into their hand,--a piece of wood, aconite plants,--becomes a sharp weapon, and they massacre one another.
2. In the period when the kalpa draws to its end, their lifespans being reduced to ten years, persons, full of forbidden craving and slaves to unjust greed, profess false doctrines. Non-human beings (P&acas, etc. ) emit deadly vapors, from whence incurable sicknesses arise by* which humans die.
3. In the period when the kalpa draws to its end. . . the heavens cease
to rain, from whence three famines arise, the famine of the boxes
{cancu), the famine of the white bones, and the famine when one lives 557
by tokens.
The famine of the boxes is called this for two reasons. What is today
a samudgaka, was in this period called canca; and cancu is the same as 558
carica. Persons, overwhelmed with hunger and weakness, die all in a group; and, with a view to being useful to persons of the future, they place seeds in a cancu. This is why this famine is called cancu.
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The famine of the white bones is called this for two reasons. Bodies
become dry and hard, and when they die, their bones soon become
white. Persons gather up these white bones, boil them and drink
559 them.
The famine of tokens is called this for two reasons. Beings, in houses, eat according to the indication of tokens, "Today it is the turn of the master of the house to eat; tomorrow it is the turn of the mistress of the house . . . " And, with the tokens, persons search out grains in the
560 empty earth; they are boiled in much water, and drunk.
Scripture teaches that person who have, for a single day and night, undertaken abstention from murder, or have given one myrobalan fruit or a mouthful of food to the Sahgha, will not be reborn here in this world during the period of knives, sickness, or famine.
4. How long a time do these periods last?
Killing lasts seven days, sickness lasts seven months and seven days, and famine last seven years, seven months and seven days. The conjunction ca ("and") in the stanza shows that one must add the different lengths of time.
***
The continents of Videha and Godaniya do not know the three calamities: yet wickedness, bad color and weakness, and hunger and thirst reign therein when Jambudvipa is overwhelmed by knives, sickness, and famine.
***
We have described destruction by fire, and have said that the other destructions are accomplished in a similar manner.
lOOa-b. There are three destructions: through fire, water, and
561 wind.
When all beings have disappeared from the lower physical worlds, having come together in a dhyana heaven, the destructions take place: through fire, by reason of the seven suns; through water, by reason of the rain; and through wind, by reason of the disorder of the wind
? element. The effect of these destructions is that not one atom of the destroyed physical world remains.
**#
[Here arises the problem of a whole and its part (avayavin, avayava), of a substance and its qualities (gunin, guna)y iii. 49d].
Certain non-Buddhist masters--[Kanabhuj, etc]--say that the atoms are eternal, and that, as a consequence, they remain when the universe is dissolved. In faa, say these masters, if it were otherwise, coarse bodies would arise without cause (ahetuka).
[The Buddhists:] But we have explained (iii. 50a) that the seed of a new universe is wind, a wind endowed with special powers which have their beginning in the actions of creatures. And the instrumental cause
562
(nimittd) of this wind is the wind of Rupadhatu which is not
destroyed. Further, a Sutra of the Mahisasakas says that the wind brings
563
the seeds in from another universe.
[The VaiSesikas:] But even if the seeds were so brought in, we do not
admit that gross bodies,--shoots, stalk, etc. ,--arise from a seed, from a
stalk, etc. [: for seeds, shoots, etc. , are merely nimittakarana, instru- 564
mental causes, not samavdyikarana, material cause]; we say rather, that the shoot, etc. , arises from its parts, and that these parts arise in turn from their parts, and so on to the most minute parts which arise from the atoms.
[The Buddhists:] What then is the efficacy (samarthya:use, purpose) of a seed with regard to its shoot?
[The Vaisesikas:] The seed has no efficacy with regard to the veneration (janana) of the shoot, except that it provokes the aggrega- on of the atoms of the shoot. It is impossible in faa for a certain thing
to arise from a thing having another nature: if such generation were possible, there would be no rule in generation. [One could then make mats out of cotton threads].
[The Buddhists:] No. Different does come from different, but according to certain rules, as sound arises, or the products of cooking, etc [Sound arises from striking, which is different in nature from sound, but not different from everthing that is different from sound] The potentiality (Jakti) of all things is determined.
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[The Vai5e? ikas:] Your examples are not valid We admit that
gunadharrbas or attributes (sound, etc) arise either from that which is
similar or from that which is different (samyoga, etc); but this does not
hold in the same way for dravyadharmas (or substances) which arise 565
from the similar things. It is thus that vtrana threads,--and not other threads--give rise to a mat, and that only cotton threads give rise to cotton doth.
[The Buddhists:] Your example does not prove this, for it is not, itself, proven. Yau say that a thing arises from a similar thing, since a mat arises from vtrana threads: but, a mat is the vtrana threads themselves disposed in a certain manner and which take the name of mat; doth is threads disposed in a certain manner. In the same way a row of ants is only ants.
[The Vai? esikas:] How do you prove that doth is not a thing distinct from threads?
[The Buddhists:] When an organ (of sight or touch) is in relation with a thread, the doth is not perceived Now, if the doth exists [created by each thread,] why would it not be perceived? You say that the cloth does not exist, integrally, in each thread: this is to acknowledge that the doth is only the collection of its parts which are each constituted by a thread: for how would you prove that the parts of a doth are a thing other than the threads? You say that the doth exists integrally in each thread, but that one does not perceive it in each thread because the perception of the doth supposes a union of the organ and the doth in such a way that the numerous creative elements of the doth are perceived: in this hypothesis, it would suffice to see the fringe in order to see the cloth.
You say that, if one does not see the doth when one sees the fringe, it is because the central parts, etc, are not in relation with the organ: this is to admit then that one would never see the doth, for the central parts and the extremes which are supposed to create the doth are not perceived together. You say that they are perceived successively: this is to acknowledge that the whole (the entity doth, avayavin) is not perceived; and this is to acknowledge too that the idea of doth or of mat has for its sole object the parts of the doth or the mat. How do we have, from all evidence, the idea of a cirde from the cirde formed from the circular trajectory of a brand? Further, doth cannot be a thing other than thread, for, in the hypothesis where it would be otherwise, when the
? threads are different in color, different in nature, and different in disposition, one could not attribute either color, or nature, or disposition to the cloth. You say that the cloth is different in color: this is to acknowledge that different creates different; further, to suppose that one of the sides is not variegated, in looking at it one would not see the cloth, but rather would see it "variegated" But do you dare say that the cloth, made of threads of different dispositions, is of different dispositions? It would be truly too diverse to be an entity! Consider again the entity which is the light of fire: its heating and illuminating power varies from beginning to end; one cannot recognize in it either color or tangible qualites.
[The VaiSesikas: But if the "all," doth, is not distinct from its "parts," and if the atoms, not perceptible to the organs, do not create a coarse body perceptible to the organs--a body distinct from the atoms--then the world is invisible: but one can see a cow. ]
[The Buddhists:] For us, the atoms, although suprasensible, become sensible when they come together: the Vai? esikas also attribute the power to create coarse bodies to the united atoms; the factors of visual consciousness should be united in order to produce a consciousness; and persons who suffer from ophthalmia see masses of hair, not hairs one by one.
