No More Learning

Why do we not adopt this opinion?
This would be to follow the Netripadasdstra of the Sthavira Upagupta, which says, "One who, after having produced the absorp- tion of extinction, produces ksayajndna, should be called a Tathagata. "
? 44b. But not previously.
The Vaibhasikas of Kasmlr deny that the Bodhisattva produces the
absorption of extinction before producing ksayajndna.
44c. For the Muni conquers Bodhi in thirty-four moments.
The School admits in fact (Vibhdsd TD 7, p. 780bl0) that the Bodhisattva obtains Bodhi in thirty-four moments, namely sixteen moments that constitute the "comprehension of the Truths" (satyd- bhisamaya, vi. 27) and eighteen moments that constitute the abandon- ing of the defilements relative to Bhavagra {-naivasamjndndsam-
jndyatana), i. e. , nine dnantaryamargas and nine vimuktimdrgas (vi. 44). The eighteenth moment is ksayajndna. These thirty-four moments suffice, for, before entering into the "comprehension of the Truths," the Bodhisattva, still a Prthagjana (iii. 41), detaches himself through the worldly path from all spheres, with the exception of Bhavagra. The eighteen moments form a path during the course of which the Saint does not produce a mind of a different nature, that is, a worldly, impure mind, for example the mind entering the absorption of extinction. Hence the Bodhisattva, in the stage of Saiksa, that is, before becoming an Arhat, enters the comprehension of the Truths and the eighteenth moment of the abandoning of Bhavagra, but he does not produce the absorption of extinction.
237
The Foreigners (bahirdesaka) say, "What harm is there in the
Bodhisattva producing this impure mind? "
In this hypothesis, the Bodhisattva oversteps his resolution (yyut-
m
thanasayah sydt); now the Bohisattva does not overstep his
resolution.
This is true, he does not overstep his resolution; but this does not
mean that he would not overstep the Pure Path in producing an impure mind.
How, in this hypothesis, would he not overstep his resolution?
He has taken upon himself the resolution (Madhyamdgama, TD 1,
239
p. 777al2), "I shall not leave this sitting position
destruction of all the defilements. " Now he does not overstep this resolution, for it is in one "sitting" (dsana, vi. 24a-b) that he realizes his
The Indriyas 227
before I obtain the
236
? 228 Chapter Two
240 goal.
Although the two absorptions, the non-conscious absorption and the absorption of extinction, present many differences, they have this in common:
44d. But these two absorptions take place in persons in
241 Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu.
To deny that the non-conscious absorption is produced in Rupa-
242
dhatu is to contradia the Mulasastra, which says, "There is an
245 existence in Rupadhatu that does not admit of the five skandhas,
namely (1) the existence of beings in Rupadhatu who, conscious by
nature, enter into the non-conscious absorption and into the absorp-
244
tion of extinction, and (2) the existence of beings in Rupadhatu who
are in possession of dsamjnika, and who are born among the Non- Conscious Ones. "
From this text it results that the two absorptions are cultivated by beings of Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu.
There is however this difference between the two absorptions:
44e. The absorption of extinction is, for the first time, among humans.
A person who has never produced the non-conscious absorption can produce this absorption either in Kamadhatu or in Rupadhatu; but it is necessary to be a human in order to produce the absorption of extinction for the first time. A human, an Aryan, who has produced this absorption can fall from it, and losing possession (firdpti) of it, can be reborn in Rupadhatu and produce this absorption anew.
But the question is raised whether one can fall from the absorption of extinction, which is similar (sadrsa) to Nirvana.
Yes, [answer the Vaibhasikas;] to deny falling is to contradict the
245
Uddyi-sutra, which says, "Brothers, a Bhiksu is endowed with
morality, with absorption, and with discernment. It is possible for him to enter many times into the absorption of extinction and leave it. If, in
246
this life, he does not attain djnd,
death; but after the destruction of his body, going beyond the gods of
nor attain it at the moment of his
? gross eating, he is reborn in a heavenly mental body; and thus reborn it is possible for him to then enter many times into the absorption of extinction and leave it. "
This text shows in fact that one can fall from nirodhasamapatti. On the one hand the Buddha would have us understand that the
247
mental body that aariputra speaks of belongs to Rupadhatu. On the
other hand, the absorption of extinction is of the realm of Bhavagra, the highest state of Arupyadhatu. If a Bhiksu who possesses it does not fall from it, and if he does not lose it, he will not be able to repeat his
248 birth in Rupadhatu.
