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HINAYANA SCHOOLS
The philosophy of
Staviras or Elders we can call as Abhidharma. Abhidharma is actually
philosophical reflections by realistic and pluralistic philosophers of Buddhism
(Theravada or Hinayana) on the basic teachings of Buddha. The literal meaning
of the term ‘Abhi’ is ‘further’ or ‘about’. Thus Abhidharma means the higher,
further or special Dharma, or ‘the discourse on Dharma’. Dharma here refers to
all the elements with which everything is made of. If we analyse everything we
can reduce the whole of subject and object (whole reality) into 75 dharmas.
These realistic philosophers were known as Sarvastivadins. ‘Sarvam asti’ means
3 ‘everything is’ (these are realistic pluralistic philosophers) but only as
elements not having a pudgal or soul. This is in fact the first philosophical
development in Buddhism.
VAIBHASIKA
SCHOOL
The
word Vaibhasika has come from the main text Mahavibhasasastra, which was
compiled around 2nd century C.E; its main object was to expose Abhidharma
philosophy. Another classical text of this school is Vasabandhu’s (420-500
C.E.) Abhidharma-kosa. Actually Vaibhasika is the later form of Sarvastivada.
These
Sarvastivadin philosophers transformed Buddha’s ‘no soul’ into a consistent
philosophy of ‘pudgal nairatmaya’ (non-substantiality of everything).
Non-substantiality is not only in the case of human beings, but is applied to
the whole material world. ‘Things are without essence’. If we say they are
unsubstantial, then what are they? This group answers that they are collection
of dharmas. In the case of material things, there are four material atoms, and
in the case of living beings five skandas. We see exposition of this in both
Milinda pancho, a second century C.E. text and Abhidharmakosa of Vasabandhu of
4th century C.E.
Another
view that is closely connected with this insubstantiality is the idea of
momentariness of all entities. Buddha’s ‘anityam’ (impermanence) had a limited
application, in the case of morality, but they applied it consistently on
everything. Unlike Samkhya, who thought of a permanent thing behind all change,
exposed by the image of lump of clay that turns into pot still doesn’t lose its
‘clayness’, Vaibhasika clung to Buddhist insubstantiality and impermanence and
exposed it with the example of wood being consumed. When wood is consumed by
fire, only ashes remain and it is completely different from wood. Still they
accepted three moments in this change; past, present and future; that which
causes that which is destroyed and that which endures.
They explained the whole of universe with 75
dharmas and enumerated them in detail. We see it in Abhidhammakosa. First they
divide dharmas into conditioned (samskrta) and unconditioned (asamskrta). 72
are conditioned and 3 are unconditioned. The conditioned are again divided into
four classes:
I Form (11 dharmas) consisting of the five
sense organs, five sense-objects, and form with no manifestations. These are
also known as rupa and they form all that we call matter.
II Consciousness (1 Dharma) sometimes divided
into five dharmas corresponding to the sense-organs. This is also known as
citta.
III
The concomitant mental functions (46 dharmas). They are also known as
caitasika. They are subdivided into four groups.
1) The general mental elements are 10
universals (sarva-Dharma-sadharana). They are contact, attention, sensation,
ideation, will, desire to do, conviction, recollection, concentration and
insight.
2)
The general good functions are 10 moral universals (kusala-mahabhumika). They
are faith, shame, the root of good, absence of greed, absence of hatred,
absence of delusion, diligence, harmoniousness, attentiveness, equanimity and
non-violence.
3)
The general foul functions are 6 defilements of mind that hinders one from
following the path. They are passion, hate, pride, ignorance, erroneous view
and doubt.
4)
Minor foul functions are altogether 20 mental functions that are minor
defilements for the practice of eight fold path. They are anger, resentment,
hypocrisy, spitefulness, envy, miserliness, deceitfulness, dissimulation,
wantonness, malevolence, unrestraint, shamelessness, rigidity, agitation, lack
of faith, laziness, negligence, forgetfulness, distractedness and thoughtlessness.
IV
14 dharmas that have no connection
with form or mind (citta-viprayuktasanskara) They are like acquisition,
non-acquisition, communionship, effects of meditation, power of longevity
(vital power), the waves of becoming, words and sentences related to speech.
The
remaining three are unconditioned elements. They are Space (akasa), extinction
(nirvana) caused by absence of productive cause (apratisamkhyanirodha) and
extinction caused by knowledge (pratisamkhyanirodha). That which provides
ground to matter is space. In itself it has no defilement and it is not caused.
Again apratisamkhyanirodha is that Dharma, where no type of defilement is
present. In pratisamkyanirodha Dharma there is right view that occasions
nirvana. If we look into the above list, we see the importance they give to
mental activities. In fact they make a psychological analysis of everything.
Their naive realism forced them to dogmatically emphasise everything that are
exposed above as existing independent of the subject. The next school that we
are going to speak of comes up in the context of logical and rational
questioning of above enumeration of dharmas as independently existing.[i]
SAUTRANTIKA SCHOOL
The
word sautrantika comes from ‘sutranta’ (scripture). They base themselves on
‘Sukta pitaka’ of the canon. This group came up against the naive realism and
pluralism of Vaibhasikas. Main teachers of this school are Kumaralat, a
contemporary of Nagarjuna. Srilabha or Srilata was his disciple. Then comes
Yasomitra and Harivarman who wrote the book Tattvasiddhi (Proof of the Truth).
Another name notable is Vasubandhu (some say this is the same Vasubandu who
wrote Abhidharmakosa and some others say it is another one by the same name).