[The author having refuted the doctrine of a whole, avayavin, distinct from its parts, avayava, now refutes the doctrine of substances, gunin, distinct from their attributes, guna\
[The Buddhists:] What one understands by atom (paramdnu) is physical matter (rupa)> etc; it is thus certain that atoms perish at the destruction of the universe.
[The Va&esikas:] An atom is a thing in and of itself (drayya); a thing 566
in and of itself is distinct from physical matter, etc. ; and physical matter can perish without an atom perishing.
[The Buddhists:] The distinction between a thing and its attributes is inadmissible: for no one distinguishes, "This is earth, water, fire: these are the attributes of earth, namely, its color, its taste, etc" And yet you affirm that a thing, earth, etc, is perceptible to the eye, etc [Thus you cannot say that one does not perceive it because it is suprasensible]. Further, when wool, cotton, opium juice, or incense is burned, one no longer has the idea of wool, cotton, etc, with regard to its ashes: thus the
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idea has for its object, not a thing in and of itself whose color would be an
567
attribute, but its color, its taste, etc
jug has been submitted to the action of fire, we say that it has always been the same jug; and that, as a consequence, the jug is a thing other than its color, that it stays the same even though its color changes. But, in faa, if we were to recognize the unfired jug in the fired jug, it is because its figure remains similar: as one recognizes a row of ants. In fact, who would recognize the jug if one does not see in it certain characteristics observed initially?
Let us here stop this discussion of these infantile theories.
***
What is the upper limit of the destructions?
lOOc-lOld Three Dhyanas, beginning with the second, are, in order, the top of the destructions; by reason of the community of the nature of destructions and the vices of the first three Dhyanas. As for the Fourth Dhyana, no destruaion, by reason of its non-agitation: this is not that it is eternal, for its mansions are produced and perish along with the beings who live therein.
1. The Second Dhyana is the limit of the destruaion by fire: everything below it is burned; the Third Dhyana is the limit of the destruaion by water: everything below it is dissolved; the Fourth Dhyana is the limit of the destruaion by wind: everything below it is dispersed. "The top of the destruaion" is the name of that which remains when the destruaion is finished.
The heaven of the First Dhyana then perishes by fire: in faa, the vice or imperfeaion of the First Dhyana is vitarka-vtcdra\ these burn the mind and are thus similar to fire. The Second Dhyana perishes by water: in faa, it has joy for its vice. This, being associated with physical well-being, rends the body soft and flabby: it is similar to water. This is why the Sutra teaches that the sensation of suffering is destroyed by the
568
suppression of all solidity of the body. The Third Dhyana perishes by
wind: in faa, it has inbreathing and outbreathing, which are wind, for its vice.
You say that, when an unfired clay
? The external vices of a Dhyana (that is, the calamities which destroy
a Dhyana heaven) are of the same order as the internal vices which
affect the person who has entered into this Dhyana. (See viii. French
569 trans, p. 126).
2. Why is there no destruction by the earth element as by the fire element, etc?
What one calls the physical world is earth, and as a consequence can be opposed by fire, water, and wind, but not by earth itself.
3. The Fourth Dhyana is not subject to destruction, because it is free
from agitation. The Buddha said in fact that this Dhyana, being free 57
from internal vices, is non-movable (dnejya). ? The external vices have thus no hold on it and, as a consequence, it is not subject to destruction.
According to another opinion, the non-destruction of the Fourth Dhyana is explained by the force of the Suddhavasakayika gods whose abode it is. These gods are incapable of entering into Arapyadhatu, and
571 are also incapable of going elsewhere [to a lower sphere].
The receptacle world of the Fourth Dhyana is not eternal, but by this fact, it does not constitute a "sphere;" like the stars, it is divided into diverse residences; these different mansions, the abodes of beings, arise and perish with these beings. (Vibbdsd, TD 27, p. 692bl9).
***
What is the order of succession of these three destructions?
102. Seven by fire, one by water; and when seven destructions by
water have thus taken place, seven by fire followed by the
572 destruction by wind.
After seven series of seven successive destructions by fire, de-
struction is then done seven times by water; the eighth series of seven
destructions by fire is followed by one destruction by wind. The physical
worlds, in fact, last by reason of the duration of the gods who are reborn
therein by the force of their absorptions. There are fifty-six destructions
by fire, seven by water, and one by wind: this is what justifies the
575
declaration of the Prajnapti kalpas. (iii. 80d).
that the Subhakrtsnagods live sixty-four
***
The World 495
? 1. According to Buddhaghosa (AtthasdUni, 62), Kamadhatu is made up of four bad realms of rebirth (hellish beings, animals, Pretas and Asuras, see iii. 4a), humans and the six classes of gods: in all eleven divisions (padesa).
The six gods of Kamadhatu (Burnouf, Introduction, 603,608; Hastings, article, "Cosmogony and Cosmology"; names explained in the Vydkhya) are an old list, sometimes reduced to five names (Trayastrimsas . . . Paranirmkavaiavartins subject to Mara, Samyutta, i. 133). [Each category has chiefs or a king, Anguttara, iv. 242. ] Above there are, in Digka, i. 215, the Brahmakayikas and Mahabrahma; in Anguttara, i. 210, the Brahmakayikas and the higher gods; in Mahdniddesa, 44, the Brahmakayikas. (See below, note 4).
The Vydkhya explains the words naraka, etc First opinion: from the root nr (naye, Dhdtupdfha, i. 847), "Beings are led there by transgression"; second opinion: from the root r (gatiprdpanayoh or gatmhsanayos [thereadingoftheVydkhyd]tL9&3,vi. lll)preceededbyanegation;thirdopinion: from ram, ranj, "beings do not rejoice therein"; fourth opinion, that of Sarhghabhadra, "Beings do not obtain (f = prop) protection there. "
2. Vydkhya: All of the Dhyanas belong to the three realms, corresponding to weak, medium, and strong absorptions: thus the Fourth Dhyana contains the stage of Anabhrakas, Punyaprasavas, Vrhatphalas. But a strong absorption of the Fourth Dhyana can be mixed with an andsrava absorption (as explained in vi. 43); from whence there are five new places: Avrhas, etc The Fourth Dhyana is thus made up of eight stages.
3. We are reminded of the four bhavOppattis of Majjhima, iii147: the Parittabhas gods, the Appamanabhas gods, the Samkilitthabhas gods, and the Parisuddhabhas gods.
4. ThisistheopinionoftheBahirde^akas(F^^)orthePakatyas(F^4r^ TD27,p. 509a22), "the Westerners. " This refers to the masters in Gandhara. In this country, there are some Sautrantikas, but when the Vibhdsd speaks of Pascatyas, it means the extra-Kashmirian Sarvastivadins, or those of Gandhara.