249
According to another school,
belongs to the Fourth Dhyana and is not subject to falling.
This opinion is not correct. This absorption does not belong to the
Fourth Dhyana, for the Sutra teaches that one acquires nine absorp-
250 tions one after the other.
How then do you explain the vyukrantaka absorption (viii. l8c) in which the ascetic passes over different stages of absorption?
The rule of the successive production of the absorptions concerns
251
the beginner. He who has acquired mastery passes over the
absorptions at will.
***
There are differences between these two absorptions:
1. from the point of view of their spheres: the first is of the Fourth
Dhyana, the second of Bhavagra (naivasamjnandsamjndyatana)
2. from the point of view of their antecedents or preparations (prayoga): the first proceeds from the idea of deliverance falsely identified with non-consciousness; the second, from the idea of
stillness;
3. from the point of view of the person (samtdna)\ the first is
produced in a Pphagjana; the second, in an Aryan;
4. from the point of view of the nature of their retribution: the first
produces birth among the Non-Conscious Ones; the second, birth in Bhavagra (Kathavatthu, xv. 10);
the absorption of extinction also
The Indriyas 229
? 230 Chapter Two
5. from the point of view of the characteristic of their retribution. The retribution of the first is necessary, and takes place in the next existence; the retribution of the second is necessary in the case of an Anagamin, but not necessary in the case of an Arhat; and when it dqes take place, it takes place in the next existence or later;
6. from the point of view of its production for the first time. The first is indifferently produced within the two spheres of existence; the second, only among humans.
***
The characteristic common to these two absorptions is the arresting of the mind and its mental states.
Why is the first called "absorption free from ideas" (asamjnisama- patti) and the second "absorption of extinction of ideas and sensations"
(samjnaveditanirodhasamdpatti) ?
Because the preparation from the first merely opposes ideas,
whereas preparation for the second opposes both ideas and sensations. In the same way paracittajnana (vii. 5b), "knowledge of the mind of
another," bears on the mental states of someone else: it receives this
restrictive name because its preparation alludes only to the mind of
253 another.
***
254
How, upon coming out of this absorption, can a new mind be born
255 from a mind destroyed for a long time?
The Vaibhasikas find no difficulty in this: past dharmas exist (v. 25). Consequently the mind previous to this absorption, the mind- in-absorption (samapatticitta) or "the mind of entry into the absorp- tion" is the similar and immediate cause (samanantarapratyana, ii. 62) of the mind after the absorption or the "mind-of-leaving" {vyut- thanacitta\ Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 777bl8).
In the two absorptions, the mind is interrupted for a long time.
[The Sautrantikas reason as follows:] When a person is born in
252
? Arupyadhatu, rUpa or matter is cut off for a long period of time (iii. 81b): if this person is then reborn in Kamadhatu or in Rupadhatu, his new rupa does not proceed from the series of rupa previously interrupted for a long time, but rather, from the mind. In the same way, the mind of leaving the absorption does not have for its cause the mind previous to the absorption: it is born from "a body possessing organs". This is why the Ancient Masters said, "Two dharmas are the seed one of the other: these two dharmas are a mind and a body possessing organs. "
256
Vasumitra says in the treatise entitled Pariprccha: "This dif-
ficulty, i. e. , 'How is the mind reborn after absorption? ', interests those who consider the absorption of extinction as free from mind But I maintain that this absorption is accompanied by a subtle mind The
257 difficulty does not exist for me. "
The Bhadanta Ghosaka regards this opinion as wrong. In fact, if any consciousness (vijndna) resides in this absorption, there would be contaa (sparsa) through the coming together of the three, conscious- ness, organ, and object; by reason of contaa, there would be sensation (yedana) and ideas (samjna) (iii. 30b). As the Blessed One teaches, "By reason of the mental organ and the dharmas, mental consciousness arises; by the coming together of these three, there is contaa;
258
sensation, ideas, and volition arise at the same time. " Hence, if one
admits that the mind (yijftana, citta) continues to exist in this absorption, sensation and ideas will not be arrested in it. Now this absorption is called the extinaion of sensation and ideas (samjnavedi- tanirodha).
[Vasumitra answers:] The Sutra says, "By reason of sensation, there is thirst," and yet, although Arhats experience sensation, thirst does not arise in them. The same here: every contaa is not a cause of sensation.
This reasoning is not conclusive. The Sutra, in faa, specifies,
"Thirst arises by reason of sensation born of contact which is
259
accompanied by ignorance" (iii. 27). Whereas it says, "Sensation
arises by reason of contaa. " Hence, say the Vaibhasikas, the mind is interrupted in the absorption of extinction.