It is a logicoepistemological school. (there is a later logico-epistemological
school having characteristics of both Sautrantika and Yogacara. The main
personalities are Dignaga and Dharmakirti (5th & 7th century C.E.). The
reason for this is universities like Nalanda and Takshashila where issues are
followed, not the sectarianism of schools, one becomes acharya, when he is
proficient in teachings of all schools, and it was very easy for them to form
their own philosophy by taking the logically fitting teachings). They said
Abhidharma scholasticism is a deviation from the actual intent of the Master.
They rejected independent existence of some of the dharmas and reduced their
number into 45 (43 Conditioned and 2 unconditioned). If we ask the question
what is it that forced them to reduce the number of dharmas, we must say it has
both metaphysical and epistemological reasons.
The realism of Vaibhasika forced them to treat
Nirvana too as some ‘thing’. Sautrantika said this is against the mind of the
master. So they clung to ‘Sukta Pitaka’ and based their interpretation on that
and reason (for Buddha said ‘atta dipo bhava’). Logically, they said, the
Vaibhasika clinging to three moments is not possible, for if anything changing,
it must happen at all moments and one thing will last only a moment, where
birth and death happens; so no past, present and future, only present is
existing. Past and future are imagination (sankalpas).
Epistemology (Pramanas) and Acceptance of
external objects and mind
Sautrantika
developed logic and defended itself against both Buddhistic and non-Buddhistic
criticisms. This logic was later developed and crystallized by the Yogacara
(vijnanavada) teachers. Dignaga and Dharmakirti are the two towering
personalities. First they were Sautrantika (both mind and external objects
exist), later they were lenient to Yogacara (mind only exists). Dignaga in his
famous work Pramana Samuchaya speak of two valid means of knowledge. They are
Perception (pratyaksa) and Inference (anumana). Perception deals with
svalaksanas, (that which characterises itself, a unique particular singular and
momentary). This is ultimately real (paramarta sat) and inexpressible. To
experience them means to experience reality as it is. Inference, the other
pramana consists of conceptualizations, verbalizations, reflections and other
products of mental constructions. (kalpana, vikalpa) Dignaga calls it Samanyalaksana
(a general characteristic applicable to many objects or distributed over many
instances). They are endurable and not subject to change, thus they are true
only in relational level (asamvrti sat).
Epistemologically Sautrantika goes a step
further from Vaibhasika to answer the question, what we really know. They say
it is not objects that come into our consciousness (naive realism) but an
after-image of an object. Thus our knowledge is not through perception, but
through inference. Therefore there will be always some mental construction.
Thus we call them representative realists or critical realists.
Theory of Momentariness
Vaibhasika
developed Buddha’s notion of ‘anitya’ into universal law of impermanence of
everything, but they accepted three moments as “a thing arises, remains
constant and ceases to exist”. But being logically minded, Sautrantika raised
the question, if changing, how can there be three moments, there can be only
one moment. As it arises it must vanish. Thus things never remain constant.
What is there is an uninterrupted flow of causally connected momentary entities
of the same kind. The cessation takes place without cause. They call it
Santana. If it were not so, then the dharmas would remain constant and
changeless. They define moment (ksana) as the smallest indivisible unit of
time. This is 1/75th of a second. All aggregates of being are repeatedly
produced and destroyed in every moment. Since these elements succeed upon each
other so fast, as in cinematography were distinct pictures in a rapid
projection, evokes illusion of continuous action on the screen, we see them as
continuous. Again earlier and later ones within one Santana are almost alike we
normally fail to discern the arising and destruction and perceive them like
flowing river or flame of a lamp. According to this doctrine, all objects of
the world - our bodies, ideas, emotions and all the external objects around us
– are destroyed every moment and are replaced by similar things generated at
the succeeding moment, which again are replaced by other similar things at the
next moment and so on.
One important logical consequence of this
theory is the rejection of past and future. Everything is happening at the
present time, past has ceased and future hasn’t arisen. Past is memory and
future is imagination. There is only just origination and cessation. This is
the real truth (paramarta sat). The other two are relative truths (samvrti
sat). One question that naturally arises is, how we explain ‘the knowing
process’ then? They explain it with the theory of svasamvedana
(self-apperception). This theory says consciousness is able to be conscious of
itself and of other phenomena, just like a lamp is able to illumine clearly
both itself as well as other external objects.
Sautrantika
classification of Dharma
They
have a different classification of Dharma from that of Vaibhasika. While
Vaibhasika accepts 75 dharmas, Sautrantika reduces that number into 45. This
includes 43 samkrta and 2 asmskrta. 43 samskrtas they divide into five skandas.
i) Form (rupa): consists of matter in its 4
primary forms (upadana) and 4 derived (upadaya) forms. 4 primary forms are
earth, water, fire and air. 4 derived forms are solidity, humidity, heat and
motion.
ii)
Feeling (vedana): consists of 3 types of emotions- pleasure, pain and neutral.
iii) Perception (samjna): consists of grasping
by 6 senses – five senses and mind. It consists of colours etc by eyes,
agreeable, disagreeable, friend, enemy, male female etc.
iv)
Consciousness (vijnana): consists of 6 sense consciousness. It is “row grasping
of visual, auditory, olfactory, taste, touch and mental consciousness.
v)
Mental formation (samskara): consists of volitional factors that create and
determine the five skandas of future existence. Sautrantika speaks of 10
virtuous and 10 nonvirtuous dharmas.
vi)
Unconditioned (asamskrta): consists of 2 uncaused dharmas - Nirvana and space.
Sautrantika
is a transition thought on the way to full-fledged Mahayana. Later schools of
Madhyamaka and Yogacara develop in their own way the ‘Sautrantika germs’.
Madhyamika continues the logical pruning of dharmas that was started by
Sautrantika and reduces them all into samvrti satya. Yogacara cling to
Svasamvedana and give reason for it with their Vijnaptimatrata.