The Mahdvyutpatti has four names for the First Dhyana: Brahmakayikas, Brahmaparisadyas, Brahmapurohitas, and Mahabrahmanas. From whence, according to Georgy, and Hodgson, there are four distinct heavens; Remusat and Burnouf {Introduction, 608) have discussed their various sources. In the Kola the Parisadyas are omitted, and Brahmakayikas are the inferior class. Elsewhere (iii. 5a, etc) Brahmakayikas is the generic name for all the gods of the First Dhyana, of all of gods of the world of Brahma.
Vydkhya: He is called Brahma, because he is produced by broad, large (brhat) roots of good Who is he? He is called Mahabrahma. He is great, mahdn, because he has attained the intermediate dhyana (viii. 23); because he is born and dies before and after all others (iii. 6a, Para. 2); and because he is distinguished by his stature, etc. They are called the Brahmakayikas, because the kayo, that is to say, the nivdsa, or dwelling, of Mahabrahma is theirs (tasya kayo nivdsa esam vidyate). Some are called Brahmapurohitas, because Brahma is placed {dhtyate) at their head ipura esam). And some are called Mahabrahmanas, because dyurvarnadibhir viiesair mahdn brahmd esam.
The Vydkhya explains the names of the gods in very clear language (Cosmologie bouddhique, p. 119). Samgrabhadraisinagreement. Fordetailsonallthegods,seeiii. 64.
5. Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 509a22.
a. Pali sources. Rupadhatu (or world of Brahma, see above, note 1) contains sixteen places: 1. -9.
three places for each one of the first three Dhyanas; 10. -11. the Vehapphalas and Asafinasattas for the Fourth Dhyana; 12. -16. five Suddhavasas, reserved for the Anagamins. Variants: Majjhima, i. 329; iii. 147, etc
b. The "correct opinion of the Sarvastivadins" admits sixteen places, by assigning only two places to the First Dhyana.
c The masters of the West (the Vaibhasikas of Gandhara, Piscatyas, and Bahirdes'akas) admit seventeen places, by assigning three places to the First Dhyana (a special place for the Mahabrahmanas).
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d. Some other Bahirde? akas (Kola, ii. 4ld) admit seventeen places, by assigning two places to the First Dhyana, and a special place to the Asarhjnisattvas in the Fourth Dhyana.
e. Eighteen places, by assigning three places to the First Dhyana (a special place for the Mahabrahmanas) and a special place to the Asarhjnisattvas.
This is the opinion of &rilabdha 0r$-h-to, Watters, i. 355, the author of a Sautrantika Vibhdsdfastra), according to P'u-kuang and Fa-pao who quote Saihghabhadra according to whom: "the Sthavira admits eighteen places". This is the opinion of the Mahayana Sthiramati or Saramati (TD, 31, number 1606, Grand Vehicle).
f. The Yogacaras also admit the number of eighteen, but they place the Asarhjnisattvas in the heaven of the Vrhatphalas, and obtain the number of eighteen by recognizing the MahesVaradevas (compare Mabdvyutpatti, 162. 7, Mahamahesvarayatana).
Yuan-hui and other commentators say that the School (nikaya) of the Sthaviras admit eighteen places, wrongly interpreting the expression "the Sthavira" of Saihghabhadra, (a) because, among the twenty schools, there is a School of the Sthaviras (but Ts'e-yuan, P'u-kuang and Fa-pao say that "the Sthavira" of Saihghabhadra is Srllabdha); (b) because they do not know that eighteen is the number of the Sautrantika &rilabdha, whereas seventeen is the established number in the Sautrantika system. The Vibhdsd attributes the opinion of seventeen places to the Western Masters, the Gandharans. Among these masters, there are some Sautrantikas, but many are Sarvastivadins. The Vibhdsd designates a divergent opinion of the Sarvastivadin school by the expression "Western Masters", and not the Sautrantikas; this is why Saihghabhadra says only, "There are others who say (that the places are seventeen in number). . . " and does not say "another School" . . .
Saeki gives, in resume, "Sixteen places: the correct opinion of the Sarvastivadins. Seventeen places: a. Westerners (separate Mahabrahmas) and b. some other masters (separate Asamjfiins). Eighteen places (by distinguishing the place of Mahabrahma from that of the Asamjfiins): and the Sthavira (a) ? rllabdha, a Sthavira not included among the twenty schools, who is also termed a Mulasautrantika; and (b) the Sthavira, who is included among the twenty schools, and who is termed the Mulasthavira. Further, Sthiramati (Saramati) (and the Yogacarins). "
6. This "dwelling" is dhydndntarikd, Koia, ii. 41d
7. I believe that I correctly understand Hsiian-tsang and Paramartha (i-sheng so chU ~"^ff\Jifwhichshouldbecorrectedtoreadi-cbu^'H); buttheKosa,inmanyplaces,speaksof some "Great Brahmas", Mahabrahmanas: these are the Mahabrahmadevas of the Pali texts, the followers or the court of the one, sole king (see Ko/a, vi. 38b); the Vydkhyd explains their name:
"They are Mahabrahmanas because Brahma is the greatest among them by his duration of life, his color, etc"
8. Beal, Catena, 94, "Following the Kosha Shaster, it is said that Brahma has no distinct abode, only in the midst of the Brahmapurohita Heaven there is a high-storied tower, and this is (the abode of Brahma). "
9. The problem as to whether there is r&pa in this dhdtu or not, is discussed viii. 3c
10. As we will see iii. 41, the mind and mental states, in the first two Dhatus, are an dfrita (a thing supported) which have for their dfraya (support) a body endowed with organs. The mind "falls", or dies, when the organs are destroyed On nikaya - nikdyasabhdga, ii. 41, see below iiL7c, nikdyasabhdga = upapattydyatana.
11. Hsiian-tsang corrects: The mental series of material beings is not supported on these two, because they lack any force: they are strong among non-material beings because they proceed from an absorption from whence the notion of matter has been eliminated But why not admit that the mental series of non-material beings is directly supported on this absorption? Why is there an intermediate support? Furthermore, the "genus" and vital organ of non-material beings is supported by matter. . .
12. See ii. 14, viii. 3c
? 13. Vibhasd, TD 27, p. 387b26-27: As we have prthivUhdtu, etc
14. This explanation holds for the expression drupyadhdtu: but when one speaks of the non- material absorptions (viii. 2), drupya should be understood as equivalent to rupa, or rather as signifying "favorable to Arupya[dhatu]" (Vydkhyd).
15. Samyukta, TD 2, p. 199a6. The first stanza is quoted in Anguttara, iii. 4l 1, where it is attributed to a deity (devatd). In Sanskrit as in Pali it begins with na te kdmdydnidtrdniloke/ samkalpardgah purusasya kdmah. The two other stanzas, to my knowledge, are absent in the Pali. The Vydkhyd gives the last two lines.