The Indrryas 231
? 232 Chapter Two
[Vasumitra asks:] If this absorption is completely free of mind, how is it an absorption (samapatti)?
It is called an absorption because it puts the primary elements into
260
a state of equilibrium contrary to the production of the mind; or
rather because ascetics penetrate (samapadyante) it by the power of their minds: it is for this reason that the Dhyanas, etc. , are called samapattis.
###
Should one consider the two absorptions as existing in and of themselves {dravyatas)?
Yes, [answer the Sarvastivadins,] for they thwart the arising of the mind.
No, [answer the Sautrantikas,] it is not what you term "absorp- tion" that hinders the arising of the mind; rather, it is the "mind in absorption" (samdpatticitta), the mind that preceeds the state of absorption: this mind, being opposed to the arising of the mind, causes other minds to not arise for a certain time. The mind of absorption
261
renders the person
of the mind. What is called "absorption" is simply the non-existence of the mind for a certain period of time; not a thing in and of itself (dravyadharma), but a "thing of designation" (prajnaptidharma).
[The Sarvastivadins:] How can an absorption be conditioned (samskrta) if it is not a thing in and of itself?
This "non-existence of the mind" was not realized before the mind of absorption; it ceases when the ascetic produces anew the mind {vyutthanacitta: the mind leaving the absorption). One can then, in a manner of speaking, designate it as being "conditioned," since it begins and ends. Or rather, what we call "absorption" is the condition of the person, a condition that results from the mind of absorption.
The same holds for non-consciousness {asamjnika, ii. 41b-c). Asamjnika is not a thing in and of itself that hinders the arising of the mind; but we designate by this term the state of non-consciousness of the Non-Conscious gods, a state that results from a certain mind.
or series contrary to, and unfitted to the arising
? The Vaibhasikas do not agree with this opinion; they maintain that
262
asamjnika and the two absorptions are things in and of themselves. ***
What is the vital organ? 45a. Jivita is life (ayus).
264
In fact, the Abhidharma
ayus of the three spheres of existence. "
What sort of dharma is the ayus}
45b. The support of warmth and consciousness.
For the Blessed One said, "When life, warmth and consciousness
265
leave the body, the body lies abandoned, like wood, lacking feeling. There exists then a distinct dharma, a support of warmth and of
266 consciousness, a cause of the duration of the series, named ayus.
***
[The Sautrantikas deny that the vital organ exists in and of itself. ]
[1. The Sautrantikas:] If the ayus supports warmth and conscious- ness, what supports it?
[The Vaibhasikas:] It is supported by warmth and consciousness.
(The Sautrantikas:] If these three dharmas,--life, warmth, and consciousness, --mutually support one another and continue to exist by means of this mutual support, how do they come to an end? Which perishes first, the destruction of which entails the destruction of the others? For if one of them does not perish first, then these three dharmas will be eternal and will not perish.
[The Vaibhasikas:] The ayus is supported by means of actions; the ayus has been projected through actions and continues to exist as long as the projection of action allows it to do so.
[The Sautrantikas:] If this is so, why admit that warmth and consciousness are supported by actions? What do we have to do with
265
says, "What is the jivitendriya? . The
The Indriyas 233
? 234 Chapter Two
the dyus?
[The Vaibhasikas:] That which is supported by action is, in its
nature, retribution. If the consciousness were supported by action, all consciousness from the womb to death, would be retribution: and this is false. Hence the necessity of the dyus, supported by action, the support of warmth and consciousness.
[The Sautrantikas:] You say then that action supports warmth and that warmth supports consciousness. Then the dyus is useless.
[The Vaibhasikas:] The dyus is necessary, for warmth is absent in Arupyadhatu. What is the support of consciousness in Arupyadhatu if the dyus does not exist?
[The Sautrantikas:] In Arupyadhatu, consciousness is supported by action.
[The Vaibhasikas:] Do you have the right to change your mind?
Sometimes you maintain that the consciousness is supported by
267 warmth, and sometimes you maintain that it is supported by actions.
But on the other hand, you have admitted that one should avoid the conclusion that all consciousnesses, from the womb to death, are retribution. Consequently the dyus exists, and it is the support of warmth and consciousness.
[2. The Sautrantikas:] We do not deny the existence of the dyus. We only say that the dyus is not a thing in and of itself.
[The Vaibhasikas:] Then what is the dharma that you call dyus}
[The Sautrantikas:] It is a certain power that the action of a previous existence places in a being at the moment of its conception, a power through which the skandhas renew themsleves for a deter- mined length of time in this homogeneous series that constitutes an existence (nikdyasabhdga, ii. 41), in the same way a seed places a certain power in the sprout by which the plant develops to maturity. In this same way too a shot arrow has a certain power which causes it to travel for a certain period of time.
[The Vaibhasikas believe that] a certain sort of guna or "quality,"
called samskdra or vega (impetus) arises in the arrow. By the force of
this guna, the arrow travels without stopping until the moment it
268 falls.
? The samskdra is unique; on the one hand, the arrow does not encounter any obstacle: hence no difference is possible in the speed of the arrow. On the other hand, the arrow will not fall. Would you say the the "wind" creates an obstacle to the samskdra? The "wind" which creates an obstacle is the same either far or near, and so the arrow would either fall at first, or it will never fall.
The Vaibhasikas maintain that the ayus is a thing in and of 269
itself.
[ii. How Death takes Place. ]
Does death take place solely through the exhaustion of life?
210
The Prajnaptisdstra says, "It happens that one dies through the
exhaustion of life without one dying through the exhaustion of merit.
Four alternatives: 1. death through exhaustion of action that ripened in
life; 2. death through the exhaustion of actions that ripened in objects
271
of enjoyment; 3. death through the exhaustion of these two types of
actions; and 4. death through the fact of not avoiding causes that harm, for example, excess of food. "
We must add death due to the abandoning of the ayuhsamskdra 272
(ii. 10).
When life is exhausted, the exhaustion of actions that ripen in the
objects of enjoyment has no efficacy for death; and vice versa. Consequently the third alternative should be understood as "death because the two types of actions are exhausted. "
[iii. Death before its proper time {akdlamarana, iii. 85c). ]
The Jfidnaprasthdana (TD 26, p. 997b28) says, "Should one say of the ayus that it is 'dependent on the series/ or that 'it lasts once it has arisen? ' The ayus is of the first category for beings in Kamadhatu who are not in one of the two absorptions (asamjnisamdpatti and nirodhasamapatti)\ but it is of the second category for beings in Kamadhatu who are in the two absorptions, and for beings in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu. "
What is the meaning of this passage?
If the ayus is killed when the body is killed, then the ayus is "bound to the body-series. " If the body cannot be damaged, then the ayus lasts all the time for which it has been produced, and one says that the ayus
The Indriyas 235
? 236 Chapter Two
273 lasts once it has arisen.
The Masters of Ka^mir say that the first type of dyus is "subject to obstruction," but that the second is not subject to obstruction. .
274 Thus there is premature death.
275 According to the Sutra, there are four modes of existence:
276 existence that can be destroyed by oneself and not by another, etc.
Four alternatives: 1. existence destroyed by oneself: certain beings in
Kamadhatu, namely the Krldapradusika gods and the Manahpradusika
276
gods destroy their own existence through their excess of joy or
anger; we must also add the Buddhas who enter into Nirvana; 2.
existences destroyed by others: beings in the womb and in eggs; 3.
existences destroyed by oneself and by others: beings in Kamadhatu in
general; we must exclude beings in hell, beings in the intermediate
state (iii. 12), etc. ; 4. existences that are neither destroyed by oneself nor
by others: beings in the intermediate state, all beings in Rupadhatu and
Arupyadhatu, and a part of the beings in Kamadhatu: beings in hell
(iii. 82), the inhabitants of Uttarakuru (iii. 78c), persons in the absorp-
tion of kindness (vii. 29), persons in the non-conscious absorption
(ii. 42, Kathavatthu, xv.
9); the Rajarsi, that is, the Cakravartin who has 278
left the householders^ life; a messenger of the Buddha; persons
279
280
Dharmila, Uttara, Gangila, the son of the merchant Yasas, Kumara,
JFvaka, etc. ; the Bodhisattva in his last existence; the mother of the Bodhisattva pregnant with the Bodhisattva; the Cakravartin; the mother of the Cakravartin pregnant with the Cakravartin.
[Objection:] The Sutra tells us of a question by Sariputra and the Blessed One's answer to it: "'Lord, What are the beings whose existence cannot be destroyed either by themselves, or by others? ' 'Sariputra, beings who are born in Naivasamjnanasamjnayatana
that is, in the highest sphere of Arupyadhatu, Bhavagra. How can you say, in the light of this passage, that the existence of all beings in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu is protected from all destruction, either by themselves or others?