The argument of the Ajivika does not hold He thinks that a Bhiksu ceases to be a Bhiksu if he is a kdmopabhogin; and, if kdma = desire, then the Bhiksu would be kdmopabhogin, and would lose the quality of Bhiksu, even when he does not enjoy these objects. But the Bhiksu, through desire, corrupts his morality and his precepts, without losing the quality of Bhiksu: by this he transgresses by his body or speech the boundary of the rules of the Tathagata.
In Kdthdvatthu, viii. 3-4, the Theravadins establish against the Pubbaseliyas that kdma, in the expression Kdmadhdtu, does not signify "object of desire", as rupdyatana or "visible matter",etc, but rather "desire. " They quote the stanza of the Anguttara, iii. 411 and Samyutta, i. 22, as does Vasubandhu.
Compare Vibhanga, 256 quoted in Atthasdlint, 164-5; the distinction between the vatthukdmas and the kilesakdmas, Mahdniddesa to Suttanipdta, 766; Compendium, p. 81, n. 2.
16. Some dharmas are produced (samuddcarantt) in Kamadhatu which are of the sphere of Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu, for example the different absorptions (viii. l9e); a person can experience "desire" (rdga) with respect to these absorptions: but as this desire has a dharma of a higher sphere for its object, it does not lodge in him: like a foot on a burning paving-stone (v. 2,39).
521 94d The Rhinoceros by reason of one hundred kalpas.
The Rhinoceros has cultivated for one hundred great kalpas in his preparation for Bodhi, [that is, he has cultivated morality, absorption, mdprajna]. He obtains Bodhi (vi. 67) without the help of the teaching or dgama, but alone. He is a Pratyekabuddha because he himself brings about his salvation without converting others.
Why does he not apply himself to the conversion of others? He is certainly capable of teaching the Law: he possesses the comprehensions (pratisamvids, vii. 37b): [and even if he does not possess them,] he can [through his pranidhijnana, vii. 37a] remember the teachings of the ancient Buddhas. He is no longer deprived of pity, for he manifests his
522 supernormal power with a view to being of service to beings. He can
no longer say that beings are "unconvertible" in the period in which he
lives, for, in this period--the period of decrease of life--beings can
523
detach themselves from Kamadhatu by the worldly path. Why then
does he not teach the Law?
By reason of his previous habit [of solitude], he finds pleasure in,
and aspires to absence of turmoil; he does not have the courage to apply himself to making others understand the profound Dharnia: he would have to make disciples; he would have to conduct the multitude who follow the current against the current, and this is a difficult thing. Now he fears being distracted from his absorption and of entering into
524 contact (samsarga, vi. 6a) with humans.
Purvakathd
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95-96. The Cakravartin Kings do not appear when lifespan is under eighty thousand years in length; they have a wheel of gpld, a wheel of silver, a wheel of cooper, and a wheel of iron; in inverse order, he reigns over one, two, three, or four continents; but never two at once, like the Buddhas; they triumph through spontaneous default, personal influence, fighting, or the sword,
525
1. The Cakravartin Kings appear from the period when the lifespan of humans is infinite to the period when their lifespan is eighty thousand years in length; not when life is shorter, for then the world is no longer a suitable receptacle for their glorious prosperity.
They are called Cakravartins, because their nature is to reign (rdjyam
526
cakrena vartayitum).
527
2. There are four types of Cakravartin Kings, Suvarncakravartin,
Rupyacakravartin, Tamracakravartin, and Aya&akravartin, accordingly as their wheel (cakra) is of gold, silver, copper, or iron: the first is the best, the second is almost best, the third is mediocre, and the fourth is inferior. The Cakravartin whose wheel is iron reigns over one continent, the Cakravartin whose wheel is copper reigns over two continents, and soon.
528
This is the doctrine of the Prajnapti. A Sutra, in fact, speaks only
of a Cakravartin King having a wheel of gold, by reason of his greater
importance, "When, to a king of royal and consecrated race--who, even
in the days of his youth, on the fifteenth day, having washed his head,
having undertaken the obligations of youth, ascends accompanied by
this ministers to the terrace of his palace--there appears in the east the
jewel of a wheel having a thousand rays, a wheel having a rim, having a
hub, complete in all ways, beautiful, not made by the hand of an artisan,
529 530 all in gold --this king is a Cakravartin King. "
3. Two Cakravartins, the same as two Buddhas, do not appear at the same time. The Sutra says, "It is impossible in the present, or in the future, for two Tathagatas, Arhats, perfect Buddhas to appear in the world without one preceding and the other following. It is impossible. It is the rule that there is only one. And this holds for the Cakravartins as
531 for the Tathagatas. "
but always without doing evil
Here a question is raised. What is the meaning of the expression "in
? the world? " Does this mean "in a great Trisahasra universe" (iii. 74), or
532 "in all the universes? "
According to one opinion, the Buddhas do not appear elsewhere
533
[that is: in two great universes at once] because the coexistence of two
Buddhas would create an obstacle to the power of the Blessed Ones. A single Blessed One applies himself wheresoever: where a Blessed One does not apply himself to the converting of beings, other Blessed Ones do not apply themselves either. Further, we read in the Sutra, " 'Sariputra, if someone comes and asks you if there now exists someone,
534
a Bhiksu or a Brahmin, who is equal to the ascetic Gautama with
regard to Samyaksambodhi, what would you answer him? '
"'If someone were to interrogate me thus, Oh Venerable One, I would answer him that there does not exist now anyone, Bhiksu or
Brahmin, who is the equal of the Blessed One. And why would I respond in this manner? Because I have heard and understood of the Blessed One, that it is impossible, both in the present and in the future, for two Blessed Ones, Arhats, perfea Buddhas to appear in the world without
535 one preceding and the other following/"
Objection: How then are we to understand what the Blessed One
56
said in the Brahmastitra, * "I exercise my power even over a great
Trisahasra universe? "
This text should not be taken literally: it means that without making
an effort (without making a special act of attention), the Buddha sees as
far as this limit. When he desires it, his seeing goes wherever he wills it
537 without limit.
According to other schools, the Buddhas appear at the same time, but in many universes. Here are their arguments. One sees that many persons apply themselves at the same time to the preparations [for Bodhi]. Certainly, it is not proper that many Buddhas should appear at the same time in the same spot (=in the same universe); but, on the other hand, nothing prevents many Buddhas from appearing at the
538
same time: thus they appear in different universes. The universes are
infinite in number, so even if the Blessed One lives an entire kalpa, he cannot go about in the infinity of the universe as he does here; all the more so if he only lives a human lifetime.
What is this activity of the Blessed One?
He wills that a person's faculty (faith, etc. )--by reason of such a
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person, of such a place and of such conditions of time, due to the disappearance of such a defect and to the realization of such a cause, and in such a manner--if not arisen should arise, and if not perfected should be perfected
Objection:But we have quoted the Sutra, "It is impossible for two Tathagatas to appear in the world without one preceding and the other following. "
Answer: There is reason to examine if this text refers to one
universe--a universe with its four continents, a great Trisahasra
universe--or to all universes. Let us observe that the rule which
concerns the appearance of the Cakravartin Kings is formulated in the
same terms as those that concern the appearance of the Tathagatas.