The School (Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 772a29) explains, "Beings in Rupadhatu and the first three stages of Arupyadhatu can destroy their
whom the Buddha prophesized would live a certain length of time:
? existence 'by themselves,'" that is, by a course of action within their own realm, and 'by others,' namely by a course of action belonging to the preliminary stages of a higher stage (vi. 48, viii. 22). But in the last stage of Arupyadhatu a course of action belonging to this stage and also of actions of a superior stage are both absent; hence the existence of beings who reside therein cannot be modified either by themselves or by others.
This answer appears weak to us; in fact, one can, in the last stage of Arupyadhatu practice a course of action belonging to the im- mediately lower stage {akincanydyatana, viii. 20). One must then admit another explanation {Vibhdsd, ibid. ). In his response to Sariputa, the Buddha, by naming the beings of Naivasamjnanasamjnayatana, in- tends to designate all beings in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu, for in naming the last one designates the first. We can demonstrate that such is the usage. Sometimes Scripture names the first term of a list the totality of which is alluded to, for example, "The first sukhopapatti
(iii. 72), namely {tadyathd) the Brahmakayika gods. " We should then also understand, "the Brahmakayikas, the Brahmapurohitas, and the Mahabrahmas. " Sometimes Scripture names the last term, "The second sukhopapatti, namely the Abhasvara gods. " We should then understand, "the Parittabhas, the Apramanabhas, and the Abhasvaras. "
But one can contest this explanation. In the two passages given above the word tadyathd is used to introduce an example. We must translate tadyathd not as "namely" but as "for example. " It is a rule concerning examples that when one names one case one designates all similar cases. And we admit that, in the two above passages on the sukhopapattis, the Scripture designated all the terms of the list by naming pnly the first and the last. However the answer of the Blessed One to Sariputra does not contain the word tadyathd.
We would say that this explanation does not introduce an example, for we find it in Sutras that give a complete enumeration, "Material beings, diverse of body, diverse of ideas, namely {tadyathd) human beings and part of the gods . . . " (iii. 6). Thus the word tadyathd introduces a definition {upadarsandrtha). Hence the Blessed One, in his answer to Sariputra, designates the beginning by naming the end,
The Indfiyas 237
? 238 Chapter Two
281 that is, he is speaking of the totality of the two higher spheres.
***
What are the characteristics of conditioned dharmas?
45c-d. Their characteristics are arising, old age, duration, and
282 impermanence.
These four dharmas, arising, old age, duration, and impermanance,
are the characteristics of conditioned things. A dharma in which these
characteristics are found is conditioned; a dharma in which they are not 283
found is unconditioned.
Arising produces or causes to produce conditioned things; duration
stablizes them or causes them to last; old age makes them deteriorate; and impermanence destroys them.
Does not the Sutra teach the existence of some three "conditioned
characteristics" of conditioned things? The Sutra says, in fact, "There
are, oh Bhiksus, three characteristics of conditioned things, which are
themselves conditioned. What are these three? The production or
origin of conditioned things is an object of consciousness; its dis-
appearance and also its duration-modification is an object of
284 consciousness. "
[The Vaibhasikas:] The Sutra should enumerate four character- istics. The charaaeristic that it omits is the characteristic of duration or sthiti. Truth to tell, it does use sthiti in the compound, sthityanyathdtva, "duration-modification;" but sthityanyathdtva is an expression that signifies "old age. " As the Sutra says "production" (utpdda) in place of "arising" (jati) and "disappearance" (vyaya) in place of "imperma- nence" (anityatd), in this same way it also says sthityanyathdtva in place of "old age" (jara).
If the Sutra specifies only three characteristics, it is because, with a view to rousing disgust among believers, it points out as the characteristics of conditioned things those dharmas which cause conditioned things to pass through the three time periods: the power
? of its arising causes it to pass from the future into the present; old age and impermanence cause it to pass from the present into the past, and, after old age has weakened it, impermanence finishes it. The School gives a comparision (Vibhasd, TD 27, p. 201b7): Suppose there is a man in a dark forest, and there are three enemies there who wish to kill him. The first causes this man to leave the forest; the second weakens him, and the third destroys his vital principle. Such is the role
285 of the three characteristics with regard to conditioned things.
Duration, on the contrary, sustains conditioned things and causes them to last; this is why the Sutra does not count it among the character- istics. Further, the unconditioned lasts eternally in its own nature: the charaaeristic of duration is not without resemblance to the persistence of the unconditioned. So in order to avoid any confusion, the Sutra does not indicate duration as a characteristic of conditioned things.
[The Sautrantikas think that] the Sutra does name duration; it names it by associating it with old age: sthityanyathatva, that is to say, "sthiti and anyathatva. "
What advantage is there, would you say, in making one single charaaeristic out of these two charaaeristics?
Persons are attracted to duration: in order to incite disgust with
respea to duration, the Sutra names it together with old age, like
286 prosperity associated with black ears.
Conclusion: there are four charaaeristics.
***
The arising, duration, etc. , of any sort of dharma is also condi- tioned. They should also arise, last, grow old, and perish; they should then, in their turn, possess four charaaeristics: arising-of-arising, etc. , which will be the secondary charaaeristics (anulaksana) of the dharma under consideration. These secondary charaaeristics, being condi- tioned, have in their turn four characteristics, and so we have infinite progression.
There is no infinite progression.
The Indriyas 239
? 240 Chapter Two
46a. They have in their turn characteristics termed arising-of- arising, duration-of-duration, etc. ;
Four primary characteristics are as described above.
The four secondary charaaeristics (anulaksana) are arising-of- arising, duration-of-duration, old age-of-old age, and impermanence- of-impermanence.
All conditioned things are conditioned by these primary charac- teristics; these, in their turn, are conditioned by the four secondary characteristics.
You say that each of the primary charaaeristics should have, exactly as the dharma that it charaaerizes, four charaaeristics, and thus following: you do not understand that these are the activity, the operation {vrtti-dhatTrmkantra-purusakara, iv. 58) of the different characteristics.
46b. The primary characteristic refers to eight dharmas, the 21
secondary charaaeristic to one dharma. *
When a dharma arises--which we will term the principle dharma or muladharma, a mind or a mental state--nine dharmas, including it, arise together: the principal dharma, four primary charaaeristics, and four secondary charaaeristics. The first primary characteristic, primary arising causes the principle dharma, plus three primary charaaeristics (duration, old age, and impermanence), plus the four secondary characteristics to arise: in all eight dharmas. It does not cause itself to be produced: it arises through the secondary charaaeristic arising-of- arising {jati-jati). In the same way a hen lays many eggs and each egg causes the birth of only one other chicken (Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 200cl9); in the same way primary arising causes eight dharmas to arise, whereas arising-of-arising causes only one dharma to arise, namely primary arising.
It is the same for the other primary and secondary charaaeristics. Duration-of-duration causes primary duration to last, which in turn causes the principal dharma to last, as well as the three primary charaaeristics and the four secondary charaaeristics comprising duration-of-duration. The same for primary old age and imperma-
? nence which causes eight dharmas to age and to perish, and which age and perish themselves through the secondary characteristics which correspond to them, old age-of-old age and impermanence-of- impermanence.
Hence the characteristics themselves have characteristics called anulaksanas\ they are four in number and not sixteen, and there is no infinite progression.
The Sautrantikas say:
***
288
i. All this is to analyze emptiness!
entities, separate things in and of themselves. We know things either through direct perception, through inference, or through the testi- mony of Scripture: these three means of correct knowledge (pramana) are missing with respect to these characteristics.
But, [reply the Sarvastivadins,] the Sutra says "The production of
289 conditioned things is an object of consciousness . . . "
Ignorant! You are attached to the words and err with regard to
their meaning. The Blessed One however said that it is the meaning,
290
and not the letter, that is the recourse. As for the sense of this Sutra,
it is obvious.
Blinded by ignorance, foolish persons imagine that the series of
conditioned phenomena (samskdras) is a "self or belongs to a "self," and, as a consequence, they are attached to this series. The Blessed One wanted to put an end to this erroneous imagination and to the attachment which results from it: he wanted to show that the series is conditioned, that is to say, "produced through sucessive causes"
(pratttyasamutpanna)\ and he taught the three marks of that which is produced through successive causes, saying that "Three sarhskrtalak- sanas of the samskrta are the object of consciousness. " It is the series that the Blessed One means to designate as conditioned, for, quite clearly, he does not attribute the three marks to each moment of the series, since he says that these marks are the object of consciousness: in fact, the production of the moment, its aging, and its disappearance,
The lndriyas 241
Arising, duration, etc. , are not
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are not the objects of consciousness; whatever is not the object of consciousness cannot be a mark.