Would you deny that Cakravartin Kings could appear at the same time?
If you do not deny this, why not also admit that the Buddhas, which are
the foundation of merit, appear at the same time in different
539
universes? What is wrong with numerous Buddhas appearing in
numerous universes? Innumerable beings would thus obtain both temporal well-being and supreme happiness.
Objection: But in this same spirit, you should also admit that two Tathagatas can appear at the same time in one universe.
Answer. No. In fact, 1. their simultaneous appearance in a universe would be without utility; 2. the vow of the Bodhisattva is to "become a Buddha, a protector of the unprotected, in a world blind and without a protector;" 3. respect with regard to a single Buddha is greater; 4. greater also is the haste to conform to his Law: persons know that a Buddha is rare, and that they will be without a protector once the Buddha is in
540 Nirvana or when he goes elsewhere.
4. It is by their wheel of gold, silver, etc. , that Cakravartin Kings
conquer the earth. Their conquest differs according to the nature of their
541 wheel.
A Cakravartin King with a golden wheel triumphs through 542
pratyudydna. Lesser kings come towards him, saying, "Rich districts, 543
flourishing, abundant in living things, full of men and sage men -- may Your Majesty deign to govern them! We ourselves are at your orders. "
A Cakravartin King with a silver wheel goes towards them himself, and then they submit to him.
A Cakravartin King with a copper wheel goes to them; they make
? preparations for resistance, but they submit to him.
A Cakravartin King with an iron wheel goes to them; they brandish
their arms, but then they submit to him.
In no case does a Cakravartin King kill
5. Cakravartin Kings cause beings to enter the path of the ten good
544
actions (karmapatha, iv. 66b). Also, after their death, they are reborn
among the gods.
6. The Sutra says, "When Cakravartin Kings appear in the world,
the seven jewels also appear: a wheel, an elephant, a horse, a treasure,
545
women, a treasurer, and a military advisor. " Do these jewels which
are living beings,--the jewel of elephants, etc,--arise through the actions of others?
No. A being accumulates actions which should be retributed by a birth related to a Cakravartin King, by a birth as a jewel of an elephant, etc. : when a Cakravartin King appears, his own aaions make this being arise.
7. There are many differance between the Cakravartin Kings and
other men, notably that these Kings possess, like the Buddha, the
546 thirty-two marks of the Mahapurusa.
97a. But the marks of the Muni are better placed, more brilliant, and complete.
But the marks of the Buddha outweigh those of the Kings in that
547
they are better placed, more brilliant, and complete.
#**
Did humans have kings at the beginning of the kalpa? No.
98. In the beginning, beings were similar to the gods of Rupadhatu; then, little by little, through attachment to taste, and through laziness, they made provisions and attributed parts to
548 themselves; a protector of the fields was, by them, retributed
549
Humans at the beginning of the cosmic age were similar to the
beings of Rupadhatu. The Sutra says, "There are visible beings, born of the mind, having all their members, with complete and intaa organs, of fine figure, of beautiful color, shining by themselves, travelling through
550 the air, having joy for ther food, and living a long time/'
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Yet there appeared the "juice of the earth," the taste of which had the sweetness of honey. One being, of greedy temperament, having perceived the smell of this juice, took pleasure in it and ate it; the other beings then did the same. This was the beginning of eating by mouthfuls (kavadikdra, iii. 39). This eating made their bodies become coarse and heavy and their luminosity come to an end: and then darkness appeared And then there appeared the sun and the moon.
Because of the attachment of beings to taste, the juice of the earth
51
gradually disappeared Then prtbmparpafaka * appeared, and beings
attached themselves to it. Prthiviparpafaka disappeared and a forest creeper appeared and beings then became attached to it. This creeper disappeared and then rice grew, unworked and unseeded: this rice, a coarse food, gave forth waste: beings then developed organs of excretion and sexual organs; they then took different forms. Beings with sexual differences, by reason of ther previous habits, were seized by this crocodile which is wrong judgment; they conceived an active desire for pleasure and so had sexual intercourse. It is from this moment on that the beings of Kamadhatu were possessed by the demon which is craving.
One cut rice in the morning for the morning meal, and in the evening for the evening meal. One being, of lazy temperament, made provisions. The others imitated him. With provisions arose the idea of "mine," the idea of property: then the rice, cut and recut, stopped growing.
Then they distributed the fields. One was the owner of one field; one seized the goods of another. This was the beginning of robbery.
In order to prevent robbery, they came together and gave a sixth
part to an excellent man in order that he protect the fields: this man was
given the name ksetrapa or guardian of the fields, and, as he was a
ksetrapa, he received the name of ksatriya. Because he was very
esteemed (sammata) by the multitude (mahajana), and because he 552
charmed (ranj) his subjects, he became the Raja Mahasammata. This 553
was the beginning of dynasties.
Those who abandoned the householder's life received the name of
Brahmins.
Then, under a certain king, there were many bandits and thieves.
The king punished them by the sword Others said, "We have not committed such actions," and this was the beginning of lying.
? 98c-d Then, through the development of the courses of action,
554 life shortened to a length of ten years.
From this moment on, the bad courses of action, murder, etc, increased and the lifespan of humans became shorter and shorter. It was reduced, finally, to a length of ten years.
There are thus two dharmas: attachment to taste and laziness which are the beginning of this long degeneration.
*##
A small kalpa terminates when a lifespan is ten years in length. What happens then?
99. The kalpa terminates through iron, sickness, hunger, which 555
last respectively seven days, seven months, and seven years. 556
The end of the kalpa is marked by three calamities.
1. In the period when the kalpa draws to its end, their lifespans being reduced to ten years in length, persons, full of forbidden craving
and slaves of unjust greed, profess false doctrines. The spirit of wickedness arises in them: they conceive thoughts of hatred; as soon as they see one another, as a hunter who sees game, everything that falls into their hand,--a piece of wood, aconite plants,--becomes a sharp weapon, and they massacre one another.
2. In the period when the kalpa draws to its end, their lifespans being reduced to ten years, persons, full of forbidden craving and slaves to unjust greed, profess false doctrines. Non-human beings (P&acas, etc. ) emit deadly vapors, from whence incurable sicknesses arise by* which humans die.
3. In the period when the kalpa draws to its end. . . the heavens cease
to rain, from whence three famines arise, the famine of the boxes
{cancu), the famine of the white bones, and the famine when one lives 557
by tokens.
The famine of the boxes is called this for two reasons. What is today
a samudgaka, was in this period called canca; and cancu is the same as 558
carica. Persons, overwhelmed with hunger and weakness, die all in a group; and, with a view to being useful to persons of the future, they place seeds in a cancu. This is why this famine is called cancu.
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The famine of the white bones is called this for two reasons. Bodies
become dry and hard, and when they die, their bones soon become
white. Persons gather up these white bones, boil them and drink
559 them.