If the Sutra uses the word samskrta twice, "There are three samskrtalaksanas of the samskrta" this is in order that one should know that these three marks are not marks showing the presence of the samskrtas, as herons indicate the nearness of water; nor are they qualitative signs of the samskrta, as the marks of a young girl permit one to say that she is good or bad; no, when these marks are found on a thing, they show that this thing is a samskrta. [Hence we would translate this canonical text as "Conditioned things possess three visible marks which show that it is conditioned, that is, produced through successive causes. These marks are its arising, its duration- modification, and its impermanence. "]
ii. According to us, what one should understand by production or arising is the fact that the series begins; disappearance or imperma- nence is the end or cessation of the series; duration is the series continuing from its beginning until its end; evolution or old age is the modification of the continuous series, the difference between its successive states. It is from this point of view--that is, by considering arising, enduring, prolonging itself, and modifying itself--that the Blessed One says to Sundarananda, who is perpetually attentive to his states of mind, "Fine, my man! You know that your sensations arise,
291 last, end, and disappear. "
292 We would then say,
"Arising is the beginning of the series, disappearance is its rupture; duration is the series itself; evolution is the difference between its successive states/'
And again,
"Arising is existence following upon non-existence; duration is the series; impermanence is the rupture of the series; and evolution is supposed to be the difference between the successive states of the series. "
"Since the dharmas are momentary, would you say that the dharmas will perish [immediately] if duration is lacking? But [if the dharmas are momentary], they perish spontaneously: in vain you
? 295 attribute duration to a momentary dharma"
Consequently it is the series that the Sutra refers to when it speaks of duration, and the definition of the Abhidharma (Prakaranapdda, TD, p. 694a26) is justified, "What is duration? The samskdras arisen and not destroyed" The nature of the "moment" (ksanadharmatd) cannot be "arisen and not be destroyed. "
Yet the Jndnaprasthdna (TD 26, p. 926b21) says, "Relative to one mind, what is production? It is arising. What is disappearance? It is death. What is evolution? It is old age. "
But this passage of the Sastra does not refer to a moment of the mind, but to the mind of a homogeneous existence (nikdyasabhd- gacitta). [In a homogeneous existence (ii. 41) the minds are multiple, but this multiplicity can be designated as being one mind]
iii. However, since one cannot consider characteristics as things in and of themselves, one can say that each moment taken separately possesse the four characterisitcs.
In fact, (1) each moment exists after having been non-existent: its existence, following upon its non-existence, is its arising; (2) after having existed, it does not exist anymore: this is its disappearance; (3) the duration of the moment is the concatenation or the process of successive moments: in fact, if the subsequent moment resembles the previous moment, it is then its substitute: the previous moment still exists or still lasts. Thus the subsequent moment can be considered as the duration of the previous moment; (4) the dissimilitude of duration is its transformation.
Would you say that there is no dissimilitude when the successive moments are similar (sadrsa)?
There is dissimilitude, as this results from the difference in time of the slower or faster falling of a vajra that is or is not projected, and which is projected with or without force: difference due in each case to a transformation or a difference of the primary elements of the vajra. When the dharmas succeed themselves in a homogeneous series, the difference is small; that is why, although they differ, they are considered as similar.
[The Sarvastivadins object:] Your definition of characteristics does
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not hold for all conditioned dharmas. In fact, your definition of duration supposes a subsequent moment: but such a moment does not exist for the last moment of the mind of an Arhat. Hence the last moment of a sound, a flame, or an Arhat, has neither duration nor transformation.
We do not attribute duration to all conditioned dharmas\ We say rather, that all duration is subject to transformation. The Blessed One teaches three characteristics, because, in certain cases, there are three characteristics. But, for the last moment of a flame, there is only producation and disappearance, and no duration or transformation.
In short, conditioned dharmas exist after having existed; after having existed, they no longer exist; the series of dharmas is their duration; dissimilarity of the series is their transformation. Such is the teaching that the Blessed One gives in the Sutra of the Three Characteristics. This has nothing to do with things in and of themselves, arising, etc.
[iv. The Vaibhasikas object:] According to you, arising is the dharma itself in so far as it exists after having been non-existent. The dharma which is the "thing characterized" {laksya), would then be the characteristic (laksana) also.
What is wrong with that? The marks of a Mahapurusa are not different or distinct from the Mahapurusa himself. The horns, the hump, the fetlock, the hoof, and the tail of a cow, which are its marks, are not different from the cow. The primary elements do not exist apart from their individual characteristics, solidity, etc. (i. l2d). In this same way, for the Vaibhasikas who affirm the "momentariness" of the
294 dharmas, the rising of smoke is none other than the smoke itself
Let us look at this a bit closer. Although I grasp the individual
nature of visible things, etc. , which are conditioned, yet as long as I do
not know the fact that they did not exist previously, that they will not
exist later, and that their series transforms itself, then I shall not know
their quality of being conditioned. Consequently, the quality of being
conditioned does not have for a mark the quality of being conditioned,
295
but rather previous non-existence, etc. And there do not exist
characteristics, things in and of themselves, distinct from visible things
? and other conditioned things.
v. If we admit the reality of characteristics, then since they are
given as simultaneous, we would have to admit that one dharma arises, lasts, grows old and perishes at one and the same time.
It is in vain that the Sarvastivadins pretend that the characteristics do not exercise their activity at one and the same time; that arising engenders before being born itself, being still in a future state, and that once it is born it does not engender any longer; that duration, old age, and impermanence exercise their activity when they are present and not in a future state; and that, consequently, the last three character- istics are active in a moment when the first is no longer active, so the four characteristics can be simultaneous without contradiction.
Let us first consider arising which, being future, engenders. One must examine whether a future dharma, supposing that it does exist, can be active. If future arising produces the operation of engendering, how can one say that it is future? In fact, according to the Vaibhasikas, a future dharma is one that does not exercise its activity. You would have to define future. On the other hand, when a dharma has arisen, has been engendered, and the operation of arising is past, how can you say that arising is then of the present? You would have to define present.
And either the activity of the other characteristics is exercised simultaneously, or their activity is exercised in succession. In the first hypothesis, whereas duration makes a dharma last, old age makes it age and impermanence destroys it: the dharma lasts, ages and perishes at the same time. As for the second hypothesis, to admit that the activity of these characteristics is not simultaneous is to admit three
296 moments, and this is to renounce the doctrine of momentariness.
time during which the characteristics have achieved their operation. Then explain why, in this hypothesis, duration, arising at the same time as old age and impermanence, accomplishes its operation of "making last that which should last" before old age and impermanence accomplish their operation of making things age and destroying them. If you answer that duration, being stronger, accomplishes its operation
[The Vaibhasikas answer:] For us, the ksana or moment is the 297
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first, then we would ask how duration is weakened later in such a manner that, encountering old age and impermanence, it ages and perishes, not alone, but with the dharma that it should have made last.
You say perhaps that duration, having achieved its task, cannot perform it again, in the same way that arising, having engendered something, engenders no more. The comparison is not legitimate. The operation of arising consists of attracting the dharma that it should engender from the future and causing it to enter into the present; once the dharma has entered into the present, arising is incapable of making it enter therein again. But the operation of duration is to make the dharma "which should be made to last" last, of hindering the dharma which makes old age and perishing last. Duration is capable of making that which lasts last indefinitely. Consequently, duration is capable of repeating its operation.
By reason of what obstacle or from what adverse forces would the activity of duration cease once it has begun? Would these forces be old age and impermanence, old age weakening duration which imperma- nence then kills? Since, in this hypothesis, old age and impermanence are stronger than duration, it is proper then that they exercise their activity first. Further, according to your conception of duration and its role, it is through the activity of duration that, not only the principal dharma, but also old age and impermanence, last. Hence, when the activity of duration ends, the principal dharma, as well as old age and impermanence, cease their duration. We ask how, and with regard to what object, old age and impermanence exercise their activity of aging and causing to perish?
We do not see what it is that old age and impermanence have to do. It is through duration that one dharma, once it arises, does not perish for a certain time, does not perish as soon as it arises. If duration, its task completed, neglects the dharma, it will quite certainly not last any longer; that is to say, it perishes in and of itself.
We well understand the duration and impermanence of the dharma, "A dharma, after having arisen, does not perish," "A dharma, after having lasted, perishes. " But how can one attribute old age to a dharma} Old age is a transformation, a dissimilarity between two
? states. Now, can one say of a single dharma that it becomes different from itself?
"If it remains this, it is not that; if it is transformed, it is no longer this. Hence the transformation of a dharma is impossible. "
298
According to another School,
external causes of destruction, fire or a hammer, etc. , that the characteristics of impermanence causes certain dharmas to perish, as wood or a pot.
This is a theory as absurd as a sick person, who, after having taken a medicine, begs the gods to render it efficacious! In the logic of this system, it is the external causes of destruction which destroy, and the characteristic of impermanence serves no function.