The famine of tokens is called this for two reasons. Beings, in houses, eat according to the indication of tokens, "Today it is the turn of the master of the house to eat; tomorrow it is the turn of the mistress of the house . . . " And, with the tokens, persons search out grains in the
560 empty earth; they are boiled in much water, and drunk.
Scripture teaches that person who have, for a single day and night, undertaken abstention from murder, or have given one myrobalan fruit or a mouthful of food to the Sahgha, will not be reborn here in this world during the period of knives, sickness, or famine.
4. How long a time do these periods last?
Killing lasts seven days, sickness lasts seven months and seven days, and famine last seven years, seven months and seven days. The conjunction ca ("and") in the stanza shows that one must add the different lengths of time.
***
The continents of Videha and Godaniya do not know the three calamities: yet wickedness, bad color and weakness, and hunger and thirst reign therein when Jambudvipa is overwhelmed by knives, sickness, and famine.
***
We have described destruction by fire, and have said that the other destructions are accomplished in a similar manner.
lOOa-b. There are three destructions: through fire, water, and
561 wind.
When all beings have disappeared from the lower physical worlds, having come together in a dhyana heaven, the destructions take place: through fire, by reason of the seven suns; through water, by reason of the rain; and through wind, by reason of the disorder of the wind
? element. The effect of these destructions is that not one atom of the destroyed physical world remains.
**#
[Here arises the problem of a whole and its part (avayavin, avayava), of a substance and its qualities (gunin, guna)y iii. 49d].
Certain non-Buddhist masters--[Kanabhuj, etc]--say that the atoms are eternal, and that, as a consequence, they remain when the universe is dissolved. In faa, say these masters, if it were otherwise, coarse bodies would arise without cause (ahetuka).
[The Buddhists:] But we have explained (iii. 50a) that the seed of a new universe is wind, a wind endowed with special powers which have their beginning in the actions of creatures. And the instrumental cause
562
(nimittd) of this wind is the wind of Rupadhatu which is not
destroyed. Further, a Sutra of the Mahisasakas says that the wind brings
563
the seeds in from another universe.
[The VaiSesikas:] But even if the seeds were so brought in, we do not
admit that gross bodies,--shoots, stalk, etc. ,--arise from a seed, from a
stalk, etc. [: for seeds, shoots, etc. , are merely nimittakarana, instru- 564
mental causes, not samavdyikarana, material cause]; we say rather, that the shoot, etc. , arises from its parts, and that these parts arise in turn from their parts, and so on to the most minute parts which arise from the atoms.
[The Buddhists:] What then is the efficacy (samarthya:use, purpose) of a seed with regard to its shoot?
[The Vaisesikas:] The seed has no efficacy with regard to the veneration (janana) of the shoot, except that it provokes the aggrega- on of the atoms of the shoot. It is impossible in faa for a certain thing
to arise from a thing having another nature: if such generation were possible, there would be no rule in generation. [One could then make mats out of cotton threads].
[The Buddhists:] No. Different does come from different, but according to certain rules, as sound arises, or the products of cooking, etc [Sound arises from striking, which is different in nature from sound, but not different from everthing that is different from sound] The potentiality (Jakti) of all things is determined.
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[The Vai5e? ikas:] Your examples are not valid We admit that
gunadharrbas or attributes (sound, etc) arise either from that which is
similar or from that which is different (samyoga, etc); but this does not
hold in the same way for dravyadharmas (or substances) which arise 565
from the similar things. It is thus that vtrana threads,--and not other threads--give rise to a mat, and that only cotton threads give rise to cotton doth.
[The Buddhists:] Your example does not prove this, for it is not, itself, proven. Yau say that a thing arises from a similar thing, since a mat arises from vtrana threads: but, a mat is the vtrana threads themselves disposed in a certain manner and which take the name of mat; doth is threads disposed in a certain manner. In the same way a row of ants is only ants.
[The Vai? esikas:] How do you prove that doth is not a thing distinct from threads?
[The Buddhists:] When an organ (of sight or touch) is in relation with a thread, the doth is not perceived Now, if the doth exists [created by each thread,] why would it not be perceived? You say that the cloth does not exist, integrally, in each thread: this is to acknowledge that the doth is only the collection of its parts which are each constituted by a thread: for how would you prove that the parts of a doth are a thing other than the threads? You say that the doth exists integrally in each thread, but that one does not perceive it in each thread because the perception of the doth supposes a union of the organ and the doth in such a way that the numerous creative elements of the doth are perceived: in this hypothesis, it would suffice to see the fringe in order to see the cloth.
You say that, if one does not see the doth when one sees the fringe, it is because the central parts, etc, are not in relation with the organ: this is to admit then that one would never see the doth, for the central parts and the extremes which are supposed to create the doth are not perceived together. You say that they are perceived successively: this is to acknowledge that the whole (the entity doth, avayavin) is not perceived; and this is to acknowledge too that the idea of doth or of mat has for its sole object the parts of the doth or the mat. How do we have, from all evidence, the idea of a cirde from the cirde formed from the circular trajectory of a brand? Further, doth cannot be a thing other than thread, for, in the hypothesis where it would be otherwise, when the
? threads are different in color, different in nature, and different in disposition, one could not attribute either color, or nature, or disposition to the cloth. You say that the cloth is different in color: this is to acknowledge that different creates different; further, to suppose that one of the sides is not variegated, in looking at it one would not see the cloth, but rather would see it "variegated" But do you dare say that the cloth, made of threads of different dispositions, is of different dispositions? It would be truly too diverse to be an entity! Consider again the entity which is the light of fire: its heating and illuminating power varies from beginning to end; one cannot recognize in it either color or tangible qualites.
[The VaiSesikas: But if the "all," doth, is not distinct from its "parts," and if the atoms, not perceptible to the organs, do not create a coarse body perceptible to the organs--a body distinct from the atoms--then the world is invisible: but one can see a cow. ]
[The Buddhists:] For us, the atoms, although suprasensible, become sensible when they come together: the Vai? esikas also attribute the power to create coarse bodies to the united atoms; the factors of visual consciousness should be united in order to produce a consciousness; and persons who suffer from ophthalmia see masses of hair, not hairs one by one.
[The author having refuted the doctrine of a whole, avayavin, distinct from its parts, avayava, now refutes the doctrine of substances, gunin, distinct from their attributes, guna\
[The Buddhists:] What one understands by atom (paramdnu) is physical matter (rupa)> etc; it is thus certain that atoms perish at the destruction of the universe.
[The Va&esikas:] An atom is a thing in and of itself (drayya); a thing 566
in and of itself is distinct from physical matter, etc. ; and physical matter can perish without an atom perishing.
[The Buddhists:] The distinction between a thing and its attributes is inadmissible: for no one distinguishes, "This is earth, water, fire: these are the attributes of earth, namely, its color, its taste, etc" And yet you affirm that a thing, earth, etc, is perceptible to the eye, etc [Thus you cannot say that one does not perceive it because it is suprasensible]. Further, when wool, cotton, opium juice, or incense is burned, one no longer has the idea of wool, cotton, etc, with regard to its ashes: thus the
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idea has for its object, not a thing in and of itself whose color would be an
567
attribute, but its color, its taste, etc
jug has been submitted to the action of fire, we say that it has always been the same jug; and that, as a consequence, the jug is a thing other than its color, that it stays the same even though its color changes. But, in faa, if we were to recognize the unfired jug in the fired jug, it is because its figure remains similar: as one recognizes a row of ants. In fact, who would recognize the jug if one does not see in it certain characteristics observed initially?
Let us here stop this discussion of these infantile theories.
***
What is the upper limit of the destructions?
lOOc-lOld Three Dhyanas, beginning with the second, are, in order, the top of the destructions; by reason of the community of the nature of destructions and the vices of the first three Dhyanas. As for the Fourth Dhyana, no destruaion, by reason of its non-agitation: this is not that it is eternal, for its mansions are produced and perish along with the beings who live therein.
1. The Second Dhyana is the limit of the destruaion by fire: everything below it is burned; the Third Dhyana is the limit of the destruaion by water: everything below it is dissolved; the Fourth Dhyana is the limit of the destruaion by wind: everything below it is dispersed. "The top of the destruaion" is the name of that which remains when the destruaion is finished.
The heaven of the First Dhyana then perishes by fire: in faa, the vice or imperfeaion of the First Dhyana is vitarka-vtcdra\ these burn the mind and are thus similar to fire. The Second Dhyana perishes by water: in faa, it has joy for its vice. This, being associated with physical well-being, rends the body soft and flabby: it is similar to water. This is why the Sutra teaches that the sensation of suffering is destroyed by the
568
suppression of all solidity of the body. The Third Dhyana perishes by
wind: in faa, it has inbreathing and outbreathing, which are wind, for its vice.
You say that, when an unfired clay
? The external vices of a Dhyana (that is, the calamities which destroy
a Dhyana heaven) are of the same order as the internal vices which
affect the person who has entered into this Dhyana. (See viii. French
569 trans, p. 126).
2. Why is there no destruction by the earth element as by the fire element, etc?
What one calls the physical world is earth, and as a consequence can be opposed by fire, water, and wind, but not by earth itself.
3. The Fourth Dhyana is not subject to destruction, because it is free
from agitation. The Buddha said in fact that this Dhyana, being free 57
from internal vices, is non-movable (dnejya). ? The external vices have thus no hold on it and, as a consequence, it is not subject to destruction.
According to another opinion, the non-destruction of the Fourth Dhyana is explained by the force of the Suddhavasakayika gods whose abode it is. These gods are incapable of entering into Arapyadhatu, and
571 are also incapable of going elsewhere [to a lower sphere].
The receptacle world of the Fourth Dhyana is not eternal, but by this fact, it does not constitute a "sphere;" like the stars, it is divided into diverse residences; these different mansions, the abodes of beings, arise and perish with these beings. (Vibbdsd, TD 27, p. 692bl9).
***
What is the order of succession of these three destructions?
102. Seven by fire, one by water; and when seven destructions by
water have thus taken place, seven by fire followed by the
572 destruction by wind.
After seven series of seven successive destructions by fire, de-
struction is then done seven times by water; the eighth series of seven
destructions by fire is followed by one destruction by wind. The physical
worlds, in fact, last by reason of the duration of the gods who are reborn
therein by the force of their absorptions. There are fifty-six destructions
by fire, seven by water, and one by wind: this is what justifies the
575
declaration of the Prajnapti kalpas. (iii. 80d).
that the Subhakrtsnagods live sixty-four
***
The World 495
? 1. According to Buddhaghosa (AtthasdUni, 62), Kamadhatu is made up of four bad realms of rebirth (hellish beings, animals, Pretas and Asuras, see iii. 4a), humans and the six classes of gods: in all eleven divisions (padesa).
The six gods of Kamadhatu (Burnouf, Introduction, 603,608; Hastings, article, "Cosmogony and Cosmology"; names explained in the Vydkhya) are an old list, sometimes reduced to five names (Trayastrimsas . . . Paranirmkavaiavartins subject to Mara, Samyutta, i. 133). [Each category has chiefs or a king, Anguttara, iv. 242. ] Above there are, in Digka, i. 215, the Brahmakayikas and Mahabrahma; in Anguttara, i. 210, the Brahmakayikas and the higher gods; in Mahdniddesa, 44, the Brahmakayikas. (See below, note 4).
The Vydkhya explains the words naraka, etc First opinion: from the root nr (naye, Dhdtupdfha, i. 847), "Beings are led there by transgression"; second opinion: from the root r (gatiprdpanayoh or gatmhsanayos [thereadingoftheVydkhyd]tL9&3,vi. lll)preceededbyanegation;thirdopinion: from ram, ranj, "beings do not rejoice therein"; fourth opinion, that of Sarhghabhadra, "Beings do not obtain (f = prop) protection there. "
2. Vydkhya: All of the Dhyanas belong to the three realms, corresponding to weak, medium, and strong absorptions: thus the Fourth Dhyana contains the stage of Anabhrakas, Punyaprasavas, Vrhatphalas. But a strong absorption of the Fourth Dhyana can be mixed with an andsrava absorption (as explained in vi. 43); from whence there are five new places: Avrhas, etc The Fourth Dhyana is thus made up of eight stages.
3. We are reminded of the four bhavOppattis of Majjhima, iii147: the Parittabhas gods, the Appamanabhas gods, the Samkilitthabhas gods, and the Parisuddhabhas gods.
4. ThisistheopinionoftheBahirde^akas(F^^)orthePakatyas(F^4r^ TD27,p. 509a22), "the Westerners. " This refers to the masters in Gandhara. In this country, there are some Sautrantikas, but when the Vibhdsd speaks of Pascatyas, it means the extra-Kashmirian Sarvastivadins, or those of Gandhara.
The Mahdvyutpatti has four names for the First Dhyana: Brahmakayikas, Brahmaparisadyas, Brahmapurohitas, and Mahabrahmanas. From whence, according to Georgy, and Hodgson, there are four distinct heavens; Remusat and Burnouf {Introduction, 608) have discussed their various sources. In the Kola the Parisadyas are omitted, and Brahmakayikas are the inferior class. Elsewhere (iii. 5a, etc) Brahmakayikas is the generic name for all the gods of the First Dhyana, of all of gods of the world of Brahma.
Vydkhya: He is called Brahma, because he is produced by broad, large (brhat) roots of good Who is he? He is called Mahabrahma. He is great, mahdn, because he has attained the intermediate dhyana (viii. 23); because he is born and dies before and after all others (iii. 6a, Para. 2); and because he is distinguished by his stature, etc. They are called the Brahmakayikas, because the kayo, that is to say, the nivdsa, or dwelling, of Mahabrahma is theirs (tasya kayo nivdsa esam vidyate). Some are called Brahmapurohitas, because Brahma is placed {dhtyate) at their head ipura esam). And some are called Mahabrahmanas, because dyurvarnadibhir viiesair mahdn brahmd esam.
The Vydkhya explains the names of the gods in very clear language (Cosmologie bouddhique, p. 119). Samgrabhadraisinagreement. Fordetailsonallthegods,seeiii. 64.
5. Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 509a22.
a. Pali sources. Rupadhatu (or world of Brahma, see above, note 1) contains sixteen places: 1. -9.
three places for each one of the first three Dhyanas; 10. -11. the Vehapphalas and Asafinasattas for the Fourth Dhyana; 12. -16. five Suddhavasas, reserved for the Anagamins. Variants: Majjhima, i. 329; iii. 147, etc
b. The "correct opinion of the Sarvastivadins" admits sixteen places, by assigning only two places to the First Dhyana.
c The masters of the West (the Vaibhasikas of Gandhara, Piscatyas, and Bahirdes'akas) admit seventeen places, by assigning three places to the First Dhyana (a special place for the Mahabrahmanas).
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d. Some other Bahirde? akas (Kola, ii. 4ld) admit seventeen places, by assigning two places to the First Dhyana, and a special place to the Asarhjnisattvas in the Fourth Dhyana.
e. Eighteen places, by assigning three places to the First Dhyana (a special place for the Mahabrahmanas) and a special place to the Asarhjnisattvas.
This is the opinion of &rilabdha 0r$-h-to, Watters, i. 355, the author of a Sautrantika Vibhdsdfastra), according to P'u-kuang and Fa-pao who quote Saihghabhadra according to whom: "the Sthavira admits eighteen places". This is the opinion of the Mahayana Sthiramati or Saramati (TD, 31, number 1606, Grand Vehicle).
f. The Yogacaras also admit the number of eighteen, but they place the Asarhjnisattvas in the heaven of the Vrhatphalas, and obtain the number of eighteen by recognizing the MahesVaradevas (compare Mabdvyutpatti, 162. 7, Mahamahesvarayatana).
Yuan-hui and other commentators say that the School (nikaya) of the Sthaviras admit eighteen places, wrongly interpreting the expression "the Sthavira" of Saihghabhadra, (a) because, among the twenty schools, there is a School of the Sthaviras (but Ts'e-yuan, P'u-kuang and Fa-pao say that "the Sthavira" of Saihghabhadra is Srllabdha); (b) because they do not know that eighteen is the number of the Sautrantika &rilabdha, whereas seventeen is the established number in the Sautrantika system. The Vibhdsd attributes the opinion of seventeen places to the Western Masters, the Gandharans. Among these masters, there are some Sautrantikas, but many are Sarvastivadins. The Vibhdsd designates a divergent opinion of the Sarvastivadin school by the expression "Western Masters", and not the Sautrantikas; this is why Saihghabhadra says only, "There are others who say (that the places are seventeen in number). . . " and does not say "another School" . . .
Saeki gives, in resume, "Sixteen places: the correct opinion of the Sarvastivadins. Seventeen places: a. Westerners (separate Mahabrahmas) and b. some other masters (separate Asamjfiins). Eighteen places (by distinguishing the place of Mahabrahma from that of the Asamjfiins): and the Sthavira (a) ? rllabdha, a Sthavira not included among the twenty schools, who is also termed a Mulasautrantika; and (b) the Sthavira, who is included among the twenty schools, and who is termed the Mulasthavira. Further, Sthiramati (Saramati) (and the Yogacarins). "
6. This "dwelling" is dhydndntarikd, Koia, ii. 41d
7. I believe that I correctly understand Hsiian-tsang and Paramartha (i-sheng so chU ~"^ff\Jifwhichshouldbecorrectedtoreadi-cbu^'H); buttheKosa,inmanyplaces,speaksof some "Great Brahmas", Mahabrahmanas: these are the Mahabrahmadevas of the Pali texts, the followers or the court of the one, sole king (see Ko/a, vi. 38b); the Vydkhyd explains their name:
"They are Mahabrahmanas because Brahma is the greatest among them by his duration of life, his color, etc"
8. Beal, Catena, 94, "Following the Kosha Shaster, it is said that Brahma has no distinct abode, only in the midst of the Brahmapurohita Heaven there is a high-storied tower, and this is (the abode of Brahma). "
9. The problem as to whether there is r&pa in this dhdtu or not, is discussed viii. 3c
10. As we will see iii. 41, the mind and mental states, in the first two Dhatus, are an dfrita (a thing supported) which have for their dfraya (support) a body endowed with organs. The mind "falls", or dies, when the organs are destroyed On nikaya - nikdyasabhdga, ii. 41, see below iiL7c, nikdyasabhdga = upapattydyatana.
11. Hsiian-tsang corrects: The mental series of material beings is not supported on these two, because they lack any force: they are strong among non-material beings because they proceed from an absorption from whence the notion of matter has been eliminated But why not admit that the mental series of non-material beings is directly supported on this absorption? Why is there an intermediate support? Furthermore, the "genus" and vital organ of non-material beings is supported by matter. . .
12. See ii. 14, viii. 3c
? 13. Vibhasd, TD 27, p. 387b26-27: As we have prthivUhdtu, etc
14. This explanation holds for the expression drupyadhdtu: but when one speaks of the non- material absorptions (viii. 2), drupya should be understood as equivalent to rupa, or rather as signifying "favorable to Arupya[dhatu]" (Vydkhyd).
15. Samyukta, TD 2, p. 199a6. The first stanza is quoted in Anguttara, iii. 4l 1, where it is attributed to a deity (devatd). In Sanskrit as in Pali it begins with na te kdmdydnidtrdniloke/ samkalpardgah purusasya kdmah. The two other stanzas, to my knowledge, are absent in the Pali. The Vydkhyd gives the last two lines.
The argument of the Ajivika does not hold He thinks that a Bhiksu ceases to be a Bhiksu if he is a kdmopabhogin; and, if kdma = desire, then the Bhiksu would be kdmopabhogin, and would lose the quality of Bhiksu, even when he does not enjoy these objects. But the Bhiksu, through desire, corrupts his morality and his precepts, without losing the quality of Bhiksu: by this he transgresses by his body or speech the boundary of the rules of the Tathagata.
In Kdthdvatthu, viii. 3-4, the Theravadins establish against the Pubbaseliyas that kdma, in the expression Kdmadhdtu, does not signify "object of desire", as rupdyatana or "visible matter",etc, but rather "desire. " They quote the stanza of the Anguttara, iii. 411 and Samyutta, i. 22, as does Vasubandhu.
Compare Vibhanga, 256 quoted in Atthasdlint, 164-5; the distinction between the vatthukdmas and the kilesakdmas, Mahdniddesa to Suttanipdta, 766; Compendium, p. 81, n. 2.
16. Some dharmas are produced (samuddcarantt) in Kamadhatu which are of the sphere of Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu, for example the different absorptions (viii. l9e); a person can experience "desire" (rdga) with respect to these absorptions: but as this desire has a dharma of a higher sphere for its object, it does not lodge in him: like a foot on a burning paving-stone (v. 2,39).
